The AIDS epidemic no longer has the prominence it did a decade ago, but a number of HIV-related issues still exist, experts say.

You no longer hear about it, but if you look at the state's statistics, (HIV and AIDS) still continues to increase in Iowa and around the country," said Pam Terrill, project coordinator for Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center-Iowa who also is an advanced registered nurse practitioner at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. "It is still out there."

Terrill has helped organize a conference to delve into present issues with HIV and AIDS. UI's Carver College of Medicine and Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center will have the HIV 2009 Conference Friday at hotelVetro.

As of Dec. 31, 2008, 1,616 people were living with HIV and AIDS in Iowa compared with 1,522 a year earlier, according to Iowa Department of Public Health.

Many more medical options exist today than did a decade ago, and people are living longer with the virus.

"AIDS is no longer an automatic death sentence," said Jeffery Meier, UI associate professor of internal medicine who conducts clinical research on AIDS and HIV. "There are much more effective medications than there were before. They are easier to take, they have much less side effects and they are much more potent."

"It allows people to live, I would not say normal lives, but it gives back some semblance of what would be a normal life," he said.
"Perhaps lack of fear of mortality and knowledge that there are good medications out there may lead to complacency, which could be fueling the epidemic," said Meier, who also is helping with the conference.

The conference is intended for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, case managers and physician assistants. It runs all day on Friday, with opening remarks at 8:25 a.m.
Registration costs $150 for physicians and $75 for allied health care professionals or paraprofessionals. UI fellows, residents in training and students with identification can register for free. Clinical-appointment faculty members and retired or emeritus physicians can register for $50.

The conference features scholars from across the country. They will delve into obstacles to effective prevention and care, disclosure laws, new data on the impact of earlier initiation of ARV therapy, services and funding availability within Iowa and national HIV/AIDS issues, including the impact of new federal leadership on addressing the U.S. epidemic.