- © 2008 Canadian Medical Association
AIDS treatment specialists take on prevention
The provision of treatment and prevention information about HIV/ AIDS is being amalgamated and centralized as a result of a Public Health Agency of Canada initiative.
The Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE, www.catie.ca), since 1991 a source of treatment information for AIDS service organizations and individuals with HIV, successfully bid on an agency proposal to create an HIV/AIDS “national knowledge exchange broker.”
The Exchange, which had its origins in the grassroots AIDS Action Now! organization, is taking over the function of the HIV/AIDS Information Centre (better known as “the Clearinghouse”), which had been operated by the Canadian Public Health Association since 1989. It will add the supply of information about prevention, care and support to its established role of providing treatment information.
The Exchange's role expansion is accompanied by an increase of about 50% in federal funding (to $3 million in 2008/09, from about $2 million in 2006/07).
It's hoped the move will improve the effectiveness of front-line prevention efforts. “Even though rates haven't gone down in a decade, effective treatment has made AIDS almost invisible [in Canada]. It has fairly much fallen off the radar and become seen as an African issue,” says Ian Culbert, corporate and business development officer for the Canadian Public Health Association. — Ann Silversides, CMAJ
Smog-free Beijing?
Rainy day blues proved to be a misnomer for smog-wary Olympic athletes in Beijing, China. Heavy rain on Aug. 10 washed away smog-laden air. The next day, particulate matter, a prime measure of pollution, had dropped by more than half, registering at 38 μg per m3. The World Health Organization has set a minimum level of 50, with a target of 20.
The rain's cleansing power was boosted by emergency smog-slashing measures, including temporarily closing 200 factories, closing all construction sites and taking about half the city's vehicles off the road.
An independent air pollution expert from the Italian National Research Council confirmed that both rain and emission reduction measures played a part in clearing the smog.
Air quality remained a concern just 3 days before the Games began on Aug. 8, with organizers preparing to postpone or relocate endurance events, such as the marathon, if the smog levels reached dangerous limits. Athletes also raised concerns about the impact of the city's pollution on their health and performance, with a number opting for face masks. Yet, midway through the Games, those concerns were proving largely unfounded, although air quality is always an issue for high-performance athletes (see page 543). — Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ