In the seventeenth century, smallpox reigned as the world's worst killer. Luck, more than anything else, decided who would live and who would die. That is, until Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, an English aristocrat, moved to Constantinople and noticed the Turkish practice of "ingrafting" or inoculation, which, she wrote, made "the small- pox...entirely harmless." Convinced by what she witnessed, she allowed her six-year-old son to be ingrafted, and the treatment was a complete success--the young Montagu enjoyed lifelong immunity from smallpox. Lady Montagu's discovery would, however, remain a quiet one; it would be almost 150 years before inoculation (in the more modern form of vaccination) would become widely accepted while the medical community struggled to understand the way our bodies defend themselves against disease.
William Clark's At War Within takes us on a fascinating tour through the immune system, examining the history of its discovery, the ways in which it protects us, and how it may bring its full force to bear at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Scientists have only gradually come to realize that this elegant defense system not only has the potential to help, as in the case of smallpox, but also the potential to do profound harm in health problems ranging from allergies to AIDS, and from organ transplants to cancer. Dr. Clark discusses the myriad of medical problems involving the immune system, and he systematically explains each one. For example, in both tuberculosis and AIDS, the underlying pathogens take up residence within the immune system itself, something Clark compares to having a prowler take up residence in your house, crawling around through the walls and ceilings while waiting to do you in. He discusses organ transplants, showing how the immune system can work far too well, and touching on the heated ethical debate over the use of both primate and human organs. He explores the mind's powerful ability to influence the performance of the immune system; and the speculation that women, because they have developed more powerful immune systems in connection with childbearing, are more prone than men to contract certain diseases such as lupus. In a fascinating chapter on AIDS, arguably the most deadly epidemic seen on Earth since the smallpox, Clark explains how the disease originated and the ways in which it operates. And, in each section, we learn about the most recent medical breakthroughs.
At first glance, it may appear that our immune system faces daunting odds; it must learn to successfully fend off, not thousands, but millions of different types of microbes. Fortunately, according to Clark, it would be almost impossible to imagine a more elegant strategy for our protection than the one chosen by our immune system, and his At War Within provides a thorough and engaging explanation of this most complex and delicately balanced mechanism.

This Brief presents preliminary findings from research in three prisons in Maharashtra, India on experiences of prison inmates there living with HIV. The study explores health care services in these prisons, and problems experienced by inmates in India living with HIV, as well as their staff and caregivers. Through this preliminary study, the researchers shed light on the experiences of inmates in Indian prisons, with an aim of presenting questions for future research. The author provides an overview of the global conditions of prison inmates living with HIV, as an international comparative context for examining the cases in India. Major problems highlighted in the cases include: living conditions, high risk behavior during incarceration, delivery of medical services and adherence to ethical guidelines. Results of the study reveal that overcrowding and inadequate nutrition were major concerns for inmates living with HIV; there were no support systems available inside the prisons to address the stress related issues of the inmates; and, the prison hospital did not have provisions to cater to the treatment needs of inmates living with AIDS. The study also found that confidentiality regarding the HIV positive status could not be maintained inside the prison. This Brief presents a window into the experience of inmates in India, and presents questions for future research to understand and improve living conditions and medical service delivery within the prison system. This work will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly interested in incarceration or health issues, public health and related areas such as public policy, international studies, and demography studies in India.

Given rapid research progress and advance of the techniques in studying HIV interactions with host cells and factors, there is a critical need for a book on HIV interactions with DCs. The proposed book will aim for a broad readership to facilitate HIV/AIDS research and provide a practical tool for HIV researchers to continuously address novel questions. Specifically, the editors will summarize the literature in this field and provide critical analysis and future directions. International researchers will be invited as contributors of the book, highlighting authors who have contributed significantly to the field from different angles and aspects of virology, cell biology and immunology, etc.

A comprehensive health care system consists of services that are coordinated and integrated along the full continuum of care. For HIV patients, this includes physical health care, infectious disease management, crisis care, mental health care, substance abuse counseling, and social support services including housing, transportation, subsistence, and supports for dealing with multiple sources of stigma. This book highlights the dilemmas faced in providing comprehensive, integrated care to individuals living with HIV, providing both an understanding of existing efforts to integrate diverse systems of care, as well as insight into ways in which systems of care must be challenged in order to meet the needs of people living with HIV. Comprehensive Care for HIV/AIDS is the result of collaborative work with the county Health Department, numerous community-based organizations, and several planning boards in a metropolitan area, which have sought to provide integrated care to people living with HIV. It will be a valuable resource to the diverse community of HIV researchers, advocates and providers.

Leading clinical experts survey the latest information available on the key rheumatic and allergic issues that physicians face in treating the HIV-infected patient. The physicians focus on the rheumatologic and dermatologic manifestations of HIV-1 infection, which include arthritis, myopathies, vasculitis, sicca syndrome, other autoimmune phenomena, and psoriasis. They also examine the question of allergic reactions in HIV patients, including drug hypersensitivity, with special attention given to adverse reactions to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, the most frequently prescribed anti-infective. Practical advice for the diagnosis and treatment of these problems is given in full.

The care paradigm for people with HIV has shifted from managing progressive illness with a poor prognosis to managing a chronic condition. Despite this improvement, people living with HIV continue to experience considerable stresses, so promoting their holistic wellbeing is a key aspect of long-term care. This book provides an accessible introduction for healthcare professionals who work with people living with HIV. It is designed to help readers understand how care in practice can be more person-centred and psychologically focused, whilst promoting compassion, health and wellbeing. Topics covered include self-awareness, attachment theories and communication as well as key aspects of providing care for people living with HIV, such as stigma in young adults, neurocognitive issues, the sexualized use of drugs, managing neuropathic pain, and the needs of older adults living with HIV. Invaluable reading for health professionals working within multidisciplinary teams that provide care for people living with HIV, this book is also a core text for those studying in the area.

This new collection of essays on HIV viruses spans disciplines to topple popular narratives about the origins of the AIDS pandemic and the impact of the disease on public health policy. With a death toll in the tens of millions, the AIDS pandemic was one of the worst medical disasters of the past century. The disease was identified in 1981, at the height of miraculous postwar medical achievements, including effective antibiotics, breakthrough advances in heart surgery and transplantations, and cheap, safe vaccines--smallpox had been eradicated just a few years earlier. Arriving as they did during this era of confidence in modern medicine, the HIV epidemics shook the public's faith in health science. Despite subsequent success in identifying, testing, and treating AIDS, the emergence of epidemics and outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and the novel coronaviruses (SARS and COVID-19) are stark reminders that such confidence in modern medicine is not likely to be restored until the emergence of these viruses is better understood. This collection combines the work of major social science and humanities scholars with that of virologists and epidemiologists to provide a broader understanding of the historical, social, and cultural circumstances that produced the pandemic. The authors argue that the emergence of the HIV viruses and their epidemic spread were not the result of a random mutation but rather broader new influences whose impact depended upon a combination of specific circumstances at different places and times. The viruses emerged and were transmitted according to population movement and urbanization, changes in sexual relations, new medical procedures, and war. In this way, the AIDS pandemic was not a chance natural occurrence, but a human-made disaster. Essays by: Ernest M. Drucker, Tamara Giles-Vernick, Ch. Didier Gondola, Guillaume Lachenal, Amandine Lauro, Preston A. Marx, Stephanie Rupp, Francois Simon, Jorge Varanda

By tracing the shadow of the epidemic over the last 30 years in Uganda and more broadly in the region, HIV and East Africa investigates the impact of the epidemic on people's lives and livelihoods, placing the epidemic within the context of the social, political and economic changes that have occurred over the last three decades. Whilst it inevitably touches on loss and suffering, the message is also about managing the impact of an epidemic which has had a profound impact on many lives. When one looks for traces in southern Uganda, once thought to be the epicentre of the epidemic, it is hard to see any lasting impact at a community wide level. Delve deeper and there are scars to be found among families and patterns of change which are a direct result of the epidemic The book goes on to explore the effect of improved treatment and care on perceptions of the epidemic and concludes by putting HIV into the context of other disease outbreaks, reflecting on what we can learn from the history of other epidemics as well as the last 30 years of the HIV epidemic.

HIV Treatment as Prevention: Primer for Behavior-Based Implementation provides the first practical guide to integrating behavioral prevention with antiretroviral therapies for people living with HIV infection. This brief book discusses the historical and social context embedding the shifting landscape in HIV prevention, where the use of effective treatments have become the focus of HIV prevention. While using treatments for prevention is promising, the history of HIV prevention offers several important pitfalls that must be avoided if HIV treatments are to ultimately succeed in preventing new HIV infections. Lessons learned from the successes and failures of other biomedical technologies used in HIV prevention, specifically syringes, condoms, and HIV testing are critical to the success of using HIV treatments for prevention. HIV Treatment as Prevention: Primer for Behavior-Based Implementation summarizes the scientific evidence for advancing the use of antiretroviral therapies for HIV prevention. The evidence makes clear that HIV treatments can prevent HIV transmission, but will fail if behavioral aspects of treatment and HIV transmission are ignored. Of greatest concern are medication adherence and risks for contracting other sexually transmitted infections. Placing HIV treatment within the context of behavioral interventions for maintaining medication adherence and reducing sexual risk behaviors is therefore essential to the future of HIV prevention. HIV Treatment as Prevention: Primer for Behavior-Based Implementation highlights two pioneering behavioral interventions aimed at maximizing the effects of antiretroviral therapies for preventing HIV transmission. One of the interventions, developed by the Author's research team, is discussed in detail and the intervention manual is included as an Appendix."

The study of viruses necessarily involves dissecting the intimate details of cellular pathways. Viruses have often been employed as tools in studying cellular pathways, as was done by early retrovirologists such as Peyton Rous in attempting to understand the mechanism of cellular transformation and oncogenesis. On the other side of the coin, virologists seek to de?ne those cellular elements interacting intimatelywiththeir virus ofinterestinorder to better understand viral replication itself, and in some cases to develop antiviral strategies. It is in the intersection of virology and cell biology that many of us ?nd the most rewarding aspects of our research. When a new discovery yields insights into basic cellular mechanisms and presents new targets for int- vention to ?ght a serious pathogen, the impact can be high and the excitement intense. HIV has been no exception to the rule that viruses reveal many basic aspects of cellular biology. In recent years, in part because of the importance of HIV as a major cause of human suffering, numerous cellular processes have been elucidated through work on processes or proteins of this human retrovirus. The excitement in this ?eld is especially well illustrated by the discovery of new innate means of resisting viral replication, such as the work on APOBEC3G, TRIM5a, and BST-2/ tetherin presented in this volume.

In the decade since AIDS was first recognised the enormous and worldwide social and medical implications of this disease have been increasingly recognised. The exponential increase in the number of people infected with HIV has been paralleled by the written literature on the subject. When this book was initially conceived the question was why another book? It seemed to me at that time and since, that as HIV presented ever more complex problems, they were best solved when considered within a wider context, using basic principles of individual medical specialties and applying them. For this reason, all the chapter authors were experienced in a particular field and applied that knowledge to HIV. All the authors were working at the Middlesex Hospital in London when the AIDS services there were expanding to fill a need, from 2 beds in 1986 to two wards today. The authors were frontline staff looking after all aspects of HIV infection within a wider general medical context. Many are now consultants or senior lecturers. It is the aim of the book to provide an insight into HIV and AIDS as a overview for someone starting to work in this field or who sees such patients occasionally and requires some basic guidelines. For this reason the chapters are based predominantly on organ systems and are divided into sections covering the presenta tion, methods of investigation and treatment or action required of relevant conditions."

In most countries, primary prevention programmes against the HIV / AIDS epidemic have been implemented. Broadly speaking, three levels of intervention can be identified: - national campaigns directed to the general population; most of them are multi phase campaigns aimed at providing information about HIV transmission and protective behaviour; they use the various mass media channels and are mainly directed to sexual behaviour modifi cation; - community-based interventions, addressed to specific target popula tions; these populations have been typically selected according to both the high risk of infection (gay men and prostitutes) and the difficulty to reach the members of these communities (intravenous drug users); - individual testing and counselling, often supported by public funds or large non-governmental organizations. Major efforts have been devoted to the development and the implemen tation of these preventive programmes, both in terms of human re sources and financial support. On the other hand, in most countries, far less energy has been put into the evaluation of these campaigns. This gap is not explained by the fact that evaluation of AIDS/HIV cam paigns is a totally new challenge in terms of methodology: there are classical methods, developed over twenty years and used in other fields of prevention."

In a riveting portrait of the world's largest HIV/AIDS medical-care provider, award-winning journalist Patrick Range McDonald reveals AIDS Healthcare Foundation's unlikely rise from a feisty grassroots organization during the height of 1980s AIDS crisis to its position today as a global leader in the fight to control HIV and AIDS. This untold story highlights AHF's bold history of activism, its hard-charging advocacy on the behalf of vulnerable people, and its heroic efforts to provide free HIV drug treatment around the world. With insider access, McDonald follows AHF for a year as it clashes with the Obama administration, the state of Nevada, and the World Health Organization. He interviews AHF's key players, including firebrand president Michael Weinstein, and travels to AHF outposts around the globe. Along the way, McDonald discovers that AHF is a tenacious "people power" organization that brings hope and change to nearly all corners of the world.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Latinos now comprise 16% of the general population as they continue to be one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. However, according to recent CDC data, Latinos also account for a disproportionately high number of total new AIDS cases. Rates of AIDS among U.S. Latinos are second only to African Americans, and about 3.5-times higher than for non-Hispanic Whites. Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS increases with ethnic and racial minority status that is so often conflated with socioeconomic status. Additional factors, such as gender, sexual orientation, and stigma, also increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and require us to think comprehensively about the unique structural-environmental, social and cultural factors that frame risk for HIV for U.S. Latinos.
This book, written by leading authorities on theory, research, and practice in preventing HIV with diverse Latino populations and communities, responds to the diminishing returns of the behavioral model of HIV risk by deconstructing the many social ecological contexts of risk within the Latino experience. Each of the chapters explores the most innovative thinking and original research on the prevention of HIV for a comprehensive span of subgroups and situations, including: preventing HIV in LGBT Latinos through community involvement and AIDS activism; in migrant laborers by scaling up community and cultural resources; in adolescent Latinas by facilitating communication with their mothers about sex; by decreasing the racism, homophobia, and poverty often experienced by Latino men who have sex with men; in transgender Latinas by decreasing familial, peer, and social rejection, and by providing structures of care at local, state, and national levels; and in Latinas by improving their economic autonomy as well as improving gender-equity ideologies among men.
This is a timely and urgently needed effort by the best researchers and interventionists in the field today. Latino-serving agencies and professionals, as well as the growing number of Latino-focused HIV prevention researchers, graduate students, and faculty, will find this an invaluable resource, reference, and guide.

Despite major advances in HIV treatment, many areas require more study, in order to create efficacious, potent antiretrovirals that can suppress viral load completely and durably without toxic side effects, to define unknown drug targets and fine-tune known targets, and to better understand the interplay between viral and host factors. In "HIV Protocols, Second Edition," expert researchers provide clear, state-of-the-art methods for the study of HIV. Directed toward three specific goals, this text aims to document up-to-date protocols for select aspects of HIV biology, to bring together both virological and immunological approaches in a single, convenient volume, and to present a comprehensive account of a range of techniques not available in any existing HIV protocol book. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, the chapters include brief introductions to the subject, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and Notes sections containing priceless tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Comprehensive and cutting-edge, "HIV Protocols, Second Edition" is an ideal guide to the wide array of techniques used in fundamental or applied research into the biology and pathogenesis of HIV-1."

Series Information:
Social Aspects of AIDS

As soon as US media and politicians became aware of AIDS in the early 1980s, fingers were pointed not only at the gay community but also at other countries and migrant communities, particularly Haitians, as responsible for spreading the virus. Evangelical leaders, public health officials, and the Reagan administration quickly capitalized on widespread fear of the new disease to call for quarantines, immigration bans, and deportations, scapegoating and blaming HIV-positive migrants-even as the rest of the world regarded the US as the primary exporter of the virus. In The Borders of AIDS, Karma Chavez demonstrates how such calls proliferated and how failure to impose a quarantine for HIV-positive citizens morphed into the successful enactment of a complete ban on the regularization of HIV-positive migrants-which lasted more than twenty years. News reports, congressional records, and AIDS activist archives reveal how queer groups and migrant communities built fragile coalitions to fight against the alienation of themselves and others, asserting their capacity for resistance and resiliency. Building on existing histories of HIV/AIDS, public health, citizenship, and immigration, Chavez establishes how politicians and public health officials treated different communities with HIV/AIDS and highlights the work these communities did to resist alienation.

Liver disease has been identified as a leading cause of death in HIV-infected patients since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996. The HIV treatment community has been caught largely unaware of this emerging dilemma. Many HIV care providers are ill-equipped to understand and interpret liver injury patterns, or to provide comprehensive care and management for viral coinfections which they are not familiar with. HIV and Liver Disease provides a comprehensive update of the field covering the epidemiology, pathogenesis, management and treatment of liver disease in patients with HIV infection. The volume will help HIV care providers understand and interpret liver injury patterns, and/or provide comprehensive care and management for viral coinfections. Gastroenterologists and hepatologists will gain an understanding of complex drug regimens that are used to treat HIV and which may impact HCV and HBV treatment. Written by expert clinicians and researchers across multiple disciplines, HIV and Liver Disease will be of great value to gastroenterologists, hepatologists, infectious disease practitioners, as well as other health care providers who provide care or participate in research in the field of HIV.

Forty years ago, the age-old battle against infectious diseases as a major threat to human health was believed close to being won. However, by the late twentieth century, the increase of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases was evident in both low and high income countries. About 30 new infectious diseases have been identified in the last 20 years. Among the "new" diseases, and most importantly, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic, with 40 million persons infected and 25 million deaths since its first description, presents one of the most significant health, societal and security challenges facing the global community. The interaction of HIV/AIDS with tuberculosis, malaria and bacterial infections have increased HIV-related morbidity and mortality, and in turn, the HIV pandemic has brought about devastating increases in tuberculosis.

Understanding the population impact and the dynamics of infection diseases in the most affected region is critical to efforts to reduce the morbidity and mortality of such infections, and for decisions on where to use limited resources in the fight against infections.

This book aims to contribute to these efforts by offering a demographic and epidemiological perspective on emerging and reemerging infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

Living with HIV can be stressful, which can affect both your emotional and physical well-being. You may feel a loss of control over your life, socially isolated, or anxious and depressed. Studies have shown that prolonged stress can negatively impact the immune system, making it less effective in fighting illness. If you are concerned about the impact stress has on your life and on your health, this book can help you learn to relax and manage stress more effectively.
This book presents a group treatment program that has been scientifically proven to reduce stress in individuals living with HIV. Written by the developers of this groundbreaking program, this workbook is based on the principles of Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM). You will learn a variety of relaxation techniques, all designed to help you reduce tension and stress. As you become more aware of stress and its effects, stress management skills will increase your ability to cope.
This workbook comes complete with user-friendly monitoring forms and homework exercises designed to help reinforce the skills learned in group. It also includes instructions for relaxation practice that will remain useful long after you've completed the program. Used in conjunction with the group program described in the corresponding facilitator guide, this workbook will help you successfully manage stress and lead a more healthy life.

For individuals living with HIV, stress can have a critical impact on emotional and physical well-being. Many HIV-infected individuals feel a loss of control over their lives, experience social isolation, and may suffer from anxiety and depression. Stress has been shown to decrease immune functioning, which is a significant concern for HIV-infected individuals.
Written by the developer of the treatment, this manual presents an empirically supported, group treatment program that teaches HIV-infected individuals how to manage their stress. This comprehensive Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) program combines stress management with relaxation training. Each group meeting introduces a new relaxation method, such as progressive muscle relaxation, imagery, and meditation. Stress management skills build on one another and include cognitive restructuring, coping strategies, and establishing a strong social network. By the end of the program, participants are equipped with a variety of inter-related techniques that they can use to reduce stress and improve their quality of life.
The guide is designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding workbook, which provides exercises to be completed in session, monitoring forms, and homework assignments. Together they include all the material and information needed to effectively implement this program.

In what circumstances and on what basis, should those who transmit serious diseases to their sexual partners be criminalised? In this new book Matthew Weait uses English case law as the basis of a more general and critical analysis of the response of the criminal courts to those who have been convicted of transmitting HIV during sex. Examining cases and engaging with the socio-cultural dimensions of HIV/AIDS and sexuality, he provides readers with an important insight into the way in which the criminal courts construct the concepts of harm, risk, causation, blame and responsibility. Taking into account the socio-cultural issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and their interaction with the law, Weait has written an excellent book for postgraduate and undergraduate law and criminology students studying criminal law theory, the trial process, offences against the person, and the politics of criminalisation. The book will also be of interest to health professionals working in the field of HIV/AIDS genito-urinary medicine who want to understand the issues that may face their clients and patients.

Whether, with whom, and when to have children are among the most precious of our private decisions. Increasingly, however, the interest of others in these decisions raise difficult questions about the role of government and health professionals in influencing reproductive choice. Nowhere is this tension felt more keenly than in the context of HIV and AIDS. This book takes on the tough issues related to HIV and childbearing: Is there a moral right to have children? What are the limits of persuasion? Are there constitutional constraints on interference with reproduction? What are the precedents with restricting the childbearing behavior of women who use drugs? The book includes original work by doctors, lawyers, ethicists, and public health professionals. Also included are the experiences of HIV-infected women and their health care providers. Interviews were conducted over a two-year period with HIV-infected women and with health care providers from four cities to examine what issues of childbearing in the context of HIV mean to them. The book is divided into four sections on medical and public health issues, legal issues, ethical and social issues, and comments from the community. It concludes with recommendations for clinical practice and public policy. Public policy makers, health care providers, practitioners in bioethics, pediatrics, health law, and obstetrics/gynecology will find this book invaluable when dealing with issues related to HIV and childbearing.

Written by three experts with extensive experience helping people with HIV/AIDS, this trusted resource is the complete guide to better physical and emotional health for women living with HIV or AIDS. It covers the full range of health and emotional issues faced by people with HIV while also addressing topics of special interest to women, including gynecologic disorders, reproductive choices, contraception, and pregnancy. The world of HIV/AIDS diagnosis and therapy is changing dramatically. At-home testing is now available, people exposed to the virus may be able to get immediate treatment, and the number of dominant classes of HIV treatment has increased from four to six. This new edition of "A Woman's Guide to Living with HIV Infection" includes the latest information on diagnosis and treatments as well as recent findings about pregnancy and HIV, starting treatments when you have HIV-related complications, liver health and hepatitis, and sexual health.

Findings from the field of evolutionary biology are yielding dramatic insights for health scientists, especially those involved in the fight against infectious diseases. This book is the first in-depth presentation of these insights. In detailing why the pathogens that cause malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and AIDS have their special kinds of deadliness, the book shows how efforts to control virtually all diseases would benefit from a more thorough application of evolutionary principles. When viewed from a Darwinian perspective, a pathogen is not simply a disease-causing agent, it is a self-replicating organism driven by evolutionary pressures to pass on as many copies of itself as possible. In this context, so-called "cultural vectors"--those aspects of human behavior and the human environment that allow spread of disease from immobilized people--become more important than ever. Interventions to control diseases don't simply hinder their spread but can cause pathogens and the diseases they engender to evolve into more benign forms. In fact, the union of health science with evolutionary biology offers an entirely new dimension to policy making, as the possibility of determining the future course of many diseases becomes a reality. By presenting the first detailed explanation of an evolutionary perspective on infectious disease, the author has achieved a genuine milestone in the synthesis of health science, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology. Written in a clear, accessible style, it is intended for a wide readership among professionals in these fields and general readers interested in science and health.