HIV ATLAS - Social Media for HIV, TB & Malaria!

NIH statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day - May 18, 2012

clarke — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:20:39 +0000

NIH statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day - May 18, 2012 - There is a growing consensus that we can significantly curtail the HIV/AIDS pandemic by implementing scientifically proven HIV prevention strategies, such as voluntary medically supervised adult male circumcision, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and treatment as prevention. [AEGiS]

Kenya: Funding Hitch Hampers HIV Tribunal Operations

clarke — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:19:56 +0000

Kenya: Funding Hitch Hampers HIV Tribunal Operations - [The Star]

The operations of the HIV/Aids Tribunal have been hampered by lack of funds, Parliament was told yesterday. Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi said the funds for the Tribunal were not factored in the budget because it was inaugurated after the 2011/12 financial year. "The Tribunal was inaugurated in July 2011 after the budget allocations had been prepared and approved and thus the tribunal had no funds to carry out its mandate," she said. [All Africa.com

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“Making Rights a Reality”: The experiences of organizations of transgender people in the AIDS response

clarke — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:19:16 +0000

“Making Rights a Reality”: The experiences of organizations of transgender people in the AIDS response - In Latin America, transgender people face stigma and discrimination based on their gender identity every day. Such situations limit their access to the education system, job opportunities and health services which, in turn, increase their vulnerability to HIV. [AEGiS]

Uganda: 30,000 At Risk As Taso Closes Treatment Centers

clarke — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:19:06 +0000

Uganda: 30,000 At Risk As Taso Closes Treatment Centers - [New Vision]

An estimated 30,000 HIV/AIDS patients are at risk following the closure of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) outreach centres countrywide. [All Africa.com

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HIV programmes for MSM and transgendered people gradually being scaled up in India

clarke — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:18:50 +0000

HIV programmes for MSM and transgendered people gradually being scaled up in India - Rupali always felt he was different. Born as a boy in India, he liked wearing girls’ clothes and finally at the age of 20, decided to disclose to his family his gender orientation. He declared he wanted to live as a woman. [AEGiS]

Willingness-to-pay for a rapid malaria diagnostic test artemisinin-based combination therapy from private drug shops in Uganda.

clarke — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:28:39 +0000

Willingness-to-pay for a rapid malaria diagnostic test and artemisinin-based combination therapy from private drug shops in Mukono district, Uganda. -
Willingness-to-pay for a rapid malaria diagnostic test and artemisinin-based combination therapy from private drug shops in Mukono district, Uganda.
Health Policy Plan. 2012 May 15;
Authors: Hansen KS, Pedrazzoli D, Mbonye A, Clarke S, Cundill B, Magnussen P, Yeung S
Abstract
In Uganda, as in many parts of Africa, the majority of the population seek treatment for malaria in drug shops as their first point of care; however, parasitological diagnosis is not usually offered in these outlets. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria have attracted interest in recent years as a tool to improve malaria diagnosis, since they have proved accurate and easy to perform with minimal training. Although RDTs could feasibly be performed by drug shop vendors, it is not known how much customers would be willing to pay for an RDT if offered in these settings. We conducted a contingent valuation survey among drug shop customers in Mukono District, Uganda. Exit interviews were undertaken with customers aged 15 years and above after leaving a drug shop having purchased an antimalarial and/or paracetamol. The bidding game technique was used to elicit the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for an RDT and a course of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) with and without RDT confirmation. Factors associated with WTP were investigated using linear regression. The geometric mean WTP for an RDT was US$0.53, US$1.82 for a course of ACT and US$2.05 for a course of ACT after a positive RDT. Factors strongly associated with a higher WTP for these commodities included having a higher socio-economic status, no fever/malaria in the household in the past 2 weeks and if a malaria diagnosis had been obtained from a qualified health worker prior to visiting the drug shop. The findings further suggest that the WTP for an RDT and a course of ACT among drug shop customers is considerably lower than prevailing and estimated end-user prices for these commodities. Increasing the uptake of ACTs in drug shops and restricting the sale of ACTs to parasitologically confirmed malaria will therefore require additional measures.
PMID: 22589226 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] [PubMed-Malaria]

Allocating Scarce Resources Strategically - An Evaluation and Discussion of the Global Fund's Pattern of Disbursements.

clarke — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:27:56 +0000

Allocating Scarce Resources Strategically - An Evaluation and Discussion of the Global Fund's Pattern of Disbursements. -
Allocating Scarce Resources Strategically - An Evaluation and Discussion of the Global Fund's Pattern of Disbursements.
PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e34749
Authors: McCoy D, Kinyua K
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Global Fund is under pressure to improve its rationing of financial support. This study describes the GF's pattern of disbursements in relation to total health expenditure (THE), government health expenditure (GHE), income status and the burden of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. It also examines the potential for recipient countries to increase domestic public financing for health.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 104 countries that received Global Fund disbursements in 2009. It analyses data on Global Fund disbursements; health financing indicators; government revenue and expenditure; and burden of disease.
FINDINGS: Global Fund disbursements made up 0.37% of THE across all 104 countries; but with considerable country variation ranging from 0.002% to 53.4%. Global Fund disbursements to government amounted to 0.47% of GHE across the 104 countries, but again with considerable variation (in three countries more than half of GHE was based on Global Fund support). Although the Global Fund provides progressively more funding for lower income countries on average, there is much variation at the country such that here was no correlation between per capita GF disbursements and per capita THE, nor between per capita GF disbursement to government and per capita GHE. There was only a slight positive correlation between per capita GF disbursement and burden of disease. Several countries with a high degree of 'financial dependency' upon the Fund have the potential to increase levels of domestic financing for health.
DISCUSSION: The Global Fund can improve its targeting of resources so that it better matches the pattern of global need. To do this it needs to: a) reduce the extent to which funds are allocated on a demand-driven basis; and b) align its funding model to broader health systems financing and patterns of health expenditure beyond the three diseases.
PMID: 22590496 [PubMed - in process] [PubMed-Malaria]

Strand-Specific RNA-seq Applied to Malaria Samples.

clarke — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:26:55 +0000

Strand-Specific RNA-seq Applied to Malaria Samples. -
Strand-Specific RNA-seq Applied to Malaria Samples.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012;883:59-73
Authors: Ponts N, Chung DW, Le Roch KG
Abstract
Over the past few years only, next-generation sequencing technologies became accessible and many applications were rapidly derived, such as the development of RNA-seq, a technique that uses deep sequencing to profile whole transcriptomes. RNA-seq has the power to discover new transcripts and splicing variants, single-nucleotide variations, fusion genes, and mRNA level-based expression profiles. Preparing RNA-seq libraries can be delicate and usually obligates buying expensive kits that require large amounts of stating materials. The method presented here is flexible and cost-effective. Using this method, we prepared high-quality strand-specific RNA-seq libraries from RNA extracted from the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The libraries are compatible with Illumina(®)'s sequencers Genome Analyzer and Hi-Seq. The method can, however, be easily adapted to other platforms.
PMID: 22589124 [PubMed - in process] [PubMed-Malaria]

Exposure and health risk assessment of applicators to DDT during indoor residual spraying in malaria vector control program.

clarke — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:26:33 +0000

Exposure and health risk assessment of applicators to DDT during indoor residual spraying in malaria vector control program. -
Exposure and health risk assessment of applicators to DDT during indoor residual spraying in malaria vector control program.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2012 May 16;
Authors: Wassie F, Spanoghe P, Tessema DA, Steurbaut W
Abstract
We assessed exposure of applicators, health risk of DDT to the applicators and evaluated the applicability of existing pesticide exposure models for indoor residual spraying (IRS). Patch sampling for dermal and personal air sampler for inhalation exposure were used in monitoring 57 applicators on the exposure assessment to DDT. The exposure of the applicators was also estimated using three exposure models. The mean actual dermal exposure was 449?mg total DDT per applicator per one house treatment. The applicators were exposed to DDT much beyond the estimated AOEL (acceptable operator exposure level) of DDT. The exposure estimated with ConsExpo 5.0 b01 model is situated between the median and the 75th percentile of the experimental data. On the other hand, spraying model 1 and spraying model 10 overestimate the exposure. Thus, these three models cannot be directly used for the particular circumstances of IRS as a tool for risk assessment. In general, use of DDT in IRS as a control method for malaria mosquitoes holds a high health risk for the applicators. Strict implementation of spraying procedures stated in the IRS manual of World Health Organization (WHO) is necessary to reduce the exposure level and health risk of applicators to DDT.Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology advance online publication, 16 May 2012; doi:10.1038/jes.2012.45.
PMID: 22588218 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] [PubMed-Malaria]

Aryl methyl thio arenes prevent multidrug-resistant malaria in mouse by promoting oxidative stress in parasites.

clarke — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:26:16 +0000

Aryl methyl thio arenes prevent multidrug-resistant malaria in mouse by promoting oxidative stress in parasites. -
Aryl methyl thio arenes prevent multidrug-resistant malaria in mouse by promoting oxidative stress in parasites.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2012 May 3;
Authors: Goyal M, Singh P, Alam A, Kumar Das S, Shameel Iqbal M, Dey S, Bindu S, Pal C, Kumar Das S, Panda G, Bandyopadhyay U
Abstract
We have synthesized a new series of aryl methyl thio arenes (AAMTAs) and evaluated antimalarial activity in vitro and in vivo against drug-resistant malaria. These compounds interact with free heme, inhibit hemozoin formation, and prevent Plasmodium falciparum growth in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner. These compounds concentration dependently promote oxidative stress in Plasmodium falciparum as evident from the generation of intraparasitic oxidants, protein carbonyls, and lipid peroxidation products. Furthermore, AAMTAs deplete intraparasite GSH levels, which is essential for antioxidant defense and survival during intraerythrocytic stages. These compounds displayed potent antimalarial activity not only in vitro but also in vivo against multidrug-resistant Plasmodium yoelii in a mouse model in a dose-dependent fashion. The mixtures of enantiomers of AAMTAs containing 3-pyridyl rings were found to be more efficient in providing antimalarial activity. Efforts have been made to synthesize achiral AAMTAs 17-23 and among them, compound 18 showed significant antimalarial activity in vivo.
PMID: 22588006 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] [PubMed-Malaria]