HIV/AIDS

A good way to start is at the virtual media centre of the 2006 international AIDS conference (www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2006/index.cfm#guide). You can listen to podcasts, watch lectures and press conferences, and find up to date information for free.

Another excellent source is the specific section of the World Health Organization's website, which includes comprehensive information on diverse topics (www.who.int/hiv/en). Publications about epidemiology, the theory of drugs, pathophysiology, and more are available.

Hosted by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the specialised information services on AIDS (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/hiv.html) give a full picture of scientific advances in the area. The website is extremely informative, with data on anti-HIV drugs and impressive drawings. It also links to other sites that might help answer your toughest questions.

For a European perspective visit www.eurohiv.org. It covers surveillance of HIV/AIDS in countries of the WHO European region. It's worth looking at the sets of slides, such as HIV prevalence in injecting drug users and in blood donations. The Asia Pacific People Living With HIV/AIDS (South Australia) Resource Centre (www.plwha.org) is another great attempt to attract attention to issues related to people living with AIDS. Here you can find PLWHA networks in many countries of the region, although some of these websites are incomplete and need refurbishment.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (www.unaids.org) is the place to visit if you're looking for worldwide country statistics.

One of the most complete online resources covering this issue is the HIV vaccines website of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/research/topics/HIV/vaccines ).

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (www.iavi.org) was established in 1996 as a non-profit making organisation and remains today one of the big initiatives to speed the search for a vaccine against HIV/AIDS. It is financed by groups, companies, and charities-including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalHealth/Pri_Diseases/HIVAIDS), the World Bank (www.worldbank.org) and Pfizer. The website, though occasionally specialised, provides the current state of global research, their ongoing trials and plans, and also enables free access to many publications and policy documents on HIV and vaccines.

If your interest lies in paediatrics, then don't miss the Baylor International Pediatric Aids initiative site (http://bayloraids.org ). You might refer to the resource centre if you're looking for data, for example, on antiviral therapy for children. One section includes clinical cases with good instructive photos and brief but elucidative answers.