Results from a recent study show that increased doses of the flu vaccine and booster shots do not cause a good immune response in people with HIV or sufficiently protect them from the flu virus.

“Current influenza vaccines are not very good at protecting HIV-positive people from influenza, [and] increasing the dose or providing a booster dose is not very effective at increasing protection,” said Dr. Curtis Cooper, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa and lead investigator of the study.

However, the authors presented follow-up results…

Clinics around the country have begun offering flu vaccines as this year’s influenza season gets underway. As in previous years, it is recommended that people with HIV or AIDS receive the injected vaccine as early in the season as possible.

This year’s vaccine protects against three strains: the influenza A H3N2 virus, the influenza B virus, and the 2009 H1N1 virus, which led to a large, global outbreak of disease last year (see related AIDS Beacon news).

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a…

A recent Congressional briefing sponsored by The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) examined the impact of H1N1 influenza (“swine flu”) on patients living with HIV and AIDS. Topics of discussion included prevention, treatment, and the need for research exploring the effects of H1N1 on HIV/AIDS patients.

About H1N1

Since its detection in the United States in April 2009, H1N1 “swine flu” has infected an estimated 50 million people, and has lead to approximately 10,000 deaths according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Over the following months, the CDC continued…

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health is recruiting HIV-positive adults for a clinical trial of the 2009 vaccine for H1N1, the virus responsible for swine flu.

The study is seeking approximately 240 men and women between the ages of 18 and 64 years. Each participant will receive two doses of an inactive 2009 H1N1 vaccine 21 days apart.

Half of the participants will receive two 15 microgram doses of the vaccine, while the other half will be administered two 30 microgram…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated guidelines for HIV and AIDS patients regarding the 2009 H1N1 (swine) flu.

HIV patients are more susceptible to complications due to seasonal influenza, especially those that have low CD4 cell counts or have AIDS. Individuals with the 2009 H1N1 influenza have also exhibited more complications than the general population, suggesting that HIV patients are at a higher risk for developing complications in response to the H1N1 flu.

Individuals who are HIV-positive should remain alert and look out for any…