ECDC, Karolinska Institute And Nobel Prize Winners To Debate Challenges For HIV/AIDS Prevention

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 08 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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ECDC today hosts a scientific seminar with Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Professor Luc Montagnier, joint winners of this years' Nobel Prize in Medicine for their role in discovering the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier's work contributed very significantly to current understanding of HIV/AIDS, opening the way for diagnosis of HIV infection and screening of blood products. The knowledge that AIDS is caused by HIV led to development of antiretroviral treatments, which have extended the lives of millions of HIV infected people worldwide.

Despite this, more than two decades after HIV was discovered, HIV/AIDS remains one of the world's most difficult public health challenges. UNAIDS estimates there are 33 million people living with HIV worldwide, and a joint report published this month by ECDC and WHO Europe shows evidence of increasing transmission in several European countries. It is against this background that senior experts from ECDC and Stockholm's Karolinska Institute will meet with the two Nobel Laureates to debate the challenges for HIV prevention. The seminar is organised by ECDC in close cooperation with the Embassy of France in Sweden, the Karolinska Institute and the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm.

Speaking today, ECDC's Director, Zsuzsanna Jakab said: "ECDC is honoured to host these two eminent Nobel Laureates, Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Professor Luc Montagnier, at our headquarters in Stockholm. It is very difficult to prevent or control a disease if you do not understand what is causing it, so Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier's work in isolating the virus that caused AIDS was of fundamental importance. I am sure their insights will help our public health experts at ECDC to redouble their efforts in the fight against this terrible pandemic".

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine is being awarded in one half jointly to Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier for their discovery of HIV and in the other half to Professor Harald zur Hausen for his discovery of human papilloma viruses (HPVs) causing cervical cancer.

HIV in Europe

A joint report published by ECDC and WHO Europe on World AIDS Day (1 December) showed that in 44 European countries consistently reporting data, the annual rate of HIV infection has almost doubled between 2000 and 2007: it has risen from an average of 39 new cases of HIV per million population to 75.

In 2007, 48 892 newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection were reported from 49 of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region (data not available for Austria, Italy, Monaco and the Russian Federation) and 5 244 diagnosed cases of AIDS were reported in 48 countries. The highest HIV rates were reported from Estonia, Ukraine, Portugal and the Republic of Moldova. In the 44 countries that have consistently provided data since 2000, the annual number of newly diagnosed cases increased from 21 787 to 41 949.

Supporting EU Member States and the European Commission in the fight against HIV/AIDS is one of ECDC's top priorities. Though Europe's HIV/AIDS has many different faces, one challenge common to all EU countries is that many of the people living with HIV are unaware they are infected. Reducing the barriers to HIV testing and counselling is therefore one of the focuses of ECDC's work. The Centre is currently gathering evidence on best practice in this area, with a view to developing guidance.

Importance of HIV Discovery

Following medical reports of a novel immunodeficiency syndrome in 1981, the search for a causative agent was on. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier isolated and cultured lymph node cells from patients that had swollen lymph nodes characteristic of the early stage of acquired immune deficiency. They detected activity of the retroviral enzyme reverse transcriptase, a direct sign of retrovirus replication. They also found retroviral particles budding from the infected cells. Isolated virus infected and killed lymphocytes from both diseased and healthy donors, and reacted with antibodies from infected patients. In contrast to previously characterized human oncogenic retroviruses, the novel retrovirus they had discovered, now known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), did not induce uncontrolled cell growth. Instead, the virus required cell activation for replication and mediated cell fusion of T lymphocytes. This partly explained how HIV impairs the immune system since the T cells are essential for immune defence. By 1984, Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier had obtained several isolates of the novel human retrovirus, which they identified as a lentivirus, from sexually infected individuals, haemophiliacs, mother to infant transmissions and transfused patients.

Soon after the discovery of the virus, several groups contributed to the definitive demonstration of HIV as the cause of acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier's discovery made rapid cloning of the HIV-1 genome possible. This has allowed identification of important details in its replication cycle and how the virus interacts with its host. Furthermore, it led to development of methods to diagnose infected patients and to screen blood products, which has limited the spread of the pandemic. The unprecedented development of several classes of new antiviral drugs is also a result of knowledge of the details of the viral replication cycle. The combination of prevention and treatment has substantially decreased spread of the disease and dramatically increased life expectancy among treated patients.

Background information on ECDC

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an EU agency tasked with identifying assessing and communicating threats to human health posed by infectious diseases. It supports the work of public health authorities in the EU and EEA/EFTA Member States.

-- Further information on the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine
-- Further information about ECDC

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
www.ecdc.europa.eu

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