Title: Clinical Research of HIV-1 Infection: Experiences from NTUH

Presenter: Professor Sui-Yuan Chang

University: The National Taiwan University Hospital

Time: 10:00-11:00, January 22, 2016

Venue: Room A203, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Abstract: In Taiwan, cART has been provided free of charge since its introduction in April 1997, but routine drug-resistance testing has not been available to clinicians. By the end of December 2015, there were a total of 31,036 people diagnosed as having HIV infection in Taiwan, and about 70% of those who survived were receiving cART. The prevalence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) in Taiwan has increased from 1999 to 2006, with an overall prevalence of 9.4%. Decline in antiretroviral resistance mutations to NRTI and PI had been reported, followed by the increased use of more potent NRTIs and ritonavir-boosted PI combinations. Nevertheless, due to financial constraints on the provision of free-of-charge access to cART, the Centers of Disease Controls in Taiwan implemented a regulation on the prescription of cART to antiretroviral-naive HIV-1-infected patients who received their first cART on 1 June 2012. In this presentation, the clinical investigations which have been conducted to improve quality of HIV care in HIV-infected patients in Taiwan will be summarized, such as the HIV epidemiology, TDR since the implementation of a regulation on the prescription of cART, co-infection of hepatitis viruses and syphilis in HIV patients and the vaccine strategy.