Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
|
|
STD Advisor (06.01.01) Vol 4; No 6: P 68-70
Why are you leaving CDC?
"I think this is a wonderful opportunity to help make a difference in another critical health area. I truly believe that developing an effective HIV vaccine is one of the most important challenges of this decade. ... From the technical point, HIV vaccine development has reached a new level and many of us feel there are opportunities now that hadn't existed before. ... Finally, I see this as an opportunity for the CDC's STD program to marshal some new blood and new brains."
What is your greatest accomplishment at the CDC?
"One thing I felt strongly about from the beginning is I wanted to expand the range and balance of what was done by this division across the areas of epidemiology, behavioral science, health services research, and between research and program."
What will be your legacy at the CDC?
"... Our efforts in syphilis elimination will be among those, including the progress we have made in halving congenital syphilis rates in three years and the dramatic reductions in the racial disparity -more than 50 percent in three years.
"I think the launching of the chlamydia and infertility prevention efforts is another thing, although in my view those efforts have hit a wall.... The other thing ... is the focus on early detection and treatment of other STDs as a key component of any comprehensive HIV strategy and that continues to be a struggle.
... We worked pretty hard to move from a bug-and- drug conceptualization of STD prevention to a concept of why STD prevention is a key strategic element in the health of women, adolescents, infants, and in HIV prevention."
What are some of the challenges facing your successor?
"One area that I think is tremendously important is doing a better job on STD prevention among adolescents.... This fall there will be a solicitation for a major research initiative on adolescents and the results of that is something I am going to be looking forward to. It will call upon investigators to view in a very different way interventions to improve STD prevention in adolescents. It will move across care and prevention...."
Will SAFE and the new HIV Strategic Plan improve integration of STD and HIV prevention or are there just too many barriers?
"In both of these initiatives, the role of STD detection and treatment as a key strategy is grossly underemphasized. As others have talked about, with the advances in highly active antiretroviral therapy, there has been a tremendous focus on treatment and the balance between treatment and prevention has been jeopardized."
Across the spectrum of STDs there seems to be reversing trends. Are these natural cycles or has some ground been lost in the past few years?
"We have made tremendous strides in syphilis. The increases we had seen in gonorrhea appear to be leveling off and I don't know where that will go but we need to find out. With chlamydia and infertility prevention there is a need to re-establish the energy and focus. One of the biggest challenges to the program and the new director will be dealing effectively with the competing priorities in STD prevention, which is unlike HIV or TB prevention. It is about prevention of over 20 different pathogens."
What are your expectations about resources in the next few years?
"My crystal ball is not good enough to predict but within any administration people look for winner programs and winner efforts. So the key in all of this is to continue to design and implement effective programs, evaluate and show with data how well they are working and how they save money. If we can do that, resources will be there." There is a good possibility an HPV or HSV vaccine will be approved long before an HIV vaccine.
Will they help pave the way for an HIV vaccine?
"The good news is that the CDC, for example, through the polio eradication capacities that have been mounted, has a tremendous amount of expertise to offer."
010815
AD011547
Copyright © 2001 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
.