2011 was filled with so many breakthroughs in the global fight against HIV and AIDS that the head of the UN Agency charged with coordinating the response to the epidemic said that the world was on the verge of a significant breakthrough. To be sure, millions around the world continue to fall victim to the killer disease, but there are more reasons than ever to be hopeful.
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A New Vaccine Could Make HIV a 'Minor Infection'
Researchers in Spain announced in September that 90 percent of test subjects who were given an experimental vaccine, known as MVA-B, developed an immune response to the virus that causes AIDS. Eighty-five percent of them still showed an immune response a year after receiving the shot.
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South Africa Virtually Eliminated Mother-to-Child HIV Infection
South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. But an aggressive new policy of treating HIV-positive expectant mothers with life-saving antiretroviral drugs at an earlier point of their pregnancy paid off in spades. In June, South Africa stunned the world by announcing that it had almost wiped out mother-to-child HIV infection completely.
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Poor Patients Closer to Cheaper Drugs
Gilead Sciences, a California-based pharmaceutical company, agreed in July to let generic drug companies knock off four of its HIV medications, potentially sending cheaper life-saving drugs to the developing world.
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More People Than Ever Are Living With HIV
Ahead of World AIDS Day 2011, the U.N. announced a bit of great news: there are a record number of people around the world living with HIV. Why is that great news? It means that there are fewer AIDS-related deaths, thanks to a wider availability of life-saving drugs.
Photo: Reuters Pictures.
Sesame Street is Spreading HIV Awareness Around the World
The beloved children's TV show broke a huge taboo when they introduced their first HIV-positive Muppet on the South African version of the program in 2002. This year they introduced Kami, an HIV-positive character who lost her mother to HIV. Producers hope that Kami, who is never seen without her red ribbon, will help fight both the spread of HIV and reduce discrimination against the three million or so HIV-positive Nigerians currentlly living with the disease.
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Pills Virtually Eliminate the Risk of Passing on HIV
It was hailed as a breakthrough when it was announced in May: the National Institutes of Health discovered that early treatment of HIV positive patients with existing antiretroviral medications virtually erased the chances they would pass on the virus to an uninfected partner. The dramatic results reignited calls for widespread access to antiretroviral pills at home and abroad, in the hopes of further controlling the spread of the deadly disease.
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Scientists Discovered HIV's Achilles Heel
After years of seaching, a team at the Ragon Institute in Massachussetts found a weak spot in the AIDS virus that could serve as a target for a future vaccine.
Two Things Involved:This small group of devoted healthcare workers in Malawi uses all the tools at its disposal, including theater and music, to educate their communities about HIV/AIDS.
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