• 60 Cdn PHA's Denied Entry to U.S.

    Crossposted to Qlinks.ca Blog:

    Edge Magazine in Boston was the first to break the story of 60 Canadians living with HIV who were planning to attend the North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit in Washington D.C. who were denied entry into the U.S. The U.S. Congress has repealed the law that bans HIV positive travelers to the U.S. however, the repeal has not been translated into policy implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The article can be found here.

    For more information about the travel ban to the U.S. check out this past week's Xtra for an article (that went to print before the 60 people were barred from entry) 

    The U.S. remains one of a few countries that still bar any HIV+ people from entering the country. Other countries in line with the U.S. policy include: Armenia, Brunei, China (which has since been removed), Iraq, Quatar, South Korea, Libya, Moldava, Oman, The Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia & Sudan.

    Former US President GW Bush passed legislation to change this ban, but the government agency responsible has not yet changed its policies.

    Wednesday, June 3, 2009 (No comments)

  • 25 years later: A Call to Action from the scientists who first identified HIV

     

    Dr. Luc Montagnier (L) (formerly of the Pasteur Institute, France) and Dr. Robert C. Gallo (R) (formerly of the National Cancer Institute, U.S) just published a joint article on huffingtonpost.com as a call to action. Dr. Gallo and his team created and pioneered the field of retrovirology (HIV is a retrovirus) and along with the Dr. Montagnier and his team at the Pasteur Institute share the honour of having discovered the viral cause of AIDS : HIV.

    An excerpt of the call to action (full article can be found here):

    Today we call on international organizations and governments to immediately implement six objectives to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We made this announcement today and were joined by Jeff Crowley, Director, White House Office of National AIDS Policy.

    Globally, many are acting as though HIV and AIDS are no longer the threat they were 25 years ago when the HIV virus was first discovered. However, in fact they remain an unparalleled global health threat, and despite progress in treatment, could worsen unless determined action is taken. We believe these recommendations are key to reducing and ultimately minimizing the devastation of HIV and AIDS.

    Our Global Call to Action is as follows:

    1. Invest in medical infrastructure and educational outreach programs in U.S. communities most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic

    2. Promote global development of HIV/AIDS treatment and control programs along with regional research institutions in developing countries

    3. Cultivate and inspire young scientists in the field of human virology

    4. Enhance HIV/AIDS education and prevention, especially in countries with high infection rates

    5. Support cutting-edge vaccine research and the development of new effective therapies

    6. Continue the focus on preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission

    Here we are, 25 years after discovering the cause of AIDS and we still have a major, public health HIV/AIDS crisis. Never in the history of mankind have we so quickly identified the cause of an epidemic, developed a test for it and begun to develop drug therapy, changing a once-deadly virus to a lifelong condition with proper medical intervention. It is important for governments and organizations from around the world to come together and combat this collective HIV/AIDS emergency.

    Friday, May 8, 2009 (No comments)

  • Scientists reawaken an ancient defense dormant in our genes for 7 million years: Very cool.

    From Ed Yong of Not Exactly Rocket Science (edited for length):

    Nitya Venkataraman from the Univeristy of Central Florida has managed to reawaken a guardian gene that has been lying dormant in our genomes for 7 million years --- retrocyclins. They are known to protect monkeys from HIV-like viruses. The hope is that by rousing these genes from their slumber in humans, they could do the same for us.

    Retrocyclins are the only circular proteins in our bodies and belong to a group of proteins called defensins, which as they suggest defend against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other foreign invaders. They have only been found in the white blood cells of macaques, baboons, and orangutans. They have proven to be remarkably good at protecting cells from HIV infections....but in humans the genes don't work anymore. Somewhere in the course of evolution these genes developed a mutation that resulted in a useless retrocyclin.

    Here's whats promising:

    Despite this lone crippling mutation, the genes are intact (in all of us) and 90% identical to the mokey versions (which have been studied). Now, Venkatarman's group has reawakened them. She found two ways to fix the fault in human white blood cells --- one involving gene transfer and the other using a simple antibiotic. Either way she restored the cell's ability to manufacture the protective proteins. AND, the resurrected human proteins did their job well --- they stopped HIV from infecting a variety of human immune cells (up to 80% of the cells) and reduced levels of virus in cells already infected.

    Gene transfer is expensive and an unlikely help in rolling out any future cures, treatments or preventions tools in resource-poor countries. But Venkatarman has also discovered something very cool --- the effect of a certain type of antibiotics, called aminoglycosides.

    In bacteria, these drugs work by blocking them from creating proteins. But in the more complex cells of animals, they do something different - they react with the protein-making machinery of our cells so that they make slightly more mistakes than usual. Normally, that would be a bad thing but for retrocyclins, it's an unexpected boon. It means that the machinery barrels straight through the mutation that causes retrocyclins to be built half-finished. It doesn't stop prematurely, and produces a full-length protein.

    Venkataraman found that one of these drugs, tobramycin, was especially good at restoring retrocyclins, and did so in both white blood cells and actual vaginal tissue. The drug slashed the rate of HIV infection by about 50% - a respectable figure but clearly a smaller one compared to the sizeable benefits bestowed by the gene transfer method. On the plus side, the technique didn't seem to harm the cells in any way.

    These results are promising ones indeed, and Venkataraman thinks that with more work, aminoglycoside-based creams [a form of microbicide] could be used to prevent HIV infections in the real world.

    HIV kills by infecting the very cells that are meant to defend us from infections and destroying them. But retrocyclins are something it hasn't encountered before. Humans lost the ability to create these guardians millions of years ago and by reawakening them, we could have a new but ancient weapon against this sneakiest of foes.

     

     

     

    Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (No comments)

  • Prison Tattoo Program Reduced HIV rates, cost effective: Corrections Services Canada Report

    A pilot program that was cut by Stephen Harper's conservative government was found to reduce the rate of HIV, increase awareness of blood-borne infections (HIV, HepC, HepB), increased employment for prisoners, and resulted in the safer disposal of used sharps. Of course, in the light of this new report from Corrections Service Canada (not known for their embrace of harm reduction programs) the Conservative government has seen the error in its ways, right? Nope.  The Sudbury Star online has an article on the issue which includes this repsonse from the Conservatives:

     A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said the federal government has no plan to reverse its decision and resurrect the program.

     It is often not on radar of many Canadians, but the rights (including human rights) of those encarcerated in Canadian prisons are not always respected. While some rights of those encacerated are restricted as part of their punishment, a prison sentence does not restrict or remove all of their rights. Their right to the same level of healthcare is one that is not restricted. Yet, this is still a major issue voiced by those living with HIV or Hep C while incacerated, as well as prisoners with drug addiciton seeking treatment while incacerated. There are many other examples.

    Prisoners currently do not have access to clean syringes to prevent the spread of HIV and Hep C Despite Needle Exchange Program (NEPs) being available in many other countries. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, a world-renowned organization that consults with governments and groups around the world, has the following on their website:

    In many countries, including Canada, rates of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection among prisoners are significantly higher than those found in the general population.

    Despite the evidence and informed opinion supporting harm reduction measures in prisons to reduce the spread of HIV and HCV in prisons, authorities in most jurisdictions have failed to take decisive action. The failure to provide access to essential prevention, care and treatment is a violation of prisoners' right to health as established by international law.

    Some countries have implemented programs — peer education, condom distribution, opioid substitution therapy and needle exchange, for example — to reduce behaviours with a high risk of transmitting HIV or HCV. Similar programs are used in the community at large to prevent the spread of these viruses.

    But in other countries, the lack of prison needle exchange programs, unprotected sexual intercourse and sexual violence are all factors driving the worsening HIV epidemic in prisons. Higher infection rates ultimately result in greater health-care costs. And, since most prisoners are eventually released back into the community, the public health implications of imprisoning non-violent people who use drugs cannot and should not be ignored.

    Both in Canada and internationally, we promote the human rights of prisoners to have access to HIV prevention, treatment and support services equivalent to those available to in the community.

    Another group working locally to provide advocacy, education, and support for those living with HIV and Hep C in prison is PASAN. Their website should be checked out to learn more about the issue, as should Prisoner Justice in Canada.

    It is important to remember that human rights abuses occur around the world, and at home here in Canada. When we view people has 'other', as 'less than', it is easy to not think about the rights of others, or to rationalize the abuse as just part of the punishment. This is not acceptable. If we truly are concerned about public health and basic human rights, we absolutely must be concerned with how people are treated while incacerated, and who exactly we are incacerating.


    Tuesday, April 28, 2009 (No comments)

  • Cuba: A New Anti-homophobia campaign

     

    Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban Presiden Raúl Castro, launched a wide-reaching antihomophobia campaign targetting "agents of change". From Huffington Post:

    The 2009 campaign for respect for freedom of sexual orientation, under the slogan "Diversity is Natural", will try to contribute to "the education of society in general, with an emphasis on university students, about respect for people's free and responsible sexual orientation and gender identity, as an exercise in equity and social justice." In an interview with IPS, the head of CENESEX  [The National Centre for Sex Education] and daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro said the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) will be celebrated in Havana this year on May 16 and will be devoted to young people, and also to families, so that "parents may better understand" their homosexual or transsexual children.

    Another intereseting section of the article:

    She added that a date has still not been set for the Cuban parliament to debate a draft law to reform the Family Code, in force since 1975. The reform bill includes proposals on gender identity and the rights of sexual minorities.

    "The work that we are doing will help to ease the prejudices behind these processes," she said.

    Castro also said that the Catholic Church had communicated its negative views on the proposed reforms to the authorities. "There have been conversations. They were concerned about homosexual marriage, and were told that this is not being proposed," nor the adoption of children by homosexual couples, she said.

    The reform bill would allow legal recognition of same-sex unions, and grant them the same rights as civil unions between heterosexual couples.

    As for sex change operations for transsexual persons, approved in June 2008 by a Health Ministry resolution, which is another matter of concern to the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, Castro indicated that the decision remains in force.

    Resolution 126 signed by Health Minister José Ramón Balaguer established a facility for comprehensive health care for transsexual persons as the only institution in the country authorised to carry out total or partial sex change operations.

    Tuesday, March 31, 2009 (No comments)

  • Exciting Breakthrough in HIV Research

    Researchers have for the first time captured on video the transfer of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from infected to uninfected T cells through structures called virological synapses. The breakthrough study could lead to new methods to block the transmission of HIV, and shows that cell-to-cell may be the predominant mode of HIV transmission in the body. Prior studies have mostly focused on free roaming viruses in the body.

     

    Friday, March 27, 2009 (No comments)

  • Ontario AIDS Network's Response to Provincial Budget

    The provincial budget was announced yesterday. Here are some key measures as they relate to AIDS Service Organizations and to some of the people they serve.

    Here is the Ontario AIDS Networks official response to the budget.

    For more complete budget coverage, check out the Globe and Mail's Budget 2009 page.

    Friday, March 27, 2009 (No comments)

  • Circumcision Guards Against STIs

    A new study by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US has shown that circumcision may reduce the chance of certain infections later in life.

    In a study of more than 5,000 uncircumcised adult Ugandan males, researchers found that after circumcision, the rates of infection with the virus that causes herpes went down by 28 percent, and the transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) -- the virus that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts -- was reduced by 35 percent.

    In a previous study, the same researchers found that circumcision reduced infection with the HIV virus by 60 percent. Two other research groups -- one working in Kenya and the other in South Africa -- have also had similar findings. [The 60% reduction figure is valid in countries with a predominantly heterosexual epidemic that is generalized/endemic. In countries with much smaller numbers of people living with HIV, it is impossible to assess the effectiveness--Ed]

    It looks like the issue of circumcision is going to continue to surface for the foreseable future.

     

    Wednesday, March 25, 2009 (No comments)

  • 2009 National (US)Magazine Awards Finalists Include LGBT Articles

    Despite the preponderance of Obama and Iraq articles leading this year's finalists for the National Magazine Awards, a few noteworthy lgbt stories are nominated, most of which will be familiar to longtime Thebes readers.

    For Feature Writing: from the Atlantic, Hannah Rosin's "A Boy's Life," a nuanced look at the complexities of raising young trans children and the enormous decision of whether or not to give them puberty-inhibiting drugs. This feature piece is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more about trans youth. I REALLY hope this piece wins!

    For Profile Writing: from GQ, Andrew Corsello's "Let God Love Gene Robison," about modern Christianity's first openly gay bishop.

    For Columns and Commentary: from The New Yorker, three pieces by Hendrik Hertzberg including his editorial on the Prop 8 victory.

    For Fiction: from The New Yorker, Annie Proulx's story, Them Old Cowboy Songs, set in the Wyoming Territory of 1885. Primarily twin narratives about a teenage straight couple who are separated by work, the story features a closeted cowpuncher and his memorable advice to a newly hired young husband about the aggressively gay foreman. [Not available online, but this story and her Tits-Up in a Ditch are great enough to warrant buying her latest, strangely uneven collection, Fine Just the Way It Is.]

    Winners will be announced in a ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York) on April 30.

    Tuesday, March 24, 2009 (No comments)

  • 21st Annual Lamda Literary Award Finalists


    Lambda

    Nominations for the most prominent prizes in LGBT books were announced last night and are comprised of 105 finalists from 72 publishers. The awards ceremony is in New York on May 28th.

    And the nominees are:

    GAY FICTION

        * Stray Dog Winter, David Francis, Macadam/Cage Publishing
        * The Torturer's Wife, Thomas Glave, City Light Publishers
        * We Disappear, Scott Heim, HarperCollins
        * The Conversion, Joseph Olshan, St. Martin’s Press
        * The Boomerang Kid, Jay Quinn, Alyson

    LESBIAN FICTION

        * The Slow Fix, Ivan E. Coyole, Arsenal Pulp Press
        * The Sealed Letter, Emma Donoghue, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
        * Map of Ireland, Stephanie Grant, Scribner
        * All the Pretty Girls, Chandra Mayor, Conundrum Press
        * Breaking Spirit Bridge, Ruth Perkinson, Spinsters Ink

    LGBT NONFICTION

        * Me as Her Again, Nancy Agabian, Aunt Lute Books
        * If I Could Write This in Fire, Michelle Cliff, Univ of Minnesota Press
        * Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America 1861-2003, William N. Eskridge Jr, Penguin Group
        * Beyond (Straight & Gay) Marriage, Nancy Polikoff, Beacon Press
        * Loving The Difficult, Jane Rule, Hedgerow Press
        * Drifting Toward Love, Kai Wright, Beacon Press

    GAY DEBUT FICTION

        * Shuck, Daniel Allen Cox, Arsenal Pulp Press
        * Light Fell, Evan Fallenberg, Soho Press
        * The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie The Second, Drew Ferguson, Kensington
        * The Steve Machine, Mike Hoolboom, Coach House Books
        * Finlater, Shawn Ruff, Quote Editions

    GAY POETRY

        * Want, Rick Barot, Sarabande Press
        * Please, Jericho Brown, New Issues
        * Fire to Fire, Mark Doty, HarperCollins
        * Now You're the Enemy, James Allen Hall, Univ. of Arkansas Press
        * My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer, Jack Spicer, edited by Peter Gizzi & Kevin Killian, Wesleyan University Press

    BISEXUAL

        * Open, Jenny Block, Seal Press
        * Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love & Desire,
          Lisa M. Diamond, Harvard University Press
        * The Bishop's Daughter, Honor Moore, W.W. Norton
        * Kinsey Zero Through Sixty: Bisexual Perspectives on Kinsey, Ron Jackson Suresha, Taylor & Francis Journals
        * Rimbaud, Edmund White, Atlas & Company

    TRANSGENDER

        * 10,000 Dresses, Marcus Ewert & Rex Ray, Seven Stories Press
        * Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word), Thea Hillman, Manic D Press
        * Two Truths and a Lie, Scott Schofield, Homofactus Press
        * Boy with Flowers, Ely Shipley, Barrow Street Press
        * Transgender History, Susan Stryker, Seal Press

    LGBT ANTHOLOGIES

        * A Casulty of War: Gay Short Fiction, Peter Burton, Arcadia Books
        * Live Through This, edited by Sabrina Chapadjiev, Seven Stories Press
        * Love, West Hollywood, edited by Chris Freeman and James J. Berg, Alyson
        * Our Caribbean, edited by Thomas Glave, Duke University Press
        * Big Trips: More Good Gay Travel Writing, edited by Raphael Kadushin, University of Wisconsin Press

    LGBT CHILDRENS/YOUNG ADULT

        * Hit the Road, Manny: A Manny Files Novel, Christian Burch, Simon and Schuster
        * Out of the Pocket, Bill Konigsberg, Dutton
        * How They Met & Other Stories, David Levithan, Knopf Children's Books
        * Mousetraps, Pat Schmetz, Carolrhoda Books
        * What They Always Tell Us, Martin Wilson, Random House Children's Books
        * Love & Lies: Marisol's Story, Ellen Wittlinger, Simon and Schuster

    LGBT DRAMA

        * Phi Alpha Gamma, Dan Bernitt, Sawyer House
        * Radical Acts: Collected Political Plays, Martin Duberman, The New Press
        * The Second Coming of Joan of Arc, Carolyn Gage, Outskirts Press
        * Two Truths and a Lie, Scott Schofield, Homofactus Press
        * Vile Affections, Vanda, Original Works Publishing

    LGBT SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR

        * The Archer's Heart, Astrid Amara, Blind Eye Books
        * The Magician and the Fool, Barth Anderson, Bantam Del Rey
        * Wilde Stories 2008, Steve Berman, Lethe Press
        * Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories, Craig Gidney, Lethe Press
        * Turnskin, Nicole Kimberling, Blind Eye Books

    LGBT STUDIES

        * Tomboys: A Literary & Cultural History, Michelle Ann Abate, Temple University Press
        * The Dividends of Dissent: How Conflict and Culture Work in Lesbian and Gay Marches on Washington, Amin Ghaziani, The University of Chicago Press
        * Criminal Intimacy: Prison and the Uneven History of Modern American Sexuality, Regina Kunzel, The University of Chicago Press
        * Political Manhood: Red Bloods, Mollycoddles, & & the Politics of Progressive Reform, Kevin P. Murphy, Columbia University Press
        * Screening Sex, Linda Williams, Duke University Press

    LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION

        * Red Audrey & the Roping, Jill Malone, Bywater Books
        * Passing for Black, Linda Villarosa, Kensington
        * Closer to Fine, Meri Weiss, Kensington
        * Love Does Not Make Me Gentle or Kind, Chavisa Woods, Fly by Night Press
        * The Bruise, Magdalena Zurawski, Fiction Collective Two/University of Alabama Press

    LESBIAN EROTICA

        * Lipstick on Her Collar, Sacchi Green and Rakelle Valencia, Pretty Things Press
        * Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures, Lynne Jamneck, Lethe Press
        * In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip, Radclyffe and Karen Kallmaker, Bold Strokes Books

    LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

        * Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, Susan Griffin,
          Shambhala Publications
        * Intersex (For Lack of a Better Word), Thea Hillman, Manic D Press
        * Sex Variant Woman, Joanne Passet, Da Capo
        * Sex Talks to Girls: A Memoir, Maureen Seaton, University of Arkansas Press
        * Case of a Lifetime, Abbe Smith, Palgrave Macmillan

    LESBIAN MYSTERY

        * Blind Faith, Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Bold Strokes Books
        * Whacked, Josie Gordon, Bella Books
        * Sweet Poison, Ellen Hart, St. Martin's Press
        * Losers Weepers, Jessica Thomas, Bella Books
        * Calling the Dead, Ali Vali, Bold Strokes Books

    LESBIAN POETRY

        * Interpretive Work, Elizabeth Bradfield, Arktoi / Red Hen Press
        * Kissing Dead Girls, Daphne Gottlieb, Soft Skull Press
        * love belongs to those who do the feeling, Judy Grahn, Red Hen Press
        * Same Life, Maureen N. McLane, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
        * Two Minutes of Light, Nancy K. Pearson, Perugia Press

    LESBIAN ROMANCE

        * Finding Home, Georgia Beers, Bold Stroked Books
        * A Pirate's Heart, Catherine Friend, Bold Strokes Books
        * The Kiss That Counted, Karin Kallmaker, Bella Books
        * Hotel Liaison, JLee Meyer, Bold Strokes Books
        * The Lonely Hearts Club, Radclyffe, Bold Strokes Books

    GAY EROTICA

        * Best Gay Erotica 2009, Richard Labonte & James Lear, Cleis Press
        * The Secret Tunnel, James Lear, Cleis Press
        * Hard Working Men, William Maltese, Victor J. Banis, Jardonn Smith, & J.P. Bowie, MLR Press

    GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

        * Bringing Him Home, Aaron Cooper, Late August Press
        * Swish, Joel Derfner, Broadway Books
        * Assisted Loving, Bob Morris, HarperCollins
        * Edward Carpenter:  A Life of Liberty and Love, Sheila Rowbotham, Verso Books
        * King of Shadows, Aaron Shurin, City Lights Publishers

    GAY MYSTERY

        * The Fisher Boy, Stephen Anable, Poisoned Pen Press
        * Sundowner Ubuntu, Anthony Bidulka, Insomniac Press
        * Mahu Fire, Neil Plakcy, Alyson Books
        * First You Fall, Scott Sherman, Alyson Books
        * Spider Season, John Morgan Wilson, St. Martin's Press

    GAY ROMANCE

        * Mexican Heat, Laura Baumbach & Josh Lanyon, MLR Press
        * Got 'til it's Gone, Larry Duplechan, Arsenal Pulp Press
        * The Protector, N.L. Gassert, Seventh Window Publications

    Monday, March 16, 2009 (No comments)

  • Saliva as Lubricant: Spreading Disease?

     

     

     

    A recent study from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California entitled: 'Use of saliva as a lubricant in anal sexual practices among homosexual men':

    OBJECTIVES:

    Compared with other sexually active adults, men who have sex with men (MSM) are more frequently infected with several pathogens including cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B virus, and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. Because one common element between these organisms is their presence in saliva, we evaluated saliva exposure among MSM in a heretofore relatively unrecognized route-via use of saliva as a lubricant in anal sex.

    METHODS:

    MSM in a San Francisco population-based cohort were interviewed regarding use of saliva by the insertive partner as a lubricant in various anal sexual practices.

    RESULTS:

    Among 283 MSM, 87% used saliva as a lubricant in insertive or receptive penile-anal intercourse or fingering/fisting at some point during their lifetime; 31%-47% did so, depending upon the act, in the prior 6 months. Saliva use as a lubricant was more common among younger men and among HIV-infected men when with HIV-infected partners. Even among MSM following safe sex guidelines by avoiding unprotected penile-anal intercourse, 26% had anal exposure to saliva via use as a lubricant.

    CONCLUSIONS:

    Among MSM, use of saliva as a lubricant is a common, but not ubiquitous, practice in anal sex. The findings provide the rationale for formal investigation of whether saliva use in this way contributes to transmission of saliva-borne pathogens in MSM.

     

    ** It is always better to use water-based lubricants with condoms than to use saliva. It is possible that saliva, when used as a lubricant, is contributing to the spread of some saliva-borne pathogens. So, the next time you get condoms, GET LUBE, TOO!!!!

    Monday, March 16, 2009 (No comments)

  • Rectal Chlamydia -- A Hidden Reservoir?

    Many cases of chalmydia, when located in the rectum, have no symptoms. Because there are no symptoms, many people are infected and left untreated -- either because they have not presented for testing, or they present for testing but do not disclose that they engage in anal sex and therefore aren't tested for STIs in the rectum. This can be problematic.

    A recent study was done to determine the rates of rectal chlamydia among gay men in the UK. They also looked at the proportion of infections that would have been missed without routine screening (ie. no symptoms, therefore no testing and treatment).

    A total of 3076 men were screened. They found that 8.2% of the men had infection with Chlamydia (all serovars) in the rectum and 5.4% had infection in the urethra (pee tube). The majority of rectal infections (69.2%) were asymptomatic and would have been missed if routine screening had not been undertaken. 36 cases of LGV (lymphogranuloma venereum) were identitified.

    The data show a high rate of rectal chlamydia infection, the majority of which were asymptomatic. As such, routine screening for rectal chlamydia in men at risk is important as this may represent an important 'reservoir' for the onward transmission of chlamydia (and LGV).

    This is another reason why everyone should be screened routinely for STIs and not just after a possible exposure. You cannot wait for symptoms, to get a test.

    Need to get tested?

    Monday, March 16, 2009 (No comments)

  • A Horrifying Story Out of Spain (warning: graphic details)

    A truly horrific story out of Spain. You need to read the article, but in a nutshell, a gay couple invited a guy home from a gay bar, and in the middle of the night the guy stabs them 57 times, puts a blanket over one guy's head, ties a cable around it, and tethers the man's now dead head to a bed post. And guess what? The jury acquitted him!

    First, more on what this deranged individual did:

    There are no independent witnesses, but police and forensic experts say that the murder rampage began around 4:00am. Apparently, Pérez Triviñio was stabbed first but did not die. Piñeiro then stabbed Anderson Luciano twice while in the couples' room, and 22 more times as he followed his victim out of the room, into a corridor and out to the living room - where he died.

    Pérez Triviñio, in the meantime, had locked himself in the room and records show that he was able to call local authorities. The call was cut short when Piñeiro was able to break back into the room and finish him off by stabbing him 35 more times.

    In the living room, he tied Anderson Luciano's hands and put a blanket over his body; in the bedroom, he placed a blanket over Pérez Triviñio's head, tied a cable around it, and tethered it to a bed post. He then emptied closets and threw clothes all over the apartment, poured alcohol and set everything on fire.
    Why did the jury let him go? Because he explained to them that in the middle of the night "the gays" solicited him for sex and he was totally freaked out. Uh huh. He was hanging out in a gay bar, went home with a gay couple, slept overnight, and then when someone suggested sex, he freaked out. He claims they pulled a knife on him. Yes, that was why he had to stab them 57 times, tie cable around one guy's head and tether it to a bedpost like a pinata, and then set the entire place on fire.

    Sad. Infuriating. Too often, not even heard about.

    Spain has legalized gay marriage. So you'd think "we've won!" We haven't. Even after you win your rights - long after - you're still not equal, you're still not free. In the U.S., slavery was abolished after the civil war. The Civil Rights Act didn't happen until 100 years later. And now, 50 years hence, people of African descent still face prejudice and discrimination, even having elected a black president in the U.S.. It takes a long time to purge bigotry.

    I'm asking folks to do what they can to help publicize this case, and show support. There's a Facebook group I'd urge everyone to join. There are also protests this Saturday in Madrid, Barcelona, and around Spain.

    It's Spain's "twinkie defense." It's Spain's Matthew Shepard.

    It's Spain's shame.

    Wednesday, March 4, 2009 (No comments)

  • HIV Expert Helen Epstein: A Must Watch Interview

    Saturday, February 21, 2009 (No comments)

  • Stem Cell Transplant Resulted in Likely HIV Cure

    For a couple of months now, news has been simmering about a patient with AIDS in Berlin, Germany who underwent a stem cell transplant from a donor with a mutated gene. The mutation reportedly "confers natural resistance" to the HIV virus.

    HuetterCNN reports: " The case was first reported in November, and the new report is the first official publication of the case in a medical journal. [Dr. Gero] Hutter and a team of medical professionals performed the stem cell transplant on the patient, an American living in Germany, to treat the man's leukemia, not the HIV itself. However, the team deliberately chose a compatible donor who has a naturally occurring gene mutation that confers resistance to HIV. The mutation cripples a receptor known as CCR5, which is normally found on the surface of T cells, the type of immune system cells attacked by HIV. The mutation is known as CCR5 delta32 and is found in 1 percent to 3 percent of white populations of European descent. HIV uses the CCR5 as a co-receptor (in addition to CD4 receptors) to latch on to and ultimately destroy immune system cells. Since the virus can't gain a foothold on cells that lack CCR5, people who have the mutation have natural protection. (There are other, less common HIV strains that use different co-receptors.) People who inherit one copy of CCR5 delta32 take longer to get sick or develop AIDS if infected with HIV. People with two copies (one from each parent) may not become infected at all. The stem cell donor had two copies."

    Doctors say the dangers of the operation are too great to make it routing - nearly a third of patients die during the stem cell transplants as the immune system is virtually destroyed while it undergoes the process.

    Said Dr. Gero Hutter of Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany of his patient: "The patient is fine. Today, two years after his transplantation, he is still without any signs of HIV disease and without antiretroviral medication."

    Watch a clip of the original news conference on the operation here.

    It is important to note that stem cell transplants are very dangerous and close to 1 out of every 3 people die as a result. This new finding will definitely help to direct more research, but should be seen more as an important flicker of hope that antiretroviral therapy like HAART (Highly Active AntiRetroviral Therapy) is not the endpoint of medical research.

    Thursday, February 12, 2009 (1 comment)

  • New Details Emerge at Anniversary of Lawrence King Murder

    It's been one year since 14-year-old Brandon McInerney walked into his classroom in Oxnard, California and gunned down his gay classmate Lawrence King.

    King A brief filed by the prosecution in response to an appeal by teen killer Brandon McInerney's attorneys said that prosecutors had "abused their discretion by charging (McInerney) as an adult." Today, more details have come to the light surrounding that brief.

    Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox, yesterday: "In the days before the shooting, the defendant tried to enlist others to administer a beating to Larry. When that failed for lack of interest, he decided to kill Larry. It was an absolutely brutal crime, with premeditation and deliberation. He was familiar with firearms and had fired that gun before. He knew what he was doing."

    The L.A. Times reports: "In her statement of facts, Fox contends that King and McInerney had an acrimonious relationship for months prior to the shooting. They sparred with 'typical 8th grade, back-and-forth insults; some sexual, some not,' she wrote. Witnesses said King was usually not the aggressor. But after months of teasing by McInerney and other male students who called him 'faggot,' he had began to retort, according to prosecutors. The day before the shooting, the two boys were bickering during seventh period. When King left, a student witness said that McInerney commented, 'I'm going to shoot him.' Just after that class, another student heard King say 'I love you' to McInerney as they passed in a hallway. The same student then heard McInerney say he was 'going to get a gun and shoot' King, according to prosecutors. A few minutes later, prosecutors allege, McInerney told one of King's friends: 'Say goodbye to your friend Larry because you're never going to see him again.' The prosecution brief also reveals for the first time that McInerney was familiar with firearms, and that he had used that particular weapon in the past during target shooting with his family. Investigators found a training video in his possession titled 'Shooting in Realistic Environments,' as well as skinhead and neo-Nazi books and similar writings from the Internet, prosecutors wrote."

    A vigil is being held today in Ventura, California. The vigil begins at 6 p.m. at 856 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura.

    In memory of King, we revisit Ellen Degeneres' powerful, emotional statement about the killing. Watch it

    Thursday, February 12, 2009 (No comments)

  • Criminalization of HIV Around the World

    The following was sent out by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

    Stop HIV Criminal Laws, Leading AIDS Groups Say - Broad coalition denounces criminalization of HIV transmission

    Dakar, December 6—Leading AIDS groups today denounced a trend in applying criminal law to HIV transmission, issuing ten reasons why criminalizing HIV transmission is bad for public health and human rights.

    The statement, “10 Reasons to Oppose the Criminalization of HIV Transmission or Exposure” responds to the widening trend of governments passing punitive laws against HIV transmission in an effort to bring the epidemic under control.  The statement was released at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) held this week in Senegal. It is available online in many languages, including English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian at: www.soros.org/health/10reasons

    “Countries should remove any law that makes it more difficult for people to access HIV prevention and treatment, and that is precisely the impact of criminalizing HIV transmission,” said Jeff O’Malley, director of the HIV/AIDS Group at the United Nations Development Program.  “Instead, countries should adopt laws that protect people living with HIV from discrimination, coercion and monitoring in their private lives.”

    The document stresses that people who maliciously infect others with specific intent to harm can and should be prosecuted under existing law.  But passing new criminal laws specific to HIV transmission is likely to have many negative consequences for the response to HIV and to lead to unfair prosecutions.

    In some recent cases, people living with HIV have been prosecuted for infecting or exposing others despite revealing their HIV status or using a condom.  Some laws are drafted so broadly that women who transmit HIV during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding can be prosecuted.  Even failing to get an HIV test can be grounds for criminal prosecution in some countries with HIV-specific criminal laws.

    “Criminalizing HIV transmission will backfire and harm the very people it is intended to protect,” said Jonathan Cohen of the Open Society Institute’s Law and Health Initiative, one of the documents co-authors. “The most vulnerable will surely be prosecuted, especially women who are routinely blamed for bringing HIV into sexual relationships.”

    The “10 Reasons” document emphasizes the potentially negative effect of criminalizing HIV transmission on women.  Because women typically learn their HIV status before their male sex partners, they are more likely to be blamed for transmitting HIV and prosecuted under HIV-specific criminal laws.  To protect themselves from prosecution, women would either have to disclose their HIV status to their sexual partners or insist on condom use—both of which can lead to accusations of infidelity, violence, eviction, and other human rights abuses.

    “Instead of oppressing women with criminal laws, governments should be passing laws that protect women from violence and theft of their property,” said Michaela Clayton of the Namibia-based AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa.  “Women deserve real justice against gender-based violence and coerced sex, not criminal laws that will further victimize them.”

    In countries that prosecute HIV transmission, cases tend to be overbroad and to capture behavior that does not deserve to be punished.  Some countries require that people with HIV inform “all sexual contacts” of their status, meaning they could be jailed for not revealing their HIV status before kissing someone or engaging in other behavior that carries no risk of HIV transmission.  In some places, serious criminal charges have been laid against HIV-positive people for activities such as biting, spitting, or scratching that carry zero to negligible risk of HIV transmission.

    These prosecutions spread misinformation about how HIV is transmitted and promote fear and stigma against people living with HIV, experts say.  The International AIDS Society, the world’s largest organization of AIDS professionals, said it opposed the criminalization of HIV transmission for this reason.

    “Responses to HIV should be based on evidence and human rights, not fear and stigma against people living with HIV,” said Craig McClure, Executive Director of the International AIDS Society.  “Criminalization will impede our efforts to get HIV testing and treatment to those who need it most.”

    Public health experts warn that criminal prosecution will act as a deterrent to HIV prevention.  The fear of prosecution for intentionally transmitting HIV could discourage people from getting tested and finding out their HIV status, as lack of knowledge of one’s status could be the best defense in a criminal lawsuit.  In places that criminalize HIV transmission, HIV service providers may be coerced into disclosing confidential information about their patients’ HIV status to law enforcement officials.

    One African country, Mauritius, recently rejected HIV-specific criminal laws for these reasons.  The 10 Reasons document quotes Rama Valayden, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Mauritius, as saying in 2007 that “criminalization would have created more problems than solving them.”  Instead of prosecuting people with HIV, Valayden said, “Mauritius decided to put its resources where they are most likely to have a positive impact on reducing the spread of HIV: increased funding for HIV testing and counseling and for evidence-informed prevention measures.”

    Yet many African countries have either tabled or passed legislation making HIV transmission or exposure a punishable crime.  Today’s statement calls on these governments to repeal HIV-specific criminal laws and to reject any legislative proposals to create new HIV-specific offenses.

    Prominent supporters of today’s statement included the Treatment Action Campaign (South Africa), the World AIDS Campaign, the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the Women Won’t Wait End HIV and Violence Against Women Now Campaign, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.  Major international human rights organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also endorsed the statement.  In August, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) issued a similar statement calling on governments to restrict criminalization of HIV transmission to those rare cases in which people maliciously intend to transmit HIV and actually succeed in doing so.

    “There are much more productive ways governments can address HIV than passing criminal laws,” said Dr. Meskerem Grunitzy-Bekele, director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West and Central Africa.  “Instead of criminalizing people living with HIV, governments should focus on empowering people to seek HIV testing, disclose their status, and practice safer sex without fear of stigma and discrimination.”

    For copies of “10 Reasons to Oppose the Criminalization of HIV Transmission or Exposure” and additional information: www.soros.org/health/10reasons
    Wednesday, December 10, 2008 (2 comments)

  • HPV, Anal Cancer, and Gay Men

    There has been much talk about the role of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of cervical cancer. With the new Gardasil vaccine that protects against 4 of the major disease causing strains of HPV --- 2 of them cause 70% of all cervical cancers and two cause 90% of all genital warts --- HPV has hit the public's radar.

    The vaccine is one of the safest and most effective vaccines currently on the market for any vaccine-preventable disease. The vaccine works if it is given before a person is exposed to the HPV virus, which is why it is currently being targetted to young women 9-26 years old.

    There is very little information out there about the role of HPV in other types of cancer, including anal cancer. While anal cancer is relatively uncommon in the general population, it is 35 times more likely to occur among men who have sex with men. And the rates among HIV+ men and women are even higher, as HIV infection can increase the likelihood of HPV progressing to cancer.

    Here's the catch: Currently, the Gardasil vaccine is only approved for use among women aged 9-26 years of age. The initial research only focussed on this particular gender and age group. There is research currently under way to look at the vaccine effectiveness amongst men, and it is widely believed that it will prove just as effective in men. Which is why some doctors are prescribing the Gardasil vaccine to men who have sex with men and to young boys. There is no reason to believe that gender will affect the immune response to the vaccine.

    In our area it may be difficult to find a physician willing to prescribe the Gardasil vaccine "off-label" (prescribing a drug when it is not approved for a particular use or prescribing it to someone for whom the drug is not yet 'approved'). This is not the case in  Toronto. There is an HPV clinic in Toronto who will prescribe and administer Guardasil to men who have sex with men. An appointment is required, and a person does NOT need a doctor's referral to get one. The second 'catch': You will have to pay for it yourself. It runs about $160.00/dose and three doses are required over the period of 1 year (Total of about $480.00).

    If you are interested in learning more about HPV and men who have sex with men, click here.

    An interesting article arguing for the need for anal pap smear screening for gay men (basically the same idea behind cervical pap smears that women get at regular intervals to detect HPV-associated changes in cells which can lead to cancer)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Wednesday, December 10, 2008 (No comments)
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