HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) is observed annually around the world on May 18th. The day serves as an annual commemoration of the need for and commitment to the ongoing search for a vaccine. There is no vaccine for HIV. As noted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “HIV vaccine development has been challenging largely because of the unique characteristics of the virus.” There have been continuous efforts to develop an effective HIV vaccine since the late 1980s. The clinical RV144 vaccine trial conducted in Thailand in 2009 is arguably the most successful trial to date. Scientists combined two vaccines that failed on their own, which lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31 percent. Researchers are fervently making strides to create a vaccine for HIV. The number of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths worldwide have decreased by more than one-third in the past decade which may be attributed to the tremendous advancement of HIV prevention and treatment.

Please check out the references highlighted below for more information.

IN THE AIDS LIBRARY

Here are some titles that we have in the library

BOOKS

AHFS Drug Information 2015, American Society of Health System Pharmacists – note, if you find this text difficult to navigate check out Medline Plus and/or Daily Med.

• https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50900#.VVzO4tLBwXA
• https://blog.aids.gov/2015/05/bulletin-hiv-vaccine-awareness-day-2015.html

AVAC.org

• https://www.avac.org/event/vaccines-vivo-advances-aids-vaccine-research
• https://www.avac.org/hiv-vaccine-awareness-day
• https://www.avac.org/blog/prevention-line-webinar-series

This day is especially important to the librarians.

• https://www.hvtn.org/en/resources/hiv-awareness.html
• https://www.aids.gov/news-and-events/awareness-days/hiv-vaccine-awareness-day/
• https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/education-materials/hiv-aids-awareness-days/158/hiv-vaccine-awareness-day

easy-to-digest research updates.

This year brought the launch of long-awaited initiation of clinical trials building on positive results from the RV144 “Thai” trial. This effort is led by the Pox-Protein Public-Private Partnership (P5), including the the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, who will join the webinar to provide a status update of their current vaccine research and development program. We will also feature Janssen, part of Johnson & Johnson, to provide an overview of the research program they are moving forward that focuses on a cross-clade vaccine product.

This webinar will be the next installment in our Prevention on the Line series, a year-long dialogue on pressing issues in HIV prevention research and implementation.

For advocates planning HVAD activities or simply looking for an update on the latest in the field, AVAC is updating its “HVAD Toolkit”, which includes a range of materials with HIV vaccine research highlights. The updated Toolkit will be available shortly at www.avac.org/hvad. Please email us if you’re looking for a specific resource right away.

We look forward to commemorating another HVAD with all of you as we continue to work toward the ultimate goal of a vaccine to prevent HIV. AVAC would especially like to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the US Agency for International Development, and our civil society partners in countries for supporting and partnering in HVAD and other vaccine advocacy initiatives.

We look forward to hearing your voices and questions in this discussion. And, as always, please email us at avac@avac.org with questions, comments and suggestions.

Best,
AVAC

As written by Alan Pelaez Lopez. Originally published on Black Girl Dangerous.

“Last fall, I received a call from an old partner I had not spoken to in six-months. In the middle of debating whether to answer or not, I accidentally accepted the call and heard his voice. I went to get tested and I’m HIV positive, you need to get tested, he quietly explained. He sounded tired, filled with the kind of panic that comes after days of shock and denial. It was the same tone I remembered carrying in my voice one day in Boston as a glass bottle flew towards me—then shattering as it hit me—followed by an older White male calling me “illegal.” I heard his voice and I could not breathe. I was scared for him, for me, for life.

After the phone call, all I could think was: Can I even get tested?Growing up undocumented and queer on the East Coast meant only seeing a doctor when my temperature was over 104º or there were free clinic drives at local non-profits.”

Read the story in its entirety here.

In Alan’s article, he narrates the barriers that many people face when trying to access HIV testing.  Many organizations, clinics, and hospitals require a state or federal identification card to receive an HIV test. Each year, the AIDS Library publishes the HIV Testing Guide available here. For a listing of organizations included in our guide that do not require the use of an ID to get tested contact our Public Services and Reference Librarian, the editor of this blog, Megan Threats at mthreats@fight.org

May marks Hepatitis Awareness Month, hepatitis is a condition of liver inflammation that is a group of viral infections that affect the liver. In the United States, hepatitis is most commonly caused by Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C viruses. According to the CDC, an estimated 4.4 million Americans are living with chronic hepatitis; most do not know they are infected. I would like to take this opportunity to share resources and information about Hepatitis C also known as HCV.

In the AIDS Library

Here are some titles that are available in the Library.

• The Hepatitis C Handbook, by Matthew Dolan
• Hepatitis C, The First Year: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (2nd Edition), by Cara Bruce and Lisa Montanarelli
• Dr Melissa Palmer’s Guide to Hepatitis & Liver Disease, by Melissa Palmer
• HCV/HIV Coinfection Information, by the American Liver Foundation

Information for People Living with Hepatitis C

For basic information see,

• What I Need to Know about Hepatitis C, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases – with easy-to-read text. It is also available in Spanish here.
• Hepatitis C – an interactive tutorial, from the Patient Education Institute. It is also available in Spanish here.
• Patient Education Resources, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for printer-friendly color materials.
• Newly Diagnosed: Hepatitis C, from the American Liver Foundation – a comprehensive, printer-friendly guide.
• First Steps with HCV for the Newly Diagnosed, from the HCV Advocate

People with further questions can call 877-HELP-4-HEP, a national support line from The Support Partnership (TSP), a collaboration of four national Hepatitis C organizations. For information on HCV treatment, see

• Treatment Factsheets from HCV Advocate
• Herbal Dietary Supplements Glossary, from HCV Advocate
• Hepatitis-related drug medication information, from DailyMed of the National Library of Medicine

For help paying for treatment, see Project Inform’s list of Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) For specific issues  for people living with HCV, see:

• Hepatitis & Tattoos, from the Hepatitis C Support Project
• Diet and Nutrition for people living with HCV, from the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
• Alcohol and Hepatitis C, from the DVA
• Vaccinations of Adults with Hepatitis C Infection, from the Immunization Action Coalition

For HCV information related to specific populations, see:

• African Americans and Hepatitis C, from HCV Advocate
• Viral Hepatitis: Information for Gay and Bisexual Men, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For information about HIV/HCV coinfection, see

• A Guide to Hepatitis C for People Living with HIV, from Treatment Action Group – printer-friendly, with statistical information
• HIV, Hepatitis C, and You, from The Body – colorful, printer-friendly, and contains stories from people living with an HIV/HCV coinfection
• A Guide to HIV and Hep C Coinfection, from the Hepatitis C Support Project – colorful, printable, and aimed at patients
• HIV and Viral Hepatitis, from the CDC – including statistical info

For HCV info in language other than English, see

• A enormous amount of info in Spanish, from HCV Advocate
• Multilingual HIV and Hepatitis C Factsheets, from Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service – in Akan, Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, French, Indonesian, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Macedonian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Shona, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
• Multilingual Hepatitis Health Information Handouts, from the Refugee Health Information Network – in Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, French, Hmong, Karen, Korean, Kreyol, Portuguese, Russian, Somalia, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese
• Foreign Language Publications, also from HCV Advocate, in Bulgarian, Chinese, French, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Somali
• HCV Info in Urdu, from the Hepatitis Trust in the United Kingdom

For issues around benefits, see A Guide to Hepatitis & Disability, from the Hepatitis C Support Project For personal stories about HCV, see:

• HCV Advocate’s Personal Stories
• The Hepatitis C Trust’s Personal Stories
• Hepatitis Australia’s Treatment, Life, Hep C, and Me

Research, Provider Information, and More

To follow clinical research and other HCV news, see

• Hepatitis Clinical Studies Around the World, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
• NAM AIDSmap’s Hepatitis C news page
• Hepatitis C Research and News
• HIVandHepatitis.com, for news focusing on co-infection
• Recent News in HCV Care, from Project Inform

For statistics, see:

• Hepatitis C Statistics and Surveillance, from the CDC – for in-depth statistics
• Hepatitis C FAQs for Health Professionals – for a narrative that puts those statistics in context

For provider information, see:

• Viral Hepatitis Action Plan (2014-2016), a comprehensive printer-friendly cross-agency action plan from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Justice (DOJ), and Veterans Affairs
• Free, Online CME Course for Primary Care Providers, from ACT-First a collaboration between the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), American College of Physicians, DVA , CDC, and Project ECHO, a course aimed at improving primary care physicians’ knowledge of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
• HIV & Hepatitis Coinfections: Management & Treatment Guidelines, from the Hepatitis C Support Project
• Considerations for Antiretroviral Use in Patients with HIV/HCV Coinfection, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Testing Recommendations for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection, from the CDC

For prevention with certain populations, see:

• Viral Hepatitis And Men Who Have Sex with Men, from the CDC
• Injection Drug Users and Viral Hepatitis, from the CDC

National Hepatitis Testing Day: May 19, 2014

National Hepatitis Testing Day is on May 19th.  The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Prevention Information Network allows you to search for hepatitis testing events in your area or register testing events to help build hepatitis testing resources here.

HCV Testing Locations in Philadelphia

Below is a listing of locations in Philadelphia where individuals can be tested.

• 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University
• Baker Industries
• BEBASHI: Transition to Hope
• Fairmount Primary Care
• Family Practice & Counseling Network Health Annex
• Hunting Park Health Ctr.
• Latino Commission on AIDS
• Lax Center at Philadelphia FIGHT
• Mary Howard Health Center
• Prevention Point Philadelphia
• St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children – Division of Adolescent Medicine
• TPAC (Philadelphia AIDS Consortium)
• Veteran Affairs Medical Center
• Mazzoni Center (809 Locust location)
• Y-HEP (testing available for people up to 24 years of age)

Information regarding addresses, testing hours, walk-ins/appointment guidelines, and contact information for the above locations is available by clicking the Search Resources tab on the AIDS Library website.