2000

A Battle Plan Against AIDS / Agency vows to fight disease worldwide: Newsday, December 2, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; The National Institutes of Health unveiled a multimillion dollar strategic plan Friday, setting priorities for AIDS research in Africa, Asia, the former USSR and Latin America. The Global AIDS Research Initiative and Strategic Plan calls for spending more than $100 million next year on research conducted in poor countr
Pandemic Worry Over AIDS Policy / Next U.S. president expected to set tone: Newsday, December 1, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; On the eve of World AIDS Day, health leaders from around the world expressed concern yesterday about the uncertainties over who will next occupy the White House and be in a position to shape future commitments to combating the pandemic. The United States is the largest single funder of global efforts to stamp out HIV,
AIDS Vaccine Helps Monkeys: Newsday - October 20, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; A team of scientists has developed an AIDS vaccine that appears to keep monkeys from developing the disease, though it does not prevent infection with the virus. The vaccine, made from pieces of DNA, triggers a powerful antiviral response in monkeys-so strong that none of the vaccinated animals became sick after 40 wee
HIV Rate 'Unacceptably High' - Institute says U.S. efforts, estimates fail: Newsday - September 28, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; U.S. efforts to monitor and slow the spread of HIV domestically were strongly criticized yesterday by the prestigious Institute of Medicine. The country s HIV rate has remained unacceptably high for far too long, the institute said. For more than a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated th
Key to HIV Vaccine May Be in Monkeys: Newsday - September 21, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Scientists have discovered an Achilles heel in the AIDS virus, a finding that has provided a new target in efforts to develop an HIV vaccine. Although the researchers cautioned that their work is only in monkeys-and they went so far as to say that further studies could undermine this discovery-they nevertheless are exc
HIV Tests Missing in TB Control / Report sees chance to curb both diseases: Newsday - August 4, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Public health officials are missing a key opportunity to control both tuberculosis and HIV in the United States , according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People infected with the virus that causes AIDS are highly susceptible to tuberculosis infection and more likely, once
AIDS Meeting's Impact / S. African event 'changed the face of how societies deal with illness': Newsday - July 18, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; DURBAN, South Africa -- IT WOULD BE HARD to think of another time when science was so deeply embroiled in politics, or when the words of two African leaders so rocked global public opinion about a medical problem. The 13th International AIDS Conference that ended Friday was a watershed, delegates said, and a fundamenta
Mandela Joins Battle on AIDS Delivers inspiring words at conference: Newsday - July 15, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Durban, South Africa-Cries of jubilation filled the halls of the controversy-ridden 13th International AIDS Conference on Friday as former South African President Nelson Mandela delivered a closing address that gave AIDS fighters a newfound sense of hope and zeal. Let us not equivocate, Mandela said. A tragedy of unpre
HIV Scientist: Dire Money Shortage: Newsday - July 14, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Durban, South Africa-Outraged over the scale of AIDS in Africa, the U.S government s top HIV scientist spoke out yesterday, denouncing not only Washington s response to the global pandemic but also those of the United Nations and European nations. Speaking here at the 13th International AIDS Conference, Dr. Neal Nathan
HIV-Study Bombshell / Common spermicide increased infections in women: Newsday - July 13,2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Durbin, South Africa-The chemical found in most contraceptive gels, on many condoms, in genital lubricants and offered up as the leading candidate for a vaginal barrier against AIDS appears to play a role in promoting HIV infection. The bombshell fell on the 13th International AIDS Conference yesterday when Dr. Lut Van
AIDS Drugs Urged for Africa / Tests show people in poor countries can follow regimens, experts say: Newsday - July 12, 2000; Laurie Garrett. Staff Correspondent; Durban, South Africa-With political demand for access to anti-HIV drugs dominating the 13th International AIDS Conference, scientists yesterday presented the results of trials using sophisticated, American-style treatments in poor African countries. Although the results appear mixed and point up obstacles to providing
Politics Dominates AIDS Conference: Newsday - July 11, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Durban, South Africa-Science took a backseat to politics at yesterday s 13th International AIDS Conference, as activists and physicians demanded that the world s poor be given access to the drugs that have extended the lives of HIV-positive Americans and Europeans. The global disparity in life expectancy, driven by exp
AIDS Virus Traced to 1675: Newsday - July 11, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Durban, South Africa-The AIDS virus most probably first jumped from chimpanzees to humans as early as 1675 and didn t establish itself as an epidemic strain in Africa until 1930, according to research presented yesterday at the 13th International AIDS Conference here. The virus, HIV-1, is ancient, reported Dr. Anne-Mie
UGANDA'S STRATEGY / In the absence of any promising vaccines or cures, Uganda is a beacon as HIV rages in Africa: Newsday, July 11, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; MASAKA, Tanzania - MARTIN MATOUVU has no choice but to be something of a philosopher. After all, when his business is good the community suffers. Matouvu is a major maker and supplier of coffins for the region of Uganda hardest-hit by AIDS. His workshop on the TransAfrica Highway sold 10 coffins a day in 1994, four chi
Focus on Poverty, Not on HIV, AIDS / S. Africa leader's speech frustrates delegates: Newsday - July 10, 2000; Laurie Garrett and Tina Susman, Staff Correspondents; Durban, South Africa-The much anticipated 13th International AIDS Conference, the first ever convened in Africa, opened with a whimper amid pageantry last night as scientists and activists tried to parse a lengthy yet non-committal speech by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Throughout the day, scientists, clinician
Crisis in the Clinics / In Africa, overwhelmed health system may spread HIV: Newsday - July 10, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Kyaka, Tanzania - Amid the stench from bird and bat droppings and the buzz from mosquitoes, mothers and their infants patiently await the opening of the town s government-sponsored well-baby clinic. When nurse Sabina Laurenti enters, mothers pile their children s medical records on the wooden examination table. The wei
Drugmakers Aid In War on AIDS / Controversy rages over distribution: Newsday - July 9, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Durban, South Africa-On the eve of the opening of the long- awaited XIII International AIDS Conference in South Africa, controversy over the use of drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV has reached a boiling point. Late Friday, the German drug giant Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it will give it
Allies of AIDS / Among warring factions in Congo, disease is mutating: Newsday - July 9, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Kampala, Uganda-It was born out of war, spread in war and may now be mutating into an explosive nightmare amid war. HIV, soldiers, rape and prostitutes: These are the elements that spawned and spread Africa s horrendous AIDS epidemic. For at least thirty years military forces have served as mobile vectors for the deadl
Men Control Condom Use: Newsday - July 7, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Kampala, Uganda-Awa Coll- Seck, a native Senegalese and a founding member of the Society for Women Against AIDS in Africa, once thought that merely informing women about HIV would give them the knowledge to protect themselves. But the women said no, Coll-Seck recalled in an interview in her office at the Geneva headqua
Women at Epicenter / Social, biological reason keep them at heart of AIDS: Newsday - July 7, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Masaka, Uganda-When Lukio Nakitto was 10 years old she watched as her big sister was forced to leave their home in disgrace. Their mother cried out that the unmarried teenager was pregnant. Shameful as the sight of a pregnant 18-year-old might be, it was a lie invented to hide what was considered an even greater horror
AIDS Uttered in Lexicon of Fear / Names for disease reflect despair: Newsday - July 6, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; In English, diseases tend to be named either after their discoverer or in a manner that describes the scientific basis of the illness. Thus, when AIDS was first identified as a new disease it was given several names, with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome being the final choice. Because African languages sometimes lac
Children Of the Plague / In Uganda, birthplace of the AIDS epidemic, a generation is gone, its offspring devastated: Newsday - July 6, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; Kansensero, Uganda-The back-breaking, rutted dirt road ends abruptly inches from the Ugandan shore of Lake Victoria, where young fishermen defend the day s catch from marauding cormorants and ibis. Almost as pesky are the ragtag children who grab what they can and stare with needy eyes at every passerby. They are orpha
AIDS Ravaging Entire Societies / UN details economic, social 'catastrophe': Newsday - June 28, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Many countries have entered a phase of social and economic destruction due to the global AIDS epidemic, according to a report released yesterday by the United Nation s AIDS Programme in Geneva. It added that the world is waking up to devastation and catastrophe. In grim country-by-country detail, the report shows that
Global AIDS Talks Sidetracked / Science taking backseat to politics: Newsday, Saturday, April 22, 2000, Page A08; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Hoosen Coovadia, Mark Wainberg and Peter Piot are anxious, unhappy men these days, losing sleep and pacing nervously as they watch years of AIDS work slipping through their fingers. They fear their efforts will mutate into a major international fiasco. For the past five years, their immodest goal has been to stage the
Study Finds Predictor of HIV Spread: Newsday - Thursday, March 30, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; The single factor that most strongly predicts who will pass HIV on to a sexual partner is the level of the virus in the infected person s blood, according to a four-year study of more than 7,500 heterosexual married couples in Uganda . What we found is that the level of HIV in an individual predicts their infectiousnes
Added Foe in AIDS War: Skeptics: Newsday - March 29, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; The leader of the most influential African nation has opened debate in recent months on whether or not HIV causes AIDS, has issued a blistering attack against the international pharmaceutical industry and has ordered formation of a commission that will review all of the primary assumptions about the global AIDS epidemi
HIV Shield for Women?/Researchers worldwide step up efforts to develop vaginal gel or foam: Newsday - March 28, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff correspondent; WASHINGTON UNITED NATIONS officials and women s representatives are suddenly acutely interested in finding a vaginal foam or gel that will block HIV sexual transmission. The need is severe, as newly infected HIV-positive women now well outnumber newly infected men worldwide - largely because they don t have a reasonabl
TB Deaths Soaring Worldwide / Drug-resistance growth is cited: Newsday - March 24, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Tuberculosis death rates are soaring, with drug-resistant strains of the bacteria emerging all over the world, according to a four-year global study released this morning in Amsterdam by the World Health Organization . At least 8 million people developed active TB last year, WHO reported, and 2 million of them died.
BOOK REVIEW: First, Do No Harm: Newsday - March 19, 2000; Laurie Garrett; TIME TO HEAL: American Medical Education From the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care, by Kenneth Ludmerer. Oxford, 514 pp., $29.95. EVERY POLICY WONK shares this fantasy: Foundations shower money upon you for the research and production of your definitive book. The book, which calls for profound and large-s
U.S. Bills Take Aim at Global AIDS: Newsday - March 7, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; The global AIDS epidemic suddenly has become a front-burner issue in Washington, with at least 11 bills and a multimillion-dollar White House proposal pending on Capitol Hill. Advocates are unable to explain what has prompted the sudden interest in the pandemic s impact in poor countries, after nearly 20 years of world
UN Heightens Resolve On AIDS Pandemic: Newsday - February 29, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; For the second time this year, the United Nations placed the global AIDS pandemic at the top of its political agenda, devoting its Economic and Social Committee s entire session yesterday to the subject. The sessions mark a striking shift in global political views of the disease, from virtual silence last year to an ac
Experts: Scourges Pose World Health Crisis: Newsday - February 23, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Writer; Amid mounting death tolls due to new scourges, such as AIDS, and novel drug-resistant forms of older ones, such as tuberculosis and malaria, a team of international health experts said yesterday that bold incentives must be found to lure top scientists and drug manufacturers to the pursuit of solutions. Former World Ba
Sneak Attack on HIV? / Starting, then stopping treatment, is seen to make virus vulnerable: Newsday - February 15, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; SAN FRANCISCO: THERE IS a growing consensus among HIV specialists that patients who are doing well on their drug treatment cocktails ought to deliberately stop taking the medicines for brief periods. It s a concept that flies in the face of all previous advice regarding AIDS treatment, defies worries about promotion of
Brainstorm on HIV in Africa Use of drug treatments at issue: Newsday - Thursday, February 3, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; San Francisco-While American HIV patients routinely now take $20,000 to $30,000 worth of medications yearly, scientists and policymakers are struggling to figure out which-if any-available medications make sense to use in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 70 percent of all HIV-positive individuals live. At this week s sev
HIV's Roots Traced to 1930 / Analysis refutes one theory on origin: Newsday - February 2, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; San Francisco--Based on mathematical analysis using the world s largest computer, scientists have concluded that the virus that sparked the AIDS pandemic first surfaced in people sometime around 1930, probably in Central Africa. That conclusion, presented yesterday by Bette Korber of Los Alamos National Laboratory in N
Mutation May Offer Hepatitis C Defense: Newsday - Tuesday, February 1, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; San Francisco-People who carry unusual genes that protect them against HIV infection may also be protected against the hepatitis C virus, according to researchers at North Shore University Hospital and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. About five years ago, scientists in New York City discovered a geneti
Scary HIV Trends / Infectious African strains surge in city: Newsday - Monday, January 31, 2000; Laurie Garrett, Staff Correspondent; San Francisco - While most American HIV patients continue to enjoy longer healthy periods of life thanks to powerful treatment cocktails, scientists meeting yesterday at the seventh annual national Conference on Retroviruses say worrisome trends are surfacing. One study unveiled yesterday found that highly infectious A

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