2004

MISSISSIPPI: HIV Numbers Declining in State: Sun Herald (12.30.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; Jean Prescott; As of Dec. 31, 2003, Mississippi reported 7,387 people with HIV/AIDS, according to Craig Thompson, director of STD/HIV with the state Department of Health. The number of cases has been on the decline since 1996, he said. In descending order, the top 10 counties for HIV incidence were Hinds, Harrison, Rankin, Forrest, J
CHINA: Tuberculosis Claims Nearly 10,000 Lives a Year in Guangxi: Xinhua News Agency (12.28.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; TB kills 10,000 people annually in south China s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, health officials recently reported. One-third of the region s population, or about 15 million people, have been infected, and approximately 360,000 have active TB. The 2000 national TB survey found 651 active TB cases per 100,000 people
UNITED STATES: Predictors of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Antibody Positivity Among Persons With No History of Genital Herpes: Sexually Transmitted Diseases Vol. 31; No. 11; P:676-681 (11.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; Kenneth H. Fife, MD, PhD; David I. Bernstein, MD; Wanzhu Tu, PhD; Gregory D. Zimet, PhD; Rebecca Brady, MD; Jingwei Wu; J. Dennis Fortenberry, MD, MS; Katherine M. Stone, MD; Susan L. Rosenthal, PhD; Lawrence R. Stanberry, MD, PhD; The researchers asked individuals ages 14-30 to complete a questionnaire and offered them free HSV-2 antibody testing. Factors from the questionnaire were correlated with HSV-2 antibody results. Univariate analysis found female gender to be positively associated with positive test results. Gender-specific multiple logi
UNITED STATES: Condom Use Inconsistent for High-Risk Heterosexuals: Survey Conducted in 10 States: AIDS Alert (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; A recently presented CDC analysis of the 2002 HIV Testing Survey - an anonymous, cross-sectional study in 10 states - found safe sex messages continue to be ignored by many high- risk individuals. Three at-risk populations were surveyed: injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and high-risk heterosexuals. For
UNITED STATES: Lambda Legal Files Letter for Clear HIV- Transplant Policies: AIDS Policy and Law (12.17.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; Lambda Legal is asking the nation s largest health insurance providers to release their policies on covering lifesaving organ transplants for patients with HIV. Lambda Legal s HIV Project has worked with a number of people who were denied coverage for transplants because they have HIV, despite more than a decade of sci
UNITED STATES: Abstinence-Education Backers Tout New Oversight: Washington Times (12.30.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; Cheryl Wetzstein; Abstinence-education advocates are applauding the recent move of the nation s two largest abstinence programs to a new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. In the recent federal spending bill, oversight of the programs was moved from the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration s Maternal
RHODE ISLAND: AIDS Hot Line Goes Silent at Year's End: Providence Journal (12.27.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; Felice J. Freyer; On Dec. 31, the state s AIDS hot line, in operation for 18 years, will go dead. At its peak a decade ago, the hot line received as many as 5,000 calls annually. This year, barely 500 calls came in. The state Health department decided not to seek renewal of the federal grant that funds the hot line, operated by its foun
TENNESSEE: Family Sues over Death of Memphis Woman Killed by AIDS Treatment: Associated Press (12.30.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; On Tuesday in Shelby County Circuit Court, the family of a pregnant woman who died while taking an experimental AIDS drug regimen filed suit against the doctors, drug makers, and hospitals involved in the study. In the lawsuit, Joyce Ann Hafford s mother and sister allege that doctors continued giving Hafford the AIDS
CALIFORNIA: Needle Policy to Be Eased: Sacramento Bee (12.28.04) - Thursday, December 30, 2004; John Hill; A new California law taking effect Saturday, Jan. 1, will ease nonprescription needle sales in cities and counties that choose to participate in a five-year pilot project. Individual pharmacies can elect to participate or not in jurisdictions opting-in to the demonstration project. However, even urban districts that ar
UNITED STATES: CDC to Buy $2.3 Million of OraSure's HIV Antibody Tests: Philadelphia Inquirer (12.23.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Porus P. Cooper; Bethlehem, Pa.-based OraSure Technologies Inc. has announced that CDC will buy $2.3 million of its OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, which can detect antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2. CDC bought $4 million of OraSure s OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 test last year. CDC distributes the tests to state health departme
CANADA: Three Cases of Tuberculosis Confirmed in Unnamed Yukon Community: Doctor: Canadian Press (12.28.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Dr. Bryce Larke, the Yukon s medical health officer, said Tuesday that three cases of TB have been confirmed in a community he would not identify. We are working closely with tuberculosis experts in British Columbia to ensure all appropriate control measures are in place and will be monitoring the situation very carefu
EUROPEAN UNION: GSK Gets EU Approval for Combination HIV Drug: Reuters (12.22.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; On Dec. 22, GlaxoSmithKline announced that European regulators have approved its drug Kivexa. The medication combines the antiretrovirals Epivir and Ziagen into a single tablet taken once daily. Kivexa does not have food or fluid restrictions.
UNITED STATES: Sweaty Palms at the Pharmacy: New York Times (12.21.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; A new study suggests that many young people may be hesitant to buy condoms because they are too embarrassed. Researcher Dr. Kimberly P. Brackett asked some 250 students at the University of Florida to purchase condoms and then write a paper about their experience. Brackett, who now teaches sociology at Auburn Universit
UNITED KINGDOM: The 374 Clinic: An Outreach Sexual Health Clinic for Young Men: Sexually Transmitted Infections (12.04) Vol. 80: P.480-483 - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; D.A. Lewis; A. McDonald; G. Thompson; J.S. Bingham; The investigators sought to describe the establishment of the 374 clinic, a walk-in, community-based genitourinary medicine facility targeting men under 25 in a south London area with high rates of sexually transmitted infections. The clinic was set up within a Brook advisory center, which offers free sexual health adv
ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe Camp Offers AIDS Orphans Desperately Needed Support: Agence France Presse (12.19.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; In Zimbabwe s remote southwestern district of Matobo, the Sikhethimpilo Center - its name means we choose life - helps children deal with losing their parents to AIDS. The center hosts weeklong camps during every school vacation; 240 volunteers spread across the district of 35,000 people to select the children most aff
ZAMBIA: Fury over Release of AIDS Prisoners: Lancet Infectious Diseases (12.04) Vol. 4; P. 718 - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Khabir Ahmad; Several nongovernmental HIV/AIDS organizations in Zambia have criticized its government for releasing, without treating, prisoners with HIV/AIDS before their sentence was completed. But one ethicist said the practice could be considered a humane solution to a problem when the nation cannot care for the ill prisoners.
JAPAN: Ministry Urges Better HIV Test Services: Daily Yomiuri (12.23.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; A Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry survey released recently said HIV tests outside business hours and tests with same-day results are not available in more than one-third of the 127 metropolitan, prefectural, and municipal governments that provide free HIV tests at public health centers. Following the survey, the mi
GLOBAL: New 20 Year Patents Threaten to End AIDS Drugs for Developing Countries: British Medical Journal (12.04.04) Vol. 329; P. 1308 - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Owen Dyer; Doctors Without Borders has warned that efforts to treat AIDS patients with antiretroviral drugs in developing countries could be threatened under new World Trade Organization rules granting 20-year patents to new drugs. The WTO agreement goes into effect Jan. 1, 2005, for most nations. Only the least developed countri
UNITED STATES: New Drug Is Approved to Treat Chronic Pain: Washington Post (12.29.2004) - Wednesday, December 29, 2004; Marc Kaufman; On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Prialt (ziconotide), a new drug for hard-to-treat pain associated with cancer, AIDS, and neuropathies that may improve pain management. The drug - as much as 1,000 times more powerful than morphine and delivered directly into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord -
CALIFORNIA: News Briefs from Southern California: Associated Press (12.24.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Redondo Beach police arrested Kang Kim-Lee, the owner of Redondo Chiropractic Health, after she was observed leaving the business to hide condoms in the wheel well of a car, Sgt. Jeff Hink said recently. The site was one of two investigated after residents complained that some massage parlors were fronts for prostituti
CANADA: Yukon Handing Out Gift Condoms After Gonorrhea Rate Spikes Upward: Canadian Press (12.24.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Stephanie Waddell; The Yukon territory s Department of Health and Social Services is distributing condoms to residents, asking them to Wrap it for someone you love to help fight the region s increase in gonorrhea cases. We haven t seen high numbers of gonorrhea for a number of years, so to have 41 cases diagnosed is quite surprising, sa
NEW YORK: Diabetes Is Gaining as a Cause of Death, City Health Data Say: New York Times (12.23.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Winnie Hu; The New York City health department released an annual summary of vital statistics recently on the leading causes of death among residents. Among other findings, the survey showed that HIV and AIDS-related deaths slipped two places to seventh in 2003. HIV/AIDS accounted for 1,656 deaths, compared to 1,713 the year befo
ARKANSAS: Fewer Teenagers Getting Married in State: Associated Press (12.23.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; State Health Department figures show 3,928 teenage girls got married in Arkansas last year, down from 5,675 in 1995, a 31 percent drop in eight years. Experts attribute the drop in Arkansas teen marriages to a decline in teen pregnancy due to birth control and abstinence education; more Arkansans attending college; and
PENNSYLVANIA: Surrendering Anonymity to Spread the Word About AIDS: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12.28.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Ervin Dyer; Clarisse Jordan , 35, Sheila Taylor, 41, and Pam Smith, 46, differ in background, personality and age. Yet they all have this in common: Each gave up her anonymity and went public with the private pain of living with HIV. All three work with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force sharing frank messages of prevention with women
OKLAHOMA: Tuberculosis Victim's Co-Workers Checked for Disease: Daily Oklahoman (12.23.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Susan Parrott; A man working at a Cingular Wireless call center in northwest Oklahoma City died Dec. 21 after contracting TB, and co- workers are being tested for the disease. The Oklahoma City- County Health Department said the man s death was not directly from TB, but that his other health problems may have been complicated by the
CHINA: Abnormal Pap Smears Common in Women with Lupus: Reuters Health (12.10.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Will Boggs, MD; Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were more likely to have the abnormal Pap tests associated with cervical cancer than other women, a recent study found. The 85 women with SLE researchers studied had three times the abnormal Pap smear results of 2,080 healthy female peers, investigators found. Other risk fa
CANADA: AIDS Doc Risks Big Bucks: Guelph Mercury (12.23.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Joanne Shuttleworth; Anne-Marie Zajdlik, a family physician and HIV specialist, has committed $100,000 (US$82,000) of her own money to realize her goal of building a Guelph-based regional holistic HIV/AIDS clinic. For over a year, from the ground up, Zajdlik has worked on the clinic that she envisions will serve 300-400 HIV patients in Gue
CUBA: Cuba Counters Prostitution with AIDS Programs: New York Times (12.26.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; James C. McKinley Jr.; Prostitution is illegal in Cuba , but a thriving sex industry exists nonetheless. Although Cuba is a destination for sex tourists, AIDS has yet to become an uncontrollable pandemic there. The government s AIDS program provides public education, free testing and care, and promotes the use of condoms. Cuba has the lo
MARYLAND: Comptroller Delivers Meals to AIDS Patients: Associated Press (12.25.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer - whose comments about AIDS patients were met with anger earlier this year - on Christmas Eve delivered meals to homebound people with HIV. In October, as he tried to explain his support for a public registry of state residents with AIDS, Schaefer called AIDS patients a dang
UNITED STATES: AIDS Groups Expand Services to Other Sufferers: Washington Post (12.27.04) - Tuesday, December 28, 2004; Jacqueline L. Salmon; Nationwide, organizations that provide food, housing, legal aid, medical treatment and other assistance to HIV/AIDS patients have begun diversifying, helping people with other diseases such as Parkinson s, cancer and Alzheimer s. AIDS groups say their agencies have a moral imperative to share expertise developed during
SOUTH AFRICA: Mandela Plans New AIDS Concert: Reuters (12.22.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Nelson Mandela has announced plans to stage a second HIV/AIDS benefit concert, bringing the rock group Queen and other acts back to South Africa in March for the televised show. The concert, dubbed 46664 South Africa - a reference to Mandela s prison number - is scheduled for March 19 at the Fancourt golf resort near t
MAINE: Hallowell Man Sentenced for Stealing from AIDS Alliance: Associated Press (12.22.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; This week, Maine Superior Court sentenced the former executive director of the Maine AIDS Alliance, Randall Norcross, 65, to three years in jail, with all but six months suspended, for stealing more than $23,000 from the group. In addition, Norcross was ordered to pay $23,569 in restitution and will be on probation for
DELAWARE: AIDS Message Hits Salons: Wilmington News Journal (12.16.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Robin Brown; Do the Right Thing, 4LIFE, an outreach effort organized by AIDS Delaware, uses beauty and barber shops to reach the African-American community with messages of HIV prevention. It s one of our non-traditional ways of reaching people, said Frank Hawkins, director of education and outreach at AIDS Delaware, the state s ol
UNITED STATES: Correlates of Intent for Repeat HIV Testing Among Low-Income Women Attending an Urgent Care Clinic in the Urban South: Public Health Nursing (09.04) Vol. 21; No. 5: P. 419-424(6) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Richard Crosby; Elizabeth A. Bonney; Lydia Odenat; A critical challenge of the AIDS epidemic among African- American women is promoting routine HIV testing for those at risk, explained the authors. The current exploratory study sought to identify behavioral and psychosocial correlates of intent for repeat testing among women disenfranchised from traditional health-care
CANADA: Christmas Peak Time for Unwanted Pregnancies: Parents Urged to Talk to Teens: Canadian Press (12.21.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Kate Skye; The Christmas season is a peak time for unintended pregnancies, according to Louise Christian, project coordinator for Planned Parenthood s regional office in Trail, British Columbia. She hopes parents will use the holidays as an opportunity to talk to teens about healthy sexual choices. The choice of words that was sh
ZIMBABWE: AIDS Toll Leaves Nearly a Million Orphans in Zimbabwe: Associated Press (12.20.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Almost 1 million children in Zimbabwe are AIDS orphans, having lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, UNICEF said Monday. In its annual State of the World s Children report, UNICEF noted children as young as nine have become primary caregivers to siblings or to HIV-infected parents or relatives in Zimb
LIBYA: Libyans in HIV Case Say They're Forgotten Victims: New York Times (12.19.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Craig S. Smith; Many parents of the 428 Libyan children infected with HIV six years ago at Benghazi s Al Fateh hospital recently expressed anger that their children are forgotten. US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke out on behalf of the Bulgarian nurses Libya sentenced to death for allegedly infecting the children, but he ignored
GLOBAL: Dose of Prevention Where HIV Thrives: Washington Post (12.22.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Craig Timberg; The US-funded study to determine whether a once-daily dose of the AIDS drug tenofovir can prevent HIV infections in healthy people will enroll 5,000 volunteers in seven nations. About 125 prostitutes from several brothels in Ibadan, Nigeria , have enrolled and have been taking pills since July.
UNITED STATES: Ex-Sales Director at Serono Pleads Guilty to Kickback: Wall Street Journal (12.22.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Christopher Windham; Adam Stupak, a former sales director at a subsidiary of the Swiss biotechnology firm Ares-Serono SA, pleaded guilty to violating a US anti-kickback law by offering doctors free trips in exchange for writing more prescriptions of the AIDS drug Serostim. The guilty plea is the latest development in the ongoing investigat
TEXAS: Syphilis Infections Rising in San Antonio, Across Nation: San Antonio Express-News (12.18.04) - Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Lisa Marie Gomez; Primary and secondary syphilis cases in Bexar County leapt from 51 cases in 2003 to 95 cases as of Dec. 1 this year, and at least half of reported cases are among men who have sex with men (MSM), a county health official said Friday. We are very concerned, said Dr. Sandra Guerra-Cantu, communicable- disease division me
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Whitman-Walker Clinic Leader Leaving: Washington Post (12.16.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; On Dec. 15, the Whitman-Walker Clinic s board announced the departure of Executive Director A. Cornelius Baker. Chairperson Billy Cox lauded Baker, 43, for his fight against HIV/AIDS and on behalf of the gay and lesbian community. A spokesperson said Roberta Geidner-Antoniotti, managing director of operations, would be
WYOMING: Wyoming AIDS Patients Must Wait for Medication: Associated Press (12.20.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Wyoming is among four states that have instituted a waiting list for HIV/AIDS patients to receive medications, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. Arkansas, Hawaii and Nebraska have also started waiting lists for the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs
WEST VIRGINIA: Spike in Hepatitis B Cases Prompts Awareness Campaign in Mercer: Associated Press (12.20.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Pam Ramsey; Mercer County health officials have launched a hepatitis B public-awareness campaign in response to a large increase in cases this year. As of Friday, the Mercer County Health Department had reported 15 cases of hepatitis B and four or five cases of hepatitis C to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resour
CALIFORNIA: Health Officials Issue Alert About Rare Sexually Transmitted Disease: San Francisco Chronicle (12.21.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Sabin Russell; On Monday, San Francisco public health officials warned that four gay men in the city have contracted a rare and potentially debilitating STD, Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), which was recently reported in the Netherlands . LGV - a form of chlamydia rarely seen outside of poor, tropical nations - can cause genital and
UNITED STATES: Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Patterns of HIV Disclosure Among HIV Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men with Recent STI Practising High Risk Behavior in Los Angeles and Seattle: Sexually Transmitted Infections (12.04) Vol. 80; No. 6: P. 512-517 - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; P.M. Gorbach; J.T. Galea; B. Amani; A. Shin; C. Celum; P. Kerndt; M.R. Golden; In industrialized nations, a high incidence of HIV persists among men who have sex with men (MSM). Research suggests that many MSM do not disclose their HIV status to sex partners. Researchers in the current study identified themes as to why MSM attending STI clinics in Los Angeles and Seattle do or do not disclose the
GLOBAL: Anti-AIDS Alliance Calls in Africa for Free Therapy: Agence France Presse (12.18.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; A worldwide alliance of health experts, institutions and nongovernmental organizations has launched a campaign for free health care and medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and other developing regions. On Dec. 14, more than 600 individuals, including the director-general of Doctors Without Borders, Gori
AFRICA: Furor in Africa over Drug for Women with HIV: New York Times (12.21.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Donald G. McNeil Jr.; Many public-health experts are worried that some countries in Africa will stop using nevirapine to prevent mother-to-baby HIV transmission in the wake of a series of Associated Press articles critical of trials of the drug. AP s articles, which allege incompetence and fraud in trials of the drug, are being seen oversea
ARKANSAS: Auditors Questioning Spending in State AIDS Program: Associated Press (12.17.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Auditors investigating spending by the state Health Department s AIDS division and the agencies it deals with have identified about $350,000 in expenses deemed inappropriate, questionable or poorly documented. The federal funds are designated to prevent HIV infection and fund treatment and assistance to the approximate
GLOBAL: Drug Makers Putting Complete AIDS Treatment in One Daily Pill: Associated Press (12.20.04) - Tuesday, December 21, 2004; Linda A. Johnson; On Monday, drug firms Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Gilead Sciences Inc. announced the formation of a joint venture to manufacture and test the first once-daily pill containing three common AIDS medicines from two different drug classes. The combination pill would contain BMS s
SWAZILAND: Swaziland Army to Reject HIV-Positive Recruits: Reuters (12.16.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; On Thursday, Swaziland officials announced that the nation s armed forces will not accept HIV-positive recruits. The army is experiencing a rise in HIV/AIDS-related illnesses and deaths, and this has adverse effects on the overall mission and preparedness, and may eventually lead to insecurity in the country, the Roya
MICHIGAN: MotorCity Casino, School in TB Scare: Detroit Free Press (12.15.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Kim North Shine; Fewer than five employees of the MotorCity Casino in Detroit are being treated for TB and are scheduled to receive chest X- rays to determine whether they have an active form of the disease, said Detroit Health Department spokesperson Wende Berry. A total of 35 casino employees were tested for TB after a worker there b
WISCONSIN: AIDS Center Starts Needle Exchange: Wausau Daily Herald (12.11.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Jessica Bock; The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin in Schofield has initiated a needle-exchange program to help prevent HIV/AIDS. The Marathon County city is Wisconsin s 11th to offer needle- exchange services. It will include HIV prevention education, counseling, testing and drug treatment referrals. It s the most powerful tool in
NEW ZEALAND: Mate Aaraikore A Muri Ake Nei: Experiences of Maori New Zealanders Living with HIV: Sexual Health (09.04) Vol. 1; No. 3; P.175-180 - Monday, December 20, 2004; Jeffrey Grierson; Marian Pitts; Te Herekiekie Herewini; Geoff Rua'ine; Anthony J. Hughes; Peter J.W. Saxton; Matt Whyte; Sebastian Misson; Mark Thomas; A total of 226 HIV-positive men and women completed the anonymous HIV Futures New Zealand Survey across the country. Of those, 25 respondents were Maori, of whom 17 were male, 7 were female and 1 was transgender. Maori respondents ranged in age from 21 to 52 with average age 36.4. Of Maori respondents, 13 identified as
RWANDA: Fighting for Rwanda's Forgotten Victims: Ottawa Citizen (12.19.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Sutton Eaves; The author of a new report on sexual violence and the spread of HIV/AIDS during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda hopes the graphic accounts included bring attention to an issue that plagues much of Africa. In the report, Burundi-native Francoise Nduwimana recommends the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda provide rep
VATICAN CITY: Vatican Sets Up AIDS Foundation While Cardinals Avoid Debate on Condoms: Associated Press (12.17.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; On Friday, the Vatican established the Good Samaritan Foundation to help fund Catholic AIDS organizations. Pope John Paul II set aside $132,000 for GSF, and he is asking all people of good will, particularly those in the economically advanced nations, to contribute, said Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan. Barragan, who i
GLOBAL: WHO Issues Guidelines to Reduce Cervical Cancer: Wall Street Journal (12.16.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Associated Press; Cervical cancer kills some 230,000 women worldwide each year, but the number of cases of the largely preventable disease could be reduced through screening and treatment, the World Health Organization said Thursday in its 255-page manual for cervical cancer program implementation. Another half-million cases are diagnos
UGANDA: Researcher Says 20 Percent of Mothers, 46 Percent of Babies Developed Resistance to Nevirapine: Associated Press (12.17.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Geoffrey Muleme; On Friday, a Ugandan health official said a country study examining a single-dose regime of nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission found that 20 percent of pregnant women and 46 percent of their babies developed resistance to the drug. Resistance does occur, but it fades after one year, said Dr.
SOUTH AFRICA: South African Ruling Party Makes Sharp Attack on US Health Officials for Promoting AIDS Drug in Africa: Associated Press (12.17.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Alexandra Zavis; On Friday, ANC Today - the online journal of South Africa s ruling party - criticized US health officials, whom it accused of lying to promote a key AIDS drug and treating Africans like guinea pigs. The article was a response to AP reports showing that prior to President Bush s 2002 launch of a plan to distribute
TEXAS: Docs See Costs in Limiting Teens' Confidentiality: Reuters (12.07.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004; Recently passed legislation in Texas that limits teenagers ability to obtain confidential reproductive health-care services could have serious economic and health consequences, according to new research. Although the law aims to curtail adolescent sexual activity, teens will likely remain sexually active but forgo usin
GLOBAL: Brits to Give UNICEF $88 Million for AIDS Orphans: Associated Press (12.16.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Emily Frendrix; Britain will give UNICEF $88 million for its work with AIDS orphans, according to a joint announcement made Thursday. British International Development Minister Gareth Thomas said most of the money will go to sub-Saharan Africa. The money is a part of a three-year, $300 million British government plan to help children
SINGAPORE: AIDS Ignorance High in Singapore: Survey: Agence France Presse (12.17.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; An associate professor of the National University of Singapore Business School who surveyed 100 young adults about HIV/AIDS said ignorance about the disease had not improved in five years. One in three people surveyed believed they could catch AIDS through a mosquito bite. People surveyed had attained at least a second
NORTH CAROLINA: Vance High Students, Staff to Be Tested for Tuberculosis: Charlotte Observer (12.14.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Karen Garloch; Mecklenburg County Health Department officials plan to test about 130 students and faculty at Vance High School for tuberculosis after a student there was diagnosed with the disease last week. People who have shared a classroom or ridden a bus with the ill student will be tested, while people who may have been in the g
CALIFORNIA: Poster Contest Bares All: Bay Area Reporter (12.02.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Tyson Gillfillan; Magnet, the San Francisco gay men s health center, recently sponsored a reception for Open Up, a community based safe- sex poster contest. Over 40 artists, community leaders, safe- sex advocates and neighbors attended the event, sponsored additionally by the sex club Eros, Bay Area Reporter, and the social marketing fi
UNITED STATES: The Association Between Gang Involvement and Sexual Behaviours Among Detained Adolescent Males: Sexually Transmitted Infections (12.04) Vol. 80; No. 6: P. 440-442 - Friday, December 17, 2004; D.R. Voisin; L.F. Salazar; R. Crosby; R.J. DiClemente; W.L Yarber; M. Staples-Horne; In the current study, the authors sought to determine the association between ever having been in a gang and a range of sexual behaviors including sexual activity, male condom use, drug use during sex and sex with multiple partners. A total of 270 detained male adolescents (ages 14-18) were surveyed using audio compute
GLOBAL: US, Other Donors Boost AIDS Fund by $98 Million: Wall Street Journal (12.17.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria announced that new funding from donor nations increased its income from $936 million in 2003 to an estimated $1.56 billion in 2004. Earlier this year, the US withheld $120 million of the maximum 2004 donation of $547 million allowed by Congress, because federal law states t
AFRICA: Doctors, AIDS Activists in Africa Worry Governments May Halt Drug's Use Amid Concerns About Effect on Pregnant Women: Associated Press (12.16.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Geoffrey Muleme; In the wake of AP s reports on how the Uganda testing of nevirapine failed to meet international standards, African AIDS activists and physicians are worried that governments may stop using the drug to prevent mother-to-baby HIV infection. Research has found that pregnant women who take the drug once may develop resis
UNITED STATES: Jesse Jackson Calls for Investigation into AIDS Drug: Associated Press (12.17.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Mike Colias; On Thursday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a congressional investigation into reports that US health officials withheld research from the Bush administration showing that nevirapine , which has been distributed to hundreds of thousands of Africans, posed serious risks. Jackson called on the US government to immedia
ALABAMA: Alabama Has Long-Term Wait List for Public-Funded AIDS Drugs: Associated Press (12.16.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; A Kaiser Family Foundation report released Wednesday found that 18 of the 50 states had waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs at some point between July 2002 and November 2004. Alabama, however, was the only state with a waiting list in every one of the regular survey periods: Its list ranged from a low of 89
ARKANSAS: State Sees Need to Slash Rolls for HIV Drug Help: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (12.16.04) - Friday, December 17, 2004; Nell Smith; The Arkansas Department of Health said it may have to cut the number of people in its AIDS Drug Assistance Program from 418 to as few as 184 to prevent the program from running out of money before its funding period ends on March 31. Officials said a final decision would be made after December s expenditures are review
UNITED KINGDOM: Erasure Frontman Says He Is HIV-Positive: Agence France Presse (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Following a news report printed in Finland on Wednesday, singer Andy Bell of the UK pop group Erasure announced on the band s Web site that he is HIV-positive. I found out I was HIV-positive in June 1998 when I had a bout of pneumonia in Mallorca. Since then I have been taking combination therapy and I am feeling fine,
SINGAPORE: Singapore Hospitals Begin HIV Testing on Pregnant Mothers: Agence France Presse (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Today, Singapore s Ministry of Health announced it has sent out a directive to both public and private practitioners to start routine HIV testing of pregnant women. Testing is not compulsory but will be included as part of routine prenatal care unless the women opt out. The directive is part of Singapore s efforts to h
CALIFORNIA: Needles Available Without Prescription: San Francisco Chronicle (12.15.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Leslie Fulbright; On Tuesday, Contra Costa supervisors voted to allow pharmacists to sell hypodermic needles without a requiring a prescription. Any pharmacy that registers with the county Health Department may sell up to 10 needles to anyone 18 or older; however, the stores must also provide education, referrals and counseling. Califor
UNITED STATES: New HIV Test Lets Officials Reach Out to the Street: New York Times (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Carol Pogash; An eight-month-old CDC demonstration project is bringing OraQuick rapid HIV tests to persistent pockets of undiagnosed HIV cases, including teen clinics, gay bars, shelters for the homeless and drug users, and to sex workers. The project is underway in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Washington an
UNITED STATES: Lack of Recent Condom Use Among Detained Adolescent Males: a Multilevel Investigation: Sexually Transmitted Infections (12.04) Vol. 80; No. 6: P. 425-429 - Thursday, December 16, 2004; R. Crosby; L.F. Salazar; R.J. DiClemente; The authors sought to examine multiple levels of influence as to the lack of recent condom use among a high-risk sample of adolescent males serving predominantly short-term detention sentences. Using audio-computer assisted self-interviewing, a cross-sectional survey of 231 adolescent males was conducted. Condom use du
PORTUGAL: HIV Infection Rate Soars in Portugal Among Those over 50: Agence France Presse (12.15.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Daniel Silva; Portugal registered a 71 percent increase in HIV infections among those over age 50, from 819 cases in 1999 to 1,402 cases at the end of 2003, according to health ministry figures. One in five new HIV infections in Portugal in 2003 were among those over 50. Elsewhere in the European Union, the sharpest increases in H
GLOBAL: Military Health Officials Confer on AIDS: Associated Press (12.15.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Military leaders from two-dozen African and South American nations are meeting their US counterparts this week at a five- day conference in San Antonio, Texas, to discuss strategies for fighting HIV/AIDS. Some sub-Saharan forces have two to four times the HIV infection rate of the general populaces, a CDC official said
NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. Health Officials See Growth in Latino AIDS Cases: Associated Press (12.13.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; HIV cases are increasing among Hispanics in North Carolina, prompting health officials to add Latino staff and partner with Latino advocacy groups to increase prevention and testing efforts. North Carolina has seen the number of Latino HIV cases more than double in recent years, from 45 reported in 1999 to 113 in 2003.
UNITED STATES: AP Exclusive: Woman Died During AIDS Study: Associated Press (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; John Solomon; Randy Herschaft; Joyce Ann Hafford - who was 33, pregnant, and HIV-positive - enrolled in a federally funded research project in hopes of preventing her newborn from becoming infected. She died last year after doctors continued to administer an experimental drug regimen despite signs of liver failure, government memos say. Family membe
UNITED STATES: Bribes Alleged in Sales Policy for AIDS Drug: USA Today (12.16.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004; Donna Leinwand; On Tuesday, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges in the US District Court in Boston against a New York sales representative of the biotechnology firm Serono for allegedly bribing doctors to write prescriptions for an expensive AIDS drug. According to the complaint, Adam Stupak offered three New York City physicia
CALIFORNIA: $6 Million More Found for Budget: San Francisco Chronicle (12.15.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Rachel Gordon; On Tuesday, San Francisco officials uncovered $6 million to restore some city services that had been slated for cuts to help close the $97 million deficit the city faces in the next 18 months. The found money will be used to keep all funding intact for the Tom Waddell Health Center, which is used by homeless persons. C
UGANDA: Ugandan, Sudanese Ministers Exchange Ideas on Fight Against AIDS Epidemic: Xinhua News Agency (12.14.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; On Monday, Ugandan Health Minister Jim Muhwezi and his Sudanese counterpart, Ahmed Bilal Osman, met in Kampala to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention and exchange ideas. At the meeting, Osman said the number of Sudanese living with HIV/AIDS is increasing, especially among women and youth, because of the conflict in southern Su
NEW YORK: An Education in Prevention: Newsday (12.08.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; John E. Thomas; The Forum is one of a handful of New York City organizations bridging the gap between minority communities and HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and education resources. The Forum began as a volunteer group. Social workers saw that Hispanics were not being targeted and informed about the disease in their own language, sa
NEW YORK: Clean Needles - and Hope: New York Daily News (12.12.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Lisa L. Colangelo; Queens first-ever needle-exchange program, run by the AIDS Center of Queens County, opened its doors Nov. 30. The cinderblock building is indistinguishable among the industrial Long Island City landscape, save for a single sign that says Q hanging in the window to let people know the exchange is open. Center and city h
BELGIUM: Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer Development: What Do Women Think?: Sexual Health (09.04) Vol. 1; No. 3: P.145-149 - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; M.F.D. Baay; V. Verhoeven; D. Avonts; J.B. Vermorken; The authors suggest that introduction of human papillomavirus detection into the cervical-cancer screening process will make it necessary to inform the target population about the relationship between the virus and cervical cancer. They conducted a study to determine what knowledge women in Belgium have of th
CHINA: Report: Widespread Ignorance of AIDS Among Chinese Gays Threatens to Undermine Fight Against Disease: Associated Press (12.15.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Christopher Bodeen; A new report by China s Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that widespread ignorance about HIV/AIDS among Chinese gay men could hamper the country s efforts to fight the disease. Around 80 percent of male homosexuals surveyed in China either believe they cannot get AIDS or seriously underestimate their ris
ALASKA: Officials Rush to Stem Flare of Syphilis: Anchorage Daily News (12.14.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Ann Potempa; Alaska health officials are investigating a recent syphilis outbreak occurring primarily among men who have sex with men (MSM). The state Section of Epidemiology (SoE) is tracking six cases of infectious syphilis reported between Sept. 15 and Dec. 10. Five of the men reside in Anchorage and one in Southeast, a health b
UNITED STATES: AMA Revises Sex-Ed Policy: Washington Times (12.11.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Cheryl Wetzstein; The American Medical Association recently updated its sex- education policy to support evidence-based programs and oppose federal funding of unproven ones. The AMA policy change comes amid disputes between supporters of abstinence-only education and those in favor of comprehensive programs that include information on c
UNITED STATES; AFRICA: AIDS Research Chief Rewrote Safety Report: Associated Press (12.15.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004; John Solomon; Memos show that Dr. Edmund Tramont, chief of the AIDS Division at the National Institutes of Health, removed some negative safety conclusions from a subordinate s report on nevirapine and, over the objections of his staff, ordered the resumption of a US-funded experiment using the drug. Tramont s top deputy and oth
CHINA: Human Rights Watch Allowed to Participate in China Meeting for First Time: Agence France Presse (12.14.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; The human rights organization Human Rights Watch was allowed to make its first public talk in China today during a conference on AIDS and law in Shanghai. This is a critical moment in the movement to fight rights abuses in China. We got a very warm reception, said Meg Davis, HRW s China researcher, who gave the speech.
UGANDA: Uganda to Run Short of Condoms: BBC News (12.13.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; The condom coordinator for Uganda s Ministry of Health said her country faces a six-month-long limited supply of condoms. The supply of the government s Engabu condom has been frozen, and free condoms the ministry distributes are running out. The government has 5 million non-Engabu condoms, which is enough for two mont
ETHIOPIA: AIDS, Poverty Leave Ethiopians Orphaned: Associated Press (12.13.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; HIV/AIDS is fueling an orphan crisis in Ethiopia , where a staggering 10 percent of the country s 46 million children are orphans whose parents died of AIDS, poverty or poor health conditions, a new report said Monday. The government report, backed by UNICEF and the international aid group Save the Children, said Ethio
NEW YORK: Meth Effort Aimed at Gay African Americans: Gay City News (12.09.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Tyler Pray; PNP? Party N Play or Party N Pay, says a new community- awareness campaign aimed at fighting crystal meth in New York City s gay African-American community. Posters for the effort went up on Dec. 6 throughout Harlem, Chelsea and the West Village. Sponsoring the drive are the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Comm
ILLINOIS: Future of Belleville AIDS Shelter Looks Cloudy: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (12.12.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Kevin McDermott; A recent cash infusion should keep Bethany Place of Belleville, which provides transitional housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, operating into 2005. Its long-term survival, however, is less certain. The AIDS shelter faced the possibility of shuttering its operation at year s end - the result of a $21,000 cut in fe
UNITED STATES: Correlates of Sex Trading Among Drug-Using Men Who Have Sex with Men: American Journal of Public Health (11.04); Vol. 94; No. 11: P. 1998-2003 - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Peter A. Newman, PhD; Fen Rhodes, PhD; Robert E. Weiss, PhD; The authors examined correlates of trading sex for money, drugs, shelter or food among drug-using MSM in Long Beach, Calif. The researchers recruited 387 African-American, Latino and white MSM from public parks, beaches and street corners, through fliers posted at social service agencies, and through limited snowball s
PAKISTAN: HIV Lessons in Madrassahs: Christian Science Monitor (12.08.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Owais Tohid; Two nongovernmental groups have been working since last year to train clerics and educate students at 10 madrassahs - Islamic theology schools - in Pakistan to help destigmatize HIV/AIDS and increase awareness that the disease is not confined to drug users, prostitutes and homosexuals. Our experience with the madr
SOUTH AFRICA: South African AIDS Lobby Group Wins Costs in Case Against Government: Agence France Presse (12.14.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Today, the Pretoria High Court ordered the South African government to pay the legal costs associated with Treatment Action Campaign s latest effort to speed the rollout of free antiretrovirals. The AIDS lobby group last month asked the court to order Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to pay the costs of a case
UNITED STATES: Bush Selects EPA Head to Be Secretary of Health: New York Times (12.14.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; Robert Pear; On Monday at the White House, President Bush named his choice to replace Tommy Thompson as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services: He is Michael Leavitt, the current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former three-term governor of Utah. As secretary, Leavitt would be responsibl
UNITED STATES; AFRICA: Top US Officials Warned of Concerns Before AIDS Drug Sent to Africa: Associated Press (12.13.04) - Tuesday, December 14, 2004; John Solomon; Weeks before President Bush announced a $500 million plan to protect African babies from HIV using the AIDS drug nevirapine , the National Institutes of Health was warned that its research on the drug in Uganda was flawed and potentially underreported serious adverse events including deaths.
CALIFORNIA: Kaiser Awards AIDS Agency Grants: Sacramento Bee (12.11.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Dorsey Griffith; Four Sacramento-area nonprofits that provide services to people with HIV/AIDS received a total of $25,000 in grants from Kaiser Permanente. AIDS Housing Alliance, which works to prevent homelessness among people with HIV/AIDS; Breaking Barriers, which assists with HIV prevention and diagnoses; Harm Reduction Services,
INDIA: US State Department Plans Jazz Concerts to Raise HIV/AIDS Awareness in India: Associated Press (12.13.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; As part of a US State Department-supported campaign to fight HIV/AIDS, some popular American jazz musicians will perform in India next month, David Kennedy, US embassy spokesperson in New Delhi, said today. Jazz legend George Duke, singer Al Jarreau, guitarist Earl Klugh and saxophone player Ravi Coltrane will perform
UGANDA: Some 80,000 Ugandans Infected with TB Every Year: Xinhua News Agency (12.12.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; State-run Radio Uganda reported on Saturday that Uganda s 80,000 new TB cases per year rank the nation at 14th among the 22 nations with the world s highest incidence of the disease. The disease also causes a burden due to the six to eight months of time lost from work during treatment, according to President Yoweri Mu
CALIFORNIA: Limits Given to House for AIDS, HIV Patients: San Diego Union-Tribune (12.08.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; John Berhman; On Dec. 6, the San Marcos Planning Commission voted 7-0 to extend a conditional-use permit for Fraternity House, a home for people with HIV/AIDS. More than 200 people attended the 3.5-hour meeting, which was preceded by a candlelight vigil supporting the house. The panel overruled city staff s recommendation for a thre
CHINA: A Study of Commercial Sex and HIV/STI-Related Risk Factors Among Hospitality Girls in Entertainment Establishments in Wuhan, China: Sexual Health (09.04); Vol. 1; No. 3: P.141-144 - Monday, December 13, 2004; Shan-Bo Wei; Zhong-Dan Chen; Wang Zhou; Feng-Bo Wu; Si-Ping Li; Jian-Guo Shan; In China , hospitality girls (HGs) work at licensed entertainment establishments. Some offer sexual intercourse to their clients while others do not. The authors conducted this study to understand the proportion of sex-HGs and non-sex HGs, the prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the high-ri
UNITED KINGDOM: Teen Mags 'to Help Sex Teaching': BBC News (12.06.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Some teachers criticize magazines geared to teens - like Mizz and Bliss - for publishing material that allegedly glamorizes promiscuity, but London University s Institute of Education (IoE) plans to use such media as a teaching aid in sex education materials for youths ages 12-15. We believe that using media offers tea
JAPAN: Study Suggests Sex Education Poor: Daily Yomiuri (12.10.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Keiko Katayama; Recent research finding a high percentage of chlamydia infections among sexually active Japanese high school students has highlighted the need to review sex education. The situation is very serious. We shouldn t leave the matter uncorrected, said Hirohisa Imai, an assistant professor at Asahikawa Medical College, who p
MIDDLE EAST: Arab Religious Leaders Sign AIDS Declaration in Cairo: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.13.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Today in Cairo, some 80 major Arab religious leaders signed an HIV/AIDS declaration that marks the first cornerstone for tangible response to AIDS in the region. What we have achieved today is revolutionary, said Khadija Moalla, director of the HIV/AIDS regional program in the Middle East at the UN Development Program.
NEW JERSEY: Lawmakers to Ask Court to Stop Needle Exchange Programs: Associated Press (12.10.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Tom Bell; Three New Jersey lawmakers plan to file a lawsuit in an effort to throw out an executive order signed by former Gov. James E. McGreevey that permits Camden, Atlantic City and another city not yet chosen to establish needle-exchange programs. Sens. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) and Tom Kean (R-Union) and Assemblymember Joe Penn
UNITED STATES: Fewer Teens 15 to 17 Having Sex, Study Shows: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12.11.04) - Monday, December 13, 2004; Helena Oliviero; Fewer US youths ages 15-17 are having sex, and they cite religious and moral values as the number-one reason, says a new survey released by the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, 30 percent of never-married females ages 15-17 have had sex, down from 38 perce
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopians to Receive Free Brand-Name HIV Drugs from Next Year: Associated Press (12.09.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; On Thursday, Assistant US Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul said thousands of HIV-infected Ethiopians will start receiving free AIDS drugs for the first time next month as part of President Bush s $15 billion global AIDS relief initiative. The $43 million program will target up to 15,000 Ethiopians in 2005, said Dybul
CANADA: New Brunswick Education Department Scraps Web Site Links Considered X-Rated by Parents: Canadian Press (12.09.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; On Thursday, New Brunswick Education Minister Madeleine Dube said the department has decided to delete a listing of Web sites that some parents considered pornographic. The Web sites were contained in resource material meant only for sex- education teachers. Some parents objected to at least two sites, including one th
OHIO: Mobile Health Van to Take Tests to Streets: Dayton Daily News (12.07.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Kevin Lamb; The mission of a new mobile health van - which begins visiting Dayton neighborhoods Friday - is to increase HIV testing among Montgomery County s racial minorities. At the van s dedication Monday, Dennis Moore, assistant professor of community health with the Wright State University School of Medicine, cited CDC data i
VIRGINIA: Two TB Cases Tied to Chesapeake Nurse Who Died: Associated Press (12.09.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Tests conducted by CDC have confirmed that two active TB cases are linked to a nurse who worked at Chesapeake General Hospital and died of the disease over the summer, Chesapeake Health Director Nancy Welch said Thursday. The tests showed the TB strand the nurse had was the same form found in a co- worker and a patient
BELGIUM: Novel Test Drug Offers New Hope for Tuberculosis Treatment: Associated Press (12.09.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Paul Recer; Studies of a new type of antibiotic to treat TB suggest the drug works better and faster than existing TB drugs and could cut in half the time required to cure the deadly disease, according to researchers in the Belgium lab of Johnson & Johnson . The candidate drug, R207910, is part of a new class of anti-TB com
CANADA: New TB Cases Found: Toronto Star (12.10.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Moira Welsh; Six cases of TB have been identified in an outbreak at Toronto homeless shelters that has killed one man. Two new shelter cases were diagnosed this week. Toronto Public Health is nearing the end of a six-week voluntary screening program of shelter users. The agency rushed to change tactics after learning that the dead
CHINA: In China, an About-Face on AIDS Prevention: Washington Post (12.08.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Edward Cody; In observation of World AIDS Day, Chinese officials and newspapers discussed HIV/AIDS, and authorities announced measures to check the disease and detect those infected. The Health Ministry said it had increased financing for AIDS prevention to $12 million, up from $1.8 million three years ago. In Beijing, where the kn
GLOBAL: Nobel Peace Laureate Seeks to Explain Remarks About AIDS: New York Times (12.10.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Walter Gibbs; On Thursday, Kenyan environmentalist and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Dr. Wangari Maathai sought to defuse a controversy over reports she said AIDS was intentionally created by evil-minded scientists in the developed world to decimate the African population. Maathai, 64, a biologist whose Green Belt Movement
TENNESSEE: Meth's Sexual Effect Explains Addictions: Associated Press (12.03.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Bill Poovey; At a recent task force meeting on the methamphetamine epidemic in Appalachia, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) cringed when a federal prosecutor bluntly explained an obvious reason people become addicted to the drug: sex. Though meth will eventually destroy a user s sex drive, its short-term boost to sexual appetite an
LOUISIANA: Louisiana Governor Defends Abstinence Program Against ACLU Charge: Associated Press (12.09.04) - Friday, December 10, 2004; Kevin McGill; On Thursday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) defended Louisiana s abstinence-education program from charges that it continues to promote religion in violation of a 2002 court settlement. In July 2002, US District Judge Thomas Porteous Jr. found that some grants made by the Governor s Program on Abstinence under Gov. Mike Fost
CHINA: China to Treat More AIDS Patients with Free ARV Therapy in 2005: Xinhua News Agency (12.08.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; China will provide another 20,000-30,000 AIDS patients with free antiretroviral treatment next year, Hao Yang, deputy head of the disease control department under the Chinese Ministry of Health, said Tuesday at a press conference hosted jointly with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. By end of last June,
AUSTRALIA: Screen Pregnant Women for AIDS: Researcher: Australian Associated Press (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Rosemary Desmond; Australia should adopt a population-based HIV screening program for pregnant women, Dr. Nick Graves, a senior researcher at Queensland University of Technology, told a public health conference on World AIDS Day. Graves cited a recent study that showed a small number of pregnant women in the country with undiagnosed H
GLOBAL: Report: Women Often First Casualties of War: Washington Times (12.09.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Agence France Presse; On Wednesday, an Amnesty International report charged that women often become the first victims of war, and it called for action by the International Criminal Court to protect them. In addition to falling victim to bombings and land mines, women are considered the legitimate booty of [the] victorious army, the report s
UNITED STATES: Scientists Find Gene Clue in Hunt for AIDS Vaccine: Reuters (12.08.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Patricia Reaney; On Wednesday, scientists said they have identified key genes involved in the body s response to HIV, a discovery that can help refine the search for an effective HIV vaccine. We have narrowed down the focus of which particular genes are important in determining the outcome of HIV infection, said Dr. Philip Goulder of t
INDIA: Indian Religious Leaders Join Hands to Fight HIV/AIDS: Associated Press (11.29.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Nirmala George; At a multi-faith meeting on HIV/AIDS in New Delhi on Nov. 29, India s religious leaders were urged to spread the message of HIV prevention and to fight the stigma associated with the disease. In this highly traditional society, religious leaders have enormous influence in shaping people s attitudes and prejudices, said
TURKEY: Oklahoma Woman Educating Turkish Workers on AIDS: Associated Press (12.05.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Oklahoma City native Kay Zahasky is working to educate oil pipeline workers and military police in Turkey on how to prevent HIV transmission. In 2001, Zahasky began managing a medical equipment sales office in Istanbul. Her work marketing HIV diagnostic tests attracted notice from oil firms building the $4 billion, 1,0
LIBYA: Libya to Lift Death Penalty for Doctor and Nurses in HIV Case: New York Times (12.09.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Craig S. Smith; According to Seif al-Islam e-Qaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya will not execute five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death earlier this year for infecting more than 400 children with HIV. He said Libya will soon pass new laws limiting capital punishment to a small n
MIDDLE EAST: UNICEF: Arab Media Should Help Knock AIDS Taboos: Reuters (12.07.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Heba Kandil; HIV/AIDS rates in North Africa and the Middle East are climbing, and the region s media must combat the epidemic by addressing cultural taboos, Mohammed Imad al-Daker, a UNICEF HIV/AIDS consultant, said Tuesday. The region currently has 540,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, compared to 430,000 in 2002. 2004 UN estimates
GLOBAL: UNICEF: Poverty, War, HIV Hurting Children: Associated Press (12.09.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Catherine McAloon; UNICEF s report The State of the World s Children 2005; Childhood Under Threat, released today, said more than half the world s children are suffering the effects of poverty, war and HIV/AIDS, denying them a safe and healthy childhood. The report noted that more than 1 billion children are growing up hungry and unhealt
UNITED STATES: Firm Develops New Test for Tuberculosis: Daily News of Los Angeles (12.04.04) - Thursday, December 09, 2004; Patricia Farrell Aidem; The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new TB test that is expected eventually to replace the century-old skin test. Valencia, Calif.-based Cellestis Inc. developed the test, QuantiFERON-TB GOLD, in its Australian research center. It is being marketed to health officials, prisons and the military. Company s
COLORADO: No More Active Cases of TB Found at Air Force Academy: Associated Press (12.07.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; At least 230 Air Force Academy cadets have tested positive for TB exposure but no new active case has been found, the academy said Tuesday. In August, a cadet was diagnosed with active TB, and 65 other cadets at the 4,200-student school were treated with preventative antibiotics after testing positive for exposure. Cad
UNITED STATES: Details of Giant Spending Bill Congress Sends to Bush: Associated Press (12.08.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Alan Fram; On Tuesday, Congress sent President Bush a $388 billion legislative package covering the spending of every federal agency except the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Bush is expected to sign the bill before midnight tonight, when a temporary measure expires. The fo
FLORIDA: Vice Mayor Criticizes Red Cross AIDS Policy: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12.06.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Jean-Paul Renaud; In a Sept. 27 letter, Fort Lauderdale s Vice Mayor Dean Trantalis asked Broward County s School Superintendent Frank Till to reconsider using American Red Cross-provided guest speakers for school HIV/AIDS prevention instruction, saying that a Red Cross policy directing teachers to avoid discussions of homosexuality is
UNITED STATES: Sibling Influences on Adolescents' Attitudes Toward Safe Sex Practices: Family Relations (10.04) Vol. 53; No. 4; P.377-384 - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Amanda Kolburn Kowal; Lynn Blinn-Pike; The authors examined sibling discussion about safe sexual practices and the extent to which such discussions influence adolescents attitudes toward safe sex, their self-efficacy for refusing sex, communicating about condom use with partners, and buying and using condoms. Participants were 297 Midwestern high school stu
CHINA: Family Important for AIDS Prevention, Says Chinese Expert: Xinhua News Agency (12.08.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Families have become a conduit in the spread of HIV in China but this basic social unit can also be used to effectively curb the pandemic, professor Jing Jun of Qinghua University in Beijing told the World Family Summit, a three-day forum on family and socioeconomic development. Jing said the increasing number of women
TANZANIA: Tanzania Elderly Increasingly at HIV Risk - Report: Reuters (12.02.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Many of the 2 million Tanzanians above age 60 are increasingly at risk for HIV due to illiteracy, cultural practices, poverty and a lack of prevention knowledge, a recent report by HelpAge International found. The risk is increased by customs such as polygamy and wife inheritance, as well as by their role as caregivers
UNITED KINGDOM: Britons' 'Shocking' Ignorance on AIDS: The Guardian (London) (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Sarah Boseley; A new study reveals considerable ignorance and little sympathy in the United Kingdom regarding AIDS. Marie Stopes International commissioned the survey of 2,000 representative adults, which was conducted by Interact Worldwide. Among key findings: *One-fifth of those polled said it is people s own fault if they get HIV/
IRAN: Iran's Growing AIDS Crisis Shifts from the Needle to the Bed: Agence France Presse (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; On World AIDS Day, health experts warned that Iran s AIDS problem is shifting. The trend of transmission has changed from intravenous drug users to high-risk sexual behavior, said Minoo Mohraz, a doctor and specialist in Iran s official AIDS Association. Owing to economic issues, more people are delaying marriage, and
UNITED STATES: 'Chastity Czar' Wants Abstinence to Be Cool: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12.04.04) - Wednesday, December 08, 2004; Judy Holland; Wade F. Horn, the new head of the federal program to promote sexual abstinence, said his goal is to make it socially acceptable for American teens to say no to sex. As assistant secretary for children and families in the Department of Health and Human Services, Horn - dubbed the chastity czar - believes youths who choo
SOUTH KOREA: A Condom by Any Other Name...: Reuters (12.07.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; South Korea has dropped plans to replace the English word for condom with a Korean word after people with identical or similar-sounding names complained. The Korean Anti-AIDS Federation said it will shelve the use of ae-pil, which is derived from the Chinese characters for love and necessity.
INDIA: India, World Food Program to Provide Food Aid to HIV/AIDS Sufferers: Agence France Presse (12.06.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; On Monday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported that India has signed an agreement with the UN World Food Program to provide food for people with HIV/AIDS. The agreement makes food and nutrition an integral part of government strategy to fight HIV/AIDS, said Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. As it is, we hav
CALIFORNIA: Crystal Campaigns Spark Mixed Reactions: Bay Area Reporter (11.18.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Matthew Bajko; The San Francisco Department of Health s Crystal Mess advertisements - which depict harsh images of crystal methamphetamine addicts - provoked mixed reactions when recently displayed at the Castro Muni transit station. Some anonymous people wrote or plastered remarks against the campaign directly on the advertisements.
UNITED STATES: Using Patient Risk Indicator to Plan Prevention Strategies in the Clinical Care Setting: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (10.01.04) Vol. 37; Supplement 2; P.S88-S94 - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Jean L. Richardson, DrPH; Joel Milam, PhD; Susan Stoyanoff, MPH; Carol Kemper, MD; Robert Bolan, MD; Robert A. Larsen, MD; Jony M. Weiss, MPH; Harry Hollander, MD; Penny Weismuller, DrPH; Allen McCutchan, MD; CDC s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article Incorporating HIV Prevention into the Medical Care of Persons Living with HIV (July 18, 2003), recommends that health-care providers offer brief behavior risk-reduction interventions in clinic settings and provide referrals for selected HIV- positive patients for addi
GLOBAL: AIDS Experts Say Focus on Sex Industry: Associated Press (11.30.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Paul Alexander; Empowering female sex workers could help fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific, aid workers said Nov. 30 at a conference on how women and girls can be saved from the pandemic. About 400 aid workers from around the world attended the conference in Islamabad, Pakistan . The empowerment of women is the best vaccine
JAMAICA: Jamaica Says It's Considering Legislation Against HIV/AIDS Discrimination: Associated Press (12.01.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Stevenson Jacobs; After a recent Human Rights Watch report criticized Jamaica for failing to protect people with HIV/AIDS from discrimination, the government said it is working on legislation that will protect infected people at work and elsewhere. But you can t just legislate to erase the stigma, said Health Minister John Junor. We h
BULGARIA: Powell Says US Will Not Drop Case of Condemned Bulgarian Nurses in Libya: Agence France Presse (12.07.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Today in Sofia, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will continue to pressure Libya to release the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death by a Libyan court for allegedly infecting hundreds of children with HIV. We have been pressing the Libyans on every occasion to reso
GLOBAL: Head of Global Fund for AIDS Says Disease 'Growing Rapidly' in China: Associated Press (12.07.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Stephanie Hoo; Today in Beijing, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria disputed official government figures showing China s HIV infection rate has remained steady for two years - even as he praised the nation s aggressive new anti-AIDS efforts. The official figures must be wrong, Richard Feachem said of China s co
NORTH CAROLINA: AIDS Up in N.C. for Third Year; Infections Rise Among Poor Women, Blacks: News & Observer (12.01.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; Sarah Avery; 2003 marked the third year in a row in which HIV/AIDS cases rose in North Carolina. A growing number of those infected were poor women and minorities. Thirty-two percent of the state s estimated 25,000 cases are female; 71 percent are black. Heterosexual transmission accounted for 83 percent of new HIV infections among
GLOBAL: Barr Says FDA Approves AIDS Drug Generic Version: Reuters (12.03.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004; On Friday, Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the company s generic version of Videx EC, an AIDS medicine marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb . FDA granted an expedited review of Barr s application to make a generic
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Doctors Urged to Screen Blood to Curb Spread of HIV: Agence France Presse (12.02.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; On Thursday, Bangladesh s Health Minister Khandoker Mosharraf Hossain urged all physicians to screen donated blood for HIV before using it in transfusions. About 7,500 people in the country are living with HIV/AIDS and blood transfusions are among main transmission routes, said Hossain. Whatever the estimated or report
GUYANA: Guyana to Get $20 Million from United States to Fight AIDS: Associated Press (12.04.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; On Friday, US Ambassador Roland Bullen announced Guyana will receive $20 million to help fight AIDS, and he presented the government with $200,000 in HIV testing equipment. Among other initiatives, the money will go toward preventing mother-to- child HIV transmission and improving testing capabilities, said Health Mini
SINGAPORE: Singapore Mulls HIV Testing for Couples Planning to Tie the Knot: Report: Agence France Presse (12.05.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said there have been suggestions the city-state should test for HIV all couples seeking to marry, but that public feedback would be sought before any decision is made, the Sunday Times reported. Should we do it? I don t know. But if you ask me as a parent, I think there is no h
UNITED STATES: Health Chief Resigns: Los Angeles Times (12.04.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; Edwin Chen; On Friday, US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced his intention to resign from his cabinet- level office by Feb. 4 or earlier, once the Senate confirms his successor. It was not a surprise announcement, since Thompson had let it be known he did not intend to hold the office during a second B
PITTSBURGH: Braddock Man Empowers Peers to Battle HIV/AIDS: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12.01.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Ervin Dyer; A crumbling brick building on a blighted corner in Braddock, Pa., houses a halfway house where men are trying to repair their battered lives. This has been my calling, to try to empower others, said Cliff Maxwell. A one-time pimp, Maxwell, 54, has managed the house for four months. The facility has been in existence fo
CALIFORNIA: Panel Examines AIDS in Black Communities: Los Angeles Times (12.05.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; David Pierson; On Saturday, black health officials, social activists, religious leaders and social workers gathered at University of Southern California to call for the elimination of AIDS stigma and urge greater sexual responsibility to contain the epidemic. The event was organized by the African American Community Development Initi
UNITED STATES: Trends in HIV Prevalence Among Public Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic Attendees in the Western Region of the United States (1989-1999): Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (09.01.04) Vol. 37; No. 1: P.1206-1215 - Monday, December 06, 2004; Nina T. Harawa, MPH, PhD; John Douglas, MD; Willi McFarland, MD, PhD; Hanne Thiede, DVM, MPH; Timothy A. Kellogg, MA; Kelly Vorhees, MSPH; KaraAnn M. Donovan, MPH; Trista A. Bingham, MPH, MS; Using data from anonymous unlinked testing of routinely collected sera, the authors compared trends in HIV among sexually transmitted disease (STD) patients in 4 Western urban centers: Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Because of the relatively high HIV prevalence among certain behavioral risk groups in
ASIA: Prison Drug Use, Unprotected Sex Fueling AIDS Epidemic in Asia: Associated Press (12.01.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Michael Casey; Widespread drug use and unprotected sex in Asia s overcrowded prisons are turning the decrepit facilities into HIV factories that are contributing to the region s AIDS epidemic, activists say. We are introducing a population that we know to be infected with [HIV] into an environment where people shoot up drugs and have
JAPAN: Condom Sales Shrivel as Japan Logs Onto Cyber Porn: Agence France Presse (11.30.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Japan s Health Ministry announced recently that domestic shipments of condoms have declined from 737 million condoms in 1980 to 419 million in 2003 - a 43 percent decline. Since the advent of the broadband Internet in Japan, people can connect the entire night without having extra charges, said a spokesperson for Okamo
JAPAN: Sex-Disease Chlamydia Rife Among Japanese Teens: Reuters (12.02.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; A screening of 3,190 male and female high school students from 13 schools in Japan s main northern island of Hokkaido found an average 11.4 percent testing positive for chlamydia, the Yomiuri Shimbun recently reported. The results are considered nationally reflective of teen sexual activity, the Yomiuri said, adding to
UNITED STATES: Frist Backs Review of Abstinence Programs: Associated Press (12.05.04) - Monday, December 06, 2004; Sunday on ABC s This Week program, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said the government should review federally funded sexual abstinence programs. Last week, a report by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) found misinformation in 11 of the 13 most widely used abstinence curricula. The report said the programs under
NORTH DAKOTA: North Dakota Has Lowest Incidence of AIDS: Associated Press (12.01.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; North Dakota continues to have the nation s lowest AIDS incidence. During the first six months of the year, nine new cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in the state; most were the result of sexual transmission. On Wednesday, the state Health Department marked World AIDS Day with a call for at-risk people to be tested. St
ECUADOR: 6,000 AIDS Cases Reported in Ecuador: Xinhua News Agency (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; On Wednesday in Quito, Health Minister Teofilo Lama said 6,000 AIDS cases have been reported in Ecuador . The most likely cases are no longer homosexuals but rather women and children, Lama said. Ecuador recorded its first HIV infection 20 years.
PANAMA: 6,372 AIDS Cases Registered in Panama: Report: Xinhua News Agency (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; A report released Wednesday by Panama s Health Ministry said the nation has registered 6,372 cases of AIDS. Of AIDS patients, 75.5 percent are male, and 24.5 percent are female. Seventy-three percent of patients have died. Official figures indicate between 21,000 and 22,000 people have tested HIV- positive. Panama will
MEXICO: As Many as 260,000 Mexicans Are Living with HIV: Associated Press (11.24.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Though the official number of HIV-infected Mexicans remains low, Jorge Saavedra, director of the National Center for the Prevention of AIDS, said on Nov. 24 the real figure could be between 78,000 and 260,000. Saavedra said the reason for the broad estimate is that many people don t know, others don t want to know and
CHINA: Many Mainland Chinese Prostitutes in Hong Kong Not Using Condoms: Survey: Agence France Presse (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; On Thursday, the sex workers rights group Teng Zi said many mainland Chinese prostitutes working in Hong Kong are not using condoms because they fear police would use the condoms as evidence. Of 108 mainland Chinese prostitutes surveyed, 43 percent said they did not use condoms because they were afraid police would vie
CALIFORNIA: Care-A-Van Drives Lessons Home: Sacramento Bee (11.22.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Gabriel Baird; The high school student who dropped by the Sacramento County Department of Health s 40-foot mobile van recently wanted to take an HIV test. What he got first behind closed curtains was a reality check, said Elvira Anguiano, who works for the county s Care-A-Van program, which offers free STD testing at shelters and tra
GEORGIA: Mayor Urges Macon to Do More in Fight Against AIDS: Macon Telegraph (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Karen Shugart; Speaking on World AIDS Day, Macon Mayor Jack Ellis said the city must do more work with local HIV/AIDS service providers if it is to effectively fight the disease. The fact of the matter is it is a drain on our economy, Ellis said of AIDS at a City Hall news conference. We have to find a way in our upcoming budget to f
MASSACHUSETTS: Soaring Syphilis Rate Ends Decades of Decline in Hub: Boston Herald (12.01.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Marie Szaniszlo; Boston s reported syphilis cases for 2003 increased by 43.8 percent over the previous year. Last year, Boston reported 69 syphilis cases - or 11.5 cases per 100,000 residents. The city now has the sixth-highest rate for the disease nationwide, after San Francisco, Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit and Newark. In 2001, Boston
CALIFORNIA: Anti-Syphilis TV Message Finds Few Takers: Los Angeles Times (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Jia-Rui Chong; Los Angeles County Department of Health officials were frustrated to learn a department-funded anti-syphilis public service ad targeting gay men was rejected as inappropriate by local television stations. It s distressing to hear that some important public health messages are not being aired, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding
UNITED STATES: A Case-Control Study of Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in New York City: Association with HIV Infection: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (10.04) Vol. 31; No. 10: P. 581- 587 - Friday, December 03, 2004; Gabriela Paz-Bailey, MD, MSc; Andrea Meyers, MPH; Susan Blank, MD, MPH; James Brown; Steve Rubin; Jim Braxton; Akbar Zaidi, PhD; Josh Schafzin, MD, PhD; Susan Weigl, MPH [S], Laurie E. Markowitz, MD; In the current study, researchers sought to determine factors associated with syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in New York City. A case-control study was conducted among 88 men ages 18-55 who reported sex with men in the previous year and were diagnosed with primary or secondary syphilis during 2001. In t
GLOBAL: Human Rights Watch Says Curbs on Condoms Undermine Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Associated Press (11.30.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; David Crary; In a report issued Tuesday ahead of World AIDS Day, Human Rights Watch said criticism of condoms and restrictions on access to them are hurting global anti-AIDS efforts. Governments should be promoting condom use, not treating condoms like contraband, said HRW researcher Jonathan Cohen. The clear result of restricting
ILLINOIS: Governor Bars Health Agency from Giving Out Flavored Condoms: Associated Press (12.02.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Christopher Wills; As dozens rallied against AIDS Wednesday in Springfield, the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich defended his decision to stop the Illinois Public Health Department from purchasing any more flavored or colored condoms. Blagojevich said the World AIDS Day commemoration was a time to reaffirm our commitment to promoti
UNITED STATES: Antiviral Drug Used to Treat AIDS to Be Tested as Vaccine: San Francisco Chronicle (12.01.04) - Friday, December 03, 2004; Sabin Russell; The US arm of an international drug trial will enroll 400 gay men in San Francisco and Atlanta to determine whether the properties that allow tenofovir ( Viread ) to suppress HIV among infected patients might also prevent HIV among the uninfected. Researchers believe tenofovir is a good candidat
NEW YORK: City Agency Gets $5 Million to Help Fight Epidemic: Newsday (12.02.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Bryan Virasami; On Wednesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the New York City Health Department will receive $5 million a year to conduct HIV/AIDS testing in minority communities. The epidemic continues to have a profound impact on our city, Bloomberg said at a morning reception commemorating World AIDS Day. Health Commissioner Dr
SOUTH AFRICA: Five Million South Africans Are HIV Positive: Business Day (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Tamar Kahn; Five million South Africans, or 11 percent of the population, are HIV-infected, according to an Actuarial Society of South Africa report released Wednesday in conjunction with World AIDS Day. Though the figure is lower than the health department s recent estimate of 5.6 million infections, the authors of the report sai
GLOBAL: Chastity Is Safest Defense Against AIDS, Vatican Reaffirms: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; In a message marking World AIDS Day, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said HIV transmission through sexual contact must be eliminated through responsible behavior and observance of the virtue of chastity. Barragan is the head of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, which is charged with guiding Catholic orga
GLOBAL: UN Agency Reinstates 2 AIDS Drugs: New York Times (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Donald G. McNeil Jr.; On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that two generic drugs removed from its list of safe AIDS medicines in May have been reinstated. Lamivudine and AZT manufactured by Indian maker Cipla were taken off the
TENNESSEE: AIDS Markers Back Again at Corner - Numbers Up Slightly from Last Year: Commercial Appeal (11.29.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Jody Callahan; On Sunday, about 400 volunteers hammered white stakes with red bows affixed into the lawns of Greater Lewis Missionary Baptist and First Baptist churches in Memphis to memorialize Shelby County residents who have died of AIDS since 1983 and to commemorate World AIDS Day. In 2000, the display had 2,204 markers; this yea
NEW YORK: World AIDS Day; 'A Very Real Problem Right Here': Newsday (12.02.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Cynthia Daniels; Heather Fletcher; People in Long Island marked World AIDS Day with remembrances and dedications. More than 30 people viewed a memorial quilt of 30 panels designed by Economic Opportunity Commission workers and community members of Nassau County. The quilt - which included panels that said AIDS has no Color, Pray for a Cure and Be a Frie
CALIFORNIA: Vigils, Concerts and Tears Mark Losses to AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle (12.02.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Rona Marech; On Wednesday, a midday crowd of several hundred gathered in Golden Gate Park s National AIDS Memorial Grove as part of San Francisco 11th annual commemoration of World AIDS Day. Mayor Gavin Newsom and Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) addressed the crowd; Rabbi Camille Shira Angel led a prayer. Tom Nolan, exec
UNITED STATES: Interactive Video Behavioral Intervention Reduces Adolescent Females' STD Risk: Women's Health Weekly (11.04.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Recent research by J.S. Downs and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University used a longitudinal randomized [study] design� to evaluate the impact of a theoretically based, stand-alone interactive video intervention on 300 urban adolescent girls (a) knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), (b) self-reported
GLOBAL: Anti-AIDS Campaigners Spotlight Need to Protect Women, Girls: Associated Press (12.01.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Alexander G. Higgins; From Armenia to Zambia , activists worldwide took part in World AIDS Day while the UN sought to raise awareness on how the face of AIDS is increasingly young and female. The number of women living with HIV is on the rise in every region, said UNAIDS chief Peter Piot, speaking in New
KANSAS: State AIDS Rates Rise; Complacency Can Be Deadly, Experts Warn: Wichita Eagle (11.30.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Christina M. Woods; Kansas health officials are concerned complacency is behind the recent rise of HIV/AIDS cases in the state. As of June 30, the number of state HIV/AIDS cases was 1,643 - an increase of 214 cases from 2003, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said. Renee Crist-Duxler, a Ryan White program case manager at the
UNITED STATES: Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says: Washington Post (12.02.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Ceci Connolly; A congressional staff report released Wednesday found many federally funded abstinence programs have medically inaccurate or misleading information, often contradicting the government s own scientific findings. Several million children ages 9-18 have participated in abstinence programs, which have garnered nearly $900
UNITED STATES: AIDS Rate for Gay Men Climbs: Los Angeles Times (12.02.04) - Thursday, December 02, 2004; Thomas H. Maugh II; Released on World AIDS Day, CDC s report of US HIV/AIDS diagnoses rates for 2000-2003 showed an overall 1 percent growth rate for new infections, large increases among men who have sex with men (MSM), and pervasive racial disparities. CDC maintains that about 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the
CANADA: Alicia Keys, Stephen Lewis Push for AIDS Awareness: Guelph Mercury (11.30.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Canadian Press; On Monday, singer Alicia Keys took part in Toronto s first Urban AIDS concert and awareness campaign. I ve seen it. It s changed my life completely, Keys said of the suffering she witnessed on a recent trip to visit children with AIDS in Africa. Flanked by Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, at a pre-co
CHINA: Hong Kong HIV, AIDS Cases on the Rise: Agence France Presse (11.30.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; On Tuesday, Hong Kong s government said the number of new HIV cases in the territory for the third quarter of 2004 was 73, up from 56 for the same period in 2003. Since 1984, Hong Kong has reported 2,457 HIV infections.
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Prime Minister's Wife Takes Rare Public HIV Test by High Profile Figure: Associated Press (11.30.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; On Tuesday, Azeb Mesfin, wife of Ethiopia s prime minister, became one of the nation s few high-profile figures to take a public HIV test. She was one of several women - including Mulu Ketsala, the finance and economic affairs state minister, and US Ambassador Aurelia Brazeal - who took the test at Zewbitu Memorial Hos
GLOBAL: UN Agency Says School Meal Programs Play an Important Role in the Fight Against AIDS: Associated Press (11.30.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; On Tuesday, the UN World Food Program said providing meals at schools is one largely untapped yet effective retention method that could keep impoverished children in school, where they could learn about HIV/AIDS. There is growing evidence linking the level of education to a stable or lower incidence of HIV, the agency
UNITED STATES: Blacks Must Tackle AIDS on Road Toward Social Equity: USA Today (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Coretta Scott King; Today, people from around the globe commemorate World AIDS Day.... Worldwide, an unprecedented number of people - nearly 40 million men, women and children - are living with HIV, according to figures released last week by [ UNAIDS ].... As the pandemic expands, women are increasingly on the front lines.... Here in th
RUSSIA/GEORGIA/UKRAINE: High-Risk Behaviors and Beliefs and Knowledge About HIV Transmission Among School and Shelter Children in Eastern Europe: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (11.04) Vol. 31; No. 11: P. 670- 675 - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Robin Goodwin, PhD; Alexandra Kozlova, MA; George Nizharadze, PhD; Galina Polyakova, MA; The researchers conducted a study to determine sexual behavior, injection drug use, knowledge and representations of HIV transmission among adolescents in Russia , Georgia and the Ukraine . They conducted semi-structured interviews on sexual behavior and structured inventories assessing knowledge of HIV tr
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africans with AIDS See Ray of Hope: Washington Post (11.30.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Craig Timberg; Only about 11,000 South Africans are receiving antiretroviral treatment through the public health system; at least 500,000 citizens with HIV need it. More than a year after South Africa s government promised to treat its AIDS patients, the treatment rollout is stymied by shortages of clinics, doctors and nurses. It wil
AUSTRALIA: AIDS Prevention Up to Individuals, Not Government: Abbott: Australian Associated Press (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Kylie Walker; Launching World AIDS Day today in Australia , Health Minister Tony Abbott told leading AIDS activists the government would do everything it could to fight AIDS but those at risk have to take the greatest responsibility. The government won t expect too much of people or disown them when they turn out to be human, but th
CHINA: China Orders Local Officials to Learn More About AIDS: Associated Press (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Joe McDonald; Today, Chinese President Hu Jintao said local officials must learn about HIV/AIDS, and the government publicized its commitment to fighting the disease by broadcasting television scenes of Hu visiting AIDS patients. Long criticized for its slow response to AIDS and for harassing AIDS activists, the government marked Wo
INDIA: India Plans All-Out Fight Against AIDS: Agence France Presse (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Palash Kumar; Today, India s government marked World AIDS Day by announcing a massive media campaign designed to bring HIV/AIDS awareness to its 1 billion-plus population. In discussing the government s new approach with Parliament, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said the intensive campaign would include distributing 1.5 billion
GLOBAL: World AIDS Day Marked with Parades and Stark Warnings: Agence France Presse (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Today, as new UN data painted a grim portrait of the global AIDS epidemic, activists joined religious, social and national leaders worldwide to observe World AIDS Day. On Tuesday, UNAIDS head Peter Piot warned that the potential scenario of tens of millions of new infections in China
GEORGIA: AIDS Toll on Georgia Blacks Severe: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12.01.04) - Wednesday, December 01, 2004; Patricia Guthrie; Today, World AIDS Day prompted Georgia health officials and researchers to call for increased HIV intervention and education efforts aimed at minority populations. Blacks comprise 29 percent of Georgia s population, yet they account for 64 percent of the state s cumulative AIDS cases. Figures from the Georgia AIDS Coal
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Town Hall Meeting in the District: Washington Post (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; On Wednesday, the District of Columbia Health Department is sponsoring a town hall forum to discuss the growing HIV incidence among District women and girls. From 1991 to 2001, AIDS cases among females grew tripled, according to health officials. Women - nearly all African American - comprised a quarter of the city s 8
KENTUCKY: Crosses Mark World AIDS Day: Lexington Herald Leader (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; In observance of World AIDS Day, two student groups have placed 2,400 crosses in front of the William T. Young Library at the University of Kentucky. The International Federation of Medical Students Association and the Student Global AIDS Campaign said the crosses represent the more than 8,000 people worldwide who die
FLORIDA: World AIDS Day: Bradenton Herald (11.27.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; The West Coast AIDS Coalition, a collaborative effort of the Sarasota and Manatee county health departments and several community groups, has planned a variety of World AIDS Day events through Dec. 5. For information, telephone the Community AIDS Network, 941-366-0461 or the Manatee County Health Department, 941-748-07
MICHIGAN: Conference to Examine AIDS Issues: Detroit Free Press (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Cassandra Spratling; On Thursday and Friday in Ypsilanti, the Michigan Department of Community Health will conduct its 10th annual Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Conference. Topics will include racial and ethnic health disparities, youth culture s influence on the epidemic, and HIV prevention and treatment strategies. The conference
WISCONSIN: University Hosting AIDS Day Events: Wisconsin State Journal (11.29.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; As part of World AIDS Day on Wednesday, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host more than a dozen events exploring the issues surrounding the disease. On Tuesday, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Beefeaters Lounge in the Memorial Union. A panel discussion will be held
FRANCE; BRAZIL: French Vaccine Fuels Hope in AIDS Treatment: San Francisco Chronicle (11.29.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Sabin Russell; A French AIDS vaccine candidate designed to treat - rather than prevent - the disease has suppressed HIV among a small set of volunteers in Brazil for up to a year, according to a preliminary report in Nature Medicine. However, the custom- made vaccine is difficult to produce, costly and impractical to deliver to large
SAUDI ARABIA: Number of AIDS Cases Increases in Saudi Arabia: Associated Press (11.24.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Abdullah Al-Shihri; Since health authorities in Saudi Arabia began monitoring HIV/AIDS in 1984, the Gulf state has diagnosed more than 7,800 Saudis and foreigners with the disease, the state-run Saudi Press Agency recently reported. Of the total, 1,743 were Saudi Arabians, 588 of whom have since died, said Nasser bin Saleh al-Khuzeim, hea
CHINA: China President Shakes Hands with AIDS Patients, Vows End to Discrimination: Agence France Presse (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Wearing a red silk ribbon, China s President Hu Jintao visited Beijing s You an Hospital Tuesday, shook hands with AIDS patients, and pledged to help end disease-related discrimination. Hu spoke face to face with 14 patients and urged them to be confident and have the courage to combat the disease, Xinhua News Agency r
GLOBAL: Abstinence Message Gets Blasted Ahead of World AIDS Day: Agence France Presse (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Richard Ingham; The ABC campaign - which advocates abstinence, being faithful to one partner, or using condoms - has come under fire from leading AIDS activists ahead of World AIDS Day. Critics of the strategy - a central component of President Bush s $15 billion, five-year commitment to fight global HIV/AIDS - say it is frequently in
EUROPE: EU Urges Action to Avert European AIDS Disaster: Reuters (11.30.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; On the eve of World AIDS Day, the European Union s Executive Commission today warned that increasing numbers of Europeans are contracting HIV through unprotected sex, and it called for urgent action to avoid a public health crisis. Since 1996, the number of newly reported HIV cases in the EU has doubled, with the Balti
DELAWARE: Delaware Lawmakers to Reconsider Needle Exchange Program: Associated Press (11.28.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Randall Chase; When the General Assembly convenes in January, Delaware Sen. Margaret Rose Henry plans to reintroduce legislation to authorize the state s first pilot needle-exchange program in Wilmington. We can t continue to have people die from [AIDS] when there is a way to stop the spread of it, said Henry. More than 4,370 new HIV
UNITED STATES: Bush Seeks Funds for Abstinence Education: Associated Press (11.26.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Mark Sherman; Congress recently included more than $131 million for abstinence programs as part of the $388 billion spending bill. That amount is an increase of $30 million but is about $100 million less than President Bush requested. Concurrently, a national evaluation of abstinence programs has been delayed until 2006. Ten state e
UNITED STATES: CDC: Gonorrhea Rate Drops to All-Time Low: Associated Press (11.29.04) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004; Daniel Yee; On Monday, CDC reported that the US gonorrhea rate has dropped to an all-time low. Between 2002 and 2003, gonorrhea cases fell nearly 5 percent, from 122 cases per 100,000 people to 116.2 per 100,000. In 1975, CDC launched a national gonorrhea-control effort. From 1975 to 1997, gonorrhea rates fell by 74 percent. Rates
TEXAS: Quilt Panels to Be on Display at Rice: Houston Chronicle (11.28.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; In conjunction with World AIDS Day, Rice University will display 80 panels of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt from Tuesday to Friday in Grand Hall, Rice Memorial Center. The display will begin with an unfolding ceremony on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The quilt will be on public display 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. We
MARYLAND: Howard County Briefs: Washington Post (11.25.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; On World AIDS Day, the Howard County Health Department, AIDS Alliance of Howard County, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Howard Community College will present a program 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the campus Burrill Galleria, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. An information booth and portio
MISSISSIPPI: World AIDS Day to Focus on Women: Biloxi Sun Herald (11.26.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; Kat Bergeron; On World AIDS Day, a candlelight memorial and an interfaith HIV/AIDS program will be held at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, 222 East Railroad St., in Pass Christian. World AIDS Day is about awareness, said Rusty Dempsey, a South Mississippi AIDS Task Force board member and chairperson of the interfaith program. T
FLORIDA: World AIDS Day Events Call Attention to Women: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (11.28.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; In recognition of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, the Children s Case Management Organization in West Palm Beach will offer free HIV testing for women and girls. The Palm Beach Community College is hosting a women s health conference on Thursday, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Local events for World AIDS Day conclude on Saturday with AIDS
UGANDA: Sexually Transmitted Disease Management in Uganda's Private-for-Profit Formal and Informal Sector and Compliance with Treatment: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (11.04) Vol. 31; No. 11; P.650- 654 - Monday, November 29, 2004; Bart Jacobs, MSc; James Whitworth, MD; Fred Kambugu, MD; Robert Pool, PhD; The authors investigated the management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Ugandan private-sector clinics and drug shops. They interviewed men with urethral discharge who had consulted clinics (264) or drug shops (141) for treatment in 5 districts, using a precoded questionnaire 1-3 weeks after the initiation o
CHINA: China Approves Human Test of Experimental AIDS Vaccine: Associated Press (11.26.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; Joe McDonald; On Friday, China announced it has approved human testing of a domestically developed HIV vaccine, Xinhua News Agency reported. The State Food and Drug Administration also pledged to accelerate approval process of all kinds of anti-AIDS drugs to help speed up relevant clinical researches, Xinhua said. Chinese scien
CANADA: Sufferers Want Treatment for Deforming Antiretroviral Side Effects: Canadian Press (11.29.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; On Sunday, a group of 30 AIDS activists called on Quebec Health Minister Phillipe Couillard to ensure free treatment for side effects caused by antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. ARVs can trigger lipodystrophy, a condition that causes fat to collect on the back of the neck and abdomen even as the cheeks sink dramatically. [
SINGAPORE: Singapore Fights Rise in HIV Infections with Testing of Pregnant Women: Agence France Presse (11.28.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; On Saturday, Singapore health officials said voluntary HIV testing of pregnant women would begin in December and that the city-state would encourage condom use among gays and men who pay for sex, reported the Sunday Times. However, condom advocacy would be discreet so as not to encourage casual sex among youths, said t
ASIA PACIFIC: Conference to Focus on AIDS' Impact on Women, Girls: Associated Press (11.28.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; Paul Alexander; On Monday in Islamabad, Pakistan , Asian-Pacific government officials and aid workers are opening a three-day regional conference focused on HIV/AIDS prevention among women and girls - those most vulnerable to the disease. While officials praised Thailand s program, in which sex workers persuade clients to use condoms,
VIETNAM: Vietnam to Focus on Women During World AIDS Day: Associated Press (11.26.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; On Friday, UN and local officials announced that Vietnam will use World AIDS Day to focus on educating women about the alarming rise of HIV among the nation s females. Both men and women must work together to transform the relationships, social norms and structure in ways that reduce the vulnerability of women and girl
GLOBAL: Doctor Shortage Hurts Global Health Goals: Associated Press (11.26.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; Emma Ross; A critical shortage of 4 million health-care workers is hampering the global fight against diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio, a consortium of more than 100 health leaders worldwide said in a new report. Though medicines, vaccines and medical technologies are now more available than ever in develop
VERMONT: Vermont CARES Foregoes Federal Money, Citing Principles: Associated Press (11.25.04) - Monday, November 29, 2004; Ross Sneyd; Saying that seeking and accepting CDC HIV-prevention funds would constitute an endorsement of policies it believes are counterproductive, Vermont CARES has decided not to apply for almost $100,000 in federal funds. Vermont CARES, the state s largest AIDS service agency, was particularly concerned about new surveys that
THAILAND: Norwegian Prince Praises Thailand's Anti-AIDS Efforts: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.24.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; On Wednesday during an official visit to Thailand , Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon lauded the work of the Population & Community Development Association (PDA), which has been successful in educating the population about HIV/AIDS and promoting safe sex. Their work on HIV/AIDS is really showing results, said Haakon.
MOZAMBIQUE: Traditional Healers in Mozambique Receive AIDS Education: Associated Press (11.23.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Emmanuel Camillo; In Maputo on Tuesday, traditional Mozambican healers began learning how to prevent HIV infection during a 10-day course organized by Mozambique s National Health Institute. The ministry hopes the effort will provide healers with a cooperative channel to mainstream ministry officials; help educate the healers patients;
OHIO: AIDS, HIV Still Taboo for Many: Cincinnati Inquirer (11.21.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Reid Forgrave; In many low-income African-American communities, people know about HIV/AIDS, but do not talk about it. One recent Saturday morning in Ohio, 100 volunteers - including two-dozen black Cincinnati police and fire officials - walked the streets of five empowerment-zone neighborhoods to distribute 10,000 donated copies of t
CHINA: Self-Reported Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections Among Rural Women in Hainan, China: Prevalence Rates and Risk Factors: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (11.04) Vol. 31; No. 11; P.643- 649 - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Dong-Yan Zia, MSc: Su-Su Liao, MD, PhD; Qi-Ya He, MD; Kyung- Hee Choi, PhD; Jeffrey S. Mandel, PhD, MPH; The authors studied a stratified cluster sample of 606 rural married women in Hainan province to examine the risk of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among women in rural China . The researchers examined prevalence, influence of sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, hygiene practices, attitudes and behaviors
ASIA: Religious Leaders Meet to Discuss How to Mobilize Communities in South Asia to Battle HIV/AIDS: Associated Press (11.19.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; On Nov. 19, religious leaders from eight South Asia countries gathered to discuss how stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS have fueled the epidemic in the region. Leaders from India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Bhutan ,
EASTERN EUROPE; CENTRAL ASIA: HIV Spreading Like Wildfire Among Young in Former Soviet States: Agence France Presse (11.23.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; In two years, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have experienced a 40 percent jump in HIV/AIDS cases, mostly among the young, UNAIDS and World Health Organization reported Tuesday ahead of World AIDS Day. By the end of this year, the former Soviet Union will have 1.4 million HIV/AIDS infections, up from 1 million in 2002
LATIN AMERICA: Latin America's HIV Rise Among Highest: Miami Herald (11.24.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Fred Tasker; In 2004, every region in the world witnessed growing numbers of people infected by HIV, the UN reported Tuesday in its annual AIDS Epidemic Update. While some Latin American countries have low HIV infection rates, these figures can mask pockets where HIV/AIDS epidemics are actually acute. New HIV cases leveled off in t
GLOBAL: Amnesty: Violence Against Women Is Spreading AIDS: Reuters (11.24.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; A report released today by the human rights group Amnesty International said that a global pandemic of violence against women is fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Amnesty report comes just one day after the annual report by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization showed that women comprise nearly half of the 37.
GLOBAL: Women's Rights in Developing World Crucial to Victory over AIDS, UN Says: Associated Press (11.23.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Emma Ross; The inequities faced by women in developing countries - from poverty and limited education, to violence and denial of inheritance and property rights - must be overcome if the world is to win the battle against HIV/AIDS, a UNAIDS report said Tuesday. The fact that the balance of power in many relationships is tilted in
GLOBAL: Broadcasters, Activists Harness TV Against AIDS: Reuters (11.23.04) - Wednesday, November 24, 2004; Creative and programming directors from 35 media companies - including Viacom Inc., MTV Networks International and South African Broadcasting Corp. - were among a group of about 100 broadcasters, activists, advertisers and UN officials who met Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York City to discuss using TV to stop the
VIRGINIA: Loudoun Student Treated for TB: Washington Post (11.20.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Fewer than 20 staff and students at Broad Run High School in Loudoun County were tested for TB after an infectious case of the disease was diagnosed in a student. Test results for those who might have been exposed to the infected student were not yet available, according to David Goodfriend, the county s health directo
UNITED STATES: End-of-Session Spending Bill Rewards Mars Program but Imposes Cuts Elsewhere: New York Times (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Katharine Q. Seelye; David E. Rosenbaum; Among discretionary items in the 2005 spending bill approved by Congress over the weekend, $2.3 billion was allocated for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. This amount was $99 million more than President Bush requested and $690 million more than last year. The bill also provides $105 million for abstin
UNITED STATES: Researchers Look at Repeat HIV Testing in Black US Women: Women's Health Weekly (11.11.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; A central challenge of the AIDS epidemic among African American women is promoting acceptance of repeat HIV testing among those at risk of infection, R. Crosby and colleagues at the University of Kentucky wrote in a recent report. The researchers performed an exploratory study to identify behavioral and psychosocial c
SINGAPORE: Asian Gay and Lesbian Network Slams Singapore's Gay Sex Prohibition: Associated Press (11.21.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Singapore s law prohibiting gay sex is hampering HIV prevention efforts among homosexual men, an AIDS education group said Sunday. Stuart Koe, head of the Fridae Asian gay and lesbian network, rejected recent remarks by Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan, who said advocacy groups like Action for AIDS were no
CHINA: Beijing Starts Promoting Condom Use to Fight HIV/AIDS: Agence France Presse (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; In what AIDS activists are calling a new initiative, advertisements that promote condom use and advise against risky sex are being placed in Beijing public venues and nightspots. The prominent displays appear ahead of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, and are a response to the nation s 40 percent annual increase in HIV/AIDS. Mo
GLOBAL: Expert Warns China, India on Brink of HIV/AIDS Explosions: Australian Associated Press (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Sandra O'Malley; Today via videolink, US Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias told journalists in Australia that China and India are on the verge of an explosion in HIV rates. Asia-Pacific s epidemic is second only to the one in Africa, Tobias said. It s very important that the world s attention not be directed sol
ASIA: Asia at Critical Stage of AIDS Battle as Infections Top Eight Million: UN: Agence France Presse (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Asia s booming sex trade has fueled an HIV/AIDS crisis with the region now reporting more than 8 million people living with the disease, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization said today in their annual AIDS epidemic report. In the past two years, the number of HIV-infected Asians has increased by 1 million, bringing
AFRICA: Generations of Africans to Be Affected by AIDS Pandemic: UN: Agence France Presse (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Today, the annual report by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS warned that HIV/AIDS is becoming endemic in sub- Saharan Africa. Current high prevalence levels mean that even those countries that do eventually reverse the epidemic s course will have to contend with serious AIDS epidemics for many subsequent years.
GLOBAL: Report: Nearly Half of Adults with HIV Are Women: Reuters (11.23.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Patricia Reaney; Women now comprise nearly half of the 37.2 million adults living with HIV worldwide, according to an annual report by UNAIDS and World Health Organization released ahead of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1. During the past two years, the number of HIV-infected women has risen in every region of the world. East Asia had the highe
UNITED STATES: US Health and Human Services, Ad Council Launch HIV Detection Campaign: AIDS Weekly (11.15.04) - Tuesday, November 23, 2004; The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Advertising Council have partnered to launch a national public service ad campaign to encourage African-American men to get tested for HIV. One-half of newly infected US residents are under age 25, according to HHS. One in 50 African-American men are HIV- positive,
GLOBAL: Governments Must Show Strong Leadership to Quell AIDS: Howard: Australian Associated Press (11.21.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; Shane Wright; At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Sunday in Chile , Australian Prime Minister John Howard warned that the region must have very clear and unambiguous leadership at a government level to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases. Howard said some governments in Africa had failed to tackle A
GLOBAL: Key Points of the Draft Declaration of the Asian- Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum: Associated Press (11.21.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; On Sunday in Santiago, Chile , the 21 leaders of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum ended their two-day conference declaring support for global trade talks, improving global security and other issues. Among the key points of the declaration, the members committed to renewed efforts to fight outbreaks of infec
COLORADO: Life Improves for AIDS Patients: Rocky Mountain News (11.13.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; Betsy Lehndorff; The Colorado AIDS Project food bank helps people with HIV/AIDS maintain a high quality of life, according to food bank Coordinator Diana Cable. Most AIDS medications have to be taken with food in mind, Cable said. Some are best taken an hour before eating. There are other drugs that must be taken with a little more fat
UNITED STATES: Motivational Interviewing Seeks Specific Solutions: Interventions Shift Responsibility to the Clients: AIDS Alert (10.01.04) Vol. 19; No. 10; P. 115 - Monday, November 22, 2004; A four-session HIV-prevention program for HIV-positive Latinos, called Positively Latino, has successfully adapted the theoretical model of motivational interviewing, a different approach than the traditional case-management model. Motivational interviewing allows the client to make a decision based on his or her own m
AUSTRALIA: People with HIV More Likely to Be Below the Poverty Line: Australian Associated Press (11.19.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; Renee Barnes; Twenty-seven percent of HIV-infected Australians live below the poverty line, in most cases as a result of their disease, a recent report found. Dr. Jeffrey Grierson and colleagues tracked the lives of 1,000 Australians living with HIV and found that although advanced treatments have made the disease more manageable, t
CANADA: Prison Watchdog Calls for Exchange of Needles Program: The Guardian (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) (11.19.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; Canada s federal prisons ombudsman, Howard Sapers, on Thursday called on Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan to establish needle-exchange programs in penitentiaries. Sapers annual report said the Correctional Service of Canada has for years ignored such recommendations. According to Sapers, drug use is rampant in Cana
CANADA: US Funding Will Help Sustain Vancouver Intravenous Drug Users Study: Canadian Press (11.19.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; A five-year grant of more than $3 million from the US National Institutes of Health will support the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study and fund a sub-study on at-risk youth, the British Columbia Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS announced Thursday. Since 1996, VIDUS has tracked drug users in Vancouver s Downtown Eas
CANADA: New Brunswick Education Minister Responds to Calls for Review of Sex Ed Curriculum: Canadian Press (11.17.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal; On Wednesday, Madeleine Dube, New Brunswick s education minister, said she might change the way sex-education materials are packaged and delivered to students in the province. Dube said she has asked New Brunswick s Curriculum Advisory Committee to review the resources provided to schools to make sure the information g
SOUTH AFRICA: Mandela to Launch New Anti-AIDS Drive in South Africa: Agence France Presse (11.22.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; On Tuesday, the Nelson Mandela Foundation is launching a radio and TV campaign in which the former South African president and Hollywood star Brad Pitt encourage people to volunteer to fight HIV/AIDS in the nation. They are our brothers and sisters and they are entitled to our compassion and support, Mandela says in th
OKLAHOMA: State to Cut Funding to Some HIV Testing Clinics: Associated Press (11.21.04) - Monday, November 22, 2004; Beginning in December, the Oklahoma Department of Health will no longer give HIV testing supplies or lab services to clinics that do not have a state contract. The change, the department said, is an effort to meet new federal guidelines and rectify years of inconsistent record-keeping. But the plan to end state support
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian MPs Turn to Music and Song to Raise AIDS Awareness: Agence France Presse (11.19.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; On Thursday, more than 400 Ethiopian members of parliament - almost 80 percent of that body - recorded a song, Find a Solution , intended to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi opened the session with a speech about AIDS. The project was the idea of the National Women s Coalition against AIDS, of whic
LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge College to Host AIDS Quilt, HIV Awareness Event: The Advocate (Baton Rouge) (11.18.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Eight of the AIDS Memorial Quilt s 44,000 panels are on display at the Baton Rouge Community College through Dec. 8, and the school has scheduled several HIV awareness events to coincide with the display. On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, the college will host a panel discussion on AIDS at noon in the Bienvenue Student Center
VIRGINIA: 200 Students to Undergo TB Testing: Washington Post (11.19.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Today, Virginia health officials will begin TB testing for about 200 students in the Westmoreland County town of Colonial Beach after someone in the school community was diagnosed with the disease. On Wednesday night, about 75 people attended a meeting about the active TB case, including some who questioned why it took
PENNSYLVANIA: District to Revamp Health Syllabus: Morning Call (11.16.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Melinda Rizzo; Last week, the Quakertown Community school board unanimously voted to adopt the district s core health curriculum but rejected an STD prevention program taught by a representative of Planned Parenthood. Instead, the district s health teachers will teach the STD portion of the curriculum. Assistant Superintendent Harry
NORTH CAROLINA: School Board: Sex Ed Class Inadequate: Charlotte Observer (11.17.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Karen Cimino; Gaston County school board members said a new two-week sex- education class for high school students enrolled in the district s teen leadership elective program is not enough. We need to go a little bit farther, said school-board member May Robinson. Previously, Gaston County Schools sex-education curriculum stopped af
MARYLAND: Sex Classes Concern New Board Member: Washington Times (11.19.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Jon Ward; On Thursday, newly elected Montgomery County Board of Education member Stephen N. Abrams said he does not want to see the public school system become a pioneer in sex education by teaching that homosexual couples are families. Last week, acting on the recommendation of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Family Life and
UNITED KINGDOM; ZAMBIA: Doctors Call for Antibiotic Drug for HIV Children: Reuters (11.18.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; All HIV-infected children in developing countries should be treated with a low-cost antibiotic to reduce deaths by preventing opportunistic infections such as pneumonia or TB, Dr. Diana Gibb of Britain s Medical Research Council said today. In a study, researchers gave HIV-positive children in Zambia a dail
GLOBAL: India's Hetero Takes AIDS Drugs Off WHO List: Reuters (11.19.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Today, the World Health Organization said that India s Hetero Drugs has withdrawn all six of its antiretroviral drugs from WHO s list of approved drugs due to concerns about their laboratory tests. It is the third time since June that an Indian company has withdrawn AIDS drugs after a WHO inspection found fault with th
GLOBAL: Global AIDS Fund to Launch Fifth Financing Round: Reuters (11.18.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Wangui Kanina; The board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria voted unanimously Thursday to start a fifth round of funding in March after donors meet again to determine how much money is available. UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said the fund will begin accepting proposals in March and announce the successful projec
LOUISIANA: Governor's Program on Abstinence Again Under Fire from ACLU: Associated Press (11.17.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Kevin McGill; The American Civil Liberties Union says that Louisiana s taxpayer-funded program to promote premarital sexual abstinence continues to promote religion in violation of a 2002 court settlement. The settlement grew from an ACLU lawsuit claiming grants from the Governor s Program on Abstinence sometimes funded blatantly re
UNITED STATES: FDA Issues Regulations Governing Tissue Banks After Years of Delay: Associated Press (11.19.04) - Friday, November 19, 2004; Laura Meckler; On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration issued new safety standards for tissue banks that process donated skin, ligaments and bones for transplant. The regulations, which will take effect in May, aim to prevent infection and disease in an industry that has gone unregulated during a period of explosive growth. So
AFRICA: MTV to Launch African Channel in February: Associated Press (11.15.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Tim Elfrink; On Monday, MTV officials announced the February launch of a channel in sub-Saharan Africa, the network s 100th channel. The channel will feature 24-hour English-language programming targeted to African youths. MTV Base in Africa will also carry HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention messages and programming. We do a lot of
CONNECTICUT: Births to Teens Decline in State: Hartford Courant (11.17.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; William Hathaway; Reflecting a decade-long national trend, Connecticut adolescents are giving birth to far fewer babies. CDC figures show births to Connecticut girls ages 10-14 declined 43 percent for the periods between 1990-1992 and 2000-2002. Births among the youngest teens declined from 311 in 1990-1992 to 178 for 2000-2002. On Mond
GLOBAL: Annan Calls for Greater Urgency in Efforts to Help Africa AIDS Sufferers: Agence France Presse (11.18.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; In a message read Wednesday night to the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for greater urgency in efforts to help those with the diseases in Africa. We must ensure that the resources approved reach the people who need them as soon as possible, and that new re
PENNSYLVANIA: Blood Testing Ordered for Patient of a Nurse Pricked by His Needle: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11.18.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Jim McKinnon; A court order issued Tuesday requires that a hepatitis C- infected patient whose insulin needle pricked a nurse must submit to HIV testing. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Robert P. Horgos ordered the man to submit to the tests and to grant the nurse access to the results. The patient did not attend the hearing and
UNITED STATES: Sociodemographic Differences in Access to Care Among Hispanic Patients Who Are HIV Infected in the United States: American Journal of Public Health (07.04); Vol. 94; No. 7: P. 1119-1121 - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Leo S. Morales, MD, PhD; William E. Cunningham, MD, MPH; Frank H. Galvan, PhD; Ronald M. Andersen, PhD; Terry T. Nakazono, MA; Martin F. Shapiro, MD, PhD; The researchers evaluated associations between sociodemographic factors and access to care, use of HAART and patients ratings of care among HIV-infected Hispanic patients. The scientists studied patients who completed the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study baseline survey. The HIV Cost and Services Utilization Stu
JAMAICA: Anti-Gay Mind-Set Is Hindering Fight Against AIDS in Jamaica: Miami Herald (11.17.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Michael A.W. Ottey; On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a report saying that Jamaican government efforts to fight HIV/AIDS are being hampered by discrimination and violence against gays and HIV-positive people. Rebecca Schleifer is the author of the report, Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence and Jamaica s HIV/AIDS Epide
RUSSIA: Russian Government Lacks Political Will to Combat Spread of HIV/AIDS, Experts Say: Associated Press (11.17.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Maria Danilova; On Wednesday in Moscow, leading experts warned that Russia lacks the political will to combat an HIV/AIDS epidemic that could claim tens of thousands of lives within the next few years. Russia remains among countries with the highest rates of the spread of the AIDS epidemic, said Natalia Ladnaya, a senior researcher at
GLOBAL: African Leaders, Health Activists Pushing for More Funding to Combat Three of the World's Deadliest Diseases: Associated Press (11.17.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Sukhdev Chhatbar; On Wednesday, the presidents of Kenya , Rwanda , Tanzania and Uganda urged the directors of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria to continue to provide grant money to help the world s poorest nations combat the deadly diseases.
UNITED STATES: Pfizer's Contraceptive Can Weaken Bones: Reuters (11.17.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a strong new warning for Pfizer Inc. s Depo-Provera. The injectable contraceptive could permanently weaken bones, FDA said. It called for a black box - the strongest warning possible - for the drug s packaging, stating that long-term use can lead to loss of bone den
IDAHO: Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Expanding Statewide: Associated Press (11.16.04) - Thursday, November 18, 2004; Idaho is matching a $180,000 federal grant to expand statewide an abstinence-only program credited with reducing the Panhandle region s teenage pregnancy rate. Peers Encouraging Abstinent Kids, or PEAK, trains teenagers to mentor sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students in an abstinence-only philosophy under the supe
TAIWAN: Taiwan Reports 1,112 New HIV Carriers in 2004: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.15.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Taiwan has recorded an upsurge in new HIV infections in the first ten months of this year, the China Times daily reported on Monday. In the first ten months, we have recorded 1,112 HIV carriers. This is the first time the number of HIV cases has passed the 1,000 mark in one year, Tsai Shu-fen of Taiwan s Centers for
ZAMBIA: 1,250 Zambian Teachers Die of AIDS-Related Complications this Year: Official: Xinhua News Agency (11.17.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; In Zambia so far this year, 1,250 teachers have died of HIV/AIDS-related complications, according to Roy Mwaba, general secretary of the Zambia National Union of Teachers. The local Post newspaper quoted Mwaba as saying that according to the reports reaching his office, the majority of the teachers never underwent volu
UNITED STATES: Armed with a Lipstick, MAC Committed to Fight Against AIDS: Associated Press (11.15.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Samantha Critchell; MAC Cosmetics, which was launched 20 years ago, has raised $40 million for its MAC AIDS Fund in the past 10 years through sales of its Viva Glam lipstick. The funds raised are not used for awareness or research, but rather to assist charities that provide such essential support as food, shelter and medicine, with a spe
UNITED STATES; SOUTH AFRICA: Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Close Connection Between Sexual Assault and Women's STI, HIV Risk: Women's Health Weekly (10.14.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Psychologists at the University of Connecticut investigated factors related to risks for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, among South African women with a history of sexual assault. S.C. Kalichman and colleagues studied responses to an anonymous street intercept survey of women (N=272) living in a
CANADA: Quebec Hospital Wants 567 Patients to Be Tested for HIV, Fears Contamination: Canadian Press (11.17.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; The University of Quebec Hospital Center wants 567 patients who underwent reconstructive ear surgery at Hotel-Dieu Hospital from 1984 to 2002 to undergo blood tests for diseases including HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C and the HTLV immune-system virus. The recall came one year after hospitals were advised by the fede
GLOBAL: Summit on AIDS Opens Wednesday Amid Funding Row: Agence France Presse (11.16.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Bogonko Bosire; On Tuesday, some 435 African AIDS activist groups called on the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria to reject US pressure to delay the next round of funding. The presidents of Kenya , Tanzania , Uganda and Rwanda are expected to attend the board s two-
GLOBAL: US Suggests AIDS Fund Delay Grants: New York Times (11.17.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Marc Lacey; The United States is calling for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which has distributed $3 billion to some 120 countries since its inception in 2002, to postpone its next round of grants until next year. Let s get the financial house in order before we make new obligations, said a Bush administration off
ALASKA: State's Health Ranking Improves: Associated Press (11.12.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; According to a CDC-backed report by the United Health Foundation, Alaska s health standing among states has risen from 46th in 1990 to 24th currently, based on measures such as public spending, prevalence of infectious diseases and smoking rates. Since 1990, Alaska has improved its infectious-disease rates by 83 percen
ARIZONA: Communicable Disease Treatment Exempt from Proposition 200: Associated Press (11.16.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Ananda Shorey; On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Health Services said the passage of Proposition 200 would not prohibit health workers from treating illegal immigrants with communicable diseases. The initiative, passed Nov. 2, requires verification of immigrant status for anyone receiving public benefits and ma
UNITED STATES: As Teen Births Drop, Experts Are Asking Why: Wall Street Journal (11.17.04) - Wednesday, November 17, 2004; Betsy McKay; Ann Carrns; CDC this week announced that the birth rate for US girls ages 10-14 has fallen to its lowest level in almost 60 years. The report mirrors trends for teens overall: Pregnancies, abortions and birth rates are all declining. Public health officials and other experts cite several possible reasons for the numbers. *CDC stat
UNITED KINGDOM: UK Teenagers to Get Safe-Sex Messages on Phones: Reuters (11.12.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; As part of a campaign to reduce STDs and pregnancies among teenagers in Britain, teens will be able to receive text messages about safe sex and contraception, the Brook pregnancy advisory service announced. Our new texting service will mean more young people have the facts literally at their fingertips, giving them an
NIGERIA: Nigeria Gives Priority to Combating HIV/AIDS Among Youths: Xinhua News Agency (11.14.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; The Nigerian government is developing strategies aimed at reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among young people in the country, said Abraham Abebe, director of the public health division of the Ministry of Health. A National Youth Agenda, derived from the National Youth Policy, will pursue a mission to expand and co
THAILAND: Women Make Up 60 Percent of Thailand's Young HIV Patients: Xinhua News Agency (11.16.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said about 70,000 Thais ages 15-24 have HIV and 60 percent are young women, The Nation newspaper reported today. The minister voiced concern regarding the trend toward earlier sexual experimentation among youths who do not fully understand the potential consequences of their actions,
NEW YORK: The Long Fight for AIDS Housing: Gay City News (11.11.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Divya Watal; In October, Manhattan-based Bailey House, a nonprofit that provides housing and services for people living with HIV/AIDS, celebrated its 20th anniversary. The organization was founded in 1983 by a group of clergy, Greenwich Village business owners and gay and lesbian activists in response to the emerging AIDS epidemic.
NEW YORK: HIV Test to Be Routine: New York Post (11.15.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Frankie Edozien; The administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to make routine HIV testing part of its new strategy to stop transmission of the virus in New York City. Under the proposal, city hospitals and clinics would offer the test to anyone being treated. City officials are working with state executives to plan how doc
UNITED STATES: Prevalence and Incidence of HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus Infections Among Males in Rhode Island Prisons: American Journal of Public Health (07.04); Vol. 94; No. 7: P. 1218-1223 - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Grace E. Macalino, PhD; David Vlahov, PhD; Stephanie Sanford- Colby, MPH; Sarju Patel, MSc; Keith Sabin, PhD; Christopher Salas, BS; Josiah D. Rich, MD, MPH; The authors evaluated prevalence and intraprison incidence of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among male prison inmates in Rhode Island. They observed intake prevalence for 4,269 sentenced inmates at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute between 1998-2000 and incidence among
THAILAND: Thai Government Says Free Trade Agreement Not to Hamper Access to Cheap Anti-AIDS Drugs: Xinhua News Agency (11.16.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Thai patients access to cheap AIDS drugs will not be impeded by free trade negotiations underway with the United States , Thai negotiators said Tuesday. Our position is clear, we will not sacrifice human health for trade benefits, said Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, deputy director-general of the Intellectual Property Departm
AUSTRALIA: New South Wales Government Rules Out Needle Exchanges in Prison: Australian Associated Press (11.16.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; The New South Wales government has rejected as ridiculous a proposal to set up needle exchanges in the states correctional centers. It has also ruled out conjugal visits for inmates. The proposals were made in Supply, Demand and Harm Reduction Strategies in Australian Prisons: Implementation, Cost and Evaluation, a rep
UNITED STATES: Pfizer Pulling 'Wild Thing' Viagra Ads: Reuters (11.15.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Tim Dobbyn; Pfizer Inc. has begun the process of pulling two TV ads for Viagra, according to company spokesperson Daniel Watts. The action is a response to US officials who said the wild thing ads made unsubstantiated claims that the drug causes a return of sexual desire. In a letter dated Nov. 10 and released Monday, the Food a
NEW JERSEY: Monday's Legislative Action in Brief: Associated Press (11.15.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; A legal opinion issued Monday by New Jersey s Office of Legislative Services said Gov. James E. McGreevey may have acted beyond his authority when he signed an executive order allowing Camden, Atlantic City and one more New Jersey city not yet chosen to set up needle-exchange programs for drug users. The order declared
UNITED STATES: Birth Rate for Young Teens Lowest Since 1946: Reuters (11.15.04) - Tuesday, November 16, 2004; Paul Simao; On Monday, CDC reported the birth rate among US girls ages 10- 14 dropped sharply in the 1990s, reaching a 58-year-low in 2002. The downward trend occurred despite an increase in the number of girls in this high-risk age group, CDC said. According to CDC researchers, the drop could indicate that programs that emphasize
CALIFORNIA: News Items from Around California: Associated Press (11.13.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; A dozen students at Anaheim s Magnolia High School who tested positive for TB do not have the disease. Pat Karlak, spokesperson for Anaheim Union High School District, said Friday that chest X-rays confirmed the students are not ill. The school conducted 124 tests after a student was diagnosed with TB in October. Howar
SINGAPORE: Singapore Will Not Promote Condom Use Publicly to Fight AIDS: Report: Agence France Presse (11.14.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Despite an escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic, Singapore will not mount a publicity blitz to promote condom use, a minister said, out of respect for residents with conservative views on sexual behavior. To educate people you don t have to be offensive, Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan was quoted as saying
INDIA: AIDS Awareness Test Now Part of Southern Indian Driver's License: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.15.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; An AIDS awareness test is now part of the driver s license exam in southern Madurai city, New Delhi Television reported today. The Regional Transport Office, which issues licenses in Madurai, will show a video about AIDS, and those applying for a license must pass a test based on the video. All youngsters have two whee
THAILAND: Thailand's HIV/AIDS Cases Surpass 1 Million: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.15.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Thailand has recorded more than 1 million confirmed HIV/AIDS cases during the past two decades, of whom an estimated 430,000 have already died, Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said today. Some 70,000 of the current HIV/AIDS cases are among people ages 15-24, and women comprise 60 percent of those cases, said Sudar
OHIO: Syphilis Climbs Among Gay Men: Columbus Dispatch (11.14.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Suzanne Hoholik; Through October, 124 syphilis cases were reported in Franklin County, up from 106 at midyear. Health officials trace the rise in syphilis cases in the county and the nation during the past five years to men having sex with men. Columbus is one of the cities considered gay-friendly, said Dr. Jeff Vasiloff, chief of HIV/
UNITED STATES: Syphilis Testing in Association with Gonorrhea/Chlamydia Testing During a Syphilis Outbreak: American Journal of Public Health (07.04); Vol. 94; No. 7; P:1124-1126 - Monday, November 15, 2004; Marc B. Rosenman, MD; Stephanie K. Kraft, MD, MPH; Jaroslaw Harezlak, MS; Barbara E. Mahon, MD, MPH; Barry P. Katz, PhD; Jane Wang, PhD; Janet N. Arno, MD; In 1998, as CDC called for eliminating syphilis in the United States , an outbreak began in Indianapolis, Ind. (Marion County). The reported annual case rate in the county peaked at 50 per 100,000 in 1999, with the national rate at 2.5 per 100,000. At Wishard Hospital, Marion County s public hospital and a major source
RUSSIA: AIDS Expert: HIV Infections in Russia Grew by More than 10 Percent Since January: Associated Press (11.12.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Russia s top AIDS expert, Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Federal AIDS Center, said HIV infections in Russia have risen by more than 10 percent since January. The official number of people infected with HIV, according to the Interfax news agency, climbed from 270,000 to 300,000 between January and October. Pokrovsky warne
UGANDA: Ugandan President Calls for More Measures in Preventing HIV/AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (11.12.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; In a press release issued Friday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called for increased measures to prevent HIV infection. He stressed, however, that this should not be at the expense of treatment. Museveni s comments came Thursday during a meeting with Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight A
THE CARIBBEAN: Slow Implementation of AIDS Programs in St. Kitts and Other Nations Could Mean Lost Funds: Associated Press (11.13.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Guy Ellis; A $4.1 million grant to fight HIV/AIDS in six Caribbean countries could be rescinded due to slow implementation of treatment programs, the director of St. Lucia s AIDS Action Foundation said Saturday. One year after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria approved the money, St. Lucia, Antigua and
ILLINOIS: Funding Dries Up, Raising Concerns About Future of AIDS Prevention Program: Associated Press (11.14.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; A Chicago Health Department program that focused on HIV prevention in recently released inmates is being asked to expand its services across Illinois. Under the program, case managers kept tabs on infected Cook County Jail inmates upon their release and helped them access social services. But federal funding for the Il
UNITED STATES: Tiny Antennas to Keep Tabs on US Drugs: New York Times (11.15.04) - Monday, November 15, 2004; Gardiner Harris; Today, the Food and Drug Administration and several drug manufacturers are set to announce a plan to put tiny radio antennas on the labels of millions of medication bottles in an effort to fight fraud and counterfeiting. For now, only the large bottles from which pharmacists dispense pills to fill prescriptions will be
UNITED STATES: New Web Page Launched for HIV Drug Deliberations: AIDS Alert (10.01.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; A new Food and Drug Administration Web page consolidates reports from HIV/AIDS-related advisory committee meetings to make accessing them easier. The site lists advisory committee meetings held since 1996; records are indexed by topic and year. Meetings related to drugs, biologics and medical devices are documented. Th
THE BAHAMAS: Bahamas Health Secretary Says AIDS Major Threat to Archipelago: Associated Press (11.11.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; The rise of HIV/AIDS threatens to destroy the social fabric of the Bahamas , Health Secretary Ron Pinder told delegates attending a Caribbean AIDS awareness conference Wednesday. HIV/AIDS has now become the leading cause of death for residents ages 20-44, Pinder said. We have two options. Either completely abstain [fro
CAMBODIA: Prevalence of AIDS in Decline Says Cambodian Premier: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.12.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Today, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said HIV/AIDS rates in the country have dropped more than 1 percent in less than a decade. He attributed the drop to successful education campaigns. Speaking at the inauguration of a new treatment center for HIV/AIDS patients in Phnom Penh, the premier said the success was a good
OREGON: Men Urged to Increase Exam Frequency: Oregon Daily Emerald (University of Oregon) (11.01.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Kara Hansen; Since the beginning of the fall term, University of Oregon s University Health Center has offered expanded comprehensive annual exams for male students. The center is strongly encouraging men to come in for annual STD screening and contraceptive counseling through the Family Planning Expansion Project, a government-fun
UNITED STATES; INDIA: Immune System May Point the Way to Male Contraceptive: Associated Press (11.12.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Randolph E. Schmid; In Thursday s issue of Science, researchers reported that developing a new contraceptive for men may involve prompting an immune reaction to a protein produced in the male reproductive system. Experiments on male monkeys, the report said, showed the method worked. Immunocontraception for males is a possibility and hope
UNITED KINGDOM; UNITED STATES: Glaxo Vaccine Stops Virus Linked to Cancer - Study: Reuters (11.12.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Patricia Reaney; Scientists announced today that a new vaccine could prevent most cases of cervical cancer, which kills around a quarter of a million women each year. Dartmouth Medical School researcher Diane Harper and colleagues tested the vaccine, known as Cervarix, which protects against two strains of the STD human papillomavirus
GLOBAL: WHO Using Internet to Help Prostitutes: Associated Press (11.11.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Bradley S. Klapper; On Thursday, the World Health Organization announced a computer-based information campaign to help sex workers access information about HIV/AIDS. The agency said male, female and transsexual prostitutes are at high risk for HIV infection and rarely have access to treatment. In cooperation with the aid agency German Tec
LESOTHO: Report Sees Rise in HIV-Positive Babies Born in Lesotho: Agence France Presse (11.10.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; The number of babies born with HIV in Lesotho each year is now more than double what it was two years ago, according to a joint government and UNICEF report released Thursday. The report found that 10-15 percent of newborns are HIV-infected in the nation of 2.2 million people. This translates into between 5,000 and 7,0
LOUISIANA: Youths Proud of Pledge to Abstain from Sex: The Advocate (Baton Rouge) (11.06.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; Emily Kern; The Governor s Program on Abstinence, which has chapters at more than 260 high schools across Louisiana, held its annual fall regional conference on Nov. 5 at the Baton Rouge River Center. Gail Dignam, state coordinator and director of the program, said the 10 regional conferences provide its student members an opportu
UNITED STATES: Black-White Differences in HIV Care Seen in US: Reuters Health (11.11.04) - Friday, November 12, 2004; In a new study, black HIV patients treated by white doctors tended to receive protease inhibitors several months later than black patients treated by black doctors. The study involved 1,241 patients and 287 health-care providers. Recruitment took place soon after the Food and Drug Administration approved protease inhib
TANZANIA: Global Fund to Study HIV/AIDS in Tanzania: Xinhua News Agency (11.10.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria will hold its first-ever African meeting Nov. 18-19 in Arusha in northern Tanzania , Charles Rajabu, information officer from the Tanzanian prime minister s office, said Wednesday. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and African heads of state are among the 200 delegates schedu
KENYA: Sweden Grants Kenya $101.6 Million for Governance, AIDS: Agence France Presse (11.11.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Sweden s Finance Ministry announced the country has granted Kenya $101.6 million to fight HIV/AIDS and strengthen democratic governance over the next two years. The money will go toward projects that promote good governance and fight HIV/AIDS and its socio-economic impact on Kenya, a ministry statement said. Around 7 p
THE CARIBBEAN: US Government Donates $81 Million to Caribbean Countries to Fight AIDS: Associated Press (11.10.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; On Wednesday, the US government donated $81 million to the 15- member Caribbean Community to help governments buy AIDS drugs and develop HIV prevention programs, said Lolita Applewhaite, deputy director for the bloc known as Caricom. The money comes from the $15 billion effort to fight global HIV/AIDS announced last ye
UNITED STATES: Correlates of Having Unprotected Vaginal Sex Among Detained Adolescent Females: an Exploratory Study of Sexual Factors: Sexual Health (09.04) Vol. 1; No. 3: P.151-155 - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Richard Crosby; Laura F. Salazar; Ralph J. DiClemente; William L. Yarber; Motivations for engaging in sex, erotophilia, and pleasure- related barriers to using condoms could be important determinants of whether high-risk females have unprotected sex. In the current exploratory study, the authors examined a sample of adolescent females recruited from short-term detention facilities to identif
SINGAPORE: Singapore Facing 'Alarming AIDS Epidemic:' Government: Agence France Presse (11.11.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; An alarming AIDS epidemic looms in Singapore , and the government expects at least 300 new AIDS cases this year and in excess of 1,000 new cases in 2010, Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan said Wednesday at a lecture to health-care workers. What is more, this is only the tip of the iceberg, said Bal
GLOBAL: In Health Care, Gap Between Rich and Poor Persists, WHO Says: New York Times (11.11.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Elisabeth Malkin; Health care disparities persist between rich and poor nations, and more research needs to focus on how health care is delivered, according to a World Health Organization report released Wednesday in preparation for WHO s Mexico City meeting next week. Global programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria have been constrained
UNITED STATES: Radio Executive's AIDS Work Honored: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11.10.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Monica L. Haynes; Ever since he met Black AIDS Institute Director Phill Wilson, radio executive Jerry Lopes has been spreading the word about HIV/AIDS in the black community. Lopes, president of program operations and affiliations for Pittsburgh-based American Urban Radio Networks, is among those BAI will honor in its fourth annual Hero
GLOBAL: Advancing AIDS Treatment in Developing Countries: Austin American-Statesman (11.06.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Renuka Rayasam; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded University of Texas chemistry professor John McDevitt a $1.1 million grant to further work on a portable device that could improve the treatment of AIDS patients in developing countries. McDevitt s colleagues Drs. Bruce Walker and Bill Rodriguez, of Boston s Massachuset
INDIANA: Institute Research Often Focuses on Public Health: Indianapolis Star (11.07.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Abe Aamidor; Two studies by the Kinsey Institute for Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University-Bloomington analyzed what causes people to engage in risky sexual behavior and why more couples do not use condoms properly. Much of the institute s research uses questionnaires distributed to volunteers, focus groups or experime
GEORGIA: Women over 50 in Dark over HIV: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11.11.04) - Thursday, November 11, 2004; Helena Oliviero; The idea for a study of older women s perceptions about HIV was first planted when Dr. Lisa Bernstein, an internist at Atlanta s Grady Memorial Hospital, asked a woman in her 50s if she was using protection with a new partner. She just laughed and said, I can t get pregnant, said Bernstein, who is also an assistant pro
ETHIOPIA: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston Visit Ethiopia to Learn More About AIDS in Africa: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; Actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston recently spent four days touring HIV projects and visiting local activists in Ethiopia . Their trip was organized by DATA, the group co-founded by rock star Bono to address Third World trade, debt and HIV/AIDS. It was a listening and learning visit, said DATA spokesperson Jamie Dr
RWANDA: Rwandan Officials Report a Spike in Sexual Assault Cases, Especially Against Girls: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; The most recent crime statistics in Rwanda show a significant increase in the number of rape and child molestation cases this year, Mary Gahonzire, deputy commissioner of the national police, said Tuesday. In 2002, the country of 7 million people recorded 481 cases of rape and child molestation. Statistics we have sho
RUSSIA: NGOs Demand Free Treatment for HIV/AIDS in Russia: Agence France Presse (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Several dozen protesters took to the streets Tuesday in St. Petersburg to demand free treatment for HIV/AIDS patients. Our death is your shame, shouted the activists, mainly from non-governmental organizations, after setting out four coffins in front of the city s municipal administration. Just 2,000 HIV-infected Russi
PENNSYLVANIA: Former Penn State Student's Billboard Raises AIDS Awareness: Daily Collegian (Pennsylvania State University) (11.05.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Jacqueline Haber; Ainsley Maloney; The first billboard in an AIDS awareness campaign by Who s Positive Inc. features the organization s founder and executive director, Tom Donohue, a former Pennsylvania State University student. The billboard, located on US Route 220 near Lock Haven, Pa., reads: My name is Tom... 25 years old... HIV-positive... and in y
VIRGINIA: Zoning Board Allows Planned Parenthood Office to Stay: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; The Albemarle County Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-1 on Tuesday to uphold a decision by the zoning administrator that Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge s certificate of occupancy is appropriate. More than 1,000 people crammed into an auditorium that holds about 450 during the four-hour meeting. Planned Parenthood
MARYLAND: Montgomery Expands Sex Education Courses: Washington Post (11.10.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Rebecca Dana; On Tuesday, the Montgomery County School Board approved a resolution to broaden sex education to include a pilot program that discusses sexual variations, including homosexuality and bisexuality, and the use of a video that shows 10th- graders how to put on a condom. The video, which earned generally high marks from te
CALIFORNIA: San Francisco; Health Commission Accepts $15.5 Million Less in Budget: San Francisco Chronicle (11.10.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Suzanne Herel; A budget-cutting plan approved by the San Francisco Health Commission Tuesday will reduce support for people with HIV, cut services for the mentally ill, and lay off nurses who visit the chronically ill. The mid-year cut-backs are part of a plan introduced last week by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who blamed a $25 million short
UNITED KINGDOM: Establishing the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in England: Results from the First Full Year of Screening: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80; P. 335-341 - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; D.S. LaMontagne; K.A. Fenton; S. Randall; S. Anderson; P. Carter on behalf of the National Chlamydia Screening Steering Group; Phased implementation of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) began in September 2002. NCSP offers opportunistic chlamydia screening to men and women under age 25 attending clinical and non-clinical screening venues, using non-invasive urine or vulvo-vaginal swab samples tested via nucleic acid amplificati
GLOBAL: Indian Firm Withdraws All Its HIV Drugs from World Health Organization's Approved List: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Sam Cage; The Indian drug firm Ranbaxy Laboratories is withdrawing all seven of its generic antiretroviral drugs from the World Health Organization s list of prequalified drugs, WHO said in a statement Tuesday. Ranbaxy de-listed the drugs after it found discrepancies in the documentation necessary to prove its generic AIDS drugs
UNITED STATES: Advisory Issued on Rare Disease Spread by Sex: New York Times (11.09.04) - Wednesday, November 10, 2004; David Tuller; US health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for a rare STD on the rise among gay men in Europe. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) has been diagnosed in more than 90 gay men in the Netherlands in 2003-04; cases have also been reported in Belgium , France and
OKLAHOMA: Two Oklahoma Students Test Positive for TB: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; An elementary school student is the second Tulsa-area pupil to test positive for tuberculosis in the past week, said officials. Letters and testing consent forms were distributed to 91 students and 11 staff at Cherokee Elementary School. The student with active TB will be out of school until cleared by three sputum sme
CONNECTICUT: TB Suspected in Foxwoods Worker's Death: Associated Press (11.09.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; An employee at Foxwoods Resort Casino has apparently died of tuberculosis, prompting the testing of several of his coworkers, said tribal officials. Results from those tests came back negative. They did not find any signs of the active disease in the coworkers, said Dr. Amarillys Rodriguez. The man was a Haitian immigr
CANADA: Toronto Public Health Begins Testing 4,000 Homeless for Tuberculosis: Canadian Press (11.08.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Up to 4,000 homeless people will undergo testing following the discovery of a TB cluster at a Toronto men s shelter. Two active TB cases were identified among the shelter s staff, and four other staff members have tested positive for the disease, said Dr. David McKeown, the city s medical officer of health. Finding cas
TAIWAN: Taiwan to Ask Hotels, Saunas to Provide Condoms to Prevent AIDS: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.09.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; In an effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, Taiwan is asking that hotels and saunas provide guests with condoms, a health official said today. Under the revised AIDS Prevention Bill, hotels and saunas must provide condoms to guests, but they can decide whether to charge the guests for the condoms or not, said Tsai Sh
NEW YORK: City AIDS Head Resigns: New York Blade (11.05.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Mike Lavers; Dr. Marjorie Hill, New York City s assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS services at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH-MH) resigned on Oct. 29. She will take a new position later this month as director for women and family outreach at Gay Men s Health Crisis. This has been an incredible opportunity, Hill s
PENNSYLVANIA: Nurse Asks Judge to Order Patient to Take HIV Test: Associated Press (11.06.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; On Friday, a registered nurse asked a Pittsburgh court to order a male Mercy Hospital patient to undergo an HIV test after she accidentally stuck herself with a needle she used to administer his insulin. The petition states that the unnamed male patient is infected with hepatitis C and used drugs, placing him at high r
UNITED STATES: Decline in Perinatal HIV Transmission in New York State (1997-2000): Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (08.15.04) Vol. 36; No. 5: P.1075-1082 - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Nancy A. Wade, MD, MPH; Mary A. Zielinski, MA, MSW; Maia Butsashvili, MD, MS; Louise-Anne McNutt, PhD; Barbara L. Warren, BSN, MPH; Roberta Glaros, MA; Babu Cheku, MD; Wendy Pulver, MS; Kenneth Pass, PhD; Kathleen Fox, RN, MSA; Antonia C. Novello, MD, MPH, DrPH; Guthrie S. Birkhead, MD, MPH; Perinatal transmission of HIV has declined significantly in New York State (NYS) since the state implemented a 3-part regimen of zidovudine prophylaxis in the antenatal, intrapartum, and newborn periods. The current study describe the factors associated with perinatal transmission in the state from 1997-2000, the first
LESOTHO: Sesotho-Speaking Doctor, Partner Off to Lesotho to Set Up AIDS Clinic: Ottawa Citizen (11.05.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Carrie Kristal-Schroder; The Ontario Hospital Association is setting up an HIV/AIDS clinic in Lesotho , one of the ten poorest countries in the world. The initiative is in response to a challenge by UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis for help with the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The effort will initially rely on the expe
SURINAME: Bridging the Gaps; AIDS Worker from Suriname Completes Northern Stint: Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta) (11.04.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Debi Ruhl; Erna Aviankoi, a member of an AIDS service organization in the small South American coastal nation Suriname , came to Canada in September to work with HIV Edmonton and HIV North. Her trip is part of a worldwide exchange program that aims to empower AIDS workers and teach strategies they can use in their homelands.
NIGERIA: New Fulbright Scholar to Focus on AIDS in Her Homeland: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11.08.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Ervin Dyer; Moji Adeyeye excelled in science in her homeland, earning a pharmacy degree from the University of Nigeria . In the United States , she earned her master s degree and doctorate in pharmaceutics at the University of Georgia . In January, Adeyeye, who has taught for 15 years at Pittsburgh s Duquesne University, w
FLORIDA: Lessons Focus on Abstinence: Orlando Sentinel (11.07.04) - Tuesday, November 09, 2004; Tania Deluzuriaga; In Central Florida, Lake, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties rely on abstinence-only sex education for middle- and high-school students. Classes, presentations and plays discuss the negative physical, social and emotional consequences of premarital sex and encourage students to save sex for marriage. However,
CHINA: Teenagers Welcome at Chinese Sex Festival Promising to Be 'Open and Bold': Agence France Presse (11.07.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; A four-day sex festival promising open and bold discussions is underway in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, state media reported Sunday. The event, which welcomed teenagers to explore its exhibits, includes topics about sex culture, STDs and HIV/AIDS. The exhibition is open to people under 18, and you will find
SOUTH AFRICA: Mandela Urges South Africans to Participate in AIDS Survey: Associated Press (11.05.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; On Friday, former President Nelson Mandela urged South Africans to take part in a national HIV/AIDS survey designed to help determine the disease s prevalence in the country. The survey, the second of its kind to be conducted, is scheduled to begin Monday. In a statement, Mandela said the first study s findings were a
UNITED STATES: Antiretroviral Therapy: Sustained Benefit of HAART Lost When Prisoners Return to Community: AIDS Weekly (08.30.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; In the current retrospective cohort study, researchers examined the HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4 lymphocyte response of prisoners to highly active antiretroviral therapy in correctional settings and after their release, by using longitudinally linked demographic, pharmacy, and laboratory data from the Connecticut prison sy
CHINA: HIV/AIDS Risk Among Brothel-Based Female Sex Workers in China: Assessing the Terms, Content and Knowledge of Sex Work: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (11.04) Vol. 31; No. 11: P. 695- 700 - Monday, November 08, 2004; Yingying Huang, MA; Gail E. Henderson, PhD; Suiming Pan, MA; Myron S. Cohen, MD; In China , the sexual transmission of HIV is rapidly increasing. Commercial sex is one factor driving the epidemic. The authors of the current study sought to examine variations in occupational control among one type of brothel-based prostitutes in China, together with the relationship between the terms and content of
UNITED KINGDOM: Tuberculosis Is on the Rise, Aided by Sufferers Who Are Unable to Complete Their Treatment: The Guardian (London) (11.03.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; TB cases in urban Britain have been rising for 10 years, and London is statistically a high-risk area. TB is most concentrated among the poor, including the homeless and those from regions with high TB prevalence, such as Africa and India . Last month, the government published its TB Action Plan, which recommended a ta
INDIA: India's AIDS Epidemic Becomes 'Feminized': Reuters (11.05.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; Sugita Katyal; India , home to the second-largest HIV population after South Africa , is experiencing an increasing feminization of its HIV/AIDS epidemic, Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS , said Friday. Originally, [India s epidemic] was limited to men and sex workers, said Piot.
NETHERLANDS: Rare Sexually Transmitted Disease On Rise in Netherlands: Associated Press (11.05.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; On Friday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health said that an outbreak of a rate STD among gay and bisexual men might also facilitate the transmission of HIV. Approximately 80 percent of the 92 people infected with lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) in the Netherlands were also infected with HIV
GLOBAL: Ambitious WHO HIV/AIDS Program Unlikely to Meet 2005 Target: Canadian Press (11.07.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; Helen Branswell; A World Health Organization initiative to provide 3 million HIV/AIDS patients with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) by the end of 2005 will likely miss its target, Director-General Dr. Lee Jong-wook said during a recent visit to Ottawa. The 3 by 5 program, launched last December on World AIDS Day, required WHO to secure fun
TEXAS: Texas Sex-Ed Texts Barely Mention Contraceptives: Reuters (11.05.04) - Monday, November 08, 2004; Jon Herskovitz; On Friday, the 15-member Texas Board of Education approved four high-school health textbooks that promote sexual abstinence. Only one of the student textbooks makes passing mention of condoms. Critics are contending this violates state law and jeopardizes the health of students. Many textbooks currently in use in Texas
RUSSIA: Over 450 HIV-Infected Registered in Chechnya: ITAR-TASS News Agency (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Sergei Ovsienko; There are now 457 people registered as HIV-positive in Chechnya, including 32 children, and the number of AIDS patients over the last two years has risen to 306, Kheda Aidamirova, head doctor of the republic s AIDS center, said Thursday. The official number of registered patients is only the tip of the iceberg, said Ai
KAZAKHSTAN: Over 4,500 People HIV-Positive in Kazakhstan: Xinhua News Agency (11.05.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; As of Oct. 1, 4,531 people in Kazakhstan were registered as HIV-positive, of whom 206 had developed AIDS, Zamzagul Zhamagulova, a senior epidemiologist, told a national seminar on HIV/AIDS and drug abuse on Thursday. The actual number of HIV-positive could exceed 20,000, Zhamagulova added. Seventy- seven percent of HIV
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa AIDS Activists March over Drugs Timetable: Reuters (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; On Thursday across South Africa , thousands of activists took to the streets to support the Treatment Action Campaign s renewed fight with health authorities over plans to provide free HIV drugs. In Cape Town, hundreds of TAC supporters marched on parliament to demand that the state pay the group s legal costs for liti
CONNECTICUT: Changes Made in Sex Education: Hartford Courant (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Don Stacom; Hartford s middle schools began a new sex education program on Thursday, created in response to parent complaints that the old curriculum was too explicit. But prior to the school board s approval of the new curriculum on Wednesday, some parents objected to it as well, saying some content is inappropriate for pre-teena
MEXICO: Disease Associations: Less Morbidity/Mortality from Opportunistic Infections in Mexico Since HAART: AIDS Weekly (09.27.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Opportunistic infections (OIs) complicate the outcome of HIV- positive patients. There have been observed regional differences in the incidence and the prevalence of OIs in AIDS patients secondary to immunological deficiencies, environmental factors and socioeconomic and sanitary conditions, wrote L.E.M. Delcampo-Rodr
CANADA: University Don, 21, Fired for Dispensing Condoms: Toronto Star (11.05.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Louise Brown; King s University College has fired a third-year student as residence supervisor because he would not agree to stop providing condoms to students. Publicly funded KUC is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario but operates on Catholic principles. Daniel Grace said he pinned an envelope of condoms outside his
GLOBAL: Urgent Need for Health-Care Workers in Poor AIDS- Afflicted Countries: WHO: Canadian Press (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Helen Branswell; On Thursday, World Health Organization Director Dr. Lee Jong- wook warned that AIDS-ravaged sub-Saharan Africa is suffering from a critical lack of health-care workers. Lee met with Aileen Carroll, the minister responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency, and said Canada s pledge of $100 million towar
UNITED KINGDOM: Hepatitis B Jab Urged for Babies: The Guardian (London) (11.05.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Doctors writing in today s issue of the British Medical Journal recommend that every child in Britain receive vaccination against hepatitis B. While 150 countries now immunize their populations from the virus, Britain is one of the few developed countries that do not universally immunize babies, the doctors wrote. One
OREGON: OHSU Gets Grant for TB Research: Associated Press (11.03.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; A $4 million federal grant targeted for bioterrorism research has been awarded to researchers at Oregon Health & Science University to help find a vaccine for tuberculosis. It is the largest bioterrorism grant in OSHU s history and was presented to the husband-and-wife team of Dr. David Lewinsohn and Dr. Deborah Le
UNITED STATES: New HIV Drug Guidelines: Gay City News (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; Duncan Osborne; On Oct. 29, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued new recommendations on when HIV-infected persons should begin taking antiviral drugs. The guidelines suggest that patients who have not previously taken HIV drugs and who have a viral load of more than 100,000 should consider starting drug therapy - even
UNITED STATES: CDC: Hepatitis B Cases Down 89 Percent Among Children, Adolescents in 1990s: Associated Press (11.04.04) - Friday, November 05, 2004; On Thursday, CDC reported that the incidence of hepatitis B cases among US children and adolescents dropped by 89 percent between 1990 and 2002 due to childhood vaccination against the disease. In 1991, the government recommended all infants receive hepatitis B vaccination, a vaccination program that was expanded in 19
INDIA: India to Reassess HIV/AIDS Program: Xinhua News Agency (11.04.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; India s Health Ministry is planning to invite global bids for an independent evaluation of its National AIDS Control Organization s programs and their impact. We are going in for a reassessment of HIV in our country, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said today at a Social Editor s Conference in New Delhi. We expect th
CHINA: SW China Province Sets Out to Curb Spread of HIV/AIDS from High-Risk Groups: Xinhua News Agency (11.04.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; So far, about 100 of 1,343 HIV/AIDS prevention task force members from disease control centers across Yunnan Province have trained to help check the virus s spread from high-risk groups to the general public. Training for the tasks began at county levels on Nov. 1. The task forces will disseminate HIV/AIDS information
NEW JERSEY: The Center Helps People with AIDS: Asbury Park Press (10.28.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Amy Kuperinsky; Among numerous HIV/AIDS services offered by The Center, which assists clients living in Monmouth and Ocean counties, some of the most important are moral support and a sense of community, said the Rev. Bob Kaeding, director. Sometimes it s almost like their living room, said Kaeding. They come, hang out, have a cup of
CALIFORNIA: Campaigns Focus on Dark Side of Speed Use: Bay Area Reporter (10.21.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Matthew S. Bajko; San Francisco Department of Public Health officials have initiated a new campaign to change how gay men view crystal methamphetamine and inform them of its dangers. One in three gay and bisexual men recently testing HIV-positive had used crystal in the last six months, according to city STD clinic data. Crystal Mess a
UNITED STATES: The Impact of Inaccurate Reporting of Condom Use and Imperfect Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Disease Infection in Studies of Condom Effectiveness: A Simulation- Based Assessment: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (10.04) Vol. 31; No. 10: P. 588- 595 - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Owen J. Devine, PhD; Sevgi O. Aral, PhD; Condoms effectiveness in reducing the risk of STDs has been debated in the face of equivocal epidemiologic evidence. In the current study, the researchers assessed the potential magnitude of bias in studies of condoms effectiveness resulting from inaccurate reporting of condom use and STD diagnostic miscalculation.
UNITED KINGDOM: New TB Vaccine Promising in Early Clinical Trials: Reuters Health (10.25.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Megan Rauscher; An initial testing of a new type of tuberculosis vaccine, MVA85A, shows it is safe and stimulates a strong cellular immune response in adults with or without a previous bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination, reported Dr. Helen McShane, of the Center for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine at the University o
ZIMBABWE: In Zimbabwe, Hair Salons Promote Female Condom Use to Protect Against HIV: AIDS Weekly & Law (11.04.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Condom maker PSI- Zimbabwe has struggled for six years to sell its female condom to Zimbabwean women, in part because doing so required interacting with women on how to use the product. The company set out to solve this problem by engaging hairdressers throughout Zimbabwe to popularize the condom using their interperso
SOUTH AFRICA: South African AIDS Lobby Group Takes Government to Court: Agence France Presse (11.04.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Today in Johannesburg, the AIDS activist group Treatment Action Coalition asked the Pretoria High Court to force the government to pay the cost of TAC s latest legal effort to speed the rollout of free antiretrovirals. In November 2003, President Thabo Mbeki s cabinet announced it would begin providing the drugs to AID
GLOBAL: In Some Nations, the Rise of 'Shortgevity': Christian Science Monitor (11.04.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Gregory M. Lamb; In the last 30 years, the world s average at-birth human life span increased from about 60 years to 67 years. But in 24 nations, human life spans have plummeted in what one expert calls a shortgevity crisis. While adult illicit drug use and alcoholism sapped longevity rates in the former Soviet bloc shortly after its d
MICHIGAN: Hepatitis C Diagnoses Rise; Health Cost Concerns Spread: Detroit News (10.31.04) - Thursday, November 04, 2004; Sheri Hall; Health care costs are likely to rise over the next decade as more patients infected with hepatitis C virus require treatment for liver damage. State officials estimate 180,000 Michigan residents are unknowingly infected with hepatitis C, which is the leading cause of liver failure in the United States . At one Ann A
AFRICA: African First Ladies to Meet in Kigali over HIV/AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (11.03.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; At least four African first ladies will attend a committee meeting of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS scheduled for Friday, a statement from its current president, Rwandan first lady Jeannette Kagame, said today. First ladies of Burundi , Ghana ,
BOTSWANA: Botswana's Mogae Pledges to Fight AIDS, Poverty in Final Term: Agence France Presse (11.02.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Sworn in Tuesday for a second and final term as Botswana s president, Festus Mogae pledged to fight AIDS and poverty. We have a contract and a common purpose, Mogae said before the National Assembly, to eradicate poverty, create employment and combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The situation demands urgent action and the
PENNSYLVANIA: News in Brief from Western Pennsylvania: Associated Press (11.03.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Today, the Allegheny County Board of Health will meet to discuss extending a 2001 emergency order - put in place to fight what health officials called an emergency caused by drug use - that allows distribution of clean needles. The board could also extend and expand the program to additional facilities within the count
CALIFORNIA: Specialized AIDS Treatment Center May Be on Horizon: Desert Sun (10.28.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Pat Maio; The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation is in discussions with the Cathedral City nonprofit agency Working Wonders to open an HIV/AIDS clinic for women and children. Currently, the only Coachella Valley clinic geared to this underserved population is the Palm Springs-based Desert AIDS Project. In the partnersh
UNITED KINGDOM: Modeling the Healthcare Costs of an Opportunistic Chlamydia Screening Programme: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 363-370 - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; E.J. Adams; D.S. LaMontagne; A.R. Johnston; J.M. Pimenta; K.A. Fenton; W.J. Edmunds; The goal of the current study was to estimate the average cost per screening offer, cost per testing episode and cost per chlamydia-positive episode for an opportunistic chlamydia- screening and partner-management program, and to explore the uncertainty of parameter assumptions, based on costs to the health-care system
CANADA: AIDS Doctor Plans to Soldier On Despite Barriers: Guelph Mercury (11.01.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Joanne Shuttleworth; A Guelph family physician and HIV specialist remains determined to open a regional HIV/AIDS clinic for patients even after Guelph General Hospital s board of commissioners rejected her request to sponsor it. Anne-Marie Zajdlik said she still has a building, four doctors, two nurses, a receptionist and pharmacist on boa
ZAMBIA: Zambia Ready to Start AIDS Drug Trials: Associated Press (11.02.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Lewis Mwanangombe; PHARCO, a drug company producing AIDS medicines in Zambia , is set to begin clinical trials on 28 HIV-positive volunteers, the Zambia Daily Mail reported Tuesday. Full production of antiretroviral drugs will begin after the three-month trials conclude, the newspaper said. The plant will be able to produce a quantity of
GLOBAL: Group: Kids with HIV/AIDS Dying Needlessly: Associated Press (11.02.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Bradley S. Klapper; Ignorance and the lack of suitable medicines are causing the unnecessary deaths of HIV-infected children in the developing world, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday on the eve of a UN-sponsored pediatric AIDS summit in Geneva. The international medical relief group called on the UN to increase efforts to remedy the s
CALIFORNIA: HIV on the Rise Among Migrants: Los Angeles Times (11.02.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Sharon Bernstein; New studies by the University of California s AIDS research program suggest that HIV infections are rising at a significant rate among migrant Mexican workers. A study of 600 migrant workers in Fresno and San Diego counties indicates that as many as 1 percent of the workers, or about 20,000 people, are HIV-infected. Th
UNITED STATES: Regulators Scold Abbott on AIDS Drug Marketing: Chicago Tribune (11.03.04) - Wednesday, November 03, 2004; Bruce Japsen; The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered Abbott Laboratories to immediately suspend print ads for its AIDS drug Kaletra , accusing the company of exaggerating the medication s benefits. These promotional pieces overstate the effectiveness of Kaletra, and omit the indication and material information about the r
TANZANIA: AIDS May Hurt Tanzania's Productivity: Expert: Xinhua News Agency (11.01.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; HIV/AIDS will cut Tanzania s productivity in certain economic sectors by as much as 20 percent between 2035 and 2049, according to Emmanuel Humba, director-general of the national insurance fund. Tanzania has lost 13 percent of its workforce in agriculture, and 45 percent of HIV/AIDS-affected households in rural areas
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Church Leaders Launch Anti-AIDS Campaign: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (10.30.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; On Saturday, 26 prelates of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church departed on a two-week tour of provinces in Oromiya and southern Ethiopia to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. The tour is part of an interdenominational four-month campaign launched by the National Anti-AIDS Secretariat to fight the epidemic. Later, leading Ethiopia
UGANDA: US Grants Uganda $200 Million for HIV/AIDS: Agence France Presse (11.01.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; On Monday, the US Embassy in Kampala announced in a statement that the United States has granted Uganda $200 million for HIV/AIDS programs. As part of the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the US will give Uganda $100 million in new grants to support orphans and vulnerable children, the statement said.
NEW YORK: Planned Parenthood Project; Graduates Talk Sex: Newsday (10.30.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Rhoda Amon; Nine teens ages 14-17 finished 40 hours of training with Planned Parenthood of Nassau County recently and, before proud parents, received ribbon-tied diplomas and business cards identifying them as Teen Advocates. At the Hempstead Health Center, CEO Karen Paul reminded graduates of Teen Advocate Project of their missio
LOUISIANA: AIDS Programs Suffering in Cash Shortage: Times-Picayune (10.28.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Valerie Faciane; A $600,000 cut in federal assistance this year affects HIV/AIDS service organizations in eight Louisiana parishes, including Orleans. For the New Orleans AIDS Task Force, it means that 65 of the 130 people with AIDS in the Food for Friends program no longer receive the three meals a day the agency used to deliver to th
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Many with HIV/AIDS Won't Get Flu Shots: Washington Blade (10.29.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Joe Crea; Dr. Philippe Chiliade, medical director of Washington s Whitman-Walker Clinic, said conversations with the D.C. Department of Health indicate it is unlikely there will be enough flu vaccine to treat all clinic patients. WWC, which currently provides medical care to 2,500 patients, expected to receive 350 doses of flu v
UNITED STATES: Vaccine Gives Long-Lasting Protection Against Cervical Cancer, Latest Study Shows: Associated Press (11.01.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Marilynn Marchione; On Monday at the meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Washington, researchers presented study results suggesting a vaccine can provide long-term protection against the STD human papillomavirus (HPV). Four years after receiving the vaccine, 94 percent of women were protected from HPV-16, a strain that acc
GLOBAL: AIDS Session Focuses on Africa: Indianapolis Star (11.01.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Bill Ruthhart; The number of people with AIDS worldwide and the amount of money allocated to help them are both at a record high. Yet problems remain in translating that funding into treatment, according to a conference held Sunday at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Randall Tobias, the US global AIDS coordinator, gave the
UNITED STATES: Liver Cancer Fastest Growing Cancer in US - Report: Reuters Health (11.01.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Martha Kerr; Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is involved in more than half of US cases of liver cancer, which are increasing faster than any other cancer, according to a preliminary report presented Monday in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The Liver Cancer Network early report has
GEORGIA: Georgia's TB Case Decline Is Lowest Drop in Dozen Years: Associated Press (10.31.04) - Tuesday, November 02, 2004; Daniel Yee; Although Georgia s TB cases dropped for the third year in a row, officials are concerned that last year s decrease was the smallest the state has seen in a dozen years. From 2002 to 2003, there was less than a 1 percent decrease in TB cases, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health. Last year, 531 cases were
GEORGIA: 5 Students Show TB Exposure: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.30.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; Laura Diamond; On Friday, Gwinnett County school officials announced that an additional five students have tested positive to TB exposure at Peachtree Ridge High School, bringing the total number exposed to eight. County health department spokesperson Vernon Goins said the eight will undergo chest X-rays and lab tests to see if they
THAILAND: More than 80,000 Young People in Thailand Suffer from AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (10.31.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; More than 80,000 Thais ages 15-24 now have AIDS, and the majority of them are women, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the country s public health minister, said Sunday. Each year, nearly 20,000 people develop AIDS and by 2006, Thailand will have more than one million AIDS patients, Sudarat warned. According to a recent survey, just
UGANDA: 1,000 Volunteers to Participate in AIDS Vaccine Research in Uganda: Xinhua News Agency (11.01.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; One thousand volunteers in the Masaka district of Uganda have been identified to participate in a feasibility study of preventative HIV/AIDS vaccine efficacy trials, organized by the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the Medical Research Council and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. The study is expected to las
MALAWI: UN Pledges $83 Million for Malawi Orphans: Agence France Presse (10.30.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; On Saturday, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa pledged $83 million to assist Malawi s children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Malawi will have 1 million orphans by the year 2010, said Stephen Lewis, who was in Lilongwe at the end of a four-day visit to assess the country s free antiretroviral program. Malawi s strateg
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Charity Expects to Triple Production of Meals to Go: Washington Post (10.31.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; Nicole Fuller; For the past 16 years, Food & Friends has delivered nutritious meals for people with AIDS or other life-threatening diseases from a church-basement kitchen and a dirt-floor warehouse in Southeast Washington. Now, thanks to $8.7 million in donations, the charity has moved into a new facility complete with an industr
AUSTRALIA: Surgeon, Test (and Heal) Thyself: Sharps Injuries and Hepatitis C Risk: Medical Journal of Australia (10.04.04) Vol. 181; No. 7: P.366-367 - Monday, November 01, 2004; Katrina J.R. Watson; The author noted that sharps injuries to surgeons are common but under-recognized and under-reported. The overall risks of blood-borne viruses being transmitted to surgeons are low, with hepatitis C posing the greatest transmission risk. Recent trials, according to the report, show that early treatment of acute hepatit
MALAWI: Malawi Says It's Having Trouble Accessing Global AIDS Fund: Associated Press (10.29.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; Raphael Tenthani; On Friday, Malawian officials told Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, that the nation is having difficulty with procedures necessary to obtain money from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. We have only spent $11 million in two years out of $44 million pledged to us, said Mary Shaba, princip
CANADA: Saskatchewan Plans to Make Safety-Engineered Needles Mandatory; Labor Groups Happy: Canadian Press (10.28.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; Saskatchewan will introduce regulations calling for the mandatory use of safety-engineered needles, Labor Minister Deb Higgins announced Thursday at the Saskatchewan Federation of Labor s annual convention. Delegates, many of whom have been actively campaigning for safe needles for years, applauded the announcement.
GLOBAL: EU Proposes Help to Poor Countries Seeking Cheap Drugs: Associated Press (10.29.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; On Friday, the European Union s head office proposed new regulations to permit the export of cheap generic copies of patented drugs to poor countries hit by AIDS and other killer epidemics. The regulation, if approved by EU s Parliament and 25 national governments, would implement an agreement made last year at the Wor
ILLINOIS: Health Officials Shut Lab Over HIV Test Kits: Associated Press (10.29.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; The US Food and Drug Administration and the Illinois Department of Public Health have ordered the closing of the lab at Raani Corp. in Bedford Park for allegedly manufacturing HIV test kits. Earlier this month, a routine fire inspection discovered the lab, which had been built without permits inside the factory, accord
ILLINOIS: Syringe Law Not Making an Impact: Chicago Sun-Times (10.27.04) - Monday, November 01, 2004; Dave McKinney; Citing a lack of public awareness, one of the largest pharmacy chains in Illinois reports relatively few people have taken advantage of a July 2003 state law allowing the non- prescription sale of hypodermic syringes. I don t think there has been a real large difference for us so far in the sale of syringes, said Micha
CALIFORNIA: Stop AIDS Names Stiles as Interim ED: Bay Area Reporter (10.21.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Matthew S. Bajko; While it continues its national search for a permanent leader, San Francisco s Stop AIDS Project has named B.J. Stiles its interim executive director. In 1987, Stiles founded the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS; he managed its successful merger with the National AIDS Fund in 1996. He served as interim executive d
CAMEROON: Health Survey Shows AIDS Rate of 5.5 Percent in Cameroon: Associated Press (10.28.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Emmanuel Tumanjong; Urbain Olanguena Awono, Cameroon s health minister, credited more accurate testing methods with a drop in the nation s HIV infection rate, which fell to 5.5 percent from 12 percent a year ago. A new health survey, whose results were released Wednesday, relied on anonymous testing. Previously, participants were required
NEW YORK: Fighting a Persistent Plague: Newsday (10.24.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Kathleen Kerr; For the first time in more than a decade, New York City officials saw an unexpected rise in active TB cases last year to 1,140, the city s health department said. Another 6,700 patients had latent or inactive TB in 2003. While some of the 5 percent increase - 67 percent of which was in foreign-born people - is attribut
UNITED STATES; NETHERLANDS: CDC: Rare Infection a Risk to Gay, Bisexual Men in US: Reuters (10.28.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Paul Simao; On Thursday, CDC alerted US doctors and clinics to be prepared to diagnose and treat gay and bisexual men who could be infected with the rare STD Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). CDC issued the warning following reports of a recent outbreak of the disease among gay and bisexual men in the Netherlands , whi
CANADA: Hospital Won't Help Set Up HIV Clinic: Toronto Star (10.27.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Joanne Shuttleworth; On Tuesday, Guelph General Hospital s board of commissioners passed a motion to support a regional HIV/AIDS clinic in principle, while rejecting a request to sponsor it. Dr. Anne- Marie Zajdlik, a Guelph family physician and HIV specialist, last month asked the hospital to sponsor the clinic. An institutional sponsorsh
GLOBAL: Security Council Told that Sexual Violence Against Women Is Taking Place 'on a Massive Scale' During and After Conflicts: Associated Press (10.28.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Edith M. Lederer; Four years after the UN Security Council passed a resolution committing governments to protect women from war-time abuses, most women in conflict and post-conflict situations continue to experience little peace and little security, the council heard during a recent meeting. The comment by UN Population Fund head Thoray
FLORIDA: Grant Aims at Risks Facing Latino Teens: St. Petersburg Times (Florida) (10.27.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Saundra Amrhein; On Tuesday, the Florida Institute for Community Studies Inc. (FICS) received four-year, $1 million grant from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help prevent HIV/AIDS and substance abuse among Latinos in Town N Country. Through Proyecto Prevencion (Project Prevention), FICS surveyed mor
WEST VIRGINIA: W. Va. To Get $1 Million in HUD Funding: Associated Press (10.25.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; On Monday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development renewed a $1 million grant to provide affordable housing for West Virginians living with HIV/AIDS. The West Virginia Office of Economic Opportunity was one of 22 agencies nationwide to receive a grant through HUD s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Pr
GLOBAL: US Pays High Prices for Global AIDS Drugs, Study Says: Wall Street Journal (10.29.04) - Friday, October 29, 2004; Sarah Lueck; According to congressional investigators, the US government is paying twice as much for many of the drugs in its global AIDS program as other international aid groups pay because the Bush administration will not buy cheaper drugs from India . The Government Accountability Office s draft report states that the lowest pr
GEORGIA: 3 Teens Test Positive for TB Exposure: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.28.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Laura Diamond; Three students at Peachtree Ridge High School who tested positive for TB exposure will undergo chest X-rays and, if necessary, lab tests to determine if they have active cases, Gwinnett County school officials announced Wednesday. On Monday, county health officials tested a total of 107 students and eight teachers at t
JAMAICA: More Youngsters Getting HIV/AIDS: Jamaica Observer (10.21.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; At a recent conference in Kingston, Dr. Yitades Gebre, a senior medical officer at the Ministry of Health, reported that most HIV/AIDS cases are occurring among 15- to 24-year- olds. Three times more females than males are infected, possibly due to younger girls having sex with older men. Fifty to 60 percent of the est
MALAWI: UN AIDS Envoy Begins Working Visit to Malawi: Agence France Presse (10.27.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; On Wednesday, Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, began a tour of Malawi to assess a program distributing free antiretrovirals. The visit will help us scale up the antiretroviral treatment because the program is lacking drugs and we have shortages of personnel, especially nurses, said Mary Shaba, perma
MASSACHUSETTS: Bishop Attacks School Condom Plan; Holyoke Tries to Stem Teen Pregnancies: Boston Globe (10.26.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; David Abel; Holyoke School Committee members recently approved an advisory council s recommendation to pilot a program to give high school students access to condoms. Before receiving the condoms, students would have to speak with a nurse, who would discuss pregnancy, AIDS, abstinence and the efficacy of condoms, said Michael J. M
UNITED STATES: Co-occurring Hepatitis C, Substance Use, and Psychiatric Illness: Treatment Issues and Developing Integrated Models of Care: Journal of Urban Health (12.04) Vol. 81; No. 4: P.719-734 - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Diana L. Sylvestre; Jennifer M. Loftis; Peter Hauser; Sander Genser; Helen Cesari; Nicolette Borek; Thomas F. Kresina; Leonard Seeff; Henry Francis; Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is transmitted by injection drug use and is associated with psychiatric conditions. Patients with drug use or significant psychiatric illness have typically been excluded from HCV treatment trials noting the 1997 National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement on HCV that indicated a
ZAMBIA: AIDS-Hit Zambia Bans Condom Handouts to Students: Reuters (10.26.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Shapi Shacinda; The Zambian government banned the free distribution of condoms in primary and secondary schools on Tuesday - the same day the United States released $24 million to the country for HIV/AIDS programs that feature condom distribution as a key element. According to a senior Zambian health official who declined to give his
UKRAINE: WHO Experts to Check on Possible Spread of Syphilis Through Donated Blood: Associated Press (10.28.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; The World Health Organization is sending an expert from Britain s national Center for Blood to Croatia Thursday to investigate whether thousands of patients could have contracted syphilis through transfusions three years ago. Croatian Health Minister Andrija Hebrang invited WHO to study the ca
CANADA: Needle Exchange Needed in Prisons to Combat Spread of Disease, Groups Say: Canadian Press (10.27.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Greg Bonnell; On Wednesday, the Ontario Medical Association and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network urged Canada to adopt prison-based needle exchange programs to stem the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among inmates. Nearly one in 50 federal inmates have HIV/AIDS - a rate 10 times higher than in the general populatio
RUSSIA: Media Leaders Urge Governments to Commit to Combating AIDS in Former Soviet Union: Associated Press (10.27.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Maria Danilova; At a conference in Moscow Wednesday, US actor and AIDS activist Richard Gere joined television, radio, and publishing representatives from Russia , Ukraine and other former Soviet Republics in a pledge to produce HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns. One campaign is set to begin Nov. 29 and cost about $30 million in the first
UNITED STATES: Science, Ideology Clash on AIDS Prevention: USA Today (10.28.04) - Thursday, October 28, 2004; Steve Sternberg; The conflict between science and ideology is a central issue of the current US presidential campaign. Researchers say the science of HIV prevention is clear. Studies show that when used consistently, latex condoms are 98 percent effective for preventing pregnancies, almost 90 percent effective for stopping HIV, highly
TEXAS: AIDS Walk Attracts Thousands: Austin American-Statesman (10.25.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; On Sunday in Austin, some 9,000 people took part in the city s 17th annual AIDS Walk. Lee Manford, executive director of AIDS Services of Austin, said participants raised more than $150,000. The money will benefit that agency and 11 other Central Texas groups serving people with HIV. For more information visit www.aids
CALIFORNIA: Tuberculosis Confirmed in O.C. Student: Los Angeles Times (10.27.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Officials are offering screenings in response to a case of TB diagnosed in a student at Magnolia High School. The Orange County Health Care Agency informed school officials of the case late Thursday, said Principal Ken Fox. On Tuesday, officials sent a letter home with students to inform parents and guardians about the
VIETNAM: Vietnam to Detect HIV/AIDS Infections in Army: Xinhua News Agency (10.20.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; The local newspaper Pioneer reported that Vietnam will test all army officers and soldiers for HIV and drugs on a regular basis. In the past seven years, Vietnam has found 1,417 HIV cases among recruits. As of late 2003, 130 HIV cases had been detected among men in military service.
SUDAN: Sudan to Check Every New AU Soldier for AIDS: Agence France Presse (10.26.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; On Tuesday, Sudanese Health Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said every member of the African Union contingent assigned to monitor a cease-fire in Darfur should provide a certificate proving he is not HIV-infected. The semi-official Sudanese Media Center quoted him as saying the measure was a precaution aimed at safeguarding
BOTSWANA: Antiretroviral Therapy of HIV+ Moms Who Breastfeed May Protect Infants: Women's Health Weekly (10.21.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Women on combination HIV/AIDS drug regimens may pass along high levels of medication through breastfeeding, thus potentially protecting their infants from infection, recent findings suggest. It s a really surprising finding and could potentially mean a two-for-one situation, said Roger Shapiro, MD, research associate f
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Congo Urged to Help 40,000 Rape Victims: Reuters (10.26.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Andrew Gray; On Tuesday, an Amnesty International human rights report said that fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have raped at least 40,000 women and girls in the last six years. While war in the DRC was declared ended in 2003, fighting has continued sporadically in the east, and AI said all of the more than 20 gr
CHILE: Health: Chile Making Strong Gains in Fight Against AIDS: Inter-Press Service (10.19.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Daniela Estrada; A decrease in the growth of new HIV infections in Chile is evidence that a joint government-civil society program is working. Backed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the two-year effort has spent more than $6 million in its first year. Before the project s launch, forecasts predicted that Chile would h
GLOBAL: Novartis Sets Deal to Seek New Drugs for Fighting TB: Wall Street Journal (10.27.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Marilyn Chase; The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, a nonprofit public-private partnership, plans to partner with a unit of Novartis AG to develop much-needed new drugs for TB treatment. The alliance, which has offices in New York, Cape Town and Brussels, is expected to announce today it has signed a letter of intent with the
GLOBAL: New Drugs, Plan Needed to Fight Killer TB - MSF: Reuters (10.26.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Outdated and ineffective strategies to fight TB in poor countries are not working and new treatments are urgently needed, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders/DWB) said Tuesday. Treatment protocols used by the World Health Organization and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease force
ZAMBIA: USAID Gives Zambia $24 Million for Health Programs: Associated Press (10.26.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; On Tuesday in Lusaka, the US embassy announced that the US Agency for International Development will give Zambia $24 million to fight AIDS and malaria and to treat drinking water. In a statement, the embassy said the money will fund health education programs during the coming six years. The Zambian government and the i
NEW JERSEY: McGreevey Allows Needle Exchanges in 3 Cities for HIV Prevention: New York Times (10.27.04) - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; Damien Cave; On Tuesday, Gov. James McGreevey signed an executive order authorizing the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to oversee needle exchange programs in as many as three municipalities. The order covers only cities that have high HIV prevalence due to intravenous drug-use and that have ordinances al
ARIZONA: Organizers of Defunct AIDS Walk Will Not Hold Substitute Event: Arizona Republic (10.22.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Susie Steckner; Former AIDS Walk Arizona Director Scott Hummel announced Thursday that the planned Nov. 7 substitute event for the now- defunct walk will not take place. On Oct. 18, AIDS Project Arizona suddenly canceled the walk. AIDS Project Arizona has closed its doors due to financial problems: Board members tapped funds set aside
GEORGIA: 114 Tested for TB at School in Gwinnett: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.26.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Laura Diamond; On Monday, Gwinnett County public health officials tested 114 students and staff at Peachtree Ridge High School for possible TB exposure. The testing followed a ninth-grader s diagnosis with the disease. Eight students did not undergo testing, either because they were absent or because they had not returned a signed co
CHINA: HIV Carriers to Hit 10 Million in China: Official: Xinhua News Agency (10.26.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; The number of HIV-positive people in China will total 10 million by 2010 if more measures are not taken to curb the spread of the virus, said Zhang Weiqing, minister in charge of the State Population and Family Planning Commission. Zhang made the warning while addressing an international symposium on population and sus
NEBRASKA: New Clinic to Treat Ills Transmitted Sexually: Omaha World-Herald (10.23.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Nichole Aksamit; A second STD clinic and a new poster campaign urging testing and treatment are part of the Douglas County Health Department s efforts to lower local STD rates. According to the Health Department, Douglas County s rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea are at least twice the national average. Two-thirds of the county s STD ca
ARIZONA: Roundtable Discussion on AIDS: Second AIDS Wave Hits Hispanics, Asia Likely Next: Arizona Daily Star (10.24.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Diane Luber; At a recent roundtable discussion on HIV/AIDS and what can be done to halt its spread, four Tucson-area prevention and treatment experts said the Hispanic community is increasingly affected by the epidemic. They also predicted HIV/AIDS will soon ravage Asia as it has Africa. According to Antonio Estrada, director of th
MAINE: COA Conference Aims to Curb Global Spread of AIDS: Bangor Daily News (10.19.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Bill Trotter; At a recent weekend conference on the global spread of HIV/AIDS, students from seven Maine colleges gathered at College of the Atlantic (COA) to learn what they can do to help fight the disease. Around 85 students from COA, University of Maine-Orono, University of Southern Maine, and Bates, Bowdoin, Colby and Husson co
UNITED KINGDOM: Liquid Based Cytology: Examination of its Potential in a Chlamydia Screening Programme: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 371-373 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; J. Hopwood; H. Mallinson; E. Hodgson; L. Hull; The researchers assessed the feasibility of chlamydia testing directly on a single liquid-based specimen (ThinPrep test) collected for cervical screening. Cervical smears were taken using a Cervex spatula and rinsed in the liquid-based cytology collection vial. Then, the conventional sample for chlamydia testing was ta
Republic of Ireland: Chlamydia trachomatis Prevalence in Men in the Mid-West of Ireland: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 349-353 - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; J. Powell; C.O'Connor; M. O'hlarlaithe; J. Saunders; J. de Freitas; The researchers estimated the prevalence of chlamydia infection in young men in the Mid-Western Health Board Region of Ireland to determine risk factors for its acquisition. The investigators recruited consecutive men attending orthopedic clinics (OPD) and a university sports arena (UL) to a chlamydia prevalence study.
BOTSWANA: Botswana Confronts AIDS Head-On, Says Mogae: Agence France Presse (10.26.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Although Botswana is openly dealing with its AIDS epidemic, the disease has severely burdened the nation and diverted economic resources, President Festus Mogae said Monday in Gaborone. Everywhere now we talk about AIDS - prayer meetings, political meetings, party meetings... there are so many groups talking about AIDS
AFRICA: UN AIDS Envoy Urges Blair to Make G8 Do More for Africa: Agence France Presse (10.26.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Today in London, Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, called on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lobby the world s wealthiest nations to step up funding for AIDS treatment in Africa. Lewis spoke in response to fears that a lack of resources may doom the World Health Organization s goal of having 3 mi
UNITED STATES: Health Officials Put Safer-Sex Message Online: New York Times (10.26.04) - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; David Tuller; In response to Internet-linked STD transmission, public and community agencies in many cities have begun to disseminate information on safe sex and STD prevention, screening and treatment on Internet sites where men go to arrange sexual encounters with other men. Research suggests that men who meet through the Internet
TANZANIA: AIDS Helpline in Tanzania Logs 22,000 Inquiries in 7 Months: Xinhua News Agency (10.23.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Toll-free helplines in Tanzania have logged more than 22,000 calls inquiring about HIV/AIDS information and counseling services, the Daily News reported Saturday. Thirty percent of the calls requested information on HIV transmission, 22 percent on AIDS testing, 11 percent on condom use and 6 percent on AIDS treatment.
THAILAND: Thai Government Urged to Improve Sex Education in Classroom: Xinhua News Agency (10.25.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; At a conference on how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among Thai teenagers, community members including educators, social workers and young people urged the government to improve sex education, the Thai News Agency reported today. Education expert Sirikorn Maneerin told the seminar that teaching students about sex s
UNITED KINGDOM: The Chlamydia Screening Studies: Rationale and Design: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 342-348 - Monday, October 25, 2004; N. Low; A. McCarthy; J. Macleod; C. Salisbury; P.J. Horner; T.E. Roberts; R. Campbell; A. Herring; S. Skidmore; E. Sanford; J.A.C. Sterne; G. Davey Smith; A. Graham; M. Huengsberg; J. Ross; M. Egger for the Chlamydia Screening Studies (ClaSS) Group; UK health authorities have recommended screening to reduce genital chlamydia infection. In the current study, the authors described the rationale and study design for the Chlamydia Screening Studies (ClaSS), a collaborative project designed to evaluate screening outside genitourinary medicine clinics. A non-selective,
REPUBLIC OF KOREA: 455 More Test Positive for HIV/AIDS: Korea Herald (10.21.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Lee Sun-young; On Oct. 20, health authorities reported that 455 people tested positive for HIV in the first nine months of 2004, raising the number of resident Koreans who have been infected with the virus to 2,994. The new cases represent a 14 percent increase over new cases in the same period the previous year. All 305 cases whose
LITHUANIA: Lithuanian Teenagers Among Youngest to Start Having Sex - WHO Poll: Baltic News Service (10.18.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; A World Health Organization-coordinated survey on international health and living found that among 15-year-old Lithuanians, 10 percent of girls and 26 percent of boys have already had sex. The WHO survey, which has been conducted every three years since 1993, polled 31 countries in Europe and North America. According t
ZAMBIA: Zambia's President Promises to Provide More AIDS Drugs: New York Times (10.25.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Michael Wines; Recent economic problems in Zambia will not deter the government from honoring a pledge to provide 100,000 AIDS patients with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) by the end of 2005, President Levy Mwanawasa said Saturday in a national address. Mounting financial strains and a growing population have reduced the capacity for t
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa AIDS Group Drops Legal Case on Drug Delays: Reuters (10.24.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Miriam Isa; On Sunday, the South Africa AIDS treatment lobby Treatment Action Campaign announced it was dropping its case to force the government to disclose its timeline for rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in public hospitals. TAC withdrew its case after South African health officials informed it last month that a docu
MARYLAND: Schaefer Modifies His Proposal for HIV/AIDS Registry: Baltimore Sun (10.23.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Andrew A. Green; On Friday, Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer clarified his support for a public list of people with HIV/AIDS, saying he advocates such a registry only for those who intentionally spread the disease. Schaefer has been criticized since stating, two weeks ago, that AIDS patients are to blame for their disease a
NEW JERSEY: Debate over Plan to Offer Clean Needles to Addicts in New Jersey: Associated Press (10.24.04) - Monday, October 25, 2004; Angela Delli Santi; Members of a New Jersey Senate committee have been listening to public testimony about two measures aimed at reducing IV drug users risk of infection from blood-borne diseases, including HIV. One measure would authorize towns to create their own needle-exchange programs; the other would allow pharmacies to sell syringe
GEORGIA: Thousands Help Raise $1 Million for AIDS Walk: Southern Voice (10.22.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Dyana Bagby; Some 14,000 participants helped raise about $1 million at AIDS Walk Atlanta, held Oct. 17, according to preliminary results announced by walk officials. This year, AIDS Atlanta opted to produce the walk itself in order to cut expenses. We beat our $1 million goal... and [with production costs down] this means we netted
JAPAN: HIV Infections, AIDS Cases Hit Highest Quarterly Figures Ever: Mainichi Daily News (10.21.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; From the end of June to the end of September, a record 209 people were recorded as having HIV, Japan s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced Thursday. The previous highest HIV-infection number over a three-month period was 199, posted in this year s second quarter. The ministry s AIDS monitoring office recomm
SOUTH AFRICA: Good News for Western Cape AIDS Patients: Cape Argus (10.21.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Di Caelers and Candice Bailey; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has given an R430 million (US$70 million) grant to Western Cape province to accelerate its HIV/AIDS programs and to ensure that everyone needing antiretrovirals (ARVs) receives them by the end of next year. The new funding means the estimated 12,000 people who need the drug
NEW YORK: Needle Swap Makes Debut in Long Island City: Newsday (10.19.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Kate O'Mara; Queens first needle-exchange program, slated for a December opening, will operate out of the AIDS Center of Queens County at 42-57 Hunter St. in Long Island City. The exchange was originally planned to set up in a mobile unit parked near Vernon Boulevard and Queens Plaza South, but community leaders opposed placing the
TEXAS: AIDS Foundation Aims to Equal Grant: Houston Chronicle (10.19.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Tom Manning; HIV prevention efforts in Houston got a major boost last month when AIDS Foundation Houston received a $25,000 grant through its partnership with the National AIDS Fund and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. AFH intends to match that grant by raising an additional $25,000, with the $50,000 to be disbursed to AIDS service
MASSACHUSETTS: AIDS Relief Program Falls Behind Schedule: Harvard Crimson (10.20.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Jeffrey P. Amlin; Delays in the importation of AIDS drugs may cause a Harvard relief program to miss its first-year targets, according to the program s interim executive director. The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) is one of four institutions administering the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). HSPH won a five-
UNITED KINGDOM: Investigating Ethnic Inequalities in the Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections: Mathematical Modeling Study: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80; No. 5: P.379- 385 - Friday, October 22, 2004; K.M.E Turner; G.P. Garnett; A.C. Ghani; J.A.C. Sterne; N. Low; The authors investigated ethnic differences in rates of gonorrhea using empirical sexual behavior data in a simple mathematical model, and explored the impact of different intervention strategies in the simulated population. Using the findings from cross-sectional studies of gonorrhea rates and sexual behavior in three
UNITED KINGDOM: High Hopes for Fridge-Free Jabs: BBC News (10.19.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; A new technology developed by Cambridge Biostability could eliminate the need for refrigerating vaccines, thus making vaccines more widely available in the developing world. The technique is based on anhydrobiosis, a process that allows cells to be preserved in a dried-out state. Normally, vaccines need to be refrigera
SOUTH AFRICA: S. Africans Shun a Remedy for AIDS: Washington Post (10.21.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Craig Timberg; After struggling to make antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) available in the developing world, medical authorities have discovered many people in the advanced stages of AIDS are reluctant to take them. Such reluctance constitutes an unexpected barrier in countries like South Africa , where 600 people die of AIDS each day, acc
NEW JERSEY: Graying HIV/AIDS Set Has Its Own Needs: Newark Star-Ledger (10.21.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Angela Stewart; The New Jersey Summit on HIV/AIDS and Aging, held Wednesday in Woodbridge, marked the first time that HIV experts joined with social scientists and gerontologists in the state to discuss the graying HIV epidemic. The number of people age 50 or older with HIV/AIDS in New Jersey is five times what is was nearly a decade
UNITED STATES: Syphilis Through Oral Sex on the Rise: Reuters Health (10.21.04) - Friday, October 22, 2004; Syphilis is increasingly being transmitted through oral sex, according to a new CDC report published Friday. Mistaken in the belief that oral sex is safe sex, many people are unaware they can readily catch or transmit syphilis in this manner. Moreover, syphilitic sores in the mouth can increase the risk of HIV infectio
NEW ZEALAND: HIV Test Trial for Pregnant Women Proposed: New Zealand Herald (10.19.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; In a report to the New Zealand Minister of Health released Tuesday, the National Health Committee recommended that a pilot study offering an optional HIV test to all pregnant women be conducted in Auckland. Currently, only mothers considered to be at risk for having HIV are tested in New Zealand. Last year, there were
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: AIDS Walk on the Rebound: Metro Weekly (10.21.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Sean Bugg; After years of decreased attendance and fundraising, organizers of Washington s 18th annual AIDS Walk, scheduled for Oct. 23, said strong interest this year could revive the event. We re seeing a lot of interest. We re really hoping that the momentum continues, said AIDS Walk Director Robert York. Proceeds from the wal
IOWA: Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders to Speak at UNI Health Conference: Associated Press (10.08.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Jocelyn Elders, who served as US Surgeon General under President Clinton, is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at a University of Northern Iowa multicultural health conference on Oct. 21. The two-day conference will address racial differences in HIV/AIDS, breast cancer treatment and health care reform. Elders is
NEW YORK: Start AIDS Charity at Home, Groups Say: New York Times (10.19.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; David Gonzalez; Marie St. Cyr, who run Iris House, a one-stop support center in Harlem for women with HIV/AIDS, said her 11-year-old organization provides African-American and Hispanic women and their families with services ranging from counseling and housing to medical help and custody planning. According to the United Nations, North
GEORGIA: Blacks Urged to Mobilize Against HIV/AIDS: Atlanta Daily World (10.20.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Makebra M. Anderson; Georgia Representative and civil rights leader John L. Lewis urged a town hall meeting on curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS among blacks to borrow from the playbook of the civil rights movement. You have to fortify, organize and be prepared to mobilize against this deadly disease, Lewis told the recent gathering of stud
ESTONIA: Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Estonia: Consistency with the Evidence-Based Medicine Principles: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (10.04) Vol. 31; No. 10: P. 631- 635 - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Anneli Uuskula, MD, PhD; Louise Anne McNutt, PhD; Jack Dehovitz, MD, MPH; Estonia is one of several Eastern European countries undergoing an explosive IV drug use-driven HIV epidemic. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of sexually transmitted disease (STD) is critical in preventing an STD-driven HIV epidemic. In the current study, the researchers sought to define the schedule of ant
ASIA-PACIFIC: Asia-Pacific Moving 'Too Late and Too Slow' in Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Agence France Presse (10.20.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Governments across the Asia-Pacific region should step up efforts to combat HIV/AIDS or risk a crisis similar in scale to Africa s, Kathleen Cravero, deputy executive director of UNAIDS , said Wednesday at a meeting in Manila. Cravero said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic
UGANDA: US Firm Opens $15M Ugandan AIDS Clinic: Associated Press (10.20.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Henry Wasswa; On Wednesday, the largest training center in Africa for HIV/AIDS health workers opened in Uganda . The $15 million Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Makerere will teach 250 health workers annually how to train other medical workers in the most modern HIV treatment methods. The center will treat 10,000
PENNSYLVANIA: After Delay, OraSure to Launch Saliva-Based HIV Test: Associated Press (10.20.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Daniel Rosenberg; Saying its saliva-based HIV test works properly, Bethlehem, Pa.-based OraSure Technologies Inc. said Wednesday that it would start shipping the tests early in November. The product launch was delayed after a clinical trial of the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test showed a higher rate of unconfirmed positive
OKLAHOMA: Officials Monitor Resistant Gonorrhea in State: Daily Oklahoman (10.19.04) - Thursday, October 21, 2004; Diane Clay; Oklahoma health officials are closely tracking a strain of fluoroquinolone-resistant gonorrhea that first appeared in the state in July. While gay and bisexual men are at greatest risk now, health experts said the strain will show up eventually in the heterosexual community. This is a significant blow, because it takes
CHINA: Yao Ming Joins Magic in HIV/AIDS Messages: South China Morning Post (10.15.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Eva Woo; On Oct. 14, Chinese television stations began showing a series of public service announcements to promote HIV/AIDS awareness that feature basketball celebrities Yao Ming and Magic Johnson. The release of the PSAs coincided with the mainland s first NBA game between Yao s Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings, accord
ERITREA: HIV Infection Rate in Eritrea Worrying, UN Says: Agence France Presse (10.16.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; The latest figures show Eritrea s national HIV prevalence rate is 2.4 percent, Dominique Mathiot, UNAIDS country program adviser, said recently. We are worried by this rate because above 1 percent means the epidemic is generalized. The rate for pregnant women here is above 5 percent and in any country the HIV prevalenc
CHINA: Nigeria Plans Sex Education to Check HIV/AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (10.19.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; With an increasing HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 5.8 percent, the Nigerian government said Tuesday it would introduce sex education in schools to help stop the disease s spread. Babatunde Oshitumehin, chair of Nigeria s National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (NACA), said the curricula was aimed at influencing behavioral c
SCOTLAND: HIV Figures Reach Record Number: BBC News (10.20.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; The number of people diagnosed with HIV in Scotland has reached the highest quarterly total on record, Scottish officials said recently. Figures for July-September 2004 show 105 people were diagnosed with HIV. The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health said the main cause of the increase was more testin
NEW YORK: 70 Attend Conference for Latino AIDS Awareness Day: Journal News (Westchester County, N.Y.) (10.16.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Desiree Grand; On National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, Oct. 15, roughly 70 people gathered in Mount Vernon for the Sixth Annual Latino/a Regional Conference. The Lower Mid-Hudson Latino HIV/AIDS Network, made up of 14 agencies committed to educating the public on the disease, presented the all-day conference. The conference offered wo
NEW YORK: City Students Found Less Likely to Indulge in Risky Behaviors: New York Times (10.20.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Susan Saulny; On Tuesday, New York City health and education officials released findings based on a youth risk behavior survey of nearly 7,500 students at randomly selected city high schools. The city-sponsored survey used CDC-developed questions and is considered among the largest and most extensive survey of its type, officials sa
CANADA: The Cost of Inaction on HIV Transmission Among Injection Drug Users and the Potential for Effective Interventions: Journal of Urban Health (12.01.04) Vol. 81; No. 4: P. 655-660 - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Laura M. Kuyper; Robert S. Hogg; Julio S.G. Montaner; Martin T. Schechter; Evan Wood; The estimated and potential medical costs of treating HIV- infected patients in high HIV prevalence urban areas have not been well defined, according to researchers. In the current study, the authors estimated the total medical cost of HIV disease among injection drug users in Vancouver, British Columbia, assuming stab
LESOTHO: In Lesotho, Women Hope for Control of Their Lives: Chicago Tribune (10.17.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Laurie Goering; In traditionally male-dominated Lesotho , women must have their husbands permission to take out a loan, open a bank account, have surgery, take contraceptives, or run for public office. Women cannot own or inherit property or run a company. Until recently, women had no legal right to refuse sexual relations. Half o
ECUADOR: UN Warns of Out-of-Control AIDS Problem in Ecuador's Pacific Coast Region: Associated Press (10.19.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Gonzalo Solano; AIDS is spreading rapidly in Ecuador s most-populated province and could become a national epidemic if left unchecked, UNICEF representative Paul Martin warned Tuesday. In 10 or 15 years, if there isn t important prevention work, we are going to have a frightening epidemic, starting on the coast and spreading to the en
EUROPE: Seven European Countries Demand Push on AIDS Vaccine: Agence France Presse (10.19.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; In Paris, health ministers or representatives from Britain, France , Germany , Italy , the Netherlands , Spain and Sweden , plus a representative of the European Union s Commission, issued a joint
MICHIGAN: Parents Shape Sex Education in Michigan: Detroit News (10.17.04) - Wednesday, October 20, 2004; Margarita Bauza; Michigan school districts that choose to teach sex education must comply with a new state law designed to give parents more oversight in what their children learn. The law, sponsored by state Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), requires schools to cover abstinence, adoption, and legal consequences of underage sex but does
ZAMBIA: Zambians Urged to Go for HIV/AIDS Test: Xinhua News Agency (10.16.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa urged Zambians to go for HIV/AIDS tests so those infected could receive treatment and continue to contribute to national development, the local newspaper Daily Mail reported recently. The president said most of the skilled manpower Zambia is losing could have been saved if people had be
GEORGIA: TB Tests Ordered for Staff, Students: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.16.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Laura Diamond; Gwinnett County public health officials will conduct TB skin tests on nearly 100 students and staff at Peachtree Ridge High school who came in close contact with a student diagnosed with the disease. The free testing is scheduled for Oct. 25. Health officials notified Peachtree Ridge Principal James Kahrs about the inf
UNITED KINGDOM: Province Hit by Syphilis Outbreak: Belfast Telegraph (10.18.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Nigel Gould; At a major STD conference in Belfast on Monday, Ulster s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Henrietta Campbell, said the current outbreak of syphilis in the region is a major concern. In Northern Ireland , sexual health is generally regarded as poor, with high levels of teenage pregnancy and [STIs].
NEW JERSEY: Needle Exchange on the Ropes: Newark Star-Ledger (10.15.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Tom Hester; Gov. James McGreevy s hope to sign a bill allowing needle- exchange programs for drug users in New Jersey was dealt a blow recently as opposition stalled a vote in a key Senate committee, which means the Senate is unlikely to vote on the bill before the governor leaves office next month, bill supporters said. The gover
NEBRASKA: UNO Uses Some Humor to Tackle Sexual Diseases: Omaha World-Herald (10.15.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Bob Glissmann*; Condom Man takes his job seriously. Yes, he s wearing a giant cream-colored condom costume with a red C on it, plus a blue mask and cape. But for Troy Bendickson, a resident assistant at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, sexually transmitted diseases are not a joke. Initially, it s a great tension breaker, Bendicks
SOUTH AFRICA: National Cross Sectional Study of Views on Sexual Violence and Risk of HIV Infection and AIDS Among South African School Pupils: British Medical Journal (10.14.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Neil Andersson; Ari Ho-Foster; Judith Matthis; Nobantu Marokoane; Vincent Mashiane; Sharmila Mhatre; Steve Mitchell; Tamara Mokoena; Lorenzo Monasta; Ncumisa Ngxowa; Manuel Pascual Salcedo; Heidi Sonnekus; The authors conducted a national cross sectional study to investigate school pupils views on sexual violence, their experience of sexual violence, and their views on the risk of HIV/AIDS. Researchers administered voluntary questionnaires to 269,705 pupils in South African schools, ages 10-19 in grades 6-11. The study e
VIETNAM: UN: AIDS Stigma in Vietnam Among Worst: Associated Press (10.18.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; After visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong and Hanoi, UNAIDS Executive Deputy Director Kathleen Cravero said if Vietnam does not reverse the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, efforts to help those with the virus will be impeded. While praising Vietnam s comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy - a long- term approach tha
GLOBAL: Slow Funds Flow Hampers AIDS Drug Plan - WHO: Reuters (10.15.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; Dr. Jim Yong Kim, director of the HIV/AIDS department at the World Health Organization , said Friday that WHO s three by five plan has fallen behind schedule. The WHO goal is for 3 million HIV-positive people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to be on antiretroviral therapy by the end of 2005. The program is estimated
ARKANSAS: Governor Says No to Funding for Drug Plan: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (10.16.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Nell Smith; Gov. Mike Huckabee has decided not to use any of his discretionary funds to cover an expected $160,000 budget shortfall in Arkansas AIDS Drug Assistance Program between now and the end of the program s funding period March 31, a letter from his office said. After speaking with the Health Department and consulting with
ARIZONA: AIDS Group, Its Walk at End: East Valley Tribune (10.19.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Jennifer Ryan; The board of one of the state s oldest AIDS service organizations, AIDS Project Arizona, announced Monday that the agency has closed. APA s board of directors also cancelled the high-profile AIDS Walk Arizona, scheduled for Nov. 7. APA s programs and files have been turned over to Maricopa County and state officials. O
UNITED STATES: Under the Radar, HIV Worsens: Los Angeles Times (10.16.04) - Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Sharon Bernstein; Complacency about HIV/AIDS and a willingness to take risks that would have been unthinkable at the epidemic s height stem from the progress doctors and public health officials have made in controlling the disease, several experts said. There s a perception that HIV or AIDS is no longer a big threat, so why bother using
CALIFORNIA: 20th AIDS Walk Tops $3 Million: Los Angeles Times (10.18.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Erika Hayasaki; Thousands of people attended the 20th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles on Sunday. The event helped raise more than $3 million for HIV/AIDS programs in Los Angeles County. Organizers estimated that more than 25,000 walkers registered for the event, even though it rained Sunday morning. Event founder Craig Miller noted that
EUROPE: EU Lifts Libya Arms Ban but Presses Tripoli over Medics: Agence France Presse (10.11.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; The European Union recently agreed to lift an 18-year-old arms embargo on Libya , citing the country s renunciation of weapons of mass destruction and movement toward responsible government. However, EU foreign ministers voiced continuing concern over the death sentences hanging over five Bulgarian nurses and one Pales
GLOBAL: World Bank Chief Warns that Terrorism, War in Iraq Diverting Attention from Efforts to Combat Poverty: Associated Press (10.15.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; Speaking Friday at the African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , World Bank chief James Wolfensohn said that terrorism and the war in Iraq are diverting attention from efforts to aid the world s poor. Indeed the single statistic that tells it all is that in this last year, the wor
UNITED STATES: AIDS Awareness Campaign Launched: Miami Herald (10.16.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Fred Tasker; On Friday, US Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona marked National Latino AIDS Awareness Day by announcing a new national campaign of public service announcements that promote HIV prevention and testing. The Department of Health and Human Services will produce five radio spots and two television spots for the campaign, s
MARYLAND: Former Maryland Schools Head Returns to Serve World's Kids: Associated Press (10.17.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Mike Bowler; As the new president and COO of the Baltimore-based International Youth Foundation, David W. Hornbeck presides over a 14 year-old philanthropic organization that awards money to youth programs in 53 countries throughout the world. Hornbeck, who served 12 years as Maryland state schools chief and six as superintendent i
OHIO: LifeCare Picks Up AIDS Meal Program: Columbus Dispatch (10.15.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Encarnacion Pyle; On Thursday, Project Open Hand Columbus announced that it is merging with LifeCare Alliance, which has delivered meals to Franklin County residents who are disabled, chronically ill or elderly for 32 years. Shrinking financial support forced POH to begin considering linking with social-services agencies that would comp
SOUTH CAROLINA: Senior Sexuality Is No Longer a Secret: Greenville News (10.05.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Mike Foley; According to public health experts, many seniors are not used to using condoms for pregnancy and disease protection, and have not been concerned with sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. Ralph Carbone, a disease intervention specialist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Con
UNITED KINGDOM: Declining Prevalence of STI in the London Sex Industry, 1985 to 2002: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80; No. 5: P. 374-376 - Monday, October 18, 2004; H. Ward; S. Day; A. Green; J. Weber; In the current case-control study, researchers compared women who first attended a sex-work clinic between 1996 and 2002, and those first attending such a clinic between 1985 and 1992, in order to describe key changes in the industry and assess their implications for sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk. The main
UNITED KINGDOM: Why Sex Advice Is Not Reaching the 'Promiscuous 10 Percent': Guardian (London)(10.14.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Sarah Boseley; Last Thursday, public-health experts claimed that a reluctance to engage with the promiscuous 10 percent in society is at the heart of a sexual-health crisis. Because of the protests of a minority who oppose education and discussion about sex, according to experts, rarely are men or women seen with condoms on TV, in fi
TEXAS: Prejudices Still Hinder AIDS Awareness, Treatment: Dallas Morning News (10.16.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Mercedes Olivera; Friday was National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, but AIDS experts say much more needs to be done to educate Latinos on HIV prevention. Last year, Latino men comprised 29 percent of all AIDS cases in Texas, while Latina women made up 18 percent. And in Dallas County, which is leading the state in new HIV infections, Latin
KANSAS: HIV Rate Soaring Among Latinos: Wichita Eagle (10.16.04) - Monday, October 18, 2004; Christina M. Woods; On Friday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that HIV infections among the state s Latinos are outpacing all other ethnic groups. New HIV cases among Hispanics are being diagnosed at twice the rate of African- American cases, the department said, and the HIV infection rate among Latinos is more t
NEW YORK: A Social Issue in a Comic: New York Times (10.14.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; George Gene Gustines; The latest Green Arrow comic book, published Wednesday, featured a twist as the emerald archer learned that Mia, the teenage runaway under his care, had tested positive for HIV. The news makes Mia even more determined to realize her dream of becoming a hero. Green Arrow s writer is Judd Winick, who participated in the
AFRICA: African Countries Urged to Treat HIV-Positive People Properly: Xinhua News Agency (10.14.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; On Thursday, delegates to the Fourth African Development Forum meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , heard the former prime minister of Mozambique warn of dire consequences if HIV- positive people do not receive treatment. The future of our societies is tied to keeping these people alive, said Pascoal Mocumbi.
CALIFORNIA: Safe Sex Info Often Missing from Bars: Bay Area Reporter (09.23.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Kevin Davis; In some Bay Area venues frequented by sexually active gay men, the absence of safe sex literature could be caused by ineffective communication and the realities of bar life. The result can mean that health department brochures, pamphlets and wallet resource cards end up out of sight or discarded. Neither the city Depar
FLORIDA: Keeping an Eye on Health: Miami Herald (10.14.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Ryan Mills; Over the Columbus Day weekend, Miami Beach s PET (Prevention, Education and Treatment) Center held its first Young Adult Health Fair. Visitors to the Collins Avenue center were offered free HIV testing and other health screenings. The purpose of the fair was to teach the community - specifically young people ages 15-24
BOTSWANA: Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea in Pregnancy: Effectiveness of Diagnosis and Treatment in Botswana: Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 395-400 - Friday, October 15, 2004; M. Romoren; M. Rahman; J. Sundby; P. Hjortdahl; Each year, millions of patients in developing countries are prescribed drugs to treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The treatment effect of these prescriptions, however, is largely unknown. In the present study, researchers sought to determine if prescribing erythromycin and ceftriaxone to pregnant women with
UNITED STATES; SWITZERLAND: Drug Protects Monkeys from AIDS in Experiment: Reuters (10.14.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Maggie Fox; On Thursday, US and Swiss scientists reported they have developed a chemical that can protect female rhesus monkeys against HIV infection. The researchers hope to use the promising findings to someday develop an HIV microbicide for use by women and men, perhaps in a gel or cream form. The vast majority of HIV infection
CROATIA: Report: Croatian Health Minister Asks WHO to Check on Possible Syphilis Transmission: Associated Press (10.15.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Croatian Health Minister Andrija Hebrang will ask the World Health Organization to investigate a report that thousands of patients may have been infected with syphilis through blood transfusions in 2000-2001, so we can put an end to that story and restore our citizens trust, the newspaper Jutarnji List reported Thursda
LOUISIANA: Peer Program Teaches Inmates About HIV/AIDS: Associated Press (10.13.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Cristina Rodriguez; This month, about 100 inmates from various Louisiana prisons met at the state-run David Wade Correctional Center in Homer for a conference on counseling their peers about HIV/AIDS. At that meeting, the inmates learned about the most recent medical information on HIV, and they shared counseling strategies. The state pri
GLOBAL: US Tells UN It Supports Population Agenda - on the Understanding It Doesn't Promote Abortion: Associated Press (10.15.04) - Friday, October 15, 2004; Edith M. Lederer; Ten years after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, the UN General Assembly convened Thursday to promote implementation of that meeting s 20-year action plan, which had been adopted by 179 countries. On Wednesday, the UN received a statement endorsing the Cairo plan and bearing t
GEORGIA: Sunday's Walk Will Unite Many Touched by Disease: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.14.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Jingle Davis; Sunday in Atlanta s Piedmont Park, more than 12,000 participants are expected for the 14th annual AIDS Walk Atlanta. Sign-up begins at noon; the walk steps off at 2 p.m. Coretta Scott King is honorary chairperson of the 5K walk, which benefits AID Atlanta and other AIDS agencies. For more information, telephone 404-876
CALIFORNIA: They're Walking the Walk: Daily News of Los Angeles (10.11.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Sunday in West Hollywood, 25,000 people are expected to take part in AIDS Walk Los Angeles. Organizers of the 10K walk hope it raises up to $3 million for AIDS Project Los Angeles and other AIDS service organizations. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.; the walk gets underway at 10 a.m. For more information, telephone 21
VIETNAM: Mekong Countries Seek Ways to Combat HIV, Tuberculosis: Xinhua News Agency (10.12.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Health experts at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City are discussing strategies for the effective use of antiretroviral drugs, epidemiological surveillance, combined treatment for HIV and TB, and international technical assistance. Some 120 officials and experts from the Greater Mekong Sub-region - China ,
FLORIDA: Boys Learn 'Sex Is a Serious Thing': Miami Herald (10.14.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Jennifer Mooney Piedra; At the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Teen Youth Summit held last Friday, about 100 at-risk teenage boys from Miami-Dade middle schools learned the harsh realities of STDs. From HIV to herpes, chlamydia to syphilis, no topic was off-limits. Sex is a serious thing, Reginald Carlson, lead public advisor with the Miami-Da
SOUTH AFRICA: Behavioural Responses of South African Youth to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: A Nationwide Survey: AIDS Care (07.04) Vol. 16; No. 5: P. 605-618 - Thursday, October 14, 2004; L.C. Simbayi; J. Chauveau; O. Shishana; South Africa is reported to have the world s largest HIV/AIDS caseload. The present study focused on investigating the behavioral response of South African youth to the epidemic. The researchers selected a multi-staged stratified cluster sample of 2,430 young people ages 15-24. Of the sample, 46.9 percent were males
GLOBAL: 250 Leaders, but Not US, Back UN Population Plan: Reuters (10.14.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; More than 250 world figures - including 85 presidents and prime ministers and 47 Nobel Prize winners - have signed a statement urging the UN to promote a population agenda that seeks women s education, health care and family planning. But the Bush administration declined to support the statement because it includes the
AFRICA: UN Warns Africa to Brace Itself for the AIDS Time Bomb: Associated Press (10.14.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; An AIDS time bomb looms over sub-Saharan Africa, where 8,000 people are infected with HIV every day, health experts and politicians attending the UN Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, held in Addis Ababa, were told today. If we think we are seeing an impact today, we have to brace ourselves because it is
COLORADO: CSU Lab to Get $25 Million Grant: Rocky Mountain News (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Tillie Fong; The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Mycobacteria Research Laboratories at Colorado State University a seven- year, $25 million grant to further its tuberculosis research. The NIH grant is more than double its previous $12 million grant, which was awarded to the lab in 1997. It further demonstrates that Co
FLORIDA: Springfield Ministry Receives $10 Million AIDS Grant: Florida Times-Union (10.08.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Jeff Brumley; Jacksonville-based Fresh Ministries has received a $10 million federal grant to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. The Rev. Robert V. Lee III is the ecumenical nonprofit s founder, chairperson and CEO; he said the ministry will use the five-year award to support and improve existing HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Africa. The m
TEXAS: Refugees' TB Cases Draw State Inquiry: Houston Chronicle (10.13.04) - Thursday, October 14, 2004; Bill Murphy; The Texas Department of State Health Services will look into allegations that the Harris County Health Department is too slow in treating international refuges who test positive for TB, Doug McBride, a TDSHS department spokesperson, said Tuesday. The November investigation will be part of an already scheduled, periodic
RUSSIA: HIV-Positive Russians Detained During Protest in Western City: Associated Press (10.12.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; On Tuesday in the western city of Kaliningrad, 13 HIV-positive Russians were detained after chaining themselves to the city hall building to protest the state s alleged failure to provide them with adequate medical care. The protesters were taken into custody after the unsanctioned rally, at which some held signs readi
SOUTH CAROLINA: Blood Screening Begins for Hepatitis B: Greenville News (10.08.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Liv Osby; The Blood Connection - which provides blood to all the hospitals in Greenville, Greenwood, Pickens, Oconee, Abbeville, Laurens and Newberry counties - earlier this year participated in a study to find whether the same test used to detect HIV, hepatitis C and West Nile virus could also find hepatitis B. The Nucleic Acid
MARYLAND: Western Maryland News in Brief: Associated Press (10.12.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Frederick County infectious-disease specialist Dr. Paul G. Rausch will stop treating HIV/AIDS patients as of Nov. 30 to limit his exposure to lawsuits and higher malpractice insurance premiums. I can no longer assume the additional liability of caring for complex and complicated infectious- disease patients, Rausch wro
CALIFORNIA: Stop AIDS Project Searches for New Leader: Bay Area Reporter (09.30.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Matthew S. Bajko; After announcing her decision in August, Stop AIDS Project s executive director stepped down Sept. 30. The project s board of directors had anticipated hiring a replacement, whose term was to have overlapped by 30 days the tenure of outgoing director Darlene Weide, but by Sept. 28 the board had failed to either name an
CALIFORNIA: HIV/AIDS; Reported Los Angeles County AIDS Cases Up 89 Percent over Past 2 Years: AIDS Weekly (10.11.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Reported AIDS cases in Los Angeles County have soared 89 percent over the past two years, according to the county s HIV/AIDS Semi-annual Surveillance Summary, released in July. However, ... no firm conclusions about whether the number of new AIDS diagnoses is increasing or decreasing can be made at this time, cautioned
AUSTRALIA: Is Screening for Anal Cancer Warranted in Homosexual Men?: Sexual Health (09.04) Vol. 1; No. 3: P. 137-140 - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Jonathan StC. Anderson; Claire Vajdic; Andrew E. Grulich; Anal cancer is at least 20 times more common in homosexual men than in heterosexual men. Some data suggest it is even more common in HIV-infected homosexual men. Some scientists have suggested screening of all men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly those with HIV, for anal cancer and its likely precursor, high-g
GLOBAL: Vaccine Could Reduce Cervical Cancer by 70 Percent: Australian Associated Press (10.13.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Holly Nott; Research trials underway in 14 countries have shown promising results in the search for a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV). The 13,000 research participants taking part in the trials include hundreds of women, ages 17-25, from Western Australia , New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. The vacci
CHINA: China Launches Hunt for HIV-Infected Blood Sellers: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (10.13.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Today in Beijing, China s Ministry of Health launched a drive to find tens of thousands of rural residents who became infected with HIV by selling their blood in the 1990s. A circular posted on the ministry s Web site ordered local officials to locate lists of blood sellers and use health reports, death registers, loca
SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS Prompts South Africa Nurse Shortage: Associated Press (10.12.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; On Tuesday, a study determining HIV/AIDS prevalence among South African health workers warned the country needs more nurses. The study found a very high, rising rate of HIV/AIDS among health workers, the South African Press Association reported. The authors examined both junior and professional staff at 5 percent of pu
MARYLAND: Schaefer Calls People with AIDS 'a Danger': Washington Post (10.13.04) - Wednesday, October 13, 2004; Matthew Mosk; On Tuesday, Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer (D) called people with AIDS a danger and said those with the disease brought it on themselves. Schaefer, 82, made the remarks during an interview when asked to explain comments he made last week at a Board of Public Works meeting. At that time, he asked the state
CHINA: Southern China Offers Gay Men Free HIV Tests: Report: Agence France Presse (10.11.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; The southern Chinese province of Guangdong is offering free HIV tests to homosexual men, the state-owned China Daily and the Guangdong-based Information Times reported Monday. The provincial Center for Disease Control s AIDS institute began interviewing and testing gay men amid growing concern over the rapid rise of HI
CHINA: Annan Lauds China's Efforts on Prevention and Treatment of AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (10.12.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; In Beijing, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has praised China s AIDS prevention and control efforts and called for an end to discrimination against people with AIDS. While visiting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Chaoyang District, Annan inspected testing and monitoring facilities and met with HIV pati
GLOBAL: Distance Communication Transfer of HIV Prevention Interventions to Service Providers: Science (09.24.04) Vol. 305; No. 5692: P. 1953-1955 - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; Jeffrey A. Kelly; Anton M. Somlai; Eric G. Benotsch; Timothy L. McAuliffe; Yuri A. Amirkhanian; Kevin D. Brown; L. Yvonne Stevenson; M. Isa Fernandez; Cheryl Sitzler; Cheryl Gore- Felton; Steven D. Pinkerton; Lance S. Weinhardt; Karen M. Opgenorth; Most AIDS service organizations (ASOs) are located in nations with little access to relevant scientific developments, and scholarly journal articles often provide insufficient detail for ASOs to implement prevention approaches. In the current study, researchers assessed whether online and offline technologies could hel
CANADA: Hep-C Called 'Runaway' Problem Among City's Illegal Drug Users: Medical Officer Defends Expanded Paraphernalia Plan: Ottawa Citizen (10.09.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; Daniel Tencer; Ottawa s needle-exchange program now distributes such items as crack-pipe stems, as well as tourniquets and aluminum caps for IV drug users, in order to stem hepatitis C among the city s illegal drug users, said Dr. Robert Cushman, Ottawa s chief medical officer. On Friday, Cushman said the runaway hepatitis C problem
CHINA: Peer Education Makes Young Chinese Discuss Sex, AIDS More Easily: Xinhua News Agency (10.12.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; In China , where sex is rarely discussed in public, peer education programs are teaching people how to prevent HIV/AIDS, use contraception, respond to sexual harassment, and reject unwanted sexual advances. Experts say the peer education concept, which was brought to China from Australia
AFRICA: HIV/AIDS Campaigns Overlook Rural Africa: Experts: Agence France Presse (10.12.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; The majority of HIV/AIDS prevention and support efforts in Africa continue to focus on major cities, while rural areas and communities are often overlooked, delegates at the UN s Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) were told today. Politicians, including former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, along
SOUTH AFRICA: Private Clinics in South Africa Urge Drug Companies to Lower Prices for AIDS Treatment: Associated Press (10.12.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; New government drug-pricing regulations require that South Africa s state-associated AIDS treatment facilities receive the lowest drug prices. However, the regulations also require drug firms to charge a higher single exit price to nongovernmental AIDS organizations, including charities. AIDS groups today criticized th
TEXAS: Safe-Sex Activists Oppose Abstinence-Only Texts in Texas: Washington Times (10.12.04) - Tuesday, October 12, 2004; George Archibald; On Nov. 5, the Texas State Board of Education will take a final vote on the adoption of new health textbooks for the state s 7,800 public schools. Texas, which spends more than $570 million a year on textbooks, is the nation s second- largest textbook market. A state law enacted in 1995 states: Any course materials and
CHINA: Global Fund's AIDS Care Program Starts in Central China Province: Xinhua News Agency (10.08.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria launched its AIDS Care China Program on Sept. 29, said program team Director Sun Changsong. The AIDS Care China Program is the largest international AIDS prevention effort in Hubei, covering 12 demonstration districts in state and provincial levels, said Sun. Over 70 percen
CHINA: Beijing to Install Condom Machines to Fight AIDS: Reuters (10.10.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; Beijing will install about 1,000 condom machines that dispense condoms for 1 yuan (12 US cents) each, said Guan Baoying of Beijing s Disease Control and Prevention Center, Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday. The condoms quality will be guaranteed. The machines will supplement the city s existing 1,700 condom machines;
UGANDA: Uganda Launches Injection Safety Project: Xinhua News Agency (10.07.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; Uganda has launched an injection safety and medical waste management project to lower patients and health care workers risk for exposure to HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases, Dr. Alex Kamugisha, minister of state for primary health care, announced Thursday. Uganda s Ministry of Health and the US Agency for Inte
ARKANSAS: ACLU Claims Inmates Untested for TB at Faulkner County Jail: Associated Press (10.08.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; On Thursday, the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed papers in federal court seeking to force the Faulkner County Jail to test inmates for TB. The group said Friday that the jail has not followed the Arkansas Health Department regulation directing that jails with inmate populations of 50 or mor
UNITED STATES: Health and Support Service Utilization Patterns of American Indians and Alaska Natives Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS: AIDS Education and Prevention (06.04) Vol. 16; No. 3: P. 238- 249 - Monday, October 11, 2004; Jill J. Ashman; David P�rez-Jim�nez; Katherine Marconi; In the current study, the authors sought to examine the types of health and support services provided by Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act-funded providers to American Indians/Alaska Natives and to compare the characteristics and service utilization patterns for this group with those of perso
CANADA: City 'Abetting' Drug Users, Cullen Fears: Committee OKs Request by Needle Exchange Program to Dispense Drug Paraphernalia: Ottawa Citizen (10.08.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; Daniel Tencer; Ottawa s needle-exchange program has expanded to offer drug paraphernalia, including crack pipes, tourniquets and aluminum caps, Dr. Robert Cushman, the city s chief medical officer, said in his Oct. 7 report to the City Council health and social services committee. Since September, the items have been distributed to h
UNITED KINGDOM: X-Ray Vans Return to Reverse Rise in TB Cases: Mobile Units to Check Those Most at Risk in Inner Cities: The Guardian (London) (10.08.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; James Meikle; In England, a mobile digital chest X-ray van from the Netherlands that can screen 300 people a day for tuberculosis has impressed health authorities, who are evaluating whether to field up to six of the vans. TB cases in England have increased by a quarter in a decade, to 6,638 cases per year. Forty percent of the case
MAINE: Ex-Agency Leader Enters Plea: Associated Press (10.10.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; The former director of the Maine AIDS Alliance, an umbrella group for 13 organizations, has pleaded guilty to theft, and the state has moved to drop charges of misuse of entrusted property and falsifying private records. On Friday in Kennebec County Superior Court, Randall Norcross agreed to a maximum sentence of three
ARKANSAS: State Auditors Score Agency for Too Much Travel: Associated Press (10.09.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; Results from an audit intended to examine the Arkansas Health Department s organizational structure revealed problems related to travel costs, travel reimbursement and errors in employee tracking reports. Legislators requested the management review by the Arkansas Legislative Audit Division in May after the Health Depa
CALIFORNIA; PENNSYLVANIA: Montco Firm Working to Prevent HIV Is Sold: Philadelphia Inquirer (10.09.04) - Monday, October 11, 2004; Linda Loyd; On Friday, Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif., said it would buy privately held Biosyn Inc. of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., to acquire a contraceptive gel being tested to prevent HIV transmission. The deal is valued at $30 million. Two University of Pennsylvania researchers founded Biosyn in 1989 to
TEXAS: 2 Schools Checking Positive TB Tests: Houston Chronicle (10.07.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Ruth Rendon; Eric Hanson; Ten of 25 Dobie High School students and faculty whose TB skin tests were positive have not yet received chest X-rays to determine whether they have active TB, health officials said. The remaining 15 people have taken chest X-rays and showed no sign of active infection, said Rita Obey, spokesperson for Harris County Pu
CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles; County Health Officials Call for Condoms in Porn Movies: Los Angeles Times (10.08.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Caitlin Liu; The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has sent 400 letters to producers and directors of adult films asking that condoms be used during sex scenes and performers be vaccinated for hepatitis A and B. The letters began arriving this week. We think this is a matter of worker protection, said Dr. Jonathan Fi
GLOBAL: Sierra Leone Leads World in Child Deaths: Associated Press (10.07.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Gerald Nadler; Among the findings of a UNICEF report released Friday was that HIV/AIDS proved a major obstacle to countries fulfillment of the 2000 UN Millennium Summit goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015. Child mortality refers to the number of children who die before age five. At present, one in 12 children world
ANGOLA: Angolan Minister Promises First Nationwide Study on HIV/AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (10.07.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; On Thursday, Angola s Health Minister, Albertina Hamukuaya, called the country s HIV/AIDS epidemic grave and quite worrying, and said the first nationwide study on the disease would be published in December. Though Hamukuaya declined to provide any figures for HIV/AIDS incidence in Angola, the minister said partial dat
WISCONSIN: HIV-Positive Man Sues Doctor, Says Surgery Canceled: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (10.05.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Derrick Nunnally; A lawsuit filed Tuesday by an HIV-positive man in Milwaukee County Circuit Court claims his former doctor canceled scheduled back surgery in 2002 after learning the patient was HIV-positive. It is a violation of Wisconsin law to refuse treatment because a patient has HIV. The suit was filed by attorneys from Lambda Leg
NEW YORK: AIDS Group Moving to Brooklyn 'Epicenter': New York Post (10.07.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Hasani Gittens; Declaring that Brooklyn has become the epicenter of the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic in New York, Housing Works on Wednesday relocated to the borough. Fourteen-year-old Housing Works is one of the city s largest HIV/AIDS advocacy groups; it helps homeless AIDS patients access housing and health services. After opening its new W
AUSTRALIA: Fed: Breath Test a Pain-Free New Alternative to Liver Biopsies: Australian Associated Press (10.07.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Kylie Walker; Australian researchers have developed a new breath test that helps detect liver damage, including scarring and cirrhosis, which can occur in people infected with hepatitis or other liver diseases. It could save most patients the pain and hospitalization of undergoing liver biopsies, said Dr. Gordon Park, the test s inv
UNITED STATES: Condom Use and Other Factors Affecting Penile Human Papillomavirus Detection in Men Attending a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (10.04) Vol. 31; No. 10: P.601- 607 - Friday, October 08, 2004; Susie B. Baldwin, MD, MPH; Danelle R. Wallace, MPH; Mary R. Papenfuss, MS; Martha Abrahamsen, MPH; Linda C. Vaught; Anna R. Giuliano, PhD; The primary cause of cervical, anal and other anogenital cancers is human papillomavirus (HPV). However, the risk factors for penile HPV detection have not been well characterized. In the current study, the researchers sought to identify correlates of penile HPV detection in ethnically diverse men attending an STD clin
UNITED KINGDOM: Britain Responds to AIDS Changes in India: Financial Times (10.06.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Ray Marcelo; Gareth Thomas, Britain s junior minister for international development, announced Tuesday that the United Kingdom will redesign its 123 million Pounds (US$219 million) Indian AIDS strategy in light of the new Congress Party-led government s willingness to fight the epidemic. Britain s plan had hit bureaucratic obstacle
LOUISIANA: LSU Getting $9 Million, 5-Year Grant for Regional STD Center: Associated Press (10.06.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; A five-year, $9.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will be used to establish a regional center for studying STDs at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Baton Rouge. The new center is one of six being created: The others are at Arizona State University, the Un
NEW JERSEY: Assembly Passes Syringe Proposals: Philadelphia Inquirer (10.08.04) - Friday, October 08, 2004; Robert Moran; On Thursday, the New Jersey Assembly approved legislation to allow needle-exchange programs and to let pharmacies sell syringes without requiring a prescription. The votes on the measures were identical: 43-28, with six abstentions. The bills now move to the Senate. Gov. James McGreevey has indicated his support for le
NEBRASKA: Open House Set for AIDS Project: Omaha World-Herald (10.06.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Nebraska AIDS Project will hold a free open house Thursday evening from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at its headquarters, 139 S. 40th St, in Omaha. We re inviting people to come into our house and see the work we do, said Tim Sullivan, NAP s executive director. Visitors can sign a memorial qu
ZIMBABWE: Uganda's President Castigates West in Visit to One- Time Foe Zimbabwe: Associated Press (10.06.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Angus Shaw; In Zimbabwe , Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Western nations are pressing condom use in order to profit from AIDS- ravaged Africa, according to Zimbabwe state media. Europeans say: Use condoms, but there are sexual sicknesses condoms cannot stop. Because of greed for money, Europeans are endangering the human r
SOUTH AFRICA: South African AIDS Campaigner Not Betting on Nobel: Reuters (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Gordon Bell; Manoah Esipisu; Zackie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign, the AIDS activist group he leads, are among contenders for this year s Nobel Peace Prize. TAC has fought a long battle with South Africa s government, which until late last year resisted giving antiretroviral drugs to AIDS patients. Achmat, who is HIV-positive, has said
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Congress Passes D.C. Budget: Washington Post (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Spencer S. Hsu; On Wednesday, Congress approved the District s 2005 budget. Senate negotiators failed to overturn a House-backed ban that prohibits spending D.C. funds on needle-exchange programs or on lobbying Congress for statehood or voting representation. By keeping the ban in place, Congress continues to disenfranchise and discri
CALIFORNIA: Sex Diseases on Upswing: Los Angeles Daily News (10.03.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Susan Abram; Health experts in the Santa Clarita Valley are worried that the steady increases in gonorrhea and chlamydia cases they are seeing mirror a growing problem throughout Los Angeles County. As of July, the Valencia-based Northeast Valley Health Corp. confirmed 30 cases of chlamydia and eight of gonorrhea, compared with 27
UNITED STATES: Merix Drug Would Adapt; AIDS Medicine to Be Personalized: News & Observer (10.05.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Jean P. Fisher; Durham, N.C.-based Merix Bioscience is announcing plans to begin a Phase I clinical trial in the Netherlands , with the help of Amsterdam s Academic Medical Center, to test the safety of the first-ever personalized vaccine for HIV-infected patients. Merix believes the vaccine, once proven safe and effective, would repr
THE NETHERLANDS: Behavioral and Cognitive Barriers to Safer Sex Between Men in Steady Relationships: Implications for Prevention Strategies: AIDS Education and Prevention (08.04) Vol. 16; No. 4:P. 304- 314 - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Udi Davidovich; John B.F. de Wit; Wolfgang Stroebe; As steady partners are a major source of HIV infection among gay men, the current study focused on better understanding the sexual risks taken in steady relationships. The authors examined characteristics of the first incident of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) between steady male partners. We also examined cognitiv
TAIWAN: Study: AIDS Drug Effective vs. Hepatitis B: Associated Press (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Stephanie Nano; Lamivudine , a long-used AIDS drug, appears to be the first effective, long-term treatment for patients with advanced liver disease caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to a study released today. While lamivudine, also known as 3TC , has been available for treatment of HB
UNITED KINGDOM: Call for VAT on Condoms to Be Axed: The Guardian (10.06.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; James Meikle; On Tuesday, government advisers called for the Value Added Tax on over-the-counter contraceptives to be abolished in an effort to reduce the high and prohibitively expensive costs of unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Persons in at-risk groups, including young people, are sometimes deterred from using condoms because of th
BRAZIL: Brazil Starts Campaign to Warn Women of Sex Trade: Financial Times (London) (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; Raymond Colitt; On Wednesday, Brazil launched a government awareness campaign to help curb illegal trafficking of women for sexual exploitation abroad. As part of the campaign, Brazilian women obtaining travel documents to go abroad are being given a pamphlet picturing a naked woman with a message stamped on her back: First they take
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Safe-Sex, Abstinence Programs Applauded: Washington Times (10.07.04) - Thursday, October 07, 2004; S.A. Miller; On Wednesday, D.C. officials credited a city program that promotes abstinence and safe sex with lowering the rate of abortions and out-of-wedlock births in the capital. The decreases were the largest in the nation. Births to unwed mothers dropped 6.6 percent between 1999 and 2002. From 1995 to 2002, the D.C. abortion r
REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Sexual Diseases Spreading: Korea Times (10.05.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Sexually transmitted infections are increasingly spreading among young Koreans, the Welfare and Health Ministry said Monday. A report by the ministry found that 14,963 people under age 19 had an STI in 2003, up 17.3 percent from 12,752 in 2002. The report said males accounted for 54.5 percent of the STIs. Committee mem
THAILAND: Thailand to Supply Drugs to 300,000 AIDS Patients in 2 Years: Xinhua News Agency (10.03.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; A Government Pharmaceutical Organization official has announced that Thailand will be able to offer locally made generic AIDS drugs to 300,000 HIV-positive patients within two years. After a new state drug factory opens in 2006, Thailand s production capacity will be expanded to cover the target number of patients, Isr
GERMANY: Strong Rise in Syphilis Cases Reported in Germany: Agence France Presse (10.04.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Germany saw a 20 percent increase in the number of syphilis cases reported last year, the Berlin-based Robert Koch Institute said Monday. In 2003, 2,932 people were diagnosed with syphilis, up from 2,275 cases in 2002, RKI said in a report. Most of the syphilis cases were reported in major cities, particularly in the
CALIFORNIA: News Briefs from California's Central Coast: Associated Press (10.05.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; A TB-infected Mixtec Indian jailed in April after twice escaping from court-ordered quarantine has been cured and will be deported to Mexico later this week. On Monday, Superior Court Judge Brian Hall told the patient that his six-month TB treatment at the County Jail was finished. You are now safe to proceed with you
CALIFORNIA: Sexual Diseases Alert via the Net; New Health Department Program for Gays: San Francisco Chronicle (10.06.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Suzanne Herel; Debuting today, InSPOT (Internet Notification Service for Partners or Tricks) was designed to allow STD-infected gay men to take the initiative in notifying sex partners. However, the service is open to everyone. InSPOT, which is run by the local Internet Sexuality Information Services, is a response to a recent increa
CALIFORNIA: 'Not a Simple Answer' for Desert's Syphilis Problem: Desert Sun (10.03.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Brian Joseph; Despite a year of education and testing efforts, syphilis remains a serious public health problem in the Coachella Valley. As of the end of August, 73 syphilis cases were reported in Riverside County, compared to 78 during the same period for 2003. In both years, the majority of cases were recorded in the Coachella Val
UNITED STATES: Doctors' Group Urges Early Ob-Gyn Visit for Teens: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (10.05.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Michelle K. Massie; The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has recommended that teenage girls first visit an ob-gyn between ages 13 and 15 - ideally, before the initiation of sexual activity. The initial visit, however, would not necessarily include a gynecological or pelvic examination or a Pap test. We re setting
UNITED STATES: Spatial Analysis and Mapping of Sexually Transmitted Diseases to Optimize Intervention and Prevention Strategies: Sexually Transmitted Infections (08.04) Vol. 80; No. 4: P. 294-299 - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; D.C.G. Law; M.L. Serre; G. Christakos; P.A. Leone; W.C. Miller; In the current study, researchers used STD surveillance of four reportable STDs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, primary and secondary syphilis and HIV) to perform spatial analysis and mapping for Wake County, N.C., in order to optimize an intervention. The Wake County 2000 STD rates were mathematically represented as a spatial
CANADA: Region Helps Women in Sex Trade: The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) (10.06.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Carol Goodwin; At a meeting Tuesday, the regional community services committee co-chair said that the population of drug using female sex workers in the Waterloo Region, especially Cambridge, is increasing and will require help. Despite an 18- month initiative that provides support and health referrals to sex workers, more funding is
NEW JERSEY: Committee Approves Needle Exchange, Treatment Funding: Associated Press (10.04.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Legislation that would permit New Jersey municipalities to operate needle-exchange programs was approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee Monday, and $10 million was added to the measure for drug treatment programs. Democrats said the funding for drug treatment was added because of the need for inpatient and re
UNITED STATES: Flu Vaccine Shortage and Rationing Loom: Baltimore Sun (10.06.04) - Wednesday, October 06, 2004; Erika Niedowski; Dennis O'Brien; On Tuesday, US public health officials announced a plan to ration flu vaccine after learning that Chiron Corp. will not provide any of the 46 million to 48 million doses it had been expected to ship. This is very disappointing news that creates a serious challenge to our vaccine supply for the upcoming flu season, US S
UGANDA: Uganda Receives $70 Million for HIV/AIDS Projects: Reuters (10.01.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; An official with Uganda s Finance Ministry announced recently that the nation is receiving a $70 million grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The funding will be used to buy antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and for activities to prevent the spread of the virus, provide seed money to people living with H
RUSSIA: Tuberculosis Amounts to Epidemic in Russia Region: ITAR-TASS (10.05.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Valentin Pavlov; The TB rate in the southern Siberian Altai republic has reached 2.2 percent, above the threshold of an epidemic, Rimma Borovkova, a senior official at the regional TB clinic, said today. Borovkova attributed the extent of TB s spread to the region s low living standards and its large number of prisons. Altai s TB rate
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: United States to Supply Aid for HIV/AIDS Medicine: Miami Herald (10.05.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; The United States will give the Dominican Republic $28 million over the next three years to help the Caribbean country purchase HIV/AIDS medicines, President Leonel Fernandez said Monday. Around 228,000 of the Dominican Republic s 8.8 million population, or about 2.
OKLAHOMA: Report Criticizes Teen Lifestyles: Daily Oklahoman (10.01.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Jim Killackey; Findings from a survey of 1,400 high school students in 36 school districts across Oklahoma indicate that adolescents routinely engage in risky behavior that can jeopardize their health. The results, released Thursday, were especially critical of teenagers sexual, drinking and smoking activities. Fifty percent of state
ARIZONA: University of Arizona Conference to Address Global AIDS Challenges: Arizona Daily Wildcat (University of Arizona) (10.01.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Monica Warren; The University of Arizona chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign is hosting a free conference Oct. 9-10 to empower students as advocates in the global AIDS fight. The mission of our organization is to make student voices heard in the government, said Lauren Giesecke, a member of the UA chapter and national SGAC. T
NIGERIA: Knowledge of AIDS and HIV Risk-Related Sexual Behavior Among Nigerian Naval Personnel: BMC Public Health (06.04) Vol. 4; No. 24: doi:10.1186/1471- 2458-4-24 - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Ugboga Adaji Nwokoji; Ademola J. Ajuwon; Nigeria s HIV epidemic continues to grow, and Nigerian military personnel are at increased HIV risk. While the sexual risk-related behavior of Nigerian police has been studied, less is known about their naval counterparts. The current study describes the knowledge of AIDS and sexual risk behavior of naval personnel sta
MADAGASCAR: Churches Hamper Condom Campaign in Madagascar: Agence France Presse (10.01.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Patrick Mercier; The use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS is being promoted in Madagascar by the government and international groups, but opposition from church leaders is stymieing their efforts. I am firmly opposed to the use of the condom as a means of fighting AIDS, because it promotes promiscuity, said Armand Razafima
MADAGASCAR: Poverty Forcing Madagascan Girls into Prostitution: Reuters (10.04.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Tim Cocks; Of Madagascar s thousands of sex workers, UNICEF estimates 30- 50 percent are under age 18 - a greater proportion than in Cambodia - with many driven to the work by economic insecurity. The majority of them are 15 to 16, but there are some as young as 12, said Valerie Taton, UNICEF s child protection officer for Madaga
KENYA: Kenyan Company Signs Agreement with German Company to Make Drug to Combat AIDS, HIV Transmission from Mother to Child: Associated Press (10.01.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Tom Maliti; A Kenyan company has reached an agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to make generic versions of the AIDS drug nevirapine , it was announced Friday. Cosmos Ltd. signed the voluntary license agreement with the German pharmaceutical company to produce nevirapine for sale in Kenya,
SOUTH AFRICA: Third of Harmony Employees May Have HIV - Report: Business Day (10.04.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; John Fraser; Gold producer Harmony, in its annual report issued last week, estimated that up to one-third of its local workforce may be HIV-infected. The AIDS epidemic in South Africa poses risks to Harmony in terms of potentially reduced productivity and increased medical and other costs, the company said, adding it expects the i
SOUTH AFRICA: Apartheid Government Had AIDS Plan for South Africa - de Klerk: Reuters (10.04.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; A detailed plan by South Africa s last white government to fight HIV/AIDS was shelved by the country s new black leaders because it was tainted by apartheid, former President F.W. de Klerk told a group of pharmaceutical wholesalers Monday. That action plan, as [with] so many other good action plans and policy documents
UNITED STATES: House Boosts Abstinence-Only Funding: Washington Times (10.04.04) - Tuesday, October 05, 2004; Cheryl Wetzstein; The House of Representatives appropriation bill includes a 49 percent funding increase for abstinence education grants, but it is unclear when, or whether, the additional funds will be available. Congressional aides say the Senate has not passed its appropriation bill for the Department of Health and Social Services an
GEORGIA: 15 in Forsyth Positive for TB: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.02.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Doug Nurse; Fifteen Forsyth Central High School students recently tested positive in preliminary TB tests, but none shows active signs of the disease, said Dr. Melody Stancil, director of the health district. Students will receive a months-long drug regimen if X-rays taken this week reveal TB, she added. In mid-September, Georgia
TENNESSEE: State Sees Two-Year Record Low Drop in Teen Pregnancy: Associated Press (10.01.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Lucas L. Johnson II; Tennessee s teen pregnancy rate fell to a record low for the second consecutive year, according to the state Health Department, although a wide disparity exists between black and white teens. Overall, there were 13.9 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-17 in 2003, down from 14.1 in 2002 and 15.1 in 2001. For black girl
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Congress Urged on D.C. Needle Exchange: Washington Post (10.02.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) and A. Cornelius Baker, director of Whitman-Walker Clinic, have asked House and Senate negotiators to allow the District to spend locally raised tax dollars on needle-exchange programs. The request is part of the Senate s version of the District s pending $8.2 billion budg
RUSSIA: Two-Thirds of Russian Prisoners Seriously Ill: Official: Agence France Presse (10.04.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; According to Valdimir Yalunin, chief of the Russian justice ministry s penal department, about two-thirds of the nation s inmates suffer from mental illness, serious diseases ranging from AIDS to TB to syphilis, and drug and alcohol dependency. Over 120,000 prisoners suffer from mental conditions, 35,000 are HIV-positi
THAILAND: Methamphetamine Users in Northern Thailand: Changing Demographics and Risks for HIV and STD Among Treatment-Seeking Substance Abusers: International Journal of STD & AIDS (10.01.04) Vol. 15; No. 10: P. 697-704 - Monday, October 04, 2004; C. Beyrer, MD, MPH; M. H. Razak, MD, PhD; J. Jittiwutikarn, MD; V. Suriyanon, MD; T. Vongchak, MHS; N. Srirak, PhD; S. Kawichai, PhD; S. Tovanabutra, PhD; K. Rungruengthanakit, MHS; P. Sawanpanyalert, MD, PhD; T. Sripaipan, MHS; D.D. Celentano, ScD; In the current study, the authors sought to determine sociodemographic, sexual and drug-use related risk factors among methamphetamine (MA) users seeking drug treatment in northern Thailand . A cross-sectional study of patients admitted for drug detoxification for MA and other drugs for risk factors associated with sub
RWANDA: Rwanda's Rape Victims Denied Justice 10 Years After Genocide: Rights Group: Agence France Presse (09.30.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Human Rights Watch has charged the Rwandan government with failing to provide legal redress, medical assistance or counseling to tens of thousands of women raped - many of whom became HIV-infected - during and after the 1994 genocide. Women who were raped during the Rwandan genocide and afterwards are still struggling
ASIA: UN Agency Calls for 'Strong Leadership' to Fight AIDS in Asia: Agence France Presse (10.04.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Today in Tokyo, the executive director of UNAIDS urged Asian countries to exercise strong leadership to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The latest projections are frightening. An additional 10 million Asians will be infected by 2010 unless swift and decisive action is taken, Peter Piot told reporters during a visit to
MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique's Religious Leaders Urged to Join AIDS Battle: Agence France Presse (09.29.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Mozambique s diverse religious community must play a more active role in fighting the country s HIV epidemic, particularly since a dramatic increase in the number of AIDS orphans is expected in the coming years, UNICEF officials warned Wednesday. The call to action came at a two-day conference in Maputo organized by UN
ASIA: UN Warns on South Asia Child Sex: BBC News (09.29.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; UNICEF recently warned that the South Asian trade of an estimated 500,000 women and children, many for sex-related work, is growing out of control. Much of the problem could be stopped tomorrow if men said no to child sex, UNICEF Regional Director Sadig Rasheed said in Sri Lanka .
CALIFORNIA: Samoa Makes Deal with Researchers; University Will Share Profits if Cloned Gene Works in AIDS Fight: San Francisco Chronicle (10.01.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; Kelly St. John; On Thursday, University of California-Berkeley researchers announced an agreement with the Samoan government that allows the university to clone mamala tree bark for use in AIDS drug exploration. The deal affirms the island nation s sovereignty over the genetic sequence of prostratin, derived from mamala tree bark; gua
MARYLAND: Feds Reward State for Decline in Unwed Mothers: Associated Press (10.01.04) - Monday, October 04, 2004; The federal government has awarded Maryland $25 million in recognition of a reduction in births to unwed mothers. State Human Resources Secretary Christopher McCabe said the money will be used to help poor families and children. New York, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., also received $25 million bonuses. The US Dep
REPUBLIC OF KOREA: AIDS Prevention Awareness Hits Korea: Korea Times (10.01.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; On Thursday, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans to broadcast TV ads for condoms in October to promote their use against AIDS. Health centers around the country will supply condoms to anyone who requests them, the agency said; it will also hire public relations experts for a national cam
RUSSIA: Expert Concerned over Growing AIDS Victims in Russia: ITAR-TASS (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Eduard Vasilyev; Some 292,000 HIV-infected people have been registered in Russia this year, an increase of 50,000 over last year, Vadim Pokrovsky, Russia s premier AIDS expert, said at an international AIDS conference that began Thursday in Suzdal. The actual number infected may exceed official figures by four times, said Pokrovsky, wh
TAJIKISTAN: AIDS Global Fund Allocates $8 Million to Tajikistan to Fight AIDS: ITAR-TASS (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Galina Gridneva; Valery Zhukov; On Thursday, Tajikistan s national AIDS director said the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has approved more than $8 million for the country s AIDS fight. The aid is well timed, said Amirdzhon Mirzoyev, as the country s number of patients has passed an estimated 300 in recent months. In addition to transmissio
MAINE: State Seeks Comments on Managing HIV Care: Bangor Daily News (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; The Maine Bureau of Health is soliciting participation and comments for a public HIV/AIDS hearing that will help guide the bureau in planning Ryan White-funded services. The hearing will be held Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1-4 p.m. For more information, telephone the AdCare Educational Institute of Maine Inc., 207-626-3615.
FLORIDA: Group Enlisting Churches in AIDS Battle: Orlando Sentinel (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Debbie Barr; No Longer Bound is a nonprofit ministry of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church that provides youth services and an HIV/AIDS outreach, education and prevention program for under- served black people in Orlando. NLB scored a victory for AIDS awareness during a recent It s Better to Know! event when it brought in Bis
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Stuck on Prevention; A Needle Exchange Program Aims to Give Users a Better Shot at Survival: Washington Post (09.26.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Jose Antonio Vargas; Twenty-one people recently lined up outside a Winnebago at a street corner in the District of Columbia, where Ron Daniels offered them the needle-exchange services of Prevention Works!, a program that operates with private, local funding. By 5:30 p.m., Daniels had already collected over 3,000 dirty needles from more th
UNITED STATES: Reproductive Health: Cultural, Economic, Social Factors Influence Hispanics' Need for Services: AIDS Weekly (09.27.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Several articles in the July/August issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (2004;36(4)) identify gaps in cultural sensitivity and prevention programming and services for US Hispanics. *Authors who interviewed pregnancy prevention practitioners found few programs were specifically designed for Hispanic
SOUTH AFRICA: Cellphones Join Battle Against HIV/AIDS: Business Day (09.29.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Tamar Kahn; The Hannan Crusaid treatment center, which has a caseload of 525 HIV patients in Cape Town s Guguletu township, is on the verge of becoming a paperless operation, thanks to an innovative application of cell phone technology. Cape-based Cell-Life has developed software and data management systems that enable Hannan s ca
SOUTH AFRICA: Six Percent of Woolworths' Staff Infected: Business Day (09.29.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Tamar Kahn; Approximately 6 percent of food and clothing retailer Woolworths 13,500 employees in South Africa are HIV-positive, company medical consultant Dr. Tony Davidson told a seminar on HIV/AIDS and business hosted by Metropolitan AIDS Solutions. And according to the most recent actuarial assessments, HIV prevalence among Woo
SOUTH AFRICA: Democratic Alliance Concerned About HIV/AIDS Troops: Business Day (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Wyndham Hartley; A high number of HIV-infected soldiers may be compromising the South African National Defense Force s battle-readiness, Rafeek Shah, defense spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance party, said Wednesday. Shah s statements followed a report by Jane s Defence Weekly that SANDF lacks the operational capacity to carry out
CALIFORNIA: Governor Vetoes Plan's Canadian Drugs, Offers Alternative: Associated Press (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Tom Chorneau; On Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed three bills that would have made it easier for Californians to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada . One measure would have authorized the state to buy such drugs for multibillion-dollar state programs serving prison inmates and recipients of Medi- Cal, California s
UNITED STATES: Most Gay Men with HIV Practice Safer Sex - US Study: Reuters (09.30.04) - Friday, October 01, 2004; Paul Simao; According to a new CDC study released Thursday, most HIV- infected gay and bisexual men in the United States are taking steps to avoid transmitting the virus. The study was conducted between May 2000 and December 2002 in 16 states; it surveyed 1,923 people, all of whom were gay or bisexual men diagnosed with HIV for lo
CANADA: AIDS Walk Nets Over $17,000: Daily Herald-Tribune (Grand Prairie, Alberta) (09.27.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Jeff Korenko; On Sunday, 150 people gathered at Muskoseepi Park to take part in the 9th annual HIV North Society AIDS Walk for Life. The event raised $17,130 (US$13,590), all of which will go toward regional HIV services, said Brenda Moore, executive director of the HIV North Society. According to Moore, about 100 Peace County resid
AFRICA: Bono Calls Africa AIDS, Poverty a Crisis: Associated Press (09.30.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Ed Johnson; Speaking to delegates attending the governing Labour Party s annual conference in Brighton, rock star Bono on Wednesday called on Europe and the United States to do more to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa. Bono said 6,500 Africans are dying a day of treatable, preventable disease, dying for want of medicines you a
CHINA: Female-Condom Maker Courts China: Agence France Presse (09.29.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; The US-based Female Health Company announced Wednesday that it has signed a letter of agreement with Beijing Zizhu Pharmaceutical Co. to distribute its female condom in China through aid groups and on the open market. The firms plan to partner with nongovernmental groups on market research in 2005, according to Mary An
CHINA: China to Set Up Nationwide Intervention Teams to Prevent AIDS Transmission: Xinhua News Agency (09.30.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; On Wednesday, China s Health Ministry announced that disease prevention and control centers nationwide will set up intervention teams to reduce HIV/AIDS among high-risk populations. Teams will be established by October, said the ministry, and will work mainly among injection drug users, sex workers and homosexuals. The
NEW JERSEY: Learning Their Way; 'The Zone' Keeps Suspended Students Off Streets: The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) (09.28.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Zinnia Faruque; The Pilgrimage Outreach Ministries in Paterson has run the Zone Alternative Program for seven years to help students suspended from school for violent behavior make better life decisions. As part of the three-day workshops students attend, counselor Isaiah Jenkins Jr. discusses HIV and other STDs. Other viruses go thei
TENNESSEE: Survey Finds Risky Behavior Among Students: Commercial Appeal (09.28.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Ruma Banerji Kumar; A survey of 1,729 students from 32 Memphis middle and high schools on the behaviors and attitudes that put teenagers at risk found that 63.5 percent reported having had sexual intercourse and nearly a third have had four or more sexual partners. At least a quarter of Memphis high school students drank alcohol prior to
UNITED KINGDOM: Study Suggests Hepatitis B Vaccine Increases Risk of Multiple Sclerosis: British Medical Journal (09.25.04) Vol. 329; No. 7468: P.703 - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Owen Dyer; People vaccinated against hepatitis B were at three times greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) over the following three years, according to a new study. Harvard School of Public Health researcher Dr. Miguel Hern�n and colleagues analyzed the General Practice Research Database, which follows a representati
CANADA: HIV Clinic Planned for Guelph: Guelph Mercury (09.29.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Joanne Shuttleworth; A Guelph family physician brought the opening of a regional HIV clinic one step closer Tuesday at the Guelph General Hospital Board of Commissioners meeting. There, Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik asked the board to sponsor an HIV clinic that would serve a wide southwestern region including Wellington, Dufferin, Grey and Bruce
CANADA: Syphilis Outbreak Second in Two Years: Male Victims Unable to Identify Female Partners: Edmonton Journal (09.30.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Susan Ruttan; Since June, there have been 18 syphilis cases in the Edmonton region, with another seven awaiting confirmation, according to Dr. Ameeta Singh, medical director of Capital Health s STD center. From the mid-1980s until 2000, Alberta had no syphilis cases, Singh said. Calgary experienced an outbreak, but it was eventually
GLOBAL: Pope Again Stresses Chastity to Fight AIDS' Spread; Praises Drug-Makers Who Keep AIDS Medicines at Low Cost: Associated Press (09.29.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; On Wednesday in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II again stressed the Catholic Church s teaching that abstinence is the best way to stop the sexual spread of HIV. In a written message for the Church s World Day of the Sick, the pope described AIDS as a pathology of the spirit as well as a disease. Sexually transmitted cas
MICHIGAN: Michigan Prisons Get $1.2 Million to Test for Hepatitis C: Lansing State Journal (09.30.04) - Thursday, September 30, 2004; Stacey Range; On Wednesday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed legislation that provides $1.2 million for a new hepatitis C testing and treatment program for inmates in Michigan s 42 prisons. It is the first step in the state s plan to fight the spread of the disease among prisoners. By controlling the disease among the inmate population
DELAWARE: Remembering AIDS Victims: Wilmington News Journal (09.27.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Robin Brown; More than 2,000 walkers participated in Sunday s 18th annual Delaware AIDS Walk. The 5K event began in Rockford Park. When donations are tallied this week, said AIDS Delaware Executive Director John Baker, the walk is expected to have met its goal of raising $100,000 for local HIV/AIDS programs and services.
ARKANSAS: Health Department: Four Employees Inappropriately Received Money: Associated Press (09.29.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; An Arkansas Department of Health audit has determined that four employees were inappropriately paid a total of $17,566.66 through an AIDS division travel expense account. The nonprofit Fort Smith Fights AIDS, which receives federal money via the Health Department, had access to the account. But the account was designed
EUROPE: European Center for Disease Prevention and Control Opens in Stockholm: Agence France Presse (09.27.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; On Monday, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne opened the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm. Infectious diseases can pose a deadly threat and they do not respect national borders, Byrne said in a statement. This new EU agency will enable Europe to be better
NEW YORK: Effort Targets HIV/AIDS; University at Albany Conference Focuses on Preventing Illness Among Minorities: Times-Union (09.28.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Breea Willingham; A two-day conference on HIV/AIDS prevention in the black and Hispanic communities is scheduled to begin Wednesday at the University at Albany. The aim is to get a handle on the disconnect of faith-based organizations, health-care providers and the HIV/AIDS community to see how these players network and how they facilit
TEXAS: Prostitute May Agree to Treatment: Amarillo Globe News (09.28.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Greg Cunningham; On Monday, Amarillo City Attorney Marcus Norris said an HIV- positive prostitute may be willing to voluntarily undergo treatment and counseling to prevent her from spreading the virus. Following the recommendation of health officials, Norris office last week filed a suit asking a civil court to order the woman, identif
AUSTRALIA: Sexually Transmitted Disease: Patients Prefer Website-Based Strategy for Sexual Partner Notification: AIDS Weekly (09.06.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; In the current study, the authors sought to determine the estimated proportion of contactable sexual partners, the most common types of contact information available and the most acceptable contact tracing strategies for our clients. According to J.E. Tomnay and coauthors, 500 walk-in clients filled out a questionnaire
MADAGASCAR: Madagascar to Distribute 15 Million Free Condoms: Reuters (09.28.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; A senior official with Madagascar s national AIDS committee said Tuesday the large island nation plans to distribute 15 million free condoms next year as part of a campaign to promote safe sex and control the spread of HIV/AIDS. The cheapest accessible condoms are the Protector brand, but at a cost of 500 Fmg (five US
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Church Says Condoms Unchristian: Reuters (09.28.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; A leaflet distributed this week by the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia said that condoms should not be used to fight HIV/AIDS because they are neither Christian nor reliable. Our church does not condone the campaign to use condoms against HIV/AIDS because such practices are unchristian and are not permitted under the ethic
ETHIOPIA: Abduction and Rape of Young Girls for Marriage Common in Rural Ethiopia, Victims and Aid Workers Say: Associated Press (09.24.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Anthony Mitchell; UNICEF estimates that more than 70 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are initiated through the abduction of young girls, and male dominance and stigma against the victims often allow the perpetrators to go unpunished. While such abductions in African countries are typically committed during war, they have long been a ma
UNITED STATES: Cost of AIDS Therapy Out of Reach for Many: Washington Blade (09.24.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Phil Lapadula; In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved Sculptra, a new treatment for the facial wasting that can be a side effect of HIV drugs. Its maker, Dermik Laboratories of Berwyn, Pa., set the US price at almost four times the price in Europe, where it has been used since 1999. Sculptra sells for $125 per bottle in
GLOBAL: After 20 Years, AIDS Vaccine Still Seems a Distant Dream: USA Today (09.29.04) - Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Steve Sternberg; HIV vaccine research is at a crossroads, as once-promising approaches have proved disappointing and uncertainty lingers as to where to go next. This was reiterated by discouraging results announced this month at the 2004 AIDS Vaccine Conference in Switzerland and in July at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Ban
MICHIGAN: Funds Help Low-Income, AIDS Victims: Detroit News (09.24.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Lynne Meredith Schreiber; The Department of Housing and Urban Development hopes the more than $96 million recently earmarked for Michigan will help provide down payments for lower-income families and assist people with HIV/AIDS in finding housing. HUD s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grants, which are distributed based on the numbe
ESTONIA: Estonian Parliament Committee Proposes to Set Up AIDS Commission: Baltic News Service (09.27.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Responding to concerns that Estonia has underestimated the threat of AIDS and lacks a clear strategy for fighting it, an ad hoc committee of Parliament has called for the creation of an AIDS commission. This new body, comprising representatives of the government and volunteer and youth groups, will be charged with coor
LOUISIANA: Skits Address Teen Issues: Times-Picayune (09.26.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Johanna Schindler; On Sept. 22 in Gretna, students at Archbishop Blenk High School for girls watched Teens Not Gone Wild, a program of skits performed by five senior nursing students from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. The three individual skits addressed violence against women, alcohol and its effect on sexual behavi
CALIFORNIA: Birth Rate for Teens in Berkeley a State Low: Oakland Tribune (09.23.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Kristin Bender; Berkeley was ranked California s most teenager-healthy city because it has the state s lowest teen pregnancy rate and a health center that readily hands out advice and condoms, according to a recently released study. Berkeley scored at the top of 55 California cities with populations of 100,000 or more, according to th
CALIFORNIA: Clean-Needle Law Heartens Fresno Officials, Who See High Drug Use: Associated Press (09.25.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Juliana Barbassa; A new California law that allows pharmacies to sell up to 10 syringes without a prescription is an overdue measure that will help reduce blood-borne diseases, said Central Valley health officials and drug treatment counselors. While weaning IV drug users from dependency remains difficult, the measure could help prevent
MARYLAND: Maryland General Hospital in Compliance: Associated Press (09.28.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; The laboratory at Maryland General Hospital - where faulty lab equipment produced about 450 suspect HIV and hepatitis tests from June 2002 through August 2003 - has taken corrective action and is now in compliance with Medicare regulations, according to federal regulators. Earlier this year, workers had sent out HIV an
BRAZIL: Prevalence and Risk Behaviors for Chlamydial Infection in a Population-Based Study of Female Adolescents in Brazil: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (09.04) Vol. 31; No. 9: P. 542- 546 - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Angelica Espinoza Miranda, MD, PhD; Celia Landmann Szwarcwald, PhD; Renata Lyrio Peres; Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH; As adolescents are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancy, prevention activities are of significant public health importance in this population. In the current study, the researchers sought to identify behavioral, demographic and clinical factors for STIs, and determine the prevale
CHINA: Doctor Works to Fight 'Plague of the Century' in China: Houston Chronicle (09.26.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Eric Berger; In a visit last week to Houston, AIDS drug cocktail innovator Dr. David Ho said that countries like China that face a growing AIDS epidemic should circulate disease information and focus on changing behavior while the world searches for an AIDS vaccine. Asked if a vaccine would be required for eradicating HIV worldwide
UGANDA: HIV/AIDS Rate Soars in War-Torn Northern Uganda: Reuters (09.27.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Daniel Wallis; The rate of HIV/AIDS in northern Uganda is nearly double that of the rest of the country due to an 18-year war with the insurgent Lord s Resistance Army, a new report by the Christian aid agency World Vision said Monday. National prevalence rates for Uganda are estimated at 6.2 percent and declining, but rates in war-a
NEW MEXICO: New Mexico Shifts Focus of Efforts to Prevent HIV/AIDS: Santa Fe New Mexican (09.26.04) - Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Deborah Davis; The state Health Department is shifting its HIV/AIDS prevention efforts to focus intervention and counseling on New Mexicans already living with the virus, as well as high-risk populations - gay men, IV drug users, sex workers and heterosexuals with bisexual partners. People living with HIV is a priority population for
LESOTHO: Lesotho Benefits from Prince Harry's AIDS Documentary: Agence France Presse (09.23.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; The United Kingdom s deputy high commissioner to Lesotho , Mark Watchorn, announced that the British Red Cross has set up a fund for people in Lesotho who have AIDS. The fund s creation comes concurrently with ITV s screening of Prince Harry s documentary about AIDS in the African kingdom. The fund was created the requ
AFRICA: Nigeria Equips African Teachers with HIV/AIDS Combat Knowledge: Xinhua News Agency (09.23.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Nigeria s government, and the National Universities Commission have partnered in a pilot training of university teachers to educate students about HIV/AIDS, NUC s Executive Secretary Peter Okebukola said Thursday in Lagos. The first pilot in Nigeria enrolled 5,0
TEXAS: Fort Bend Health Officials to Test Students for TB: Houston Chronicle (09.25.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; La Monica Everett-Haynes; After learning that a student at Austin High School has been diagnosed with TB, Fort Bend County Health and Human Services will test students and faculty Tuesday for exposure to the disease. Results from those skin tests should be available in about two days. The health department notified parents of Austin High studen
GEORGIA: Middle Georgia Teen Centers Don't Expect New Rules to Affect Operations: Macon Telegraph (09.25.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Andy Peters; It appears unlikely that teens accessing state-funded centers in Macon, Warner Robbins, Dublin and Sparta will notice many operational changes after Georgia s recent approval of new rules for the centers. On Wednesday, the state Board of Human Resources ruled that the centers - which were founded in 1997 as a way to re
TEXAS: City Sues Prostitute to Get HIV Treatment: Amarillo Globe-News (09.25.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Greg Cunningham; On Wednesday, the office of Amarillo City Attorney Marcus Norris filed a civil suit to compel an HIV-positive woman to seek treatment and stop spreading the virus. We believe that by her conduct, she poses a health threat to the community, and so we re going to have to try to get the court to intervene and help, said N
UNITED STATES: Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in a Rural Community in the United States: American Journal of Epidemiology (09.15.04) Vol. 160; No. 6: P. 582-588 - Monday, September 27, 2004; Tedd V. Ellerbrock; Sandra Chamblee; Timothy J. Bush; Johnny W. Johnson; Bryan J. Marsh; Pam Lowell; Robert J. Trenschel; C. Fordham von Reyn; Linda S. Johnson; C. Robert Horsburgh, Jr.; An increasing proportion of US persons with HIV live in the South, and the region accounts for most cases of AIDS among rural residents. In 1986, a population-based survey of HIV infection in Belle Glade, a rural community in western Palm Beach County, Fla., found HIV prevalence was 3.2 percent (28/877). A history of S
AFRICA: Unable to Get Western Medicines, African Patients with HIV Seek Out Herbal Remedies: Associated Press (09.21.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Chris Tomlinson; Without access to AIDS drugs, increasing numbers of HIV- infected Africans are turning to traditional healers seeking treatment for everything from stomach aches to tuberculosis. In rural Kenya , there are no indications that government and drug company pledges to provide HIV treatment will soon result in improved care
AFRICA: Lewis Applauds Clinic's 'Great Accomplishment': The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) (09.24.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Anne Kelly; Pressure and momentum from the efforts of individuals, organizations and governments in Africa to finally treat people with HIV/AIDS provide glimmers of hope to Stephen Lewis, UN s special envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa. Co-founded by Waterloo locals Stephen and Sylvia Scott, who grew up in Kenya , the Matangwe Co
KENYA: AIDS Awareness Thrust of Talk: The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) (09.27.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Anne Kelly; About 50 community leaders in Matangwe, Kenya , watched a video about AIDS, received a free meal, and saw a condom demonstration recently during the first of a series of AIDS awareness sessions at Kenya s Matangwe Community Health Centre. Participants - including village elders, members of women s groups, traditional m
WYOMING: Health Department Plans to End Enrollments for AIDS/HIV Program: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (09.24.04) - Monday, September 27, 2004; Michelle Dynesrep; After Sept. 30, HIV/AIDS patients will no longer be able to enroll in care and drug assistance programs with the Wyoming Department of Health. Rising costs are to blame, said Kurt Galbraith, the department s HIV/AIDS coordinator. Patients already in the system will continue to get service, although some program offerin
GEORGIA: TB Diagnosed in Forsyth County 11th-Grader: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.24.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Doug Nurse; Georgia Health Department officials have diagnosed an 11th- grader at Forsyth Central High School as having TB. The student has not attended school since Sept. 9, when he tested positive for TB after visiting a private physician. District Public Health Director Dr. Melody Stancil said it may take up to a month to det
OKLAHOMA: AIDS Walk Tops $25,000: Daily Oklahoman (09.22.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Almost 1,000 people raised more than $25,000 at this year s Oklahoma City AIDS Walk, held Sept. 19 at the Myriad Botanical Gardens. The total was nearly $10,000 above proceeds from last year s event, and the number of walkers increased by 400, said Danny Morton, chairperson of AIDS Walk. Morton said corporate partner t
WASHINGTON: Planned Parenthood Opens South Hill 'Express Clinic': Spokesman Review (09.22.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Carla K. Johnson; Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest has opened an express clinic in Spokane s South Hill that offers birth control pills and limited STD testing. It does not perform abortions or vasectomies. The agency plans to open similar clinics based on an analysis of client ZIP codes - a trend among Planned Parenthood agen
UNITED STATES: Senate Includes Sudan Aid in $19.6 Billion Bill: Associated Press (09.23.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Alan Fram; Among the items approved by the Senate Thursday as part of next year s foreign aid bill, $2.4 billion will go to help fight AIDS in Africa and other poor countries - $220 million more than proposed by President Bush. Some of that money is also slated for TB and malaria control.
NEW YORK: Homeless Reduction Plan; Mayor Looks Beyond Shelters: Newsday (09.23.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Bryan Virasami; Making what he described as a dramatic shift away from the emergency shelter mindset, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday announced details of an initiative that is part of his five-year plan to end chronic homelessness in New York City. In addition, the city unveiled a new program to provide HIV testing for single me
TEXAS: Parents to Be Alerted About Sex Ed Course: Dallas Morning News (09.22.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Valerie Fields Hill; Responding to concerns over content in a sex-education course, Grapevine-Colleyville school administrators have agreed to notify hundreds of middle-school parents before their children take the course. The district also moved to add more residents to the health education advisory committee that determines what material
UNITED STATES: STD Care: Variation in Clinical Care Associated with Provider Sex, Patient Sex, Patients' Self-Reported Symptoms or High-Risk Behaviors, Partner STD History: Social Science & Medicine (09.04) Vol. 59; No. 5: P. 1011-1018 - Friday, September 24, 2004; Janet S. St. Lawrence; Wen-Hung Kuo; Matthew Hogben; Daniel E. Monta�o; Danuta Kasprzyk; William R. Phillips; Though sexually transmitted diseases in the United States are commonly diagnosed by both private and public physicians, little is known about the decision processes that these providers employ when faced with patients who may or may not be infected. The researchers sought to address this gap by comparing physicians re
CANADA: Safe Injection Site Visited by 600 Users Daily 'Exceeding Expectations:' Report: Canadian Press (09.23.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Jeremy Hainsworth; North America s first safe injection facility for IV drug users, Insite in Vancouver s Downtown Eastside, is exceeding expectations in terms of client volume and satisfaction, said Vancouver Coastal Health CEO Ida Goudreau. A report prepared by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Providence Healt
INDIA: Stricter Anti-AIDS Measures Needed for Indian Blood Banks: Minister: Agence France Presse (09.24.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Today in Madras, Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss called for expanded efforts to reduce the number of people in India who contract HIV through contaminated blood transfusions. India needs rigorous testing to ensure that HIV-infected blood does not slip through screening, he said. In the 1990s, 8 percent of ne
GLOBAL: Glaxo AIDS Drugs to Be Tested in Topical Form, as Microbicide: Wall Street Journal (09.24.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; Marilyn Chase; The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) said it has reached a deal with GlaxoSmithKline PLC to test several of Glaxo s proprietary AIDS medicines as compounds blended into a cream or gel that could protect millions of vulnerable women throughout the developing world. Glaxo, based in London, produces top-se
NEW JERSEY: Needle Exchange Gets First Legislative Test: Associated Press (09.23.04) - Friday, September 24, 2004; John J. McAlpin; Following years of delay, New Jersey legislators on Thursday approved bills to allow communities to operate needle-exchange programs and to permit small numbers of syringes to be sold over-the-counter in pharmacies. The measures will now go to the full Assembly for a vote. New Jersey is one of only two states with neit
UTAH: Zion Lodge Worker Treated for Tuberculosis: Associated Press (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; Jeff D Arpa, manager of Zion Lodge in Zion National Park, confirmed that an employee of the lodge has been hospitalized for TB treatment. The employee had been in the hospital for about two weeks before the TB case was confirmed, he said. The patient s family members, friends and co-workers have been notified and are b
RUSSIA: International Space Station 10th Expedition Crew to Conduct Experiment on AIDS Vaccine: ITAR-TASS (09.23.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; Yelena Zubtsova; Today at a press conference in Star City, cosmonauts revealed that the crew of the 10th main expedition to the International Space Station will conduct experiments in orbit to develop an AIDS vaccine and prepare for interplanetary flights. The vaccine experiment with proteins from which the anti-AIDS medicine is planne
GUINEA-BISSAU: More HIV/AIDS Cases Predicted in Guinea-Bissau in 2005: Xinhua News Agency (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; Around 43,000 people ages 15-25 in Guinea-Bissau are HIV- infected, and health authorities estimate there will be 50,000 new HIV cases in 2005, Odete Semedo, the West African nation s minister of public health, said Wednesday at the opening of an AIDS prevention conference in Bissau. As in most other African countries,
VIETNAM: Vietnam Reports over 83,400 HIV Carriers: Xinhua News Agency (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; By August 2004, more than 83,400 HIV-positive Vietnamese were detected in 93 percent of the country s districts, the local newspaper Youth reported Wednesday. Of those cases, 13,124 progressed to AIDS, 7,455 people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and 56 percent were drug addicts. To slow the epidemic, Vietnam will spen
EUROPE: Surveillance Systems for STIs in the European Union: Facing a Changing Epidemiology: Sexually Transmitted Infections (08.04) Vol. 80: P. 264-271 - Thursday, September 23, 2004; C.M. Lowndes; K.A. Fenton; In the current study, researchers sought to characterize the nature, content and performance characteristics of existing national sexually transmitted infection (STI) systems in the European Union and Norway and to facilitate collection of corresponding data. The cross-sectional survey used a structured questionnaire.
GLOBAL: UNICEF Seeks $1 Billion to Help AIDS Orphans: Agence France Presse (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; UNICEF plans to launch a six-year campaign to raise $1 billion to tackle the projected increase in the number of AIDS orphans, the agency s HIV/AIDS advisor Peter McDermott said Wednesday. Our target is to reach 10 million orphans and assist them to get access to schools, have food, and meet other needs, McDermott said
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Up 6 Percent in South Africa, Seen Stabilizing: Reuters (09.23.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; The number of South Africans infected with HIV rose to 5.6 million in 2003 - up 6 percent from 5.3 million in 2002 - but a stabilizing infection rate among the country s teenagers indicates the epidemic may be leveling off, the Department of Health said in a report released today. The findings of the 2003 antenatal sur
UTAH: American Indian Center, Harm Reduction Project to Track HIV/AIDS Cases: Associated Press (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; Suspecting that HIV/AIDS cases among Utah s Native American population may be underreported, health officials are hoping a new federal grant will allow them to get a more accurate picture of the epidemic. The Indian Walk-in Center in Salt Lake City and the Harm Reduction Project received a $330,000 CDC grant to begin a
NAVAJO NATION: Proposal Would Force Treatment of Communicable Diseases: Associated Press (09.21.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; The Navajo Nation Council s Ethics and Rules Committee has approved a proposal that expands an old tuberculosis commitment statute to cover other communicable diseases, including AIDS and syphilis, plus substance abuse and mental health problems. Navajos have fought to control rising syphilis and AIDS cases on their re
GLOBAL: A Point Well Taken; One-Use Plastic Needles Would Limit Spread of Disease: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.22.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; David Wahlberg; The hypodermic needle has delivered medicines to millions worldwide, but it also plays a role in spreading diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that the 16 billion injections administered annually in developing countries cause 21 million cases of hepatitis B, 2 million cases of hepatitis C and 260,000 case
GEORGIA: State's Teen Centers Win Reprieve: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.23.04) - Thursday, September 23, 2004; Craig Schneider; On Wednesday, a vote by the state Human Resources Board to continue funding Georgia s teen centers ended speculation that the 30 facilities might close. Each center will receive about $150,000 through the end of the fiscal year in July. But the board created new rules for the centers, 20 of which currently dispense con
FLORIDA: Low-Cost Housing Receives $7 Million: Bradenton Herald (09.21.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Ray Joseph; The Florida counties of Manatee and Sarasota on Monday received $7 million in federal Housing and Urban Development funds to be used for affordable housing programs and economic development. Among the disbursements, $397,000 is to go to the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program for Sarasota, which provide
KENTUCKY: Desmond Tutu's Daughter Urges More Action on AIDS: Louisville Courier-Journal (09.18.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Gregory A. Hall; On Friday at the Louisville Free Public Library, the Rev. Mpho Tutu called on the United States to make a larger contribution to the global fight against AIDS. Whole generations are being killed by this disease, said Mpho, the daughter of South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu. She said the United States should incr
TEXAS: Dobie TB Results Expected: Houston Chronicle (09.21.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Ruth Rendon; Results of TB tests administered to more than 350 Dobie High School students and faculty are expected by week s end, said Rita Obey, spokesperson for Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services. Testing was initiated after a student at the southeast Houston school was diagnosed with TB earlier this month.
KENYA: GlaxoSmithKline Allows Kenyan Firm to Make Cheap AIDS Drugs: Agence France Presse (09.22.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; On Wednesday in Nairobi, pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) signed an agreement with Cosmos Limited that allows the Kenyan firm to make generics containing zidovudine and lamivudine and market the drugs in East Africa, including in Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi .
MASSACHUSETTS: Police Seek Charges in Alleged Unlicensed Needle Exchange Program: Associated Press (09.21.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; In Springfield, police officials said they are seeking charges against two members of the nonprofit Arise for Social Justice for allegedly operating an unlicensed needle-exchange program. Arise was one of a number of groups involved in August rallies in five cities, including Springfield, in support of a state bill tha
UNITED STATES: AIDS-Dementia Link; Patients Lack Dopamine: Newsday (09.21.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Jamie Talan; For the first time in living AIDS patients with early indications of dementia , scientists have detected depletion of the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine depletion is more commonly associated with Parkinson s, not dementia. The scientists compared brain scans of 15 AIDS patients, some of whom had signs of dementia, w
JAPAN: Tokyo Official Wants Law to Limit Youth Sex: Reuters (09.21.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Tokyo Vice Governor Yutaka Takehana, the city s top law-and- order official, has proposed a law to make parents in the city legally responsible for keeping their school-age children from having sex. The legal age of consent in Tokyo is already 18. However, 20- 30 percent of Japanese 16-year-olds have had sex, and almos
SWAZILAND: Swazi Girls' HIV Rate Surprises: Chicago Tribune (09.17.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Laurie Goering; A recent UNICEF study of Swazi females ages 15-18 found only 6 percent were HIV-infected rather than the government s estimated 32.5 percent. The researchers attributed the lower rate to a generational shift in perceptions about HIV/AIDS, a change that may be occurring in other African countries. It s a surprise, said
UGANDA: Uganda's HIV Success Questioned: BBC News (09.22.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Will Ross; With an official HIV prevalence rate of only 6 percent, Uganda is often spotlighted as a success story in the fight against AIDS. But new research, conducted in districts across the country, suggests the true rate is much worse. We have found the prevalence rate at this time is 17 percent, said Major Rubaramira Rurang
MYANMAR: Thailand Donates Condoms, Medicines to Myanmar: Associated Press (09.22.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Today in Yangon, Myanmar s capital, Thai health officials delivered AIDS drugs and 1 million condoms, according to a Thai government statement. It quoted Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan as saying the donation - valued at $242,000 - will ease Thailand s financial strain at having to provide treatment for up to
GEORGIA: State May Close Teen Centers: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.22.04) - Wednesday, September 22, 2004; Craig Schneider; The fate of 30 Georgia teen centers that rely mostly on federal funding channeled through the state may be decided today during a state Human Resources Board meeting. Started in 1997 to fight Georgia s high teen pregnancy rate, the centers offer STD and pregnancy testing, physicals, counseling and immunizations. Ni
NEW JERSEY: Some Nutley High School Students Get TB Tests: Associated Press (09.20.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Jeffrey Gold; At Nutley High School in Nutley, 281 students and about 12 staff members are to be tested for TB. The testing follows a staff member s diagnosis with TB, according Principal Joseph Zarra. News of the infection was revealed in a Sept. 13 letter to parents, students and staff. The school has about 1,200 students in four
NIGERIA: Majority of Nigerians Think HIV/AIDS Not Real: Official: Xinhua News Agency (09.20.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Ninety percent of Nigerians know about HIV/AIDS, but only 20 percent believe it is real, Babatunde Osotimehin, chair of the National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (NACA), told reporters Monday in Lagos. He said NACA will boost its awareness campaign by raising the number of information- dissemination agents from 20 to
ZAMBIA: US Earmarks $34 Million for Zambia's AIDS Project: Xinhua News Agency (09.21.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Zambia s Daily Mail newspaper reported today that the United States has earmarked $34 million for a community-based Zambian AIDS project that will run for six years. The money is from President Bush s emergency plan for AIDS relief and will be used for a new project called RAPIDS (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with
GLOBAL: TB Set to Be Global Scourge Again, Models Predict: Reuters (09.19.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Two recent studies by US researchers found that forms of multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are at an epidemic tipping-point globally and, with only small changes, could easily become more commonly spread. The reports follow another published last week that said the World Health Organization s efforts to con
CAMEROON: Missouri University Spearheads AIDS Research in Cameroon: Associated Press (09.17.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Margaret Stafford; Dr. Carole McArthur, professor of oral biology at University of Missouri-Kansas City, is the organizer and director of the US- Cameroon Health Program, which focuses on HIV screening at more than a dozen sites in Cameroon. Many challenges confront her work: distance; a lack of funding, equipment, facilities and trained
INDIA: Half of Indian Women Married Off by 15: Government: Agence France Presse (09.17.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Half of Indian women ages 20-24 were married by the time they were 15 years old, despite the fact that the legal age of marriage for females is 18 years, according to the Health Ministry s recent Country Report on Population and Development. The legal marrying age for males is 21 years, and few males marry in adolescen
THAILAND: Government Targets Teen HIV Boom: The Nation (Thailand) (09.18.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Almost 60,000 Thai teenagers are living with HIV/AIDS, prompting the government to work to reduce the number of new HIV infections among youths starting next year, said Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan. This year, 71,157 Thais ages 10-24 will become infected with HIV, said Sudarat. In 2005, the ministry aims t
ANGOLA: In Postwar Era, Angolans Now Face Threat of HIV-AIDS: Washington Post (09.19.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Craig Timberg; Angola s decades-long civil war served to insulate the country from the ravages of the surrounding southern African HIV pandemic. Closed borders and little civilian movement helped keep Angola s estimated HIV infection rate for non-elderly adults at under 10 percent - less than half the rate in nearby Z
AFRICA: TB Care Will Save 500,000 Lives in Africa - Experts: Reuters (09.21.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; The lives of as many as half a million people in Africa could be saved each year if governments would combine their approach to TB and HIV, health experts said Tuesday at a conference in Ethiopia s capital, Addis Ababa. TB is a major cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS, but few Africans are receiving treatment. If
UNITED STATES: US Eyes Limits on AIDS Education; Agencies Worry Efforts Will Suffer: Boston Globe (09.20.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Stephen Smith; The federal government is moving to impose restrictions on AIDS education campaigns that require a discussion of the lack of effectiveness of condoms and subject prevention materials to additional scrutiny by state public health authorities. CDC introduced the proposed rules in June. Agency authorities say the changes
CALIFORNIA: Governor OKs Over-the-Counter Sale of Syringes: Los Angeles Times (09.21.04) - Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Jordan Rau; Nancy Vogel; On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger settled a highly contested public health dispute by signing legislation that allows California pharmacists to sell up to 10 syringes without a prescription in localities that give their consent. In signing a bill similar to ones Gov. Gray Davis vetoed during his administration, Sch
CALIFORNIA: Olympic Athletes, Celebrities Compete in Nautica Malibu Triathlon: Associated Press (09.19.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; The 18th annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon held on Sunday raised over $268,000 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Competitors included several Olympic athletes - swimming champion Amanda Beard, medalist Larsen Jensen and silver medalist Michellie Jones. Celebrity participants included NYPD Blue actor Mar
NEW JERSEY: Paterson Mayor to Free HIV/AIDS Grant: The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)(09.17.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Nate Schweber; Paterson Mayor Jose Torres said that $256,000 in federal Ryan White grant money will be redistributed within 45 days. The City Council had voted in May to approve funding for 16 of 22 AIDS service providers in Bergen and Passaic counties, but the council vote also withheld $256,000 of the $4.8 million Ryan White funds.
MASSACHUSETTS: Romney Vetoes $76 Million, Including Retroactive Pay for State College: Associated Press (09.17.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Steve LeBlanc; On Friday, among other actions taken on the state s proposed $724 million supplemental budget, Gov. Mitt Romney let stand a provision requiring the state to spend federal abstinence education dollars in classrooms rather than on TV advertising.
CANADA; TANZANIA: Canada Funds Tanzania's Anti-AIDS Program: Xinhua News Agency (09.18.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Canada has donated $4.5 million (US$3.47 million) to help Tanzania s government provide HIV/AIDS patients with free antiretroviral drugs. Local media reported that Canadian Minister for International Cooperation Aileen Carroll was in Dar es Salaam on Saturday to deliver the money. The government hopes to provide free
SINGAPORE: Increase in HIV Infection in Singapore Among Gays: Agence France Presse (09.19.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; The latest government statistics on HIV infection in Singapore show that the number of homosexuals infected is on the rise. Heterosexual transmission has been the most common mode of HIV transmission among Singaporeans since 1991, said the Ministry of Health s Web site. However, since 2001, an increasing trend of HIV i
OHIO: AIDS Groups Criticize Gathering that Will Teach Only Abstinence: Columbus Dispatch (09.16.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Alice Thomas; An upcoming Ohio Department of Health-sponsored conference on abstinence education has come under fire from AIDS groups that say its abstinence-until-marriage focus completely ignores gay men - the group most at risk for HIV/AIDS. The conference, designed for educators but open to the public, will be held Sept. 24-25 i
FRANCE: Peginterferon Alfa-2a Alone, Lamivudine Alone, and the Two in Combination in Patients with HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B: New England Journal of Medicine (09.16.04) Vol. 351; No. 12: P. 1206-1217 - Monday, September 20, 2004; Patrick Marcellin, MD; George K.K. Lau, MD; Ferruccio Bonino, MD; Patrizia Farci, MD; Stephanos Hadziyannis, MD; Rui Jin, MD; Zhi-Meng Lu, MD; Teerha Piratvisuth, MD; Georgios Germanidis, MD; Cihan Yurdaydin, MD; Moises Diago, MD; Selim Gurel, MD; Ming-Yang Lai, MD; Peter Button, MSc; Nigel Pluck, MD, for the Peginterferon Alfa-2a HbeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B Study Group; Treatments for patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)- negative chronic hepatitis B are associated with poor sustained responses, the study authors note. The resulting strategy of continued use of nucleoside and nucleotide analogues is associated with the risk of resistance and unknown long-term safety implication
INDIA: India to Hire Private Consultants to Find Out How Many HIV-Positive: Agence France Presse (09.20.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; In response to warnings that India s official estimate of 5.1 million HIV infections is artificially low, the government will seek out private consultants to help it determine a more accurate number among its billion-plus population. We are considering private agencies like Tata Consultancy, [Indian Institute of Manage
CHINA: China to Increase Input in Tuberculosis Control: Xinhua News Agency (09.20.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; China will increase funding for TB control and provide free treatment for poor patients, Yu Jingjin, senior Chinese Health Ministry official, said Friday at the World Health Organization regional meeting in Shanghai. China has an estimated 1.45 million new TB cases every year, among which 650,000 are contagious, acco
CANADA: Prince Edward Island AIDS Group Calls On Province to Fund Needle-Exchange Program: Canadian Press (09.18.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; In response to increasing intravenous drug use in Prince Edward Island, the government needs to provide a publicly funded comprehensive needle-exchange program, said Jennifer Woodworth, an employee of AIDS P.E.I. A needle exchange benefits the community by safely disposing needles, preventing HIV and hepatitis C, and o
CANADA: McLellan Pledges $85 Million HIV Funding: Annual AIDS Walk Keeps Awareness, Hopes Alive: Edmonton Journal (09.20.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Ron Chalmers; Yesterday at Edmonton s annual AIDS Walk for Life, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Canada s government has promised to double its annual support for HIV/AIDS programs from $42.2 million (US$32.5 million) to $84.4 million (US$64.9 million) in the coming five years. People are still ill and dying, said Edmonton
ARKANSAS: Elders Says Churches Should Promote Sex Education: Associated Press (09.18.04) - Monday, September 20, 2004; Friday in Springdale, Ark., former US Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders said that if religious groups want to cut teen pregnancy rates, churches should take a greater role in providing sex education. Church leaders need to do more than moralize from the pulpit and preach to the choir. They ve got to get out in the st
GLOBAL: Mandela Appoints Will Smith as Global AIDS Ambassador: Agence France Presse (09.16.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Thursday appointed American actor and rapper Will Smith as a global ambassador for the 46664 AIDS awareness campaign. The campaign uses the prisoner number that Mandela was assigned while jailed under apartheid. I am honored and will humbly and aggressively respond, said
GLOBAL: WHO Calls for More Efforts to Secure Blood Safety: Xinhua News Agency (09.17.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; On Thursday, the World Health Organization said the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and C threatens global blood safety. WHO said better efforts and measures to protect people from contaminated blood are urgently needed. Especially in areas where prevalence of these diseases is hig
SWEDEN; TANZANIA: Sweden and Tanzania to Start HIV Vaccine Trials: Reuters (09.17.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Investigators will begin trials of an HIV vaccine in Sweden next month and plan to extend the program to Tanzania next year, Mohammed Bakari, a researcher at the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences in Dar es Salaam, said today. The DNA-MVA vaccine will target HIV subtypes prevalent in Tanzania.
CALIFORNIA: Two Porn Companies Fined for Allowing Unprotected Sex on Set: Associated Press (09.17.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; The California Division of Occupational Health and Safety has taken unprecedented action against the pornography industry, fining two adult film companies more than $30,000 apiece for allegedly allowing actors to perform unprotected sex. Evasive Angles and TTB Productions, which share the same San Fernando Valley addre
VERMONT: AIDS Organization Spurns Chance at Federal Money: Burlington Free Press (09.15.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Matt Sutkoski; Burlington-based Vermont CARES declined to apply for almost $100,000 in federal money because the conditions attached to it would have been too onerous, according to Executive Director Kendall Farrell. The money would have come from CDC and been administered by the Vermont Health Department. Vermont CARES has applied f
FLORIDA: Teen-Sex Abstinence Plan Wins US Cash: Orlando Sentinel (09.16.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Leslie Postal; The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the Catholic Diocese of Orlando s ThinkSmart abstinence program a three-year, $2.4 million grant. HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade Horn made the announcement Wednesday in Orlando. ThinkSmart sends educators to Orlando schools and encourages t
CANADA: Sexual Network Analysis of a Gonorrhoea Outbreak: Sexually Transmitted Infections (08.04) Vol. 80: P. 280-285 - Friday, September 17, 2004; P. De; A.E. Singh; T. Wong; W. Yacoub; A.M. Jolly; The researchers studied gonorrhea transmission in a localized outbreak in Alberta, Canada , measuring network centrality to find the association between risk of infection of sexual network members and their position within that network. In addition, they compared risk in smaller disconnected components with a large net
THAILAND: A Buddy System Gives Hope for Life in the HIV/AIDS Fight: Inter-Press Service (09.15.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Sonny Inabaraj; Small loans provided by the nongovernmental Population and Community Development Association (PDA) through the local Mae Chan AIDS community group in Chiang Rai district are helping some HIV-positive Thais support themselves. Loans of 24,000 baht (US$600) each are awarded in PDA s Buddy Project, which partners one HIV-
EUROPE: Experts Warn of Rising AIDS Stats from East Europe: Reuters (09.17.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Darius James Ross; The spread of HIV, fueled by a lack of information and government funding in several recent European Union entrants, risks jeopardizing the entire bloc, a panel of experts said Friday at an AIDS conference in Vilnius, Lithuania . The opening of east European borders could channel infections into Western Europe from are
MASSACHUSETTS: Part of Budget Would Ban Use of Abstinence Funds for Media: Associated Press (09.16.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Karen Testa; A supplemental budget for Massachusetts that awaits Gov. Mitt Romney s approval would preclude state funding of abstinence- related campaigns with the provision that no funds dedicated to abstinence shall be used for advertising or media purchases. Abstinence education advocates said such funding is wasted and should b
ARKANSAS: Travel Expenses Spark Investigation at Health Department: Associated Press (09.15.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; The Arkansas Department of Health has requested that state and federal law enforcement investigate questionable fund transfers in its AIDS division s travel expenses that could total $44,000, announced department attorney Rick Hogan. Officials believe the problems emanate from either poorly documented expenses or stole
ARKANSAS: Two Drugs for AIDS Dropped by State: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (09.16.04) - Friday, September 17, 2004; Nell Smith; In an attempt to conserve resources for the 444 people enrolled in the Arkansas AIDS Drug Assistance Program, the state Department of Health decided Wednesday to drop two medicines from its formulary. Without the cuts, ADAP risks running out of money prior to the end of the March 31 funding period. By cutting Sporanox,
NORTH CAROLINA: Duke Wins Grant for AIDS Study: News & Observer (09.13.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Duke University Medical Center researchers received a four- year, $4 million grant through the International Studies of AIDS-Associated Co-infections Program (ISAACP). The grant is to be used to study infectious diseases among AIDS patients in Tanzania . This grant moves Duke to the forefront of working in internationa
CONNECTICUT: TB Case Suspected in University of Connecticut Student: Hartford Courant (09.15.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Grace E. Merritt; The University of Connecticut announced Tuesday that a graduate student has a suspected but unconfirmed case of TB. The student has been isolated and is receiving treatment. As a precautionary measure, the university is contacting students who were in the Information Cafe 2 in the Babbidge Library during certain hours
MOZAMBIQUE: 45 Percent of New HIV Infections Occur Among Young People in Mozambique: Xinhua News Agency (09.16.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; At the introduction of the annual UN Fund for Population Activities report on Wednesday in Maputo, UN representative Petra Lantz announced that 45 percent of new HIV infections occur among Mozambicans age 24 and younger. Women ages 20-24 have four times as many HIV infections as men in the same age group, she said. Tha
INDIA: Sex Starting Earlier in India, Says Government Report: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (09.16.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Adolescents in India are having sex earlier and more often but lack contraceptive knowledge, according to the India Country Report on Population and Development by the federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sexual relations among adolescents tend to start early, involve multiple partners and are often casual,
TEXAS: HIV/AIDS: Area Colleges Push Awareness: Houston Chronicle (09.15.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; La Monica Everett-Haynes; HIV is a real issue for university campuses and [STDs] are on the increase, said Floyd Robinson, director of the University of Houston s Student Health Center. Robinson said he is amazed that some students today are as misinformed about sex as people were at the start of the AIDS epidemic. Now more schools, including
NEW YORK: AIDS, TB Rates Rise, According to New York Management Report: Associated Press (09.15.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Timothy Williams; The biannual New York City Mayor s Management Report, released Wednesday, found that AIDS, TB, homelessness, welfare rolls and infant mortality all increased during fiscal year 2004, which ran from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. While the city has been successful in some efforts - such as crime reduction, sanitation, a
UNITED STATES: Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Screening for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in US Jails: Journal of Urban Health (09.01.04) Vol. 81; No. 3: P. 453-471 - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Julie R. Kraut-Becher; Thomas L. Gift; Anne C. Haddix; Kathleen L. Irwin; Robert B. Greifinger; As most prison inmates come from a population that has limited access to health care and is at elevated risk for STDs, universal screening of chlamydia and gonorrhea on intake has been proposed as the most effective strategy to lower morbidity in inmates and reduce transmission risk in communities after release. Yet, l
UNITED STATES: Importance of Sex Partner HIV Status in HIV Risk Assessment Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (06.01.04) Vol. 36; No. 2: P. 734-742 - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Matthew R. Golden, MD, MPH; Devon D. Brewer, PhD; Ann Kurth, CNM, PhD; King K. Holmes, MD, PhD; H. Hunter Handsfield, MD; Developing a system to identify persons most in need of HIV prevention services is a key step in implementing the sort of prevention approach - such as the Serostatus Approach to Fighting the HIV Epidemic (SAFE) - that CDC promotes, the authors wrote. While STD clinics are an important setting to identify persons in ne
INDIA: India Is at Center of Global AIDS Pandemic, Says Expert: Financial Times (London) (09.16.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Ray Marcelo; India has surpassed South Africa as the country with the largest number of HIV-positive people, Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, said during a visit Wednesday to New Delhi. Feachem said he did not believe the official number that around 5.1 million Indians are HIV-
GLOBAL: WHO Evaluates Progress in Providing AIDS Drugs: Associated Press (09.15.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Christopher Bodeen; At the annual Western Pacific regional meeting in Shanghai, the World Health Organization evaluated its progress in providing 3 million HIV-infected people in poor countries with AIDS drugs by 2005. Less than 6 percent of the 170,000 people in the Asian-Pacific region who need the drugs are receiving them, according to
GLOBAL: Senate Panel Votes to Raise AIDS Funding: Associated Press (09.15.04) - Thursday, September 16, 2004; Alan Fram; On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2.4 billion next year to fight AIDS, TB and malaria abroad - mostly in Africa - potentially boosting funding by $200 million more than President Bush proposed. The funding was part of a total $19.5 billion foreign aid bill that also cut the Millennium Challeng
ASIA: WHO Urges Greater Access to Essential Medicines for Asia's Poor: Agence France Presse (09.15.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Today in Shanghai, the World Health Organization said too many sick Asians are dying needlessly due to the lack of essential medicines. About 1,000 people in the region die of tuberculosis every day, despite the existence of an effective cure, said Shigeru Omi, WHO s regional director for the Western Pacific. In additi
CHINA: China Strives to Curb TB Surge: Xinhua News Agency (09.15.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; On Tuesday at a news briefing in Beijing, Vice Health Minister Wang Longde said China would have 20 million to 30 million more TB patients in the next 10 years unless proper measures are taken. Incomplete adherence to drug regimens is contributing to drug-resistant TB, he said. A special fund rewards Chinese doctors fo
NEW JERSEY: Trial Avoided Over $4 Million AIDS Grant: The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) (09.14.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Eman Varoqua; On Monday, the Patterson-based Ryan White Planning Council, which serves Bergen and Passaic counties, dropped its lawsuit against the Patterson City Council after the two sides reached a settlement out of court. RWPC sought a judge s help after the City Council failed to approve all the resolutions the group needs to s
UNITED STATES: Medication Compliance: Rural Drinkers More Likely to Miss Doses of HIV Meds: AIDS Weekly (09.06.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; HIV patients in rural areas are less likely to adhere to treatment regimens if they are problem drinkers, according to a report by Tulane University researchers. About one in three HIV patients surveyed reported missing at least one dose of medicine in the prior week. The complicated dosing schedule of highly active an
UNITED STATES: HIV Transmission Risk Behavior Among Men and Women Living with HIV in 4 Cities in the United States: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (08.15.04) Vol. 36; No. 5: 1057-1066 - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Lance S. Weinhardt, PhD; Jeffrey A. Kelly, PhD; Michael J. Brondino, PhD; Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, PhD; Sheri B. Kirshenbaum, PhD; Margaret A. Chesney, PhD; Robert H. Remien, PhD; Stephen F. Morin, PhD; Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD; Anke A. Ehrhardt, PhD; Mallory O. Johnson, PhD; Sheryl L. Catz, PhD; Steven D. Pinkerton, PhD; Eric G. Benotsch, PhD;, Daniel Hong, MA; Cheryl Gore-Felton, PhD; National Institute of Mental Health Healthy Living Project Team; The authors interviewed 3,723 HIV-positive people in clinics and community-based agencies in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City and San Francisco from June 2000-January 2002 about sexual and drug-use behaviors that confer risk for transmitting HIV. Of the participants, 1,918 were men who have sex with men (MSM), 978
SOUTH AFRICA: Traditional Healers Swamp South Africa with Drug Applications: Agence France Presse (09.10.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; In advance of a new law to manage the alternative medicine field in South Africa , about 13,000 traditional medicine applications - including some claiming AIDS cures - have been filed for official approval with the Medicines Control Council, the Registrar of Medicines said Friday. The problem is that we do not have d
SOUTH AFRICA: Government 'Turning Away AIDS Patients': Business Day (09.14.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Tamar Kahn; Weak political leadership is the reason so few South African AIDS patients are receiving free drugs, according to the Joint Civil Society Monitoring and Evaluation Forum, a new umbrella group that plans to act as an early warning system for difficulties affecting the government s comprehensive AIDS treatment plan. On T
SOUTH AFRICA: Indian President Offers Help to Combat AIDS in South Africa: Agence France Presse (09.15.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Today in Cape Town, Indian President Abdul Kalam said his country would like to work with South Africa on pressing issues like HIV/AIDS and education. We are concerned about your health problems, Kalam said at a news conference following a one-hour meeting with President Thabo Mbeki. The state visit, the first by an In
INDIA: India Sitting on AIDS 'Timebomb,' Says International Funding Agency Chief: Agence France Presse (09.15.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Today in New Delhi, the executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria told reporters that India s HIV/AIDS epidemic is extremely grave, and that official surveillance estimates are conservative. It is a grave, ticking timebomb, Richard Feachem said of the epidemic. According to India s National AI
CALIFORNIA: Two Measures Ease Needle Exchanges: Fresno Bee (09.12.04) - Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Jennifer M. Fitzenberger; In 1999, Gov. Gray Davis signed a law allowing municipalities in California to establish legal needle-exchange programs by declaring an emergency - but the declaration must be reconsidered every two to three weeks. Now, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is being lobbied by drug policy advocates to sign two bills that would ma
TEXAS: Houston to Get Federal Funding for Housing: Associated Press (09.13.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; The US Department of Housing and Urban Development presented representatives of Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R) and John Cornyn (R) with a $42.6 million grant for housing and economic development, Hutchinson s office announced Monday. The funds include about $5 million for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
TANZANIA: TB Patients in Tanzania to Be Tested for HIV: Xinhua News Agency (09.14.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; The Tanzanian government will begin screening TB patients for HIV/AIDS, local media reported Tuesday. Saidi Egwaga, who runs Tanzania s TB and leprosy program, was quoted by the Guardian newspaper as saying the testing will focus on congested areas such as prisons as well as programs covering HIV/AIDS patients who are
OHIO: Educator Aims to Warn All Women of AIDS Risk: Columbus Dispatch (09.10.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Sherri Williams; White women may be getting a false sense of security from media depictions of black men who maintain relationships with women while secretly having sex with men, according to AIDS educator Louis Farmer. Down-low is not a black phenomenon, said Farmer, a clinical coordinator with the Cleveland AIDS Task Force. Farmer, a
UNITED KINGDOM: Investigating Ethnic Differences in Sexual Health: Focus Groups with Young People: Sexually Transmitted Infections (08.04) Vol. 80; No. 4: P. 300-305 - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; P. Connell; C. McKevitt; N. Low; In the current study, the authors sought to better understand ethnic inequalities in sexual health by comparing normative beliefs about sexual health in a group of young men and women from black Caribbean, black African and white ethnic groups. To achieve this, they held focus group discussions with young people living
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Among Medics Could Devastate South African Health System: Expert: Xinhua News Agency (09.12.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; The ability of the South African health care system to effectively manage and treat the country s growing number of HIV/AIDS patients could be jeopardized by an epidemic among its own ranks, one of South Africa s health experts warned on Sunday. Adding to the potentially devastating situation is that almost nothing is
SOUTH AFRICA: South African AIDS Group Wants Government to Disclose ARV Plan: Agence France Presse (09.13.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Treatment Action Campaign is taking the South African government to court to force the public release of documents related to the country s planned rollout of free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, a lawyer for the AIDS lobby group said Monday. We are basically going to court to demand the release of an [annexed document] to
INDIA: Corner Groceries and Tea Stalls Double as TB Clinics in India: Washington Post (09.12.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Rama Lakshmi; In addition to running a corner grocery in a Bombay slum, Prem Neelkanth is part of a government program to supervise TB patients to ensure they take their medicine. I know everyone in this neighborhood. So if someone does not turn up for their dosage, I go and knock on their door in the night with the medicines, said
GLOBAL: WHO Plan to Tackle Global TB Not Working � Experts: Reuters (09.13.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; A World Health Organization strategy to halve the number of TB deaths over a decade has not worked, and new approaches to tackling the global TB burden are needed, according to a new report by public health experts. WHO introduced the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course) plan in 1993 in an effort to control
GLOBAL: WHO Regional Conference Opens in Shanghai: Associated Press (09.13.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; Christopher Bodeen; On Monday in Shanghai, the World Health Organization opened its annual regional session with a call for more public health spending to fight new challenges - avian flu and SARS - as well as old ones - TB, AIDS and smoking. The shortage of health resources for the poor is a threat to public health, said WHO Director-Gen
GLOBAL: Bush AIDS Plan Gets Drugs to 25,000 in Third World: Washington Post (09.14.04) - Tuesday, September 14, 2004; David Brown; According to an interim report delivered last week to two Congressional committees, President Bush s global AIDS plan has helped put at least 25,000 people on antiretroviral therapy since February. The report covers only nine of the 15 targeted countries where organizations and governments began receiving the US funds
MASSACHUSETTS: Legislature OKs Money for Bar Advocates, Local Aid, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System Testing: Associated Press (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Among the budget items the Massachusetts Legislature approved on Thursday was $11.9 million for substance abuse prevention and $2.4 million for the HIV drug assistance program. The drug assistance program had been considering putting patients on a waiting list. The spending legislation now goes to Gov. Mitt Romney for
LOUISIANA: Holy Cross to Be Retested for Tuberculosis: Times-Picayune (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; State health officials planned to again test students and adults at New Orleans Holy Cross High School for TB on Sept. 10. Principal Joseph Murry Jr. said the retesting was routine after May s testing of 129 students and staff, which followed the diagnosis of active TB case at the school. According to state health offi
EUROPE: European Experts to Discuss Fight Against AIDS in Vilnius: Baltic News Service (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; European health ministers and experts are scheduled to meet in Vilnius, Lithuania , Sept. 16-18, for Europe and HIV/AIDS: New Challenges, New Opportunities, a conference intended to strengthen cooperation among European Union states and other European countries around HIV/AIDS.
CANADA: HIV Numbers Drop; Edmonton Still Hot Spot: Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta) (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Canadian Press; HIV infections in Alberta dropped to a five-year low last year, with 151 new cases - 28 fewer than in 2002. But Sherry McKibben, executive director of HIV Edmonton, said it is too early to suggest that HIV is on the decline. Sexually transmitted infections are up, said McKibben. The STI figures are kind of a precursor
CHINA: Hard-Hit Chinese Province Doubles Estimated HIV Cases: Agence France Presse (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; The Chinese news Web site sina.com reported on Friday that almost 10 percent of the 280,000 people who sold blood in Henan province in the 1980s and 1990s are HIV-positive. The new figure, taken from a government report, is almost double the previous estimate of 14,500 infections reported by the province. Experts, howe
KENTUCKY: 150 Discuss AIDS Among Minorities: Lexington Herald Leader (09.11.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Barbara Isaacs; A weekend conference on HIV/AIDS toll on African-American and Hispanic Kentucky residents drew more than 150 people from across the state to Lexington. Through the end of 2003, 2,228 state residents were living with AIDS, including 132 new cases diagnosed last year. Among African Americans in Kentucky, the AIDS rate is
NEW MEXICO: New HIV/AIDS Cases Spike in County: Albuquerque Journal (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Jackie Jadrnak; An increase in newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in Bernalillo County has health officials concerned the disease could be on the rebound in the Albuquerque area. Albuquerque is another American city that appears to be experiencing a new rise in HIV cases. That should cause us to redouble our efforts for HIV prevention, in
UNITED STATES: The Psychosocial Impact of Testing Individuals with No History of Genital Herpes for Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (09.04) Vol. 31; No. 9: P. 517- 521 - Monday, September 13, 2004; Tomio Miyai, MPH; Katherine R. Turner, MPH; Charlotte K. Kent, MPH; Jeffrey Klausner, MD, MPH; Among the estimated 20 percent of the population that has genital herpes (HSV-2), 80 percent of the infections are asymptomatic or are unrecognized. Diagnosis of HSV-2 infection through serologic identification could trigger behavior changes that reduce transmission, but there has been concern that testing asymptomatic
CANADA: Young and Elderly Don't Believe They're Well-Informed About AIDS: Poll: Canadian Press (09.12.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Lia Levesque; A national poll conducted among Canadian adults revealed that those ages 18-24 and those 65 and older are the least well- informed about HIV/AIDS prevention. The Leger Marketing survey of 1,502 Canadians asked the question: Generally, would you say you are very well-informed, somewhat well-informed, somewhat not very w
CHINA: Major China Decision Looming on Copycat AIDS Drugs: Agence France Presse (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; On Friday at a conference in London, a top Chinese health official said China is considering whether to negotiate lower AIDS drug prices with pharmaceutical firms or invoke the 2003 World Trade Organization agreement under which poor countries facing deadly epidemics can issue compulsory licenses. I think a decision w
ASIA: China, India at the Tipping Point in AIDS Crisis, Conference Told: Agence France Presse (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Richard Ingham; On Friday, experts at a two-day conference in London organized by the Royal Society of Medicine and US National Institutes of Health said HIV/AIDS is on the brink of spilling over from marginalized groups into the general population in India and China . Even with China s low HIV prevalence, its epidemic is so fa
ARKANSAS: More Cuts Likely in AIDS Medication-Assistance Program: Associated Press (09.10.04) - Monday, September 13, 2004; Ava Thomas Benson; After Arkansas AIDS Drug Assistance Program capped enrollment in April, program administrators at the state Health Department started a waiting list. In late summer, they began preparing to cut the number of medications offered through ADAP. Jerry Jones, an infectious diseases service unit leader at the department, sai
UKRAINE: USAID Pledges $8.2 Million to Fight Ukraine's AIDS Scourge: Agence France Presse (09.09.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; On Thursday, the US Agency for International Development pledged an $8.2 million initiative that targets the eight regions in Ukraine most affected by HIV/AIDS. Spread over five years, the money will provide prevention information and services to those most at risk. The initiative will be carried out by the HIV/AIDS Al
CENTRAL ASIA: Japan Gives $890,000 to Help Fight AIDS in Central Asia: Associated Press (09.08.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; On Wednesday, the government of Japan agreed to provide $890,000 to help fight AIDS in Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan , according to the Finance Ministry of Kyrgyzstan.
CHINA: Hangzhou Opens AIDS Prevention Hotline: Xinhua News Agency (09.10.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; On Sept. 9, over 30 people dialed into an HIV/AIDS and STD hotline provided by the government of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, on its first day of operation. Those who call the hotline hear pre-recorded menu options that provide basic AIDS information, including how HIV is contracted and spread, who is at ris
MICHIGAN: 3 Test Positive for TB, but Not Granholm: Detroit Free Press (09.10.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; Cecil Angel; Three more employees of Detroit s Cadillac Square Building, which houses 17 state government department, have tested positive for TB in preliminary skin tests. The employees private physicians performed all three positive tests, and the employees will undergo more extensive testing to determine whether they have active
CALIFORNIA: Hepatitis Fears at Kaiser: San Francisco Chronicle (09.09.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; Wyatt Buchanan; On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center said more than 2,000 patients may have been exposed to hepatitis B and C during gastrointestinal exams. Certified letters from the hospital warned the patients of the possible exposure caused by instruments that had not been properly cleaned
ILLINOIS: Belleville Shelter for HIV Patients Will Get More Funding: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (09.09.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; William Lamb; On Wednesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said it will make up for a $21,000 cut in federal housing money for Belleville-based Bethany Place, which provides temporary housing and counseling for up to five people living with HIV/AIDS. It is one of only four Illinois facilities that provide transitional hous
UNITED STATES: HAART Is No Panacea for Psychosocial Problems: Study Disputes Assumptions and Expectations: AIDS Alert (09.01.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; A study of New York HIV-positive women on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) found the women s psychosocial health was not statistically different from the psychosocial health of infected women before the widespread introduction of HAART. When we first conceptualized this study about five or six years ago, th
TANZANIA: AIDS, TB, Malaria Claim High Tolls: Tanzanian PM: Xinhua News Agency (09.10.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; Addressing an annual conference of local doctors and pharmacists today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye said HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria affect not only the nation s labor force but also its future generations. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for people age 25 and younger in the Kilimanja
CHINA: China Takes Steps to Break Taboos on Sex Education for Teenagers: Xinhua News Agency (09.09.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; China s conservative attitude is slowly shifting away from a long-standing policy forbidding sex-related content in public to adopting comprehensive sex education in schools. At the International Forum on Population and Development that opened Tuesday in Wuhan, the sexual and reproductive health of teenagers was one of
LOUISIANA: Louisiana Takes Aggressive Stance in War Against TB: Times-Picayune (09.08.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; John Pope; Some Louisiana TB patients are being sent off to the country in hopes they will recuperate. But unlike in the last century, when people with the disease were sent to rural sanitariums because nothing else could be done for them, patients today are being sent to an isolated facility because they are not taking their med
UNITED STATES: STDs a Concern for Young Women: Kansas City Star (09.08.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; Ridgely Ochs; Avoiding STDs and unintended pregnancies are major health concerns for women in their 20s and 30s. Health professionals say they are seeing a significant increase in the number of sexual partners young women are reporting over time. It s the whole Sex and the City thing, said Margaret Polaneczky, an obstetrician-gyneco
UNITED STATES: AIDS Drug May See Attrition: News & Observer (09.08.04) - Friday, September 10, 2004; David Ranii; Despite widespread praise of Fuzeon s effectiveness, the AIDS drug has been afflicted by disappointing sales, bad reaction to the $20,000 per-patient annual price, needle fears among patients, and early manufacturing difficulties since its March 2003 Food and Drug Administration approval. Now, a Sept. 3 report issued b
KENYA: Kenyan First Lady Calls for Protection for AIDS- Affected Children: Xinhua News Agency (09.08.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; At a social event in Nairobi, Kenyan first lady Lucy Kibaki called for increased resources and commitment to reduce AIDS impact on children, the Presidential Press Service reported Wednesday. It is estimated that treatment will help to lessen HIV-related hospital admissions by 60 percent as well as reducing the number
MICHIGAN: Move Your Feet, Raise Money for AIDS Groups: Detroit Free Press (09.09.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; On Sept. 19, the 14th annual AIDS Walk Detroit will be held in downtown Royal Oak. Money raised from the 3.1-mile event will benefit Royal-Oak-based Steppin Out, which helped more than a dozen local AIDS-related charities last year, said Ken Rosen, public relations chair. At this year s walk, Steppin Out will celebrate
CHINA: China to Include AIDS Prevention Classes in All Universities: Agence France Presse (09.09.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; On Thursday, the state Chinese News Service reported that starting next year AIDS prevention classes will be taught nationwide in all university and secondary schools. The classes will aim to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and reduce misconceptions and discrimination about the disease. The State Council AIDS prevention wo
UNITED STATES: Antibiotic Can Trigger Cardiac Deaths: Associated Press (09.09.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; Linda A. Johnson; The antibiotic erythromycin dramatically increases the risk of cardiac arrest, especially when it is taken with certain newer drugs, according to a new study published today. Erythromycin has been commonly prescribed for 50 years to treat numerous illnesses, including syphilis. Because of some reports of patient deaths
GLOBAL: Show All Data, Not Just the Good Stuff - Journals: Reuters (09.08.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; Maggie Fox; On Wednesday, the editors of 11 medical journals called on researchers and companies to register all clinical trials at their initiation so negative or unclear results cannot be concealed later. The journals agreed not to publish any studies that were not registered at their outset. Unfortunately, selective reporting o
INDIA: Alarm After Blood Donors Test HIV-Positive in India's Tripura State: Agence France Presse (09.08.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; Nearly 280 blood donors in India s northeastern state of Tripura have been found to be HIV-positive, prompting a recent Comptroller and Auditor General report to question the safety measures of the region s blood banks. Appropriate methods of testing are not followed and so blood supplied from the blood banks is not co
CANADA: Ruling Gives AIDS Sufferer Grounds for Refugee Claim: Federal Court Decision Has Immigration Experts Divided: Edmonton Journal (09.09.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; Janice Tibbetts; A federal judge has suspended the deportation of an HIV- positive Nigerian women and her toddler, ruling that the discrimination and stigmatization faced by Nigerians living with HIV-AIDS could be grounds for obtaining refugee status in Canada . Immigration experts are divided on whether the case, which Justice Michel
EUROPE: EU Sounds Alarm Over Resurgent AIDS Epidemic: Reuters (09.08.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; European governments have become dangerously complacent about HIV/AIDS as new infections rise in many member states of the 25-nation European Union, European Commissioner Pavel Telicka said Wednesday. We are talking about rising figures in western Europe, and we are talking about a very serious situation especially in
COLORADO: TB Cases Could Be Highest in 20 Years: Associated Press (09.07.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; State health officials say Colorado is on track to set a 20- year state record or land in second place for the most number of tuberculosis cases in a year. Ned Calonge, Colorado s chief medical officer, said 82 people have been diagnosed with TB so far this year. Should diagnoses continue at the same rate, the state wo
TEXAS: More than 300 Sign Up to Speak at Textbook Hearing: Associated Press (09.09.04) - Thursday, September 09, 2004; On Wednesday, more than 300 people signed up to speak at the last of two public hearings on proposed health textbooks at the Texas Board of Education. A Texas Education Agency- appointed panel of educators and parents has already reviewed the books. At the meeting, the board heard from abstinence- only supporters and f
ROMANIA: UNICEF Seeks Help with HIV Infected Kids: Associated Press (09.07.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; In a statement released Tuesday, UNICEF asked Romanian authorities to help thousands of HIV-infected children attend school with other children. Less than 60 percent of the nation s 7,500 HIV-infected children attend public schools; most of these are only able to do so by keeping their illness secret, UNICEF said. When
AFRICA: Red Cross Begins Key Four-Yearly Meeting on Africa in Algiers: Agence France Presse (09.08.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Today in Algiers, some 700 Red Cross and Red Crescent officials from around the world are gathering for a conference on fighting AIDS, other diseases and hunger in Africa. The gathering is held every four years. At the previous meeting, conferees pledged to explore HIV/AIDS, wider health issues, food security and how b
MISSISSIPPI: Team Promotes Responsibility, Awareness and Prevention to Mississippi Teens: Associated Press (09.06.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Denise Grones; RAP (responsibility, awareness and prevention) Team members present educational and prevention information to young peers across Mississippi with personal narratives and presentations about how drugs, alcohol and sex have affected their lives. You would be surprised at how many youth we deal with that have or had a sex
MICHIGAN: Staffs to Face TB Tests: Detroit Free Press (09.07.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Ben Schmitt; Kathleen Gray; Employees in an office center containing 17 Michigan government departments, including local offices for the governor and attorney general, are receiving e-mail messages informing them that a fellow employee has been diagnosed with TB. State officials learned Thursday about the infected employee at the Cadillac Place b
CALIFORNIA: New Rules for Bathhouses OKd: Los Angeles Times (09.08.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Sue Fox; To combat high HIV rates among patrons of gay bathhouses and sex clubs, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved on Tuesday a law that would require the sites to obtain a health permit in order to operate. The proposal must be voted on again next week to receive final county approval. Because th
AUSTRALIA: HIV in Prison: What Are the Risks and What Can Be Done?: Sexual Health (06.04) Vol. 1; No. 2: P. 107-113 - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; M.E. Hellard; C.K. Aitken; Around the world, prisons are recognized as key sites for the transmission of blood-borne viruses (BBVs). Transmission risks are higher in prison for two important reasons. In most Western nations, many persons entering prison have a history of injecting drug use (IDU); therefore, they already experience higher rates o
MOZAMBIQUE: AIDS Sharply Cuts Life Expectancy in Mozambique: Reuters (09.03.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Mateus Chale; Life expectancy in Mozambique has dropped sharply due to HIV/AIDS, threatening the government s ongoing reconstruction following the 1992 end of its 16-year civil war, Health Ministry officials said Friday. This year, life expectancy at birth is estimated at 38.1 years, compared to 46.4 years without the presence of HI
TEXAS: Board Chairwoman Addresses Textbook Adoption Process: Associated Press (09.07.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; April Castro; On Tuesday, State Board of Education (SBE) Chair Geraldine Miller asked members of the Texas Senate Committee on Education to restore SBE s authority to filter the content of textbooks used by Texas pupils. The Legislature stripped SBE of that authority almost a decade ago after a controversy involving sex education in
UNITED STATES: Medical Labs Get Scrutiny Nationwide After Mistakes in Maryland: Associated Press (09.06.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Flawed testing for HIV and other diseases in the labs at Maryland General Hospital and Rosedale-based Reference Pathology Services of Maryland have prompted increased scrutiny of the system that monitors medical labs nationwide. Reforms instituted in 1992, critics say, rely too heavily on industry organizations for ins
UNITED STATES: NIH Proposes Free Access for Public to Research Data: Washington Post (09.06.04) - Wednesday, September 08, 2004; Rick Weiss; Under a new proposed policy posted Friday on the Web site of the National Institutes of Health, all scientists who receive NIH funding would be required to make their research results available to the public for free. NIH will accept public comments on the policy for 60 days. Patient advocates have been lobbying for th
LESOTHO: Britain's Prince Harry Makes Lesotho AIDS Documentary: Agence France Presse (09.04.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Prince Harry has made a documentary about the plight of AIDS- stricken Lesotho , a royal spokesperson said. The prince spent eight weeks in Lesotho as part of his sabbatical year and shot some of the footage for the movie himself using a hand-held video camera. The documentary reveals some of the work he did at project
UGANDA: Canada Provides Uganda with Fund for Tuberculosis Program: Xinhua News Agency (09.07.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Canada will help boost Uganda s national TB program with a US$250,000 donation via the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (FIDELIS), Ugandan media reported Tuesday. The global contracts director for FIDELIS, G.R. Khatri, said the funds were directed to foster the nation s fight against TB in de
ARIZONA: School Board Considering Sex Ed Curriculum: Associated Press (09.06.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; At a Tuesday-night meeting, the Prescott Unified School District board will consider whether to adopt an abstinence- based curriculum at Prescott Mile High Middle School and Granite Mountain Middle School. The Choosing the Best curriculum has been on public preview for 120 days and, if the board approves it, would be i
VIRGINIA: School Health Officials Confident After TB Testing: Virginian-Pilot (09.04.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Susan E. White; Fewer than a handful of people who may have been exposed to TB at Ocean Lakes and Kempsville high schools will remain untested when Virginia Beach city schools open on Sept. 7. School nurses are prepared to test those who need it, said Dr. Venita Newby-Owens, city health director. In July, almost 200 people were notifi
GEORGIA: Living with HIV; Speaker's Straight Talk Encourages Those Infected, Alerts Others: Atlanta-Journal Constitution (08.30.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Jill Young Miller; Sheryl Johnson, 55, sold cell phones for a living before being diagnosed, eight years ago, with HIV. I knew I was going to die, and I figured it was going to be sooner rather than later, she said. After learning of her infection, Johnson quit her sales job and worked with an organization that helps the homeless. Her re
PENNSYLVANIA: County Health Board Moves to Keep Needle Exchange: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (09.04.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Anita Srikameswaran; The continuation of a two-year-old pilot needle-exchange program was discussed Wednesday at a meeting of the Allegheny County Board of Health. The board decided to draft a regulation that would set up the rules under which the program - run by the group Prevention Point Pittsburgh - would operate and ensure its account
NORTH CAROLINA: Durham Syphilis Rates Fall: News & Observer (09.02.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Janell Ross; New Durham County syphilis cases have been reduced by almost half since 42 cases were reported in 2002, with 22 cases reported in 2003 and eight cases reported between January and June this year. The cuts in new cases have been helped in part by the outreach efforts of the field services unit of the North Carolina Depa
UNITED STATES: Depressive Symptoms and AIDS-Related Mortality Among a Multisite Cohort of HIV-Positive Women: American Journal of Public Health (07.04) Vol. 94; No. 7: P. 1133-1140 - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Judith A. Cook, PhD; Dennis Grey, BA; Jane Burke, MS; Mardge H. Cohen, MD; Alejandra C. Gurtman, MD; Jean L. Richardson, DrPH; Tracey E. Wilson, PhD; Mary A. Young, MD; Nancy A. Hessol, MSPH; The researchers examined associations between depressive symptoms and AIDS-related mortality after controlling for antiretroviral therapy use, clinical indicators, and demographic factors. Between October 1994 and November 1995, 2,059 HIV-seropositive women were enrolled in the Women s Interagency HIV Study at six medi
MOZAMBIQUE: AIDS Stripping Widows of Their Rights: Inter Press Service (08.31.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Bayano Valy; Mozambican health officials say some 97,000 people will die of HIV/AIDS in the nation just this year. When Albertina Come s husband died recently, her husband s family blamed her for his death and deprived her of any inheritance. They locked me out of the house, and took all our belongings, said Come. The nongovernment
SOUTH AFRICA: Unilever Offers HIV Toolkit for Companies: Business Day (08.31.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Larry Claasen; Multinational consumer-goods maker Unilever is reaching out to small companies with a new toolkit designed to help them reduce the effect of HIV/AIDS on their businesses. Unilever worked with the South African Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS to develop the program roll-out guide. Based on Unilever s own internationa
UNITED STATES: High Exposure to TV Sex Affects Teens: Associated Press (09.07.04) - Tuesday, September 07, 2004; Lindsey Tanner; Children ages 12-17 who watched a lot of television with sexual content - ranging from innuendos to depiction of sex - were around twice as likely to start having intercourse in a follow-up year as those with limited exposure to televised sex, according to new research. Among those surveyed, teens with high exposure to
GLOBAL: MTV to Make Safe Sex Movie: United Press International (09.02.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Variety reported Thursday that MTV is creating a TV movie and a multimedia campaign to promote safe sex and highlight Europe s illegal sex trade. Viacom, MTV s owner, is working with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to make Transit, a two-hour drama designed to educate about HIV/AIDS prevention.
UNITED STATES: Pediatricians Cite Barriers in Talking About Sexual Risks: American Medical News (08.16.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; In a study presented at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, of more than 500 pediatricians surveyed by CDC, 87 percent believed their role was to provide sexual risk reduction information and 85 percent did so if parents requested it. However, about 62 percent of the pediatricians said parents did not of
UNITED STATES: HIV Diagnostics: SAMHSA to Purchase $4 Million of OraQuick Rapid HIV Antibody Tests: AIDS Weekly (08.30.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; OraSure Technologies Inc. has announced that the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will invest $4 million in purchasing its OraQuick Rapid HIV Antibody Tests and confirmatory test services. SAMHSA will deploy these to more than 22,000 substance abuse treatment and prevention sites across the
LITHUANIA: Number of Lithuania's HIV Patients Nearing 1,000: Baltic News Service (09.01.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; About 30 new HIV cases were reported in June and July in Lithuania . More than 900 HIV infections have been recorded since the country s first case was identified in 1988. From a total of 916 infections, 737 resulted from needle sharing, 78 from heterosexual sex, and 66 from homosexual sex.
CALIFORNIA: Study Tests Demand for Late Night Health Services: Bay Area Reporter (08.19.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Matthew S. Bajko; San Francisco Health Department researchers are studying the benefits of providing late-night STD/HIV testing. The services are offered from a van 2-4 a.m. Fridays in the Castro, Saturdays in the Polk and Sundays South of Market (SOMA). Services offered include confidential oral HIV testing, chlamydia and gonorrhea tes
GLOBAL: Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Antenatal Syphilis Programs Ineffective in Bolivia, Kenya, South Africa: Women's Health Weekly (08.26.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; A World Health Organization report found that established antenatal syphilis control programs in Bolivia , Kenya and South Africa are ineffective. Preventing congenital syphilis is not technically difficult, however operational difficulties limit the effectiveness of p
PAKISTAN: AIDS Patients in Pakistan Launch Fight for Better Treatment: British Medical Journal (08.28.04) Vol. 329; No. 7464: P. 476 - Friday, September 03, 2004; Ashfaq Yusufzai; In Parachinar, Amina Bibi is launching an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and considers it a personal challenge to help remove stigma associated with the disease in Pakistan . Bibi s husband, who infected her with HIV, died of AIDS last year. In such a depressing situation, I feel bound to lead from the front and open some
INDIA: AIDS Statistics Accuracy Is Questioned: Inter Press Service (09.01.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Ranjit Devraj; A newly released World Bank study called HIV prevalence estimates in India unreliable, casting doubt on a recent National AIDS Control Organization claim that new HIV infections in the country are declining. According to NACO s most recent figures, new HIV cases dropped from 610,000 in 2002 to 520,000 last year, and th
ZAMBIA: Zambia Declares AIDS Emergency to Produce Drugs: Reuters (09.03.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Today in Lusaka, Zambia s government declared the HIV/AIDS epidemic a national emergency - a necessary step to begin manufacturing generic AIDS drugs under World Trade Organization rules. Davidson Chilipamushi, the permanent secretary of commerce, trade and industry, said Zambia s government had declared HIV/AIDS an em
GLOBAL: AIDS Vaccine Disappoints in Tests: Wall Street Journal (09.03.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Michael Waldholz; Researchers from the University of Oxford and Nairobi University reported that an experimental AIDS vaccine tested among 205 volunteers in the United Kingdom and Africa produced a potentially protective immune response in only about 20 percent of participants - an unexpectedly poor result. The team has been working on
NEW YORK: No Man Is a Crystal Meth User Unto Himself: New York Times (08.29.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Frank Owen; Use of crystal methamphetamine has spread from New York s gay club scene to affect a wider cross section of gay men, particularly young ones. Gay Men s Health Crisis received very few hot line calls about meth two years ago; it now gets about five calls a day concerning the drug. Three years ago fewer than half of GMHC
WISCONSIN: Reported Hepatitis C Cases Up Statewide: Associated Press (09.01.04) - Friday, September 03, 2004; Jenny Price; Wisconsin had 18,082 reported hepatitis C virus (HCV) cases as of 2003, state Epidemiologist Angela Russell said Wednesday. There was a five-fold increase between the 828 cases reported in 1997 - the state s first year collecting the data - and 4,203 cases reported in 2002, possibly due to increased testing and reporti
COLORADO: No More Active TB Cases Found at Air Force Academy: Associated Press (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Air Force Academy officials said no other TB cases have been found among cadets or employees since a cadet s active case was diagnosed on Aug. 19. Of the 353 people tested at the academy, 65 people tested positive for TB exposure but were not considered contagious. They are receiving antibiotics, said 10th Medical Grou
TANZANIA: Sex Education to Youngsters Crucial in Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Tanzanian President: Xinhua News Agency (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa called on citizens to stop deceiving themselves with moral gimmickry and get serious about providing sex education to youths in the nation s HIV/AIDS fight, the local Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday. Mkapa also criticized the country s failure to provide youths with reproductive
TANZANIA: Free Access to ARVs Next Month: Tanzanian President: Xinhua News Agency (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs will be available next month to those with HIV/AIDS, Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said at an agreement ceremony granting the country $87.9 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the local newspaper Daily News reported Wednesday. The government has developed a f
ZAMBIA: Zambian Vice President Takes AIDS Test: Agence France Presse (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; On Tuesday, Zambian Vice President Nevers Mumba became the third prominent Zambian to undergo an HIV test. Mumba took the test when he visited a new HIV testing center established in Lusaka. It is a double-edged sword issue but I am happy with the results, he said Wednesday. I hope my colleagues will gain courage to be
MICHIGAN: Flint Native Working to Stem AIDS Epidemic Among Blacks: Flint Journal (08.30.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Shantell M. Kirkendoll; A volunteer activist from her teen years, 29-year-old Flint native Tamara Dillard recently moved to California to join the Black AIDS Institute s African American HIV University as a training manager. AAHU fellows combine classroom teaching and real-world experience to help reverse the number of HIV infections among bl
TEXAS: AIDS Facility in Oak Cliff Closes After Questionable Spending: Dallas Morning News (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Sherry Jacobson; A routine Dallas County audit of Hillvale Medical Group Associates, a residential and drug treatment facility in Oak Cliff for people with HIV/AIDS, found $200,000 in spending of its $625,000 contract was inconsistent with the contract or federal regulations. The discovery forced the county to suspend its funding, said
UNITED STATES: Medically Eligible Women Who Do Not Use HAART: The Importance of Abuse, Drug Use, and Race: American Journal of Public Health (07.04) Vol. 94; No. 7: P. 1147-1151 - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Mardge H. Cohen, MD; Judith A. Cook, PhD; Dennis Grey, BA; Mary Young, MD; Lawrence H. Hanau, MD; Phyllis Tien, MD; Alexandra M. Levine, MD; Tracey E. Wilson, MD; The researchers investigated the prevalence and characteristics of HIV-positive women who do not report using highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The investigators analyzed HAART use among 1,165 HIV-positive women enrolled in the Women s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a longitudinal multicenter study funded by
GLOBAL: Experts Stress Importance of HIV Prevention Vaccine: Xinhua News Agency (09.02.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Today at an international health conference in Lausanne, Switzerland , HIV vaccine experts said the world must increase efforts to find a vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS in addition to finding new treatments for the disease. The global response to AIDS must include both compassion for those who are infected and a heightene
NEW JERSEY: Judge Rules Against Atlantic City Needle Exchange Program: Associated Press (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Atlantic City lacks the legal authority to set up a needle- exchange program, Superior Court Judge Valerie J. Armstrong wrote in an opinion released Wednesday. The judge said her opinion did not speak to whether such a program would be sound public policy, only whether it would be allowed under state law. The city coun
MISSISSIPPI: Agency Heads Trying to Find Money for AIDS Drug Programs: Associated Press (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Shelia Hardwell Byrd; State health officials are searching for federal money to help cover prescription costs for HIV/AIDS patients among those in the Poverty Level Aged and Disabled category eliminated from Mississippi s Medicaid program. PLAD was dropped from Medicaid, which operates on state and federal funding, as part of legislation ap
WASHINGTON: Locke Urged to Help on Prescription Drugs: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (09.01.04) - Thursday, September 02, 2004; Carol Smith; Under the new Medicare Modernization Act scheduled to take effect in 2006, Washington patients who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare could likely face drug co-payments for the first time - a possibility prompting the Governor s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS to ask Gov. Gary Locke to take action. On Tuesday, the cou
ARKANSAS: Center Gets Grants for Rural HIV Care: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (08.29.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday it had awarded the White River Rural Health Center Inc. in Augusta $97,740 in title III Ryan White CARE Act funds. The center is the only Arkansas group to receive one of the 49 HHS grants awarded nationally. The awards are to help organizations in rura
NIGERIA: Children's Fund Chief Fights AIDS in Nigeria: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (09.01.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Shelia M. Poole; Nigerian native Victor Mbaba, founder of the Atlanta-based nonprofit Africa s Children s Fund (AFC), has returned to his native land for a special ceremony honoring an HIV/AIDS prevention program that focuses on people ages 9-24. Mbaba also plans to distribute school supplies, such as books, backpacks and pencils. AFC
UGANDA: 50 Percent of Freed Abducted Ugandan Children Are HIV- Positive: Xinhua News Agency (08.31.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Half the children rescued from Lord s Resistance Army rebels in northern Uganda are HIV-positive, according to Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, the minister of gender, labor and social development. The state-owned New Vision newspaper quoted Bakoru as saying LRA leader Joseph Kony is abducting children as young as nine years old. Si
NEBRASKA: Festival Fun Draws Crowd, Shares Vital Facts: Omaha World-Herald (08.29.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Cindy Gonzalez; On Saturday, about 70 people attended the Fun Festival at the Fontenelle Park Pavilion in Omaha. Blacks Working with HIV/AIDS Inc. (BWHA) sponsored the event, which featured a moonwalk and rock-climbing wall for children, free food, and performances including a gospel group and drill team. Formed last year by black exp
NEVADA: Fighting AIDS in Our Community Today: New HIV Center Opens: Las Vegas Review-Journal (08.28.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Juliet V. Casey; In an effort to reach the predominantly African-American community of West Las Vegas, the nonprofit FACT (Fighting AIDS in Our Community Today) center has relocated to the area. FACT offers HIV/AIDS prevention education and service referrals for those living with HIV/AIDS. The new 3,800-square-foot center is adjacent t
MISSOURI: HIV Patients Lose Clinic: Kansas City Star (09.01.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Julius A. Karash; On Tuesday, the for-profit HCA Inc. closed down the Kansas City outpatient Midtown ID Clinic (MIDC), which had treated mostly HIV/AIDS patients during its 18-year existence. However, patients should not panic, said Donovan Mouton, Mayor Kay Barnes director of urban affairs. Other local providers would help ease the tra
UNITED STATES: Disease Prevention: Literature Review Finds Evidence that Condom Use Helps Prevent STIs: Women's Health Weekly (08.26.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; University of Washington researchers reported that studies of medical literature offer evidence that condom use helps prevent sexually transmitted infections. In June 2000, the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) organized a review of the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing s
PHILIPPINES: Philippines Says Tuberculosis Cases Hit the Army: Reuters (09.01.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Harsh combat conditions endured by Philippine soldiers sent to search for communist gorillas and Islamic militants in the country s tropical jungles may explain why hundreds have become infected with TB, Col. Rafael Regino, the military s surgeon general, said today in Manila. From January to June of this year, over 20
GLOBAL: UN Cites Gains for Women Worldwide, but Health Issues Linger: New York Times (09.01.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Lizette Alvarez; A new UN Population Fund report says that while some improvements have been made in women s rights and health, there has been little progress in other areas. The findings were released at a London gathering of nongovernmental organizations to assess the halfway point of the 20-year Cairo Consensus. In that landmark age
CALIFORNIA: Health Chief: Test Released Cons for HIV: Alameda Times-Star (08.28.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Michelle Maitre; Alameda County residents released from California prisons or jails should first be tested for HIV to help control rising infection rates, particularly among low-income women, said Arnold Perkins, the county s public health director. This is a national phenomenon, men returning from prison having engaged in sexual activ
NEW JERSEY: Needle Swap Bill Is Readied: The Times (Trenton) (09.01.04) - Wednesday, September 01, 2004; Joseph Dee; A bill Gov. James E. McGreevey hopes to sign before his Nov. 15 resignation would apparently permit needle-exchange programs in the state but would not allow pharmacy sales of syringes without a prescription. If the bill being drafted becomes law, it would leave Delaware as the only state that allows neither needle exc
CALIFORNIA: Governor Vetoes 10 Measures: Los Angeles Times (08.31.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Jordan Rau; On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed 10 bills and signed 37. Among those he signed was AB1925, which requires that a school notify a pupil s parent or guardian if comprehensive sexual health or HIV/AIDS prevention instruction is to be taught by outside consultants, or if such instruction is to be provided at an
RUSSIA: Seminar on AIDS Preventive Measures Among Servicemen to Be Held: ITAR-TASS News Agency (08.31.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Today in Moscow, conferees at an international seminar will discuss preventing AIDS among military personnel. The defense ministries of Russia and the United States organized the meeting, which will run through Thursday. About 500 servicemen with AIDS resign from the Russian Army each year, said Major- General Valery K
CHINA: 73 More HIV Positive Cases Reported in Hong Kong: Xinhua News Agency (08.31.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Today, the Department of Health of Hong Kong said 73 residents tested positive for HIV in the second quarter of 2004. Of the 73 new HIV cases reported, 39 acquired the infection via heterosexual contact, 16 via homosexual or bisexual contact and four through intravenous drug use, said Chan Kam-tim, senior medical offi
GLOBAL: UN Body Urges Women and Youth to Help Researchers Find AIDS Vaccine: Agence France Presse (08.31.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Today in Switzerland , experts at an international health conference called on women and young people to play a greater role in helping researchers develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine. A joint statement by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS noted that studies have found that women exposed to th
NEW YORK: Why HIV Rates Aren't Climbing: Gay City News (08.26.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Duncan Osborne; Although some gay men in New York City continue to use legal and illegal drugs and have unsafe sex - as evidenced by rising syphilis and rectal gonorrhea rates - HIV infections among gay men have remained stable for a decade. According to city health department estimates, the incidence rate of new HIV infections among
PENNSYLVANIA: Fewer Seek HIV Tests: Burlington County Times (08.30.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Melissa Milewski; Montgomery County, Pa., conducted just 1,157 HIV tests last year in public facilities including county health centers, prison and other sites - a decline of about 45 percent from the 2,119 tests performed in 1999. Officials could not explain the testing decline. That is the opposite of what we would like to see, said J
UNITED STATES: Doctors Can Bridge Sex Knowledge Gap for Teens: American Medical News (08.23.04) Vol. 47; No. 32 - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Susan J. Landers; A recent Kaiser Family Foundation phone survey of 500 teens ages 15-17 found that while the majority knew about birth- control pills, more than one in four did not know that oral contraceptives offer no protection against STDs. The survey was part of an education campaign by Kaiser and Seventeen magazine called Sex Sma
SWAZILAND: Swazi AIDS Study Shows Fewer Teenage Infections: Reuters (08.27.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; James Hall; A new UNICEF-sponsored study revealed that far fewer teenage girls in Swaziland are infected with HIV than previously estimated - suggesting that AIDS education efforts there might be paying off. The study, which involved the country s first mass blood testing, indicated that younger teenage girls in particular appeare
INDIA: India Steps Away from the Old Song and Dance: Washington Post (08.29.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; John Lancaster; Phir Milenge (We Will Meet Again), which opened Friday across India , is the first mainstream Bollywood film to tackle HIV stigma. Directed by veteran actress Revathy Menon, the film borrows from the 1993 film Philadelphia, in which Tom Hanks played an HIV-infected lawyer who files a wrongful termination suit after he
UNITED STATES: Stricter Review of HIV Prevention Materials Criticized: Southern Voice (08.20.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; Dyana Bagby; AIDS advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union are urging CDC to reconsider proposed changes to its HIV Content Guidelines for HIV education materials. The revisions seek to address advances in technology, such as Web sites, increase accountability among fund recipients, and increase clarity, according to CDC.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: N.H. AIDS Program Said to Be Meeting Needs: Associated Press (08.28.04) - Tuesday, August 31, 2004; While many poor and uninsured people with HIV/AIDS are on waiting lists for medicine in states nationwide, New Hampshire residents are not among them. HIV/AIDS patients in New Hampshire s AIDS Drug Assistance Program also have no restrictions on prescribed drugs. However, ADAP clients applying for assistance after Sept
LESOTHO: Lesotho's Central Bank Warns AIDS Can Roll Back Development: Agence France Presse (08.30.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Lesotho s central bank warned today in its economic review for the first quarter of 2004 that HIV/AIDS threatens nearly four decades of the country s development. As the pandemic pushes some households into poverty, the government may be forced to divert funding from other projects in order to provide financial assista
CALIFORNIA: Legislative Session Ends; A Look at Some of the Key Bills Passed: Los Angeles Times (08.29.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Among the bills by the California Legislature and sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, two address needle exchange. AB 2871, sponsored by Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka), would end the requirement that a county or city declare a local emergency to begin a needle-exchange program. Another, SB 1159 by Sen. John Vasco
INDONESIA: Indonesia Urged to Change Attitudes Towards Gays in Anti-AIDS Drive: Agence France Presse (08.26.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Clerics and officials in Indonesia , the world s largest Muslim-populated country, must change their attitudes toward homosexuals in order to tackle HIV/AIDS, advocates from the National Committee on AIDS Control and activists said Thursday. Next month, advocates will develop strategies and make recommendations for dea
UNITED STATES: Glaxo Agrees to Post Results of Drug Trials on Web Site: New York Times (08.27.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Gardiner Harris; On Thursday, under a settlement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline agreed to post on its Web site the results of all clinical trials involving Glaxo drugs. Spitzer filed suit against Glaxo in June, contending that the drug company s selective disclosure of clinical data involving u
ILLINOIS: Chinese Physicians Study HIV/AIDS Care with Chicago's Howard Brown: Chicago Free Press (08.25.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Gary Barlow; On August 14, three Chinese physicians arrived in Chicago to learn more about the latest HIV/AIDS treatments at Howard Brown Health Center (HBHC). Zhou Zhi Hui, Tie Teng Lu and Yuan Gang from Zhejiang province will study at HBHC - the Midwest s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender medical agency - for about
CALIFORNIA: False Diagnosis of HIV Discovered After 8 Years: San Francisco Chronicle (08.28.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Julian Guthrie; Earlier this month, Hayward resident Jim Malone was told by his doctor that his 1996 HIV-positive diagnosis was incorrect. For eight years, Malone attended biweekly counseling sessions for HIV-positive men, while Project Open Hand delivered free meals and a home-health nurse visited him every two weeks. Officials at th
GLOBAL: Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Improved Diagnostic Tools Help Prevent, Manage Maternal and Congenital Syphilis: Women's Health Weekly (08.26.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; According to R.W. Peeling of the World Health Organization and UNICEF and colleagues, improvements in diagnostic tools are helping prevent and manage maternal and congenital syphilis, but more work is needed. Syphilis is a major cause of adverse outcomes in pregnancy in developing countries, Peeling and colleagues wro
UNITED KINGDOM: Massive Rise in Chlamydia Puts Young Scots at Risk of Infection: The Herald (08.26.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Helen Puttick; This year for the first time, the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH), which monitors STDs, has begun reporting the number of chlamydia cases per quarter. According to newly released data, 4,200 chlamydia cases were diagnosed between April and the end of June - a 16 percent increase over the
CANADA: New HIV Infections Decline: But Rise in Other STIs Cause for Concern: Edmonton Journal (08.28.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Susan Ruttan; While Alberta recorded a five-year low of 151 new HIV infections for 2003, other sexually transmitted infections have increased, HIV Edmonton Executive Director Sherry McKibben said Friday. It is also too early to suggest HIV infections are slowing, she said, since STIs are a kind of precursor to HIV figures in terms o
CHINA: China Bans Blood Trade to Stop AIDS: Reuters (08.28.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; On Saturday, China s parliament passed laws banning blood buying and blood selling and outlawing discrimination against infectious disease patients, state media reported. President Hu Jintao signed 12 decrees enacting two revised laws and 10 amendments to laws passed during the 11th session of the Standing Committee of
NORTH CAROLINA: Duke Study: Medicaid Gap Hurts HIV Patients: Durham Herald-Sun (08.26.04) - Monday, August 30, 2004; Jim Sharp; Co-pay-like requirements built into North Carolina s Medicaid program cause more illness and cost more per HIV patient than if the payments were abolished, new research indicates. Under the state s spend-down program - one of 35 nationwide - patients must pay a certain amount of out-of pocket health care expenses over
NORTH CAROLINA: Committee Says County Should Hire Six to Fight HIV: Charlotte Observer (08.25.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Dianne Whitacre; Howie Paul Hartnett; Ronnie Glassberg; If Mecklenburg County officials follow the Youth and Families Committee s recommendation, the county will spend $315,000 to hire two HIV counselors for the STD/HIV Clinic; two HIV prevention outreach workers to serve high-risk populations; one nurse practitioner to provide clinical care and management for patients rece
UNITED STATES: Gilead Says Its AIDS Treatment Is Better than Glaxo's: New York Times (08.27.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Bloomberg News; Gilead Sciences Inc. said early results from a study indicate that a combination of its HIV/AIDS drugs suppressed the virus more effectively than a GlaxoSmithKline treatment. Researchers compared Gilead s Viread and Emtriva w
MICHIGAN: Abstinence: The Strength to Say No: Detroit Free Press (08.27.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Cassandra Spratling; On Saturday, Project SAVE (Support Abstinence Via Education) is hosting a Detroit-wide rally on Finney High s football field, where students and others will provide both entertainment and information about abstinence. Project SAVE is a program run by St. John Health System - one of several programs funded by federal an
FLORIDA: Two in Home for Teenage Boys Have Syphilis; Judge Orders Tests for All Boys There: Florida Times-Union (08.25.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Paul Pinkham; Circuit Judge David Gooding has ordered that every boy at New Visions, a Jacksonville group home for teenage boys, be tested for syphilis. The order came in response to the discovery that two boys have tested positive for syphilis and a third may be infected. The potential syphilis outbreak came to light in the juvenil
NEW YORK: Nix Condom Demos: New York Daily News (08.27.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Kathleen Lucadamo; Under a new sex-education curriculum approved this year by the Education Department, New York City teachers can talk about condoms but must skip the controversial course element in which they would have demonstrated condom use to students age 14 and over, city school officials said. The curriculum suggested that high s
MARYLAND: State Orders Medical Lab to Close: Associated Press (08.27.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Health officials have ordered a Rosedale medical laboratory shut down and offered 3,000 patients retesting to check the accuracy of STD test results. When inspections revealed deficiencies at Reference Pathology Services of Maryland, Dr. Jesus Socrates, the lab s medical director and a pathologist at Hanover Hospital i
FRANCE: Vaccine Could Prevent Most Cervical Cancers: Reuters Health (08.12.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Will Boggs, MD; A vaccine based on the seven types of human papillomavirus (HPV) most commonly linked to cervical cancer could prevent most cases of the diseases, researchers said. However, no such vaccine exists at present. Dr. Nubia Mu�oz, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer-Lyon, and colleagues conducted an analysis
UNITED KINGDOM: Ulster Parents Urged to Teach Sex Education; New Guidelines on How to Tackle Issue: Belfast Telegraph (08.25.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Brendan McDaid; On Wednesday, health professionals warned that Northern Ireland s teens are being exposed to STDs, pregnancies and abuse through lack of sexual awareness, and they called upon parents to provide sex education to their children. With teen STD and pregnancy rates continuing to rise in Ulster, the Health Promotion Agency,
MASSACHUSETTS: HIV in Hispanic Women Acute Problem in Region: The Republican (Springfield) (08.26.04) - Friday, August 27, 2004; Natalia Nu�oz; Massachusetts ranks 11th in the nation from deaths due to AIDS. Since 1981, Springfield has had 1,583 people with HIV/AIDS of whom 656, or 41 percent, have died. Statewide, 42 percent of people ever diagnosed with HIV/AIDS have died. In western Massachusetts, women and Hispanics make up a larger part of HIV cases than
AUSTRALIA: Sex Warning for Backpackers: The Age (08.26.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Australian Associated Press; In conjunction with sexual health clinics, the Family Planning Association New South Wales is launching Safe in the Sack, a sexual health awareness campaign targeting young backpackers, hundreds of thousands of whom visit Australia annually. About half of backpackers engage in casual sex and studies have found a third
ZAMBIA: Zambian Bishops Say AIDS Is Wreaking Havoc in Education: Agence France Presse (08.25.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; On Wednesday, ten Zambian Roman Catholic bishops warned the government that HIV/AIDS and poor funding have severely affected the nation s school system. In a joint letter, the bishops urged immediate action, saying the pandemic had increased absenteeism, reduced teacher numbers and adversely affected the quality of tea
PHILIPPINES: Poster Person for TB Sought: Philippine Daily Inquirer (08.26.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Blanche S. Rivera; The Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT) is seeking a celebrity patient to help spur a national TB education campaign. PhilCAT, which is supported by the US Agency for International Development, said such a person could encourage others to seek treatment. Lee Reichmann, executive director of the New Jers
TEXAS: $1.9 Million Will Help Area HIV/AIDS Patients: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (08.26.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Mitch Mitchell; On Wednesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1.9 million in funding to North Texas agencies that care for HIV/AIDS patients. The Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth received more than $452,000 to help pregnant women with HIV/AIDS deliver healthy children, said Heather Reynolds, spokesperso
PENNSYLVANIA: Needle Exchange Test Prompts Responses at Bethel Park Hearing: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (08.25.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Al Lowe; On Saturday at a community meeting, Pittsburgh residents discussed an experimental program, operated by Prevention Point Pittsburgh (PPP), that offers needle exchanges at Allegheny County Health Department offices in Oakland on Sunday afternoons. The county Board of Health is expected to vote soon on whether to continu
UNITED STATES: Treating Mental Problems also Helps HIV Treatment: Therapy Along with Medical Treatment Works Best: AIDS Alert (08.01.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; According to Glenn J. Treisman, MD, PhD, co-author of a book about psychiatric disorders and AIDS, providing psychiatric treatment to HIV patients with psychiatric comorbidity produces better treatment outcomes. A lot of data show that antiretrovirals are less likely to be taken by patients who have mental illness, Tre
UNITED STATES: Contraceptive Is Linked to High STD Risk: USA Today (08.23.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Rita Rubin; A new study found that using the contraceptive Depo Provera appears to triple women s risk of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection. An estimated 20 million-30 million women use the contraceptive, which is injected into the arm or buttocks every three months. It s popular among young women particularly, said Christine Mauc
SOUTH AFRICA: Health Minister Plays Down AIDS Drug Target: Mail & Guardian (08.26.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Donwald Pressly; South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has downplayed the government s target of treating 53,000 AIDS patients by year s end, saying the issue overlooked is that 90 percent of people will see a traditional healer [about AIDS] before visiting Western medical facilities. The minister also objected to use
LIBYA: Jackson Meets Libyan AIDS Children: CNN.com (08.25.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; In Bengasi, Jesse Jackson met AIDS-infected children whom Libyan authorities said were intentionally infected by five Bulgarian health workers and a Palestinian doctor. Jackson expressed sympathy for the children and their families and met hospital staff and the children s parents. In May, the health professionals were
UNITED STATES: AIDS Organizations Launch Absentee Ballot Drive: The Advocate.com (08.26.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; This week, a coalition of national AIDS organizations announced an absentee ballot drive aimed at helping HIV- positive people and others concerned about AIDS vote in the November election. People with HIV/AIDS are all too aware how politics affects our lives directly, because day-to-day survival can depend on access t
CALIFORNIA: State Review Calls for HIV Names Reporting: Bay Area Reporter (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 26, 2004; Liz Highleyman; An Aug. 3 report by the California Performance Review (CPR) panel - charged with streamlining state government operations and services - concluded that using unique coded alphanumeric identifiers (UIs) to report new HIV cases is labor intensive, less accurate, and more complex than using a name-based reporting system,
ZAMBIA: Zambia to Export AIDS Drugs: Xinhua News Agency (08.25.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; The local Daily Mail newspaper reported today that antiretrovirals produced in Zambia will be exported to neighboring countries. Health Minister Brian Chituwo said the locally made drugs will be of good quality and will meet international standards. The World Health Organization will monitor the drugs producti
CHINA: China's AIDS Orphans in Dire Need of Efficient Medication: Agence France Presse (08.25.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Some 76,000 Chinese AIDS orphans who are HIV-infected are in great need of medication suited for pediatric use, according to a report Wednesday in the state China Youth Daily. China currently neither manufactures nor systematically imports AIDS drugs for children, it said. Given this situation, local hospitals must giv
NORTH CAROLINA: Duke Medical Center Gets $4 Million to Study Infectious Diseases in Tanzania: Associated Press (08.24.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; On Tuesday, Duke University Medical Center said it will receive a $4 million, four-year grant to study infectious diseases that AIDS patients acquire in Tanzania . The grant is awarded by the National Institutes of Health s International Studies of AIDS-Associated Co-Infections program. This grant moves Duke to the fo
COLORADO: About 460 Cadets to Be Tested for TB: Associated Press (08.24.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; On Tuesday, Air Force Academy medical officials began testing about 460 cadets for TB after one preliminarily tested positive. The cadet was isolated in the facility s hospital, and academy officials said there is no danger to the public. It could take six to eight weeks to determine whether the positive-testing cadet
GEORGIA: Wellness Center Teeters on Brink of 'Financial Disaster': Southern Voice (08.20.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Dyana Bagby; The Absolute Wellness-Brandon Ross Abernathy Community Center opened in Atlanta in 1999. The nonprofit facility offers free physical and emotional support to people with AIDS and their families. Its services, which are provided by volunteers, include massage therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy and chiropractic care.
UNITED STATES: Certain Genes Make it Easier for Some People to Fight Hepatitis C: Associated Press (08.05.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Lauran Neergaard; Researchers from The Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the US National Cancer Institute and Britain s Southampton University are one step closer in figuring out why some people spontaneously recover from hepatitis C (HCV) infection: Their genes appear to unleash a faster front-line immune defense. Though the research wil
AFRICA: AIDS Pandemic Threatening Food Production in Southern and Eastern Africa: Associated Press (08.24.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; The incapacitation of adults by AIDS is stopping many subsistence farmers in Mozambique from planting a variety of crops and is threatening food production there and throughout southern and eastern Africa, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced Tuesday. The major FAO- commissioned study of subsistence
CHINA: China to Conduct Women's Sex Survey: Associated Press (08.24.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; On Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency said the Chinese government will conduct the first nationwide survey on women s sex lives. The 2004 China Female Sex Survey will ask about how often women have sex and whether they ve had extramarital affairs, among other questions. The survey, conducted by the government s Institute of S
VIETNAM: HIV/AIDS Is a Disease, Not a Social Evil: Vietnamese President: Agence France Presse (08.25.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Today in Hanoi, President Tran Duc Luong criticized local authorities for a lack of HIV awareness and urged people to consider AIDS as a disease rather than a social evil. We should improve the awareness of local leaders, people and society on the danger of this epidemic, the president said when visiting Bach Mai hospi
UNITED STATES: The Down Low Goes Down: Gay City News (New York City) (08.19.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Duncan Osborne; A link between HIV s spread in the African-American community and African-American men on the down low - men who have sex with both men and women, but do not identify as gay or bisexual - has been widely reported, including in the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and New York Times Magazine. Each of those articles ci
CALIFORNIA: Inmates Say AIDS Education Is Lacking: Contra Costa Times (08.22.04) - Wednesday, August 25, 2004; Stan Donaldson; California prison officials say 1,163 HIV-positive men are in state prisons, but because prisons test for the disease only at an inmate s request, community health workers say the number of infected is likely higher. The Pittsburg Pre-School and Community Council Inc. surveyed 113 high-risk women July 2003-June 2004 an
NORTH CAROLINA: Gaston County to Get $90,000 for AIDS Efforts: Charlotte Observer (08.22.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Kytja Weir; Alice Gregory Hartnett; Gaston and other Charlotte-area counties will receive $1.1 million from the Regional HIV/AIDS Consortium to help with HIV treatment and prevention, and education and housing services for those affected. Gaston s $90,000 share will go to the AIDS Council of Gaston County; Gaston County Health Department; the county s te
MOZAMBIQUE: AIDS Taking Toll on Mozambique Agriculture: United Press International (08.24.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization warned today that the HIV/AIDS epidemic could lead to a long-term food shortage in Mozambique . More than 1.3 million people among Mozambique s population of 18 million are believed to be HIV- infected. The study of the nation s farmers documents an alarming trend affec
NIGERIA: US Pledges More Aid to Nigeria to Fight HIV-AIDS: Agence France Presse (08.23.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; In his five-nation tour of Africa, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) stopped Monday in Abuja, Nigeria , and said the United States is committed to offering more assistance to Nigeria in the global HIV/AIDS fight. The United States has already committed about $600,000 to an HIV/AIDS clinic at an Abuja military barracks, he said
WISCONSIN: Group Hopes to Make Youth Sex a Turnoff: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (08.22.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Erik A. Carlson; As part of a summer-long program to promote abstinence, a group of Milwaukee teens recently took to the streets to talk- up the benefits of waiting to have sex. In the neighborhood around N. 27th St. and W. Medford Ave., the teens went door- to-door handing out yard signs, brochures and fact sheets that addressed, amon
WASHINGTON: Man with TB May Be Jailed for Refusing Treatment: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (08.23.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Tom Paulson; Public health officials in Seattle petitioned a court to order that a patient refusing TB treatment be involuntarily detained as a last resort. Health department spokesperson James Apa, citing medical privacy laws and sealed court records, could not provide much information about the person or why the department sought
UNITED STATES: University of New Mexico Working on Tuberculosis Drug: Associated Press (08.24.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; University of New Mexico scientists are working to learn the secrets of isoniazid, the most effective TB drug, in an effort to build better drugs to fight the disease. It s a case of the more you know, the better your strategy for fighting disease works, said UNM microbiologist Graham Timmins. More than 2 billion peopl
AUSTRALIA: Australian Discovery Offers New Hope of a Hepatitis C Vaccine: Agence France Presse (08.23.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Australian researchers report in a new study that they have discovered a naturally occurring antibody that has immunized high-risk people against hepatitis C virus (HCV), raising hopes of a vaccine against the deadly disease. In a University of New South Wales study of 160 Australian inmates, Andrew Lloyd and colleague
MYANMAR: Global Fund to Give a $7 Million Grant to Myanmar to Combat Tuberculosis: British Medical Journal (08.21.04) Vol. 329: No. 7463: P. 420 - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Karen H�bert; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has awarded a two-year, $7 million grant to battle tuberculosis in Myanmar (formerly Burma ). With about 80,000 new TB cases annually, Myanmar is one of the world s 22 high-burden countries for the disease. The goal of the UN-backed grant is to improve TB detection among pe
CALIFORNIA: Sex-Film Industry Threatened with Condom Requirement: New York Times (08.24.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Nick Madigan; California Assemblymember Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) last week sent a letter to 185 pornography producers and publishers advising that their sex performers adopt harm-reduction procedures, including condom use, or face the possibility that the Legislature will mandate more stringent actions. Worker safety in the in
UNITED STATES: Doctor Wants Viagra to Be Controlled Substance: San Francisco Chronicle (08.24.04) - Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Sabin Russell; San Francisco STD Control Director Dr. Jeffrey Klausner announced Monday he has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to reclassify Viagra and similar erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs as Schedule III controlled substances, a category reserved for legal drugs prone to abuse. The reporting requirements that accompan
COLORADO: AIDS Walk 'a Day of Unity': Rocky Mountain News (08.23.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; John C. Ensslin; Some 8,000 participants registered for Sunday s AIDS Walk in Denver s Cheesman Park. The number of teams - 511 - was up by about 100 from last year s walk, said Diedre Maloney, executive director of the Colorado AIDS Project. Organizers expected the event to raise close to $800,000 for 30 AIDS- related organizations.
TANZANIA: Tanzanian Government Releases Fund for HIV/AIDS Drugs: Xinhua News Agency (08.23.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; The Tanzanian government has authorized 2 billion shillings (US$1.8 million) for the purchase of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that will soon be distributed to HIV patients free of charge, the Guardian reported today. The distribution was initially set for March of this year but delays in releasing the funds postponed the
CHINA: Chinese City Issues First Local AIDS Prevention Regulation: Agence France Presse (08.21.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; The legislative body of east China s Jiangsu province is the first local government to adopt regulations covering HIV/AIDS prevention and discrimination, Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. Liu Kexi, deputy director of the Jiangsu People s Congress legal committee, was quoted as saying the law emphasizes increasing H
MARYLAND: Race Intended to Raise AIDS Funds, Awareness: Baltimore Sun (08.20.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; Gina Davis; There are 130-140 HIV cases in Carroll County, Md., but there are probably that many more out there that are undiagnosed, said Bernice Culver, a county Health Department HIV/AIDS program case manager. Our infection rate [in Carroll County] is probably one in 1,200 people, she said. In an effort to raise HIV/AIDS awaren
MARYLAND: Drug Needle Exchange Has Helped Addicts for 10 Years: Associated Press (05.20.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; Brian Witte; With the goal of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the nation s largest city-run needle-exchange program has taken at least 6 million needles off the streets of Baltimore, city Health Commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson said Friday. Since its inception in 1994, the program has enrolled more than 14,000 addicts and tested m
NEW YORK: $1 Million Infusion to HIV Clinic: Daily News (New York City) (08.22.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; Joni Carrasco; The HIV/Infectious Disease Clinic at Elmhurst Hospital Center recently received a much-needed, $1 million boost from the New York City Council. Councilmember Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona), who has made HIV/AIDS and breast cancer his two main health platforms, presented the check to Elmhurst officials. Monserrate said tha
CANADA: Mortality in a Cohort of Street Youth in Montreal: Journal of the American Medical Association (08.04.04) Vol. 292, No. 5: P. 569-574 - Monday, August 23, 2004; �lise Roy, MD, MSc; Nancy Haley, MD, FRCPC; Pascale Leclerc, MSc; Barbara Sochanski, MSc; Jean-Fran�ois Boudreau, MSc; Jean-Fran�ois Boivin, MD, ScD; Street youth share many characteristics that jeopardize their development and health including, frequently, high-risk activities such as prostitution, substance abuse and IV drug use. Many street youth studies have found high prevalences of STDs, HIV, viral hepatitis, drug dependence and mental health problems. However
CHINA: China Gets $32 Million to Fight AIDS After Blood Scandal: Reuters (08.19.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; On Thursday, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria announced it will provide China with $32 million to furnish antiretroviral drugs to people infected with HIV mainly through unsanitary blood-buying. Experts say these schemes resulted in at least 1 million HIV infections in Henan province alone; China acknowled
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Drugs: 'They Must Lower Their Prices': Mail & Guardian (08.20.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; South African Press Association; The US-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced Friday it has officially lodged a complaint with South Africa s Competition Tribunal against high prices that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) charges for its AIDS drugs. The foundation says Glaxo s pricing detrimentally affects South Africans with HIV/AIDS. AHF runs a free
KANSAS: Kansas Prisoner Possibly Infected Scores with Tuberculosis: Associated Press (08.20.04) - Monday, August 23, 2004; David Twiddy; For nine months in 2002, a Kansas man was held in three county jails and a state prison before officials determined he had infectious tuberculosis, according to a new report from CDC. Of the 318 people with whom health care workers said the man had contact, 47 tested positive; 60 could not be found or refused testing;
UGANDA: Ugandan National Council of Sports Starts AIDS Awareness Program: Xinhua News Agency (08.20.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; The Ugandan National Council of Sports (NCS) has launched a drive to create HIV/AIDS awareness among athletes and sports fans. Local media today quoted Nicholas Muramagi, program coordinator, as saying that with the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, NCS will train peer coaches to carry out the c
AFRICA: East African Nations to Negotiate for ARVs as a Bloc: Xinhua News Agency (08.20.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; The three nations in the East African Community - Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania - have agreed to negotiate as a bloc with licensed antiretroviral drug makers for local production of generic drugs, the local Daily News reported today. HIV/AIDS prevalence in the region stands at 10 percent in Tanzania, 7 perce
FLORIDA: Beauty Fights Against AIDS: Miami Herald (08.15.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Ginelle G. Torres; Thea Duncan, a 21-year-old University of Miami student, was crowned the first Miss CARICOM, or Caribbean Community, in Guyana in July. Instead of a talent competition, pageant contestants were judged on their platform issue. Duncan s was HIV/AIDS awareness. The United Nations came out with recent figures and they are a
UNITED STATES: Helping Teens in HIV-Affected Families Pays Off: Reuters (08.03.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Merritt McKinney; Programs designed to help adolescents cope with a parent s HIV infection can improve their own health and well-being, according to new a University of California-Los Angeles study. Psychosocial interventions can improve health outcomes, and the impact lasts at least six years for adolescent children of parents living w
CANADA: Hip-Hop and Humor Send a Deadly Serious Message: Toronto Star (08.19.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Tarannum Kamlani; The play Reality Rules, performed by the Act Out project and funded by Toronto Public Health, uses hip-hop, humor and dance to speak to youths about HIV/AIDS. Fifty young people, ages eight to 24, perform the play, which was written by Arlene Roze Jardine, a youth worker with Toronto parks and recreation and the St. Al
INDIA: First-Ever Bollywood Film on HIV/AIDS Wins Rare Praise from UN: Agence France Presse (08.20.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; The UN is praising a mainstream movie from Bollywood - India s film industry - that tackles the fear, ignorance, stigma and workplace discrimination confronting those living with HIV/AIDS. Directed by award-winning actress Revathy Menon, Phir Milenge (We Will Meet Again) centers on the life of a successful career woman
GEORGIA: Teen Centers Can Stay Open for Another 30 Days: Associated Press (08.19.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Thirty state-funded Georgia teen centers will remain open for at least another 30 days while officials consider whether providing the teens with contraceptives has been effective in curbing STD and pregnancy rates. On Wednesday, the state Board of Human Resources tabled a proposed policy that would permit teenagers to
NORTH CAROLINA: Funds to Cut Wait for HIV Medicine: Charlotte Observer (08.20.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Karen Garloch; On Thursday, North Carolina health officials announced that more than 960 state residents waiting for AIDS drug assistance will soon get help. The General Assembly recently appropriated $2.75 million in additional funding for the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program. That money, combined with extra federal government fun
UNITED STATES: Teenagers' Sexual Activity Is Tied to Drugs and Drink: New York Times (08.20.04) - Friday, August 20, 2004; Courtney C. Radsch; A study released Thursday by Columbia University s National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) revealed that teenagers whose friends were sexually active were more likely to drink, smoke or use illegal drugs. The study, the ninth National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse, randomly surveyed 1,
OKLAHOMA: Rose State Receives Grants: Daily Oklahoman (08.17.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Rose State College recently received $5,000 in grants to fund the school s Children s Dental Health Program and educate students in HIV/AIDS counseling. The Oklahoma City Community Fund and the American Association of Colleges Bridges to Health Communities Fund provided the grants. The HIV/AIDS training will give stude
CHINA: China Admits Illegal Blood Collection Still a Problem: Agence France Presse (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; The unsanitary blood-buying programs that were one of the main causes of China s AIDS epidemic were outlawed in 1996. Today, however, state media reported that the practice is still rampant. Illegal blood collection still exists in some blood stations and even medical institutions. There is no strict mechanism to ensur
OHIO: Cincinnati's Gonorrhea Rate Drops: Cincinnati Enquirer (08.16.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Matt Leingang; Overall declines in rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in Cincinnati are encouraging but difficult to explain, city health officials said recently. Preliminary Ohio Department of Health figures project the city does not have the state s highest gonorrhea infection rate for the first time in five years. The city s chlamyd
UNITED STATES: At-Risk Populations: Female Hispanic Farm Workers in South Florida at Higher HIV Risk than Men: Women's Health Weekly (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; In the current study, University of Miami epidemiologists reported female Hispanic farm workers in South Florida are at higher risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity than their male peers. M.I. Fernandez and colleagues examined factors associated with being at risk of sexually acquiring HIV among a community sam
UNITED STATES: Study: Tests May Make Donated Tissue Safer: Associated Press (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Jeff Donn; Genetic testing for viruses could make donated tissues even safer for recipients, according to a new study. Researchers from the American Red Cross and Puget Sound Blood Center/Northwest Tissue Center in Seattle examined infection data on tissue from 11,391 donors to five US tissue banks. They estimated the chance of a
SPAIN: Heart Drugs May Target AIDS Virus, Study Shows: Reuters (08.16.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Maggie Fox; Statins lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Now, new research from Spain indicates they may also fight HIV. In the study, statins alone given to HIV patients suppressed the virus and helped replenish T-cells. According to the team at the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, statins seem t
NIGERIA: Nigeria to Spend $248 Million to Fight HIV: Associated Press (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Gilbert da Costa; Nigeria will spend $248 million to get 200,000 HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral drugs by the end of 2005, Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo announced Wednesday. In addition to the cost of procuring the drugs, the money will be used to diagnose and monitor patients. This is a very ambitious program and we are going
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Papua New Guinea, the World's Next AIDS Frontier: Agence France Presse (08.18.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; David Millikin; Papua New Guinea (PNG) is on the brink of a southern-African- style AIDS epidemic, but political corruption and a fractured society are hampering anti-AIDS efforts there, say international aid officials. Out of a population of 5.2 million, at least 150 people in PNG are infected with HIV each month, an increase of 20
GLOBAL: US Withholds Some AIDS Money: Wall Street Journal (08.19.04) - Thursday, August 19, 2004; Marilyn Chase; Washington will withhold $120 million of promised 2004 donations to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria because other nations have not given their share, US Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias said Wednesday. With its earlier appropriation of $547 million, the United States is the biggest contributor t
BAHRAIN: 26 Bahrainis Said Diagnosed HIV-Positive: Associated Press (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Four Bahraini HIV cases have been diagnosed this year, bringing the total number of citizens infected to 26, the state-influenced Gulf Daily News quoted National STD Program Manager Somaya al-Jowder as saying Tuesday. None of this year s cases has progressed to AIDS, she said. No time frame was indicated for the earlie
KENYA: Nova Scotia Company Provides 700 Rapid HIV Tests to Kenyan Orphanage: Canadian Press (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Nova Scotia-based MedMira Inc., which markets rapid HIV diagnostic tests, announced Tuesday it recently donated 700 units for use in a Kenyan orphanage. The test kits were delivered mid-July to the orphanage by the nonprofit group Hopes and Dream Team (HDT). These tests enabled us to determine the number of children in
INDIANA: More Testing Needed for TB: Fort Wayne News-Sentinel (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Jennifer L. Boen; On Monday, Fort Wayne-Allen County Health officials confirmed two probable deaths from active TB, 17 definite TB cases, and two suspected cases in the county since Jan. 1. There could be more cases, said Commissioner of Health Dr. Deborah McMahan. There are over 200 people with latent TB, she said. We haven t identifie
UNITED STATES: Condom Use and the Risk of Recurrent Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Chronic Pelvic Pain, or Infertility Following an Episode of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: American Journal of Public Health (08.04) Vol. 94; No. 8: P. 1327-1329 - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH; Hugh Randall, MD; Holly E. Richter, PhD, MD; Jeffrey F. Peipert, MD, MPH; Andrea Montagno, RN; David E. Soper, MD; Richard L. Sweet, MD; Deborah B. Nelson, PhD; Diane Schubeck, MD; Susan L. Hendrix, DO; Debra C. Bass, MS; Kevin E. Kip, PhD; for the Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Evaluation and Clinical Health Study Investigators; Pelvic Inflammatory disease (PID) is a common clinical condition caused by bacterial STDs and represents inflammation of the pelvic organs that can result in PID recurrence, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Prevention of bacterial STDs is critical in efforts to reduce morbidity from PID and its sequelae. Condom us
AFRICA: Southern Africa Urged to See AIDS as Wider Crisis: Reuters (08.16.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; On Monday at the annual summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika said the region should respond to the AIDS epidemic as a political, social and economic crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly two-thirds of the world s HIV/AIDS patients, or some 25 million
SOUTH AFRICA: Nearly One-Fourth of South African Soldiers Contract HIV/AIDS: Xinhua News Agency (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; HIV/AIDS prevalence among the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) is estimated at 23 percent based on tests conducted on personnel being assessed for deployment on foreign peacekeeping missions, Pieter Oelofse, SANDF s health services director, said Tuesday. The SANDF figures are even higher than South Africa
RUSSIA: On Front Line of AIDS in Russia: Christian Science Monitor (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Scott Peterson; Tver, an industrial city of about 500,000, sits along the St. Petersburg-Moscow drug-trafficking route, and was one of the earliest Russian cities to witness surges in heroin and opium addiction. Russia s future AIDS predicament can be glimpsed there, where HIV transmission has spilled over from drug users to mainstrea
GLOBAL: Many Large Industrialized Nations to Lose Population by 2050: Associated Press (08.17.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Genaro C. Armas; A new study from the Population Reference Bureau predicts that many large industrialized nations will face population slow- downs or declines in the coming decades. The study said the world s population will increase by almost 50 percent by 2050 to close to 9.2 billion. Nearly all this growth will take place in develop
UNITED STATES: Many US Parents Unaware of Teen Sex, Study Finds: Reuters (08.12.04) - Wednesday, August 18, 2004; A national survey of parents of youths ages 14-18 found that many are unaware their teens are sexually active, researchers reported Thursday. Eighty-four percent of the 1,600 mothers and fathers surveyed did not think their teenager was sexually active - although recent government statistics showed that nearly half of
ARIZONA: Arizona State University Getting Federal Grant to Work on Drugs that Kill Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Associated Press (08.17.04) - Tuesday, August 17, 2004; The new Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University is receiving a five-year, $7.4-million federal grant to develop plant-based microbicides that kill STDs. ASU is working on the microbicide project with the National Vaccine Testing Center at the University of Maryland-Baltimore and San Diego-based Mapp Biopharmace
CANADA: Sex-Education Booklet for School Kids Released by Nova Scotia Health Department: Canadian Press (08.13.04) - Tuesday, August 17, 2004; The Nova Scotia Health Department has released - after much comment and debate,