Drug-resistant AIDS Virus 'On the Rise'

      A study published in The Lancet medical journal reveals that the new drug-resistant mutations of the AIDS virus is increasing in parts of Africa; a development which should be a clear warning to health watchdogs across the world. This rise in documented cases has researchers, doctors and patients urging the world's governments not to cut funding against the epidemic, reports Aljazeera. The study couldn't be coming at a more appropriate time as the 19th International AIDS Conference is being held in Washington D.C. this week and brings together the international community to discuss what's been accomplished in the fight against the virus and what still needs to be done to create an AIDS-free generation.

     The conference unites more than 20,000 scientists, doctors, people living with HIV and policy-makers from around the world in an effort to 'turn the tide' on the virus by applying recent scientific advances to practical protections. There's still no cure or vaccine for AIDS, but scientists believe they have the tools to stem the spread of the virus by using treatment not just to save patients but also make them less infectious, as well. An example of this strategy is the new application of Truvada, a daily AIDS medicine that healthy people can take to lower their risk of infection from a sexual partner. However, the drug may have health implications as studies have indicated that it may be linked to kidney and bone damage.

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, speaks at the opening session of the International AIDS Conference, in Washington, on Sunday July 22, 2012. The world's largest AIDS conference returned to the U.S. on Sunday with a plea against complacency at a time when the epidemic is at a critical turning point. (Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo)

     Those attending the conference will be hearing from experts around the world as they discuss some of the challenges that are impeding progress against the virus; such as how to get the medicine to those who need it the most, especially in poorer countries with high infection rates. This is becoming a growing concern as the increase of resistant viruses in untreated people soared from one per cent to 7.3 per cent in Eastern Africa in an eight-year period. Aljazeera reports that similar increases have been recorded in other parts of Africa, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean.

     Another objective of the conference is to get more HIV-infected pregnant women treated to protect their babies. The Aljazeera article concludes by stating that last year the world spent $16.8 billion fighting the AIDS virus in poor countries. This is still $7 billion a year short of the amount needed to double the eight million people getting life-saving drugs by world government's goal of 2015. "This gap is killing people," UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe told the conference. "My friends, the end of AIDS is not free. It is not too expensive. It is priceless."

     Due to the recession, funding is becoming increasingly difficult. This is especially true when countries that can afford treatment are being asked to help poorer countries that are still trying to get access to medicine. A story written by the Associated Press says it best, "Where's the money? What works best in different countries and cultures? And with HIV increasingly an epidemic of the poor and the marginalized, will countries find the will to invest in the most vulnerable?" 

Activists rallied on the streets of Washington D.C. at the opening of the 19th International AIDS Conference. (AFP)

     More than 1,000 people -- many of them living with HIV -- marched through Washington on Sunday to urge the public and policy-makers to pay attention to a disease that, in the U.S., doesn't get much publicity anymore, according to the same Associated Press story. Organizers said that the purpose of the "Keep the Promise" march was to remind world leaders that AIDS is still a threat to global health. AIDS Healthcare Foundation organized the march and calls for the funding of programs that fight the disease and lower prices on AIDS drugs.

     I'll be continuing this discussion as the International AIDS Conference progresses throughout the week. Tomorrow will be spent looking at the conference in greater detail and talking about a controversial new campaign calling on world leaders to stop the spread of AIDS by ending the war on drugs.