THE TORONTO STAR Wednesday, May 10, 2000 AIDS treatment funding sought Activists want virus-killing gels developed
By SUE BAILEY OTTAWA - A potentially huge breakthrough to prevent HIV infection through sex is being ignored by governments, say AIDS activists and a medical expert. Vaginal and rectal gels, creams or other substances called microbicides would kill or neutralize the virus causing AIDS, they said yesterday. "A number of lead products have already been developed that have absolutely great potential," said Dr. Mark Wainberg, director of the McGill University AIDS Centre and president of the International AIDS Society. "The pharmaceutical industry and the governments of countries around the world have failed to realize the importance of this ... research." As a result, money needed to quickly develop such products has not been committed in Canada or elsewhere, Wainberg said. He's encouraged that the World Bank recently committed to buy microbicides and give them to potential AIDS victims in the developing world. Otherwise, many people could not afford costs of $1 (U.S.) a dose and profits would be vastly undercut, said Wainberg. Microbicides would be used by men and women before intercourse to prevent infection. Health Canada and other departments are seeking funds for microbicide research, but no money has been committed, said government spokesperson Tara Madigan. There's no time to waste, Wainberg said. "On an international scale" HIV will become the world’s leading cause of death within the next three to five years." Canadian HIV infection rates are rising - especially among injection drug users and aboriginals - but increases among women are too often ignored, AIDS activists said.* [see comments on statistics below] The number of women testing positive for HIV reached almost 24 per cent of all Canadian cases in 1999, compared with 18.5 per cent in 1995 and more than double infection rates in the late 1980s, Health Canada reports. ** Most women were exposed through injection drug use, heterosexual sex and blood or blood products. And the death rates, says Health Canada, are rising. *** Yet there's a "shocking and shameful lack of research in every aspect of treatment relevant to women," said Louise Binder, an AIDS activist with the Canadian Treatment Advocates Council. The 51-year-old lawyer was diagnosed with HIV two years after separating from the husband she says infected her. He later died of AIDS. Binder called on Ottawa and drug companies to pay for separate drug trials for women and expand women-specific research. This and other issues are on the agenda for the first national conference on women and HIV-AIDS May 25-28 in Toronto, she said.
* Health Canada reports: Number of positive HIV test reports: 1995/2,989 1996/2,783 1997/2,537 1998/2,330 1999/2,231. " The proportion of positive HIV reports has also increased among injection drug users, from 8.9% (of all adult positive HIV test reports for which exposure category was known) during 1985-1994 to 29.8% in 1995 and 33.0% in 1997 (Table 4C). For 1998 and 1999, the proportion of positive HIV test reports in this exposure category declined slightly to 28.4% and 28.3%, respectively." Here are their stats for positive HIV test reports for IDUsers: 1995/457(29.8%) 1996/499(33.8%) 1997/434(33.0%) 1998/329(28.4%) 1999/315(28.3%). Note that actual numbers of cases dropped 37% between 1996 and 1999. “The second trend to note is the increase in the proportion of Aboriginal persons among AIDS case, from 3.4% in 1995 to 7.1% in 1997 and to 14.4% in 1999.” Actual numbers of Aboriginal cases: 1995/46 1997/41 1999/34. A 25% drop. ** Health Canada reports: "As of December 31, 1999, adult women account for 13.0% of cumulative positive HIV test reports for which age and gender are known. The proportion of positive HIV test reports among adult women is increasing. In 1999, adult females accounted for 24.3% (512/2106) of positive HIV tests among all adults. In 1998, 21.7% of all adult positive test reports for which gender was known were among women. In 1997, the corresponding figure was 19.8%" Here are their numbers of positive HIV test reports for females: 1995/530 1996/543 1997/455 1998/497 1999/543. *** Health Canada reports: “From highs exceeding 1,400 reported AIDS deaths per year in 1994 and 1995, there were only 249 and 106 AIDS deaths reported in 1998 and 1999, respectively. This is a dramatic difference, even taking into account that these numbers are not adjusted for reporting delay." The LCDC does not report AIDS deaths by gender, but female AIDS cases reported were: 1995/141 1996/127 1997/95 1998/87 1999/42. A drop of 71%. HIV-AIDS mortality among women aged 25 to 44 "appears to be approaching the levels associated with other leading causes of death in this age group, such as heart disease (about two deaths for every 100,000 women in 1994) and lung cancer (three deaths for every 100,000 women m 1994)," says the department. NOTE: Interestingly, the Health Canada report also notes: “the decline in the annual number of delay-adjusted AIDS cases that started in 1995 is continuing, but the rate of decline has slowed noticeably and the curve in now leveling off. Reasons for this are not yet clear, but may include issues such as the development of resistance to antiretroviral drugs, whether therapy can prevent or only postpone the development of AIDS, and the number of individuals who are diagnosed with AIDS without a prior diagnosis of HIV infection.” Could this be the hangover from the cocktail party??
 TORONTO
tel/fax:(416) 406-HEAL
INDEX
Search our web site (400+ pages)
|
