New virus strain behind HIV explosion in the Philippines
A more aggressive and drug-resistant HIV subtype is
behind skyrocketing HIV infection rates in the Philippines.
Epidemiologist Edsel Salvana tells DW that the new strain is threatening
to spark a new epidemic.
Remarkable advancement in the prevention, management and treatment of
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has led to a global decline in HIV as
well as new infection rates. The Philippines, however, remains an
outlier. The country has the http://www.dw.com/en/why-hiv-infections-are-rising-in-the-philippines/a-39934683" rel="nofollow - fastest growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region . The
total number of new HIV infections in the Philippines increased by 140
percent from 2010 to 2016, according to the Philippine Department of
Health (DOH) and UNAIDS, the United Nations agency on HIV and AIDS. DOH
data show that as of December 2017, there were 50,725 reported cases of
HIV in the Philippines. And the agency forecasts the total number of
HIV cases in the country to reach 142,400 by 2022. In an
interview with DW, Dr. Edsel Salvana, Director of the Institute of
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the National Institutes of Health
at the University of the Philippines, talks about the new strain — the
HIV AE subtype — and its implications for Philippine society. DW: Give us an overview of this new HIV subtype AE and how it is affecting new HIV infection rates. Edsel
Salvana: The HIV virus has the potential to transform itself into a new
and different virus each time it affects a cell. There are nearly 100
different subtypes of HIV, with new subtypes being discovered every day. Most HIV infections in the Western world are of subtype B. Most of
the research that we have on HIV is also on subtype B though it accounts
for only about 12 percent of all global HIV infections. We have
discovered that the explosion of HIV in the Philippines is due to a
shift from the Western subtype B to a more aggressive HIV subtype AE.
Those infected by the HIV subtype AE are younger, sicker patients who
are more resistant to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. We are also seeing a
faster progression to AIDS under subtype AE. What are the implications of the discovery of this HIV subtype AE? HIV
is not done yet. We cannot think of HIV as a single virus but as a
collection of viruses that are evolving, with a new mutation that can
possibly set off a new epidemic. The truth is we are just a few viral
mutations away from a resurgence of HIV — and it is not going to look
like what it used to look like. It will be worse. If we are not
vigilant, we are going to be caught with our pants down. What then needs to be done to prevent this? The
gains that we have made in decreasing HIV infection rates will be
short-lived without research and treatment for HIV subtype AE. This is
urgently needed. Specifically for the Philippines, we need more
scientists willing to do research work on HIV. To do this, we need to
make access to government research funds more efficient. The current
government procurement procedures are tedious and slow, which causes
further delay in research. Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/philippines-workers-with-hiv-face-discrimination-says-hrw/a-42520739" rel="nofollow - Philippines - workers with HIV face discrimination, says HRW http://www.dw.com/en/dying-of-shame-and-aids-in-the-philippines/a-19292896" rel="nofollow - Dying of shame and AIDS in the Philippines What
are your thoughts on the move to amend the existing HIV law and lower
the age of HIV testing without parental consent to 18? This
is long overdue. We also need to consider moving from a voluntary
approach to testing to what the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention recommends as the "opt-out” approach where patients are
informed that an HIV test will be conducted unless they explicitly
decline to be tested. This approach is meant to help identify persons
living with HIV who may otherwise not volunteer or subject themselves to
testing because they do not think that they are at risk of HIV
infection. Condoms have always been a hard sell in
conservative, Catholic Philippines. What are your thoughts on how to
aggressively promote condoms in HIV prevention? I have
always advocated calling condoms something else, maybe something like "a
sexual health promotion device" to dissociate it from contraception.
Condoms are http://www.dw.com/en/dying-of-shame-and-aids-in-the-philippines/a-19292896" rel="nofollow - collateral damage
resulting from the Catholic Church's stand on contraception and if we
can get away from that label and present it as a health promotion and
prevention tool — which it is anyway — it might be more acceptable. Dr.
Edsel Salvana is Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and
Biotechnology at the National Institutes of Health at the University of
the Philippines, Manila, and is Clinical Associate Professor and
Research Coordinator at the Section of Infectious Diseases of the
Department of Medicine at the Philippine General Hospital.
Source: http://www.dw.com/en/new-virus-strain-behind-hiv-explosion-in-the-philippines/a-42912490" rel="nofollow - http://www.dw.com/en/new-virus-strain-behind-hiv-explosion-in-the-philippines/a-42912490
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