Prevention news

CARIBBEAN: Region’s Response to AIDS Still Slow

Experts at the sixth annual American Chiefs of Mission Conference on HIV/AIDS in New Kingston said progress against the disease in the Caribbean region remains frustratingly slow.

“Despite encouraging signs, our programs are fragmented and uncoordinated,” said Dr. Peter Figueroa, Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS at Jamaica’s Ministry of Health. “There is still concern among high-risk persons.”

The Caribbean is second only to sub-Saharan Africa in its HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. According to figures from the US Agency for International Development, around 250,000 people in the region are living with HIV/AIDS, most of them in Haiti, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. In 2006, the Caribbean recorded 19,000 AIDS deaths.

 Figueroa said AIDS ignorance persists in the region, causing those living with the disease to face discrimination. Another problem for regional health officials is unsafe sex in the tourist sector, which sees 20 million people traveling to the Caribbean annually.

In Jamaica, the Ministry of Health reports 23,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.

At the meeting’s start, Prime Minister Bruce Golding urged schools and parents to be proactive in educating young Jamaicans about HIV/AIDS. “We have to do away with this prudish notion that sexual awareness is something we must hide from our children,” he said. “We have got to start talking to our children from an early age.” (Jamaica Gleaner ‘€“ Kingston)

 

AUSTRALIA: Most Hepatitis C sufferers failing to access cure

Hepatitis Australia recently reported that fewer than 2 percent of Australians with hepatitis C virus (HCV) receive treatment for the disease.

Many people, including physicians, do not know enough about the treatment, which can clear HCV from 50-80 percent of patients, or they are daunted by reports of treatment side effects, said Helen McNeill, president of the group.

Of the 260,000 Australians with HCV, only about 3,500 are undergoing treatment, said McNeill. And only about 12 percent of Australians polled knew HCV could be treated said the group, which released its poll to coincide with National Hepatitis C Awareness Week.

“A lot of [general practitioners] aren’t as informed about the treatment as they should be,” said McNeill. “Or perhaps they had a patient on it who had a nasty time and so don’t refer their patients to a specialist.”

Patients may also steer clear of treatment due to disease-related stigma – about 83 percent of patients contracted HCV through injection drug use. HCV is the leading cause of liver transplants, and the disease kills about 5 percent of those infected.

McNeill acknowledged the decision to undergo treatment should not be taken lightly, since it lasts six to 12 months. “Certainly the side effects can be very nasty. [but they] are better managed these days than they used to be.” She emphasized that a change last year to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme meant most people with HCV can depend on the government to subsidize their treatment. (Jane Bunce, Australian Associated Press)

 

UNITED KINGDOM: Sex issue put to bed

At the recent Labor Party conference, questions arose over what organizers will do to prevent STD transmission during the 2012 Olympics in London. The “most common participant sport, even though no medals will be awarded, will be sex,” said Lisa Power, policy head at the Terrence Higgins Trust. One legacy of the Sydney Olympics, she said, was a syphilis epidemic. The condom maker Durex said it is willing to supply free condoms to the Olympic Village, which will be home to 15,000 athletes during the games. (Matt Scott, The Guardian (London))

http://www.cdcnpin.org

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    Health-e News is South Africa's dedicated health news service and home to OurHealth citizen journalism. Follow us on Twitter @HealtheNews

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