More than 8,000 Londoners undiagnosed
Latest official figures show a two per cent increase in sexually transmitted
infections (STIs) last year.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said syphilis increased by 37 per cent,
but gonorrhea decreased by 10 per cent. “A further rise in new diagnoses
of STIs during 2004 is disappointing,” said the HPA’s
Dr Helen Ward. “But some encouragement can be taken from the slower
growth seen in recent years and in some areas new diagnoses have fallen,”
she continued. One in every two syphilis diagnoses, a quarter of all chlamydia
and a third of gonorrhea infections in England were in London.
And the capital also bore the highest burden of HIV in England, with 20,000
Londoners receiving treatment in 2003. Nearly all new heterosexually acquired
HIV infections were among black Africans, and most had acquired the virus
abroad. But there was a three-fold increase in blacks of Caribbean descent
in the UK receiving HIV treatments. The HPA also estimated that a further
8,600 Londoners have undiagnosed HIV, a figure rising fastest among heterosexuals.
“This is a reminder of how vital it is for people to take responsibility
for their own and their partners’ sexual health, and to use a condom
with new and casual partners,” Dr Ward added.
The world is watching the G8 leaders
HIV activists from the Stop Aids campaign staged an ‘eyeball’
demo in Edinburgh to let G8 leaders know the world will call them to account
if they fail to deliver universal global access to HIV treatments for all
in need by 2010. For details of the campaign, visit www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk.
PEP row heats up
A row has erupted over a new £17,000 advertising campaign to
encourage HIV negative gay men to access a ‘preventative’ course
of anti-retroviral therapy after exposure to infection.
The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) campaign aimed at gay men in England and
Wales promotes PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) which, if taken within 72 hours
of exposure, can cut the chance of HIV infection by 80 per cent. But HIV experts
are divided over the impact PEP will have on people’s sexual behaviour.
Dr John Richens, of London’s Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research,
said there was a “distinct danger” promoting PEP could “reinforce
risky sexual behaviour.” However, Dr Martin Fisher, of Brighton and
Sussex University Hospitals, said: “Contrary to these concerns, all
available data suggests this is not the case.” PEP, a 28-day course
of three anti-retrovirals, is now available at 17 HIV clinics in England.
The number of gay men accessing the treatment has doubled in the last year.
But some doctors are still reluctant to prescribe it. In an editorial for
the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, Dr Richens wrote: “We are
concerned there is pressure to make PEP available for homosexuals regardless
of cost and without proper consideration of possible negative consequences
on service delivery and HIV transmission.”
Dr Fisher said: “PEP may well act as a ‘wake-up call’ and
have a beneficial effect on behaviour rather than a deleterious one.”
He added that the cost of £1,000 per patient, was still significantly
cheaper than life-long treatment and care for HIV infection. Will Nutland,
head of health promotion at THT, said PEP awareness was “an important
strand in the UK’s HIV prevention strategy.”Last month, the Legal
Aid Board approved aid to finance
a legal action by HIV positive
pro-PEP activists against the Department of Health, alleging breaches to the
Human Rights Act.
Are the world leaders ‘Hearing Aids’?
Campaigners from HIV Scotland joined in with a satirical approach to the G8
summit demos this summer and asked if world leaders were ‘Hearing Aids’.
HIV Scotland, the independent voice for HIV in Scotland, urged G8 leaders
to listen to the voice of people with HIV and Aids in Africa.
Visit www.hivscotland.com.
Troubled HIV housing association merges
A housing association beset by complaints from its HIV positive tenants
has merged with a larger housing association. Strutton Housing Association
merged with Hestia Housing and Support on 1 July amid accusations that they
have failed tenants living with HIV.
At its peak, Strutton managed the housing care and support for over 450 properties
in London, including supported housing for people with HIV. But earlier this
year they started losing contracts to act for properties in some boroughs
following allegations of poor service delivery.
Tenants allege that Strutton was claiming up to £75 per person per week
from boroughs for care and support they never received. PN has seen evidence
that Strutton also failed to carry out vital safety checks on gas boilers
putting tenants’ lives at risk. Much of the UKC’s webpage discussion
board has been taken up with heated allegations about the issue for several
months.
But serious observers have been reluctant to give validity to these allegations
as many were made by anti-AZT campaigners jailed in 1990 following demos outside
Terrence Higgins Trust offices.
However, PN has since learned that some Strutton staff received large redundancy
payoffs and signed gagging clauses banning them from speaking about the organisation.
Additionally, thousands of pounds were spent on private investigators looking
into allegations about Strutton. A police investigation in 2003 did not lead
to any prosecutions and the Housing Ombudsman did not take any action. Last
month UKC chair Bernard Forbes hosted a meeting with Hestia, Strutton and
tenants where he received assurances that supported housing would be maintained
for HIV positive people in the capital.
The new merged organisation works with 800 service users across London, 400
of which are people living with HIV/Aids, and has a turnover of £9 million.
Patrick Ryan, Hestia’s chief executive, told PN: “Our focus now
is on the future and maintaining the delivery of high quality services to
vulnerable people who need them. Hestia has a strong commitment to service
user involvement and has its
own service user forum with elected members”.
HIV charity faces closure as infections soar
Respected charity Body Positive North West (BPNW), provider of essential support
to people living with HIV in the North West, is fighting for survival after
local primary care trusts withdrew funding.
The cuts came as new figures show record number of new HIV cases in the North
West.
North Manchester PCT withdrew £68,000, Salford pulled £24,000
and Stockport £13,500, claiming not to have received performance and
monitoring data. But managers at BPNW insist this was provided.
Eleanor Roaf, director of Public Health at North Manchester PCT, told PN they
had given BPNW a year to put their house in order in 2004, provide the data
requested and take remedial action.
She said she was confident other local community and voluntary organisations
could meet the needs of the area’s HIV positive community. But when
we asked about their failure to consult local services users or doctors, Dr
Roaf put the phone down on our reporter. Five top HIV doctors from the area
have also condemned the decision, calling it “a gross injustice”,
and have written to the PCT asking them to reconsider.
BPNW acts as a service provider for over 1,200 HIV positive clients, has 48
volunteers and just six paid members of staff. Infections in the North
West were up 12 per cent (814) in 2004. The number living with HIV in the
region now tops 3,500 and has increased by 82 per cent since 2001.
Commentators suspect BPNW has fallen victim to a local HIV charity ‘turf
war’ as HIV agencies compete for a shrinking pot of cash for HIV voluntary
services.
BPNW chief executive officer Phil Greenham (pictured centre) said: “For
nearly 20 years we have operated on a self-help ethos. At a time when infections
are steeply increasing,
particularly in Greater Manchester, this decision makes no sense.”
Activists fight on
BPNW chief executive officer Phil Greenham (centre) says that they will provide
services under candlelight from September if necessary. HIV positive BPNW
client Omar Mellor (left) said: “This place is a lifeline. Only in coming
to BPNW have I got hope back.” Ed McConniffe (right), agrees: “Peer
support is everything; other people going through the same thing has got me
through the 19 years.”
news on the side
Discrimination against positive travellers
According to research carried out by GoGay.com, the insurance industry is
still unwilling to give cover for HIV positive travellers. Two out of ten
leading travel insurers would not insure positive travellers and half would
not provide cover for claims related to HIV.
HIV in Scotland
‘becoming heterosexual’ Injecting drug use and sex between men
was once the main pattern of HIV infection in Scotland, according to the Institute
for International Health and Development in Edinburgh. Exposure in Africa,
including Scots who have travelled there, now accounts for over 90 per cent
of new cases.
Weekend youth testing clinic to open
An HIV charity for young people has secured
funding to establish the UK’s first weekend HIV testing clinic planned
to be operating in London’s Soho after December. Health Initiative will
offer patients under 27 tests within one hour as well as counselling sessions
on issues related to the test and sexual health. For details, visit www.healthinitiatives.org.
Teenagers shun condoms
A study conducted by the sexual health charity Brook has found only about
a third of UK teenagers aged 16 to 18 use condoms regularly. Some were not
using them properly and others were using them only as a contraceptive rather
than to prevent sexually transmitted infections. About a third believed that
STIs could be caught from a toilet seat.
First female HIV prosecution
A Welsh woman has become the first female in the UK to be convicted of ‘recklessly’
infecting her former boyfriend with HIV. The 20-year-old, who cannot be named
to protect the man’s identity, admitted unlawfully inflicting grevious
bodily harm and was sentenced to two years’ youth custody by Cardiff
Crown Court. The woman, who was 18 at the time of the offence and who had
acquired HIV at just 15, said she did not tell her former boyfriend because
she feared he would leave her. She becomes the fifth, and youngest, person
to be prosecuted under English and Welsh law for ‘reckless transmission’
of HIV.
Carers call for new rights
Carers UK, the UK’s leading organisation of carers, has called for carers
of sick, frail and disabled adult dependents to get the same flexible working
rights as those that currently exist for parents. At present, Britain’s
nine million carers are estimated to save the UK economy an estimated £57
billion a year. For details, visit www.carersonline.org.uk.
Campaign to remove VAT from condoms
Health ministers are in talks with the Treasury about dropping VAT on condoms
to make them more affordable. Around 30p from every £1.99 pack of three
condoms goes to the Treasury. Since some GPs and gay bars have stopped handing
out free condoms, sexual health campaigners have been calling for VAT to be
dropped.
Small charities feel the pinch
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) report says smaller charities have to be
smarter than ever to get funding. HIV charities are finding that people are
keener to support animal or cancer charities but celebrity endorsements and
auctions in the HIV charity sector has helped some bridge the widening gap
in fundraising.
OK for Aus tattooists to discriminate
A tattooist in the Australian state of Victoria, who has suffered two needle
stick injuries in the past three years, was told by a Victoria tribunal that
it was not unlawful to refuse to tattoo an HIV and hep C positive man.
Canada ends HIV visa restrictions
Visitors to Canada no longer need to disclose their HIV status on the visa
application form. This means that HIV positive people will be allowed to visit
Canada for next summer’s World Aids Conference in Toronto. But a ban
on HIV positive visitors to the US remains in place and is likely to cause
problems for anyone heading for Chicago for the 2006 Gay Games.
Pressure from Brazil may force drug price cut
Following a decree from Brazil’s President Lula to allow production
of a generic copy of the
antiretroviral protease inhibitor Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir), drug company
Abbott appears close to agreeing to freeze prices for the next six years.
Abbott was charging $1.17 per pill for Kaletra and the Brazilians want a reduction
to 68 cents per pill. Kaletra had worldwide sales of $896 million last
year.
HIV criminalisation grows in Europe
A UNAIDS funded report, entitled ‘Criminalisation of HIV transmission
in Europe’, highlights the growing need for an informed and measured
approach to the widespread criminalisation of HIV transmission. The report,
carried out by the Global Network of HIV Positive People (GNP+) and the Terrence
Higgins Trust (THT) discusses the increasing use of the criminal law in response
to the epidemic. For more details visit www.tht.org.uk.
McDonalds loses HIV bias law suit
A 41-year-old former manager at McDonalds in Akron, Ohio, has won $1/2 million
in damages from the fast-food giant. A jury ruled Russell Rich had been
discriminated against and was forced out of his job after McDonalds learned
he had HIV.
