HIV Vaccine Ready for Human Tests

An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed in Canada has passed safety tests in animals and the researchers are awaiting approval to begin human trials in the U.S.

"It is a very important milestone for us," said Yong Kang, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Ontario in London who has been working on the vaccine for 20 years.

Kang said he expects to get the go-ahead soon from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human toxicology tests and two phases of clinical trials in the United States.

If all three trials are successful, the vaccine should be available within the next decade, Kang told CBC News on the phone while attending a meeting in South Korea.

According to a 2008 United Nations report on the global AIDS epidemic, 33 million people were living with HIV in 2007. Two million people died of causes related to the disease that year.

Dozens of HIV vaccines have already been developed and tested in animal models, but few have been tested in humans, none successfully. A promising trial in 2007 by pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. was shut down after those receiving the vaccine contracted HIV at a higher rate than those who received the placebo.

Kang has partnered with a Curacom, a South Korean holding company, that has agreed to open an office in London, Ont., to help fund research in Kang's lab and commercialize the vaccine.

A test vaccine is being manufactured in a lab in Maryland near Washington, D.C.

Lab tests showed the vaccine produced no adverse effects or safety risks during immunology tests on animals.

The toxicology tests are expected to include 40 to 50 HIV-positive volunteers in the U.S., and will be designed to test whether the vaccine is toxic in humans.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/07/01/health-canadian-aids-hiv-vaccine-kang.html

Chicago Gay Men Unaware of HIV Poz Status

More than 17 percent of gay men in Chicago have HIV, and 39 percent went untested in the last 12 months because of fear of the results, according to a study of nearly 600 gay men in the city by the Chicago Department of Health, the Chi-Town Daily News reports. The study also found that gay black men had an infection rate that was more than twice the rates of gay white and Hispanic men. Jim Pickett, director of advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, said the findings indicate that, "We need to incorporate HIV into a broader or more holistic framework (covering) gay men's health needs from top to toe." The city will formally release the study’s results next week (Parker, Chi-Town Daily News, 6/2).

HIV Cases Among Women in Wisconsin Increasing

While the number of new cases of HIV in Wisconsin has stabilized over the last decade, women now represent more of the overall number of cases, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports (AP/Chicago Tribune, 6/2). According to Mike Gifford, CEO of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW), 21 percent of new infections are women, compared with 16 percent in the 1990s and 6 percent in the1980s. Gifford says that women need to be better informed about their risk of contracting HIV. Christina Colon, ARCW's associate director of prevention, said the organization is targeting women's health fairs to raise awareness (Simonson, Wisconsin Public Radio, 6/1).

HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign in Western North Carolina Addresses Stigma

The Western North Carolina AIDS Project recently launched a media campaign that seeks to raise awareness about the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and its effect on those living with the virus, as well as the community, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. The "I Need You to Know" campaign, which will include a set of commercials featuring area residents talking about HIV/AIDS, will serve as a starting point for other prevention efforts (Boyd, Asheville Citizen-Times, 6/3).

Washington, D.C. Officials To Boost HIV Awareness Efforts

The Washington, D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) will increase its HIV-related media efforts targeting those at risk for the virus amid a recent finding by the agency that 3% of the district's residents are living with HIV/AIDS, the Washington Post reports. Mayor Adrian Fenty recently committed $500,000 annually for a five-year marketing campaign, Shannon Hader, director of HAA said. Advertising experts say that millions more would be needed in order for the agency to have an "effective" campaign, or that local media, billboard companies and the district's Metro system need to provide more free advertising space, according to the Post. Next month HAA plans to announce a campaign targeting heterosexual couples that will encourage HIV testing (Fears, Washington Post, 6/2).

California HIV Services Center Forced To Close

Declining private and public financial support has forced Vital Life Services, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that provided support, case management, mental health counseling and other services to roughly 400 low-income and homeless clients with HIV, to shut down, the Oakland Tribune reports. According to the Tribune, the 25-year-old center -- which also provided "unique" services such as daily meals and emergency housing assistance -- "has become a victim of the recession" (Burt, Oakland Tribune, 5/30).

New York Lawmakers Should Pass Bill Capping Amount Low-Income Residents With HIV Pay for Housing, Columnist Says

Some New York City residents with HIV pay as much as 70% of their income on housing because of the financial assistance they receive through the New York City HIV/AIDS Services Administration, New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis writes. According to Louis, lawmakers should pass a bill that would cap the rent contribution of low-income people with HIV/AIDS at 30% of their income, "the standard used for most rent-subsidy programs." The bill is currently before the state’s Assembly Ways and Means Committee. Louis adds that ensuring that people living with HIV are in "stable housing … makes them less likely to run up big taxpayer bills by using public hospital emergency rooms for basic health care." He concludes, "Albany has a choice: do what's cheap and quick in the short run, or do what makes long-term sense and saves lives" (Louis, New York Daily News, 5/31).