Reports from the conference

Introduction

This annual HIV conference is one of the most important conferences.

Included below are a selection of reports relating to IDU-interest research.

Unless stated otherwise, references are to the Programme and Abstracts for the 14th Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections, available online.

Webcasts (including slides) and podcasts are also available on the site:

http://www.retroconference.org

The CROI website has made all key lectures and oral presentations available online, and includes online searchable free access to the abstracts from the meeting, and posts an increasing proportion of poster abstracts online in PDF format (though this is still only for a minority of the posters).

This broad access means that it is easy to see important trial results and overview lectures directly – this is better that through a community or medical journalist – and the questions and discussion at the end of each session are also included in these web presentations.

We encourage readers to find a few hours to follow some of this important material first hand.

IDU-related reports from this meeting, although adding little to current knowledge, include:

• Low rates of HCV treatment among eligible injection drug users;
• Effect of HCV and HIV on mortality among injecting drug users;
• HIV-positive IDU co-infected with HCV are at increased risk of hepatitis related death in the HAART era, compared with IDU with HCV monoinfection;
• Long-term effectiveness of isoniazid prophylaxis on TB incidence in a cohort of IDU;
• The dynamics of HCV transmission among injection drug users in St. Petersburg;
• “Founder effect” among HIV-positive IDU in Karachi, Pakistan.

These studies highlight the paucity of new research at this important HIV meeting, especially in the context of a burning need to improve access to, and quality of care for IDUs and coinfected people.