Antiretroviral Treatment in Resource-Limited Settings 2012
1Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
2International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Winchester, UK
3The Foundation for AIDS Research, Bangkok, Thailand
4Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Antiretroviral Treatment in Resource-Limited Settings 2012
Description
Treating HIV infection continues to be a major challenge worldwide. Countries that are most affected by this epidemic have limited human, structural, and financial resources to sustain medical management of patients already on antiretroviral treatment and scale-up treatment for those who need it. The treatment landscape in many low-resource settings is rapidly changing. The publication in 2010 of revised treatment guidelines by the WHO underscore the need for earlier treatment (starting at CD4 counts of 350 rather than 200) and ARV treatment for all patients coinfected with HIV and TB, as well as the reduced use of regimens with high associated toxicities (such as those containing stavudine). Many programs have yet to successfully address the medical and technological challenges inherent in treating the now five million people on chronic antiretroviral treatment. Recent trials showing moderate efficacy of oral preexposure prophylaxis and vaginal microbicides in preventing HIV acquisition also raise the question of how ARV-based prevention can be successfully integrated with treatment scale-up, which is itself a prevention intervention. The special issue will be a forum for discussion of these challenges and others that implementers face in the field and will address how they can be most meaningfully resolved in the near future. We invite authors to submit original research papers or review articles that will stimulate debate and discussion. Topics to be considered include, but are not limited to the following:
- 2010 WHO ART Treatment Guidelines: how will they affect delivery of ART in resource-poor countries?
- How can the success of PMTCT programs and early infant HIV diagnosis be improved?
- What is needed to ensure high-quality care of HIV-infected children and adolescents?
- Should cotrimoxazole and isoniazid preventive therapies be routinely given with ART?
- Can ART scale up have a positive effect in strengthening general health systems?
- What essential core data on response to ART should be recorded, collected, and analyzed at the local and national levels?
- How ART toxicity and ART failure should be monitored in settings with poor laboratory infrastructure?
- What is the role of ART in reducing the incidence of TB in high HIV/TB burden settings, and how can this role be enhanced?
- Long-term sustainable funding for ART in resource-poor countries—who will pay?
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/art/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: