Will there ever be an AIDS vaccine? Or are we chasing a ghost?

It is now years later! About 33 million people in the world are infected with HIV and some 26 million have died of AIDS since the pandemic began. Is there ever going to be an AIDS vaccine? Or is HAART a better solution? With HAART, you can recover from HIV/AIDS and live with HIV for a very long time. Putting funding and belief toward HAART may be saving lives rather than the waiting and false hope of a vaccine. A substantial minority of scientists admit that an HIV vaccine may never be developed. Some say it will take another 20 years of research before one is discovered. Others believe that a vaccine against HIV is further away than ever and admit that effective immunization against the virus may never be possible. A mood of deep pessimism has spread among the international community of AIDS scientists after the failure of a trial of a promising vaccine at the end of last year. It just was the latest in a series of setbacks in the 25-year struggle to develop an HIV vaccine. However, we do know HAART is an effective way to control the HIV spread and allow people infected to live longer and healthier. Should all efforts be put into prevention? What are you thoughts?

MRSA. What is it? Does having HIV affect MRSA risk?

The HIV community is watching carefully as MRSA breaks out among ‘men having sex with men’ and ‘injection drug use’. What is MRSA? MRSA , "methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus", is a bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. If the skin is cut or broken, the bacteria are given the opportunity to infect. MRSA looks similar to a large pimple or boil. MRSA can cause a wide variety of infections ranging from mild skin infections to serious infections such as pneumonia or sepsis. People with a weakened immune system should follow the same preventive measures to prevent being infected, including washing their hands frequently, covering wounds with bandages, and refraining from sharing personal hygiene items. Treatment is by incision and drainage of the wound. Then antibiotics may be used for up to ten days. Have you known about MRSA? Is it the next health problem for people living with HIV?

Can you talk to your doctor? Does he provide the care you need?

Do you have a doctor who does not listen to you? Do you feel you are caught in the middle of a medical world not interested in your needs? Finding the right doctor is of great concern to people living with HIV. It is a matter of expecting the right care and knowing your doctor will provide it. Empowered communication with your doctor is personal and important. Perhaps you have encountered problems and need information pertaining to the things ‘your’ care should involve. A community forum called “Doctor Visits: Are yours what they should be?” is being presented by the BCPWA Society in the Best Western Chateau Granville (corner of Granville & Helmcken) at 6pm on Tuesday, April 22. Open to persons living with HIV & other interested participants. Free dinner included. If you wish to attend this you need to rsvp to paulk@bcpwa.org by april 17th. If you have any comments or share experiences, please do so on this blog.

Could HAART treatment strategy reduce HIV?

A new strategy to battle HIV might reduce the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Dr. Julio Montaner, of the B.C. Centre for Excellence, suggests using HAART as treatment for HIV could lower the number of cases around the world. HAART reduces viral loads of HIV in the patient's blood until it is undetectable, and as a result they become less infectious. A patient going on HAART soon after testing positive to HIV lessens the transmission of the virus. Montaner adds, "It's time that we start talking about it, and the Center would like to lead that discussion because if that is the case between better prevention and strengthening of our treatment programs we may be able to, at least in the short term, control the spread of HIV." Convincing people who have already tested positive to HIV is a very heavy task. Why would you want to take medications when you are not sick? Is this one more way of prevention? Or is it suggesting something else?