2003

GLOBAL: UNICEF Lists Top Five Fears for Children in 2004 Including AIDS and War: Agence France Presse (12.31.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; AIDS, war, child abuse, life expectancy and a lack of investment in education will be key concerns for child welfare in 2004, UNICEF said today. Each of these issues alone poses heartbreaking challenges for hundreds of millions of children. Together, they represent a global imperative to do more for children in 2004,
THAILAND: AIDS Sufferers Hit 300,000 in Thailand: Xinhua News Agency (12.27.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; More than 300,000 people in Thailand now have fully developed AIDS, the state-run Thai News Agency quoted Public Health Ministry spokesperson Nittaya Chanruengmahaphon as saying on Friday. Of the 312,429 AIDS patients, 62,726 have died. People ages 25-29 comprised the largest group of patients: 26 percent. The figures
MINNESOTA: Nonprofit to Build HIV/AIDS Housing Project: Star Tribune (12.27.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Jim Buchta; Clare Housing, a group that provides housing and other support services to HIV/AIDS patients, is planning to build a 30-unit, $6.7 million apartment building in a blighted section of northeast Minneapolis. In collaboration, the Central Community Housing Trust (CCHT) will build eight brick row houses - for sale - connec
UNITED STATES: Berkeley Scientists Create Tuberculosis 'Superbug': Oakland Tribune (12.27.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Ian Hoffman; Infectious disease professor Lee W. Riley and his post- doctoral students set out to solve a problem that has been vexing researchers for decades: Why does tuberculosis lie dormant in some humans for decades before triggering disease? Trying to render TB harmless, they disabled a collection of genes associated with the
FINLAND: Chlamydia Linked to Cervical Cancer Risk: Reuters Health (12.18.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Megan Rauscher; New research suggests that women with persistent chlamydial infection are at increased risk for developing cervical cancer. The latest findings, along with other emerging evidence, indicate that cervical cancer should be listed as one of the potential long-term [consequences] of genital chlamydia infection, according t
NIGERIA: Survey Identifies Factors Against Success of War on HIV/AIDS: AllAfrica (12.29.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Vanguard; The 2003 National HIV/AIDS Reproductive Health Survey (NARHS) conducted in Nigeria showed that at least seven out of 10 (72 percent) men and women in both rural and urban areas believe they are at no risk for HIV, and only two out of five (41 percent) want to be tested for the virus. Minister of Health professor Ey
BOTSWANA: Botswana Feels Brunt of HIV/AIDS Apathy: AllAfrica (12.29.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Business Day; A recent report by the Norwegian aid agency Fafo and the Botswana National Productivity Centre said South African multinational companies are dragging their heels about implementing HIV/AIDS policies in their Botswana subsidiaries. The study surveyed 100 businesses and found that South African operations were more like
JAPAN: Blood Donors' IDs to Be Checked: Daily Yomiuri (12.31.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Following the announcement Monday that a person in Japan had been infected with HIV through a blood transfusion, the Japanese Red Cross has decided to require that donors provide ID including a driver s license or passport before donating their blood. For those who do not possess any identifying documents, such as some
AUSTRALIA: Take Condoms to Party, Doctor Warns: Age (12.31.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Lucy Beaumont; As rates of STDs in Australia s Victoria state continue to climb, sexual health experts are warning about the dangers of New Year s Eve liaisons. Partying fueled by alcohol and drugs makes the New Year s period a busy one for sexual health medical staff, according to Dr. Darren Russell of the Melbourne Sexual Health Ce
UNITED STATES: Bolstered by Liver Transplant, HIV Patient Rebuilds His Life: Associated Press (12.31.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; A liver transplant performed as part of a nationwide clinical trial for HIV-positive people has revived musician Terry LaBolt. After 20 years of combined HIV and hepatitis B infection, he was the first HIV-positive patient in the Cincinnati area to receive a new liver. Earlier in the epidemic, people with HIV were
LOUISIANA: Louisiana Worst Gonorrhea Rate; Top 10 in Two Other STDs: Associated Press (12.30.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Janet McConnaughey; Louisiana had the highest gonorrhea rate in the nation for the second year in a row in 2002, according to CDC. Louisiana has been among the five worst states for both gonorrhea and chlamydia for the past five years. The state ranked seventh- worst in 2002 for syphilis. We definitely need to get the word out that the sa
LIBYA: Libya Registers 975 AIDS Cases: United Press International (12.27.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; The Libyan daily ash-Shams quoted national AIDS program Director Ahmad Mahmoud as saying that about 800 Libyan patients and 175 foreign residents in the country have AIDS. Mahmoud said the registered figures did not reflect the accurate number due to religious and social pressures, as well as a large number of illegal
RUSSIA: World Bank to Provide $150 Million to Combat TB, AIDS in Russia: ITAR-TASS News Agency (12.30.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Today in Moscow at a joint news conference organized by Russia s Justice and Health ministries, Deputy Health Minister Ruslan Khalfin said the World Bank will provide the nation with a $150 million loan to fight TB and AIDS. The money will fund a five-year project that has actually been underway since Dec. 11, Khalfin
UNITED STATES: Automated System Approved for Testing Two Diseases: New York Times (12.30.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Reuters; Gen-Probe announced yesterday that the Food and Drug Administration had approved its automated testing system for diagnosing STDs. The company said FDA approved the use of its Tigris DTS System for performing its Aptima Combo assay, which tests simultaneously for chlamydia and gonorrhea and has already been approved. T
MARYLAND: Hospice Hoping to Learn from African Counterpart: Baltimore Sun (12.26.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Stephanie Tracy; The Anne Arundel County-based Hospice of the Chesapeake (HOC) will be able to share its technical, administrative and development expertise with a hospice in South Africa thanks to a foundation that fosters hospice exchanges. In return, HOC will learn through the partnership how hospice care is provided in funding- and
UNITED STATES: Using Point-of-Care Testing to Make Rapid HIV-1 Tests in Labor Really Rapid: AIDS (09.26.03) Vol. 17; No. 14: P.2121-2124 - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Mardge H. Cohen; Yolanda Olszewski; Bernard Branson; Michele Robey; Faridah Love; Denise J. Jamieson; Marc Bulterys; for the Mother Infant Rapid Intervention At Delivery Study; In November 2002, the Food and Drug Administration approved the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test. Four Chicago hospitals (with the city s highest HIV-1 prevalence among childbearing women) rapidly tested 380 women at labor and delivery between January 2002 and July 2002. Three hospitals had obstetric staff perform ra
CANADA: Vancouver's Safe Site Popular with Junkies: Toronto Star (12.26.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Amy Carmichael; The roughly 5,000 heroin addicts in Vancouver s Downtown Eastside neighborhood prefer the city s first legal supervised safe injection site to drug use on the street, but some fear one such site is not enough. All the research on different sites anywhere in the world shows that the idea of having one in a city is not e
NAMIBIA: Local Businessman Helps Ease Africa's AIDS Plight: Orange County Register (12.28.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Jan Norman; Laguna Beach businessman Mike Shepard went to Africa on safari in 1996. A friend, Steve Garrison, asked him to look up his friends Jos and Sylvia Holtzhausen, missionaries in Namibia . Shepard flew two hours from Johannesburg to Namibia, a country where 22 percent of adults have AIDS. The Holtzhausens operated an
GLOBAL: Progress in War Against AIDS: Clinton Foundation Lauded for Helping Poor Get Needed Medicine: Newsday (12.28.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Laurie Garrett; The William J. Clinton Foundation has so far been involved in anti-AIDS efforts in several Caribbean countries, South Africa , Rwanda , and Mozambique . According to Ira Magaziner, director of the foundation s AIDS program, President Clinton met wealthy countries objections to funding anti-AIDS efforts
JAPAN: Japan Patient Receives HIV-Tainted Blood: Associated Press (12.29.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Kozo Mizoguchi; The patient infected with HIV from a blood donation that slipped through the screening system used by Japan s Red Cross was the only person to receive the infected blood, Japanese Health Ministry spokesperson Kazunari Tanaka said Monday. The infected donor s blood was in three samples. One of them was used in the trans
UNITED STATES: American Indians See Rapidly Climbing AIDS Infection Rates: Associated Press (12.29.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; The remoteness of many American Indian reservations has largely insulated tribes from HIV/AIDS, but that has begun to change. More than 30 new cases were identified on the Navajo Reservation in 2003 - including the first documented cases of transmission on the reservation. Twenty-four new HIV cases were diagnosed on th
UNITED STATES: FDA Approves Rapid HIV Test: Wall Street Journal (12.30.03) - Tuesday, December 30, 2003; Otesa Middleton; Dublin-based Trinity Biotech PLC announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its 10-minute HIV test, the Uni-Gold Recombigen HIV Test. It is the first rapid-test product approved for testing blood serum, plasma and whole blood. Company President Brendan Farrell said the test is every bit as accurate
CHINA: Officials Confirm HIV/AIDS Outbreak in Northeast China: Agence France Presse (12.26.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Officials in China s northeast Jilin province confirmed Friday that several villages in the province not previously recorded as having been affected by HIV/AIDS had in fact been hit hard, state media reported. Sixty-four inhabitants of Soudengzhan village and nearby villages have been diagnosed with HIV, China Daily sa
ILLINOIS: City Gets Funds for Homeless Services: Chicago Tribune (12.23.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Gary Washburn; The federal government awarded $37 million to help Chicago end homelessness, officials announced last Monday at a news conference. An additional $9.5 million was awarded to the city to assist Chicagoans with AIDS, said Roy Bernardi, assistant secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, who appeared
NEW YORK: AIDS Center User-Friendlier: Daily News (12.17.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Beverley Wang; A new street-level HIV/AIDS service center in Brooklyn is generating optimism that more people will seek care. Housing Works is moving its Brooklyn COBRA case management center from its treatment and housing facility to a renovated rowhouse down the street at 2605-2609 Pitkin Ave. As the program expanded, we saw the ne
MINNESOTA: They Come Bearing Gifts: Star Tribune (12.25.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Jill Burcum; The Aliveness Project, a Minneapolis-based outreach program, distributed gift baskets on Christmas to hundreds of Upper Midwest families living with HIV/AIDS. Many people living with HIV are disowned by their relatives and family for the holidays, said Joe A. Larson, executive director of the program. Even after two de
UNITED STATES: Cardiopulmonary Hospitalizations During Influenza Season in Adults and Adolescents with Advanced HIV Infection: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (11.01.03) Vol. 34: P. 304-307 - Monday, December 29, 2003; Kathleen M. Neuzil, MD, MPH; Christopher S. Coffey, PhD; Ed F. Mitchel, Jr., MS; Marie R. Griffin, MD, MPH; The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of all persons ages 15-50 with AIDS or advanced HIV enrolled in the Tennessee Medicaid program from 1995 through 1999, representing 7,368 person-years of follow-up. The purpose of the study was to determine the etiologic role of influenza in hospitalizations and deaths
TANZANIA: St. Michael's Students to Work with Africa AIDS Victims: Associated Press (12.28.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Ten students and teachers at St. Michael s College, Colchester, Vt., are cutting short their holidays to help people with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania . Associate professor Patricia Siplon is leading the group, whose mission is to establish a permanent volunteer service program to care for people with HIV/AIDS. The group is pa
PORTUGAL: Portugal Debates Setting Up Heroin Injecting Rooms in Prison: Agence France Presse (12.24.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Levi Fernandes; A recently released government report recommends Portugal set up heroin injection rooms in prisons, where widespread drug use is leading to rising HIV rates among the nation s 14,000 inmates. Nearly one in two Portuguese prisoners uses drugs and of those who do, 26.8 percent use injecting drugs like heroin, said the re
INDIA: India No Longer Shying Away from AIDS Epidemic: Agence France Presse (12.24.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Uttara Choudhury; Despite the Indian government s proposing cheaper HIV/AIDS drugs in 2003 and moving away from its previous stress on abstinence as a means of prevention, activists say more needs to be done. India has 4.58 million HIV/AIDS patients, second only to South Africa s 5 million. Critics say the government s prevention strate
JAPAN: Japanese Patient Infected with HIV by Donated Blood: Agence France Presse (12.29.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; Hiroshi Hiyama; A patient in Japan has been infected with HIV-tainted blood, the Japan Red Cross said Monday. The blood was donated by an infected man during the short window period after infection when blood samples may not initially test positive for signs of the virus. The Red Cross determined the donor was positive on Nov. 16, aft
UNITED STATES: AIDS Detection: Many Heterosexual Adults Have Not Been Tested for HIV: Health & Medicine Week (12.22.03) - Monday, December 29, 2003; A nationwide Witeck-Combs Communications/Harris Interactive study of 2,056 adults showed that six out of 10 (59 percent) heterosexual adults had never been tested for HIV. Of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) adult respondents, who comprised 7 percent of the sample, 35 percent had not been tested. At a time
INDIA: Troubled Indian Kashmir to Test Prisoners for AIDS: Agence France Presse (12.24.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Health Minister Lal Singh said yesterday that Kashmir will begin testing prisoners, including captured Muslim rebels, for HIV during regular weekly medical checkups. Kashmir, an Indian region of the Himalayas that is home to 10 million people, has an estimated 20,000 HIV cases. Authorities have been trying to fight AID
NORTH DAKOTA: State Reports More Chlamydia Cases: Associated Press (12.23.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; During the first nine months of 2003, chlamydia cases in North Dakota increased by 37 percent. Although some of the increase can be attributed to more screening and improved testing, some of the increase is likely due to unprotected sex and other high-risk activities, said Kirby Kruger, manager of the state health depa
FLORIDA: Church Helps Those with AIDS: Bradenton Herald (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Donna Wright; Spurred to action by Gov. Jeb Bush s recent conference on how faith-based groups can help solve community problems, Bishop F.D. Simon and his wife, Florence, hosted a Christmas dinner for those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. More than 125 men, women and children sat down to the elaborate meal held at the Temple of F
POLAND: Eastern Europe Urged to Prepare Now for Growing Threat of HIV Resistance: AIDS Weekly (11.17.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Experts at an HIV congress in Warsaw heard that Fuzeon (enfuvirtide, formerly T-20) is a valuable tool for both patient and payer in the fight against HIV drug resistance. It is especially helpful when used earlier in pretreated patients. John Bowis, OBE, member of the European Parliament, applauded Poland s Ministry o
AUSTRALIA: Fed: Reaper Keeps Bowling but Advances Show Promise for HIV/AIDS: Australian Associated Press (12.19.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Kylie Walker; Dr. Robert Finlayson, Australia s longest-serving HIV/AIDS physician, says treatment of the virus has evolved to the point that it is almost considered to be a chronic condition. That is a big change from the 1980s when he saw patients die by the hundreds, and fear and paranoia over contaminated blood and unsafe sex pr
CHINA: China Concentrates on AIDS Prevention: Xinhua News Agency (12.22.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Qian Xinzhong, China s former Minister of Health, said this year was a turning point and a milestone for China s HIV/AIDS prevention and control efforts, citing remarkable progress through the government s efforts and societal support. Gao Qiang, vice Minister of Health, brought up five AIDS measures at the 58th UN Ass
CHINA: China Says to Punish Any AIDS Cover-Up: Reuters (12.24.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; On Wednesday, China warned against any new AIDS cover-ups, just one day after telling health care workers they would be punished if they failed to report new SARS cases. At a meeting with HIV/AIDS patients in Henan province, Vice Premier Wu Yi vowed to punish anyone attempting to cover up AIDS cases, according to the o
SOUTH AFRICA: International AIDS Conference to Be Held in South Africa: Xinhua News Agency (12.22.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Cape Town has won the bid to host the International AIDS Impact Conference in April 2005. Lorraine Sherr, a conference organizer, said Monday that the conference will offer information on the latest research and findings on the virus while examining the effects living with HIV/AIDS has on the psyche. It is the focus on
AFRICA: Millions of AIDS Orphans Strain Southern Africa: New York Times (12.24.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Sharon LaFraniere; As a result of the AIDS pandemic, southern Africa is home to millions of children robbed of their childhood and staggering under adult-size hardships. A new report by UNICEF estimates that 11 million children under age 15 in sub-Saharan Africa have lost at least one parent, and about a third have lost both parents, to
UNITED STATES: HIV Infection: New Partnerships Aim to Combat Rise of HIV/AIDS Infections in the Southern US: Women's Health Weekly (12.25.03) - Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Aiming to curb new HIV infections in those populations most at risk for the disease - including African Americans, Latinos and women - the Pfizer Foundation is funding 24 local HIV/AIDS service organizations in nine Southern states to support highly targeted prevention programs. The foundation s new Southern HIV/AIDS P
BOTSWANA: Botswana President Urges AIDS Testing in Christmas Message: Xinhua News Agency (12.22.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; In his Christmas message on Monday, President Festus Mogae called on Botswanans to be tested for HIV. People must realize HIV is not a death sentence, he said: Help is available. A person can live a healthy and productive life for the next 15 to 20 years. Mogae urged responsibility, saying too many people continue to t
CHINA: Married Women in China's Capital to Be Equipped with 'Condom Cards': Agence France Presse (12.20.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; On Saturday, the Beijing Times reported that authorities will soon issue cards to married women allowing them to get free condoms from vending machines placed throughout the city. One hundred machines will initially be placed in the city of 13 million and should begin operating in January. At the outset of the pilot pr
NORTH CAROLINA: HIV Can't Tamp Holiday Joy: News & Observer (12.20.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Bonnie Rochman; Lynette Traynham, 36, found out she had HIV eight years ago. Although drug regimens have kept her fairly healthy, she can no longer work and subsists on a disability check of $542 a month. She has no money for holiday gifts for her children - three boys and two girls ages 8 to 18 - and her grandson, Malik. Yet the chil
NETHERLANDS: Mortality and Progression to AIDS After Starting Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: AIDS (10.17.03); Vol. 17; No. 15: P.2227-2236 - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Ard I. van Sighem; Mark A. van de Wiel; Azra C. Ghani; Mari�lle Jambroes; Peter Reiss; Inge C. Gyssens; Kees Brinkman; Joep M.A. Lange; Frank de Wolf; on behalf of the ATHENA cohort study group; The authors studied 3,724 patients from the ATHENA observational cohort using highly active antiretroviral therapy to examine survival and progression to AIDS. Patients in this cohort were at least 18 years old at the time of inclusion in the study. Patients were monitored at 22 hospitals throughout the
AUSTRALIA: Health Groups Warn HIV Will Rise: Sydney Star Observer (12.17.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Tim Benzie; New data from New South Wales Health show 224 people tested HIV-positive in the first six months of 2003, an 18 percent increase for the same period in 2001 and a 38 percent increase over two years. We think that s a really major increase, said Lisa Ryan of NSW Health. We also know that newly acquired HIV infections ac
UGANDA: 40 Percent of Rakai Men Have Sex Outside Marriage: allAfrica.com (12.20.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; New Vision; A Ugandan survey examining people s behavior and trends in HIV/AIDS revealed that around 40 percent of married men in the Rakai district engage in extramarital sex, and just 12 percent consistently use condoms. The survey showed that 21 percent of married women have sex outside of marriage and over 90 percent of them d
CHINA: Fighting Parallel Crises in China: AIDS and Apathy: New York Times (12.20.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Jim Yardley; While Chinese government officials ignored AIDS or denied it was spreading in the countryside, Dr. Gao Yaojie traveled through Henan province, gauging the spread of HIV/AIDS and bringing comfort and educational materials to remote villages. Gao, in her late 70 s, remains a fierce advocate now that the government is con
UNITED STATES: Agencies Rapped for Shirking HPV Law: Washington Times (12.23.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Cheryl Wetzstein; Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) has charged two health agencies with failing to comply with federal mandates concerning the development of prevention strategies for human papillomavirus. CDC and Food and Drug Administration officials have been asked to appear at a Jan. 28 hearing of the House Government Reform subcommittee o
UNITED STATES: More Teenagers Say No to Sex, and Experts Aren't Sure Why: New York Times (12.23.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003; Linda Villarosa; Last week, CDC s annual tally of birth statistics showed that the teen birthrate has declined 30 percent over 10 years to a historic low of 43 per 1,000. African-American teenagers showed the sharpest drop, down more than 40 percent since 1991. For black teens ages 15-17, the rate dropped by half - 40 births per 1,000
SINGAPORE: Sexy Singapore Santas Hand Out Thousands of Condoms: Associated Press (12.22.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Over the pre-Christmas weekend in the city-state s Orchard Road shopping district, young women in skimpy Santa outfits distributed 50,000 free condoms. The giveaway was sponsored by Takaso Marketing, makers of Playsafe condoms. Our main objective is to educate the public on AIDS prevention and provide support on practi
PAKISTAN: UN Envoy Says Clerics Can Help Prevent Spread of AIDS in Pakistan: Associated Press (12.20.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Munir Ahmad; So far, only a small number of people have been affected from HIV/AIDS in Pakistan , but the situation can change in the coming years, Dr. Nafis Sadik, UN special envoy on HIV/AIDS in Asia, said Saturday in Islamabad. Pakistani women are getting this disease from their husbands, she said. Government officials report
UNITED STATES: CDC Launches E-Journal on Chronic Diseases: Associated Press (12.15.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; CDC has launched an electronic journal on chronic diseases. CDC said the journal, Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy, will focus on prevention, screening, surveillance and population-based programs that address the leading causes of death and disability in the United States
GEORGIA: Positive Impact Targets Mental Health and HIV: Southern Voice (12.19.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Marie Niesse; Positive Impact in Atlanta was founded in 1992 to help HIV- positive people cope with mental health issues. Dr. Gwen Davies, clinical director for Positive Impact, said the organization s clients have mental health concerns typical of any population - depression, anxiety, trauma history. She has noted an increase in th
WISCONSIN: County STD Cases Rise: Wausau Daily Herald (12.14.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Rick LaFrombois; Cases of sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise in Marathon County, although they remain below state and national rates. Area health care providers do not know with certainty why reports of STDs - specifically chlamydia and gonorrhea - are on the rise, but they suggest that diminished fear of HIV/AIDS has led s
EUROPEAN UNION: Determinants of Survival Following HIV-1 Seroconversion After the Introduction of HAART: Lancet (10.18.03) Vol. 362: P. 1267-1274 - Monday, December 22, 2003; CASCADE Collaboration; The current study explores the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on survival and progression to AIDS after HIV-1 seroconversion. The researchers analyzed data from 22 cohorts of HIV-1 positive people from Europe, Australia and Canada , part of the Concerted Action on SeroConversion to AIDS and
SOUTH AFRICA: Enraged South Africa Rapists Kill HIV-Positive Victim: Reuters (12.21.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; On Sunday, officials said they had arrested two men charged with gang-raping an HIV/AIDS activist and kicking her to death after she told them she was HIV-positive. Inspector Lunga Ntsinde said police were still looking for another suspect in last week s murder of 21-year-old Lorna Mlosana, who was raped in the bathroo
UGANDA: Uganda Looks to Children to Help Fight AIDS: Reuters (12.20.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Paul Busharizi; Uganda has adapted its ABC anti-AIDS slogan - A for Abstinence, B for Being faithful to one s partner, and C for using Condoms - to target preteens, hoping to raise awareness among an age group that will soon be at high risk of contracting a disease that had killed an estimated 947,952 Ugandans by December 2001. For
CANADA: Vancouver's Largest Syphilis Outbreak in the World at Risk of Spreading to Other Areas: Guardian (Charlottetown) (12.22.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; Vancouver is struggling to deal with the world s largest per capita outbreak of syphilis, and a hand-drawn map of sexual relationships between Downtown Eastside prostitutes, pimps and johns may be the best weapon health officials have to fight it. Doctors say various attempts to curb the disease have been thus far inef
OKLAHOMA: Poll Finds Most High School Students Are Sexually Active: Associated Press (12.19.03) - Monday, December 22, 2003; A benchmark survey released Thursday by the Oklahoma Board of Education found that of 1,384 Oklahoma high school students in grades 9-12 surveyed, about half reported having had sex, tried cigarettes, and consumed alcohol. It was the first year for the state to participate in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted e
MALAWI: Malawian Corruption: Washington Times (12.19.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; James Morrison; In an interview published yesterday, American Ambassador Steven Browning said Malawi s greed and graft are so widespread that the country does not qualify for US money to fight AIDS. Putting money where corruption is not controlled is a waste, Browning told the country s Nation and Daily Times newspapers. We therefore
GERMANY: Germany Contributes US$7.4 Million to Fight HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean: Associated Press (12.18.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Bert Wilkinson; Yesterday, Germany announced it was contributing $7.4 million in grant funds designed to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. The country s development bank, the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, said it plans to distribute the funds through the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS, a Caribbean Co
GLOBAL: UN's Annan Calls AIDS 'Weapon of Mass Destruction': Agence France Presse (12.18.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; At his year-end press conference Thursday, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan said he hopes the international community will focus on the AIDS epidemic - which kills 8,000 daily - next year. He said while developed nations concentrate on terrorism and banned weapons, issues of disease and hunger concern less- developed n
MASSACHUSETTS: A School's Lesson: TB: Boston Globe (12.14.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Christine MacDonald; On Dec. 1, a 7th grader at Umana-Barnes Middle School in East Boston was diagnosed with tuberculosis . Students reacted fearfully to the news. There was a very heightened sense of anxiety, said Principal Edward Cook. They asked things like, Will this boy die? Will I die? Public health doctors and nurses were at the sch
UNITED KINGDOM: Tuberculosis Screening: TB Not Always Evident at Arrival in New Country: TB & Outbreaks Week (10.07.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Researchers from the UK Health Protection Agency, the British Thoracic Society, and the Department of Health Collaborative Group recently looked at changes in the number of cases of tuberculosis in children between 1988-1998. They found that the overall number of cases in children under 15 had changed only slightly, wi
COSTA RICA: Human Papillomavirus Tied to Oral Cancer: Reuters Health (12.10.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; David Douglas; Human papillomavirus, a virus associated with cervical cancer, appears to be involved in cancer of the mouth and oropharynx (the part of the throat that includes the lower part of the tongue and the tonsils), according to a recent study. Lead author Dr. Rolando Herrero of the Costa Rican Foundation for Health Sciences-
GLOBAL: Toolkit Teaches Youth About AIDS: Sunday News (Lancaster, Pa.) (12.14.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Helen Colwell Adams; The Mennonite Central Committee, a worldwide relief agency, has developed a Join Hands, Stop AIDS toolkit that uses Hershey s Kisses and Hugs for the HIV Transmission Game, designed to show youth how quickly HIV/AIDS can spread and how the spread can be stopped through abstinence and marital fidelity. The toolkit is pa
CANADA: Young Adults, Teens Urged to Adopt Safe Sex Policy: Star Phoenix (12.16.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Shannon Boklaschuk; With the hope of reducing high rates of sexually transmitted disease among local youth, the Saskatoon Health Region has launched a new public awareness campaign urging people who have had unprotected sex to get tested. Until March 14, posters with the slogan, Unsafe Sex Can Mess Up More Than Just Your Bed will appear i
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Costs in South Africa Are Rising: New York Times (12.17.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Nicole Itano; South Africa s insurance industry must adjust to a business climate in which 5 million people - 12 percent of the total population, and 20 percent of adults - have HIV/AIDS. A November study by Finmark Trust found 3.8 million South Africans who said they no longer had medical, life, disability or other insurance. Emplo
GLOBAL: Novartis Signs Deal to Provide TB Drugs: Associated Press (12.19.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; Swiss pharmaceuticals manufacturer Novartis signed an agreement today with the World Health Organization to provide free drugs to half a million tuberculosis patients over the next five years. The donation will cost the company $7 million, and it ties in with a campaign by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis an
CALIFORNIA: Rise in Syphilis in San Francisco Tied to Internet: Reuters Health (12.18.03) - Friday, December 19, 2003; The Internet is a major factor in San Francisco s increase in early syphilis infections among men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a new CDC report. However, the Internet can also be used to track and treat the STD, the authors wrote. A summer 1999 outbreak of early syphilis among MSM who met their partners on
OKLAHOMA: Three Employees, 10 Patients Exposed to TB: Associated Press (12.16.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Three nursing home employees and 10 patients at ManorCare Health Services-Northwest in Oklahoma City have tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis , but the facility says the disease has been contained. An employee may have infected four of the patients and two other employees, the Oklahoma City-County Health Depar
FLORIDA: More Children Test Positive for Latent TB: St. Petersburg Times (12.18.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Jennifer Farrell; Another round of tuberculosis testing turned up more positive results among children who attended classes at the North Greenwood Community Family Center, Pinellas County Health Department officials said Wednesday. Of the 60 children and staff screened last week, 15-16 percent tested positive, according to Rob Berger, T
CANADA: Gates Foundation Grants University of Montreal $12 Million for Public Health Programs in Africa: Associated Press (12.16.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; On Tuesday, the University of Montreal announced it has received a US$12 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for public health programs in Africa. The university cited HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, tuberculosis and malaria as pressing public health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa
NEW YORK: New HIV Vaccine Trial Here: New York Blade (12.12.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Steve Weinstein; Nine months after VaxGen reported disappointing results for its HIV/AIDS vaccine, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative have announced they will test a DNA-based vaccine, Advax, on healthy, non- HIV-infected volunteers in New York City and Rochester. Invented in New York b
NEW YORK: Hospital's HIV Project Aids Caribbeans: Daily News (12.15.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Joyce Shelby; Lutheran Medical Center is developing programs to improve health care for Caribbean people with HIV/AIDS living in Brooklyn and abroad. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration awarded the hospital $3.4 million to develop a training program for community health workers in the Caribbean and a peer suppor
FLORIDA: AIDS Housing Services Built on Foundation of Cooperation: Miami Herald (12.17.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Andrea Robinson; On Thursday, AIDS activists and program directors will gather to launch a service center and Web site designed to help Miami s poorest AIDS patients find housing. The Housing Assistance Service Center will serve people countywide, referring them to available homes and apartments, intervening in tenant/landlord disputes
UNITED STATES: Attitudes Toward HIV Treatments Influence Unsafe Sexual and Injection Practices Among Injecting Drug Users: AIDS (09.05.03) Vol. 17: P.1953-1962 - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Waimar Tun; David D. Celentano; David Vlahov; Steffanie A. Strathdee; The current study assesses attitudes of injection drug users toward HIV infection, HIV treatments and HIV-related risk behaviors and their association with risky sexual and injection practices, and whether HAART has altered HIV risk perceptions. The researchers administered a questionnaire to IDUs participating in a co
TAJIKISTAN: Tajik Migrant Workers Bring Back Money, Gifts and Often AIDS from Russia: Agence France Presse (12.14.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Tajiks who migrate to Russia for work are returning home for the holiday season bearing gifts, money and often sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. In this predominantly Muslim country where the topic of sexuality is rarely broached in public, AIDS has reached such proportions that an education campaign warni
CANADA: Striking Posters Aimed at Youth Carry Pointed Hep C Messages: Guardian (Charlottetown) (12.16.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Jim Day; Dianne Birt, education coordinator for AIDS Prince Edward Island, searched a long time to find the right look for posters to warn Island youth of the dangers of hepatitis C , educate them on prevention, and encourage testing. She finally chose images of a rugged young man with tattoos and a lip piercing, and a young wo
CHINA: Chinese Vice Premier Visits AIDS Village but Police Force Patients Home: Agence France Presse (12.18.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Chinese Vice Premier and Health Minister Wu Yi visited an AIDS village Thursday to signal an accelerated government effort to control the potentially explosive epidemic. But police forced some 20 patients who had been vocal about requesting government assistance to stay home. Wu visited Wenlou, one of hundreds of villa
GLOBAL: AIDS Is Cutting African Life Span to 30-Year Low, Report Says: New York Times (12.18.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Reuters; In the southern African nations ravaged by AIDS - now the world s leading cause of death for people ages 15-59 - adult mortality has surpassed levels not seen in 30 years, according to a World Health Organization report released today. Worldwide, HIV-related deaths were almost twice those of the next top killer - heart
UNITED STATES: Price of AIDS Drug Norvir Soars: Bay Area Reporter (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 18, 2003; Zak Szymanski; On Dec. 4, the price of widely used protease inhibitor Norvir leapt by 500 percent, to $8.50 per day for 100 milligrams, confirmed Abbott spokesperson Laureen Cassidy. The increase will help to pay for technology that has developed a Norvir tablet that does not need refrigeration, said Cassidy. Norvir is prescribed
INDIA: India May Begin AIDS Vaccine Trials in Mid-2004: Reuters (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; India will likely begin the first phase of clinical trials of an indigenously developed AIDS vaccine by the middle of 2004, the president of the New York-based International AIDS Vaccine Initiative said today. Globally, vaccines are on trial in many countries including the US and Sou
UGANDA: Uganda to Start Giving Free Drugs to AIDS Patients in February: Agence France Presse (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Health Minister Brigadier Jim Muhwezi said today that in February, Uganda will start giving free antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people. It is going to be gradual, he said. We shall start with orphans, people involved in the mother- to-child transmission program, health workers who contract the disease while carry
GLOBAL: Red Cross Appeal Puts Largest-Ever Focus on Fighting Disease: Agence France Presse (12.16.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Deborah Haynes; The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched its 2004 appeal Tuesday, reserving the largest-ever portion to fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS. More than 40 percent of the $173 million appeal would go to such help. In contrast, just fewer than 26 percent of funds raised would be directe
UNITED STATES: In Brief: Washington Post (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Digene, a Gaithersburg, Md. biotechnology company, has filed for US Food and Drug Administration approval of its chlamydia test. The test s method of specimen collection allows testing for chlamydia and human papillomavirus from a single vial.
COLORADO: Sex Education Book to Stay on the Shelf: Associated Press (12.16.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Library officials in Weld County have rejected a request to ban the book It s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex & Sexual Health, saying such a move would violate freedom of speech. Library board members did agree to move the book from the children s section to the young adult area. Jeannie McAllist
NORTH CAROLINA: Wake Backs Revising Sex Ed: News & Observer (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; T. Keung Hui; On Tuesday, the Wake County Board of Education gave preliminary approval in a 5-3 vote to a policy that would require school employees to teach about abstinence whenever sexual subjects are discussed. Supporters of the policy said it would ensure a consistent message from teachers and other school employees. But critic
AUSTRALIA: Public Health Policy: Clinician Attitudes Impact Treatment Outcomes for Drug Users with Hepatitis C: Hepatitis Weekly (10.20.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; According to research from Australia , the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a common infection among injecting drug users. There are currently few available data on the extent (or prevalence) of HCV-discrimination. This study examined perceived discrimination among a sample of heroin users and sought to determ
CHINA: Hepatitis B: Study Suggests Telbivudine More Effective than Current Standard of Care: Hepatitis Weekly (11.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; At the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Lai Ching-Lung, professor of medicine at the University of Hong Kong , presented data showing an investigational drug - telbivudine (L-deoxythymidine or LdT) - achieved significantly better suppression of
AUSTRALIA: Condom Scheme for Safe Jail Sex: Mercury (12.12.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Rohan Wade; A proposal to put condom-vending machines in Tasmanian prisons is expected to be approved early next year. The Justice Department s blood-borne virus working party put forth the proposal in an effort to ensure safe sex among inmates. Hayes Prison Farm will be the first to give inmates condoms, coinciding with a need to
TANZANIA: Condom Opponents Disappoint Anti-HIV/AIDS Campaigners in Tanzania: Agence France Presse (12.13.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; John Kulekana; On Dec. 11, Brad Lucas, executive director of Population Services International in Tanzania , told a media seminar that it was disappointing to see some people, including senior clerics, claim that condoms promote promiscuity. There is no study which has so far proved that the use of condoms is linked to increased sexu
UNITED KINGDOM: New Rapid Test Developed to Detect Chlamydia: Reuters (12.17.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Patricia Reaney; An international team of scientists has developed an easy- to- use test for chlamydia that gives results in less than 25 minutes and will cost as little at 70 US cents in developing countries. The Firstburst dipstick test detects chlamydia bacterium in urine samples from men and from a vagina swab for women. The test w
UNITED STATES: FDA Panel Backs Easier Access to Morning-After Pill: Reuters (12.16.03) - Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Lisa Richwine; On Tuesday, an advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration voted 23-4 to recommend allowing the Plan B morning after contraceptive to be sold without a prescription. The medication is intended for use by women within 72 hours of intercourse. Plan B is made by Women s Capital Corp., a privately held company that
VIETNAM: HIV Carriers Suffer Severe Discrimination at Work in Vietnam: International Labor Organization: Agence France Presse (12.16.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; People infected with HIV in Vietnam face workplace discrimination that must be overcome in order to combat the epidemic, according to a UN International Labor Organization report released today in Hanoi. ILO consultants, convened in the Vietnamese capital for a workshop on HIV/AIDS discrimination, said ignorance about
INDIA: India's Nitpicking Stalls $100 Million AIDS Grant: Report: Agence France Presse (12.16.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Bureaucratic arguing within the Indian government has delayed a $100 million grant to fight HIV/AIDS in the country, the Times of India reported today. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria approved the grant to India in January. Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, project director of India s National AIDS Control Organizat
CALIFORNIA: 'Soulful Celebration' Benefits Black AIDS Group: San Francisco Chronicle (12.12.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Dave Ford; The Black Coalition on AIDS, an 18-year-old organization, has been fighting HIV in a community where the disease stirs shame, denial and ostracism, and where numbers of HIV/AIDS cases are rising. On Friday, the group hosted San Francisco s Soulful Celebration, a fundraising event featuring entertainment and music in pr
WASHINGTON, D.C.: D.C. Cuts Prevention for Gay White Men: Washington Blade (12.12.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Lou Chibbaro Jr.; The District of Columbia s HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) has reduced the funding for a Whitman-Walker Clinic HIV prevention program, GNet, that targets gay and bisexual white men, from $440,000 this year to $200,000 in 2004. HAA officials said the budget cut for GNet, which receives mostly federal funds, is necessary t
UNITED STATES: Multistate Evaluation of Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases in Adults with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: Serotype and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in the United States: Journal of Infectious Diseases (09.01.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; A.M. Fry; R.R. Facklam; C.G. Whitney; B.D. Plikaytis; A. Schuchat; Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) due to Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the major opportunistic infections among persons with HIV worldwide. In the United States , the incidence of IPD among HIV/AIDS patients is 46 times higher than among other adults. HIV/AIDS patients often take long- term antimicrobial agents
TANZANIA: Tanzanian Rats, Who Already Sniff Out Landmines, Now Poised to Detect TB: Associated Press (12.15.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; George Mwangi; A grant from the World Bank will help train giant pouched rats, who have been trained to sniff out land mines in Africa, to detect tuberculosis bacteria in human saliva. The $163,780 grant is one of several awarded by the World Bank for proposals with creative responses to the challenges of development. Bart Weetje
MALAYSIA: One in Four Found to Have AIDS: New Straits Times (12.08.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Chuah Bee Kim; One out of every four people who voluntarily come in for HIV/AIDS screening and counseling at health clinics in Malaysia tested positive last year. Walk-in cases increased by 53.4 percent, with 451 reported for 2002, up from 294 for 2001, according to Malaysian Red Crescent Society Vice Chair Dr. Datuk Bahari Abu Manso
THAILAND: Vanishing Condoms Spark Alarm: Nation (Thailand)(12.15.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Vincent MacIsaac; The United Nation s AIDS agency in Thailand has expressed concern over the disappearance of free condoms from gay saunas since the launch of the Thai government s social order campaign. Many of the saunas have been raided repeatedly during the past two years. Sauna owners have been advised that condoms could be used as
CANADA: Visits Up at Planned Parenthood: Concerns Being Raised at Clinics About Lack of Sexual Health Education in Schools: St. John's Telegram (12.11.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Deana Stokes Sullivan; Patient visits to the sexual health clinics of Planned Parenthood Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John s increased by 47 percent this year. PPNL Executive Director Annette Johns said 1,647 people visited between January and November at the Merrymeeting Road center. Doctors reported that the higher- than- usual volume
UNITED STATES: Teenagers Want More Advice from Parents on Sex, Study Says: New York Times (12.16.03) - Tuesday, December 16, 2003; Kate Zernike; Adults and youths have diverging views about the role of parents in offering advice and guidance to their kids about sex, how many teens are having sex, and whether being a teen virgin is embarrassing or not, a study released today shows. The study, conducted by the Washington-based nonprofit group National Campaign to
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Research Center Expands Role to Include HIV/AIDS: Agence France Presse (12.15.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Officials announced today that an international disease research center in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh , has expanded its operations to include HIV. According to the latest figures, Bangladesh has only 363 registered AIDS patients; however, 115 of those were reported in just the last 12 months. We are now dealing
NEW YORK: Free Tuberculosis Tests Offered After Case Is Found: New York Times (12.14.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Barbara Whitaker; Following the discovery of an active TB case at Claremont School in Ossining, the Westchester County Department of Health is to offer free TB tests to students and faculty Monday. The case was diagnosed Dec. 1. Fifty to 60 of the school s 580 students and 100 staff members are to be tested. Officials said they have no
NEW YORK: HIV/AIDS Continues to Plague Region: Putnam County Courier (12.04.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Eric Gross; On World AIDS Day, Putnam County, N.Y., governmental leaders urged residents to be aware of the HIV/AIDS risks associated with unsafe behaviors. Through 2000, Putnam County recorded 148 AIDS cases. Officials say for every confirmed AIDS case, six people have HIV. According to the most recent statistics from AIDS- Relat
FLORIDA: HIV a Topic at Pembroke Pines Health Fair for Seniors: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12.07.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Marcia Freidenreich; Senior citizens at the Southwest Focal Point Senior Center health fair, held recently, crowded around the Senior HIV Intervention Project booth and grabbed multicolored condoms with scents such as orange-banana and strawberry. A lot of them say they re picking up the condoms to take to their grandchildren, said Dr. Shi
UNITED STATES: State Agency Policy and Program Coordination in Response to the Co-Occurrence of HIV, Chemical Dependency, and Mental Illness: Public Health Reports (09-10.03); Vol. 188: P.408-414 - Monday, December 15, 2003; Beth Meyerson, MDiv, PhD; Bong-Chul Chu, MHA, PhD; M. Valerie Mills, PhD, MSW; The current study reports the findings of a comparison among three surveys of state agencies in order to reach a preliminary understanding of policy and program coordination among state HIV, substance abuse and mental health agencies. The authors pointed out that HIV, mental illness, and chemical dependency interact in
NIGERIA: Prostitution Rife in Nigerian Capital as AIDS Rates Soar: Agence France Presse (12.07.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Stuart Graham; Nigeria has more than 1 million female sex workers and as many as 7 million people with HIV/AIDS, according to nongovernmental organizations. The fight against HIV/AIDS was a key topic at a four-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja that opened on Friday, Dec. 5 and brought together leaders from 52 ma
BRAZIL: Brazil Government AIDS Program Challenges Catholic Church: Associated Press (12.09.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; The director of Brazil s AIDS program said on Dec. 9 that the Catholic Church s attempts to discredit the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of AIDS could not go unchallenged. We don t want to stir up controversy, but when the Church tries to shut down discussion about condoms and claims to use scientifi
CANADA: Syphilis on the Rise Among Downtown Eastside Prostitutes and Johns: Province (12.09.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; According to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, syphilis is on the rise. More than 200 cases have been reported this year, up from 177 in 2002 and 18 in 1996. The center s Dr. Michael Reckhart warns the numbers have the potential to skyrocket. We are going to have about 250 cases of syphilis this year, mo
THAILAND: I Worry That I Will Have No One: Washington Post (12.13.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Ellen Nakashima; Nisarat, a 10-year-old AIDS orphan with HIV, - and the source of the headline quote - is one of more than 300,000 children orphaned as a result of some of Thailand s 450,000 AIDS deaths since 1984. Living with her aged grandparents, she fears they will die first. Thailand has 670,000 HIV-positive people and the largest
UNITED STATES: US AIDS Funds Draw Criticism in Global Study: Wall Street Journal (12.15.03) - Monday, December 15, 2003; Michael Waldholz; While the United States is the largest single donor of AIDS funding to poor nations, current and future pledges by it and other nations will fall far short of what is needed, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report released today. The 2004 budget Congress is expected to soon pass will increase US spending to fig
TENNESSEE: HIV/AIDS Center Marks Its First Year: Chattanooga Times Free Press (12.06.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Yolanda Putman; Officials at Chattanooga Primary Cares Center, which recently observed its first anniversary, expected 145 HIV/AIDS clients in the facility s first 18 months of operation, but instead have seen 188 in a year. That shows there is a need for our services, said Ardyce Ridolfo, clinic coordinator. The center offers primary
PENNSYLVANIA: Health Bureau to Close Night STD Clinic: Morning Call (12.11.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; The Allentown Bureau of Health is closing its long-running Wednesday night STD clinic in favor of expanded hours Tuesday afternoons, effective Jan. 6. The Tuesday clinic will extend its hours from 2-4 p.m. to 1-5 p.m. The clinics provide testing and treatment for HIV, syphilis, and hepat
UNITED KINGDOM: 200 Babies Need Tests After Worker Gets TB: Independent (12.12.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; More than 200 infants are being tested for tuberculosis after an employee at a hospital infant care unit in Essex became infected. A spokesperson for Southend Hospital said letters had been sent to all the families whose children may have come into contact with the staff member, asking them to return for TB screening.
FLORIDA: Largo Church Tests Its New AIDS Mission: St. Petersburg Times (12.04.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Kelly Virella; In Largo on World AIDS Day, Greene Chapel AME Church inaugurated its new mission with a free HIV testing program. From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., HIV counselors from the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas, and from Youth Education Services, part of the University of South Florida s pediatrics program, took saliva samples
NEW YORK: Rapid-Result HIV Testing Will Be Offered in City Jails: New York Times (12.12.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Paul von Zielbauer; Next month, the New York City Health Department will begin offering rapid HIV tests to any of the city s nearly 14,000 inmates who request it. Health officials said roughly 10-20 percent of the city s inmates have HIV, though about 8 percent do not know it. The rapid tests, which give results in half an hour, are an ef
UNITED STATES: Women Distrust Risk-Based Cervical Cancer Screening: Reuters Health (12.06.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Karla Gale; Recently, the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Canadian Task Force suggested that low-risk women could safely be screened for cervical cancer every three years - instead of annually - after three consecutive normal Pap smears. Researchers at Michigan State University conducted focus group interviews to assess
UNITED KINGDOM: Virus Test May Improve Detection of Cervical Cancer: Reuters Health (12.05.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; A recent study suggests that switching from Pap smears to human papillomavirus testing as the primary screening method for cervical cancer could improve detection rates. Moreover, with appropriate repeat screening, this strategy would not increase referral rates for more invasive tests that are sometimes unnecessary.
UNITED STATES: TB Outbreak Still Being Investigated in Washington: Reuters Health (12.11.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Local, state, and federal health officials continue to investigate an ongoing outbreak of tuberculosis among King County s homeless population. According to a Public Health Dispatch in Friday s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, an annual average of 13 TB cases were diagnosed among homeless persons in King County d
THAILAND: Asia Looks to Thailand's AIDS Success Story: Christian Science Monitor (11.20.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Simon Montlake; Thailand s nationwide prevention campaign, launched in the early 1990s, has dramatically lowered the spread of HIV/AIDS. The government noted that the number of people testing positive for HIV in 2002 was 23,676, down 83 percent from a peak of 142,819 in 1991. Thailand s success in averting an AIDS epidemic on the scal
KENYA: Kenyan Prostitutes Offer Hope for AIDS Vaccine: Reuters (12.03.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; A group of prostitutes in Nairobi s Majengo red-light district have remained HIV-negative despite long exposure to HIV- positive men. Scientists studying the group of women hope to discover what has kept the women HIV-negative and use their findings to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine. For more than 15 years, researchers ha
UNITED STATES: New CDC Funding Emphasizes Accountability: Gay City News (12.04.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Duncan Osborne; CDC has announced $49 million in HIV prevention grants that require grantees to prove their programs are effective and focus more on HIV-infected persons. According to the Dec. 3 announcement, CDC expects to issue some 160 grants from $100,000 to $500,000. The grants will run for five years; $49 million is the first ye
UNITED STATES: AIDS Activists Slam New Medicare Bill: Inter Press Service (12.09.03) - Friday, December 12, 2003; Emily Hager; Some AIDS activists say the new Medicare program, signed into law by President Bush on Monday, will put many people with AIDS in jeopardy. The bill provides Medicare recipients with prescription drug coverage through private insurance policies. This bill calls for some 6 million low-income elderly and disabled Medicare
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Half of Hospital Beds in Democratic Republic of Congo Taken by AIDS Sufferers: UN: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Half of hospital beds in the Democratic Republic of Congo are occupied by people with HIV/AIDS, the UN secretary-general s special representative to the country said Dec. 1. It will take years to measure the exact impact of AIDS in the DRC, but 50 percent of the beds in hospitals are occupied by people suffering from t
CHINA: SW Province Setting Up China's First Domestic AIDS Prevention, Care Center: Xinhua News Agency (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Southwest China s Yunnan province is setting up the nation s first domestic AIDS prevention and care center, the provincial AIDS prevention and control office announced Wednesday. The center, outside Kunming city, the province s capital, will have 200 beds and provide HIV/AIDS consultation, prevention, testing and trea
INDIA: Gates Foundation Funds New AIDS Prevention Program in Southern India: Associated Press (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $50 million to private agencies in two southern Indian states to help stop HIV/AIDS from spreading among high-risk groups such as prostitutes, migrant workers and truckers. The money, $25 million to each state, will be spread over five years and is part of the Seattle-b
MASSACHUSETTS: Efforts to Combat Teen Prostitution a Tough Go: Associated Press (12.07.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; A recent Suffolk University study of 106 women jailed in Boston on prostitution-related charges shows nearly half began their work in the sex trade by age 17, and some started as young as 10, said professor Maureen Norton-Hawk. Once they get recruited into it, it s very, very hard to climb out, because they have so few
UNITED STATES: Study Finds Three-Drug AIDS Combo Is Superior: Associated Press (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Linda A. Johnson; In the biggest head-to-head comparison of AIDS medications to date, scientists tested several combinations of six HIV medicines and found one combination was superior. They found that the combination of efavirenz , lamivudine and zidovudine ( AZT )
CANADA: Repressed Attitude Toward Sex Results in High British Columbia Teen Pregnancy Rate: Report: Canadian Press (12.07.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Dr. Perry Kendall, British Columbia s provincial health officer, recently released a report saying a repressed attitude toward sex is producing high numbers of teen pregnancies and STDs in the province. Kendall said reserved sexual attitudes help create disturbing statistics such as a pregnancy rate among 15- to 19-yea
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Casts Shadow over South African Business: Mail & Guardian (12.10.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Moipone Malefani; A new survey shows that HIV/AIDS has already had a significant negative impact on business for 9 percent of South African companies, the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS announced Wednesday. Forty-three percent envisaged a significant negative impact over the next five years. Negative consequences of the pa
UGANDA: Uganda's AIDS Drug Program May Become Africa's Model: San Francisco Chronicle (12.07.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Sabin Russell; Delegates touring last week in Africa with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson divided into small groups in the Ugandan village of Tororo to visit the homes of patients receiving HIV/AIDS drugs from The AIDS Support Organization. In a nation where 85 percent of 26 million inhabitants live in rural areas
THAILAND: Fighting AIDS: Healthy Patients Tout ARV Treatment: Nation (Thailand) (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Many Thais die unnecessarily from AIDS because they do not seek antiretroviral treatment. The main reason is that they do not believe doctors who tell them the drugs can help them live with HIV, and so they see no point in possibly exposing their HIV status to others. Three years ago, Chiang Dao Hospital in Chiang Mai
NIGERIA: Nigeria Drugs Shortfall Hits AIDS Patients: Financial Times (London) (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Michael Peel; David White; AIDS patients receiving drug therapy through a pilot program in Nigeria have stopped receiving their medication, and the consequences could be disastrous, according to experts. They worry that the interruption in supplies in the past two weeks could lead to a build-up of resistance to the drugs. In one of the large
PENNSYLVANIA: State Medicaid Must Pay for Altoona Man's New Liver: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12.11.03) - Thursday, December 11, 2003; Anita Srikameswaran; In a decision issued Monday, an administrative judge has ruled that the Pennsylvania Medicaid program must pay for an HIV- positive man s liver transplant it had previously declined to cover. We re very pleased, said Hayley Gorenburg, AIDS project director at New York-based Lambda Legal and attorney for William Jean Go
UGANDA: Straight Talk Turns 10: allAfrica.com (12.09.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; New Vision; Straight Talk, the leading non-governmental organization that has spearheaded sex education among young people in Uganda , is celebrating its 10th year, said Cathy Watson, the group s communications director. The organization is planning to introduce Parent Talk, a newspaper engaging parents on various family issues, W
CALIFORNIA: Alameda County Starts HIV Line: Oakland Tribune (12.10.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; In an effort to reach those at risk for HIV, the Alameda County Public Health Department this month re-launched an information hotline on HIV testing and prevention resources. The confidential line provides referrals for HIV testing, needle exchange sites, and alcohol and drug services. In both English and Spanish, cal
UNITED STATES: Senate Vote on $373 Billion Spending Bill Delayed Until January: Associated Press (12.09.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Alan Fram; On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) decided to delay a vote on a $373 billion spending package until January. The move puts spending plans for numerous projects, including the fight against AIDS in Africa, on hold for at least six weeks. The delay in the bill s $2.4 billion to combat AIDS in Africa
SOUTH AFRICA: Labor Unions Help Spread the Word: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12.03.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; David M. Allen; ...The South African government s announcement last week that it would expand HIV treatment to people who need it signaled a breakthrough in the country s response to AIDS. South Africa s decision is also something for taxpaying Americans to be proud of. Since 1995, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ha
CALIFORNIA: HIV Transmission Case Tossed Out; Man Didn't Intentionally Infect, Judge Finds: San Francisco Chronicle (12.10.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Jaxon Van Derbeken; On Tuesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Kay Tsenin found insufficient evidence to support charges that a former city health commissioner had intentionally infected sexual partners with HIV. The ruling to throw out a grand jury s indictment in the case marked the first-ever judicial review of a 1998 California la
UNITED STATES: Researchers Discover the Mouth's Defenses Against AIDS: Health & Medicine Week (11.24.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic have discovered a way the mouth may prevent contracting HIV. Since the lining of the mouth is constantly under attack by a barrage of bacteria that live and grow there, the mouth lining has an innate defense line of peptides - known as human beta-d
KENYA: Researchers Descend on AIDS-Ravaged City: San Francisco Chronicle (12.05.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Sabin Russell; The United States is building a new children s hospital with a sophisticated blood lab in Kisumu, Kenya s third-largest city. Home to the Luo tribe, Kisumu has an adult HIV infection rate of 22 percent, the highest in the country. Tuberculosis and malaria rates are among the highest in the world, with more TB in Nyanza
SOUTH AFRICA: Glaxo, Boehringer Allow More Copying of AIDS Drugs: Reuters (12.10.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Jodie Ginsburg; British-based GlaxoSmithKline Plc and German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim said today they have agreed to allow the widespread manufacture of cheap generic versions of their patented AIDS drugs in South Africa . In an out-of-court settlement with AIDS activists, the companies will grant more lic
GEORGIA: Georgia TB Cases Decline for Second Year in a Row: Associated Press (12.09.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Daniel Yee; Tuberculosis cases in Georgia have declined for the second consecutive year, but rising cases in some parts of metro Atlanta and north and central Georgia have state health officials worried about controlling the infectious bacteria. The Georgia Division of Public Health reported Tuesday that there were 533 TB cases in
UNITED STATES: HHS: Faulty Research Removed Two Years Ago: United Press International (12.08.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Steve Mitchell; Despite recent news reports indicating that a federally funded sex education study may have included fabricated data, the skewed data were actually found two years ago and the data in question were removed right away from the database and were not published, said Alan Price, associate director of the Department of Heal
UNITED STATES: Bush to Trim Size of Fund Request for AIDS Fight: Wall Street Journal (12.10.03) - Wednesday, December 10, 2003; Michael M. Phillips; Backing away from his pledge to spend large amounts of money to fight AIDS and poverty in the developing world, President Bush plans to ask Congress for relatively small funding increases for the efforts. The federal budget is stretched to pay for the war in Iraq , tax cuts and homeland security. The Whit
GEORGIA: For the HIV-Positive Homeless, a Place of Caring Opens in Savannah: Associated Press (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; In Savannah, a series of dilapidated shacks on the city s east side have been renovated to house poor and homeless people with HIV/AIDS. Across from Phoenix Place, a program for treating HIV/AIDS patients, the Daniel-Flagg Villas, which opened Dec. 2, can house up to 20 patients, giving them a safer place to sleep than
NEBRASKA: AIDS Project Raises $300,000: Associated Press (12.07.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; The Nebraska AIDS Project raised a record $300,000 during the 11th annual Night of a Thousand Stars fundraiser held on Saturday. The event was held at the Omaha Convention Center, where comedian Jay Leno and singer Lionel Richie appeared to help raise the money. According to NAP Executive Director Tim Sullivan, five-ti
CALIFORNIA: Fresno County to Get Rapid Testing: Associated Press (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Starting next month, Fresno s Department of Community Health will offer free HIV testing with results available in about 30 minutes. Rapid testing is very important because so many people do not come back for their results, said Jena Adams, supervising communicable disease specialist. According to CDC, about 30 percent
BRAZIL: WHO Chief Presses Rich Nations for More AIDS Cash: Reuters (12.07.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; World Health Organization Director General Jong-Wook Lee on Sunday called on rich nations to provide more money to fight AIDS, and singled out Britain, Japan and Scandinavian nations to donate more to WHO s global push against the disease. The trend is more money is becoming available, we have to put in more requests
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Powell Pays Tribute to Chinese Premier's AIDS Counseling: Agence France Presse (12.09.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; On Monday, Secretary of State Colin Powell hosted a dinner for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the State Department and praised the leader for his unprecedented public inclusion of AIDS patients. I appreciate your efforts on the AIDS crisis and I particularly applaud your efforts to remove the stigma of AIDS in
ILLINOIS: AIDS Battlegrounds; Outreach Program Goes Mobile: Chicago Tribune (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Jimmy Greenfield; Chicago s South Side Help Center sends outreach workers to some of the city s most dangerous neighborhoods to bring condoms and messages about HIV/AIDS prevention to residents, some who are gang members involved in the drug trade. The outreach workers drive a rainbow-colored van and blare rap music to attract people. T
FLORIDA: Students Get the Rap on AIDS: Miami Herald (12.07.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Jennifer Mooney; On Saturday, Dec. 6, Miami s Victory Day Youth March for Life brought together music stars - including Julio Iglesias Jr., Fat Joe, Lil John & the East Side Boyz and Trick Daddy - community leaders, schoolchildren and college students. The event used celebrity and song to get the message across about HIV/AIDS testi
CALIFORNIA: Syphilis on the Decline: Bay Area Reporter (11.27.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Matthew S. Bajko; For the first time since 1999, data from San Francisco s health department suggests the city s syphilis outbreak is on the decline. According to the department s November epidemiology report, the number of early cases of syphilis so far this year is 285 - a decrease from the 318 cases at this point in 2002. Across the
UNITED STATES, MEXICO: Increasing Latino Adolescents' Adherence to Treatment for Latent Tuberculosis Infection: A Controlled Trial: American Journal of Public Health (11.03) Vol. 93; No. 11: P. 1871-1877 - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Melbourne F. Hovell, PhD, MPH; Carol L. Sipan, RN, MPH; Elaine J. Blumberg, MA, C.; Richard Hofstetter, PhD; Donald Slymen, PhD; Lawrence Friedman, MD; Kathleen Moser, MD, MPH; Norma J. Kelley, BS; Alicia Y. Vera, MPH; The authors of the current study sought to determine the efficacy of coaching Latino adolescents with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to adhere to isoniazid (INH) treatment. Although US TB rates have decreased as a result of renewed aggressive treatment of active cases, goals for reduced incidence have not been ac
RWANDA: In Rwanda, a Ray of Hope in the Fight Against AIDS: San Francisco Chronicle (12.04.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Sabin Russell; At the Kabgayi Hospital in Gitarama Province, the local Catholic diocese has built a campus of buildings to provide health care services including HIV testing of pregnant women. If they test positive, as some 16 percent of the women do, they are offered a course of antiviral medicine to prevent mother-to-child transmis
UNITED STATES: New Database to Help Fight Against Hepatitis C: Associated Press (11.29.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; Leslie Hoffman; The Los Alamos National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., has launched an Internet-based hepatitis C genetic database designed to help researchers better understand the virus known for its genetic variability. It will be very valuable in anti-viral drug design, in clinical treatment of hepatitis C and in designing a vac
UNITED STATES: House Passes Massive Spending Bill: Wall Street Journal (12.09.03) - Tuesday, December 09, 2003; David Rogers; By a 242-176 vote, the House of Representatives passed a massive year-end spending bill Monday, putting pressure on Senate leaders to call their members back to complete work on the $820 billion measure. Among the measure s most time-sensitive provisions is a 50 percent increase in annual funding to fight AIDS overseas
NEPAL: UNICEF Asks Religious Groups to Help Fight AIDS in South Asia: Associated Press (12.04.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Chijish Paudyal; UNICEF urged South Asian religious leaders Thursday to help fight HIV/AIDS and end the stigma and ignorance surrounding the disease. Nearly 5 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the region and the trend is firmly upward, Sadig Raseed, UNICEF regional director for South Asia, said in Katmandu during a gathering o
TAIWAN: Fury over Taiwan Vice President's 'Wrath of God' AIDS Comments: Agence France Presse (12.08.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; A furor erupted among gay rights campaigners in Taiwan today after Vice President Annette Lu suggested AIDS was God s punishment for homosexuality. Televised reports showed Lu remarking, at an AIDS awareness event over the weekend, that Some said the reason why AIDS spreads is because God can not stand it any more.
INDIA: Gates Foundation to Give $25 Million for AIDS in India: Associated Press (12.05.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; In its first arrangement with a state agency in India , the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will give $25 million to the southern state of Karnataka to prevent HIV/AIDS. The money will come from a $200 million grant pledged by the foundation to help India fight the epidemic. The foundation has previously donated mone
FLORIDA: TB Case at Center Triggers Jitters: St. Petersburg Times (12.03.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Jennifer Farrell; A staff member at the North Greenwood Community Family Center was hospitalized recently with active tuberculosis , alarming some parents whose children attend after-school programs there. On Tuesday, the African American Leadership Council, the nonprofit agency that runs the center, and the Pinellas County Health Depar
UNITED STATES: MAGI Assay Improves HIV Detection in Female Genital Secretions: Biotech Week (11.05.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; CDC researchers have reported that infectious human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is difficult to detect in female genital secretions by standard virus culture techniques. To improve detection of cell-free HIV-1 in female genital secretions, J.E. Cummins and colleagues at the National Center for Infectious Dise
INDIA: Actor Gere Raises AIDS Awareness in India: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Ramola Talwar Badam; Actor Richard Gere marked World AIDS Day by visiting clinics in India that care for prostitutes and launching a campaign to persuade the country s movie and sports stars to join AIDS awareness programs. According to government statistics, which do not include children, about 4 million Indians have HIV.
BANGLADESH: Hundreds of Bangladeshis Join Anti-AIDS Rally as Infections Rise: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Nadeem Qadir; More than 2,000 people rallied on World AIDS Day in Dhaka to promote AIDS awareness. Figures show a sharp rise of registered HIV/AIDS cases in Bangladesh over the past year. Although Bangladesh has only 363 registered AIDS patients, 115 of them were reported during the past 12 months, a rise of nearly 50 percent, accor
SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Deaths Spawn 'Cowboy' Undertakers: Straits Times (Singapore) (12.01.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; In South Africa , where about 1,000 people a day die of AIDS, cowboy undertakers have cashed in on a grim trade that threatens to overwhelm the country s cemeteries and hospital mortuaries. The number of undertakers in my area has shot up by almost 40 percent, said Moses Bopape, chair of the South African Funeral Pract
MALAYSIA: Asian Values Hindering Malaysia's Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Activists: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; On World AIDS Day, activists said deep-rooted reticence about discussing sex and a reluctance to admit the existence of a problem hinder Malaysia s fight against HIV/AIDS as infection levels accelerate. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there s an epidemic here. What s alarming is the level of denial in Malaysi
RUSSIA: Russia's Top AIDS Expert Says Government Not Doing Enough to Combat AIDS: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Maria Danilova; On World AIDS Day, Russia s top AIDS expert accused the government of not doing enough to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. More than 257,000 HIV cases, over 7,500 of which involve children, have been reported in all but one of Russia s 89 regions, officials said. Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Health Ministry
AFRICA: US Health Secretary Upbeat on Africa Visit, but Says Much Remains to Be Done in Fighting AIDS: Associated Press (12.07.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Rhea Wessel; US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson wrapped up a four-nation tour of Africa Sunday with an upbeat assessment of African efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, although he cautioned that much still remains to be done. Thompson and a roughly 100-member delegation of US lawmakers, health officials and business leade
PENNSYLVANIA: AIDS Group Sues City over Care: Philadelphia Inquirer (12.02.03) - Monday, December 08, 2003; Joseph A. Slobodzian; On Dec. 1, AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed a federal civil-rights suit against Philadelphia on behalf of a Germantown man who said city emergency personnel failed to provide appropriate care after learning he had AIDS. In the suit, ALP, a nonprofit legal group that represents people with HIV/AIDS, contends that
AFRICA: Oprah Promises to Help Spread Word About AIDS Devastation in Africa: Associated Press (12.04.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Lewis Mwanangombe; Touring HIV clinics in Zambia , talk show host Oprah Winfrey told reporters she would help to spread awareness about the devastation of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The world is kind, good and wants to help, but it can only help when it understands the disease, Winfrey said in Zambia s capital city, Lusaka. Winfrey, accompanied
UGANDA: US Gives Uganda $6.2 Million for Antiretroviral Program: Agence France Presse (12.04.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; The United States Agency for International Development gave a Ugandan center $6.2 million to help local organizations provide antiretroviral therapy, Health Minister Brigadier Jim Muhwezi said Thursday. It is a three-year program under which the Joint Clinical Research Center will launch ARV services in more than 20 pu
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Red Cross to Offer Free ARVs to AIDS Patients: Agence France Presse (12.02.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; The Ethiopian Red Cross Society will distribute free antiretroviral drugs, starting mid-December, to people with HIV/AIDS who cannot afford them, an ERCS official said Monday. The society is preparing to distribute the drugs free of charge to low-income HIV-positive people in Addis Ababa, with the first beneficiaries t
UNITED STATES: Partner Testing Key Weapon in AIDS Battle - Study: Reuters (12.04.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Paul Simao; On Thursday, CDC released a new study showing that comprehensive efforts to test the partners of people newly diagnosed with HIV could uncover thousands of infections and help contain the spread of the disease. About one-fourth of the estimated 950,000 Americans with HIV do not know they are infected. Diagnosing and tr
CHINA: More Elderly People Affected by HIV; Prostitution Believed to Be Behind a Record Proportion of Seniors with the Virus: South China Morning Post (11.25.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Mary Ann Benitez; Senior Medical Officer Dr. Chan Kam-tim said recently that HIV is increasingly infecting middle-age and elderly people in Hong Kong . So far this year, that age group s proportion of HIV cases has increased to almost 14 percent. On 157 people diagnosed as HIV-positive through September, 21 were age 55 or older, and mos
THAILAND: Thai Government Drops Plan for Condom Machines at Universities: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Alisa Tang; Thailand s director of the Bureau for AIDS, TB and STDs said Monday that widespread and outspoken opposition has caused the government to scuttle its recently announced plan to put condom vending machines in universities. We may propose this again when society feels ready, said Dr. Sombat Thanprasertsuk. Health officia
HAITI: In Rural Haiti, Shalala Views a Pioneering Effort on AIDS: Miami Herald (12.03.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Michael A.W. Ottey; Jane Regan; University of Miami President Donna Shalala, who served as Health and Human Services secretary in the Clinton administration, traveled to Thomonde and Canges, Haiti , this week to investigate a medical partnership that is saving lives and might be replicated elsewhere in the country. US-based Partners in Health, which
HAITI: In Haiti, Where Pleasures Are Scarce, US-Funded Abstinence Campaign Gets Mixed Reviews: Associated Press (11.30.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Paisley Dodds; Activists in Haiti question whether money for an abstinence campaign funded by the Bush administration could be better spent in other ways. In the impoverished nation where HIV/AIDS has infected 5 percent of 8 million people, HIV is increasing among Haitians ages 15-24. Fans of the abstinence campaign say Haiti can tak
NORTH CAROLINA: State Works with Colleges on Testing and Prevention: State Officials Say More Funding Is Needed: AIDS Alert (12.01.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; The recent discovery of an HIV outbreak among students across a network of state universities has created a public health challenge in North Carolina. Operating on a shoestring budget, the state has implemented Project Commit to Prevent ( PCP ), a collaboration with 12 minority colleges to provide HIV/STD prevention an
NORTH CAROLINA: Multicampus Outbreak of HIV in North Carolina Spurs Quick State Action: Prevention, Testing Program Targets Black Colleges: AIDS Alert (12.01.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; A North Carolina HIV RNA screening program, the Screening Tracing Active Transmission program (STAT), recently uncovered an HIV outbreak among college students, particularly young black men who have sex with men, attending 11 predominantly black colleges and one Native American college. Experts from CDC are investigati
MISSOURI: Health Officials Warn of Possible Link Between Shelter Use, TB: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Jim Suhr; On Monday, government health officials issued an advisory urging St. Louis-area medical workers to test the homeless for tuberculosis , warning that shelters are the likeliest sites for the disease to be spread. Since 2001, there have been 15 active TB cases among residents of the city s dozen or so public and private
NEW JERSEY: Legislator Withdraws Needle Bill for Drug Users from Senate Panel: Star-Ledger (12.04.03) - Friday, December 05, 2003; Susan K. Livio; In the New Jersey Senate Wednesday, a bill to decriminalize the sale and distribution of hypodermic needles as a means of slowing the spread of AIDS was withdrawn by its sponsor before a committee could review it. Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) said he withdrew the bill after hearing concerns raised by state Attorney
PHILIPPINES: Philippines at Risk from HIV/AIDS from Overseas Workers: Minister: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; On Monday in Manila, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit warned that HIV could spread in the Philippines through millions of Filipinos who have engaged in risky sex behavior while working overseas. According to official figures, 5 million to 7 million Filipinos work abroad, many as sailors who dock in ports where AIDS rates
SOMALIA: UNICEF Appeals to Somali Leaders to Help Youths Fight AIDS: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; On Monday in Kenya , UNICEF called on Somali leaders to support youth in fighting AIDS. Somali leaders have a responsibility to provide correct information on prevention and healthy lifestyles to young people, as they are the prime target of the epidemic, said Jasper Morch, UNICEF s representative to
MALAWI: Malawi Pledges to Provide Free AIDS Treatment to 50,000 People by 2005: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; On Monday, the government of Malawi pledged to provide free AIDS drugs to 50,000 people by 2005. About 15 percent of the poor southern African country s 11 million people have HIV, and AIDS- related illnesses kill at least 70,000 people a year there. Only 3 percent of Malawians have been tested for HIV. This program c
NEW YORK: Bloomberg Offers One-Hour AIDS Test: New York Post (12.02.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Frankie Edozien; In marking World AIDS Day Monday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will offer the latest rapid HIV test to all New Yorkers by next year. City officials are now using the test, but not widely. Bloomberg also announced the formation of a 20-member Commission on AIDS to help shape policy. The body will include city o
UNITED STATES: Bono Says Angry AIDS Funds Stalled in Congress: Reuters (12.03.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Rock star and activist Bono said Wednesday he was infuriated that Congress has not passed a spending bill that includes money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Speaking to the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, Bono said 500,000 people, who might have lived had money been available for treatment,
MARYLAND: Health Officials Strive to Increase Awareness Regarding AIDS Crisis: Baltimore Sun (12.02.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Dennis O'Brien; A year after Mayor Martin O Malley declared a state of emergency in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Baltimore health officials worry that a drop in cases could lead to public complacency. While AIDS is becoming more and more a chronic disease..., we want to avoid media fatigue from setting in and an attitude where people f
BOTSWANA: Barriers to Antiretroviral Adherence for Patients Living with HIV Infection and AIDS in Botswana: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (11.1.03) Vol. 34; No. 3: P. 281-288 - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Sheri Weiser, MD; William Wolfe, MD; David Bangsberg, MD; Ibou Thior, MD; Peter Gilbert, PhD; Joseph Makhema, MD; Poloko Kebaabetswe, MPH; Dianne Dickenson, MD; Kgosidialwa Mompati, MD; Max Essex, DVM, PhD; Richard Marlink, MD; Botswana has the highest estimated HIV prevalence in the world. According to the 2002 UNAIDS update, more than 330,000 people of its 1.5 million population have HIV, and there were roughly 26,000 deaths from AIDS in 2001. The estimated rate of infection among people ages 15-49 is 36 percent. One of the biggest ch
SWITZERLAND: International Red Cross Launches AIDS Fund to Help Threatened Staff: Associated Press (11.27.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Thousands of staff and volunteers of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have HIV/AIDS, according to Bernard Gardiner, head of the AIDS campaign at the Geneva-based organization. Launching a fund to help workers get vital drugs, Gardiner told reporters that fighting HIV/AIDS is a matter
BRAZIL: Brazil Urges Condom Use, Tolerance of HIV Sufferers on World AIDS Day: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Tom Murphy; In Brasilia on Monday, to commemorate World AIDS Day, elementary school students unfurled the Solidarity Quilt, 100 yards by 60 yards of material comprising hundreds of patches, hand-sewn by children, urging tolerance for HIV/AIDS patients. In the background, a samba band played, It s a Sin Not to Use One, a tune compo
CHILE: Anti-AIDS Commercials in Chile Spark Media Backlash: Reuters (12.02.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Ignacio Badal; The Chilean government s media campaign against HIV/AIDS hit a snag recently when three leading Chilean TV stations refused to air commercials that were launched for World AIDS Day along with radio jingles, pamphlets and bus-stop posters. The four commercials feature a married man who has a lover, a teenager having unp
AFRICA: Nine Companies to Finance AIDS Program in Africa: Associated Press (12.03.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Matthew Rosenberg; On Wednesday, nine major international companies initiated an effort to expand HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in Africa, beginning in some cases with their own employees. AngloAmerican, ChevronTexaco, Bristol-Myers Squibb , DaimlerChrysler, Heineken, Eskom, Lafarge, Pfizer
NEW YORK:Groups Launch Registry of Artists Who Have Died of AIDS: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Michael Weissenstein; On World AIDS Day, the New York-based Alliance for the Arts Estate Project for Artists with AIDS announced it is launching an Internet registry listing hundreds of actors, designers, writers and others who have died of AIDS. The purpose of the registry is to memorialize the lives and catalog the work of those listed.
UNITED STATES:Trials Will Test Whether AIDS Drug Can Also Prevent HIV: Wall Street Journal (12.04.03) - Thursday, December 04, 2003; Marilyn Chase; Three studies to be launched next year will test whether a pill currently used to treat AIDS can prevent human transmission of HIV. Viread (tenofovir), manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., blocks a crucial enzyme HIV needs to replicate. In the absence of an HIV vaccine, Viread holds out hope as part
CHINA: China Issues Stamp to Commemorate World AIDS Day: Xinhua News Agency (12.01.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; On Monday, the State Post Bureau of China issued a stamp to commemorate World AIDS Day. The stamp, which features a heart- shaped red ribbon, is meant to symbolize the care and support the society gives to HIV/AIDS patients. Ma Xiaowei, vice minister of the Chinese Health Ministry, said at the issuance ceremony that st
IRAN: Iran Counts 5,780 HIV Cases but Unofficial Estimates Are Six Times Higher: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Iran has 5,780 registered cases of HIV, including 700 AIDS cases and 634 deaths, a health ministry official said in newspaper reports published on World AIDS Day. However, several experts said in the same reports that the real figure was 30,000- 40,000 cases. The official said that 95 percent of the registered cases
MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Backs Proposed Drug-Needle Law: Boston Herald (12.02.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Marie Szaniszlo; On Monday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino urged Boston to back legislation to make clean needles available to intravenous drug users at local pharmacies to prevent the spread of HIV. Although similar proposals have been criticized in other cities as encouraging drug use, Menino said, all the evidence says that s not true. This
CANADA: Rate of HIV Jumps in Federal Prisons: Edmonton Journal (12.01.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; CanWest News Service; The number of federal inmates with HIV has risen steadily in the past decade, according to Daryn Bond of Manitoba AIDS Co- operative. In 2001, 223 Canadian inmates were HIV-positive, up from 24 twelve years earlier. The numbers show that injection drug use among inmates continues to be a problem. We ve heard stories wh
WASHINGTON, DC: District to Offer Condoms for Free: Washington Post (12.02.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Avram Goldstein; District health officials announced on World AIDS Day that they plan to soon install plain white condom dispensers in select government offices and distribute condoms free. The goal is to place more than 50 dispensers in offices frequented by the public, including the D.C. Housing Authority and the departments of human
UNITED KINGDOM: First UK National Database Measures Levels of HIV Drug Resistance: AIDS Weekly (11.17.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; The UK Health Protection Agency s Communicable Disease Report published the first data from the National HIV Resistance Database, which show that HIV drug resistance is increasing. Drug treatments for HIV have proved to be very successful in keeping many of those infected in good health; however, in a small number of p
PAKISTAN: Candlelight Vigil, Doctors Parade Mark World AIDS Day in Pakistan: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; A candlelight vigil, doctors parades and cricket players sporting red ribbons marked Monday s World AIDS Day in Pakistan . Although the Muslim country s official figures show only 231 AIDS cases and 2,080 HIV infections among its 145 million adults, UNICEF and UNAIDS estimate true figures may be as hig
CANADA: HIV/AIDS Scourge Growing in Canada: Edmonton Sun (12.02.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Canadian Press; The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to grow in Canada with a record 56,000 people infected despite two decades of prevention efforts and hundreds of millions spent to fight the disease. The number of cases marks a 12 percent jump since 1999, according to Health Canada s sixth annual report on HIV/AIDS, released Monday to c
AFRICA: Thompson Visits Rwanda to Assess HIV/AIDS: Associated Press (12.03.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Rodrique Ngowi; On Tuesday in Kigali, US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson laid a wreath at the tomb of victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which thousands of women were raped and infected with HIV. Rwanda was the second stop on Thompson s four-nation tour of Africa, where he is evaluating current projects and det
UNITED STATES: Blood: Safety vs. Supplies: Baltimore Sun (12.01.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; David Kohn; At a time when the US blood supply barely meets demand, some safety experts say the government, Red Cross and other blood suppliers are too cautious, excluding too many donors and adding too many safeguards. Blood safety and blood supply debates have heated up in recent years as shortages have become more common. Blood
UNITED STATES: Gen. Clark Declares War on AIDS: Miami Herald (12.02.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Ashley Fantz; On Monday in Fort Lauderdale, Democratic presidential hopeful Gen. Wesley Clark laid out his Global AIDS Security Strategy, in which he proposes doubling the nation s international AIDS- fighting commitment to $30 billion. This is a time to reflect on how far we ve come and how far we need to go, the retired general sa
CONNECTICUT: AIDS Rising Among Minorities, Women: Associated Press (11.30.03) - Wednesday, December 03, 2003; Diane Scarponi; HIV/AIDS is increasingly infecting women, Hispanics and heterosexuals in Connecticut, even as new AIDS cases and deaths continue to decline, a state report shows. Nationally, Connecticut ranks ninth in the number of AIDS cases per 100,000 residents, according to the state Department of Public Health s 2003 AIDS survey.
AFRICA: Medecins sans Frontieres Urges Further Cuts in AIDS Drug Prices for Wider Access: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; On World AIDS Day, International medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) urged that the price of HIV/AIDS drugs be reduced even more in Africa. Today, the prices have fallen by another 50 percent, but every time the price comes down, more people can afford treatment, said Morton Rostrup, inte
UNITED KINGDOM: Britain Pledges $10 Million to Fight AIDS in 2004: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; On Monday, British international development secretary Hillary Benn said Britain would double its contribution to the global AIDS battle to �6 million (US $10.3 million)in 2004, adding that Britain is the second-largest donor of bilateral HIV/AIDS assistance after the United States . Benn urged the international commun
CANADA: Canada Gives $76 Million to Africa's AIDS Battle: Agence France Presse (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; On Monday, the Canadian government said it would give 100 million Canadian dollars (US $76 million) to help Africa fight AIDS. The International Cooperation Ministry said the money would be spent over five years and would be concentrated at first on Tanzania and Mozambique , which have some of the
CALIFORNIA: Hispanics in Monterey County Nearly Half of New AIDS Cases: Associated Press (11.30.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Hispanics in Monterey County accounted for nearly half of all new AIDS cases since 1997, and they contracted HIV faster than any other group, the county Health Department s new 2002 HIV/AIDS report shows. With the exception of a 1 percent proportional increase among Asian and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics were the only
FLORIDA: Memorial Service Draws Small Crowd in Broward: Miami Herald (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Ashley Fantz; About 75 people attended the HIV/AIDS memorial candlelight vigil outside of Broward County s Main Library for World AIDS Day yesterday. The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men s Chorus sang for the small crowd, and the library offered HIV-themed artwork by more than 30 visual artists and poets to mark the occasion. The exhibit was
UNITED STATES: Female-Condom Use in a Gender-Specific Family Planning Clinic Trial: American Journal of Public Health (11.03) Vol. 93; No. 11: 1897- 1903 - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Susie Hoffman, DrPH; Theresa M. Exner, PhD; Cheng-Shiun Leu, PhD; Anke A. Ehrhardt, PhD: Zena Stein, MA, MB, BCh; The researchers evaluated female-condom use among women participating in Project FIO (The Future Is Ours), a randomized trial of a gender-specific HIV/STD preventive intervention that was successful in reducing unprotected sex. The authors present data on female-condom use during a 12- month follow-up period among 360
UNITED KINGDOM: British Rates of TB 'Are Worse than Third World': Daily Mail (11.25.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Beezy Marsh; A report released Nov. 24 warned that tuberculosis is making a comeback in the United Kingdom , and levels of the disease are now higher than is some Third World nations. The report, the result of a six-month investigation by the London Assembly health committee, showed a doubling of TB cases since 1987.
INDIA: India Plans Free AIDS Therapy, but Effort Hinges on Price Accord with Drug Makers: New York Times (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Amy Waldman; India hopes to begin providing free antiretrovirals by April 2004 to all HIV-positive new parents and all children under 15 in six states most affected by AIDS, government officials announced Sunday. All AIDS patients in those states will ultimately be treated under the plan. The decision, announced by Union Minister
CHINA: Chinese Leaders Break AIDS Taboo: Washington Post (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Philip P. Pan; Premier Wen Jiabao appeared on Chinese state television Monday night, comforting AIDS patients and appealing to the nation to treat them with care and love, signaling a new commitment by the Chinese government to fight a disease that has infected up to 1.5 million of its citizens. Wen pledged to put HIV/AIDS prevention
AFRICA: Thompson Promotes HIV Awareness in Zambia: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Florence Mwisa; Africa cannot be left to fight alone against the AIDS epidemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Monday in Livingstone, Zambia . This war has caused more casualties than any other war, Thompson said before joining a World AIDS Day march with World Health Organization Director- Gen
UNITED STATES: Suffer Not the Children: USA Today (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Steve Sternberg; A few months after her daughter Ariel s death from AIDS in 1988, Elizabeth Glaser, who contracted HIV from blood transfusions in 1981, gathered two close friends together to help her launch the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Glaser was determined to get her HIV-positive son Jake, 4, access to AIDS drugs then available to a
CALIFORNIA: Activists Call on Governor to Maintain Funding for AIDS Drugs: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; Mason Stockstill; On World AIDS Day, JWCH Medical Clinic officials in Los Angeles called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to maintain AIDS Drug Assistance Program funding proportionate to the need. Schwarzenegger s budget proposal includes capping ADAP spending and creating a waiting list if client demand exceeds available funding. Califor
MAINE: Rise in HIV Cases Raises Concern that Prevention Message Goes Unheeded: Associated Press (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; A spike in the number of new HIV cases diagnosed in Maine has raised concerns that AIDS prevention messages are falling on deaf ears. To date this year, 45 new HIV cases have been recorded - a 67 percent increase over the 27 new cases in all of 2002. George Friou, executive director of the Frannie Peabody Center, a Por
INDIANA: AIDS Cases on the Increase, Especially Among Minorities: Associated Press (12.02.03) - Tuesday, December 02, 2003; In commemoration of World AIDS Day, Indiana University students lined the streets and sidewalks around Dunn Meadow in Bloomington on Monday with 500 luminaries in remembrance of Hoosiers who have died from HIV/AIDS. Sponsored by the IU chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign and the Community Action Group, the even
UNITED STATES: World AIDS Day Gets Its Due from Cable: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12.01.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Jill Vejnoska; Monday at 7 p.m., Cinemax will present To Live Is Better Than to Die, which chronicles a year in the life of a Chinese family that contracted HIV through blood selling. Monday at 9 p.m., VH1 offers AIDS: A Pop Culture History, in which celebrities and others discuss how AIDS has been presented by mainstream media and c
UNITED STATES: TV Highlights: Washington Post (11.30.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Martie Zad; Monday at 8 p.m., Discovery Health Channel will air AIDS Orphans: Lost Childhood. To document the lives of children who have lost or are losing their parents to AIDS, the program focuses on two families left to survive in poor conditions with almost no food. Monday at 9 p.m., Nickelodeon will broadcast a report by jour
SOUTH AFRICA: Concert for AIDS: New York Times (12.01.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Ben Sisario; A duet between pop stars Bono and Beyonc� was the highlight of a Saturday concert for AIDS attended by more than 40,000 people in Cape Town. They sang American Prayer, a song that Bono said asked churches to open their doors, to give sanctuary that breaks the stigma that goes with being HIV- positive. The five-hour con
COLOMBIA: AIDS Epidemic Spreads in Colombia: Associated Press (11.30.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Margarita Martinez; At a recent conference gearing up for World AIDS Day, Ricardo Luque, a doctor with Colombia s Ministry of Social Protection, warned that AIDS could become a bigger killer than Colombia s civil war unless the government acts promptly. An average of 3,500 people die each year in a conflict that pits leftist rebels agains
UNITED STATES: Apathy and the AIDS Epidemic: Washington Post (12.01.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Julie L. Gerberding; As in years past, rituals of candles and quilts coincide on World AIDS Day today with the release of grave new statistics and heartrending personal stories - not only from distant countries but also from our own backyards. While humanitarian concerns demand that we take action in the developing world, our own growing
GHANA: HIV/AIDS Prevention: Peer Influence Plays Key Role in AIDS- Protective Behavior by Ghanaian Youth: AIDS Weekly (11.17.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Recently, US scientists examined interpersonal communication about reproductive health information among Ghanaian youth, and the association of this communication with different types of reported AIDS-preventive behaviors. Contacts of peer educators in Ghana were surveyed at three sites during April 1998, wrote R.C. Wo
ITALY: Pope Offers Prayers, Encouragement on AIDS Amid Criticism for Church Opposition: Associated Press (11.30.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Nicole Winfield; In his traditional Sunday greeting in St. Peter s Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II offered prayers for those with HIV/AIDS, and he encouraged those Roman Catholics who care for them to continue their efforts. John Paul s comments on the eve of World AIDS Day came as critics condemned Vatican opposition to usin
CHINA: China Sends Health Workers into the Streets to Educate on World AIDS Day: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Audra Ang; Today, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Beijing s Ditan Hospital and spoke with AIDS patients, signaling a new openness on HIV/AIDS by the Chinese government. Health workers hit the streets to mark World AIDS Day, teach prevention, and distribute condoms to migrant construction workers, an at-risk group. [Migrant wor
GLOBAL: WHO Certifies New Generic HIV Drug: Associated Press (12.01.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Chris Tomlinson; The World Health Organization today joined UNAIDS in Nairobi to launch the 3x5 campaign to provide treatment to 3 million people with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005. The detailed 3x5 plan unveiled on World AIDS Day promised cheaper, simpler drug regimens and more money as part of its strategy. Also on Monday, WHO cert
GLOBAL: World Losing War on AIDS, Kofi Annan Says: Associated Press (11.29.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Saturday the world is losing its war against AIDS as governments fail to confront the threat it poses. In an interview in London, Annan told the British Broadcasting Corp. he is saddened by the incredible callousness of a world that allows millions of AIDS patients in developing cou
UNITED STATES: Bush Sends Blue-Chip Group to Four AIDS-Hit African Nations: San Francisco Chronicle (11.30.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Sabin Russell; This week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson is leading a high-level delegation of business executives and the Bush administration s top medical experts to four nations likely to share in the president s $15 billion AIDS relief package. Thompson and his delegation of more than 80 will meet Monday -
UNITED STATES: HIV Infections Continue Rise, Study Says: New York Times (11.27.03) - Monday, December 01, 2003; Anahad O'Connor; The number of new HIV cases diagnosed in the United States continues to climb, and the most significant rise has been among gay and bisexual men and Hispanics, CDC reported in a new study. The study looked at data from 29 states that included a confidential system that was initiated in 1999. Because states with the hig
GLOBAL: Hunger Worsens in Many Lands, UN Says: New York Times (11.26.03) - Wednesday, November 26, 2003; Somini Sengupta; On Tuesday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that worldwide hunger and malnourishment have swelled in recent years, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, because of war, drought, AIDS, and trade barriers. The AIDS pandemic in southern Africa has cut a devastating swath through what would otherwise be its
AFRICA: US Group to Visit Four Countries to Examine Projects that Combat AIDS: Associated Press (11.25.03) - Wednesday, November 26, 2003; Harry Dunphy; Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Tuesday that he and a group of 80 US lawmakers, business people and members of religious orga