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  Incidence of drug resistant tuberculosis is alarmingly high across a number of countries, according to research published in the Lancet. The study enrolled 1,278 patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a TB strain resistant to two or more first-line antibiotic drugs, and found that 43.7% were also resistant to at least one second-line therapy. Even more concerning for the researchers was that 6.7% of those 1,278 have extreme drug resistant TB (XDR-TB), meaning that they are resistant to three or more second-line therapies.   MDR-TB is a serious problem and is very difficult to treat; as it means that …

  We have witnessed ground-breaking developments in the response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in recent years. The use of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and voluntary medical male circumcision as HIV prevention tools have been proven to effectively reduce numbers of new infections. Moreover, the importance of early access to ARV treatment for those who require it has been known for some time. Yet, scientific breakthroughs come with a price tag attached and supporting the scale-up of programs, such as treatment as prevention to individuals at high risk of HIV infection, will not come cheap.   There is growing concern …

  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released a report assessing global progress in reducing child mortality, which shows that AIDS remains a leading cause of death among children under five. While there has been a significant decrease in the number of deaths among this age group, from 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011, the number of AIDS-related deaths remains relatively high, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.   Despite significant improvements in the overall scale-up and coverage of child treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services, these continue to be cited as the biggest gaps in …

[Article taken from Science Editor, originally by Anette Breindl]          In July, the International AIDS Conference occured on U.S. soil for the first time in more than two decades, the theme was “Turning the Tide Together.” That spirit contrasts sharply with the last meeting to take place in the U.S., which was held in San Francisco in 1990. “That was at one of the worst periods of this epidemic,” when an AIDS diagnosis was the equivalent of a certain death sentence, Paul Volberding, director of the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California at San Francisco, told reporters at …