Prevenção do HIV/Aids em municípios da Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: hiatos entre a política global atual e as respostas locais / HIV/AIDS prevention in municipalities in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: gaps between global policy and local responses / Prevención del VIH/Sida en municipios de la Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: hiatos entre la política global y las respuestas locales

As políticas globais e nacional de resposta à Aids têm enfatizado atualmente o tratamento como prevenção, as profilaxias pós e pré-exposição ao HIV e a prevenção combinada. O artigo analisa a tradução dessas políticas no âmbito local, com base em uma pesquisa social em municípios da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro centrada no contexto programático de prevenção e cuidado do HIV/Aids e na vulnerabilidade ao HIV de gays, travestis e prostitutas. Os hiatos entre as diretrizes e os contextos locais são abordados a partir de quatro temas: ampliação da oferta de testagem; desafios das ações focalizadas; distância entre testar e tratar; e o alcance das combinações na prevenção combinada. Buscamos demonstrar a importância da compreensão dos processos sociais que perpassam a implementação das estratégias preconizadas globalmente, que precisam ainda ser consideradas no enfrentamento da epidemia.(AU)

Global and national AIDS response policies emphasize treatment as prevention, pre and post- exposure prophylaxis, and combination prevention. This article analyzes the implementation of such policies at local level drawing on the findings of a social study conducted in municipalities in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro , Brasil, centered on HIV/AIDS prevention and care and the vulnerability of gays, transvestites, and prostitutes. The gaps between policy and local action are addressed focusing on four issues: the expansion of HIV testing, challenges facing targeted actions, the distance between testing and treatment, and the reach of combinations in combination prevention. We demonstrate the importance of understanding the social processes that cut across the implementation of the global recommendations and guidelines and suggest that these processes must to be taken into account to effectively tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic.(AU)

Las políticas globales y nacional de respuesta al Sida han enfatizado actualmente el tratamiento como prevención, las profilaxis post y preexposición al VIH y la prevención combinada. El artículo analiza la traducción de esas políticas en el ámbito local, con base en una investigación social en municipios de la región metropolitana de Río de Janeiro, Brasil, centrada en el contexto programático de prevención y cuidado del VIH/Sida y la vulnerabilidad al VIH de gais, travestis y prostitutas. Los hiatos entre las directrices y los contextos locales se abordan a partir de cuatro temas: ampliación de la oferta de testes, desafíos de las acciones focalizadas, la distancia entre el teste y el tratamiento y el alcance de las combinaciones en la prevención combinada. Buscamos demostrar la importancia de la comprensión de los procesos sociales presentes en la implementación de las estrategias preconizadas globalmente que todavía tienen que llevarse en consideración en el enfrentamiento de la epidemia.(AU)

Significance of Increased Rapid Treatment from HIV Diagnosis to the First Antiretroviral Therapy in the Recent 20 Years and Its Implications: the Korea HIV/AIDS Cohort Study

From December 2006 to December 2016, 1,429 patients enrolled in the Korea human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) Cohort Study were investigated. Based on the year of diagnosis, the time interval between HIV diagnosis and initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) was analyzed by dividing it into 2 years. The more recent the diagnosis, the more likely rapid treatment was initiated (P < 0.001) and the proportion of patients starting ART on the same day of HIV diagnosis was increased in 2016 (6.5%) compared to that in 2006 (1.7%). No significant difference in the median values of CD4+ cell counts according to the diagnosis year was observed. In the past 20 years, the time from the HIV diagnosis to the initiation of ART was significantly reduced. Rapid treatment was being implemented at the HIV diagnosis, regardless of CD4+ cell count. Considering the perspective “treatment is prevention,” access to more rapid treatment is necessary at the time of HIV diagnosis.

AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine

Although the tremendous effort has been paid by scientists for creating HIV vaccine over the past three decades since the discovery of HIV-1, the HIV vaccine development still has a long way to go. Only one HIV vaccine, RV144, has been proved to be moderately effective by the clinical trials, but there has been much debate about its usefulness. The difficulties of HIV vaccine development includes the attacks to host’s immune system by HIV and the emergence of various escape mutants. The necessity of large clinical trials for the proof of efficacy also makes HIV vaccine development difficult. One the other hand, Treatment as Prevention (TasP) or Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has revealed to be highly effective for HIV prevention. Those preventive strategies using antiretroviral therapy is one of the recent main stream of HIV policy worldwide. However, it is believed that a sustained end of the HIV pandemic is guaranteed by the combination of nonvaccine prevention and the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine. The continuous efforts are needed for the HIV vaccine development.