Issue No. 25

AIDSinfo.nih.gov is pleased to provide you with a weekly update of highlights about what has happened in the world of HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and research. We hope you find this encapsulated view of HIV/AIDS news useful.

National HIV Testing Day–June 27, 2006  

Testing HIV Positive. . . Now What? Contact AIDSinfo Via Live Help!

Getting tested for HIV and knowing your status is the first step to taking charge of your health and your life. If you’re HIV positive, chances are you may feel isolated and alone in dealing with your diagnosis. But you’re not! There are more than a million people in the United States who are also HIV positive; as many as 252,000 to 315,000¹ don’t even know it yet. So knowing your status puts you ahead of the game. It’s the first step to getting the information you need and can trust to manage your treatment and care.

AIDSinfo offers reliable information about HIV/AIDS, its treatment, and clinical trials testing new HIV drugs. Our Live Help health information specialists speak Spanish and English and are available Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. e.s.t. to provide anonymous, one-on-one assistance via the Internet. They can help identify resources and answer your questions about HIV and its treatment. Or, if you prefer, contact us by phone and speak directly to our health information specialists. Call us toll-free at: 800-448-0440 (international callers dial: 301-519-0459), or contact us by e-mail at: ContactUs@aidsinfo.nih.gov.

Bacterial Pneumonia in HIV-infected Women in the United States

Bacterial pneumonia is a major cause of illness and death in people with HIV. This opportunistic infection can be caused by many different types of bacteria, and may either develop on its own or follow an upper respiratory infection such as a cold or flu. Symptoms include shaking chills, a high fever, sweating, chest pain, and a cough that produces thick, greenish or yellow phlegm.

A study reported in the July 1 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases found that even in a well-developed country such as the United States, HIV-infected women experience high rates of bacterial pneumonia: 8.5 cases per 100 person years, as compared to 0.7 cases per 100 person-years in HIV-uninfected women. Highly active antiretroviral therapy and the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) decrease the risk of bacterial pneumonia, while smoking doubles that risk. The study also indicates that HIV-infected women with bacterial pneumonia are at fivefold higher risk of death compared to HIV-infected women without bacterial pneumonia. Read the study abstract.

Experts recommend that HIV-infected adults receive a polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine to prevent some types of bacterial pneumonia. Read more about this and other recommended immunizations for HIV-infected adults here.