World renowned researcher visits Calgary

Dr. Frank Plummer, a world renowned HIV/AIDS researcher as well as the Chief Science Advisor and Scientific Director General of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg, delivered an exciting presentation at the University of Calgary on June 3, 2011. His talk, entitled “Slowness to integrate science into HIV prevention policy,” covered his HIV research work in Africa over the past 25 years. ACAA volunteer blog writer Shweta Sah had a chance to listen to Dr. Plummer's lecture and speak with him regarding his research.

Ground-breaking discovery in Africa

Dr. Plummer is best known for his discovery of a subset of Kenyan sex trade workers who are naturally resistant to HIV. He commenced a study of 500 sex trade workers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in the late 1980s which helped disseminate the notion that HIV/AIDS was not just a homosexual disease, as approximately two thirds of the study participants (mostly women) were HIV positive. Although establishing that women could in fact be infected by the virus through vaginal intercourse was certainly a key finding, what was more remarkable was the discovery Dr. Plummer made regarding the other third of the study’s populous.

While typically belonging to a high risk vulnerable population, HIV negative individuals from this particular group of sex workers displayed a natural resistance to HIV-1. Moreover, a cohort study conducted in Nairobi showed that the percentage of HIV seroconversion (detection of specific antibodies against HIV antigens) was highest amongst sex workers who did not use condoms versus those who used condoms 100% of the time. This meant that despite engaging in high risk behaviour (i.e. unprotected sex) members of this Nairobi sex worker population with a natural resistance to HIV were less susceptible to contracting the virus than those who practiced safer sex vigilantly. This was a very crucial finding, as gaining insight into the cause and nature of HIV-1 resistance displayed by these Kenyan sex workers could serve as a stepping stone into the future development of an effective vaccine against HIV.

What leads to immunity in the Kenyan sex workers?

These Kenyan sex workers have a quiescent immune system; they produce less activated T-cells (cells that produce antibodies to fight against HIV antigens) and less cytokines (group of proteins that interact with cells of the immune system and regulate the body's response to disease and infection). This leads to a suppressed immune system. Given the fact that HIV requires a healthy and active immune system to infect the host cells, the retrovirus fails to flourish, reproduce and replicate in an inactive immune system.

Safety measures suggested by the expert

Dr. Plummer suggests mandatory safer sex education at the school and community level, and following HIV prevention strategies. Also, keeping oneself updated with current world health policies and procedures are the key factors that will help reduce the HIV epidemic on a greater scale.

Obstacles along the way - How best to coordinate science and policy

The main hurdle preventing the implementation of key policy initiatives to address the HIV pandemic is the slow rate at which it takes scientific data regarding the spread of the virus to be accepted by mainstream society and integrated into the existing knowledge base. For instance, it took 2 years for the general public to accept that women could become infected with HIV through vaginal intercourse, and 19 years to gain mainstream acceptance of the notion that male circumcision reduces HIV transmission risk. Overall, Dr. Plummer really articulated the notion that knowledge translation takes time and people are naturally sceptical of new scientific developments. Poor understanding of science and issues by leaders due to political, scientific and public health issues are other contributing factors.

Why was Dr. Plummer interested in HIV research in Africa?

Africa is the most affected nation in the world with HIV/AIDS. Estimates show that 22.5 million people are still living with HIV across the continent - two thirds of the global total. Therefore, increasing death rates automatically become a huge concern, and is what primarily compelled Dr. Plummer to carry out his work in Africa. In the long run, he continues to conduct research in Africa with the hopes of understanding and one day halting the pandemic, which will contribute to the welfare of our society as a whole.

A final key message from the expert

For the future of HIV research, he states, “Keep doing the research and one day we shall find the solution”.

Resources:

1. http://www.cestmajournee.gc.ca/itsmyday/inside/profiles/frankplummer.asp
2. http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=402
3. http://www.chrcrm.org/en/future-health/public-health-researcher-extraordinaire-meet-dr-frank-plummer
4. http://www.mrsi.ca/plummerlab.htm
5. http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-africa.htm
6. http://www.catie.ca/eng/Home.shtml
7. http://aidscalgary.blogspot.com/

This article was written by Shweta Sah, an AIDS Calgary Awareness Association (ACAA) volunteer blog writer. Shweta is a 1st year M.Sc. Medicine student in the University of Calgary. This is Shweta’s second blog article for ACAA, click here to view her previous article Ground Breaking Research at University of Calgary. This blog was originally posted on The A Work on August 18, 2011 at http://aidscalgary.blogspot.com/