AIDS anniversaries in 2006 mark the time to deliver

The XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) to be held on Aug 13--18 in Toronto Canada will mark two important moments in the history of the epidemic. 25 years ago the first reports of a disturbing new illness that defied medical classification began circulating in the Center for Disease Controls Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Little could have prepared the medical community--or the world--for the human catastrophe that followed. Yet AIDS 2006 will mark another important anniversary: the stunning breakthroughs in clinical re search that led to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) which were first reported 10 years ago at the XI International AIDS Conference in Vancouver the last time the conference was held in Canada. HAART revolutionised HIV treatment and amidst the unbridled optimism coming out of that conference held the tantalising promise not only of effective treatment but also of hopes for a cure. (excerpt)