Scientists say they have decoded the entire genetic content of HIV-1 - the main cause of Aids in humans.

They hope this will pave the way to a greater understanding of how the virus operates, and potentially accelerate the development of drug treatments.

HIV carries its genetic information in more complicated structures than some other viruses.

The US research, published in Nature, may allow scientists the chance to look at the information buried inside.

HIV, like the viruses which cause influenza, hepatitis C and polio, carries its genetic information as single-stranded RNA rather than double-stranded DNA.

The information enclosed in DNA is encoded in a relatively simple way, but in RNA this is more complex.

We are also beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by the human host Ron Swanstrom study author

RNA is able to fold into intricate patterns and structures. Therefore decoding a full genome opens up genetic information that was not previously accessible, and may hold answers to why the virus acts as it does.

The team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said they planned to use the information to see if they could make tiny changes to the virus.

"If it doesn't grow as well when you disrupt the virus with mutations, then you know you've mutated or affected something that was important to the virus," says Ron Swanstrom, professor of microbiology and immunology.

"We are also beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by the human host."

Deep inside

Dr David Robertson from the University of Manchester welcomed this "definitive analysis".

"What this may reveal is some of the proteins operating at a level below the structures, which may have all sorts of functions within the virus.

"More generally, if we can unpick the structures then we can compare the systems of different viruses and gain new understanding of how they work."

Keith Alcorn of the HIV information service NAM added: "Encouraging the virus to mutate is not a new idea, but it is one of a number of options on the table.

"How important this information will be for the development of new drugs remains to be seen, but it is a useful addition to what we know."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8186263.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/jul/23/swine-flu-health

On 6 May UNICEF launched a report [1] describing the current situation of the global HIV epidemic and the need for targeted interventions among young people. Reporting 2007 overall and group-specific figures, previously made available by the Health Protection Agency, the UNICEF report states that "there is a record number of 77,000 people with HIV in the UK" and that the UK has "by far the highest number of new infections in Western Europe".

In recent years, among western European countries that conduct national surveillance of HIV, the UK has reported the highest number of new diagnoses, with 2003 to 2007 figures slightly exceeding the respective adjusted figures for France. It should be noted however that not all EU countries operate national surveillance systems: in both Spain and Italy, for example, only regional data are reported that do not represent the whole country.

The number of people living with HIV in the UK has risen steadily over the past few years as annual numbers of new HIV diagnoses have first stabilised and then slightly declined (2003: 7390; 2004: 7820; 2005: 8090; 2006: 7720; 2007: 7660; 2008: 7370) and numbers of deaths among HIV-infected persons have remained stable (on average 540 deaths reported each year 2004 to 2008). The recent decline in new HIV diagnoses is largely due to the continued fall in diagnoses of heterosexually acquired HIV infections in people from sub-Saharan Africa [2].

Approximately one in 10 new HIV diagnoses in the UK are among people aged 16 to 24, of whom the overwhelming majority are gay men and/or are of black-African ethnicity. It is therefore essential that the strategy of targeted interventions and programmes for earlier testing and prevention in the UK aimed at men who have sex with men and black-African communities within the UK are continued and expanded.

References

1. UNICEF. HIV prevention with young people: the key to tackling the epidemic, downloadable at: http://www.unicef.org.uk/publications/pub_detail.asp?pub_id=199.

2. HPA. New HIV diagnoses in the United Kingdom: data to the end of December 2008, Health Protection Report [serial online] 2009; 3 (12): HIV/STIs. Available at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/archives/2009/hpr1209.pdf.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpr/archives/2009/news1809.htm#unicef

A deal has been reached between the government and GPs over the swine flu vaccination programme.

Ministers have agreed to pay doctors £5.25 per jab after weeks of talks.

It means GPs will be ready to start immunising as soon as the vaccines are licensed, which could be as early as the beginning of next month.

About 14m people in the UK, including those with health problems and pregnant women, are earmarked for the first wave of the vaccination programme.

The government has yet to decide whether the whole population will get the jab.

Talks

The British Medical Association has argued during the negotiations that they would need to cover staff and admin costs as well as the overtime they may need to do.

However, they always accepted they would be getting less than the £7.51 they are paid for seasonal flu and other jabs such as travel inoculations because it could end up being a mass vaccination scheme.

Doctors have also been given a bit of leeway over their access targets - guaranteeing appointments within 48 hours as well as advanced bookings - if they achieve high immunisation rates.

Under the programme put forward, people with health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, pregnant women, those with weakened immune systems and frontline health and social care workers will be the first to receive the jab.

This amounts to 14m - about a fifth of the UK population - and is similar in number to who get seasonal flu, although pregnant women are not included in that programme.

The vaccine is the best line of defence against the virus and I would strongly urge all of those in the at-risk groups to have the vaccine Andy Burnham, health secretary Q&A: Swine flu vaccine programme

Indeed, the hope is that the swine flu jab can be administered at the same time as seasonal flu, which is getting under way in the next few weeks.

The government has signed contracts with two manufacturers for 132m doses of the vaccine.

This was done when it was believed two doses would be needed, although trials from one of the drug companies indicate one may be enough.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the agreement was "great news for patients".

"The vaccine is the best line of defence against the virus and I would strongly urge all of those in the at-risk groups to have the vaccine."

And he added: "The deal represents good value for money as the vaccine programme will reduce the number of people who will need hospital treatment."

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GPs committee, said: "This will be a lot of additional work for practices, but general practice is used to running large vaccination programmes.

"We are confident that GPs and their teams will have the resources they need in order to run the swine flu vaccination programme smoothly and efficiently."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8255522.stm

Hospital intensive care wards are under "a lot of pressure" as a result of the swine flu pandemic, the UK government's most senior medical adviser has said.

Sir Liam Donaldson said a shortage of beds was a "concern" as more people are being hit with severe symptoms.

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show the UK's vaccination programme should help contain the spread of the virus.

Some 137 people with swine flu have died in the UK, with more than 500,000 having been infected.

However, Sir Liam said the number of people affected by the virus had increased at a slower rate than feared.

But he added: "What we are seeing is that while most people generally get a mild illness, a small proportion of people are getting very serious illnesses.

The deliveries to GPs started last week so people in priority groups will start to get vaccine over the next few weeks Sir Liam Donaldson

"It's taking them into hospital and a small proportion are dying."

Latest figures show there have been 97 swine flu-related deaths in England, 25 in Scotland, eight in Northern Ireland and seven in Wales.

Asked how the NHS was coping, Sir Liam said the strain on GPs had been relieved by patients ability to be assessed and get anti-virals using the internet or phone.

He said: "On the hospital side the intensive care beds are under a lot of pressure.

"We have plans to expand them but that is a concern at the moment - the serious end of the spectrum, the hospitalised patients."

He said serious cases were likely to become more prevalent as "flu season" approached.

A government vaccination programme for those most at risk, such as seriously ill hospital patients, health workers and pregnant women, was launched last month.

'Breathing space'

However, it could be mid-December before the nine million people in priority groups receive their vaccinations.

Sir Liam said the slower-than-expected rate of spread would give "breathing space" to deliver the jabs.

"Every day that goes by more people will be getting the vaccination," he said.

"The deliveries to GPs started last week so people in priority groups will start to get the vaccine over the next few weeks."

Asked about reports that the programme could be extended to cover under 18s, Sir Liam added: "We haven't come to any final decisions about that yet."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8336495.stm