The XII International AIDS Conference was held in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
from 28 June - 3 July 1998. The theme of the conference was "Bridging the Gap."
Topics covered
The
Journal of the American Medical Association
''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...
(JAMA) devoted the July issue of their magazine to HIV topics to support the conference, and chose especially to focus on two studies which would be presented at the conference. One focus was Roy Gulick's study on combination therapy for reducing viral load in HIV positive persons, in which
AZT
Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child ...
,
3TC and
indinavir
Indinavir (IDV; trade name Crixivan, made by Merck) is a protease inhibitor used as a component of highly active antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV/AIDS. It is soluble white powder administered orally in combination with other antiviral drugs. ...
were shown to cause study participants to lower their viral load to undetectable levels. The other was Michael Giordano's study which showed that HIV positive mothers could reduce the risk of transmission of HIV to their child by elective
cesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
, taking AZT before delivery of the child, and taking AZT intravenously during the delivery.
Price of drugs
The
Gay Men's Health Crisis
The GMHC (formerly Gay Men's Health Crisis) is a New York City–based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization whose mission statement is to "end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected."
Hist ...
stated that drug marketing for
Efavirenz
Efavirenz (EFV), sold under the brand names Sustiva among others, is an antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for prevention after a needlest ...
was part of this conference and that over 100 organizations worldwide had come together to issue a "Fair Price Consensus Statement" to guide policymakers on regulating the pricing of drugs. The issue was that Efavirenz was slated to go to market costing an average of $5000 per year and its efficacy was not proven over existing treatments, and GMHC and others were calling for expert oversight, pricing at rates which average people could afford, and greater community involvement in HIV/AIDS issues in general.
Response
Lancet editor Richard Horton stated his belief that the conference failed to facilitate discussion between the
developed world
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
and the
developing world
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
, and thus failed to keep to its advertised theme of "bridging the gap."
Further reading
Roy M. Gulick, MD, MPH; John W. Mellors, MD; Diane Havlir et al.
Simultaneous vs Sequential Initiation of Therapy With Indinavir, Zidovudine, and Lamivudine for HIV-1 Infection JAMA
''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...
, July 1, 1998—Vol 280, No. 1.
References
External links
*
Event summarypublished by ''The Body''
{{DEFAULTSORT:International AIDS Conference, 1998
International AIDS Conferences
International conferences in Switzerland
1998 in Switzerland
1998 conferences
History of Geneva
20th century in Geneva
June 1998 events in Europe
July 1998 events in Europe