Global Programs

Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS Treatment & Prevention (Interim Report - 2005)

The public health disaster known as the HIV/AIDS pandemic has emerged over the last 20 years and is now officially recognized as the deadliest epidemic of infectious disease in medical history.

More than 25 million have died worldwide and another 40 million are estimated to be infected.

The great majority of these HIV infections have occurred during a period when the cause was known, routes of transmission identified, and means of prevention understood.

For more information visit the HIV statistics area of the site.

"With 10 new HIV infections occurring every minute of every day, the best hope for arresting this pandemic is a safe and effective preventative vaccine. The IHV's Epidemiology and Prevention Division is focusing its research on achieving this goal," says Dr. William A. Blattner, director.

The Institute's HIV Vaccine Trials Unit, which conducts preventative vaccine trials in collaboration with the IHV's Division of Clinical Care and Research, is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the largest worldwide network for conducting HIV preventative vaccine trials.

Though there currently is no proven HIV vaccine, there are many candidates being tested and some of the more promising candidates are being developed by basic researchers of IHV’s Division of Basic Science and Vaccine Research.

Because HIV disproportionately affects the disadvantaged in Baltimore and countries with limited resources for combating the epidemic, the Institute of Human Virology undertakes activities domestically and internationally to understand the impact of HIV in these diverse populations.

The Baltimore City Council Commission on HIV and AIDS Report (Interim Report - 2005) (1.1MB, 24 pgs.), developed with substantial input from IHV scientists, provides an in-depth summary of HIV and AIDS in Baltimore. Globally, the IHV's Epidemiology and Prevention Division conducts international HIV studies and AIDS prevention vaccine trials in the Caribbean and in Africa, for instance, and coordinates training for advanced degrees, as well as short-term training for countries of the Caribbean, Brazil, Mali and Nigeria.

"To put an end to the AIDS epidemic," says Blattner, "we must form partnerships domestically and internationally, provide training to those who can make a difference, and engage the global community to join the vaccine and prevention effort."

Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS Treatment and Prevention Reports:

Interim Report - 2005 (1.1MB, 24 pgs.)

Final Report - 2002 (192KB, 63 pgs.)

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