Marion Regional Healthcare System

Health Shorts

AIDS & HIV

Circumcision Reduces HIV Risk

A large randomized study in Africa found that men who were circumcised had a markedly lower risk of HIV infection. The inner mucosal surface of the foreskin may contain cells susceptible to infection, particularly in men with a history of sexually transmitted diseases. [SOURCE: Jeffrey Laurence, “Suppressing HIV Transmission Through Behavior and Biology,” The AIDS Reader, May 1, 2006]

Faster, More Efficient HIV Testing

Newer methods have taken some of the trauma out of HIV testing. One test uses a finger prick to get a drop of blood; another examines saliva obtained from an oral swab. Neither requires sophisticated lab analysis, and results can be read in 20 minutes-ensuring that the patient actually receives the results.  [SOURCE: Robert Janssen, "The Challenge of HIV Testing,"

HIV Infections in Infants Down 80%  

HIV infections among American infants declined by 80 percent over the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The decline is attributed largely to the breakthrough discovery in 1994 that AZT given to infected mothers during pregnancy and to their infants at birth reduced transmission by more than 60 percent.  [SOURCE: Margaret C. Heagarty, "AIDS: The Battle Rages On," Issues in Science and Technology, Summer, 2003]

How Not To Get AIDS 

Contrary to popular belief, you can’t get HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) by hugging, dancing, shaking hands or living in the same house with someone who is infected. In order for infection to occur, the blood, semen or vaginal secretions of the infected person must enter your body. This may occur through  • having unprotected sex (without use of a condom) with someone who is HIV-positive,  • sharing needles through intravenous drug use or  • having a needle stick accident in a health care setting. [SOURCE: “HIV/AIDS,” MayoClinic.com,, January 30, 2008]

Investing in AIDS Prevention?

An investment of $122 billion in global AIDS prevention programs targeting both sexual and IV drug transmission could avert 28 million new HIV infections over the next decade, according to one projection. The cost of preventing each new infection is estimated at $3,900, but the savings in treatment and care costs would be $4,700 per person. [SOURCE: John Stover, et al, “The Global Impact of Scaling Up HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” Science, March 10, 2006]

New Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Online  

Newly revised guidelines for treating adults and adolescents with HIV and AIDS are now online at http://aidsinfo.nih.gov. Prepared by the Panel on Clinical Practices for Treatment of HIV infection, the guidelines include lists of "preferred" and "alternative" regimens plus those that should never be offered.  [SOURCE: Robert Finn, "Revised Guidelines Simplify HIV/AIDS Regimens; 'Preferred' and 'Alternative' Regimens'," Family Practice News, February 1, 2004]

Perinatal AIDS Transmissions Down 

A major achievement in the battle against AIDS is the dramatic decrease in the number of mother-to-child transmissions in the United States–from 1,650 a year during the early 1990s to less than 236 during 2002. The reduction has been attributed to:

 • routine voluntary testing of pregnant women for HIV,

 • the use of rapid HIV tests at delivery for women of unknown status and 

• the use of antiretroviral therapy by pregnant women and their new-born children. 

[SOURCE: K.A. Fenton and R.O. Valdiserri, “Twenty-five years of HIV/AIDS–United States, 1981-2006, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 16, 2006]

Pill May Prevent AIDS Transmission 

A drug now being developed may be able to prevent transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The drug has been found effective in primates and is now being tested on humans–2,400 drug injectors in Thailand, 1,200 heterosexual men and women in Botswana and 3,000 homosexual men in the United States, Africa and Asia. Results are promising, but more research is needed regarding side effects and the development of resistant strains of HIV. The drug may also be controversial, raising issues regarding who should be given access to the pill. Similar antiretroviral drugs are already being used to prevent transmission of AIDS from infected mothers to their children during birth. [SOURCE Tom Peterkin, “Anti-AIDS pill that can be taken before sex under development,” London Daily Telegraph, August 6, 2008]

Save 3 Million Lives by 2005  

The "3 by 5" initiative is an emergency effort by the World Health Organization to dramatically improve AIDS treatment in the hardest-hit countries of the world, with the goal of saving 3 million lives by the end of 2005. Dr. Jim Yong Kim of Harvard University initiated the project with the help of a MacArthur Foundation grant.  [SOURCE: Geoffrey Cowley, "A New Assault on AIDS," Newsweek International, December 29, 2003]

Testing Key to Control of HIV  

As many as 950,000 Americans are believed to be infected with HIV; yet one of every four does not know. One study of AIDS patients found an average time from HIV diagnosis to full-blown AIDS of only one year even though other studies indicate that it take an average of 10 years from the time of infection to the development of AIDS. Without early diagnosis, these patients were unable to take advantage of potentially lifesaving drugs. In addition they may have exposed numerous partners during that time. Regular testing of sexually active individuals is a proven strategy for improving life expectancy and reducing the spread of AIDS.  [SOURCE: Robert Janssen, "The Challenge of HIV Testing," OBGYN News, August 15, 2004]

Those Who Don’t Know Pose Risk 

The Centers for Disease Control believes that as many as 300,000 Americans are infected with the AIDS virus without knowing it. A survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) in five U.S. cities found that 25 percent were infected but nearly half (48 percent) were unaware of their infection. Since the period from infection to the development of AIDS may take a decade or longer, the risk of transmitting the disease to others is great. [SOURCE: “Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS–United States, 1981-2005,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 16, 2006]

Women More Vulnerable to HIV

Twenty years ago, more than 90 percent of AIDS patients in the United States were males; today nearly 30 percent of new AIDS diagnoses are in women, with women under age 25 particularly vulnerable. Biologically, women are more vulnerable to being infected with HIV, and they are more likely to suffer progression of the disease with lower levels of virus. [SOURCE: Jeffrey Laurence, “Suppressing HIV Transmission Through Behavior and Biology,” The AIDS Reader, May 1, 2006]

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