Experts have an impact on the importance of empowering the lines of research to prevent and fight HIV in children

Las chairs network organized the seminar HIV in children: old problems, new challenges ” at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid

• 3.4 million children are infected with the virus and only 23% have access to treatment
• Central and southern Africa are global areas most hit by HIV, where according to Dr. Moreno, infection comes to affect 25% of the adult population in many areas ”
• antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy in women with HIV infection have managed to reduce the rate of transmission of the virus from mothers to children, although 50% of infected mothers cannot get treatment
• if you do not perform any preventive intervention, 30-40% of pregnant women infected with HIV transmitted the virus to their newborns
• one of the objectives of the experts is to improve access to treatments more effective, higher quality and more affordable for developing countries
• La Innovaci Chairón and management health of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, the Chair of health economy and rational use of the medicine of the University of Malaga and the Chair on innovation in pharmacological Therapeutics at the University of Navarra as the project of chairs in network

Madrid, April 2012.- infection by the human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus continues to be the largest in the history of mankind pandemic. Currently, in the world there are 34 million diagnosed people of infection by this virus and every year nearly 2 million people die a year, of which 250,000 are children.

In order to analyze and reflect on the current situation of this pathology, Madrid Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) has brought together hundreds of medical students in the seminar HIV in children: old problems, new problems ”. The meeting, sponsored by the Chair of health economy and rational use of medication, is a new activity to boost knowledge in this field, result of the agreement between the pharmaceutical company Janssen and URJC.

For Professor Ángel Gil, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, urjc, the Organization of this seminar is a form of update techniques of treatment of HIV infection. In this sense, has explained that, from URJC support this type of activities that allow to inform society the spirit of management and innovation within academic and pharmaceutical ”.

The event had the participation of the doctor and Professor David Moreno of the unity of infectology and immunodeficiencies in the service of Pediatrics of the Hospital mother and child Handbook Carlos Haya in Málaga, which has analyzed scientific advances that have been made in recent years in the prevention and treatment of HIV.

Central and southern Africa are global areas most hit by HIV, where according to Dr. Moreno, infection comes to affect up to 25% of the adult population in many areas ”. A disturbing fact, which means that 1 in 4 adults aged 15-49 are infected due to sexual transmission at the lack of preventive measures.

Prevention dramatically reduces cases of HIV

According to Dr. Moreno, through new media to prevent maternal and child or vertical transmission of HIV have avoided the day many cases of transmission from mother to son. Despite this, nearly 350,000 new infections continue appearing in children a year, which go on to swell the list of 3.4 million children infected with the virus in the world, of which only 23 per cent has access to antiretroviral treatment ”, pointed out Dr. Moreno.

In case of not making any intervention, 30-40% of pregnant women infected with HIV transmit the virus permanently to his children in the gestation, during birth or through breastfeeding. Measures of prevention, the latest scientific advances and the presence of new drugs in antiretroviral therapy have improved the situation of the epidemic in recent years. In this sense, Dr. Moreno describes several measures of prevention of vertical transmission mother and child, which are based on four pillars:

-analytical testing to determine if the mother is infected in order to take measures.
-Establish an antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy, the childbirth and the newborn if the mother has HIV.
-Caesarean section in the cases necessary.
-Not give breast feeding in cases where the mother is infected.

In developed countries, ease of access to preventive methods makes it possible to be of den very few cases of HIV infection in children. In Spain there are approximately 1000 children under the age of 18 years with HIV infection; more than half are developing adolescents become adults who can lead almost normal lives ”, has tempered the Dr. Moreno. However, the inequality of information and access to drugs in some countries portrays a situation of alarm where only 50 per cent of mothers pregnant women with HIV gets treatment ”, has added the professor.

In developing countries, more than half of the adults who need antiretroviral treatment still do not have access to them, in spite of the diagnostic and therapeutic tests that exist to improve the quality of life of patients and eliminate transmission of the virus. The absence of information campaigns, the little knowledge of the general population about HIV infection and forms of transmission, conditions that many of those affected by HIV are unaware that they are infected.

At the seminar, the expert has coincided in highlighting that through research, countries can improve the efficacy of treatments, reduce costs and expand programmes of access to new drugs quality in developing countries. However, advances are threatened by the high economic and human costs of the same.

Coverage of therapies against infection by HIV among children remains low ”, qualifies the Dr. Moreno. One of the objectives which has affected Dr. Moreno has been the importance of establishing a smart performance with strategies focused on the creation of new lines of research. thus, global efforts could benefit to children and adults alike ”the expert has concluded.

Chairs in network

The chairs in red are three multidisciplinary groups of work which, from different perspectives, addressed issues related to medicine and the health situation in Spain. Each of the chairs that are part of the project is specialized in a specific discipline (innovation and healthcare management, innovation in health economics and rational drug use and classroom in pharmacological therapeutic innovation), which contributes to the enrichment of knowledge acquired after the approach of the different issues of common interest. The dissemination of this knowledge is precisely one of the main objectives of the project, sponsored by Janssen. It is a pioneering initiative in our country.