HIV infection: just an infectious disease?

In 2007, 2.5 million people have been newly infected with HIV and 2.1 million people died from AIDS, worldwide. HAART has turned AIDS into a manageable disease. However, numerous questions remain unanswered, such as the when to initiate HAART and what are the most effective doses of antiretroviral drugs. HIV reservoirs and how they could be attacked by therapeutic strategies is another issue. The 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, focused on these subjects as well as on the hotly discussed funding budget. As has been indicated in the Sydney Declaration 2 years ago, 10% of the funding budget must be spent on clearly defined fields of HIV research. The following article presents highlights of the IAS Conference 2009.