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DOH: 12 new HIV/AIDS cases per day
by  Sheila Crisostomo (March, 2, 2013)
www.philstar.com

Photo from ASP Facebook page, lifted from registry published by NEC

MANILA, Philippines – From an average of nine new cases of HIV/AIDS a day in 2012, the Department of Health (DOH) registered 12 new cases daily in January this year.

Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said these 12 new cases daily are equivalent to 380 new cases reported to the DOH’s Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry in January 2013. Of these, 25 were already AIDS at the time of reporting.

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Consistent condom use in anal sex stops 70% of HIV infections, study finds, but intermittent use has no effect
by Gus Ciarns (March 4, 2013)
www.aidsmap.com

An analysis by Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) on 4 March has provided the first estimate of the efficacy of condoms in preventing HIV transmission during anal sex since 1989. It found condoms stop seven out of ten anal transmissions – the same efficacy found by the 1989 study.

Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) presenting at CROI 2013.

However, it also found that sometimes using condoms is not effective at preventing HIV infection, and that long-term 100% condom use is a minority behaviour: only one-in-six gay men actually managed to maintain it over the three- to four-year time frame of the analysis.

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US doctors cure child born with HIV
by Ian Sample (March 4, 2013)
www.guardian.co.uk

Mississippi doctors make medical history made with first ‘functional cure’ of unnamed two-year-old born with the virus who now needs no medication

Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.

The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.

Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.

Doctors did not release the name or sex of the child to protect the patient’s identity, but said the infant was born, and lived, in Mississippi state. Details of the case were unveiled on Sunday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

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It’s a matter of prevention versus cure. I’m talking about the constant woes in HIV advocacy caused by people using the Internet as an avenue of baseless accusations and unwarranted disclosure of people’s HIV status.

Early this year, an individual chose an online social network as the platform to indict a student of being HIV-positive and of deliberately infecting other people through a poster of the student’s picture and other identifying features. As expected, with the phenomena brought by these online mediums, the post spread like wildfire through countless re-posts. It drew different comments; a few, of dismay that someone would do this to shame a person, but mostly of confusion and fear that probably, this person might actually be purposely infecting others.

To save a maligned name and disprove the unknown perpetrator, the student took the HIV screening test at a social hygiene clinics and got a non-reactive result.

This has happened before. A blog targeted multiple subscribers of a gay social networking site and branded them HIV-positive as well. This even reached mainstream media and caused quite a blow towards our efforts of dissipating the fear of HIV, which would eventually hamper the public’s opportunities of understanding HIV and AIDS.

In light of a current law penalizing people who malign others, with some using HIV infection at the core of accusations, I think it’s good that there is something to use against persons who put others in a bad light. Given the lack of teeth of RA 8504, or the Philippine AIDS Law, it could help put a stop to the destructive online attacks. But I think we can do more than just chastise.

But then again, why not just aid the campaign on HIV prevention by educating people, strengthening school campaigns and helping the media handle this very sensitive topic? HIV is no longer just a health issue. It is a social issue given the country’s taboo perception on sex and sexual contact, which is currently the most widespread mode of transmission of the virus.

I believe that educating people and removing the stigma is the best preventive measure against hateful remarks online from ever happening again. Not only will it help the country in its goal of lessening HIV prevalence; it will also help persons living with HIV to seek out help without fear of discrimination. Again, as they say, prevention is better than cure.

Disclaimer: The views represented in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of AIDS Society of the Philippines, Inc.