This special issue of the Pan American Journal of Public Health on “HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in the Region of the Americas: achievements, challenges and perspectives” presents the current response to HIV/AIDS in the Region with a focus on three main areas: HIV prevention, HIV care and treatment, and the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis.
The vigorous response to the HIV epidemic by the Region of the Americas thus far has led to unprecedented advancements in programs and declines in infections. However, the results of these studies make it clear that it is necessary to address the health needs of the transgender population; increase the proportion of people living with HIV who remain engaged at each step of the HIV treatment cascade; consider the health needs of HIV-exposed infants; and introduce and/or scale up HIV and syphilis rapid testing as part of the routine package of antenatal care services available for all pregnant women. In addition, key populations continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV infection and face considerable stigma and discrimination, both at the community level and in accessing health services.
There is a strong need to evaluate and document the effectiveness of HIV interventions in order to identify best practices and disseminate the valuable lessons already learned to allow more effective scale-up of programs in the Region. We hope that this special issue will provide a meaningful contribution toward this goal.
The Pan American Journal of Public Health recognizes with appreciation the contributions of the members of the Editorial Committee:
Freddy Pérez (HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and STI Unit, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., United States of America), Giovanni Ravasi (HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and STI Unit, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., United States of America), J. Peter Figueroa (University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Beatriz Grinsztejn (Instituto Nacional de Infectología Evandro Chagas-Fiocruz, Río de Janeiro, Brasil), Mary Kamb (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America), Omar Sued (Fundación Huésped, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Massimo Ghidinelli (HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and STI Unit, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., United States of America.
Their contributions and dedication to this special issue were extraordinary and helped make the manuscripts more interesting, more accurate, and more useful to our readers and all others who work to improve the health of the peoples of the Americas.
What will it take to end AIDS in the Americas?
[¿Qué se necesita para terminar con el sida en la Región de las Américas?]
Carissa F. Etienne
Editorial | PDF | Published 13 January |
HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in the Region of the Americas:
achievements, challenges and perspectives
[Prevención, atención y tratamiento de la infección por el VIH/sida en la Región de
las Américas: logros, retos y perspectivas]
Freddy Pérez, Giovanni Ravasi, J.Peter Figueroa, Beatriz Grinsztejn, Mary Kamb, Omar Sued, and Massimo Ghidinelli
Overview | PDF | Published 13 January |
Infectious disease morbidity and growth among young HIV-exposed uninfected
children in Jamaica [Morbilidad por enfermedades infecciosas y crecimiento en
niños pequeños no infectados pero expuestos al VIH en Jamaica]
Russell B. Pierre, Toni-Anne Fulford, Kaye Lewis, Paulette Palmer, Christine Walters,
and Celia D.C. Christie
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Perfil de travestis e transgêneros: tuberculose e HIV/Aids na cidade de São Paulo
[Profile of transvestites and transgender women: tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in the city of São Paulo]
Sérgio Ferreira Jr., Priscila Maria Stolses Bergamo Francisco, e Péricles Alves Nogueira
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Barriers to HIV testing, linkage to care, and treatment adherence:
a cross-sectional study from a large urban center of Brazil
[Obstáculos a las pruebas de detección del VIH, la vinculación con la atención y la observancia terapéutica:
Estudio transversal de un importante centro urbano de Brasil]
Sarah MacCarthy, Michael Hoffmann, Amy Nunn, Luís Augusto Vasconcelos da Silva,
and Ines Dourado
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Vigilância epidemiológica de HIV/Aids em gestantes:
uma avaliação acerca da qualidade da informação disponível
[HIV/AIDS surveillance among pregnant women:
assessing the quality of the available information]
Maria Quitéria Batista Meirelles, Ana Karla Bezerra Lopes, e Kenio Costa Lima
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Coinfecção HIV/sífilis na gestação e transmissão vertical do HIV:
um estudo a partir de dados da vigilância epidemiológica
[HIV and syphilis coinfection in pregnancy and vertical HIV transmission:
a study based on epidemiological surveillance data]
Lisiane M. W. Acosta, Tonantzin Ribeiro Gonçalves e Nêmora Tregnago Barcellos
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
The HIV continuum of care in the Bahamas in 2014
[El proceso continuo de atención de la infección por el VIH
en las Bahamas en el 2014]
Nikkiah Forbes, Glenise Johnson, Arvis Mortimer, Indira Martin, Morton Frankson, Kathryn Johnston, Tamara Thompson, and Sharon Weissman
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
The HIV care cascade in Buenos Aires, Argentina: results in a tertiary referral hospital
[La cascada en la atención de la infección por el VIH en Buenos Aires, Argentina:
resultados en un hospital de referencia de atención terciaria]
Carina Cesar, Gabriela Blugerman, José Antonio Valiente, Peter Rebeiro, Omar Sued, Valeria Fink, Mariana Romero Soto, Roberto Cillis, Cleyton Yamamoto, Carlos Falistocco, Pedro Cahn,
and Héctor Pérez
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Comparative effectiveness of single and dual rapid diagnostic tests for syphilis and HIV in antenatal care services in Colombia [Comparación de la eficacia de la prueba rápida individual y la prueba rápida dual para el diagnóstico de la sífilis y la infección por el VIH en los servicios de atención prenatal en Colombia]
Hernando Guillermo Gaitán-Duarte, Lori Newman, Maura Laverty, Ndema Abu Habib, Lina María González-Gordon, Edith Ángel-Müller, Catleya Abella, Esther Cristina Barros, Carlos Rincón, Sidia Caicedo, Bertha Gómez, and Freddy Pérez
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Introducción de pruebas rápidas para sífilis y VIH en el control prenatal en Colombia: análisis cualitativo [Introduction of rapid syphilis and HIV testing in prenatal care in Colombia: qualitative analysis]
María Teresa Ochoa-Manjarrés, Hernando Guillermo Gaitán-Duarte, Sidia Caicedo, Berta Gómez y Freddy Pérez
Original Research | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Review of HIV treatment progress, gaps and challenges in the Caribbean, 2005–2015 [Examen del progreso, los retos y las brechas en torno al tratamiento de la infección por el VIH en el Caribe, 2005-2015]
Yitades Gebre, Nikkiah Meoshi Forbes, and Abena Peters
Review | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Assessing HIV acquisition risks among men who have sex with men in
the United States of America [Evaluación del riesgo de transmisión del VIH entre hombres que tienen relaciones sexuales con otros hombres en los Estados Unidos de América]
Ram K. Shrestha, Stephanie L. Sansom, and David W. Purcell
Brief communication | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |
Satisfacción de necesidades de anticoncepción en mujeres positivas al VIH: efecto sobre la eliminación de la transmisión vertical del virus [Meeting contraceptive needs of HIV-positive women: effect on elimination of vertical transmission of HIV]
Marcela Gómez Suárez
Opinion & Analysis | Abstract | PDF | Published 13 January |