National HIV/AIDS Update Conference Begins in Miami; Will Address Rise in Seniors With Disease
The 15th National HIV/AIDS Update Conference, which began yesterday in Miami, will address the increase of HIV infection among seniors and other issues, the Miami Herald reports. Many physicians "overlook" HIV symptoms in older patients and do not question them about their sexual behaviors, according to Dr. Mervyn Silverman, chair of the conference. "It's not on their radar screen and it needs to be. Rarely will the patient bring it up," Silverman said. The conference, sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research, will run through Wednesday and will also address HIV prevention among black women, new HIV/AIDS treatments, the latest HIV/AIDS research, hepatitis C, prenatal tests for HIV-positive pregnant women, side effects of HIV/AIDS treatments and AIDS policy. This year marks the first that amFAR is not holding the conference in San Francisco. Conference organizers said that the Miami location will "attract more East Coast, Latin American and Caribbean presenters and participants," the Herald reports. "Bringing that venue to Miami to help our community be on the cutting edge of the knowledge about AIDS is wonderful," Ana Garcia, a pediatric coordinator for the pediatric infectious disease and immunology department at the University of Miami School of Medicine, said, adding, "For a conference of this size to be in a city like Miami with such a high incidence of AIDS is important" (Prater, Miami Herald, 3/29).
Selected sessions of the conference will be available online after April 3, 2003, through kaisernetwork.org's HealthCast service.