Free HIV Screenings In Washington, D.C. – Over the next few weeks, Giant Food stores will partner with Whitman-Walker Clinic to offer free HIV screenings to residents of the Washington, D.C. area. Giant Food is offering the screenings because three percent of the adult D.C. population is currently living with HIV. The screenings will be held at each of four Giant Food stores on select Fridays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, please see the My Fox D.C. Web site.

Funding For Isentress To Begin In New Zealand – Funding for Isentress (raltegravir) will finally begin on October 1 in New Zealand. Although many other countries have already funded the drug for quite some time, in New Zealand manufacturer Merck Sharpe and Dhome has only administered Isentress to those who were considered most in need. The government drug funder, Pharmac, has agreed to fund the drug after coming under pressure from HIV specialists, who claimed that New Zealand was missing out on cutting edge treatments.  For more information, please see the article at GayNZ.com.

Alcohol, Marijuana, And Tobacco Found To Reduce Reyataz And Sustiva Concentrations – According to two recent studies, tobacco and marijuana may reduce levels of Reyataz (atazanavir) in the body, while alcohol and tobacco may reduce levels of Sustiva (efavirenz). Researchers who studied the relationship between Reyataz and substance related disorders found that tobacco and marijuana significantly lowered trough levels (the lowest level of the drug in between doses) of Reyataz. The same researchers also studied the relationship between Sustiva and substance use. Specifically, they evaluated the effect of a genetic variation involving a liver enzyme that aids in the metabolism of Sustiva. In patients with the genetic variation, tobacco and alcohol use significantly lowered trough Sustiva concentrations in the body. For more information, please see the AIDSmap Web site.

UNAIDS To Help Reduce Mother To Child HIV Transmission In Africa – According to an agreement signed on September 21, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) will partner with the Millennium Villages Project to reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child during pregnancy. Most children born with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa, where less than half of HIV-positive pregnant women receive antiretroviral prophylaxis, a treatment that reduces the chances of newborns contracting HIV. The effort by UNAIDS and the Millennium Villages project will use support from African and global businesses to expand health services in villages throughout Africa. Increased efforts to help pregnant African women could reduce transmission rates from 45 percent to one or two percent. For further information, please see the full article on The Gov Monitor Web site.