Washington Blade - July 28, 2006

SEATTLE (AP) - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced July 19 it's awarding $287 million in grants over five years to create an international network of scientists to speed up the development of an AIDS vaccine. The collaboration is critical to making HIV vaccine development more efficient, said the Gates Foundation's Dr. Nicholas Hellmann. "Unfortunately, developing an effective HIV vaccine has proven to be tremendously difficult, and despite the committed efforts of many researchers around the world, progress simply has not been fast enough." Hellmann acknowledged that an effective vaccine may still be 10 years away. Each of 165 investigators in 19 countries to receive money agreed to share findings in real time and compare results - even if projects had been competitive in the past. Mitchell Warren, of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, complimented the Gates Foundation on the approach but warned against assuming the money is enough.

Survey shows some with HIV unaware of drug resistance

NEW YORK - Many people with HIV are finding it more difficult to keep up with available treatment options or follow information about drug resistance, according to a recent survey by the Washington, D.C. based American Academy of HIV Medicine. The study, released July 18, showed that 91 percent of physicians are "extremely" or "very" concerned about HIV drug resistance, compared with only 54 percent of those living with the disease, Reuters reported. The survey also stated that 61 percent of HIV-positive people said they were knowledgeable about drug resistance, but 59 percent were unsure if their virus had become resistant to any drugs. "[O]nce the complex drug regimens ... came out and complicated drug resistance testing was developed," it became harder for patients to keep up, Dr. Howard Grossman, executive director of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, told Reuters.

Conn. gay couple sues for malpractice, relationship injury

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - Margaret Mueller and Charlotte Stacey are suing two doctors, accusing them of treating Mueller for ovarian cancer when she actually had cancer of the appendix. They contend Mueller underwent years of devastating chemotherapy treatments while the real cancer spread. "I think it's any patient's worst fear that everything they're doing to treat themselves is for naught," said Joshua Koskoff, an attorney for the couple. Connecticut's civil union law, passed last year, allowed Stacey also to sue for the harm to her relationship, known as a loss of consortium claim, Koskoff said. Before the law, only a married spouse in Connecticut could seek that compensation.

Indian AIDS group wants gay sex decriminalized

NEW DELHI - The National AIDS Control Organization of India is supporting demands for gay sex to be legalized. NACO filed a statement in the Delhi High Court on July 19 backing a petition compiled by a local AIDS charity requesting that a the country get rid of its 145-year-old law criminalizing homosexuality, Reuters reported. The groups say that making gay sex a crime is driving HIV underground, according to Reuters. NACO said gays lacked safe places to meet and used public places such as railway stations that result in poor access to condoms, health care and safe-sex information. UNAIDS reported in May there were an estimated 5.7 million Indians living with HIV at the end of 2005, more than any other country. There are an estimated 2.5 million sexually active gay men in India and 8 percent are believed to be HIV positive, according to NACO.

Cleveland bathhouse owner agrees to AIDS task force's requests

CLEVELAND (AP) - The owner of one of the nation's largest chains of gay bathhouses agreed last week to a set of health guidelines at six of his clubs, including one in Cleveland. Ray Wolf, owner of Club Cleveland, said his bathhouses already satisfy many of the recommendations made by the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, a private agency pushing for national standards at bathhouses. The task force asked Wolf and Charles Fleck, the owner of the Flex Club, a second bathhouse set to open in Cleveland next month, to provide free HIV testing and condoms, and to train staff members in STD prevention.

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