On May 20, the 25th anniversary of the publishing of the first scientific research paper identifying HIV, AIDS experts say that new researchers, increased funding, and novel ideas are needed to invigorate the fight against HIV/AIDS, Agence France-Presse reports (afp.google.com, 5/19).
At a meeting in Paris on May 19, the experts—who included Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo, two researchers credited with the discovery of the virus—said that there have been remarkable successes in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including the introduction of the “triple cocktail” of drugs in the mid-1990s, which has helped prolong the lives of people with HIV.
According to Agence France-Presse, the meeting’s attendees also discussed the failures of AIDS vaccine trials and a vaginal gel to protect women from contracting the virus.
“We need to go back to the question of basic research, to have new ideas, new teams, to take a new look at cellular biology,” said Jean-Francois Delfraissy, director of France’s National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS).
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
