|
|
|
THE CHANGING FACE OF AIDS
The fight against AIDS shifts to the developing nations. July 17, 1998 |
|---|
[Editor's Note: Dr. David Ho's responses will be posted when they are received.
Questions asked
in this forum:
Are we using the third world as guinea pigs? What is the status of vaccine research? Will funding for a vaccine limit ressearch into drug treatments? Do drug-resistant AIDS viruses mean that drug treatments will become obsolete? Has a drop in public attention hurt the fight against AIDS?
NewsHour Backgrounders
July 3, 1998:
The 12th World Conference on AIDS gives a mixed progress report on the battle against the virus.
June 29, 1998:
A report on Seattle's attempt to slow the spread of HIV.
December 1, 1997:
A new report indicates more people than first expected are infected with AIDS.
September 24, 1997:
The controversy over the AIDS vaccine.
March 5, 1997:
An update on the war against AIDS.
January 27, 1997:
Are scientists making AIDS a manageable disease?
Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the Health issues.
OUTSIDE LINKS
The 12th World Conference on AIDS.
The Center of Disease Controls AIDS information clearinghouse.
Harvard Medical School's AIDS information for parents and children.
With over 11 million dead from the AIDS epidemic and more than 30 million infected with HIV, the disparity between treatments available in the developed nations and those in the third world have also increased.
While expensive drug therapies offer hope for those living in Europe and North America, the epidemic continues to ravage third world nations. Newest figures indicate that
90 percent of new HIV infections occur in areas where basic medical care, let alone costly new drugs, are essentially nonexistent.
"I think the gap is huge," Dr. David Ho, a noted AIDS specialist, told the NewsHour. "These combination therapies we have in the states are so expensive they're simply out of the question for the developing countries, many of which have only a few dollars per year per citizen."
In an effort to improve treatment available in the developing world, the United Nations announced a $500 million effort to develop a vaccine for the virus in the next nine years. The vaccine could be distributed to areas where other medical treatment might not be possible.
Scientists are hope they will have a vaccine in the next 10 years.
"When you have something like a vaccine that's such an elusive, difficult thing, particularly because of the special nature of HIV vaccine, you can never say for sure," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on the NewsHour. "But as a scientist, I feel … that it's totally within reason to feel that we can do it within 10 years."
Two of America's leading figures in the fight against AIDS answered your questions about the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, is one of the government's top officials at the National Institute of Health. Dr. David Ho pioneered the use of so-called protease inhibitors, the drug treatment which has proved effective in lessening the impact of the disease.
Questions asked
in this forum:
Are we using the third world as guinea pigs? What is the status of vaccine research? Will funding for a vaccine limit ressearch into drug treatments? Do drug-resistant AIDS viruses mean that drug treatments will become obsolete? Has a drop in public attention hurt the fight against AIDS?
Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station. PBS Online Privacy Policy
Copyright ©1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.
