AIDS in Africa, 2nd Edition Published

July 2002

Max Essex, Souleymane Mboup, Phyllis Kanki, Richard Marlink, and Sheila Tlou are pleased to announce the publication of the second edition of AIDS in Africa. This comprehensive reference book addresses the unique challenges facing many African nations as poor infrastructure and economics continue to obstruct access to advanced treatments and AIDS care training. While it takes into account the context of settings with limited resources, it also looks ahead to how many African nations are successfully increasing their capacity to serve those affected by HIV and AIDS. Information on how to best utilize existing resources and prioritize scaling-up of infrastructure is a critical aspect of this book for those working in HIV/AIDS–related fields in Africa. The book was written collaboratively by 100 authors from 28 countries. Twenty-nine of the 46 chapters were authored or coauthored by Africans. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan states in the Foreword "I am especially heartened that so many of its chapters are written by Africans—for the solutions to this crisis must come primarily from Africa itself, with support from the wider international community."

The second edition includes a detailed analysis of the magnitude and nature of the epidemic, as well as regionally specific information on pathogenesis, diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment, pediatric infection, vaccine development, socioeconomic impact, and ethical considerations. With the hope that we are on the edge of a new era of concern and commitment, more space has been devoted to vaccines and therapy.

The second edition has been completely reorganized and rewritten to reflect the most current information and levels of experience in the field. "The section on Pathogenesis now includes a chapter on the effect of genetic variation on HIV transmission and progression to AIDS. Insufficient information was available to warrant a chapter on this topic when the first edition was published" says editor Max Essex, Chairman of the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

Other new features of this edition:

• Four new chapters on detection and monitoring of HIV infection and disease

• Expanded information (now 6 chapters) on mother-to-child transmission and pediatric AIDS
  

• A 3-chapter section on vaccine development
  

• New chapters on the orphan crisis, access to care, tuberculosis, drug resistance, home-based care, nursing, and nutrition
  

The second edition also addresses vital topics such as:

• Prevention methods, from chemoprophylaxis to behavioral modification and education in African settings, including chapters on condom use, male circumcision, microbicides, and post-exposure prophylaxis
  

• The supportive responsibilities of industrialized countries
  

• The successful mobilization of local infrastructure and community leaders to implement regionally appropriate AIDS care programs in Africa

This updated and authoritative review of Africa’s experience will be invaluable to health care providers, researchers, and policy planners, not only in Africa, but throughout the world, since Africa has had higher rates of HIV infection and more experience with AIDS than other regions. Essex says "AIDS in Africa represents several different epidemics caused by different viruses. These epidemics have had different rates of spread in certain populations such as in southern and Central Africa," a topic that is analyzed in the new chapter on Regional Variations in the African Epidemics.

The second edition is now available from Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

For more information, or to contact the editors, please contact:

Molly Holme, Managing Editor
Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases
Harvard School of Public Health
651 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: +1-617-432-4377
Fax: +1-617-432-4485
Email: mholme@hsph.harvard.edu