2005

GEORGIA: AID Atlanta Executive Director to Step Down: Southern Voice (12.16.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Dyana Bagby; Kim Anderson has announced she will leave her position as the leader of AID Atlanta on Jan. 6. Anderson was named executive director in July 2002 after serving a year as the agency s chief operating officer. Development Director Steve Balfour will serve as interim executive director and said he plans to apply for the p
EUROPE: EU Warns that HIV Cases on the Increase in Europe: Associated Press (12.15.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; The European Union is launching a three-year AIDS campaign to promote safe sex and the use of sterile needles and to prevent mother-to-child infection. We must not lose sight of the fact that HIV/AIDS is still one of the biggest preventable killers worldwide, said Markos Kyprianou, the EU s health commissioner. With a
UNITED STATES: HIV and Smoking: Burning Up Lives: Gay City News (New York) (12.01.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Christopher Murray; The culture of AIDS is a culture of smoking. While around 22 percent of Americans smoke, a recent study showed that up to 66 percent of people with HIV are lighting up. That s not all. People with HIV are at much greater risk of negative health outcomes related to smoking than those without the virus. Why would people
NEW MEXICO: Program Targets Teen Birth Rate: Albuquerque Journal (12.09.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Michael Davis; In South Valley early next year, the New Mexico Department of Health is launching Plain Talk ( Hablando Claro ), a comprehensive program to help youths, parents, and community leaders battle the area s high teen pregnancy and STD rates. Currently, one in 10 South Valley teen girls will have a new baby by the end of the
CALIFORNIA: You've Got Mail, and...: Los Angeles Times (12.15.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Rong-Gong Lin II; Daniel Costello; On Wednesday, Los Angeles County announced that people with STDs can use the Web site inSPOTLA.org to notify sex partners to get tested and practice safer sex. The free site can help inform partners by e-mail that a user has an STD - from HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea to crabs or scabies. It will help more peo
CALIFORNIA: Facility Halts Use of Oral HIV Test: Los Angeles Times (12.16.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Rong-Gong Lin II; On Thursday, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center announced it has stopped using the OraQuick Advance rapid-result oral HIV test, which it says produces too many false positives. The center will use blood for its rapid-result testing; the problem has not been reported with this method. One of our biggest concerns is
UNITED STATES: Relationships of Deterrence and Law Enforcement to Drug-Related Harms Among Drug Injectors in US Metropolitan Areas: AIDS Vol. 20; No. 1: P. 93-99 (01.02.06) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Samuel R. Friedman; Hannah L.F. Cooper; Barbara Tempalski; Maria Keem; Risa Friedman; Peter L. Flom; Don C. Des Jarlais; To understand associations of punitive policies to the population prevalence of injection drug users (IDUs) and to HIV seroprevalence among IDUs, the authors conducted a lagged- cross-sectional analysis of US metropolitan statistical area data. After controlling for other metropolitan area characteristics, estimates of
CANADA: Canada Has Two-Tier Sex Trade: Report: Edmonton Sun (12.14.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Kristen Vernon; Researchers with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network are calling on the government to decriminalize prostitution and end what some call Canada s two-tiered sex trade. Toronto- based CHALN claims that while federal law overlooks prostitution in upscale massage parlors and escort services, sex workers on the streets are
UNITED STATES: US Judge Orders Serono to Pay $704 Million to Settle Fraud Allegations: Associated Press (12.15.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; On Thursday, Rockland, Mass.-based Serono Laboratories pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal conspiracy involving fraud when it offered kickbacks to doctors to bolster lackluster sales of its AIDS wasting drug Serostim. The settlement of the case was announced in October. In Boston, US District Court Judge Regina
UNITED STATES: CDC Recommends New Blood Test for TB: Associated Press (12.15.05) - Friday, December 16, 2005; Mike Stobbe; CDC said Thursday it is recommending a new, more accurate blood test for TB. The test is believed to yield fewer false positives and is more convenient for patients. For the past 100 years, health care workers have used a skin test to detect TB, in which a small amount of protein-bearing testing fluid - tuberculin - is
ILLINOIS: Howard Brown Calls for More Syphilis Testing: Windy City Times (Chicago) (12.14.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Andrew Davis; A recent spike in syphilis cases in Chicago has prompted Howard Brown Health Center to call for increased testing among sexually active men who have sex with men (MSM). The Chicago Department of Public Health reports that cases of primary and secondary syphilis among MSM increased to 135 during the first half of 2005 c
GREECE: 25 Percent Leap in New Greek HIV Cases in 2005: Agence France Presse (12.13.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; On Tuesday in Athens, Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis told a press conference that Greece has recorded 522 new HIV cases in 2005 through Dec. 8. This year s number of new HIV cases is thus expected to be 24-27 percent higher than last year s, according to data from the Center for Infectious Disease Control.
COLORADO: Colorado AIDS Project Feeds Afflicted: Rocky Mountain News (12.12.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Karl Licis; In an average month, the Colorado AIDS Project s Food Bank and Nutrition Program provides assistance to more than 500 HIV- positive people. A patients income determines their eligibility for the free program, which was launched in 1987. The food bank provides about one-third of the weekly nutritional needs of its clien
NORTH CAROLINA: The Other Deadly Virus; Durham Group Raising Awareness of Hepatitis C: News & Observer (Raleigh) (12.10.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Stanley B. Chambers Jr.; Organized in 2003, the Durham-based Piedmont HIV Integrated Community Access System is helping educate the community about hepatitis C virus (HCV). PHICAS s goal includes improving access to HIV/HCV care for the under- and uninsured, integrating social and medical services, and helping medical professionals understand
WASHINGTON: More Test Positive for Gonorrhea: Longview Daily News (12.12.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Barbara LaBoe; Earlier this month, the Cowlitz County health department issued an outbreak alert after receiving reports of 16 gonorrhea cases as of Nov. 23. According to epidemiologist Hilary Gillette, the number, which has since climbed to 27 cases, represents a one-month record for the county. The November figures put the county o
WASHINGTON: Spokane Schools Approve Updated Sex-Ed Materials: Spokesman-Review (Spokane) (12.06.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Rob McDonald; After months of discussion among administrators and a committee of citizens and students, the Spokane Public Schools board of directors recently approved new sex education videos and other materials. Produced by a division of the Discovery Channel, the videos, with titles like Deadly Desires and Sexual Pressure, will
SPAIN: High Levels of HIV Drug Cause Mental Problems: Reuters (12.13.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; In Spain , researchers studying long-term efavirenz therapy found that patients at higher doses had an increased rate of adverse psychiatric events, new research suggests. Up to half of patients on long-term efavirenz therapy may experience mental disorders, but data are lacking on which patients are at risk, noted Fel
KENYA: HIV Mystery in Kenya: Spouses Escape Infection: Edmonton Journal (12.14.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Mike Pflanz; Britain is funding a study to learn why tens of thousands of Kenyans in HIV serodiscordant couples have not transmitted the virus to their husbands or wives. Along the shores of Lake Victoria, HIV prevalence rates are among the world s highest. Some Kenyan social customs are thought to promote infection. The dominant L
INDONESIA: Vending Machines Serving Up Condoms in Indonesia: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.14.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; On Wednesday, Indonesian media reported the government has installed condom vending machines in Jakarta and elsewhere to curb STDs and increase men s role in family planning. Even if married women are monogamous, they can be infected if their husbands have unprotected sex with other partners, Ipin Husni, spokesperson f
NORTH CAROLINA: Sex? Systems Vary on What to Say - or Not to Say: News & Observer (Raleigh) (12.14.05) - Thursday, December 15, 2005; Patrick Winn; Under North Carolina law, all sex education lessons should stress a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage. This abstinence-only approach is at the core of sex education in more than 100 of the state s 117 school systems. Lessons on methods of contraception emphasize their pot
EASTERN EUROPE; RUSSIA: Group Urges Decriminalization of Prostitution to Prevent Spread of AIDS in East Europe: Associated Press (12.12.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; A survey of 27 states in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union found that 14 treat sex work as a minor offense or crime, a civic group said Monday. But instead of marginalizing sex workers, states should encourage them to be partners in the HIV/AIDS fight, according to the Central and Eastern European Harm Reducti
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa to Ban Zulu Custom of Virginity Testing: Agence France Presse (12.13.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Fienie Grobler; This week, South Africa s National Assembly will debate a bill that bans the age-old Zulu custom of virginity testing for girls under 16. The tradition, which involves the inspection of girls genitalia, has been criticized by human rights advocates who call it invasive and degrading. But others see it as an integral pa
UNITED KINGDOM: Deaths from Hepatitis C Double: The Guardian (London) (12.14.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; James Meikle; The Health Protection Agency reported Tuesday that deaths from hepatitis C in England have doubled in less than a decade. The number of people requiring hospitalization for the infection has tripled, as has the number of liver transplants necessitated by it. HPA is revising its estimate of those living with the virus.
CALIFORNIA: Magnet to Make Necessary Changes for Future: Bay Area Reporter (12.01.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Zak Szymanski; Two years after the Magnet health center opened in San Francisco s Castro district, its director, health advocates and volunteers are in the process of reviewing and expanding its programming and changing its organizational structure. We are a gay men s community health center, treating not just the health of the indiv
NORTH CAROLINA: Robeson Syphilis Rate Plunges: Fayetteville Observer (12.12.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Venita Jenkins; After four years of aggressive screening and awareness campaigns, Robeson County syphilis cases have dropped by 80 percent, county health officials said recently. In 2001, Robeson reported 144 cases, or 73 cases per 100,000 residents, according to CDC. As of Dec. 1, the county logged only 18 cases for 2005, mostly amon
FLORIDA: Miami-Dade Teachers Are Schooled on AIDS: Miami Herald (12.12.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Peter Bailey; Last week, a group of middle-school teachers gathered at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club to hear physicians lecture on abstinence, safe sex and accommodating HIV-positive students as part of a training seminar for the Miami-Dade school district s HIV/AIDS curriculum. AIDS: Get The Facts! is mandatory for all Miami-Dade
NEW YORK: City Debuts New AIDS Curriculum: Gay City News (New York) (12.14.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Andy Humm; After years of delay and unheeded mandates that New York City public school students be taught about HIV/AIDS, the Department of Education unveiled a revised curriculum on Dec. 1. This publication underscores the Department of Education s fervent belief that this is important. It is crucial to get it right, said Betty
CAMEROON: Malaria May Boost Mother-to-Child HIV Infection - Study: Reuters (11.18.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Tansa Musa; Mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) may be more likely when the mother is also infected with malaria, suggests a study presented at the Fourth Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Malaria Conference 2005, held Nov. 13-18 in Yaounde, Cameroon . An international team of researchers investigated the co
GLOBAL: Cut High Cost of New AIDS Drugs, Urges UK: The Guardian (London) (12.14.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Sarah Boseley; Breaking with its practice of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the British government will today confront the pharmaceutical industry over the high cost of new AIDS drugs. At a London conference, International Development Minister Gareth Thomas is set to call for cheaper drugs for poor countries and the development of s
MISSISSIPPI: Misconceptions About HIV Persist in Mississippi's Black Communities: Associated Press (12.10.05) - Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Valerie Bauman; While black people comprise 37 percent of Mississippi s population, they account for more than 75 percent of the new AIDS cases reported, the United Health Foundation says. The state health department says that figure is 69 percent. According to Paul Byers, a deputy state epidemiologist, 420 blacks were diagnosed with
CANADA: Hospice Launches Guide for HIV/AIDS Patients: The Guardian (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) (12.13.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Canadian Press; La Maison du Parc, a Montreal hospice serving the HIV/AIDS community since 1991, has published For the Pleasure of Eating, a book with recipes and nutritional tips for patients. We are thrilled to provide updated nutritional and recipe information to the HIV/AIDS community, said Marielle Delaney, the CEO of the hospice
MALAYSIA: Mahathir's Daughter to Step Down from Malaysian AIDS Chief Post: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.13.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; In Kuala Lumpur, The Star newspaper reported today that Marina Mahathir is resigning her post as president of the Malaysian AIDS Council on Jan. 1. Marina, the daughter of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, offered assurances she is not leaving the AIDS field. For 12 years I have been talking about every
FLORIDA: Manatee HIV/AIDS Outreach Still an Uphill Battle: Bradenton Herald (11.27.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Donna Wright; With more local residents testing to learn their status, Manatee County s HIV ranking has gone from 13th to 10th among Florida s 67 counties in the past 12 months. From July 1, 1997, when tracking began, through Aug. 31, 2005, Manatee has logged 491 HIV cases. From 1981 through Aug. 31, 2005, Manatee has reported 942 A
FLORIDA: Osceola Drops TB Test for Some Immigrant Kids: Orlando Sentinel (12.07.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Claudia Zequeira; On Dec. 6, the Osceola County School Board voted 4-0 to stop requiring TB testing for students who come from, or travel to, countries with high TB incidence. This was a question of testing everyone or not testing anyone at all, of not singling out certain students, said Dana Schafer, a district spokesperson. Another re
MALAWI: Small Tears in Placenta May Be Relaying HIV to Babies: Scripps Howard News Service (11.22.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Lee Bowman; Mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) may be occurring via small tears in the placenta during birth, a recent study suggested. Without treatment, 25-35 percent of babies born to HIV- positive mothers become infected, resulting in an estimated 500,000 HIV-positive newborns worldwide each year. With HIV treatment, MTCT
AUSTRALIA: Prisoners Sharing More than Dirty Needles: Australian Associated Press (12.08.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Amy Fallon; The recent National Prison Entrants Blood-Borne Virus Survey found that 34 percent of Australian prisoners are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), compared to 1 percent of the general community. The report showed that 56 percent of injecting drug users in Australian prisons are HCV-infected. In Victoria, Australia s
MEXICO: A New Law in Tijuana Regulates the Oldest Profession: New York Times (12.13.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; James C. McKinley Jr.; In a bid to regulate Tijuana s booming sex trade, the city council in June passed a law that requires registered prostitutes to undergo monthly STD testing. The ordinance also forces brothel owners to adopt more hygienic practices. In the 1980s, city officials first addressed the problem by opening a clinic in La Coahu
MISSISSIPPI: Report Critical of Health Agency: Clarion-Ledger (Jackson) (12.06.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Jerry Mitchell; A recent report by the watchdog Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) found the Mississippi Department of Health manipulated its TB treatment data to make it appear more successful. According to the PEER report, department employees were instructed in February 2003 at the risk of
MICHIGAN: Forum Encourages Frank Talk on Sex: Detroit News (12.11.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Delores Patterson; Initiated by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Talk Early & Talk Often (TETO) is a free education program designed to help parents talk with their kids about sexuality. TETO is a joint effort by the Michigan departments of Education and Community Health to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in the state. In 2003, mo
GLOBAL: More HIV Funds to Promote Abstinence; Researchers Call Policy Misguided: Baltimore Sun (12.10.05) - Tuesday, December 13, 2005; David Kohn; In fiscal 2006, effective Oct. 1, 66 percent of US international aid to prevent sexually transmitted HIV must be used for activities that promote abstinence before marriage and fidelity, reads a directive from the office overseeing President George W. Bush s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. A copy of the directive, Key
MYANMAR: Myanmar Reports Slight Fall in HIV Rate, Seeks Outside Help: Report: Agence France Presse (12.12.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Myanmar s HIV rate has declined slightly from 1.5 percent in 2000 to 1.3 percent in 2005, Min Thwe, deputy director of the country s National AIDS Program, said in a report today. Anti- AIDS efforts must target young people, especially women, because the male-female ratio of infections has worsened from 4:1 in 2000 to
CHINA: Relief Group Says World Trade Organization Rules for Drug Patents Hurt AIDS Patients in China: Associated Press (12.12.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Helen Luk; The World Trade Organization s intellectual property rules are preventing China from manufacturing its own generic HIV drugs, ultimately hurting Chinese AIDS patients, Doctors Without Borders said today. A recent WTO measure now under negotiation would make permanent a waiver that allows poor nations to import such dru
IRELAND: State Plan Urged to Combat Massive Rise in Sexual Diseases: Irish Independent (11.25.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; David Quinn; The Dublin AIDS Alliance and Red Ribbon Project recently launched Straight Talking, a frank safe sex campaign including information about oral sex, masturbation and various forms of sexual intercourse. At the campaign s unveiling, the groups said the Irish government should develop a national sexual health strategy to
UNITED STATES: Incidence of TB in Inmates with Latent TB Infection; 5-Year Follow-Up: American Journal of Preventive Medicine Vol. 29; No. 4: P. 295-301 (11.05.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Mary C. White, PhD; Jacqueline P. Tulsky, MD; Enrique Menendez, MD; Joe Goldenson, MD; L. Masae Kawamura, MD; Inmates are a high-risk population for TB control efforts, including treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI), and completion of therapy after release has been poor. The authors of the current study aimed to evaluate therapy completion and active disease over five years in a cohort of inmates. The authors used a sample
HAITI: Doctors in Haiti Fight Superstition, Poverty in War Against AIDS: Associated Press (12.01.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Alfred de Montesquiou; A clinic in Haiti is addressing patient beliefs and circumstances that could be barriers to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Getting people to adhere to HIV medication and practice safe sex are as important as drug access in Haiti, where Voodoo, superstition, unemployment, poverty and low education are prevalent. T
CHINA: China's Human Trials of AIDS Vaccine Going 'Smoothly': Researcher: Agence France Presse (12.12.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Nine months after its launch, China s human trials of an AIDS vaccine are going smoothly, the Xinhua News Agency reported today. Over the weekend, the last group of 15 Chinese volunteers received the vaccine and reported no side effects in the first 24 hours. The first 24 hours are a vital period of observation. So far
INDIA: Former Indian Prostitute Vows to Fight HIV/AIDS: Reuters (12.09.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Krittivas Mukherjee; Bharati Dey, 40, recently took over as director of the World Health Organization-funded HIV/AIDS project in Sonagachi. The area, one of Asia s largest red-light districts, is located in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. My chief goal is to ensure that not a single sex worker offers her service without condoms. We want to bri
UNITED STATES: Frieden Steps Up War on HIV: Gay City News (New York) (12.08.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Duncan Osborne; In a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, New York City s health commissioner, urged more aggressive government monitoring, control and treatment efforts against HIV. Frieden stated that the failure to apply standard disease-control methods undermines society s ability and responsibi
UNITED STATES: The Vaccine War: Newsday (New York) (12.08.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Kathleen Kerr; Merck & Co. has asked the Food and Drug Administration to review its application to market Gardasil, a human papillomavirus vaccine that could prevent 70 percent of HPV- related cervical cancer and 90 percent of genital warts. But the scientific community is not alone in weighing the use of the vaccine, which cou
UNITED STATES: Changes Planned in Use of Oral HIV Test; Blood to Be Checked Quickly to Confirm Any Positive Results: San Francisco Chronicle (11.10.05) - Monday, December 12, 2005; Sabin Russell; Acting on news of an unusually high number of false positives with a rapid-result oral HIV test in two cities, federal health authorities soon will issue new guidelines for its use. San Francisco public health clinics have recorded 49 false positives with the OraQuick Advance HIV test since May. New York clinics logged
UNITED KINGDOM: Hospital Worker Diagnosed with TB: BBC News (12.06.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; At least 100 patients at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent are being offered TB testing after a health care worker there was diagnosed with an active case of the disease. Everyone who was in contact with this worker will be contacted, said Dr. Mathi Chandrakumar, director of the Kent health protection unit. There is no ne
TANZANIA: Dartmouth Launches Health Project with College in Tanzania: Associated Press (12.05.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Dartmouth College will partner with the Muhimbili University College of Health in Tanzania on a clinic for HIV-infected children and a trial of a tuberculosis vaccine. The project will add courses to Dartmouth s curriculum, from global health to researching the feasibility of creating a pharmaceutical industry to serve
UNITED STATES: Par, Three Rivers Get Food and Drug Administration OK on Ribasphere: Associated Press (12.05.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; The Food and Drug Administration has approved the hepatitis C treatment Ribasphere, co-manufactured by Par Pharmaceutical Cos. and Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals LLC, the companies said Monday. FDA approved Ribasphere, which uses the active ingredient ribavirin, in 200 mg, 400 mg and 600 mg tablets for use with interfero
UNITED STATES: Vertex Hepatitis C Drug Gets Fast Track: Associated Press (12.08.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; On Thursday, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the Food and Drug Administration has granted its hepatitis C drug fast track status, which formalizes agency assistance in drug development and in-process data submissions. FDA grants fast track designation, which can speed up the review process, to therapies that addr
CALIFORNIA: San Francisco Clinics Getting High False-Positive Rate on Oral HIV Test: San Francisco Chronicle (12.09.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Sabin Russell; According to San Francisco Department of Public Health officials, analyses of more than 6,000 rapid-result oral HIV tests conducted in city public health clinics since spring found 47 positive results in patients who were negative in follow-up testing. Of the roughly 200 positives detected by the OraQuick Advance HIV t
UGANDA: Changes in Sexual Behavior and Risk of HIV Transmission After Antiretroviral Therapy and Prevention Interventions in Rural Uganda: AIDS Vol. 20; No. 1: P. 85-92 (01.02.06) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Rebecca Bunnell; John Paul Ekwaru; Peter Solberg; Nafuna Wamai; Winnie Bikaako-Kajura; Willy Were; Alex Coutinho; Cheryl Liechty; Elizabeth Madraa; George Rutherford; Jonathan Mermin; The authors conducted a prospective cohort study to assess changes in risky sexual behavior and estimated HIV transmission from HIV-infected adults in rural Uganda after six months of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Between May 2003 and December 2004, 926 HIV-positive adults were enrolled and followed in a home-based ART
NIGERIA: Truck Park Trysts Fuel Nigerian AIDS Epidemic: Agence France Presse (12.02.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Emmanuel Goujon; Benin City, Nigeria , is a metropolis on the crossroads of southern trade routes, a stopover for truckers hauling goods to other West African towns. Many experts warn that HIV is set to explode there as it spreads into the general population from high-risk groups such as truckers, soldiers and sex workers.
AFRICA: Appeal for Treatment for Children, the Forgotten Face of the AIDS Epidemic: Agence France Presse (12.08.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; While nearly 90 percent of children with HIV/AIDS live in Africa, pediatric antiretroviral (ARV) therapies remain rare, expensive and mostly unsuitable for use there, experts told the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa. You can see the adults being treated but the ki
FLORIDA: Florida Legislature Passes Measure to Overhaul Medicaid System: Associated Press (12.08.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; David Royse; Under a bill approved Thursday by the Florida Legislature, Medicaid patients in designated counties will be shifted into private managed care plans beginning next year. More than half of Florida s 2 million Medicaid recipients are already in some type of managed care plan or health network, and their treatment is contr
CALIFORNIA: Medicare Part D Deadline Nears for People with AIDS: Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco) (12.08.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Matthew S. Bajko; In order to ensure proper drug coverage, AIDS advocates are urging California HIV/AIDS patients to enroll before Jan. 1, 2006, for both the new Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) and the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). While most seniors have been told they can wait until May 15, 2006, to choose ins
MINNESOTA: State May Drop Some from HIV Program: Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (12.07.05) - Friday, December 09, 2005; Glenn Howatt; The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) recently reiterated that it has legal authority to deny services to clients who owe money for HIV/AIDS Program services. HAP helps people with HIV/AIDS buy prescription drugs and maintain private health insurance. Clients owing $500-$1,000 in cost- sharing payments could
ARKANSAS: University of Arkansas Scientists Win $10.2 Million Grant: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (12.06.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Tracie Dungan; Researchers at the University of Arkansas Center for Protein Structure and Function will seek ways to block a receptor for HIV under a new five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. The funding, which continues the work of the $9.6 million NIH grant that established the center in 2000, will enable more tha
RUSSIA: Over 200 Transfused with HIV-Infected Blood Product in Russia City: ITAR-TASS (12.08.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Yuri Khots; Authorities in Voronezh say they have identified all 208 people who received a blood product infected with HIV. Medics have obtained samples for HIV testing from 72 people, and the remainder will be tested shortly, said Mikhail Chubirko, the region s chief sanitary physician. During the past six months, the 208 people
FLORIDA: Activists to Expand Services for AIDS Patients: Daytona Beach News-Journal (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Anne Geggis; Hope Metropolitan Community Church is launching a nonprofit group, called Efficacy, to provide HIV/AIDS prevention, intervention and outreach to parts of west Volusia and all of Flagler counties. We feel that there are enough cases to justify one caseworker spending one or two days a week in Flagler and West Volusia, s
MASSACHUSETTS: Marking 10 Years of Advocacy: Bay Windows (Boston) (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Ethan Jacobs; In 1995, seven volunteers dedicated to fulltime HIV/AIDS work incorporated as the nonprofit Massachusetts Asians and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for Health. At the time, the number of HIV infections in Boston s Asian/Pacific Islander (API) community was relatively small, but MAP for Health founders were worried that both m
OHIO: New HIV/AIDS Cases Down Among Those Who Use Needles: Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Regina McEnery; With the help of the public-private AIDS Funding Collaborative, the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland (FCGC) operates Ohio s only sanctioned grassroots needle exchange program (NEP). Working discreetly from a van at long-standing locations on Cedar Avenue and West 25th Street, the program dispenses clean syringes, water
THE NETHERLANDS: Management of Chlamydia Cases and Their Partners: Results from a Home-Based Screening Program Organized by Municipal Public Health Services with Referral to Regular Health Care: Sexually Transmitted Diseases Vol. 32; No. 10: P. 625-629 (10..05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Hannelore M. Gotz, MD, MPH; Christian J.P.A. Hoebe, MD, PhD; Jan E.A.M. Van Bergen, MD, MPH; Irene K. Velhuijzen, MSc; Jan Broer, MD, PhD, MPH; F. De Groot, BA; M.J.C. Verhooren, BA; D.T. Van Schaik, MSc; A.J.J. Coenen, MSc; Jan H. Richardus, MD, PhD; In the current study, the researchers evaluated the management of Chlamydia trachomatis cases and their partners found in a Municipal Public Health Services(MHS)-organized systematic home-based chlamydia screening project in the Netherlands among women and men ages 15-29. Of 8,339 participants screened, 165 (2 percent)
GLOBAL: HIV Impact: Region-by-Region: BBC News (11.30.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; The latest figures from UNAIDS and the World Health Organization were used to develop the following summaries of HIV/AIDS surveillance in each region of the world. *Sub-Saharan Africa - 25.8 million HIV cases, or 64 percent of the global total; 3.2 million new HIV infections; 2.4 million AIDS deaths.
ESTONIA: Estonia Unveils Plan to Cut EU's Highest Per Capita HIV Rate: Agence France Presse (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; On World AIDS Day, Estonia revealed its plan to slash new HIV infections from the current level of 55 per 100,000 people, the highest rate in Europe, to 20 per 100,000 by 2015. According to experts, the country of 1.4 million is in the worst position in the world, outside Africa in terms of HIV infections. The infecti
AFRICA: Rethink Strategies in the Fight Against AIDS: UN Expert: Agence France Presse (12.08.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Emmanuel Goujon; There are three reasons for reasons for thinking HIV/AIDS strategies, especially in Africa, are inadequate and should be rethought, a UNAIDS official said at the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa. First, every year we see an increase in the number of infections, Mi
ILLINOIS: With Federal Money at Risk, Illinois to Add Patient Names to HIV Tracking System: Associated Press (12.07.05) - Thursday, December 08, 2005; Carla K. Johnson; Prompted by proposed changes to federal funding, Illinois will join 38 other states when it starts tracking HIV cases using patients names in January. Currently, a person who tests HIV- positive in Illinois is assigned a code number when the case is reported to the state public-health system. State officials expect tha
INDONESIA: Soldiers in Indonesia's Papua Urged to Shun Prostitutes: Agence France Presse (12.06.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Indonesia s military chief has instructed personnel in eastern Papua province to avoid sex workers and exercise abstinence, as HIV/AIDS has reached epidemic levels in the region, the state Antara news agency reported Tuesday. In Papua, 12 of at least 48 soldiers with HIV/AIDS have died, spokesperson Major G.T. Situmora
BANGLADESH: 7 Percent of Injection Drug Users in Dhaka Carry AIDS Virus: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.06.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; According to a new report cosponsored by the National AIDS and STD Program, more than 7 percent of injection drug users in the capital city, Dhaka, have tested positive for HIV, along with nearly 5 percent of IDUs elsewhere in Bangladesh . The survey said that while female IDUs showed a zero prevalence rate, 44 percent
UNITED STATES: Using Economic Threshold Analysis to Determine the Intensity of HIV Prevention Services for HIV-Seropositive Persons: AIDS Vol. 19; No. 17: P. 2025-2029 (11.18.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; David R. Holtgrave; Previous studies of the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions for HIV-positive persons have looked at interventions with varying intensity, from single sessions to those offered twice-weekly for six months. This raises issues concerning cost-effectiveness, prompting the author of the current study to ask: at va
CANADA: South Asian, with AIDS, Can Mean Isolation: Toronto Star (12.01.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Prithi Yelaja; It s a pretty repressed community, Derek Yee said of Toronto s South Asians. They don t like to admit they have gays, let alone people with HIV. Yee, a volunteer with the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP), raises awareness of HIV among young South Asians by telling them that he likely became infected wh
HAITI: Haiti Says Cuts HIV Cases by Half in 10 Years: Reuters (12.02.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Joseph Guyler Delva; On World AIDS Day, Dr. Albert Camille Archange, director of Haiti General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, said the nation s HIV prevalence has declined from 6 percent in 1995 to 3.1 percent at present. The progress was made largely through HIV/AIDS education campaigns, he said. Even with the lower figure, however, Haiti st
GLOBAL: World Trade Organization Approves Measures to Improve Access to Cheaper Medicines in Developing Countries: Associated Press (12.06.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Sam Cage; On Tuesday in Geneva, the World Trade Organization approved changes to its intellectual property agreement making permanent a waiver that currently allows developing nations without their own pharmaceutical industry to import cheaper generic copies of patented medicines for communicable diseases like AIDS. The amendmen
GLOBAL: Vaccine Experts Meeting in India to Promote Injection Safety: Associated Press (12.06.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; At a meeting in New Delhi, India , the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization said its distribution of single-use syringes has protected millions of children from infection with diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The syringes automatically disable themselves after one use, and GAVI said it has distributed 1.
AFRICA: Women More Vulnerable to HIV/AIDS Infection than Men, Less Apt to Cope: Agence France Presse (12.07.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Helen Vesperini; Women are more biologically susceptible to HIV infection and are, especially in Africa, less able to cope with it due to cultural, social and economic factors, experts told the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa in Abuja, Nigeria . Nearly 60 percent of infection
AFRICA: Slow but Promising Start for ARVs on the African Continent: Agence France Presse (12.07.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Jerome Cartillier; The World Health Organization s 3 by 5 initiative to ensure antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) for 3 million HIV patients in developing countries by the end of 2005 was slow to start, ultimately reaching about 1 million people, experts told the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in
CALIFORNIA: Drugs Help AIDS Patients Live Well into Senior Years: Daily News of Los Angeles (12.01.05) - Wednesday, December 07, 2005; Rachel Uranga; Experts predict that in the coming decade, more AIDS patients will join the ranks of seniors, thanks to drug treatments that extend their lives. The proportion of Los Angeles County residents with AIDS age 50 and older has grown from 14 percent in 1997 to more than 25 percent in 2004. About 6 percent are 60 or older.
UNITED STATES: Doctor to Take Helm at CARE: Seattle Times (12.03.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Paula Bock; After five years as head of HIV, TB and reproductive health at the Gates Foundation, Dr. Helene Gayle is leaving to become president and CEO of CARE USA next spring. At the foundation, Gayle led a $200 million anti-AIDS campaign in India , helped draft a plan to find an HIV vaccine, and increased TB prevention, treatme
UNITED STATES: Merck & Co.: Wall Street Journal (12.06.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Dow Jones Newswires; On Dec. 1, Merck & Co. submitted an application for US Food and Drug Administration approval of its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, which is engineered to protect against four types of human papillomavirus. Merck is seeking to get a priority review designation for Gardasil and said it expects FDA s decision in ab
UNITED STATES: Making AIDS Vaccine a Reality: Baltimore Sun (12.01.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Margaret I. Johnston; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci; The ultimate defeat of HIV/AIDS will require a multifaceted effort but will be difficult, if not impossible, without a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine. Cutting-edge science has led to novel vaccine approaches that have shown promise in the laboratory and in animal tests. But all this effort will be for naugh
CAMEROON: New Study Highlights AIDS Peril from Bushmeat Trade: Agence France Presse (11.21.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Richard Ingham; For the third time in as many years, researchers are sounding the alarm over the trade in bushmeat, slaughtered chimpanzees, monkeys and gorillas, as a potential source for new pathogens. Previous studies have shown that simians are the source for HIV, and DNA sleuths speculate that the earliest case may have been a hu
UGANDA: Next Target in AIDS Fight: Sugar Daddies: Christian Science Monitor (11.25.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Abraham McLaughlin; In Uganda , 10.3 percent of women ages 15-24 have HIV/AIDS compared to only 2.8 percent for similarly aged men. Experts attribute the gap largely to the sugar daddy phenomenon, in which men have sexual and economic relationships with much younger women. In addition to being economically and socially vulnerable, women w
NIGERIA: Doctors Without Borders Blasts Nigeria's Approach to HIV/AIDS: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.06.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Nigeria s fee-based provision of antiretroviral therapy at government hospitals is a significant barrier to ARV access, according to a Doctors Without Borders study. Nearly 50 percent of the patients live on less than $36 per month, yet they are paying between $8 and $67 per month for a recommended package of care, DWB
AFRICA: Africa Lagging on Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission: Agence France Presse (12.05.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; In Africa, lack of infrastructure and other obstacles to HIV drugs access continue to hamper efforts to prevent mother-to- child HIV transmission (MTCT), experts said Monday at the start of the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa. MTCT accounts for 90 percent of the 6
SOUTH CAROLINA: AIDS Drugs Take Financial Toll on Patients: The State (Columbia) (12.01.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Czerne M. Reid; While new medicines and improved services help people infected with HIV/AIDS live longer, more productive lives, the economic burden is high. HIV is not just a health issue, it s also an issue of economics, Carmen Julious, executive director of Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services, said of antiretroviral regimens that c
UNITED STATES: Ad Links Teen HIV Infection, Drug Use: Washington Times (12.02.05) - Tuesday, December 06, 2005; Marguerite Higgins; As part of a $130,000 public-education campaign, the National Institute on Drug Abuse on Dec. 1 unveiled a television ad linking HIV teen infection with drug abuse. NIDA, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, developed the 60- second public service announcement to highlight research showing that teens wh
DELAWARE: Delaware Awarded $1.3 Million Housing Grant for Patients: News Journal (Wilmington) (12.02.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Robin Brown; The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded Delaware a grant of $1.3 million to provide housing for state residents with HIV/AIDS. The grant - part of more than $18 million in AIDS housing funding HUD announced on World AIDS Day - will provide transitional housing and support for Kent and Sussex coun
MISSISSIPPI: TB Tests Show No New Infections: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.) (12.02.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Jimmie Covington; On Thursday, Mississippi Department of Health District Officer Dr. Alfio Rausa said second-round skin testing of more than 750 students at Horn Lake Intermediate School found no new positive results for TB infection. Results are not yet in on 29 people who were absent on the initial day of testing. Testing was ordered
SINGAPORE: Singapore to Set Up Fund for HIV-Positive Women, Their Children: Xinhua News Agency (12.05.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Today, Channel NewsAsia reported that Singapore is setting up a fund to aid HIV-positive women and their children. Several hundred thousand Singapore dollars will be raised for the fund, said Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan, who urged the public to contribute. On Thursday, the Ministry of Health re
UNITED STATES; SOUTH AFRICA: Studies Examine Ways to Prevent Cervical Cancer with Few Resources: Associated Press (11.01.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Carla K. Johnson; Faster, more aggressive cervical cancer treatment could benefit low-income American women and women in developing countries who test positive for high-grade precancerous lesions, two recently published studies suggest. Though some of these women may be treated unnecessarily, the trade-off could save lives in resource-p
AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan Must Act Now to Prevent HIV/AIDS Explosion, Experts Say: Agence France Presse (12.03.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; At a meeting Saturday in Kabul, experts warned that Afghanistan must act now to prevent a major expansion of HIV/AIDS caused by needle sharing. Among factors that could spread the virus: widespread poverty and an increasing number of refugees returning from Iran and Pak
PAKISTAN: Pakistani Leaders Urge Countrymen for Joint Efforts to Combat AIDS: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (12.01.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; In messages published Thursday to commemorate World AIDS Day, President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz urged Pakistanis to adopt protective measures to control the spread of HIV/AIDS. By September, Pakistan reported 3,073 confirmed AIDS cases and just over 80,000 HIV cases in the country of 16
INDIA: Indian Minister Says Concerned About AIDS Awareness: Reuters (11.30.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; On Wednesday, Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss expressed concern about HIV/AIDS awareness, monitoring and treatment, and suggested the country s official case tally may be short of the real number of infections. India officially has 5.1 million HIV/AIDS cases, second only to South Africa , but
AFRICA: UN: More than 3 Million HIV Infections in 2005 Deepen Africa's AIDS Crisis: Associated Press (12.04.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Bashir Adigun; This week in Abuja, Nigeria , a conference will bring together scientists, activists and politicians to develop new strategies to fight HIV/AIDS. AIDS continues to outstrip Africa s efforts to contain it, said UNAIDS chief Peter Piot, who noted that 3.2 million Africans have become HIV-infected this year, the highest n
WISCONSIN: Sex Ed Plan Likely to Pass; Bill Would Require Stressing Abstinence: Wisconsin State Journal (11.29.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Doug Erickson; A bill that would place a greater emphasis on abstinence in school sex education classes has passed the Wisconsin Senate 24-9, and the Assembly is expected to approve it soon. Current state law lists more than a dozen topics that school districts may include in their sex education instruction, and no one topic is favor
MARYLAND: HIV/AIDS Care in Maryland Criticized: Washington Post (12.02.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Phuong Ly; Some Maryland public-health clinics are so short of Spanish- speaking case managers that janitors and others untrained in health care are called upon to translate sensitive HIV-related information to patients, according to a report released Thursday by CASA of Maryland. The Silver Spring-based immigrant-advocacy agency
CALIFORNIA: Life-Prolonging Drugs Lead to Increase in People with HIV: San Francisco Chronicle (12.01.05) - Monday, December 05, 2005; Sabin Russell; According to a new study by the University of California, 151,000 state residents are living with HIV, up 40 percent from 1998, when 108,000 people had the virus, chiefly because more patients are surviving with improved drug therapy. The number of patients who have progressed to AIDS, 57,200, is double the figure from
ARGENTINA: Giant Condom Overlooks Buenos Aires on AIDS Day: Reuters (12.01.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; The Obelisk of Buenos Aires, the city s most famous landmark, was covered in a giant pink condom Thursday in recognition of World AIDS Day. City officials used cranes to cover the 220- foot monument with the cloth condom. It seemed we could have the biggest impact by putting a condom on the most important symbol of the
UNITED STATES: From Kenneth Cole, a New Solidarity: New York Times (12.01.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Eric Wilson; In his latest effort against HIV/AIDS, US fashion designer Kenneth Cole is offering T-shirts reading We All Have AIDS and I Have AIDS. Cole, who is chairperson of amfAR, said he hopes both HIV-positive and HIV-negative people will wear the shirts as a gesture of solidarity. There is a legend of the Danish king, Christi
AFRICA: Alicia Keys and Bono to Release Song to Raise Funds for African Children with AIDS: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Superstar musicians Alicia Keys and Bono have collaborated on the recording Don t Give Up (Africa), all of whose proceeds will go to Keep a Child Alive, a charity that provides medicine to families infected with HIV/AIDS. The song will be available exclusively through iTunes starting Tuesday. The duo first sang Don t G
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Watchdog Lays Out Yardstick for HIV Fight: Washington Post (12.02.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; On World AIDS Day, the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice said it will use condom distribution and syringe exchanges among criteria in its February report card on the District s HIV/AIDS programs. The February report will follow by six months a center report that criticized the District HIV/AIDS Administration a
CANADA: Toronto to Host AIDS Conference: Toronto Star (12.02.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Coinciding with World AIDS Day, officials announced Thursday that next summer Toronto will host the annual International AIDS Conference, which is expected to attract up to 20,000 scientists and experts and 2,500 journalists from around the world. It is one of the most important gatherings for the release and discussio
UNITED KINGDOM: The Attitude of Patients Towards Medical Students in a Sexual Health Clinic: Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 437-439 (10.05.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; N. Ryder; D. Ivens; C. Sabin; The current study sought to determine patient attitudes toward medical students in a sexual health clinic and describe factors associated with patient refusal of medical student involvement. Researchers gave 259 consecutive patients attending a general genitourinary medicine clinic a self-administered questionnaire tha
SOUTH AFRICA: Research Reveals Alarming Levels of Ignorance About HIV Risk in South Africa: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Alexandra Zavis; According to a recent survey of South African households commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, many people in the world s most HIV-infected country suffer a false sense of security about their risk of acquiring the virus. The survey, which also conducted HIV tests on respondents, found that HIV prevalence amon
GLOBAL: World Bank Steps Up Global Anti-AIDS Program: Associated Press (12.01.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; The World Bank announced Wednesday a strategic plan to help poor- and middle-income nations fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic by strengthening no-interest loans, grants, analysis, technical support and AIDS policy advice for affected countries. National strategic plans that are for the most part not well- devised with clear
BRAZIL: Brazil Bucks AIDS Trend, but Blacks Are Hard-Hit: Reuters (11.30.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Andrew Hay; On Wednesday, Brazil s government reported that new AIDS cases in the country fell from 33,904 in 2003 to 30,886 last year. Brazil s HIV prevalence rate dropped from 19.2 cases per 100,000 people in 2003 to 17.2 per 100,000 in 2004. However, the percentage of AIDS cases occurring among those who self-identified as blac
RUSSIA: Prayer and a Warning Against Condoms: Moscow Times (12.02.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Dan Shea; Among several World AIDS Day commemorations in Moscow, Russian Orthodox clergy and government officials prayed for those with HIV and told listeners that abstinence is better than condoms for stopping the disease. Clergy said the event was inspired by a new partnership between the Orthodox Church and the US Agency for
GLOBAL: Europeans Reject Abstinence Message in Split with US on AIDS: The Guardian (London) (12.01.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Sarah Boseley; A World AIDS Day statement released by the 22 European Union member states urged developing nations to use every HIV/AIDS prevention tool, including sex education, sexual/reproductive health clinic access and distribution of condoms and clean needles, to slow the epidemic. While not mentioning the United States
UNITED STATES: Conference: Black Women Urged to Take Charge of AIDS Fight: Associated Press (12.01.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; Robert Jablon; On Thursday in Los Angeles, the Black AIDS Institute (BAI) and other groups kicked off the first national conference focused on AIDS and black women in America. As of 2002, AIDS was the leading cause of death for US black women ages 25-35. According to a CDC report released last month, African Americans were eight time
GLOBAL: On World AIDS Day, Bush Touts His Relief Program: Washington Post (12.02.05) - Friday, December 02, 2005; David Brown; President Bush marked World AIDS Day yesterday by saying that US efforts are helping bring HIV prevention and treatment to hundreds of thousands of people in the developing world. Speaking to five Cabinet secretaries and numerous ambassadors from African nations in a hall at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Bu
UNITED STATES: Impact of AIDS: Washington Times (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Tonight, Cinemax and HBO and will broadcast two documentaries aimed at heightening public awareness of the global impact of AIDS. At 7 p.m. EST, Cinemax will air Orphans of Nkandla, which looks at the impact of AIDS on three families in South Africa . At 9 p.m. EST, HBO will present the Academy Award- nominated film Y
UNITED KINGDOM: Britain Marks World AIDS Day with Millions in Funding: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; In acknowledgment of World AIDS Day Thursday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair released a statement that his government will donate 20 million pounds ($48 million US) to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and 7.5 million pounds ($13 million US) to help develop HIV microbicides. The AIDS crisis represents a huma
AUSTRALIA: Australia Promises $10 Million to Fight AIDS in India: Associated Press (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer recognized World AIDS Day today by announcing a five-year, $10 million Australian ($7.4 million US) pledge to help India fight AIDS. The money will help with AIDS education, prevention and care in the northeastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya, said Down
TANZANIA: AIDS Is Wiping Us Out:' Tanzanian President: Agence France Presse (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; In a nationally televised address on the eve of World AIDS Day, outgoing President Benjamin Mkapa warned that HIV/AIDS is wiping out whole generations in Tanzania . Day after day, parents bury their children instead of children burying their parents, Mkapa said Wednesday. In many cases, we see energetic parents falling
SINGAPORE: Rapid HIV Test Kit Launched in Singapore: Agence France Presse (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Today, a Singapore biotechnology firm announced it has reached an agreement with US-based OraSure Technologies to make its OraQuick HIV 1/2 rapid test available in Asia. This technology will greatly facilitate HIV testing and may well prove to be a decisive turning point in the battle to control AIDS, said Sze Wee Tan
HAITI: Study: AIDS Drugs also Help Haitians: Associated Press (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Stephanie Nano; When treated with standard AIDS drugs, resource-deprived patients in Haiti did as well as US patients on the medicines, researchers reported today in the largest study of AIDS treatment in a developing country. The study tracked the first 1,004 Haitian AIDS patients who began treatment after international funding targe
INDIA: Indian Premier Urges 'Safe Sex' for Youth on AIDS Day: Agence France Presse (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Launching a national convention marking World AIDS Day today, India s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged youths to learn about safe sex and HIV/AIDS in a bid to prevent losing control of the epidemic. You should comprehend the need to educate our young about the mode of transmission of this disease, and leading a heal
CHINA: China Marks World AIDS Day, but Faces Uphill Battle Against Spread: Agence France Presse (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; China marked World AIDS Day today with a pledge to keep HIV cases under 1.5 million and with public-awareness campaigns that dominated the media. State-run television aired continuous programs about AIDS, while newspapers reported on the plight of HIV/AIDS patients, especially farmers who contracted the disease when
GLOBAL: AIDS' Youngest Sufferers Left Behind in Drive to Scale Up Treatment: Associated Press (11.29.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Alexandra Zavis; Of the estimated 2.2 million children worldwide who are infected with HIV, less than 1 percent are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Without the medicine, most will die before their fifth birthday. Particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 85 percent of all HIV-infected children under age 15, pediatri
GLOBAL: UN Urges 'Exceptional Response' to AIDS Crisis: Reuters (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Andrew Quinn; The UN today called for an exceptional response to the global AIDS crisis. The lessons of nearly 25 years into the AIDS epidemic are clear, said UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. Investments made in HIV prevention break the cycle of new infections. By making these investments, each and every country can reverse the
UNITED STATES: HUD Secretary Announces Housing Grants for AIDS Patients: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; On Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced $18.8 million in grants to 15 states to assist with housing costs for people with HIV/AIDS. A three-year, $1.4 million grant will go to Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota for their collaborative, multi-stat
UNITED STATES: Aggressive HIV Monitoring Is Urged by City Health Chief: New York Times (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; Richard P�rez-Pe�a; In an editorial in today s New England Journal of Medicine, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene officials advocate that HIV be treated more like other infectious diseases. Nonetheless, the political costs include offending both sides of the political establishment, from conservatives who oppose condom
GLOBAL: Bush Will Tout US Efforts to Combat HIV Globally: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (12.01.05) - Thursday, December 01, 2005; William Douglas; Today at the White House, President Bush is expected to mark World AIDS Day by providing an update of his five-year, $15 billon global AIDS effort. The President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief appears to be on target in year three, having disbursed $2.4 billion in 2004, $2.8 billion in 2005 and with $3.2 billion slat
RUSSIA: Russia's Miss Positive Wants HIV Honesty Not Shame: Reuters (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Meg Clothier; People see I m healthy, beautiful, cheerful. They see that I m always smiling, and all their stereotypes just completely fall apart, said Svetlana Izambayeva, who will be crowned Russia s first Miss Positive on Thursday. After learning in 2002 she was HIV-positive, the hairstylist, now 24, said she wanted to die. The
UNITED KINGDOM: Condoms Plan for Taxi Passengers: BBC News (11.24.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Pending approval from Edinburgh City Council s licensing committee, a plan to provide taxi passengers with free condoms could go into effect as early as January. A US-based company has provided Festival City Cars, which has a fleet of 220 taxis, with 5,000 condoms to hand out. It seems sensible that the cabbies, if the
INDONESIA: Indonesia's Response to Emerging AIDS Epidemic Inadequate, UNAIDS Chief Says: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Citing insufficient funding and a lack of coordination among government agencies and donors, UNAIDS chief Peter Piot today called Indonesia s overall response to its emerging AIDS epidemic inadequate. An estimated 150,000 to 250,000 Indonesians are HIV-infected, and the disease is spreading rapidly among injecting drug
ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe Says Seven Percent of AIDS Sufferers Can Access ARVs: Agence France Presse (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; On Wednesday, Zimbabwe s Health Ministry reported that only 7 percent of the country s AIDS patients are now receiving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Of the 1.6 million Zimbabweans with HIV/AIDS, 280,000 need ARVs, the ministry said. We currently estimate that about 21,000 are receiving antiretroviral therapy in Zimbabwe
FLORIDA: Tampa Awarded Grant to Help AIDS Patients: St. Petersburg Times (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is scheduled to visit Tampa today to announce a $1.3 million grant to the city to help people with HIV/AIDS secure housing. Tampa administers almost $3 million annually in HUD grants used by nonprofit charities to provide housing for people with
MASSACHUSETTS: Gay Men Recruited for HIV Vaccine Trial: Boston Globe (11.28.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Kadesha M. Thomas; To find high-risk gay men we need to go where they are, Jim Maynard, of Boston s Fenway Community Health center, said of his recent excursion to a popular gay bar s leather night to solicit volunteers for the HIV Vaccine Trial Network. HVTN is recruiting participants for a nationwide trial of two HIV candidate vaccine
UNITED STATES: Association of Chlamydia trachomatis with Persistence of High-Risk Types of Human Papillomavirus in a Cohort of Female Adolescents: American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 162; No. 7: P. 668-675 (10.01.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Erika Samoff; Emilia H. Koumans; Lauri E. Markowitz; Maya Sternberg; Mary K. Sawyer; David Swan; John R. Papp; Carolyn M. Black; Elizabeth R. Unger; Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the necessary but not sufficient cause of cervical cancer. Most infections resolve by the host immune response, and it is thought that host or external cofactors are required for progression to cancer. The association between a history of STD infection and cervical cancer has bee
GLOBAL: Pope Avoids Condom Issue in AIDS Message: Reuters (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Philip Pullella; I feel close to those sick with AIDS and their families and I invoke for them the help and comfort of the Lord, Pope Benedict said in a message issued for World AIDS Day. The pontiff avoided, however, the controversial matter of the Roman Catholic Church s opposition to the use of condoms. In its World AIDS Day statem
AFRICA: Border 'Pit Stop' Teaches Truckers and Communities They Pass Through About AIDS: Associated Press (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Alexandra Zavis; UN World Food Program trucks bringing desperately needed supplies may also be helping spread HIV in some of the world s most infected countries. To counter the problem, WFP said Tuesday it is setting up pit stops that provide HIV prevention information to truckers and the communities they pass through in at least two s
INDIA: Truckers Seek Comfort When India's Roads Get Lonely; Highways Major HIV Routes: Associated Press (11.29.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Margie Mason; The estimated 5 million to 8 million truck drivers who deliver supplies along long-haul routes, men who are far from home and always on the move, have become one of India s populations most at-risk for AIDS. Of the 20-25 truckers tested each month at the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital near New Delhi s Sanjay Gandh
AFRICA: African Leaders to Account for AIDS Grants at Abuja Conference: Agence France Presse (11.26.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Ade Obisesan; African leaders will account for funds and grants spent so far to fight HIV/AIDS at the upcoming 14th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), organizers said. The conference opens Dec. 4 in Abuja, Nigeria , with the theme HIV/AIDS and the Family. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former US Presid
SOUTH AFRICA: HIV Infects 5.2 Million South Africans: Business Day (Johannesburg) (11.29.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Figures released Monday by the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) show an estimated 5.2 million people, or 11 percent of the nation s population, are HIV-infected. The estimate is lower than the health department s most recent number (6.3 million) and higher than the estimate put out by Statistics South Africa (4
UNITED STATES: Doctors to Recommend Children Get Vaccine for a Sexual Disease: Wall Street Journal (11.30.05) - Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Laura Landro; A recent nationwide study found nearly 75 percent of 513 pediatricians surveyed said they would recommend a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, if approved, to children ages 9- 17. While 70 percent of pediatricians expect safety concerns to factor into the decision, more than 40 percent thought parents would be relucta
NEW YORK: STD Chlamydia a Concern in Onodaga County: Associated Press (11.25.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; The incidence of chlamydia rose 60 percent between 2002 and 2004 in Onondaga County, according to a report in the Post- Standard of Syracuse. In response to the increase, the state has set up sentinel sites in Onondaga, Monroe, Westchester, Erie and Dutchess counties, which are now testing every STD clinic patient for
CHINA: Shanghai to Nearly Triple Number of Condom Vending Machines: Agence France Presse (11.29.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; To promote safer sex and help check STDs, Shanghai plans to install another 1,200 condom vending machines in the city, nearly tripling the 700 condom machines it has now. The machines will be positioned at entertainment venues, residential communities and areas where migrant workers gather, Xinhua News Agency said, cit
AFRICA: Child-Friendly AIDS Medicine Desperately Needed in Africa: Charity: Agence France Presse (11.28.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Pharmaceutical companies must develop inexpensive pediatric AIDS formulations if the epidemic is to be stopped, especially in impoverished Africa, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement released ahead of World AIDS Day. In the absence of child-strength pills that combine all needed drugs in one tablet, medical sta
LESOTHO: Lesotho to Offer Free HIV Tests: BBC News (11.29.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Madeleine Morris; In what is believed to be the first such effort in the world, health workers will offer free HIV tests to every person in tiny, mountainous Lesotho . The government has plans to add 7,500 workers to take test kits door to door. Local leaders will be consulted on the best ways to encourage testing. It is estimated that
FRANCE: France Concerned over Rise in HIV Infection: Agence France Presse (11.26.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; According to figures released Saturday by the monitoring agency Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS), an estimated 7,000 people in France were newly infected by HIV in 2004. This is a 16 percent increase over the 6,000 new infections documented in 2003, when reporting new infections became mandatory. Some 1,500 French H
UNITED STATES: Only a United Front Can Win Battle: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (11.28.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Dr. Sam Ho; Jury Candelario; Since the beginning of the [AIDS] epidemic, community organizations have been on the front lines, offering information on how to prevent HIV and AIDS, and providing services to those afflicted. Additionally, we have see a rise of organizations dedicated to reaching groups that are hardest hit by AIDS, particularly wom
FLORIDA: City Ranks Low in Syphilis: Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) (11.12.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Cherie Black; According to the latest CDC data, Jacksonville ranked 18th among 25 major US cities in the rate of syphilis for 2004. Jacksonville reported 70 cases of primary and secondary syphilis for a rate of 8.6 cases per 100,000 people, lower than Miami s rate (9.1) but higher than New York City s (7.7). Citing more recent infor
SOUTH AFRICA: HIV Children Benefit from Zinc: Study: Reuters (11.25.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Zinc supplements could be an easy and safe way to reduce illnesses such as diarrhea in HIV-infected children, according to US and South African researchers. While zinc is an essential mineral for development and a healthy immune system, there have been concerns about the safety of supplements for HIV patients because t
GLOBAL: Glaxo Hopes to Adapt Measles Shot for HIV: Reuters (11.28.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Ben Hirschler; On Monday, GlaxoSmithKline and France s Institut Pasteur announced plans to jointly develop an experimental AIDS vaccine by fusing HIV genes onto an existing vaccine for measles. Since the measles vaccine is known to provide very long- lasting immunity, Glaxo officials believe piggy-backing an AIDS vaccine onto it is
GLOBAL: UN AIDS Envoy Says Private Sector Must Help Cash- Strapped Global Fund: Agence France Presse (11.29.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is facing the gravest financial crisis since it was created in 2002, and multinational firms have an obligation to help, especially in Africa, Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said Monday. Last week, the Global Fund urged donors to help close the gap
GLOBAL: AIDS Goal Missed, but Effort by UN Branch Is Praised: New York Times (11.29.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Lawrence K. Altman; On Monday, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition released a systematic analysis of the World Health Organization s initiative to treat 3 million HIV patients in developing countries with antiretroviral drugs by the end of this year. While WHO fell short by over 1 million, ITPC credited the agency for treat
UNITED STATES: Churches to Tackle AIDS: Press Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.) (11.28.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Bettye Wells Miller; More than 1,400 pastors, health care providers and high- ranking federal officials are expected to attend the three-day Disturbing Voices Conference on HIV/AIDS at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest beginning Tuesday. The goal of the gathering, which concludes Thursday on World AIDS Day, is to show pastors in c
UNITED STATES: Delicate Choice Just Got Tougher: Los Angeles Times (11.28.05) - Tuesday, November 29, 2005; Daniel Costello; In the United States , the male circumcision rate is falling just when a gathering body of evidence suggests the procedure could reduce the transmission risk for HIV and STDs. More than a decade ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stopped recommending routine circumcision, believing there is a lack of evidenc
SOUTH AFRICA; UNITED STATES: Anti-Apartheid Film Duo Confront South Africa's AIDS Pandemic: Associated Press (11.24.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn; On Monday, the US cable channel HBO will debut Yesterday, an English-subtitled film that tells the year-in-the-life story of a young rural mother named Yesterday who has been diagnosed with AIDS. Nominated as a foreign-language contender at last year s Oscars, Yesterday is the work of the South African director/produce
INDIANA: Feds Help Northern Indiana County with TB Outbreak: Associated Press (11.23.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Kosciusko County officials are working with state and federal health officials to stop an outbreak that has seen 10 TB cases diagnosed this year. Since 1999, the county has had at least 19 TB cases possibly linked to contact at social clubs and bars. CDC and the Indiana Department of Health are helping Kosciusko County
IRAN: Iran to Launch Crackdown on Drug Addicts: Agence France Presse (11.22.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Iran s justice minister said during a regular news briefing on Nov. 22 that drug users would soon be arrested and sent to rehabilitation camps if they do not soon become substance- free. Addicts are criminals; this is a serious warning to them to kick the habit before they are arrested, said Jamal Karimi Rad. Under for
GLOBAL: How to Turn the Corner on AIDS: Washington Post (11.23.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Jim Yong Kim; The good news is hard to find in the new UN [AIDS] report, but it s there. While the number of AIDS deaths continues to rise, the rate of increase is slowing, probably because a growing percentage of people in need now have access to HIV treatment. The World Health Organization reports that between 250,000 and 350,000
UNITED KINGDOM: British HIV Patients Show Increasing Drug Resistance: Reuters (11.17.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; New research reports that HIV-infected people in Britain have one of the world s highest levels of drug resistance, and the rate continues to increase. The resulting reduction in treatment effectiveness represents a major clinical and public health problem, according to the report s authors. The UK Group on Transmitted
GLOBAL: Health Officials Hail Battle Against TB: Associated Press (11.24.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Ariel David; On Thursday in Rome, health officials lauded a World Health Organization-led TB partnership that is providing developing nations with $70 million in resources to help them produce low-cost medicines to fight the disease. The effort pools the resources of drug companies, universities, and international organizations to
THAILAND: Thailand's AIDS Death Toll Reaches 560,000: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.23.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; On Wednesday, Thailand s deputy health minister said 560,000 Thais have died from AIDS over the past two decades, and another 540,000 people are now living with HIV/AIDS in the nation. This year there have been 18,000 new cases of HIV, with 77 percent of them working age people between the ages of 20 to 39, and 84 perc
INDONESIA: Indonesia on Cusp of AIDS Epidemic: UNAIDS Chief: Agence France Presse (11.28.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Now becoming the new frontline of the AIDS epidemic, Indonesia needs every segment of society to quickly join the fight against AIDS in order to avert its spread, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said Monday in Jakarta. Ten years ago, one in ten people in the world with HIV were in Asia.
UNITED KINGDOM: More Casual Sex by Young People Drives Disease to Record High: The Independent (London) (11.25.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Jeremy Laurance; A new report by Britain s Health Protection Agency found that nearly 700,000 new STD diagnoses were made in 2004, up 62 percent from a decade ago. There is a more relaxed attitude toward casual sex, said professor Peter Borriello, director of the HPA s Center for Infections. People don t take that seriously so neither
MONTANA: More Women Becoming Infected with HIV: Billings Gazette (11.27.05) - Monday, November 28, 2005; Diane Cochran; While gay men continue to make up more than half of HIV diagnoses in Montana, state health officers have seen an increase in cases among women in recent years. At the Yellowstone City-County Health Department, 21 of 100 HIV- positive patients are women. At Yellowstone AIDS Project, 13 of 60 clients are women. Most of t
TAIWAN: Taiwan Segregates HIV/AIDS Prisoners to Curb Spread of AIDS in Jails: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (11.23.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; In order to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in jails, Taiwan is segregating HIV-positive prisoners into special wards, an official said Wednesday. We are building separate wards for HIV/AIDS convicts in six prisons, and have begun moving these prisoners to those wards, said Hung Chien-chung of the Correction Department of
MALAWI: McCollum to Travel to Malawi: Associated Press (11.22.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; On Tuesday, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) left for Malawi for a weeklong trip to assess the problems of HIV/AIDS and hunger. With 14 percent of its population infected with HIV, Malawi is facing a food shortage that charities fear will be the worst in a decade. This visit is about translating statistics and policy into
BRAZIL: Brazil Vows to Slow HIV Transmission to Newborns: Associated Press (11.22.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; On Tuesday, Brazil s Health Ministry announced a new prenatal testing program promotion to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, with a goal to reduce the transmission rate for infected mothers to 1 percent by 2008. The ministry said that 75 percent of mothers in Brazil last year received prenatal HIV tests. T
NEW JERSEY: Fraternity Talks to Black Youth About Sexuality: The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) (11.20.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Jennifer Hines Cunningham; On Saturday at Passaic Community College, members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and young men from area high schools gathered to discuss STDs, abstinence, teen pregnancy and the challenges facing black men. At these high schools, sex is like going to class. Everyone s doing it, said Kenneth Sumter, coordinator of the P
UNITED STATES: Nurses, Physician Assistants as Good as Doctors for HIV Care: Reuters Health (11.15.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Amy Norton; A study of 68 US HIV clinics found that physician assistants and nurse practitioners provided a quality of care comparable to that of doctors who specialize in HIV/AIDS and they generally outperformed non-specialist doctors. As part of their education and training, nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PA
CANADA: HIV Cases Increase 20 Percent in Canada: Toronto Star (11.22.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Elaine Carey; In the past five years, HIV diagnoses in Canada have risen 20 percent and women account for a quarter of new cases, according to the UNAIDS global report on the epidemic released Monday. While the government continues to spend considerable money to fight the disease domestically, the statistics continue to expand, Ai
SOUTH AFRICA: No Sign of AIDS Slowdown in South Africa - UN: Business Day (Johannesburg) (11.22.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Tamar Kahn; Despite indications that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is slowing in a few sub-Saharan African countries, there is no sign that infection rates in South Africa are abating, UNAIDS said Monday in its 2005 global surveillance report. South Africa has the world s highest HIV/AIDS caseload, with more than 6 million infections, UNA
GLOBAL: World Health Organization Says Battle with AIDS Still Being Lost: Financial Times (London) (11.22.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Andrew Jack; Jo Johnson; On Monday, the World Health Organization s outgoing HIV/AIDS director urged pharmaceutical firms to allow a humanitarian corridor between companies in order to help fight the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Patent holders of HIV drugs should allow rival firms to produce low-price, generic copies of their antiretroviral drugs
MASSACHUSETTS: Bishops: Stop Mandatory Study of Birds and Bees: Boston Herald (11.19.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Marie Szaniszlo; The four Roman Catholic bishops of Massachusetts are calling for a change in state law that would make sex education an elective course rather than a requirement. Allowing for parents to opt their child into sex education, instead of opting them out as they can now, would give schools more incentive to inform parents a
ILLINOIS: Sex Ed for Older Adults? State Starts Program in Light of Rising HIV Cases: Chicago Daily Herald (11.20.05) - Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Madhu Krishnamurthy; Responding to a slight increase in state HIV infection rates among adults over age 55, the Illinois Department of Public Health is reaching out to sexually active older adults with a new sex education program, officials said recently. HIV cases among adults over age 55 increased from 40 in 2001 to 132 in 2005, accordin
CHINA: Macao Forges Anti-HIV Commission: Xinhua News Agency (11.22.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; On Tuesday, the Government Gazette in Macao published an order by Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah establishing a 25-member commission to fight AIDS. Chui Sai On, secretary for social affairs and culture, will head the body, which will comprise representatives of the public-health sector and civil society. Through Sep
GLOBAL: Global Fund Pleads for Cash as AIDS Numbers Rise: Agence France Presse (11.21.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Monday s UN report on the global AIDS epidemic includes good news about slight decreases in infections in Kenya , Uganda , Zimbabwe and urban Haiti , an endorsement of vigorous efforts to fight the disease, said Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fig
FLORIDA: Carnival Promotes Safe Sex to Students: Miami Herald (11.20.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Jenny Jacobs; Earlier this month, the University of Miami student group A Week for Life sponsored a carnival to promote HIV/AIDS education and awareness. Its attractions included fried chicken, dancing, games and cotton candy, as well as condoms, lubricant and penis replicas that were used to demonstrate proper condom usage. People
SOUTH AFRICA: Improving the Quality of STI Care by Private General Practitioners: a South African Case Study: Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 419-420 (10.05.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; H. Schneider; N. Chabikuli; D. Blaauw; I. Funani; R. Brugha; The authors implemented a multifaceted intervention to improve the quality of sexually transmitted infection (STI) care among 64 private general practitioners (GPs) working in two urban districts in Gauteng Province, South Africa . They then evaluated the intervention. At the core of the intervention were four interact
LATIN AMERICA; CARIBBEAN: UN Report: More than Two Million People with HIV Across Latin America, Caribbean: Associated Press (11.21.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Vivian Sequera; Almost 200,000 new HIV cases were reported in Latin America and the Caribbean over the last two years, and together the regions have some 2.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS, according to a UN report released Monday. This year, there have been 66,000 AIDS-related deaths across Latin America and 24,000 in the Caribb
RUSSIA; EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL ASIA: Young Russian Drug Users Fuel Biggest AIDS Epidemic in Europe: Agence France Presse (11.21.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Europe s largest HIV/AIDS epidemic is in Russia , where young intravenous drug users (IDUs) form an extraordinarily large number of those infected, according to AIDS Epidemic Update 2005. The annual UNAIDS report on the global epidemic was released Monday, ahead of World AIDS Day next Thursday. There were more tha
MIDDLE EAST; NORTH AFRICA: HIV Infection Rising in Mid East: BBC News (11.21.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Unprotected sex, intravenous drug use and a lack of adequate education efforts are fueling the spread of HIV in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the UNAIDS report released Monday. Some 510,000 people in the region are now HIV- infected. Among the report s findings: *In Sud
AFRICA: Africa's HIV Rate Still Highest: BBC News (11.21.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; HIV prevalence is declining in Kenya , Uganda and Zimbabwe , despite each remaining saddled with a large, potentially ruinous epidemic, according to the UNAIDS annual global HIV/AIDS update released Monday. Prevalence remains high in southern Africa and is expanding, e
GLOBAL: Number of People with HIV Doubled in Past Decade, UN Finds: Washington Post (11.22.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Craig Timberg; HIV infections have more than doubled in the past decade to 40 million worldwide, and the pandemic shows few signs of coming under control despite a massive global effort, according to the 98-page UN report released Monday. It s increasing everywhere, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, director of HIV/AIDS for the World H
VIRGINIA: Report: Detection, Education Key to Reducing Cervical Cancer Deaths: Associated Press (11.18.05) - Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Dionne Walker; Improving cervical cancer survival rates in Virginia will require subsidized medical treatment for low-income women diagnosed with the disease and increased awareness of the STD that is linked to it, according to an 82-page report issued by the Governor s Task Force on Cervical Cancer. Though the state s cervical cance
UNITED STATES: Bristol-Myers Drug Said Cuts HIV Rebound: Associated Press (11.18.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; A lower percentage of HIV patients taking Reyataz experienced a rebound in viral levels compared to patients on other protease inhibitors , according to a Friday announcement from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., manufacturer of Reyataz. The study of 419 patients found that 7 percent of those who switched to Reyataz experienc
UNITED STATES: Women's National Basketball Association Player Raising Awareness for Sexually Transmitted Disease: Associated Press (11.18.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Becky Hammon of the New York Liberty is taking part in WNBA s Choose to Know campaign to educate people about human papillomavirus and its link to cervical cancer. At least half of sexually active women and men will get the virus, and most do not know they are infected, according to CDC.
MASSACHUSETTS: Provincetown Hosts One of Few Needle Swaps: Cape Cod Times (11.17.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Eric Williams; Operated by the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Provincetown s needle exchange program (NEP) is one of only four in the state. The others operate in Boston, Cambridge and Northampton. But local advocates hope the state legislature will soon pass a bill authori
UNITED STATES: HIV-1 Seronegativity in a Child with Proved Perinatal HIV Infection on HAART: Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 377-379 (10.05.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; N. Desai; M. Mathur; K. Abu-Lawi; The researchers conducted a case study to report the unexpected absence of HIV-1 antibodies and provirus in the peripheral blood of a four-year-old with previously diagnosed perinatal HIV infection. The study included a review of clinic and laboratory records and confirmation of results of HIV-1 enzyme linked immunosor
INDIA: India Seeks Novel Ways to Tackle AIDS: Reuters (11.17.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Kamil Zaheer; From tapping into the national obsession with cricket to using advertising slogans on soft-drink bottles, India is employing a variety of methods to promote HIV prevention messages. In the world s second-most populous nation, condom use is still low and most HIV cases are in rural areas. In July, the country s Nati
INDIA: UN Official Doubts India on AIDS Data: New York Times (11.21.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Reuters; On Saturday in Guwahati, India , UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said shortfalls in surveillance have left India with HIV numbers that do not reflect the true scope of its epidemic. Piot was speaking before UNAIDS released its global AIDS report in New Delhi. India having only 28,000 new infections
ASIA: UN Says China Slow to Fight AIDS, Praises Thailand: Agence France Presse (11.21.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; China and Myanmar must do more to prevent the spread of AIDS, while Thailand is the region s success story for bringing about a decline in the number of new HIV infections, the UN said today. Its AIDS Epidemic Update 2005 was released in New Delhi ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec.
GLOBAL: UN: HIV Continues to Spread but Prevention Investments Starting to Pay Off: Associated Press (11.21.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Emma Ross; HIV/AIDS claimed the lives of some 3.1 million people worldwide last year and another 4.9 million people became infected, the UN said today in a published update. The new infection and death estimates are in line with those made last year, when the total number of people living with the disease was estimated at 39.4 mi
GLOBAL: Computer Users Enlisted in Hunt for AIDS Drugs: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11.21.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; David Ho; The FightAIDSHome project is asking computer users worldwide to donate the power of their idling PCs to a distributed or grid computing effort to fight HIV/AIDS. Backed by Scripps Research Institute and IBM, the project s distributed computing system can harness thousands of disparate computers, borrowing their computi
WASHINGTON: Groups to Protest Naming Patients with HIV: Seattle Times (11.12.05) - Monday, November 21, 2005; Warren King; Beginning in June 2006, federal funding for some patient care will be withheld from states where doctors and clinics do not report HIV-infected residents by name. The message over the past year has become very clear that reports must be name- based, Jack Jourden, director of infectious disease for the Washington Depart
ILLINOIS: Howard Brown Health Center Starts Crystal Meth Program: Windy City Times (Chicago) (11.16.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; The Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago has launched Crystal Clear, an outpatient treatment program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people dealing with crystal methamphetamine dependence. The intensive program provides counseling six days a week; access to the program s care manager; and financial, legal a
ESTONIA: Estonia's HIV Positives Set Up Association: Baltic News Service (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; In Estonia recently, the Network of Estonian HIV-Positive People announced its founding. Its purpose is to unite, advocate for, and objectively inform people with HIV in Estonia. The group is composing a board to represent interests of the state and community in various forums, said Igor Sobolev, who is now the board s
CHINA: China Denies Plans to Build Special AIDS Prisons: Agence France Presse (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; During a regular briefing Thursday, China s foreign ministry spokesperson, Liu Jianchao, said the country had no plans to build special prisons for AIDS patients, as had been reported by state media. Instead, Liu said a humanitarian development of existing facilities for the prisoners is being made to improve medical a
COLORADO: Dentist's Office Gives, Brings Smiles to Patients Living with HIV/AIDS: Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (11.12.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Gary Massaro; The Howard Dental Center (HDC) on Capitol Hill in Denver has been serving the dental needs of people with HIV/AIDS since 1994. Its name honors Dr. John Howard, a dentist who treated seropositive patients before his 1988 death from AIDS at age 55. Some of Howard s original patients still come to the clinic, where servic
MICHIGAN: People with HIV to Lose Provider of Food, Housing: Detroit Free Press (11.14.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Emilia Askari; Wellness House, one of Detroit s oldest HIV/AIDS nonprofits, will permanently close on Dec. 1 due to a loss in funding from the city and other sources. At one point, the agency provided 3,000 low-income clients with monthly food boxes or vouchers, and it housed 24 people each year in its residential program. The last t
NEW YORK: HIV Stats Stagger; Black Gay Prevention Panel Offers Sobering Insights: Gay City News (New York City) (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Duncan Osborne; At the Fashion Institute of Technology on Nov. 14, a panel discussed the state of HIV prevention among African-American gay men. The meeting followed a CDC report which found that of 1,767 gay or bisexual men surveyed in five US cities, 46 percent of black men were HIV-positive, compared to 21 percent of white men and
UNITED STATES: Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interview and Face to Face Interview Modes in Assessing Response Bias Among STD Clinic Patients: Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 421-425 (10.05.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; K.G. Ghanem; H.E. Hutton; J.M. Zenilman; R. Zimba; E.J. Erbelding; The authors sought to describe the difference in reporting risk behavior in audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) and face-to-face interviews (FFI) among patients at a public sexually transmitted disease clinic. Randomly selected patients at a Baltimore clinic sequentially took an ACASI- formatted risk behavio
GLOBAL: 2 Tests Cut Cervical Cancer Risk in Poor Countries: Reuters (11.16.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Gene Emery; Just two lifetime health clinic visits could halve the cervical cancer risk for women in developing countries, according to a new study. Thanks to regular screenings, cervical cancer claims only around 4,000 lives annually in the United States . In the developing world, however, it is a leading cause of cancer deaths.
ZIMBABWE: Prostitutes, Vendors Scrounge on Zimbabwe Roads: Reuters (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Cris Chinaka; Desperate economic conditions in Zimbabwe are forcing thousands of young people to work as roadside vendors or prostitutes. The highway girls, as they are called, are often picked up by crossborder truck drivers, a phenomenon that health authorities say is feeding an HIV/AIDS epidemic that kills 2,500 Zimbabweans each
GLOBAL: AIDS May Help Spread of Bird Flu: BBC News (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Roland Pease; At a conference organized by the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, experts warned that HIV/AIDS patients could harbor the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu, potentially allowing the virus to become more adaptable and thus more dangerous to humans. Currently, H5N1 has infected about 125 people in Southeast Asia
UNITED STATES: HIV Diagnosis Rate Decreasing in Minorities, CDC Says: Associated Press (11.17.05) - Friday, November 18, 2005; Mike Stobbe; On Thursday, CDC reported that while new HIV diagnoses among African Americans declined about 5 percent a year since 2001, blacks are still about eight times more likely than whites to become infected. CDC s new HIV statistics are based on 2001-04 data from the 33 states with name-based HIV reporting. Officials do not
RHODE ISLAND: AIDS Quilt Display Opens Thursday: Providence Journal (11.15.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Beginning Thursday and continuing through Nov. 28, six sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed at Grace Episcopal Church in Providence. Quilt panels are being exhibited in the church for the first time since 1998. For information, telephone 401-331-3225.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Claflin, University of South Carolina Team to Curb Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Cancer: Associated Press (11.15.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; John C. Drake; The University of South Carolina in Columbia and Claflin University in Orangeburg will use a five-year, $7.5 million federal grant to study disparities in the incidence of AIDS and cancer. One project will explore why human papillomavirus persists in some women while it lasts only a short time in others. The link betwe
CHINA: Baylor Program for Children with HIV Adds Center in China: Houston Chronicle (11.16.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Leigh Hopper; Baylor College of Medicine - which already treats HIV-infected people in Romania , Botswana , Uganda , Swaziland , Lesotho , Malawi , and Burkina Faso - has
SOUTH DAKOTA: Sioux Falls Board Drops Sex Ed Materials: Associated Press (11.15.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; On Monday, the Sioux Falls School Board voted unanimously to pull the Health Smart sex education materials from middle schools and empanel a committee of parents, educators, and health professionals to choose a new program. Last month, at least 29 parents complained that the two-week sex education component of Health S
TEXAS: Ector County Drops Contraception Curriculum: Associated Press (11.15.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; On Tuesday night, the Ector County Independent School District board voted 4-3 to end a one-day contraception lesson as part of the district s abstinence-only sex education curriculum. For two years, the contraception lesson was taught at the end of the sex education program with parental consent. Before the vote, boar
CALIFORNIA: Rise Forecast in Local STD Cases: San Diego Union-Tribune (11.09.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Cheryl Clark; Syphilis rates are projected to increase nearly six-fold in San Diego County this year compared to 2002, according to several recently released reports. In 2005, county estimates show the syphilis caseload could be the highest in a decade. The projected case total for 2005 is 219, but Dr. Robert Gunn, STD control offic
UNITED STATES: Condoms Protect Against Genital Herpes: Reuters Health (11.14.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Amy Norton; In a new study of more than 1,800 adults at high risk of genital herpes , those who reported usually using condoms were one-quarter less likely to test positive for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) than those who did not. According to lead author Dr. Anna Wald of the University of Washington-Seattle, the level of HS
GLOBAL: Circumcised Men Less Apt to Transmit Chlamydia: Reuters Health (11.02.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; A new study suggests that women whose male sexual partner is circumcised are less likely to contract Chlamydia trachomatis than those whose partner is uncircumcised. Dr. Xavier Castellsague, of Institut Catala d Oncologia in Barcelona, and colleagues studied the relationship between male circumcision and C. trachomatis
NIGERIA: Nigerian AIDS Funds at Risk over Poor Accounting: Reuters (11.16.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Estelle Shirbon; A panel of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria will recommend terminating two grants to Nigeria , according to a letter obtained Wednesday by Reuters. Lacks of transparency and authorities failure to meet targets are the reasons for the proposed cut off. The five-year grants totaling $80 million have three ye
NORTH CAROLINA: Teen Mom Count Climbs: News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (11.11.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Amy Gardner; Last year, North Carolina s teen pregnancy rate rose for the first time in 15 years, according to new data released by the State Center for Health Statistics. While the increase is small - 2.3 percent across North Carolina, to 62.4 pregnancies per 1,000 females ages 15-19 - experts say it is important to take note and
WISCONSIN: Abstinence Bill Gaining Momentum: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11.16.05) - Thursday, November 17, 2005; Steven Walters; The Wisconsin Legislature is close to passing a bill that would require school districts with human development classes to teach abstinence until marriage as the preferred behavior. Sponsored by Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), the bill has already passed the Senate and is backed by the Republican- dominated Legislatur
CALIFORNIA: AIDS Topic of Talk: Press Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.) (11.15.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Bettye Wells Miller; Department of Public Health officials and community organizations in Riverside County are offering a free, public forum about HIV/AIDS and African Americans in the western part of the county. First 5 Riverside s Faith-Based Partnership for Community Change steering committee is hosting the event, which is part of the h
UKRAINE: HIV/AIDS Spread in Ukraine Poses Threat to Security - Kinakh: ITAR-TASS (11.15.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Raisa Stetsyura; AIDS has engulfed all 27 regions of Ukraine and has become an issue that should be studied at the highest level, according to Anatoly Kinakh, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council. The government, entrepreneurs and society should pool their efforts to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, he sa
CHINA: Hong Kong Records Largest Gain in HIV, Big Rise Among Gays: Agence France Presse (11.16.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Today, Hong Kong Department of Health officials said they recorded 91 new HIV infections from July to September 2005, a 29 percent increase from the previous quarter. Two-third of the infections were acquired sexually, including 32 cases acquired homosexually, up from 17 cases the previous quarter. However, heterosexua
NORTH CAROLINA: Nash County Health Department to Focus on HIV Testing Efforts: Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, N.C.) (11.10.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Tom Murphy; The Nash County Health Department will use a $10,000 state grant to increase HIV and STD testing in community sites and drug rehabilitation facilities. The North Carolina STD Prevention and Care Branch originally funded the Nash County HIV/AIDS effort as an education outreach. We will change our focus in the HIV/AIDS p
MASSACHUSETTS: Road Warriors in the Fight Against AIDS: Boston Globe (11.14.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Bella English; Boston is one of seven US sites where CDC-funded vans are taking HIV testing to at-risk people who are unable or unwilling to visit traditional clinics. Five days a week, one night and some weekends, a van offers city residents rapid, 20-minute HIV testing. Costing an annual $327,000, the van is staffed by two health w
UNITED STATES: The Psychosocial Impact of Serological Herpes Simplex Type 2 Testing in an Urban HIV Clinic: Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 309-315 (08.05.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; J.L. Meyer; R.A. Crosby; W.L.H. Whittington; D. Carrell; R. Ashley-Morrow; A.S. Meier; R.D. Harrington; R. DiClemente; A. Wald; The authors conducted a prospective study of the psychosocial response to a new serological herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) diagnosis in patients receiving care at an urban HIV clinic. At entry, patients sera were tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies by western blot. Participants completed a 90- item psychosocial
CAMBODIA: Cambodians with HIV Take Part in Annual Boat Race Festival: Associated Press (11.15.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; More than one million people are converging on Phnom Penh this week for Cambodia s annual water festival and boat race. This year, for the first time, HIV-positive Cambodians are crewing one of the 400 boats. We want to show that people living with HIV are normal people and capable of action like others who don t have
UNITED KINGDOM: Call for Free Condoms to Combat Spread of HIV in Prisons: The Guardian (London) (11.14.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Eric Allison; Paul Lewis; On Monday, the Prison Reform and National AIDS trusts released a report finding significant gaps in efforts to control already high rates of HIV and hepatitis C among inmates throughout the UK prison system. Though rates of hepatitis C and HIV are 20 times and 15 times higher respectively in prisons than in the public,
SOUTH AFRICA: Volunteers Enroll for Second-Step Vaccine Trial: Business Day (Johannesburg) (11.15.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Tamar Kahn; On Monday, volunteers began signing up for South Africa s first Phase II clinical trial of an HIV vaccine candidate. South Africa s selection for the trial is an indicator of international confidence in the quality of its research, said the study s national protocol chairperson, Eftyhia Vardas of the University of Witw
UNITED STATES: National AIDS Fund Aims to Boost Profile: Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco) (11.10.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Matthew S. Bajko; Since its founding 17 years ago, the National AIDS Fund (NAF) has awarded $126 million to community-based groups. Even so, most people have never heard of it, a problem the fund s leadership is looking to solve. People hear about the tremendous work of the organizations receiving grants from us but they don t always he
INDIANA: Indiana University Survey of Rural Men Stirs Sex Education Debate: Indianapolis Star (11.12.05) - Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Staci Hupp; In a recent Indiana University (IU) survey of 75 rural male state residents, almost half said they waited too long before putting on a condom or took the condom off too soon during their most recent sexual encounter with a woman. We did these studies to find out, are people actually making mistakes? said William Yarber
UNITED STATES: Evanston Research Group Releases HIV Medication Survey: Windy City Times (Chicago) (11.09.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Evanston, Ill.-based Richard Day Research recently released the results of a national Internet-based survey on HIV/AIDS medication adherence. The drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb underwrote the survey, which had 403 participants. Among findings: *Respondents averaged eight years of taking HIV medications. *85 percen
GEORGIA: Possible TB Cases Reported at 2 Schools: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11.12.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Kristina Torres; Brian Feagans; Osborne High School officials have notified students and parents that one student may have contracted TB, requiring the precautionary screening of other students and staff for TB. Officials anticipate they will screen about 100 Cobb County students, including a busload of Griffin Middle School students who rode with th
RUSSIA: Discrimination Holding Back AIDS Progress in Russia: Minister: Agence France Presse (11.14.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Discrimination is hampering Russia s efforts against HIV/AIDS, said UNICEF, UNAIDS and Russian officials on Monday. The country s biggest problem is the public s attitude towards people with HIV, which cannot be changed by any financing, Vladimir Starodubov, Russia s Deputy Health Minister, said in Moscow at a conferen
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: UN-Backed Child-Focused HIV/AIDS Campaign Launched in Papua New Guinea: Australian Associated Press (11.14.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; On Monday in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Governor-General Paulias Matane helped launch Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS, a UNICEF/ UNAIDS initiative to fight the global epidemic s impact on children. The campaign intends to help prevent new HIV infections among youths, prevent mother-to- child transmission, pr
UNITED STATES: HIV Program Shows Promise for Low-Income Teens: Reuters Health (10.26.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Amy Norton; Community-level HIV prevention programs that incorporate more of a teenager s everyday life may strongly influence their decisions later, a new study revealed. Dr. Kathleen J. Sikkema and colleagues studied 12- to 17-year- olds living in 15 low-income housing developments in five US cities to determine if a community-b
CANADA: Federal Prisoners Can Tattoo Each Other: Clean Syringes Ahead in Battle Against Blood-Borne Disease: Ottawa Citizen (11.11.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Carly Weeks; Canada has opened tattoo parlors in five federal prisons and a sixth one is to open later this month in a bid to curb the spread of blood-borne diseases. For $5 Canadian ($4.18 US) each, federal prisoners can get tattooed by trained fellow prisoners. Racist or gang-related designs are prohibited. The contentious pilo
CAMBODIA: Cambodian Drug Users Raise New AIDS Threat: Associated Press (11.11.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Ker Munthit; A survey finding some Cambodian intravenous drug users (IDUs) are selling their blood to hospitals to pay for drugs is troubling officials and experts, who warn the practice could spread HIV to people who would otherwise have little chance of acquiring it. Cambodia has no known case of HIV transmission via transfusion,
LIBYA: Libya Postpones Decision in HIV Case: Associated Press (11.15.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Khaled El-Deeb; Today in Tripoli, the Supreme Court of Libya delayed until Jan. 31 its ruling on the appeal filed by six medical workers sentenced to death following their conviction on charges of deliberately infecting with HIV more than 400 hospitalized children. The six, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, maintain they
MASSACHUSETTS: Officials Say Hospitals Failed to Clear Doctor of Disease: Associated Press (11.12.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; A federal probe into the case of a physician who worked at four Massachusetts hospitals for six months while infected with TB found that the facilities failed to adequately ensure their doctors were free of infectious diseases before permitting them to practice. Boston Medical Center (BMC), the surgical resident s prin
OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma Has 15th Highest Rate of Gonorrhea: Associated Press (11.10.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; According to CDC s latest statistics, Oklahoma s gonorrhea rate is the nation s 15th-highest. However, the state s rate was down 2 percent in 2004 and down 8 percent since 2001, said Michael Harmon, chief of HIV and STD Services for the Oklahoma Health Department. Increased efforts to find and treat the partners of inf
MASSACHUSETTS: Bill Would Allow Sale of Syringes Without a Prescription: Associated Press (11.14.05) - Tuesday, November 15, 2005; Steve LeBlanc; On Monday in Boston, House lawmakers voted 115-37 to allow Massachusetts residents to purchase syringes without a prescription directly from pharmacists. The bill would also decriminalize needle possession. Massachusetts is one of the last US states that still ban non- prescription sales of hypodermic needles. Supporte
MICHIGAN: Student at West Ottawa High School Diagnosed with TB: Associated Press (11.12.05) - Monday, November 14, 2005; A West Ottawa High School student has been diagnosed with pulmonary TB, the Ottawa County Health Department said, adding it is the first active case in a county school in 12 years. The health department is working with school officials to identify people who may have come in contact with the infected student. Students
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