‘Morning after’ HIV treatment
withheld
An HIV treatment that could prevent hundreds from becoming positive is being
withheld by doctors on “moralistic” grounds, according to campaigners.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is routinely given to health staff accidentally
exposed to the virus, but is only available in a few specialist clinics in
London and Brighton for those who contract the virus sexually.
Now two gay men are seeking a judicial review of the regulations which limit
availability of PEP together with appropriate damages.
Despite its availability to medical staff, there has, according to the government's
guidelines, been no research in Britain on its effectiveness with people potentially
infected through sexual activity or needle-sharing.
But the US Centers for Disease Control found that up to 80 per cent of people
given PEP after exposure to HIV did not go on to develop HIV.
Will Nutland, head of Gay men's Health Promotion at THT, said the charity
had become so frustrated by the lack of action on PEP that last July it launched
an awareness campaign.
“We found clinics were arguing against the treatment on cost grounds
(around £600 for the full treatment) and that it could lead to more
high-risk sexual behaviour,” Nutland added.
But Dr David Hawkins, of London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said:
“There have been no randomised control trials to show it is worthwhile
doing, but there is some suggestion it would be worth doing.”
Protestors demonstrate against deportations
Thousands demonstrated through the streets of Manchester on 2 April against
the forced deportation of asylum seekers. Among them were activists from George
House Trust (GHT) protesting against the recent acceleration of deportations
of HIV positive asylum seekers. GHT chief executive Michelle Reid said: “The
government is sending people back to their country of origin even when there
may be no HIV treatments accessible there. We oppose all removals of HIV positive
people.”
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns NCADC 0121 554 6947; www.ncadc.org.uk
HIV in the UK ‘had multiple sources’
At least six established routes were responsible for the introduction of HIV
into Britain in the 1980s.
Research by University College London published in the journal Proceedings
of the US National Academy of Sciences this March examined genetic data on
the most widely found form of the virus in Britain.
The virus called HIV-1 subtype B was found to have spread through the UK via
at least six large transmission chains of men having sex with men.
Researcher, Dr Deenan Pillay said: “This goes against the prevailing
belief that one initial entry of HIV-1 was responsible for the spread of the
epidemic.
Dr Pillay added that since 1990, condom use in the gay community had significantly
increased. This might explain why infection rates in the transmission chains
had slowed.
“Antiretroviral therapy may also have impacted on transmission rates,
but our evidence does not demonstrate this,” Pillay added.
NAM's Michael Carter said: “It shows how a community can stay sexually
active and still reduce the risk of HIV.”
However, the conclusions were described as “vaguely ridiculous”
by Ford Hickson, an expert in HIV transmission from Sigma Research.
“HPA surveillance tells us that last year about 17 per cent of gay men
diagnosed with HIV in the UK had migrated to the UK with HIV, rather than
having caught it here, and this proportion is always likely to have been substantial,”
he added.
MP awards positive achievements
MP for Hampstead and Highgate Glenda Jackson presented certificates of achievement
to local HIV positive people at Oasis North London last month. There are 1,400
people living with HIV in the borough of Camden and an estimated 17,000 across
London. Glenda presented the awards to Oasis students to acknowledge their
achievements and to encourage them in their journey back into the workforce.
Pictured (L to R) are ‘a student', Brad Hepburn (chair), Glenda Jackson
and Lev Pedro (operations manager).
For details, visit www.onl.org.uk or Ensuring Positive Futures Partnership
at www.positive-futures.org
Spat over ‘Cum Outside’ campaign
A new campaign aimed at reducing the risks to gay men from having sex without
condoms has sparked controversy.
The campaign devised with by GMFA with the London Gay Men's HIV Prevention
Partnership, features cartoon images of gay men having sex with the strapline:
'Reduce the risk: cum outside'.
GMFA's groundbreaking and often outrageous HIV prevention campaigns have been
lauded and applauded over 10 years.
But the new ads have enraged some HIV campaigners because they could imply
that bareback gay sex without condoms is OK.
GMFA argue that since unsafe sex does happen, the best way to deal with it
is to reduce the risk and ejaculate outside the body.
GMFA chief executive Carl Burnell said that, in their last annual gay men's
sex survey, more than 53 per cent of men with HIV reported having unprotected
anal sex with other men who they either knew to be HIV negative, or who's
status they did not know.
“Some men with HIV still choose to have unprotected anal intercourse,”
he told PN. “The aim is to provide these men with strategies for reducing
the risk of HIV transmission when they have unprotected sex.”
“We pre-tested the campaign with around 60 men to ensure men understood
the message and that they didn't misinterpret the message as 'It's OK to have
unprotected sex, as long as you cum outside,” Burnell added.
But HIV activist and club promoter Spike Rhodes said the campaign may send
the wrong message and may do more harm than good.
“I understand what GMFA are trying to do by acknowledging that barebacking
is going on,” Spike said, “but I think it is unacceptable behaviour
not to use condoms.”
“A lot of people do not read ads properly so people might think that
it's less of a risk to fuck without condoms.
“A previous GMFA campaign about HIV disclosure argued that it was OK
not to disclose your HIV status. But not disclosing that you have HIV and
then fucking without a condom, and hopefully withdrawing before coming, becomes
a game of Russian roulette.
“I don't know anyone who can pull out before coming,” Spike added.
Judge for yourself - see ad on page 19.
Anti-HIV gel UK funding boost
The UK government is to provide £24 million to fund a final stage field
trial to assess the effectiveness of a microbicide gel in preventing HIV infection
in women. The Medical Research Council will add a further £2million.
Hilary Benn, international development secretary, said: “Women vulnerable
to infection are frequently unable to refuse sex or to insist on the use of
a condom.”
Research shows that an effective gel, applied before sex, could prevent up
to 2.5 million HIV infections worldwide over three years.
Aids is the biggest killer in Africa and most new HIV infections occur among
young African women.
Microbicides work by killing the virus before it enters the body; preventing
it from taking hold once inside the body; or by creating a barrier to stop
it from entering the body in the first place.
The new microbicide, PRO 2000, has shown encouraging results. But as Nick
Partridge of the Terrence Higgins Trust pointed out: “These are long
term strategies that will take many years to reach the people that need them
and may never be successfully developed.
“In the short term, promoting condom use and good sex education are
essential if we are to prevent more unnecessary deaths from HIV.”
on the side
PN's global readership at record levels
More people than ever
worldwide are reading PN online, according to a recent website analysis. On
average, there are 83 page requests per hour. Not surprisingly, the most popular
edition of the magazine was The Sex Issue. Hits included 1,616 'requests'
from the US military, 23,160 from US Higher Education and two from remote
Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Financial advice in Midlands
Terrence Higgins Trust Midlands is seeking to help positive people with financial
problems caused by living with HIV. Being diagnosed can often lead to loss
of employment or an inability to work due to ill health, THT said. The project
is being funded by an £80,000 donation from the HBOS Foundation. Call
0121 694 6440.
Late testers 'more likely to die'
Positive gay men with CD4 counts below the Aids-defining limit of 200 are
11 times more likely to die in the first year after testing than those who
test earlier, according to a British survey. Non-white men and
non-Londoners were more likely to be diagnosed late and the average CD4 count
was a life-threatening 60.
Fake condom concerns
Fake condoms have been discovered in the Republic of Ireland, labelled either
Durex Extra Safe or Durex Featherlite. The Extra Safe fakes come in packs
of 12 and have the batch number: 20602503. The Featherlite fakes come in a
similar size pack and have the batch number: VR3073C.
Dica and Konzani lose trials
Following a third trial, Mohammed Dica was sentenced to four-and-a-half years
for infecting two women with HIV. He has already served two years on remand
and is expected to be freed later this year. Malawian, Feston Konzani's conviction
was also upheld and his sentence to ten years confirmed (see
Sex in the Dock, page 20).
Confidentiality worries over NHS database
According to a senior Dept of Health official, people will not be allowed
to decide what information is stored on the new £6.2 billion NHS database.
This appears to contradict earlier ministerial assurances that patients will
be able to withhold sensitive information from the database, such as HIV status.
The NHS hopes to introduce the database later this year.
Blacks more likely to be sectioned
African-Caribbean and black African patients are around three times more likely
to be compulsorily admitted to a mental hospital than white British patients.
And they are also two-and-a-half times more likely to be referred to the mental
health services by the criminal justice system, according to research published
in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Carers Act becomes law
The new Carers' Act comes into force on 1 April 2005. Imelda Redmond, chief
executive of Carers UK, said: “Carers fought hard to win these rights,
which should make a difference to tens of thousands of carers every year.
Carers have a right to life outside caring.” A copy of Balancing Life
and Caring is available from Carers UK, at: www.carersuk.org or on 020 7566
7626.
GU clinics 'turn away patients'
Almost two thirds of UK GU clinicians in a recent survey said they had had
to turn away patients seeking treatment. Waiting times are unacceptably long
with one in five waiting a month for an STI test. Close to
a third of primary care trusts surveyed do not include HIV and STIs in their
local delivery plans said a joint survey from THT, BHIVA and PACT. The survey
paints a very different picture from that portrayed by Health Minister Melanie
Johnson on page 26 this month.
Fishermen 'at more risk'
Research from the University of East Anglia reveals that fishing communities
throughout the world are between five and ten times more vulnerable to HIV/Aids.
Mobility, access to cash, poor education, commercial sex, and what they call
a sub-culture of risk-taking and hyper-masculinity are believed to account
for this.
Confidentiality Florida-style
The FBI and the US Postal Service have joined the investigation into the disclosure
of thousands of names and addresses of HIV/Aids patients in Palm Beach County,
Florida. The list, held for by the County Health Department, was mistakenly
emailed to 800 county health workers.
China - get tested & fired
Mandatory HIV tests have been introduced in Henan and Yunnan provinces of
China, for anyone seeking work in beauty parlours, bath houses, massage centres
or discos. Anyone denied a certificate of good health will no longer be able
to work in the hospitality or service industries.
Sacked HIV worker wins damages
When San Francisco Savoy Brasserie was sent a disability report from a local
doctor in error, it promptly sacked one of its HIV positive employees. $100,000
damages were awarded by a state appeals court against the doctor, who was
held to be guilty of malpractice, and the restaurant in the sum of $291,000.
MPs criticise UK global HIV strategy
The House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee said last month that
UK government funds to fight HIV and Aids are often not reaching the neediest
people. The attack comes despite support for the Department for International
Development (DFID) from HIV groups and despite the fact that the UK is the
second biggest international donor on HIV/Aids, spent £270 million on
such aid in 2002-3 and has committed to increase spending to £1.5 billion
in the next three years.
