CDC

CDC official Dr. Amy Lansky announced today at a plenary session of the National HIV Prevention Conference the CDC's finding that gay men and other MSM have AIDS at a rate more than 50 times (that's right, FIFTY TIMES) greater than women and non-gay/bi men.  This confirms in emphatic terms that of all the disparities and disproportionate impacts in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the greatest one is the extraordinarily disproportionate impact on gay and bisexual men (MSM) -- of all races and ethnicities, though the most disproportionate impact is on African American gay, bi and other MSM. 

As the CDC 's incidence estimates released last year revealed, MSM constitute more than half of all new cases of HIV and are the group in which the number of new cases each continues to slowly increase. What's new today is that the CDC has calculated *rates* of HIV/AIDS prevalence among MSM, not just raw numbers. Lansky says the CDC estimates that there were 692.2 new HIV cases in 2007 per 100,000 MSM. Having a rate as well as the raw numbers allows comparisons for the first time to other population groups at risk, such as women and heterosexual men.
 read more »

Today at the National HIV Prevention Conference, the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance released two new position statements:

 

Current Conditions Challenge Anti-HIV Efforts, Threatening Potential Prevention Progress 

Ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. will be built upon multiple pillars: a comprehensive,
national approach that strengthens HIV prevention, healthcare, housing, research, and the
protection of civil and human rights. Without a strong, national commitment to a full array of
needed strategies, HIV prevention efforts are unlikely to succeed in reducing new HIV
infections.

Click here for PDF

 

 A Call for CDC Action on HIV Prevention Justice

Leading public health officials and community activists agree - we need a paradigm shift in HIV prevention research and policy to inform and improve our practices if we are to turn the tide of HIV transmission.

The HIV PJA recognizes and insists on the need for full-government investment and involvement in HIV prevention. However, we come to the 2009 NHPC to issue a strong and distinct call for CDC leadership as the cornerstone agency of science-based public and preventive health in our nation.  Simply put, CDC must build the demand for HIV prevention across all communities and sectors needed in this fight against HIV/AIDS.

Click here for PDF

(cross posted at RH Reality Check)

By Julie Davids and David Ernesto Munar

ATLANTA (Aug 23)-As members of the new Administration opentheir first federal scientific gathering on HIV/AIDS six-months into the Presidencyof Barack Obama, they face a mix of high expectations and serious challengesfacing HIV-fighting efforts in the U.S. AIDS advocates are poised to assess the course on HIV/AIDS charted by theAdministration and attempt to apply their influence.

More than 3,000 scientists, service providers, publicofficials and advocates have joined in downtown Atlanta for the NationalConference on HIV Prevention (NHPC)sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Withthe newly appointed heads of the Department of Health and Human Services,Kathleen Sebelius, and CDC Director Tom Frieden welcoming delegates tomorrow,the conference opened tonight with a panel of speakers who are all living withHIV, including Magic Johnson and a member of this reporting team, David ErnestoMunar of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (see his remarks here)

The conference marks just over a year since CDC officials,presented at the International Conference on AIDS in Mexico City,unveiled stark new data suggesting the annual number of HIV infections in theU.S. is 40 percent higher than previously estimated, with African Americansshouldering the greatest number of new cases and rates still on the rise amonggay and bisexual men of all races. Based on its new calculations, CDC says that an estimated 56,300 peoplebecome infected with HIV each year, far greater than the long-standing, priorestimate of 40,000 annual infections.  read more »

HIV prevention providers and advocates are prepared to usethe conference to highlight a range of economic and political issues hamperinganti-HIV efforts, calling for a greater focus on prevention work through effortsto strengthen the "pillars" of a comprehensive, combination approach groundedin healthcare access; integration and expansion of voluntary HIV testing,prevention and treatment; and long-overdue attention to social inequalitiesthat can further the spread of the epidemic. And they are seeking to determine, and influence, whatrelative priority HIV-fighting efforts will have for this Administration in themidst of many competing challenges.

Why: The Senate will begin debate next week on the Economic Recovery bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives this week. The Senate bill includes $400 million in funding for HIV and STD screening and prevention. (The House version is $335 million and includes TB and Viral Hepatitis as well. We will call for inclusion of those diseases in conference). We must make certain the funding remains in the bill.

56,300 new HIV infections occur annually
One state plans to close all STD clinics due to budget cuts
More than 680 jobs have been lost in TB control programs in last three years
At least 3 million Americans are chronically infected with hepatitis C
25% of the current public health care workforce is eligible to retire in 2012
The money should be sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention to address the four most common infectious diseases in the U.S. Adjusted for inflation, CDC's HIV prevention budget alone has decreased by 19.3% since fiscal year 2002. Explain to the Administration and the Senators that prevention funding is critical to the health and well-being of the country.  read more »

 

Last week, as I sat through a day and a half of CDC-sponsored expert consultation on anti-HIV therapy and transmission risk, listening to data on things like the biology of sexual transmission, pharmacology in the genital tract, viral loads and semen, and viral loads and vaginal secretions, the butt-cheeks of bias were spread before me and the gaping hole of neglect revealed.

It’s not like I didn’t know this already.  I subscribe and contribute to lifelube.org, I’m a member of the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA), and I’m an active member of CHAMP’s Prevention Research Advocacy Working Group (PRAWG).  But frankly my ass is chapped.  Hearing one presenter casually refer to anal intercourse as having a twenty-fold higher transmission risk than vaginal intercourse and others repeatedly quip that there is little or no corresponding data regarding rectal / anal anything, I had a barely resistible urge to bend over and moon the podium, screaming.  read more »

CDC has announced its upcoming announcement of new incidence numbers that will show that rates of HIV in the United States are higher than previously estimated. Their "Dear Colleague" letter is below:  read more »

On Wednesday July 9th, CHAMP held a community forum entitled Latin@ Lives and the Next Generation of HIV Prevention: Policies, Politics and Research. The forum was moderated by Gina Arias of Housing Works and featured four captivating panelists: Dennis deLeon of Latino Commission on AIDS, Johnny Guaylupo of Housing Works, Camila Gelpi-Acosta of National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI), and Joyce Rivera of St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction. Following the four presentations, the panelists fielded many challenging questions from the audience.

Latino/Hispanic HIV/AIDS Federal Policy Recommendations  read more »

Today the New York Times published a batch of letters responding to their editorial on rising HIV rates in young gay men. Since they didn't publish CHAMP's letter, I thought i'd do it here (This is why we love the Internet!)

The January 14th editorial, “HIV Rises in Young Gay Men,” spent a lot of energy blaming 19-year olds, and ignored core issues that hamper effective prevention efforts.

A recent Journal of Adolescent Health study counted youth homelessness as a major factor in HIV risk. The New York City Council commissioned a 2007 report showing that one-third of all homeless youth in NYC were gay.

Congress continues to bankroll abstinence-only education programs in spite of the proven increase risk behavior they cause. Though the HIV epidemic grows worse in black and Latino communities, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) budget has remained stagnant for a decade.

We still have no national HIV prevention plan, 27 years into the epidemic.

Young gay men are not to blame for the profound failure of government to provide comprehensive HIV prevention—nor for the media’s continued ignorance of the root causes of HIV.
 read more »