New HIV infections down, but AIDS deaths rise 35% in 3 yrs

Deaths due to full blown AIDSin the city have jumped by nearly 35% over the last three years though the number of fresh HIV infections has shown a decline, shows figures collated by the Mumbai District Aids Control Society. They suggest that a majority of the HIV cases are detected in the 35-49 age group, indicating that awareness campaigns are probably not making early inroads. AIDS deaths rose from 945 in 2013-14 to 1,270 in 2015-16 (see box). Activists are alarmed that the year-on-year increase in fatalities has ranged from…

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Vaccine development necessary to end the AIDS epidemic

A team from International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), led by President and CEO, Mark Feinberg, will be encouraging the global response to end HIV at the 21st International AIDS Conference, in Durban, South Africa. Researchers, policy makers, people living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic will be present to discuss new scientific knowledge and offer opportunities for structured dialogue on major issues facing the global response to the epidemic. The conference is important for both India and Africa, as they are looked upon as key players…

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Austrian researchers develop potential AIDS treatment breakthrough

Austrian researchers have developed a treatment that could spell a breakthrough in the treatment of AIDS, the Krone newspaper reported on Monday. The research duo of Thomas Szekeres, a human geneticist who also serves as President of the Vienna Medical Association, and Walter Jaeger, a pharmacist, said the arduous research project spanned 15 years. Jaeger said while it was “full of setbacks”, there were also often “new hopes”, and they are now satisfied with the research results and ready to make them public, Xinhua reported. The research is based on…

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