ABCNews.com reports that a group of scientists meeting at the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care last week in Chicago said that structured HIV treatment interruptions do not work. “Studies show that the so-called drug holidays have poor results and often make the health of those requiring the HIV medications worse,” according to Renslow Sherer of Cook County Hospital in Chicago, reports Advocate.com. “People have gotten sick again. There have even been some deaths,” he said.
Meanwhile, new studies show that “drug-resistant HIV is the cause of a rising number of new HIV infections worldwide,” Advocate.com reported. Medscape.com said figures from seven surveys of four European countries, Quebec, nine North American cities, and Madrid show that drug-resistant HIV causes up to one quarter of all new infections. A study of new HIV cases in nine North American cities showed that drug-resistant HIV caused 16.5% of infections, Advocate.com said.