univesal health 26

"To date viral-host networks include protein and mRNA interactions between viruses and their hosts at later stages of gene expression, but our discovery of genetically coupled promoters is novel. They present an additional layer of regulatory synchrony between virus and host, established and poised before either expresses their protein products," explained Roy Dar, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Illinois. Latent or dormant HIV infected cell reservoirs have been identified as the major barrier towards a cure due to their ability to spontaneously reactivate after removal of antiretroviral therapy. Leading strategies for eradication of HIV attempt to reactivate the whole latent reservoir and clear it with current drug cocktails, a process referred to as 'shock and kill' therapy. "Promoters of genes coded within our DNA and the HIV-1 viral promoter which initiates active replication of the virus are strongly coupled in their regulation leading to c...

The continuum of HIV care is a framework that enables countries to monitor the effectiveness of their HIV response -- from diagnosis towards viral suppression (which means that the virus is no longer detectable in the blood). This report provides a snapshot of the status of the continuum of care for the whole region as well as each of the 48 countries reporting at least some continuum data. Based on the findings of the ECDC Dublin Declaration report on the continuum in 2015, ECDC now monitors a four-stage continuum that is directly relevant in the European region: Stage 1 -- the estimated number of all people living with HIV (PLHIV); Stage 2 -- the number of all PLHIV who have been diagnosed; Stage 3 -- the number on PLHIV who have been diagnosed and who are on ART; and Stage 4 -- the number of PLHIV on ART who are virally suppressed. Between 2014 and 2016, there was a substantial increase in the proportion of countries able to report on all four stages of the continuum, f...