headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. today we are talking about the continuing fight against hiv and aids. the san francisco aids foundation reports that nearly 200,000 people in california have contracted the virus since the epidemic began more than 30 years ago. nearly 90,000 of those have

been lost to aids. but there is hope on the horizon. the first drug to actually prevent hiv is expected to win food and drug administration approval soon. scientists at the fda are standing behind trivata saying it is safe and effective. lyanne melendez filed this report in may identifying who would benefit the most from the drug. >> fda scientists are supporting the findings of the clinical trial showing trivata prevented hiv in 73% of at risk people. she heads the hiv research section of the san francisco health department. >> what we have seen is if you take a daily pill you can prevent hiv infections in people who may be exposed to hiv. >> when they first become exposed to the virus, it stops it from being able to reproduce. it can never take hold in the body. >> reporter: dave -- >> david evanss is with

project reform, an advocacy group. he expects an fda committee to vote on thursday to approve the drug. >> the data they released today indicated that they believe trivada is safe, that it is effective, that the need for new prevention tools is definitely there. >> fda approval as a preventive drug could come as early as next month. the drug is already available for people who have hiv. clinical trials with intravenous drug users is being conducted. that's why for now the gay community is expected to benefit the mos from this drug. the company still encourages safe sex practices. in fact, foster city-based gilliad says other clinical studies support the use of trivada as part of a comprehensive package in conjunction with condoms and other interventions. >> we are just more responsible, and if it is going to save lives and there

is a whole generation that is missing right now because we didn't have this. >> fda approval as a preventive drug could come as early as next month. in the newsroom, lyanne melendez, abc7 news. >> joining me in the studio is neil giuliano. thank you for being here. great to see you. >> thank you. >> this drug sounds like an amazing breakthrough. what is your per spec tiff on that -- perspective on that? >> san francisco aids foundation joined with other health organizations with strong support for advancing trivada through the fda process. we are anxious for it it to be as mentioned in the package cs one of the prevention tools available to people. >> vow saying one. it is not -- so you are saying one. it is not going to be "the cure" at this point in time. >> no, but when combined with traditional prevention methods, using condoms, using clean needles, using safe sex

practices in general, especially with what we call cereal discord in couples. especially where one may be positive and one may be negative, it can have great promise and hope for those people. >> are there side affects we should know about? >> what we heard so far is the side affects have been extremely reduced and minimized. people should consult with their physicians and first understand if it is something that would be right for them, but also to understand what the affects may be. >> what kind of feedback are you getting from people in all communities ? >> we are getting anxious feedback. people are interested especially here in san francisco where it is a highly educated population when it comes to hiv. very anxious to hear about this and very anxious to have conversations in the community and with their own medical providers. we do think it can be quite a breakthrough when it comes to prevention. >> the criticism is that you have to take it every day and that it might be expensive. >> we know it is going to be expensive.

adherence is extremely important. you have to do it and take it every day, every time. so adherence is going to be an issue for any kind of medical issue. we find adherence in condom use and insulin injections with diabetes. adherence is always a problem when medical prevention. >> but if you do it, it can be worth it. >> it can be very worth it. we are anxious for the community to have the dialogue and determine if it is going to be right for them for their lives and to make those decisions. >> neil, this is the 30th anniversary of your foundation. that is an incredible milestone. congratulations. >> yes. it is an important milestone, and at the same time we wish we hadn't been here for 30 years. >> exactly. >> but from the first day we have been answering the call in the community when people need information, when they need services, when they need programs out there distributing 800,000 free condoms this next year, 2.4 million syringes in the community with regard to the

intravenous drug community. and prevention programs. constantly sending the message home when it comes to hiv. >> it is amazing. 30 years, it gives people a level of confidence they wouldn't have had otherwise. >> that's true. aidsremember when the epidemic started there was no place to go. >> there was that place to go. people were afraid. people were scared. people were dying. the good news today is that people are not dying, but we also still have between one and two new infections a day in san francisco. so prevention is still very important. testedne to get tested. if they are positive we need you to get into treatment to lower your viral load and make you less infectious and help your own health. those are the message wheeze are trying to get to everybody. >> we will talk about that in a moment and the upcoming aidswalk. we have to take a break. we will learn how the annual aidswalk raises millions of dollars for the bay area nonprofits including of course the san francisco aids foundation. stay with us. we will be right back.

welcome back to "beyond the headlines." today we are talking about the impact of hiv and aids on bay area communities. every year abc7 is a proud sponsor of aidswalk san francisco. it is an exciting day where each one of us can help in the fight against aids. this year's aidswalk san francisco is coming up sunday july 15th, so mark your calendars. in the studio to tell us more about aidswalk, neil giuliano from the san francisco aids foundation and leif green. he is the event director of aidswalk san francisco.

you have been, leif, this whole situation -- with this whole situation since the late 1980s. how did you get involved? >> i was young in my early 20s, very scared and didn't know what to do. i signed up to do hotline training. i wasn't very good on the phones. i'm much better person to person. they connected me to craig miller who was doing the first ever aidswalk. i had done some get out the vote stuff for the 1984e campaign, and we utilized that same methodology to start recruiting walkers and get people signed up with clip boards in the old days. >> so you are dedicated to this. >> yes, very much. >> and neil, how does work like this help the foundation? >> it is significant in a number of ways. number one, it keeps the awareness out there in the community. it lets people realize that this is a very important message. aids is not over. hiv is not over. these tens of thousands of people coming together for aidswalk every year in san francisco is a reminder of that. the other thing i think is

important is we have a wide, broad section of people involved with aidswalk today. the very early days leif was referring to was probably the gay community. not anymore. today it is families, corporations that are supportive with their employee groups, people from all walks of life throughout the entire bay area that come and get involved with san francisco aidswalk. >> also want to point out our own dan ashley is the emcee. >> a great supporter. >> this year i understand his band will be playing. >> are they? >> he will be singing. i heard that rumor. >> so it is happen ?g. >> it is happening. you heard it hear first. i am so excited about that. leif, what can people expect on the day of the aidswalk? >> well, of course -- >> get there early. >> yes, get there early. >> dress in layers ? >> yes, dress in layers, everybody in san francisco knows that. they will walk through golden gate park which is gorgeous, 10 kilometers which is 6.2 miles. we will have lots of checkpoint along the way to serve lots of donated products from many, many companies as

well as entertainment along the route, and then we have the post walk concert afterward where people hang out in sharon meadow and wait for the total while our volunteers are quickly adding it up. >> speaking of totals, neil, how much has it raised over the years? >> over the years -- what is the big number? >> 70 million. >> leif would know because he has been at all of them. 77 million throughout the years. >> wow. you have a lot of corporate memberships and your own walking teaming. >> yes, san francisco aids foundation has a team of our own employees, their family members and sons and daughters and relatives who all get involved with the san francisco aids foundation team. it is a great, wonderful community event that is not only important about the awareness of hiv and aids, but it brings people together, and it really helps us remember that we are all in this together from literally those early walks when it was about tragedy and people were dying. now we are celebrating that people aren't dying, but we

still have work that needs to be done, prevention that needs to be done and a message still needs to get out there to everyone that they should be tested for hiv. >> an important message. how is that money going to be used this i know awareness is a key part of it. >> awareness is a big part. all of the prevention programs for the organization, a black brothers esteem program, an el groupo program for latinos. we do a lot of out reach in communities that are in the margins. hiv thrives in the margins, so we work with the disadvantaged people francisco area, and then of course all of our -- we have 800,000 free condoms next year in san francisco and have over 1500 people in all of our case management programs whether it is people who need medical case management or housing case management. all of those different ways. the money is put to very good use. >> and leif, 10 seconds, what is your favorite part of the day? >> i like in the morning when everybody is turning in their money. >> what an answer. that's great. >> we always need more. >> absolutely. that's why we are here talking

about this today. thank you so much for being here. and we do have to take a break. don't miss your opportunity to join and support aidswalk san francisco taking place sunday july 15th in golden gate park.

welcome back to "beyond the headlines." we have been talking about hiv and aids issues facing the bay area. in the east bay as you know they face serious struggles with the aids epidemic. volunteers are hard at work on the east bay aidswalk which is coming up june 16th. joining me in the studio right now to tell us about th day is stephan chase. he is with the east bay aidswalk. i love your shirt, hiv positive, it is out there. >> it is a good way to end the stigma. >> it lets people know. why is this such an important cause to you? >> east bay aidswalk is an important cause to me because while san francisco does a wonderful job, the east bay especially the oaknd la area kind of gets forgotten. it is a shadowed city that gets forgotten. in that many of the population

there don't listen to the messages from san francisco. they only listen to messages they hear in their own community. >> they think oh that's san francisco and dismiss it? >> yes. and because of that, it is really affecting hiv rates in the oakland area and the east bay area. >> dramatically? >> dramatically. we are seeing especially in the african-american community. the african-american community represents less than 12% of the population. in the east bay, the hiv rate is over 40%. >> holy cow. you work at a chain store, or you did, and you got them involved too? >> yes, i worked for walgreens for 17 years. unfortunately the affect of hiv to my body and what it has done to me has prevented me from working. i do a little volunteer work, but while i was working for walgreens they were very -- they really supported me while i was working for them. and even now they continue to

support me. it is just not supporting me, but supporting hiv. >> it is the overall issue. >> oh yes. what i saw in the east bay is the managers of the stores that i used to supervise have come out in droves to support the east bayside of the aids epidemic. >> i want to ask you about something called late testers. tell us what that means. >> late testers are people that basically are not getting tested, and when they do get tested they typically have full blown aids. i was a late tester. a late tester, won't get into the specifics, but basically i had no immune system. my cd4 rate was zero which mean i had full blown aids when i was first tested. >> are you doing okay now? >> i am doing better. some of the affects have kept me from working. but almost 50% of the people that test in the east bay are late testers. >> that's not a good thing.

and that's one of the reasons you have this walk going on. what kind of feedback are you hearing from folks who go to the walk? >> they say finally we can do something here locally and have an affect on reducing new infections and bringing education to those who weren't before. >> and the big thing you need of course is awareness and the money it brings in. >> absolutely. the good thing about our aidswalk is it is all volunteers. we don't raise millions of dollars, but we raise hundreds of thousands, and it goes directly back to the aids service organizations in the east bay. >> thank you so much. i hope you stay as well as you are right now. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> you can support the aidswalk in the east bay happening saturday june 16th. sign up for that. these swt honey clustery things have fiber? fiber one. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. , forgot jack's cereal.

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the headlines." we have been talking about the aids epidemic in the bay area

and around the world. 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the first hiv aids diagnosis in this country. there have been some astonishing advances in the past three decades of the the good news is that hiv aids has almost been eliminated among children in this country. research scientists say hiv could soon be dramatically reduced among adults. >> we have new data that definitively tells us that by treating a person with hiv first of all is good for that person. them keeps them healthy. but secondly it reduces transmission to other sexual partners. >> dr. diane hadler works at san francisco general hospital. she says this country is at a defining moment in the aids epidemic. dr. hadler's team proposed a ground breaking policy to offer treatment to hiv positive patients as soon as their infection is identified. it has been adopted by the san francisco department of public health. >> you roll with a level of

hiv in the body and the person is intrans missable. >> that is going on at san francisco general hospital. it is nationally renouned for its care for hiv aids adult patients. and there is also great news about hiv infected mothers and their babies. >> since the middle of the 1990s we have known how to prevent the transmission of hiv from mothers to children. to this point, it is almost eliminated in the u.s. >> this pediatric hiv doctor says the number of hiv infected children overseas is a shockingly different story. >> worldwide the number is 2.5 million. a good 2.3 or so of those million live in sub saharan africa. >> he helps children in sub sub saharan africa in the congo. >> if you were with your friends and you say one two three, one is living with hiv. >> dr. cohen is with usf trying to slow down the aids

epidemic in kenya. he says the u.s. recognizes aids overseas is a major health concern and a matter of national security. >> if you have large segments of your population that are not being productive economically and are dying, it creates instability within a goament. >> dr. cohen is involved in a program in kenya called "faces" the family aids care education services. he is collaborating with a california woman who founded the first summer camp for hiv infected children in the united states. >> the first child that was diagnosed in the united states was in 1981. when the summer camp began in 1988, we were seeing children not living beyond age three. >> i met dr. jerry brooks in the 1980s when her camp had 150 kids infected with hiv. that number has dropped to 15 thanks to medical miracles. >> it is so great to have seen a lot of my younger kids be able to move into adolescents and even some are having their

own families. they are having children that are hiv negative. >> we do not have to have a transmission from mothers to children. it is a preventable phenomenon that we need to strive to achieve worldwide. >> i think that we have done a fantastic job with adults in terms of providing access to treatment that turns this from a fatal to a chronic disease. >> but even with all that knowledge and science there is still an aids crisis among adults in this country. >> there were 60,000 new infections in the united states alone. we have a million people living with the disease. >> doctors say there isn't a cure for hiv aids yet, and that's why it is so important to know your status. that means getting tested. >> the tools we have right now can turn the tide. it can put a dent, but it is going to require a vaccine or cure. >> here in the stewed qloa with me is jimmy gale, the hiv

prevention and out reach coordinator at the rainbow community center in contra costa county. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> i am eager to learn what your organization does. i know you do hiv testing. >> we do. our center has been around 20 years. we are the only evening testing facility in contra costa county. we do it three times a month. we hand out 6,000 condoms a month. we have a food pantry for people living with hiv aids and we run several support groups for those as well. jay how big is the problem in your county? >> it is hard to tell. when i started running the testing clinic we were lucky to have one or two people test a month. now we test 30 people each month. with that growth we have seen more positive tests. >> one of the things i keep hearing from everybody on the show is getting that word out to people to get tested. >> it is difficult.ly am actualg performer. i perform as safe sex stephanie.

i do education and i go to local colleges and to the high schools and hand out safe sex kits and talk about the need for it. that has been a big help. >> this is you? >> that is me. >> you make a gorgeous woman. >> why thank you. that's been a huge help in my out reach and getting the word out there and putting a face to the stigma and just trying to help end that and making it something that everyone can be a part of. >> you say you go to school too? >> yes i do. i actually run a youth program out of the rainbow center. since 14 to 25-year-olds are the hardest hit with hiv, that's where we need to start. >> absolutely. what is the reaction when you walk in? >> usually they comment about how tall i am. i am 6 foot 2 without the shoes. >> okay. are they receptive to your message? >> they are. the only thing they are allowed to teachers teach in school is abstinence and we know that doesn't work. teaching safe sex is one of the most important things. if we don't answer their

questions they will find the answers the hard way. >> aidswalk san francisco benefits a lot of great groups including yours? >> exactly. funding for hiv is difficult. without the help of the san francisco aidswalk i don't know if we can continue this work, handing out condoms every month is expensive. we are lucky to be a part of their community partnership program. every dollar i raise and my staff raises comes back to our center. we are fortunate to receive one of the largest grants this year so we can keep our testing clinic going. >> we have about 30 seconds, and i know you want to talk about some of the other fundraising and out reach programs. >> this coming sunday june 10th we have our contra costa pride picnic at the plaza and after we have a pink party which is a fundraiser for the aidswalk. on sunday june 17th is my annual charity drag show and last year brought in $3500. >> so if we can increase the audience for you. nice to me you. sadly we are out of time. that will do it for us. thank you so much to all of our guests for joining us here

today. there is still plenty of time to join the fun for a good cause at all of the aidswalks we talked about today including san francisco july 15th in golden gate park. also you can support the east bay aidswalk at lake merit on saturday, june 16th. that's it for this edition of "beyond the headlines." here is how you can find us on-line. i'm cheryl jennings and see you next time. bye-bye. captioning