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chrissie
FYI...
-----Original Message-----
From: AIDS_ASIA [mailto:AIDS_ASIA@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Monday, 14 February 2005 3:29 PM
To: link not working so taken down
Subject: [AIDS_ASIA] New Virulent Strain of HIV Virus (3-DCR HIV)
reported
Importance: High
New York City: Gay man catches super HIV, no treatment works Press
Release
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office of
Communications: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Friday, February 11, 2005
*****
NEW YORK CITY - February 11, 2005 - A highly resistant strain of rapidly
progressive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been diagnosed for
the first time in a New York City resident who had not previously
undergone antiviral drug treatment, according to the Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The strain of three-class
antiretroviral-resistant HIV - or 3-DCR HIV - does not respond to three
classes of anti-retroviral medication, and also appears to greatly
shorten the interval between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS.
The patient is a male in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex
partners and unprotected anal intercourse, often while using crystal
methamphetamine (crystal meth). He was first diagnosed with HIV in
December 2004 and appears to have been recently infected. The diagnosis
of 3-DCR HIV was made shortly thereafter at the Aaron Diamond AIDS
Research Center. Since then, the patient has developed AIDS. DOHMH is
counseling and offering HIV testing to those contacts of the patient who
have been identified.
While drug resistance is increasingly common among patients who have
been treated for HIV, cases of 3-DCR HIV in newly-diagnosed, previously
untreated patients are extremely rare, and the combination of this
pattern of drug resistance and rapid progression to AIDS may not have
been seen previously.
Strains of 3-DCR HIV are resistant to three of the four available types
of antiviral drugs that are most commonly prescribed:
nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors. This strain also
caused a rapid onset of AIDS, which usually occurs more than ten years
after initial infection with HIV. In this patient's case, onset of AIDS
appears to have occurred within two to three months, and at most 20
months, after HIV infection.
Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH said, "This case is a
wake-up call. First, it's a wake up call to men who have sex with men,
particularly those who may use crystal methamphetamine. Not only are we
seeing syphilis and a rare sexually transmitted disease -
lymphogranuloma venereum - among these men, now we've identified this
strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears
to progress rapidly to AIDS. This community successfully reduced its
risk of HIV in the 1980s, and it must do so again to stop the
devastation of HIV/AIDS and the spread of drug-resistant strains.
Second, doctors in New York City must increase HIV prevention
counseling, increase HIV testing, obtain drug susceptibility testing for
patients testing HIV-positive who have not yet been treated, improve
adherence to antiretroviral treatment, and improve notification of
partners of HIV-infected patients. Third, the public health community
has to improve our monitoring of both HIV treatment and of HIV drug
resistance, and we have to implement prevention strategies that work."
The Health Department recently issued a Health Alert to physicians,
hospitals and other medical providers asking them to test all previously
untreated patients newly diagnosed cases for anti-HIV drug
susceptibility.
The Department is monitoring laboratories for additional cases of 3-DCR
HIV in newly diagnosed persons. DOHMH is also working with New York
State to establish a long-term system for monitoring drug resistance in
HIV-positive patients who have not yet undergone treatment.
Dr. Frieden added, "Patients who are on treatment for HIV/AIDS and are
doing well do not need susceptibility testing unless advised to by their
physician."
REMARKS BY MEDICAL AND COMMUNITY LEADERS Dr. David Ho, CEO and Director
of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, said "This patient's
infection with an HIV-1 strain that is not amenable to standard
antiretroviral therapy, along with his rapid clinical and immunological
deterioration, is alarming. While this remains a single case, it is
prudent to closely watch for any additional possible cases while
continuing to emphasize the importance of reducing HIV risk behavior."
"The rapidly growing crystal meth epidemic in New York city continues to
play a significant role in facilitating the transmission of HIV. In
light of the emergence of this virulent new strain, health care
providers must be especially vigilant in not only recognizing and
diagnosing HIV infection, but also in recognizing the signs and symptoms
of crystal methamphetamine use in their patients," said Dr. Antonio
Urbina, Medical Director of HIV education and training, at St. Vincent's
Catholic Medical Center.
"Callen-Lorde is deeply concerned about this newly identified case of
multiple drug resistant HIV," said Jay Laudato, Executive Director of
the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. "We urge all persons, both HIV
negative and positive, to only engage in safer sex practices in order to
prevent new infections or re-infection. For those persons who don't know
their status, we urge HIV testing and obtaining the information and
support necessary to reduce their risk for HIV infection. We also ask
all gay and bisexual men to become knowledgeable about the dangers of
crystal methamphetamine and in particular its relationship to sexual
risk taking."
Dr. James Braun, President of the Physicians Research Network, said "We
believe that the transmission of treatment-resistant HIV was a disaster
waiting to happen, particularly in communities where safer sex is not
practiced regularly and in light of people using drugs like crystal
meth.
All primary care providers in acute care settings need to know how to
diagnose HIV in its earliest stages and where to refer people so that
new infections are properly worked up and treated."
"HIV prevention is an ongoing process," said Ana Oliveira, Executive
Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis. We have to double our efforts and
resources to maintain treatment and prevention education for people who
are infected as well as for those who are not. New Yorkers must be
vigilant and know that infection with resistant strains of HIV can be
avoided. People living with HIV can live healthy and satisfying lives by
protecting themselves and their partners, regardless of HIV status."
Tokes M. Osubu, Executive Director of Gay Men of African Descent, said,
"This is the news we have all been fearing. While the recent advances in
HIV treatment have led to the improvement of countless lives, we have
always known that many people respond poorly to these therapies and for
many others, the side effects are devastating. Continued education about
staying safe and avoiding HIV remains our most potent weapon."
Dr. Jay Dobkin, Director of the AIDS Program at Columbia University
Medical Center, said, "This case is a striking reminder that the risk of
getting infected with HIV has not gone away. In fact, risky behavior may
be even more dangerous now since there is a chance of infection with a
virus we may not be able to treat."
"This case should drive home the point that substance use can lead to
unsafe sex, and unsafe sex can lead to infection with a highly
drug-resistant strain of HIV that can be extraordinarily difficult to
treat and may cause rapid progression to AIDS," said Roy M. Gulick, MD,
Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in
Manhattan.
Dr. Jack DeHovitz, Professor at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center said,
"This finding supports the need for enhanced availability of HIV
testing, as well as preventive interventions, which are effective in
reducing subsequent HIV transmission."
Know Your HIV Status There is an epidemic of HIV and AIDS in New York
City: more than 88,000 New Yorkers are known to be living with HIV/AIDS,
and an estimated 20,000 more are believed to be living with HIV/AIDS and
don't know it.
By knowing your HIV status, you can protect yourself, anyone you are
having sex with, and, if you are pregnant or planning pregnancy, your
baby. Free and fully confidential STD exams and treatment, as well as
confidential or anonymous HIV testing, are available at Health
Department clinics throughout New York City.
Health insurance, proof of citizenship and/or parental consent are not
required to receive these services. Please call 311 or visit HYPERLINK
"http://www.nyc.gov/health"http://www.nyc.gov/health for a list of
clinics and hours of operation.
___________________________________
[AIDS_ASIA]AIDS Analysis Asia Pacific e News letter. An e FORUM for peer
to peer cross cultural discourse on HIV/AIDS issues and concerns of
people from Asia- Pacific region. Web page:
link not working so taken down
-----Original Message-----
From: AIDS_ASIA [mailto:AIDS_ASIA@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Monday, 14 February 2005 3:29 PM
To: link not working so taken down
Subject: [AIDS_ASIA] New Virulent Strain of HIV Virus (3-DCR HIV)
reported
Importance: High
New York City: Gay man catches super HIV, no treatment works Press
Release
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office of
Communications: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Friday, February 11, 2005
*****
NEW YORK CITY - February 11, 2005 - A highly resistant strain of rapidly
progressive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been diagnosed for
the first time in a New York City resident who had not previously
undergone antiviral drug treatment, according to the Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The strain of three-class
antiretroviral-resistant HIV - or 3-DCR HIV - does not respond to three
classes of anti-retroviral medication, and also appears to greatly
shorten the interval between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS.
The patient is a male in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex
partners and unprotected anal intercourse, often while using crystal
methamphetamine (crystal meth). He was first diagnosed with HIV in
December 2004 and appears to have been recently infected. The diagnosis
of 3-DCR HIV was made shortly thereafter at the Aaron Diamond AIDS
Research Center. Since then, the patient has developed AIDS. DOHMH is
counseling and offering HIV testing to those contacts of the patient who
have been identified.
While drug resistance is increasingly common among patients who have
been treated for HIV, cases of 3-DCR HIV in newly-diagnosed, previously
untreated patients are extremely rare, and the combination of this
pattern of drug resistance and rapid progression to AIDS may not have
been seen previously.
Strains of 3-DCR HIV are resistant to three of the four available types
of antiviral drugs that are most commonly prescribed:
nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors. This strain also
caused a rapid onset of AIDS, which usually occurs more than ten years
after initial infection with HIV. In this patient's case, onset of AIDS
appears to have occurred within two to three months, and at most 20
months, after HIV infection.
Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH said, "This case is a
wake-up call. First, it's a wake up call to men who have sex with men,
particularly those who may use crystal methamphetamine. Not only are we
seeing syphilis and a rare sexually transmitted disease -
lymphogranuloma venereum - among these men, now we've identified this
strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears
to progress rapidly to AIDS. This community successfully reduced its
risk of HIV in the 1980s, and it must do so again to stop the
devastation of HIV/AIDS and the spread of drug-resistant strains.
Second, doctors in New York City must increase HIV prevention
counseling, increase HIV testing, obtain drug susceptibility testing for
patients testing HIV-positive who have not yet been treated, improve
adherence to antiretroviral treatment, and improve notification of
partners of HIV-infected patients. Third, the public health community
has to improve our monitoring of both HIV treatment and of HIV drug
resistance, and we have to implement prevention strategies that work."
The Health Department recently issued a Health Alert to physicians,
hospitals and other medical providers asking them to test all previously
untreated patients newly diagnosed cases for anti-HIV drug
susceptibility.
The Department is monitoring laboratories for additional cases of 3-DCR
HIV in newly diagnosed persons. DOHMH is also working with New York
State to establish a long-term system for monitoring drug resistance in
HIV-positive patients who have not yet undergone treatment.
Dr. Frieden added, "Patients who are on treatment for HIV/AIDS and are
doing well do not need susceptibility testing unless advised to by their
physician."
REMARKS BY MEDICAL AND COMMUNITY LEADERS Dr. David Ho, CEO and Director
of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, said "This patient's
infection with an HIV-1 strain that is not amenable to standard
antiretroviral therapy, along with his rapid clinical and immunological
deterioration, is alarming. While this remains a single case, it is
prudent to closely watch for any additional possible cases while
continuing to emphasize the importance of reducing HIV risk behavior."
"The rapidly growing crystal meth epidemic in New York city continues to
play a significant role in facilitating the transmission of HIV. In
light of the emergence of this virulent new strain, health care
providers must be especially vigilant in not only recognizing and
diagnosing HIV infection, but also in recognizing the signs and symptoms
of crystal methamphetamine use in their patients," said Dr. Antonio
Urbina, Medical Director of HIV education and training, at St. Vincent's
Catholic Medical Center.
"Callen-Lorde is deeply concerned about this newly identified case of
multiple drug resistant HIV," said Jay Laudato, Executive Director of
the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. "We urge all persons, both HIV
negative and positive, to only engage in safer sex practices in order to
prevent new infections or re-infection. For those persons who don't know
their status, we urge HIV testing and obtaining the information and
support necessary to reduce their risk for HIV infection. We also ask
all gay and bisexual men to become knowledgeable about the dangers of
crystal methamphetamine and in particular its relationship to sexual
risk taking."
Dr. James Braun, President of the Physicians Research Network, said "We
believe that the transmission of treatment-resistant HIV was a disaster
waiting to happen, particularly in communities where safer sex is not
practiced regularly and in light of people using drugs like crystal
meth.
All primary care providers in acute care settings need to know how to
diagnose HIV in its earliest stages and where to refer people so that
new infections are properly worked up and treated."
"HIV prevention is an ongoing process," said Ana Oliveira, Executive
Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis. We have to double our efforts and
resources to maintain treatment and prevention education for people who
are infected as well as for those who are not. New Yorkers must be
vigilant and know that infection with resistant strains of HIV can be
avoided. People living with HIV can live healthy and satisfying lives by
protecting themselves and their partners, regardless of HIV status."
Tokes M. Osubu, Executive Director of Gay Men of African Descent, said,
"This is the news we have all been fearing. While the recent advances in
HIV treatment have led to the improvement of countless lives, we have
always known that many people respond poorly to these therapies and for
many others, the side effects are devastating. Continued education about
staying safe and avoiding HIV remains our most potent weapon."
Dr. Jay Dobkin, Director of the AIDS Program at Columbia University
Medical Center, said, "This case is a striking reminder that the risk of
getting infected with HIV has not gone away. In fact, risky behavior may
be even more dangerous now since there is a chance of infection with a
virus we may not be able to treat."
"This case should drive home the point that substance use can lead to
unsafe sex, and unsafe sex can lead to infection with a highly
drug-resistant strain of HIV that can be extraordinarily difficult to
treat and may cause rapid progression to AIDS," said Roy M. Gulick, MD,
Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in
Manhattan.
Dr. Jack DeHovitz, Professor at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center said,
"This finding supports the need for enhanced availability of HIV
testing, as well as preventive interventions, which are effective in
reducing subsequent HIV transmission."
Know Your HIV Status There is an epidemic of HIV and AIDS in New York
City: more than 88,000 New Yorkers are known to be living with HIV/AIDS,
and an estimated 20,000 more are believed to be living with HIV/AIDS and
don't know it.
By knowing your HIV status, you can protect yourself, anyone you are
having sex with, and, if you are pregnant or planning pregnancy, your
baby. Free and fully confidential STD exams and treatment, as well as
confidential or anonymous HIV testing, are available at Health
Department clinics throughout New York City.
Health insurance, proof of citizenship and/or parental consent are not
required to receive these services. Please call 311 or visit HYPERLINK
"http://www.nyc.gov/health"http://www.nyc.gov/health for a list of
clinics and hours of operation.
___________________________________
[AIDS_ASIA]AIDS Analysis Asia Pacific e News letter. An e FORUM for peer
to peer cross cultural discourse on HIV/AIDS issues and concerns of
people from Asia- Pacific region. Web page:
link not working so taken down
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