Search for a Cure to host HIV conference

The HIV/AIDS advocacy organization Search for a Cure will hold its third annual New England Conference on HIV Treatment and Prevention Nov. 10 at the Department of Public Health's State Laboratory in Jamaica Plain. The conference will feature a presentation about the latest research on prevention and treatment by Dr. Edmund Tramont, associate director of special projects for the clinical research division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Former Boston City Councilor David Scondras, founder of Search for a Cure, said the conference will give people information about the latest HIV medications coming down the pipeline, and on that front he said the trends of the last few years of newer, more effective drugs with fewer side effects is likely to continue.

"What you're finding is drugs that have fewer pills, last longer, have few side effects," said Scondras. "That's a good thing."

On the prevention front Scondras said speakers at the conference will talk about the ways that cities can use the existing tools in the prevention arsenal to reduce HIV transmission, including increasing availability of rapid HIV tests and increasing availability and awareness of post-exposure prophylaxis (the use of high doses of HIV medication to prevent people exposed to the virus from seroconverting). Scondras said there will also be discussion of experimental approaches to HIV prevention such as pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Scondras said Search for a Cure will use the event to call on the state to use the prevention tools at its disposal to try bring transmission rates down to zero. It's a challenge Search for a Cure made to the state about two years ago, to no avail, but Scondras said in the intervening years HIV research has validated many of the prevention approaches advocated by Search for a Cure. He said the organization plans to petition Governor Deval Patrick's administration to form a state commission focused on reducing HIV transmission.

"What we are going to do is come up with a written proposal and ask for a commission that would be open to everyone to present their ideas," said Scondras.

The Search for a Cure conference is free and open to the public and runs from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. People are encouraged to RSVP by calling 617.945.5350 or e-mailing [email protected].