CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update 07/08/2013

7/8/2013
National News Merck Recalls Hepatitis B Vaccine International News New WHO Guidelines on HIV Treatment and Prevention Medical News Researchers Find a Link Between Ethnicity and Tuberculosis Local and Community News Residents in AIDS Housing Face Budget Cuts Syphilis Cases Rising in Detroit, Driven by Young Men in Their 20s News Briefs Landmark Finding Could Mean Lifesaving HIV Therapy For Millions Rapid Access to Antibiotics Stops Sexually-Transmitted Diseases October AIDS Walk Launched in Beijing	National News Merck Recalls Hepatitis B Vaccine UNITED STATES :: Viral Hepatitis Philly.com (07.05.2013) :: By David Sell On July 3, pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. announced a voluntary recall of 27,020 vials of Recombivax HB, an adult formulation of hepatitis B vaccine. Merck feared some vaccine vials in lot J001183 cracked during the packing process at the company’s West Point, Montgomery County, Pa., plant. The company could not guarantee the vaccine’s sterility if the vials were cracked. Merck Spokesperson Lainie Keller reported the company had corrected the issue and instituted preventive measures. The US Food and Drug Administration Web site also posted notice of the recall. Merck distributed lot J001183 nationwide from March 12 to May 2, but was unable to state which physicians, pharmacies, or wholesalers received the potentially damaged vials. Keller stated that Merck had sufficient inventory on hand to replace the recalled product. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top International News New WHO Guidelines on HIV Treatment and Prevention GLOBAL :: HIV/AIDS Media for Freedom (07.05.2013) :: By Bobby Ramakant During the Seventh IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new HIV treatment and prevention guidelines that recommended offering antiretroviral therapy (ART) to HIV-infected adults whose CD4 cell count fell to 500 cells per cubic millimeter or lower. The guidelines also recommended ART for certain HIV-infected people—children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, partners of uninfected people, those co-infected with hepatitis B, and people with active TB—regardless of CD4 cell count. The guidelines endorsed treating adults, pregnant women, adolescents, and older children with a single, fixed-dose pill containing tenofovir, lamivudine (or emtricitabine), and efavirenz. WHO updated the guidelines to reflect recent evidence that “earlier ART” could help HIV-infected people live longer, healthier lives and reduce HIV transmission substantially. WHO’s 2010 guidelines, adopted by 90 percent of all countries, recommended offering ART at 350 CD4 cells per cubic millimeter or lower. By the end of 2012, approximately 9.7 million people were taking ART. Adoption of the 2013 guidelines might prevent 3 million deaths and 3.5 million new HIV infections between now and 2025. According to Dr. B.B. Rewari from India’s National AIDS Control Organization, the new guidelines will help reduce the gap that exists between the standard of care in developed and developing countries. Ongoing challenges included increasing HIV testing so that more people knew their status, supplying ART to those who required it, and retaining HIV patients in care. Mitchell Warren, spokesperson for the global advocacy organization AVAC, urged a comprehensive, coordinated approach that included all options, including male circumcision, male and female condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis, clean needles for injection drug users, and continuing development of vaccines and HIV microbicides. Other populations that faced barriers to HIV prevention and care included HIV-infected children, men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and injection drug users. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top Medical News Researchers Find a Link Between Ethnicity and Tuberculosis UNITED KINGDOM :: TB Counsel & Heal (07.04.2013) :: By Cheri Cheng A study in the United Kingdom found that people of European and Asian descents had different genetic TB markers compared with people of African descent. All of the participants were living in the United Kingdom. Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) recruited 128 recently diagnosed TB patients. The patients included 45 Africans, 27 Europeans, 55 Asians, and one of mixed European and Asian descent. When the researchers analyzed levels of inflammatory markers measured in blood samples taken prior to treatment, they noted differences in the patients’ immune system responses to TB infection. The researchers found that genetic markers caused the differences among European, Asian, and African participants rather than the strain of TB bacteria. After eight weeks of treatment, the researchers analyzed blood samples of 85 patients from the original cohort. Results showed that after treatment, ethnic variance was more marked than before. Dr. Anna Coussens of NIMR noted that the findings have implications for developing new diagnostic tests that analyze immune response and for identifying candidate biomarkers to measure response to treatment. The researchers believe that the ethnic variance may be tied to a protein that binds to vitamin D. They suggested that results could be helpful in developing targeted TB drug treatments. The full report, “Ethnic Variation in Inflammatory Profile in Tuberculosis,” was published online in the journal PLOS Pathogens (2013; doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003468). Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top Local and Community News Residents in AIDS Housing Face Budget Cuts FLORIDA :: HIV/AIDS Tampa Bay Online (07.07.2013) With the help of the federal government, an individual has managed to live with HIV for the past 16 years by using Social Security disability insurance. In doing so, however, he lost his job as a registered nurse. The 21-year-old federal Housing for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program has helped to pay 70 percent of his rent at Francis House, a 23-year-old AIDS charity. Cuts to HOPWA, however, will cause Tampa residents, like this man, to live with less in 2014; the city will lose almost $400,000 from this housing allocation in the next year, which is approximately 12 percent of the $3.2 million it received in 2013. The loss will affect Catholic Charities, Francis House, and other organizations that help people living with AIDS. Francis House Director Joy Winheim noted, “We've had cuts every one of the eight years I've been here." US Department of Housing and Urban Development Spokesperson Brian Sullivan explained that budget cuts known as sequestration caused the reduction. In addition, HOPWA added three new cities to the program, which meant that existing funds had to stretch further. The cuts will greatly affect Francis House, which gets approximately 33 percent of its $800,000 budget from HOPWA. Catholic Charities’ HIV/AIDS Program Manager Tomi Steinruck stated that she has reduced administrative costs to better concentrate on her 280 clients. She was not sure how long she could continue to do that with these funding losses, however. Both Steinruck and Winheim stressed that private fundraising was difficult, because even though HIV first appeared 30 years ago, many still stigmatized it. Winheim said that Francis House was expanding its crowded office by adding a two-story counseling center. The expansion project received federal support during the past three years, and Francis House raised money on its own. However, they were still $200,000 short of paying for the project and feared It would become even more difficult to reach its goal, as the Tampa Housing Authority planned to reduce 400 Section 8 housing vouchers from its program to match cuts in its federal support. The housing authority set aside approximately 70 of those vouchers each year for people with HIV/AIDS. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top   Syphilis Cases Rising in Detroit, Driven by Young Men in Their 20s MICHIGAN :: STDs Detroit Free Press (07.07.2013) :: By Robin Erb Detroit and state health authorities are launching a campaign to alert the public about the increase in syphilis, which is spreading among a much younger age group in the city. Health officials are planning radio- and billboard-based public awareness efforts and are working with community groups to raise awareness about testing and treatment. The city reports approximately 100 cases of primary and secondary syphilis each year, but the number is increasing. Detroit reported 123 cases in 2012 and 82 by May 31 this year. Health officials held a similar campaign in 2008 after a syphilis outbreak in Genesee County, and in 2001–2002 when Detroit had a prior increase. The recent increase is among black men in their 20s who have sex with men. The cases are not located in specific ZIP codes as before, but throughout the city. Epidemiologist Liz Shane stated that interviews failed to narrow the disease to a single individual and noted that approximately one-fourth of those infected said they met their sexual partners online. Approximately one-half of those infected with syphilis in Detroit were also diagnosed with HIV. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top News Briefs Landmark Finding Could Mean Lifesaving HIV Therapy For Millions GLOBAL :: HIV/AIDS Digital Journal (07.05.2013) :: By Kathleen Blanchard Australian researchers from the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) presented findings at the International AIDS Society Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showing that a lower dose of an HIV drug was effective in keeping the virus suppressed. The investigators followed 630 HIV-positive individuals from 13 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and Latin America for a year. Half of the study participants took one-third less of the antiretroviral drug efavirenz and the other half took a standard dose of the drug. The study results found that taking one-third less of the drug adequately suppressed the virus without any side effects. According to Sean Emery, UNSW professor, protocol chairperson of the study, and head of the therapeutic and vaccine research program at the Kirby Institute, the study findings have the potential to affect the treatment of millions of HIV positive people—more individuals could receive treatment for the same amount of funding. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top   Rapid Access to Antibiotics Stops Sexually-Transmitted Diseases UNITED STATES :: STDs News Fix (07.07.2013) :: By Martin March Gonorrhea and chlamydia are two common STDs passed back and forth between partners and potentially to others unless individuals are treated with antibiotics. However, a Johns Hopkins University team tested infected partners and found that when they received immediate access to antibiotics directly at the pharmacy, the rate of re-infection was 68 percent less for gonorrhea and 18 percent less for chlamydia. Most states currently require that individuals have a medical examination before receiving antibiotics. Those who are infected then are supposed to inform their partners and have them see a healthcare provider. In many cases this is not happening, perhaps leading to the high rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia currently being seen. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top   October AIDS Walk Launched in Beijing CHINA :: HIV/AIDS China Daily (Africa) (07.05.2013) :: By Zhang Yue Representatives of the China Population Welfare Foundation, UNAIDS China Office, and civil organizations attended a ceremony in Sanlitun, Beijing, on July 4, at which they announced plans for an AIDS walk to raise funds. Movie star Xu Qing also attended the ceremony as ambassador for the event, which attracted 120 hikers in 2012. The walk will take place October 13 on the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall in Hebei province. According to Guy Taylor of the UNAIDS China Office, the event will combat discrimination against patients and help raise public awareness about HIV/AIDS. Applications for the event and information are available online. Read Full Article Share this Article Back to Top
The CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention provides the above information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, other sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. The above summaries were prepared without conducting any additional research or investigation into the facts and statements made in the articles being summarized, and therefore readers are expressly cautioned against relying on the validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summaries. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted above for full texts of the articles. The Prevention News Update electronic mailing list is maintained by the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Regular postings include the Prevention News Update, select articles from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series, and announcements about new NPIN products and services.

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