2007

FACTBOX: Angelina Jolie tops poll of best celebrity do-gooder: Reuters NewMedia - December 27, 2007; (Reuters) - Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie tops a Reuters poll released on Thursday of the best celebrity humanitarians of 2007. The poll by humanitarian Web site Reuters AlertNet (www.alertnet.org), which surveyed 606 people from December 7 to 19, also found fellow adoptive mother Madonna was the least respected cel
FDA to add HIV warning to contraceptive products: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, December 18, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Tuesday finalized a rule requiring makers of certain contraceptive gels, foams, films and inserts to carry a warning that the products do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require the warning on over-th
FACTBOX-Big issues for South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 15, 2007; (Reuters) - South Africa s ruling African National Congress will choose a new leader during a December 16-20 congress, amid some of the worst factional feuding in its history. Here are some details of South Africa s main issues. * CRIME: -- South Africa has some of the highest rates of murder and rape in the world. Opp
Ingredient in human semen may enhance HIV infection: Reuters NewMedia - December 13, 2007; CHICAGO (Reuters) - An ingredient in human semen may actually help the HIV virus infect cells, German researchers said on Thursday. They said naturally occurring prostatic acidic phosphatase or PAP, an enzyme produced by the prostate, can form tiny fibers called amyloid fibrils that can capture bits of the human immuno
Group hopes new ANC leader promotes AIDS "Glasnost": Reuters NewMedia - December 11, 2007; Paul Simao; JOHANNESBURG, Dec 11 (Reuters) - South Africa s main AIDS advocacy group on Tuesday refused to endorse Thabo Mbeki or Jacob Zuma for leader of the ruling African National Congress, but hinted it would be more comfortable with Zuma at the helm. The Treatment Action Campaign, which has accused Mbeki and his government of
Sharon Stone in Dubai to raise $1 mln for AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, December 11, 2007; Ola Galal; DUBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Hollywood star Sharon Stone hopes to raise more than $1 million dollars for AIDS research at an auction in Dubai to spread awareness about the deadly virus that remains taboo in the Arab world. Cinema Against AIDS, an artist-led drive to raise funds for AIDS research, is being held on the side
REFILE-HIV doctor postpones UN complaint against Libya: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2007; SOFIA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The lawyer for a Palestinian doctor, who says he was tortured to confess infecting Libyan children with HIV, said on Friday that European politicians had pressured her and her client to refrain from complaining. Ashraf Alhajouj and five Bulgarian nurses were sentenced to death in Libya on charg
AIDS crisis looms over ANC ahead of leadership vote: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2007; Paul Simao; JOHANNESBURG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - AIDS has driven a wedge between the leadership and rank-and-file of the ruling African National Congress, with top officials accused of ignorance and activists aghast at the government s handling of the pandemic. South African President Thabo Mbeki and his former deputy, Jacob Zuma, who
FACTBOX-AIDS in South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2007; Dec 7 (Reuters) - South Africa s AIDS crisis looms over the ruling African National Congress as it prepares to set policy and elect a president this month, with leaders and grassroots activists at times divided over how to stop the deadly pandemic. Here are some key details about AIDS in the region: * SOUTH AFRICA:
U.S. care for HIV detainees falls short: report: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2007; Robert MacMillan; NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has failed to provide adequate care to immigrant detainees with HIV, putting their health and lives at risk, Human Rights Watch charged on Friday. In a 71-page report, whose findings were challenged by Homeland Security, the rights group said the agency deni
Children dying for lack of child-sized drugs: WHO: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2007; Ben Hirschler; LONDON (Reuters) - Children are dying for lack of drugs tailored to their needs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which launched a global campaign on Thursday to promote more research into child medicine. More than half the drugs currently used to treat children in the industrialized world have not bee
China Launches First Major Safe Sex TV Campaign: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China rolled out its first major television campaign on Thursday to promote condom use to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, now mostly being transmitted by sex in the world s most populous country. The short public service announcements will mainly be shown on screens in buses, trains and planes, on the
China enforces HIV tests for returning nationals: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China , which is to scrap laws that restrict people with HIV/AIDS traveling to the country, is to make Chinese citizens who leave for a more than a year have HIV tests on their return, a newspaper said on Thursday. The apparently contradictory regulations, introduced by quarantine authorities, start
Hirst and Bono to hold art charity sale: Reuters NewMedia - December 5, 2007; LONDON (Reuters) - Artist Damien Hirst has invited some of the world s leading contemporary artists to donate works for an auction on February 14 next year which is expected to raise more than $40 million ($20 million pounds) for charity. The (RED) Auction at Sotheby s in New York, also supported by Irish rocker Bono,
Mylan gets tentative FDA OK for generic of AIDS drug Viread: Reuters NewMedia - December 4, 2007; Dec 4 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Mylan Inc (MYL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said India-based Matrix Laboratories Ltd (MAXL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), which is majority controlled by Mylan, received tentative U.S. regulatory approval to market the generic version of Gilead Sciences Inc s (GILD.O: Quote, Profile, Researc
No AIDS estimate available yet: CDC: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New federal numbers put the number of Americans infected with the AIDS virus each year close to 50 percent higher than previous estimates, activist groups and some media reported, but federal officials denied on Sunday that the data was finished yet. The groups say the new numbers put the number
Circumcision does not affect HIV in U.S. men: study: Reuters NewMedia - Monday December 3, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; Circumcision may reduce a man s risk of infection with the AIDS virus by up to 60 percent if he is an African, but it does not appear to help American men of color, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Black and Latino men were just as likely to become infected with the AIDS virus whether they were circumcised or not,
Roche urged to cut drug price to stop blindness: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2007; Sam Cage; ZURICH, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) urged Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) to cut prices for its antiviral Valcyte in developing countries, saying it would help prevent unnecessary cases of blindness. Cytomegalovirus ( CM
China HIV-positive farmer gets all clear 6 years on: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2007; BEIJING, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A Chinese farmer has been given the all clear from HIV six years after testing HIV-positive, Xinhua news agency said on Monday. Wen Congcheng, from the Chuanying district of northeastern Jilin, first tested HIV positive in 2001 at the Chuanying Disease Prevention and Control Centre when it wa
Estimate of H.I.V. Cases May Increase: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2007; WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is raising its estimate of how many Americans are becoming infected with the AIDS virus every year by 50 percent, according to newspaper reports on Saturday. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now believes the number of new HIV infections each year i
South Africa Cites Progress on AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa , which has one of the world s worst AIDS epidemics, has made headway in fighting the HIV virus, but condom use is still insufficient, government leaders said on Saturday. One in nine South Africans are infected with HIV, but President Thabo Mbeki s government has been criticized f
Fighting AIDS in Iran seen tough due to taboos: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2007; Zahra Hosseinian; TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is fighting the spread of the AIDS virus by treating sufferers for free but taboos about the issue in the Islamic Republic are hindering efforts to raise public awareness, Iranian health officials said on Saturday. Injecting drug users are the main risk group in Iran, which is on a heroin smuggl
Bush announces Africa trip, presses for AIDS funds: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2007; Matt Spetalnick; MOUNT AIRY, Maryland (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Friday announced a trip to Africa early next year for a first-hand look at U.S.-sponsored HIV/AIDS programs and pressed Congress to approve a doubling of funds to combat the disease globally. Bush used an appearance at a church in Mount Airy, Maryland, the da
China's Hu presses the flesh with AIDS patients: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2007; BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao visited a number of AIDS patients and their families on Friday, a public show of solidarity in a country where HIV/AIDS sufferers still face widespread stigmatisation. Beijing was initially slow to acknowledge the threat of the disease, but has since stepped up th
U.S. aims to take HIV tests to high-risk people: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A program backed by U.S. health authorities brought HIV tests to about 24,000 people at high risk for infection who otherwise might have been missed by AIDS prevention efforts, officials said on Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention described the results of a program it funded
Global vigil for AIDS orphans begins in Toronto: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2007; TORONTO (Reuters) - Christopher Wachira couldn t help but think of 9-year-old Hamisi Kombo as the names of 360 children, orphaned as a result of AIDS, were read out at Toronto s CN Tower on Thursday. The Kenyan boy, who is HIV-positive, has seen his parents, and two subsequent sets of caregivers die from AIDS. He s be
One in three in G7 ignorant about AIDS: survey: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2007; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - One in three adults in the world s top industrial democracies say they know little or nothing about AIDS, a disease thought to have killed more than 28 million people in the past 26 years, a poll showed on Thursday. But the survey, carried out by Ipsos for the World Vision charity, found that
China AIDS rate slows, main transmission now sex: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2007; Ben Blanchard; BEIJING, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The rate of new HIV/AIDS infections in China is slowing and is now mainly being transmitted through sex, which the government could tackle with a circumcision campaign, the health minister said on Thursday. The country will have an estimated 50,000 new infections in 2007, compared with 70,00
Clinton, AIDS and evangelicals make unusual trio: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2007; Jill Serjeant; LAKE FOREST, California (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton makes a rare foray into the U.S. evangelical community on Thursday with an address to an AIDS conference that is seen as a bid to woo the religious right. Clinton is the only one of six invited presidential candidates to attend a m
Bollywood shorts on AIDS to get YouTube release: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2007; Tony Tharakan; PANAJI, India (Reuters) - Four short films made by top Bollywood directors to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS in India are slated to be released on the video-sharing Web site YouTube in February after making their debut on local television. The 18-minute creations of Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, Farhan Akhtar and Vishal B
INTERVIEW-World Bank launches new AIDS strategy for Africa: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2007; Lesley Wroughton; WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Overtaken as the largest funder of global HIV/AIDS programs, the World Bank is now focusing on easing the economic damage inflicted by the disease in Africa and finding ways of controlling its spread through better prevention, care and treatment. Its changing role has been forced by billi
AIDS leaves Africa's grannies to raise children: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2007; Barry Moody; NAIROBI (Reuters) - Skinny and gap-toothed, her nose smudged with black dust, grandmother Kanotu Mumo sorts charcoal into small pots for sale on the stoop of her slum hut. Mumo is an AIDS granny in Kibera, one of Africa s biggest slums. Like grandmothers all over Africa, they have been left to fend for orphans after th
Don't treat AIDS victims with disdain, Pope says: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2007; VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Wednesday called for increased efforts to stop the spread of AIDS and said victims of the disease should not be treated with disdain. I am spiritually close to those who suffer from this terrible sickness as well as to their families, particularly if they have lost a loved one.
U.S. evangelicals strive to change attitudes on AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2007; Jill Serjeant; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kay Warren says five years ago she was a white suburban mom with a minivan helping her husband run one of the most influential evangelical churches in the United States and barely aware of the global AIDS crisis. Today, Warren will host the third conference on her church s role in fighting the H
HIV/AIDS discrimination widespread in China: U.N.: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS-related discrimination have failed to stamp out widespread stigmatization of sufferers, United Nations. officials said on Wednesday. Subinay Nandy, China country director for the U.N. Development Programme, said China had done a tremendous job implementing anti-HI
Iceland best place to live, Africa worst - UN: Reuters NewMedia - November 27, 2007; BRASILIA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Iceland has overtaken Norway as the world s most desirable country to live in, according to an annual U.N. table published on Tuesday that again puts AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states at the bottom. Rich free-market countries dominate the top places, wi
Capital has severe HIV epidemic, report finds: Reuters NewMedia - November 26, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington, D.C., has the highest rate of AIDS in the United States , and more babies are born with the AIDS virus in Washington than in other U.S. cities, according to a report released on Monday. People living in Washington also are not getting tested for HIV and show up with advanced infection
Older white women join Kenya's sex tourists: Reuters NewMedia - November 26, 2007; Jeremy Clarke; MOMBASA, Kenya , Nov 26 (Reuters) - Bethan, 56, lives in southern England on the same street as best friend Allie, 64. They are on their first holiday to Kenya, a country they say is just full of big young boys who like us older girls . Hard figures are difficult to come by, but local people on the coast estimate that
Beijing hotels told to stock all rooms with condoms: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, November 23, 2007; Beijing, preparing to host the 2008 Olympics, has ordered hotels to provide condoms in all bedrooms in a bid to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS after cases of infection soared 54 percent in the first 10 months of this year. Announcing the move, the official Xinhua news agency made no direct reference to the Games, saying o
Former Soviet Union sees most new HIV infections: report: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, November 23, 2007; Former Soviet states had the largest number of new HIV infections last year in the European region, mainly due to shared drug needles, an EU report said on Friday. Former Soviet states reported 59,866 new cases of HIV, which causes AIDS, or 210.8 infections per million people, the European Centre for Disease Prevention
AIDS ad breaks Italy taboo over using word "condom": Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, November 22, 2007; ROME, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The word condom is to be uttered for the first time in an advertisement to raise AIDS awareness in Italy , breaking a bizarre taboo in the Catholic country. Since the spread of HIV/AIDS started in the 1980s, the Italian government has run health campaigns about the disease, some of which have f
HIV drug resistance seen in central China: expert: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, November 22, 2007; Significant numbers of people living with HIV in central China have developed full-blown AIDS despite receiving free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, a leading AIDS researcher said on Thursday. Recent studies found that a significant portion of patients still developed AIDS after two years of treatment due to the problem o
HK group rolls out campaign to fight HIV stigma: Reuters NewMedia - November 22, 2007; Tan Ee Lyn; HONG KONG (Reuters) - Four Hong Kong celebrities and a politician threw their weight behind a campaign aimed at stamping out prejudice against people living with HIV/AIDS by asking: If I were HIV positive, would you still love me? Starting on Wednesday, posters of the five -- who include actor Daniel Wu and politicia
Brazil moving closer to curbing AIDS - officials: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, November 21, 2007; Raymond Colitt; BRASILIA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Brazil may be close to reversing the AIDS epidemic, health officials said on Wednesday citing a government report that showed fewer HIV and AIDS infections in Latin America s largest country. Brazil s AIDS infection rates climbed exponentially until the early 1990s when international health
Julia Roberts Designs A First In Armani Bracelet: Reuters NewMedia - November 21, 2007; MILAN (Reuters) - Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts has designed a bracelet for Giorgio Armani to sell for World AIDS Day, the fashion house said on Tuesday. It is the first time the Italian designer has worked with another name on a product. The leather bracelet in red or brown has a Tree of Life design and inside carri
Beijing sees jump in HIV/AIDS cases: Reuters NewMedia - November 21, 2007; Lindsay Beck; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s capital has registered nearly 973 new HIV/AIDS cases so far this year, a jump of more than 50 percent from 2006, state media reported on Wednesday. Incidents of the disease are still on the rise in Beijing and it is spreading from the high-risk groups of people to the general population, Xi
UN warns AIDS could spike if countries drop guard: Reuters NewMedia - November 20, 2007; Michael Kahn; LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The world risks a resurgence of the AIDS epidemic if countries let their guard down, United Nations officials cautioned on Tuesday. Lower estimates of how many people are infected with the virus, and more effective treatments, are causing countries to relax their vigilance, they said. Earlie
AIDS in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - November 20, 2007; Nov 20 (Reuters) - More than 33 million people are infected with the AIDS virus globally, fewer than original estimates of close to 40 million, the United Nations said in its latest report. Here are some key details about AIDS in southern Africa: AIDS - THE GLOBAL PICTURE: ** Around 33.2 million people are living with
U.N. estimates 33 million infected with HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 20, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 33 million people are infected with the AIDS virus ** far fewer than original estimates of close to 40 million, the United Nations said in its latest report. Here are some facts about AIDS, according to UNAIDS : ** An estimated 33.2 million people were infected with the human immunodefi
U.N. slashes AIDS estimates in latest report: Reuters NewMedia - November 19, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The United Nations has slashed its estimates of how many people are infected with the AIDS virus, from nearly 40 million to 33 million. In a report to be issued on Tuesday, the U.N. says revised estimates on HIV in India account for a large part of the decrease. The agency admitted it
Pope says groups "promoting" abortion in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - November 19, 2007; VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict accused international agencies on Monday of promoting abortion in Africa and partly blamed the spread of diseases like AIDS on disordered notions of marriage and the family. The globalized secular culture is exerting an increasing influence on local communities as a result of camp
U.S. regulators join HIV transplant probe: Reuters NewMedia - November 16, 2007; Julie Steenhuysen; CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has joined an investigation into how four Chicago transplant recipients contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a single organ donor, U.S. officials said on Friday. CMS, a federal agency that regulates organ procurement, is checking whether three Chicago ho
Study shows how some AIDS vaccines may harm: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Some viruses being used in experimental AIDS vaccine may damage the immune system by exhausting key cells, researchers reported on Thursday in a finding that may further cloud the field of HIV vaccines. They said vaccines using the viruses should not be tested on people until more studies
Madonna and Gucci team up for Malawi charity gig: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2007; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Madonna is joining forces with luxury goods-maker Gucci to raise funds for orphans in Malawi , the impoverished southern African nation where she has been trying to adopt a child since last year. The American pop star and Gucci will host a fund-raising event with dinner, a musical performance and a
Merck tells AIDS vaccine volunteers who got jab: Reuters NewMedia - November 13, 2007; Maggie Fox; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of people who volunteered to test an experimental AIDS vaccine that may have actually raised the risk of infection will be told if they got the actual shot, researchers said on Tuesday. Merck & Co. Inc. and academic researchers said they would unblind the study, meaning everyone wo
Haggling saves Brazil $1 billion on AIDS drugs: Reuters NewMedia - November 13, 2007; Maggie Fox; WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Brazil s policy of haggling long and hard for lower prices for lifesaving AIDS drugs saved the country $1 billion between 2001 and 2005, U.S. researchers estimated on Tuesday. Amy Nunn and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed the costs of individual AIDS drugs in Bra
Four Chicago transplant recipients contract HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 13, 2007; Julie Steenhuysen; CHICAGO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Four transplant recipients at three Chicago hospitals have contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a single organ donor, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday. The cases mark the first incidence of HIV infection contracted from organ donation in more than 20 years, according to Dr. Matthew Kuehn
HIV Programs In Workplace Save Money: IOM: Reuters NewMedia - November 13, 2007; GENEVA (Reuters) - Companies can save money and retain more staff by offering their workers HIV programs, particularly in areas where infection rates are high, an international aid agency said on Tuesday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) analyzed conditions in Zambia , where 17 percent of adults ha
Drug injecting triggers most Mauritius HIV cases: Reuters NewMedia - November 12, 2007; ROCHE BOIS, Mauritius , Nov 12 (Reuters) - Drug abuse accounts for 92 percent of new HIV infections in Mauritius, up from just 14 percent in 2002, the government said on Monday. The Indian Ocean island nation has an estimated HIV prevalence rate of 1.8 percent, which is low for the region. On the African mainland, HIV
EU Socialists petition for tax cut on condoms: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2007; BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Aiming to combat AIDS by cutting the cost of safe sex, the European Parliament s Socialist group launched a campaign on Thursday to press EU governments to cut sales tax on condoms. The 27 European Union member states are free to fix their own Value Added Tax rates on condoms, with a nimimum
ANALYSIS-AIDS vaccines experts confused, dismayed: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - AIDS vaccine researchers are worried about the future of their field after learning an experimental HIV vaccine not only does not work, but just might make recipients more susceptible to infection with the AIDS virus. They are worried about their volunteers and the future of AIDS vaccines
China to ease travel restrictions on HIV-carriers: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2007; Lindsay Beck; BEIJING, Nov 8 (Reuters) - China is to scrap immigration laws that restrict people with HIV/AIDS travelling to the country, a health ministry official and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said on Thursday. The travel restrictions have been a hindrance blocking people who are HIV-positive from ent
Cold virus chief suspect in AIDS vaccine failure: Reuters NewMedia - November 7, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A cold virus used to make an experimental HIV vaccine that was discontinued in September somehow may have caused volunteers to be more susceptible to the AIDS virus, the vaccine s developers said on Wednesday. Researchers were doubly dismayed when it appeared that those who had been vaccinated we
Monogram Biosciences obtains coverage for Trofile Assay from California ADAP program: Reuters NewMedia - November 7, 2007; Co announces that the California ADAP program under the California Office of AIDS has established coverage and reimbursement for Monogram s Trofile Assay. This coverage will be administered by the Public Health Service Bureau , the California ADAP Program s Pharmacy Benefit Manager. The California Office of AIDS has th
New China HIV cases grow to over 3,000 a month: Reuters NewMedia - November 6, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s new HIV/AIDS cases have accelerated to more than 3,000 a month, with the proportion of cases caused by sexual transmission increasing, state media said on Tuesday. China recorded 3,223 new infections per month on average between January and October, the official China Daily said on Tuesday,
South Africa AIDS activist urges new TB plan: Reuters NewMedia - November 5, 2007; Wendell Roelf; CAPE TOWN, Nov 5 (Reuters) - African nations are failing to control tuberculosis and could be overwhelmed by drug resistant strains of the infectious lung disease, with dire implications for the war on AIDS, a leading AIDS activist said on Monday. The explosion of tuberculosis on the continent is combined with the expl
TB vaccine sickens HIV-infected children: report: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A vaccine aimed at protecting children in developing countries from deadly tuberculosis may be killing and sickening some vulnerable infants infected with the AIDS virus, researchers said on Friday. They said the Bacille Calmette-Guerin or BCG vaccine, which is made using a bovine version of tube
FTC Says Internet Ad Self - Regulation Falling Short: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet advertisers have fallen short of promised self-regulation in respecting Internet users privacy, a Federal Trade Commission official said on Thursday, even as one firm, Tacoda, said it decided to refrain from collecting some sensitive information. FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz said Inter
Gilead HIV drug beats Hepsera in second big trial: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2007; NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday said a second late-stage trial has shown that its HIV treatment Viread was more effective in treating hepatitis B than Gilead s drug Hepsera, which is already approved for treating the liver infection in adults.
Zimbabwe AIDS prevalence rate falls further: Reuters NewMedia - November 1, 2007; HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s HIV prevalence rate has continued falling and now stands at less than 16 percent from more than 18 percent last year, government figures in the southern African country showed on Thursday. We should caution ourselves that this is still an alarming figure that we must address, Health Minist
Cat's Eye View Of DNA Sheds Light on Human Disease: Reuters NewMedia - October 31, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first full genetic map of a cat -- a domestic pedigreed Abyssinian -- is already shedding light on a common cause of blindness in humans and may offer insights into AIDS and other diseases, researchers reported on Wednesday. And the cat genome shows some surprising qualities that cats and hum
WFP plans $100 mln aid to HIV, disaster-hit Malawians: Reuters NewMedia- October 30, 2007; LILONGWE (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) hopes to raise $103 million for operations in Malawi over the next three years to help those affected by natural disasters, WFP officials said on Monday. WFP officials expect in this time to assist 1.2 million Malawians affected by HIV/AIDS and natural
Bono's U.S. - Based Anti - Poverty Groups to Merge: Reuters NewMedia - October 29, 2007; Lesley Wroughton; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anti-poverty groups the ONE Campaign and DATA, both co-founded by rock star Bono, will merge in the United States to form a single organization in tackling poverty, especially in Africa, officials said on Monday. The new organization will be known as ONE in the United States and will include the
AIDS virus invaded U.S. from Haiti in 1969: study: Reuters NewMedia - October 29, 2007; Will Dunham; The AIDS virus invaded the United States in about 1969 from Haiti , carried most likely by a single infected immigrant who set the stage for it to sweep the world in a tragic epidemic, scientists said on Monday. Michael Worobey, a University of Arizona evolutionary biologist, said the 1969 U.S. entry date is earlier th
Hepatitis scandal sparks anger at Japan government: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2007; Linda Sieg; TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Eriko Fukuda was an active young woman of 20 when she was told she had contracted potentially deadly hepatitis C after being treated with a tainted blood product as an infant and needed costly and grueling treatment. This week, she was outraged when Japanese health ministry officials admitted
Quest Diagnostics licenses technology underlying SensiTrop HIV: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2007; Co announce that it has entered into a non- exclusive license agreement for the heteroduplex tracking technology underlying Pathway Diagnostics SensiTrop HIV co-receptor tropism test. Tropism refers to the way a virus targets host cells. A molecular-based assay for HIV co-receptor tropism will help physicians personali
INTERVIEW-Liberia needs cash to stop its doctors quitting: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2007; Peter Apps; LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Liberian Health Minister Walter Gwenigale says he is thankful Western donors are willing to fund drugs, vehicles and fuel -- but what he really wants is enough money to pay his doctors not to quit. Most of Liberia s medical staff fled to Europe or the United States during its civil war, a
Combine treatment to fight dangerous TB: report: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Simple, common-sense measures such as opening hospital windows and using face masks would greatly reduce the number of new cases of extensively drug-resistant or XDR tuberculosis, doctors reported on Thursday. Use of face masks, reducing how long patients spend in the hospital and treating more p
Many U.S. TB patients also HIV infected: report: Reuters NewMedia - October 26, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly a third of U.S. tuberculosis patients do not know whether they are infected with the AIDS virus, showing more needs to be done to get these people tested for HIV, a federal report said on Thursday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that details the link
SA finances healthy, AIDS, crime a threat: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2007; Gordon Bell; South African public finances are sound and the financial system is healthy, while strong economic growth will continue, albeit as a slower pace, Moody s Investor Service said on Thursday. But political and socio-economic risks may dampen investor sentiment and cloud prospects for a ratings upgrade. South Africa s fore
AIDS vaccine may raise infection risk: researchers: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 3,000 people who volunteered to receive an experimental Merck and Co. AIDS vaccine are being told to come back and get extra tests because the jab may itself raise the risk of infection. Researchers stress that they do not yet have enough information to say whether those who got the sho
Pharmasset's hepatitis C drug gets fast-track status: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2007; Aradhana Aravindan; BANGALORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical company Pharmasset Inc (VRUS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said its chronic hepatitis C treatment, R7128, received fast-track status from U.S. health regulators, sending shares up as much as 6 percent. R7128, which is being developed in collaboration with Roche (ROG.VX: Quote
Catholic condom ban helping AIDS spread in Latam: U.N.: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, October 23, 2007; TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church s stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday. Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading
Safe Syringes Could Avert 1.3 Million Deaths A Year: WHO: Reuters NewMedia - October 23, 2007; GENEVA (Reuters) - Safer syringes could avert 1.3 million deaths a year, especially in poorer countries where 40 percent of all injections involve unsterilized reused needles, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. In a statement, the U.N. agency linked 33 percent of new hepatitis B infections and 2 milli
HIV spread most by those with moderate virus level: Reuters NewMedia - October 22, 2007; Michael Kahn; LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - People with moderate levels of HIV in their blood are the most likely to infect others, researchers said on Monday in a study that provides a better understanding of how the deadly virus spreads. Looking at several groups of HIV-positive people in Europe, the United States and Africa, the
Researchers say HIV testing in U.S. remains low: Reuters NewMedia - October 22, 2007; Will Dunham; HIV testing rates have remained low in the United States this decade, with only about one-fifth of people at high risk for infection getting a test in any given year, according to a study published on Monday. The study also found that many more people at high risk of HIV infection -- men who have sex with men, injectio
Fraud and Florida's multimillion-dollar wheelchair: Reuters NewMedia - October 22, 2007; Tom Brown; MIAMI (Reuters) - One Miami-area medical equipment supplier managed to bill the U.S. government so often for a wheelchair it ended up costing $5 million. Last year south Florida accounted for 80 percent of the drugs billed across the entire United States for Medicare beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS, even though the region
Roche says EU reinstates Viracept licence: Reuters NewMedia - October 19, 2007; Sven Egenter, sven-markus.egenter@reuters.com; ZURICH (Reuters) - The European Commission has reinstated the licence for Roche s (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) HIV drug Viracept , the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday. The timing of the reintroduction of the drug, which was suspended earlier this summer, will vary from country to country and it is likely to be a f
Gilead HIV drugs drive profit after year-ago loss: Reuters NewMedia - October 18, 2007; Lisa Baertlein and Bill Berkrot; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc posted a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street targets on Thursday, driven by drugs that fight the virus that causes AIDS, reversing a year-ago loss on acquisition-related costs. Gilead said it now expects 2007 product revenue to land at the high end of its existing fo
S.Africa parliament backs defiant health minister: Reuters NewMedia - October 18, 2007; Wendell Roelf; CAPE TOWN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - South Africa s parliament rejected a motion by the opposition on Thursday for an investigation into whether controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was fit to hold her job. President Thabo Mbeki has ignored repeated calls to sack Tshabalala-Msimang, dubbed Dr. Beetroot by h
New strain of strep emerges as major US infection: Reuters NewMedia - October 18, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A new strain of bacteria is emerging as a major cause of childhood infections but even drug-resistant versions of the bug can be killed off with the right antibiotics, doctors said on Thursday. Doctors and parents should be aware of it, however, and switch antibiotics for children with se
More collaboration needed after HIV vaccine flop: Reuters NewMedia - October 12, 2007; LONDON (Reuters) - AIDS researchers must step up collaboration following the failure last month of a key experimental HIV vaccine, the new head of a global group coordinating the hunt for an effective shot said on Thursday. Merck & Co, which had been working with the U.S. government-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Networ
Study sees differences in how US Hispanics get HIV: Reuters NewMedia - October 11, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - There are major differences among U.S. Hispanics in how they get infected with the AIDS virus depending on where they were born, officials said on Thursday, requiring more care in tailoring prevention efforts. The trend was detailed in a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
INTERVIEW - S.Africa forgets children in AIDS fight - UN: Reuters NewMedia - October 9, 2007; Michael Georgy; JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9 (Reuters) - South Africa is neglecting most of the 100,000 children born there every year with HIV/AIDS and half of them are likely to die before the age of 2, a senior U.N. official said on Tuesday. This is unacceptable, Ann Veneman, executive director of the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF)
AIDS cocktails preserve brain, study finds: Reuters NewMedia - October 8, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cocktails of drugs widely used to treat infection with the AIDS virus appear to stop brain damage caused by HIV as well, researchers reported on Monday. Writing in the journal Neurology, the researchers said their study also pointed to a way to measure this progressive brain damage when it does o
S.Africa Online dating helps fight AIDS stigma: Reuters NewMedia - October 8, 2007; Michael Georgy; JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Jeanette is seeking the ideal man. Someone sensitive. Funny. Sexy. And, most of all, HIV-positive. That s why she turned to The Positive Connection, an online dating agency that offers HIV-positive South Africans looking for love a way to get around the stigma of the disease. Everything
Program launched to counter TB drug shortfalls: Reuters NewMedia - October 8, 2007; GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) and an international initiative launched a program on Monday to provide anti-tuberculosis drugs to people in poor countries who are unable to cover their full medical needs. The $26.8 million program will deliver drugs to around 750,000 people in 19 countries, cove
Uganda opens first AIDS, malaria drugs factory: Reuters NewMedia - October 8, 2007; Tim Cocks; KAMPALA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A factory producing low-cost drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and malaria -- Africa s two biggest killers -- opened in Uganda on Monday. The factory, which will make the vital three-in-one combination pill used to treat African AIDS patients, is a 50-50 partnership between privately owned local manufa
Russia must stop flood of Afghan heroin-UN: Reuters NewMedia - October 5, 2007; Oleg Shchedrov; DUSHANBE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations urged Russia and ex-Soviet Central Asia on Friday to stem drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe and said the proceeds from a record opium crop were funding global terrorism. This year Afghanistan produced some 8,000 tonnes of opium, equivalent to a record 1,000 tonne
Canada grants patent waiver for Rwanda AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - October 5, 2007; GENEVA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Canada has authorised a company to make a generic version of a patented AIDS therapy drug for export to Rwanda , in the first case of a patent waiver under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. According to a notification from Canada to the WTO on Friday, posted on the WTO s website, Canada wi
Sarkozy receives medal for helping to free HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - October 3, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy received Bulgaria s top honour for his role in the freeing of Bulgarian medics from a Libyan jail on Thursday during a visit Paris hopes will help seal major commercial deals. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death on accusations of deliberat
Roche, Trimeris pull application for device: Reuters NewMedia - October 3, 2007; Lisa Baertlein; LOS ANGELES, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Roche Inc (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Trimeris Inc (TRMS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday they were withdrawing an application with U.S. regulators for approval to market the Biojector 2000 needle-free injection device for use with the HIV drug Fuzeon. While the d
Canada gives more time to drug injection site: Reuters NewMedia - October 3, 2007; Allan Dowd; VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The government granted another reprieve on Tuesday to North America s only sanctioned injection site for drug addicts, saying it wants more research before deciding its fate. Vancouver s Insite facility had faced closure at the end of the year, but Health Minister Tony Clement no
Doctors acquitted in Canada tainted-blood trial: Reuters NewMedia - October 1, 2007; Cameron French; TORONTO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Three former Canadian health officials and a U.S. pharmaceutical company were acquitted of criminal charges on Monday following a tainted-blood scandal in which thousands of Canadians contracted HIV and hepatitis C from blood transfusions. Roger Perrault, a former director of the Canadian Red
Mandela AIDS Charity Announces Benefit Concert: Reuters NewMedia - October 1, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela announced on Monday a group of local and international musicians would perform at a concert in Johannesburg to raise money for his 46664 AIDS charity. The concert, which will coincide with World AIDS Day on December 1, is an offshoot of similar show
Pfizer faces $8.5 bln suit over Nigeria drug trial: Reuters NewMedia - September 30, 2007; Mike Oboh; KANO, Nigeria , Sept 30 (Reuters) - A court case brought by Nigeria against Pfizer resumes on Wednesday with the U.S. drug maker saying it answered a call for help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic. Nigeria alleges Pfizer deceived patients and caused the death of 11 children in 1996 whe
Once-puritan South Africa holds its first sex fair: Reuters NewMedia - September 30, 2007; Paul Simao; JOHANNESBURG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - South Africans queued to learn about sex toys and pole-dancing this weekend, at the first sex fair ever held in a country founded by conservative Christians and still home to many sexual taboos. The exhibition, modelled on a show running in Australia since 1996, would have been unt
Rwanda to urge male circumcision in AIDS fight: Reuters NewMedia - September 28, 2007; KIGALI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Rwanda plans to encourage male circumcision to help the tiny African nation curb HIV/AIDS rates, a senior official told Reuters on Friday. Studies on the continent have found circumcision reduces the risk of HIV transmission from females to males by 60 percent. However, U.N. research car
Merkel urges rich nations to give to Global Fund: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2007; German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday appealed to about 30 donor countries gathered in Berlin to promise money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Organizers of the three-day replenishment conference for the Fund expect to raise at least $8 billion for 2008-2010 for projects to fight the t
U.S. gives Kenya grants worth $500 million in 2007: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2007; NAIROBI, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The United States has given Kenya $500 million in grants this year for education, health and good governance, and to strengthen procurement rules, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday. This was an increase from about $42 million given five years ago, when most Western donors had drastically
Donors pledge $10 bln to Global Fund to fight disease: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2007; Madeline Chambers; BERLIN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Donor countries promised nearly $10 billion to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next three years at a meeting on Thursday. Campaigners said the pledges were welcome but fell short of the long-term needs of the multilateral Fund, which provides resources for pr
European condoms AIDS-tainted: Mozambique bishop: Reuters NewMedia - September 26, 2006; Charles Mangwiro; The head of the Catholic church in Mozambique said on Wednesday he believed some European-made condoms were deliberately tainted with the HIV/AIDS virus to kill African people. I know of two countries in Europe who are making condoms with (the) virus on purpose, they want to finish with African people as part of their
Boost in funds needed to fight AIDS - UN: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, September 26, 2007; Tom Armitage; ZURICH, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Global AIDS funding needs to be quadrupled to fight the epidemic s spread in the developing world, the United Nations said on Wednesday. UNAIDS , a U.N. agency, called for between $32 billion and $51 billion to secure universal access to HIV/AIDS treatments by 2010 for the low- and middle-in
Global Fund eyes $8 bln from donors to fight disease: Reuters NewMedia - September 25, 2007; Madeline Chambers; BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Anti-poverty campaigners led by rock star Bono want the world s rich nations this week to pledge about $8 billion for the next three years to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The Global Fund, a multi-lateral body which channels funding for projects to combat the diseases, opens a three-
EU urged to boost health care for illegal migrants: Reuters NewMedia - September 25, 2007; BRUSSELS, Sep 25 (Reuters) - European Union countries should guarantee access to health care for illegal immigrants, a French medical aid group said on Tuesday. Medecins du Monde said a survey in seven EU countries showed illegal immigrants often had the right to health care, but more than half did not know where to go
Crucell says it not to blame for Merck's HIV flop: Reuters NewMedia- September 25, 2007; AMSTERDAM, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Dutch biotech firm Crucell (CRCL.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)(CRXL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday that the discontinuation of Merck & Co s (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) experimental HIV vaccine was not related to the use of Crucell s PER.C6 technology, and kept its
Thailand may override patents on some cancer drugs: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2007; Nopporn Wong-Anan; BANGKOK, Sep 24 (Reuters) - Thailand , which has overridden international patents on three drugs in the past year, plans to issue four more licences for copycat versions of cancer medicines, Health Ministry officials said on Monday. The government would impose compulsory licences on four drugs sold by Novartis
S'pore scientists create device to detect H5N1: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2007; Tan Ee Lyn; HONG KONG, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Researchers in Singapore have created a handheld device that can detect the H5N1 bird flu virus from throat swab samples in under 30 minutes, raising hopes it will lead to rapid detection and containment of the virus. Conventional laboratory tests take around 4 hours, and require machines
Europe gives final approval to Pfizer HIV drug: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2007; LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world s largest drugmaker, said on Monday the European Commission had approved its AIDS drug Celsentri, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines. The drug -- which is known generically as maraviroc and as Selzentry in the
Mbeki opens international HIV centre: Reuters NewMedia - September 23, 2007; SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki opened an international biotechnology centre recently that aims to develop vaccines for HIV/AIDS and other diseases that kill thousands of Africans daily. The Cape Town-based branch of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology will focus on infectious disease
Merck halts study of "ineffective" HIV vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2007; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Merck & Co has halted testing of its experimental HIV vaccine, long considered one of the most promising vaccines in development, after a monitoring board found it was ineffective, the company said on Friday. The failed tests represent a major setback in the global effort to stem infec
Roche says Viracept licence in Europe re-instated: Reuters NewMedia - September 20, 2007; ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday a European medical committee had recommended the reinstatement of its HIV drug Viracept s marketing authorisation. The positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency s Committee for Human Medicin
Zimbabwe kids endure harrowing trip to SAfrica -report: Reuters NewMedia - September 19, 2007; Peter Apps; LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Economic crisis, hunger and the impact of AIDS are pushing Zimbabwean children as young as seven to risk exploitation and walk alone or in small groups into South Africa , aid group Save the Children said on Wednesday. Hungry, tired and often orphaned, the children come in hope of food, work
Nigeria triples number on free HIV drugs -agency: Reuters NewMedia - September 19, 2007; LAGOS (Reuters) - A tripling of the number of Nigerian HIV treatment centres in a year has enabled 135,000 infected people to get free life-saving drugs, up from 40,000 a year ago, Nigeria s AIDS control agency said on Tuesday. But the country s ambitious plan to tackle HIV/AIDS failed to meet its targets last year, an
HIV prevention could save millions in Africa: study: Reuters NewMedia - September 18, 2007; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Using drugs to prevent HIV infection could prevent as many as 3 million new cases in Africa if it was done right, researchers predicted on Tuesday. A daily pill would not even have to prevent infection all the time to have this effect, if it was given to the right people with the proper counselin
Japan gives Tanzania 2.3 bln yen to fight Aids, poverty: Reuters NewMedia - September 18, 2007; DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Japan has given Tanzania 2.3 billion yen in loans and grants to help the country fight poverty and HIV, Tanzania s Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. Of the total, a 2 billion yen loan will support the east African nation s budget, the ministry said. The rest will pay for medicines and test kit
Schering-Plough HIV drug begins late-stage trials: Reuters NewMedia - September 18, 2007; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that it had begun late-stage trials of an experimental HIV drug that showed promising effectiveness in earlier studies but aroused safety concerns because of cancers seen in some patients taking it. The U.S. drugmak
J&J says Prezista matches Kaletra in HIV trial: Reuters NewMedia - September 18, 2007; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday its drug Prezista was at least as effective in a late-stage trial as Abbott Laboratories Inc s (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Kaletra in cutting HIV to undetec
WFP to increase HIV/AIDS food handouts in Malawi: Reuters NewMedia- September 17, 2007; Mabvuto Banda; LILONGWE, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations World Food Programme will nearly double food handouts for HIV/AIDS sufferers in Malawi largely due to a donation from the southern African nation s government, the WFP said on Monday. Buoyed by bumper harvests, Malawi donated 10,425 tonnes of maize to the U.N. agency las
China haemophiliacs face dangerous shortage of drug: Reuters NewMedia - September 14, 2007; BEIJING, Sept 14 (Reuters) - China s efforts to clean up an unsafe blood supply chain, blamed for many HIV infections, has led to a severe shortage of an effective haemophilia drug and put tens of thousands of patients in danger. Some haemophiliacs in China had died since July because they could not get any factor 8 --
Ex-S.Africa deputy minister accuses former boss: Reuters NewMedia - September 14, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The former deputy to South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the minister deliberately undercut her efforts to tackle chronic illness in the AIDS-ravaged country. In a speech on Thursday night, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge said Msimang, dubbed Dr. Beetroot for her cont
Skip work, make babies, says Russian governor: Reuters NewMedia - September 12, 2007; James Kilner; ULYANOVSK, Russia , Sept 12 (Reuters) - The governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work on Wednesday and make love instead to help boost Russia s low birth-rate. And if a woman gives birth in exactly nine months time -- on Russia s national day on June 12 -- she will qualify for a prize, perhaps e
UNICEF says child deaths down sharply since 1990: Reuters NewMedia - September 12, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global efforts to promote childhood immunization, breast-feeding and anti-malaria measures have helped cut by nearly a quarter the death rate of children under age 5 since 1990, UNICEF said on Wednesday. Strong improvements in China and India helped drive a decline in worldwide ch
Zimbabwean targets poverty in fight against rape: Reuters NewMedia - September 11, 2007; Timothy Gardner; NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Having had some success dispelling the myth that the blood of virgins cures AIDS, Zimbabwean Betty Makoni is now also fighting what she calls a root cause of the disease -- poverty. Many girls don t have anything to eat or drink. Then a sugar daddy comes and says, If you have sex with me I
US blood shortage puts safety measures in question: Reuters NewMedia - September 10, 2007; Ishani Ganguli; BALTIMORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - On a Friday afternoon in August, a few donors trickle in to the Baltimore Red Cross donation room, filling only a small fraction of the dozen or so steel-blue beds. Nationwide, regional branches of the Red Cross, the humanitarian organization that collects, processes, and distributes bloo
Africa gets biotech boost against killer diseases: Reuters NewMedia - September 10, 2007; CAPE TOWN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki opened an international biotechnology centre on Monday that aims to develop vaccines for HIV/AIDS and other diseases that kill thousands of Africans daily. The Cape Town-based branch of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
China needs to speed up AIDS fight - UN official: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2007; Jason Subler; DALIAN, China , Sept 9 (Reuters) - China needs to speed up efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS by giving freer rein to civil society organisations and enrolling the help of companies, a U.N. official said. Peter Piot, head of the United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS , gave Beijing high marks for open
China reports leap in new HIV/AIDS cases: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported 18,543 new cases of HIV/AIDS in the first half of this year, state media said, near the number for the whole of 2006. Drug abuse was the main cause of new infections, Xinhua news agency quoted Han Mengjie, an official with AIDS Control Work Committee of the State Council, as saying in
Malawi donates food to WFP for its own people: Reuters NewMedia - September 7, 2007; Peter Apps; LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Malawi s government has donated more than 10,000 tonnes of maize to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), keeping the agency s programmes in the country running to the end of the year. Malawi suffered years of serious food shortage as a result of dry weather, lack of inputs such as s
Twenty two people contract HIV in Kyrgyz hospitals: Reuters NewMedia - September 7, 2007; BISHKEK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Seventeen babies and five adults have contracted HIV through infected blood transfusions in Kyrgyzstan , a senior health official said on Friday. Sagynaly Mamatov, head of the state AIDS watchdog, said transfusions took place in a number of hospitals in the south of the Central Asian state.
China's blood still unsafe, needs help -report: Reuters NewMedia - September 6, 2007; Ben Blanchard; BEIJING, Sept 6 (Reuters) - China s blood supply is still not being properly monitored for HIV/AIDS a decade after a blood-selling scandal, and it needs international help to tackle the problem, a report said on Thursday. The government has tried to clean up the sector after hundreds of thousands of farmers in central
Asia must deal bravely with HIV/AIDS - UN official: Reuters NewMedia - September 6, 2007; Tan Ee Lyn; HONG KONG, Sept 6 (Reuters) - A top U.N. official urged countries in Asia on Thursday to deal squarely and bravely with HIV/AIDS, which he said was being driven dangerously underground because of stigma and conservative attitudes. In Papua New Guinea , India ,
New health scheme launched to help world's poor: Reuters NewMedia - September 5, 2007; Adrian Croft; LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Seven developing countries in Africa and Asia will be the first to take part in a new global health campaign aimed at directing aid more effectively at the basic needs of poor countries, Britain said on Wednesday. Health ministers from Burundi , Ethiopia ,
France's first lady defends Libya HIV medics role: Reuters NewMedia - September 4, 2007; PARIS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Cecilia Sarkozy, wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has rejected calls to appear before a parliamentary commission to explain her role in securing the release of six foreign medics from a Libyan jail. In her first major interview on the affair, Cecilia Sarkozy told the L Est Republicain
HIV infections hit record high in Hong Kong: Reuters NewMedia - September 3, 2007; HONG KONG, Sept 3 (Reuters) - HIV infections soared to a record high in Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2007 and government doctors said they found a worrying cluster of new infections among homosexual men. The government reported 111 new HIV infections between April and June this year, up from 91 in the first quart
Bulgaria donates $56 million to help Libya HIV victims: Reuters NewMedia - September 3, 2007; SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria donated $56.6 million in Soviet-era debt owned by Libya as its contribution to a deal that led to the release of six medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. The European Union newcomer signed on Monday an agreement to donate the debt, accumulated for arms and technical deliver
AIDS Drug Shows Potential as Weapon Against Cancer: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drug used to treat people infected with the AIDS virus has shown promise as a possible future weapon against cancer, U.S. researchers said on Friday. Scientists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute examined how drugs called protease inhibitors , usually given in combination with other drugs
S Africa HIV vaccine results promising - researchers: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2007; Paul Simao; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - South African researchers said on Friday they were encouraged by results from two HIV studies indicating that vaccines might one day be effective in controlling viral levels and even preventing infections. Preliminary data from a clinical trial involving 480 uninfected people, half of t
US FDA staff support benefits of Merck AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2007; Kim Dixon; WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - An experimental AIDS drug developed by Merck & Co got a boost on Friday when U.S. drug reviewers ahead of a key advisory panel meeting said its benefits outweigh risks. Staff with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said they support the safety and effectiveness data of the pill, ca
Tutu slams S.Africa's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2007; James Macharia; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Archbishop Desmond Tutu berated South Africa s government on Friday over delays in introducing an HIV/AIDS drug treatment plan and said its leaders unorthodox views had led to unnecessary deaths. Recalling fallen anti-apartheid heroes, the Nobel peace laureate said they would be shocked
South Africa recalls 20 million risky condoms: Reuters NewMedia - August 28, 2007; Bate Felix; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 28 (Reuters) - South Africa s health department said on Tuesday it has recalled 20 million potentially defective condoms approved by an official accused of taking bribes from a manufacturer. Unsafe sex is especially risky in South Africa, which has one of the world s highest HIV infection rates with a
Mozambique links health officials to drug thefts: Reuters NewMedia - August 28, 2007; Charles Mangwiro; MAPUTO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - About 100 Mozambique health officials face dismissal for helping gangs siphon drugs from the impoverished African nation s health system for resale on a thriving black market, a government official said on Tuesday. We have launched a campaign to hunt these unscrupulous officials, to weed out
HIV impact on Zimbabwe less than some feared-study: Reuters NewMedia - August 27, 2007; Michael Kahn; LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - HIV has slashed life expectancy in Zimbabwe by up to 19 years for men and 22 years for women but births still outpace deaths, according to the first study to detail how the AIDS epidemic has impacted the country s wider population. The study, led by Simon Gregson of Imperial College London, s
Ugandan Government Accused Of "State Homophobia": Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2007; NAIROBI (Reuters) - An international human rights group has accused President Yoweri Museveni s government of promoting state homophobia in Uganda and urged the repeal of a colonial-era law against sodomy. Human Rights Watch s attack added to a fierce social debate in the east African nation, where gays and lesbians ha
Infectious Diseases Spreading Faster Than Ever: UN: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2007; GENEVA (Reuters) - Infectious diseases are emerging more quickly and spreading faster around the globe than ever and becoming increasingly difficult to treat, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. With billions of people moving around the planet every year, the U.N. agency said in its annual World Healt
Asia must step up HIV/AIDS fight, experts say: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2007; Ranga Sirilal; COLOMBO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Asian countries must work hard to keep their HIV/AIDS prevalence rates low compared to that in Africa by tackling root causes like poverty, gender inequality and marginalisation, experts said on Thursday. Human trafficking into prostitution, intravenous drug use and conflict continue to spre
IUD May Be Option for Risk Group: Reuters NewMedia - August 22, 2007; Intrauterine devices appear to be safe and effective for women who ordinarily might not be considered good candidates for this form of contraceptive because of factors such as a history of sexually transmitted infections, multiple partners or prior pelvic inflammatory disease, according to a new report. IUDs are usuall
Human trafficking helps spread HIV/AIDS in Asia: UN: Reuters NewMedia - August 22, 2007; Ranga Sirilal; COLOMBO (Reuters) - About 300,000 women and children are trafficked across Asia each year, accelerating the spread of HIV/AIDS, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Trafficking ... contributes to the spread of HIV by significantly increasing the vulnerability of trafficked persons to infection, said Caitlin Wiesen-Ant
Britain, Germany Launch Third World Health Scheme: Reuters NewMedia - August 22, 2007; LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Germany s Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday a global health campaign to target aid more effectively at the basic needs of poor countries. The International Health Partnership, to be officially launched on September 5, aims to reduce child and mate
South African study backs drugs over food against HIV: Reuters NewMedia - August 21, 2007; CAPE TOWN, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Neither food nor food supplements are alternatives to drug therapy in treating people with HIV/AIDS, South Africa s top scientific advisory panel said on Tuesday, amid a controversy over the nation s AIDS policies. The report by the Academy of Science of South Africa was issued as Presiden
INTERVIEW - Drugs, conflict spur HIV in Asia Pacific region: Reuters NewMedia - August 21, 2007; Simon Gardner; COLOMBO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - HIV infections are increasing at a worrying 10 percent a year in the Asia Pacific region, a top UN AIDS official said on Tuesday, putting the rise down to intravenous drug use, sex workers and conflicts. Governments need to spend more money on prevention programmes and look at bypassing pate
Some facts on female circumcision: Reuters NewMedia - August 20, 2007; Aug 20 (Reuters) - Egypt strengthened its ban on female genital cutting in June by eliminating a legal loophole allowing girls to undergo the procedure for health reasons. A U.N women s forum urged the world to ban the procedure last March. However the practice remains widespread as a rite of passage for girls. Her
Global Fund urges private sector to help fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 20, 2007; COLOMBO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Governments cannot be expected to win the fight against AIDS alone and it is time the private sector and civil society dug deeper, the head of an organisation leading a worldwide programme to prevent the disease said. Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, the executive director of The Global Fund, also wa
Sex Now Primary Cause Of China HIV Spread: Report: Reuters NewMedia - August 20, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - Unsafe sex has overtaken intravenous drug use as the primary cause of new HIV infections in China, suggesting that AIDS is spreading from high-risk groups to the general public, state media reported on Monday. Of the 70,000 new HIV infections recorded in 2005, nearly half contracted the virus throug
Asia AIDS conference opens in Sri Lanka: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2007; Shihar Aneez; COLOMBO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Officials and health care workers met in Sri Lanka on Sunday to urge a comprehensive approach to tackling AIDS in Asia, which has some 8.6 million people infected with the HIV virus. The Asia-Pacific region has the world s second largest number of people living with HIV after sub-Saharan Afr
Fish Farms Help Families In Africa Hit By AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2007; OSLO (Reuters) - Tiny fish farms have helped 1,200 poor families hit by AIDS in Malawi to raise their incomes and improve their diets in a scheme being expanded to other African nations, a report showed on Monday. About $90 can enable construction of a small rain-fed pond that can be stocked with juvenile fish costing
Mbeki attacks critics over deputy minister sacking: Reuters NewMedia - August 17, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 17 (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki, battling to maintain leadership of the ruling ANC party, accused supporters of his sacked deputy health minister on Friday of trying to undermine the party. Mbeki sacked the respected Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge last week for insubordination, sparking
Sri Lanka HIV rate low, but poverty, war a threat-UN: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2007; Shihar Aneez; COLOMBO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka has one of the lowest prevalence rates of HIV in Asia, but poverty and displacement of civilians due to renewed civil war are making the island increasingly vulnerable, the United Nations said on Thursday. An estimated 5,000 people had HIV in Sri Lanka by the end of 2005, out o
S. Africa health min goes to court over drink story: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (Reuters) - South Africa s health minister has asked a court to recover missing records that a newspaper says it used to support a story that she smuggled whisky and wine into a hospital during treatment. The Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that lawyers for Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
FDA, Bristol warn doctors over hepatitis B drug: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2007; Kim Dixon; CHICAGO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Thursday warned doctors of the potential for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. s hepatitis B treatment to lead to resistance to the HIV virus in patients with both diseases. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also added a black boxed warning, the strongest caution wielded
California in hot spot with medical pot: Reuters NewMedia - August 15, 2007; Corinne Heller; LOS ANGELES, Aug 15 (Reuters) - They advertise in newspapers and on the Internet, where they supply their telephone numbers and addresses and offer free samples to new customers. Finding medical marijuana vendors in California is about as easy as locating a Starbucks coffee shop. But fresh raids by the federal governme
AIDS virus is a 'double hit' to the brain- study: Reuters NewMedia - August 15, 2007; WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The AIDS virus damages the brain in two ways, by not only killing brain cells but by preventing the birth of new cells, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. The study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, helps shed light on a condition known as HIV-associated demen
S. Africa AIDS activists to take government to court: Reuters NewMedia - August 15, 2007; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African AIDS activists said on Wednesday they planned to take the government to court again over its HIV strategy and said the sacking of a respected deputy health minister had caused panic and fear . The Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa s most influential AIDS lobby group, won a Cons
China's Henan bans AIDS activist meeting -group: Reuters NewMedia - August 15, 2007; BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A Chinese province that was one of the country s first areas hit by AIDS has banned a group of activists from holding a meeting about how to combat the disease, saying it was illegal, an AIDS group said on Wednesday. The conference would have brought together 30 Chinese grass-roots AIDS acti
Trimeris shareholder asks company to explore sale: Reuters NewMedia - August 14, 2007; BANGALORE, Aug 14 (Reuters) - HealthCor Management L.P., an investment firm that own shares of biotechnology company Trimeris Inc. (TRMS.O: Quote, Profile, Research), on Tuesday asked Trimeris board to seek strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company. HealthCor said despite having significant revenue stream
Mbeki vulnerable after sacking deputy health min: Reuters NewMedia - August 14, 2007; Michael Georgy; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki s dismissal of his respected deputy health minister has handed political ammunition to critics who accuse him of purging opponents as he tries to hold on to political power. Mbeki, facing a fierce battle to maintain leadership of his ruling African Na
Ostracised Indian AIDS couple plea for euthanasia: Reuters NewMedia - August 12, 2007; RAMGARH, India , Aug 12 (Reuters) - An Indian couple suffering from AIDS has asked the country s president to allow them and their daughter to die through euthanasia as they were being harassed in their village. Vijayshankar Pandey, who lives in the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, sought the president s permi
S. Africa's Mbeki explains sacking of deputy minister: Reuters NewMedia - August 11, 2007; Michael Georgy; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 11 (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki, who sparked an outcry by firing his deputy health minister, broke his public silence over the decision on Saturday and accused her of insubordination. Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge had won widespread praise for her direct and proactive approach to tackli
Kenya bans use of recalled HIV/AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2007; NAIROBI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Kenya said on Friday it had stopped using an HIV/AIDS treatment drug that was recalled in Europe in June after it was found to be contaminated, a senior Kenyan official said on Friday. Viracept , known generically as nelfinavir, was withdrawn in Europe and other countries in June af
S. African minister sees AIDS row link to sacking: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2007; Ingrid Melander; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 10 (Reuters) - South Africa s sacked deputy health minister said on Friday that disagreements over how to fight AIDS might have led to her dismissal. Opposition politicians and AIDS activists, who had applauded Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge s direct and proactive approach to tackling the deadly disease, h
U.N. grants Mozambique $496 million in aid: Reuters NewMedia - August 10, 2007; MAPUTO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations will grant Mozambique $496 million in aid over the next two years to boost the country s efforts to develop its economy, improve governance and fight against AIDS, an official said on Friday. The southern African country is one of the poorest in the world, ranking 168 out o
Mbeki blasted over deputy health minister sacking: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2007; Michael Georgy; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 9 (Reuters) - South African opposition parties and AIDS activists lambasted President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday for sacking his deputy health minister, who has won widespread praise for her outspoken approach to the disease. A statement from the presidency said Mbeki, whose government has been accused o
Abbott Labs receives supplemental FDA approval for its HIV-1 Viral Load Test: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2007; Co announces it has received supplemental Pre-market Approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its recently introduced RealTime HIV-1 viral load test. The approval allows Abbott to market a number of enhancements to the test, including a new design feature that will give laboratories the flexibility to pe
Mbeki sacks outspoken deputy health min - report: Reuters NewMedia - August 8, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, Aug 8 (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki has sacked his deputy health minister, who won praise from activists for speaking out about AIDS, South African radio reported on Wednesday. Public radio broadcaster SAFM quoted unnamed sources as saying Mbeki, whose government has been accused of drag
New vaccines, drugs needed for TB fight-WHO study: Reuters NewMedia - August 8, 2007; Michael Kahn; LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Health workers will need new vaccines and drugs to bolster tuberculosis treatments in order to meet a goal of eliminating the disease by 2050, World Health Organisation researchers said in a study on Wednesday. The analysis highlights the need for new vaccines and drugs to wipe out the vast re
EU executive suspends sale of Roche HIV drug Viracept: Reuters NewMedia - August 7, 2007; BRUSSELS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission has suspended Swiss drugmaker Roche s (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) licence to market the HIV drug Viracept in the European Union, it said on Tuesday. The suspension is due to the contamination of certain lots of Viracept with ethyl mesilate, a genotoxic substanc
Freed doctor plans UN complaint against Libya: Reuters NewMedia - August 7, 2007; AMSTERDAM, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A Palestinian doctor who says he was tortured to confess he deliberately infected hundreds of Libyan children with HIV plans to file a complaint against Libya with a U.N. human rights panel, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Ashraf Alhajouj and five Bulgarian nurses were freed on July 24, after m
Pfizer wins U.S. approval for new HIV drug: Reuters NewMedia - August 6, 2007; Lewis Krauskopf; NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved its AIDS drug Selzentry, the first in an new class of oral HIV medicines. Selzentry is the first drug designed to keep the HIV virus that causes AIDS from entering healthy immune cells. Older AIDS medic
Hollywood producers to make film about HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - August 6, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA (Reuters) - Hollywood filmmakers hope to bring to the big screen the eight-year ordeal of six foreign medics convicted of deliberately injecting 460 Libyan children with the HIV virus. Sixth Sense Productions Inc, which helped raise funding for Oscar-nominated genocide drama Hotel Rwanda , said the five
Niger's religious leaders unite to fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 6, 2007; Abdoulaye Massalatchi; NIAMEY, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Muslim, Catholic and Protestant leaders in Niger have joined together to try to teach the impoverished country s young people how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS. The religious leaders formed an alliance meant to lend weight to government efforts to combat the spread of the disease, inc
Indian court rejects Novartis patent challenge: Reuters NewMedia - August 6, 2007; S. Murari; CHENNAI, India , Aug 6 (Reuters) - An Indian court rejected on Monday a challenge by Novartis to Indian law that denies patents for minor improvements to known drugs, and the Swiss drug giant said it was unlikely to appeal. The closely-watched case in the Madras High Court had become a key battle in the long-running wa
Pfizer's SelzentryTM (Maraviroc) Tablets, novel treatment for HIV, approved by FDA: Reuters NewMedia - August 6, 2007; Co announces that the FDA has approved SelzentryTM (maraviroc) tablets, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines in more than 10 years. Selzentry blocks viral entry into white blood cells, significantly reducing viral load and increasing T-cell counts in treatment-experienced patients infected with a specific typ
S. Africa HIV/AIDS rate falls on behavior change: minister: Reuters NewMedia - August 2, 2007; Muchena Zigomo and Bate Felix; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in South Africa has fallen for the first time in eight years, pointing to a possible decline across the entire population, the health minister said on Thursday. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, speaking at the release of an annual report that tracks infe
Bulgaria forgives $56.6 mln of Libyan debt: Reuters NewMedia - August 2, 2007; SOFIA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Bulgarian government agreed on Thursday to forgive $56.6 million in Soviet-era debt owed by Libya and said the money would instead be paid into an international fund to help Libyan HIV/AIDS victims. The announcement follows the release by Libya last week of six medics -- five Bulgarian nurs
New TB vaccine shows promise in animal studies: Reuters NewMedia - August 1, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A new tuberculosis vaccine has shown promise in animal studies, researchers said on Wednesday, raising hope it might replace the current vaccine that has failed to stop one of the world s top killers. If all goes well, human trials of the new vaccine with some modifications to make it safe
Strait-laced Chechens admit AIDS is a problem: Reuters NewMedia - August 1, 2007; GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - In Chechnya, a society built on traditional values that has been fighting a separatist war for a decade, even talking about AIDS has been taboo. But faced with a growing HIV/AIDS problem, the leadership of the Russian republic is being forced to confront the problem. At a public ceremony
HIV survey reveals Nepal girls' plight in India: Reuters NewMedia - July 31, 2007; HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nearly 40 percent of Nepalese women and girls rescued after being forced into prostitution in India are HIV positive, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health has found. Appearing in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association , the study highlights concerns o
India to step up fight against HIV in children: Reuters NewMedia - July 31, 2007; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India launched a drive on Tuesday to supply drugs to tens of thousands of mothers and newborns to stop HIV transmission to infants. India has the world s third highest HIV caseload, after South Africa and Nigeria , with around 2.5 million people living with the virus -- of wh
HIV-positive prisoner threatens Indian jailers: Reuters NewMedia - July 30, 2007; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An HIV-positive Indian prisoner has threatened to infect inmates and officials if he is not given special privileges, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Monday. The 24-year-old man -- charged with attempted murder, robbery and assault -- has been threatening to injure himself and touch jail
Bicycling banker shoots for $1 mln to battle AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 30, 2007; LUSAKA (Reuters) - Former investment banker Thabang Skwambane said on Friday he plans to raise $1 million for AIDS orphans and poor kids during a nine-week bicycle trip across Africa that ends with a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. I am doing this because in Africa we have a problem of standing with a bowl to beg from the
China bans AIDS rights meeting, group says: Reuters NewMedia - July 29, 2007; BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - China has banned AIDS activists from holding a meeting on the rights of people with the disease, one of the organisers said on Sunday, citing official fears over foreign involvement in the sensitive subject. The conference would have brought together 50 Chinese and foreign experts and activ
Czechs, Qatar paid into HIV children fund - Libya: Reuters NewMedia - July 28, 2007; TRIPOLI, July 28 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic , Slovakia , Qatar and Bulgaria contributed to an international fund to treat hundreds of children who contracted HIV at a Libyan hospital and support their families, Libya said on Saturday.
China's Hunan to HIV test "recreational workers": Reuters NewMedia - July 27, 2007; BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - HIV tests will be compulsory for workers at recreational venues in Hunan Province in central China , to try and stem an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, the Xinhua news agency said on Friday. Prostitution is rampant in China, which also has hundreds of millions of migrant workers
Hotels told to provide condoms: Reuters NewMedia - July 27, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China has ordered all hotels, holiday resorts and public showers to provide condoms, part of nationwide efforts to fight the spread of AIDS, a newspaper said on Friday. The regulation, issued by the commerce and health ministries, also required pamphlets about AIDS prevention to be displayed, the Be
Libya protests over pardons for HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 26, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA (Reuters) - Libya accused Bulgaria on Thursday of violating an agreement between the two countries by pardoning six medical workers convicted of intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. Libya s formal protest came a day after the HIV victims families condemned Bulgaria s recklessness and c
OraSure Tech signs agreement with the Supply Chain Mgmt System for supply of OraQuick HIV test to PEPFAR countries: Reuters NewMedia - July 26, 2007; Co announces the execution of an agreement for the supply of its OraQuick Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test to the Supply Chain Management System. Created with funds from the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, SCMS procures essential medicines, diagnostic tests and other supplies for the prevention and tr
Palestinian doctor will not forgive Libyan jailors: Reuters NewMedia - July 26, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA, July 26 (Reuters) - Palestinian doctor Ashraf Alhajouj says he will never forgive Libyan jailors who he says tortured him and five Bulgarian nurses to confess they deliberately infected hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. We were treated like animals. We were tortured in an awful way, with electricity, we were
AIDS conference call for child specific HIV drugs: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Michael Perry; SYDNEY, July 25 (Reuters) - The world s biggest AIDS conference closed on Wednesday with a call for the development of child-specific drugs to ensure millions of HIV-infected children not only survive to adulthood, but also live without damaging side effects from their treatment. We must do more to protect our future,
Polydex Pharmaceuticals says analysis of Ushercell HIV trials reveals difference in seroconversion groups not statistically significant: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Co announces it reported further analysis of HIV results from the trial. The trial of Ushercell was halted in January of this year. Women who seroconverted tested positive for HIV during the course of the clinical trials referred to herein. Latest analysis of the data from the Conrad study showed that the difference in
Bulgaria may forgive Libya debt in HIV case: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Tsvetelia Ilieva and Anna Mudeva; SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is considering writing off Soviet-era debt it is owed by Libya to contribute to a deal that led to the release of six medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. After more than eight years in jail, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who recently took Bulgarian citizen
West opens arms to Libya but HIV saga continues: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA (Reuters) - Western diplomats rushed to rebuild ties with Libya on Wednesday after Tripoli freed six foreign medics convicted of infecting children with HIV, but the victims families called for them to be returned to jail. A day after setting the medical workers free and shrugging off a diplomatic millstone that
Progenics Pharma presents additional positive clinical results for HIV-Entry Inhibitor PRO 140: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Co reports positive preclinical findings for a subcutaneous form of PRO 140 which will be advanced into clinical trials later this year. New data from the phase 1b trial presented included the detailed kinetics of the antiviral effects. In the high-dose group, significant viral load reductions were observed four days a
Pfizer's maraviroc reduces HIV viral load in treatment-naive patients, 48 week data show: Reuters NewMedia - July 25, 2007; Co announces rates of virologic suppression in patients receiving Pfizer s CCR5 antagonist, maraviroc, compared to efavirenz were 70.6% vs. 73.1% for less than 400 copies/ml and 65.3% vs. 69.3% at less than50 copies/ml in the full analysis set study population, according to a presentation at the International AIDS Soci
Drought, disease, poverty hitting southern Africa: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Reuters) - Drought, AIDS and chronic poverty in the landlocked southern African states of Lesotho , Swaziland and Zimbabwe are putting hundreds of thousands at risk of hunger, a U.N. official said on Tuesday. You have got very severe drought in three countries, some of th
Boehringer to compare Aptivus with J&J's AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, July 24, 2007; FRANKFURT, July 24 (Reuters) - Boehringer Ingelheim wants to know if its AIDS drug Aptivus is as good as Johnson & Johnson s (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Prezista for treating patients who do not first improve with other treatment, the German drugmaker said on Tuesday. Boehringer said in a statement the ma
Early treatment sees more HIV babies survive: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Michael Perry; SYDNEY, July 24 (Reuters) - HIV-infected babies have a greater chance of survival if they receive treatment before they show signs of illness or a weakened immune system, the International AIDS Society (IAS) was told on Tuesday. A study of infants in Cape Town and Soweto in South Africa , which began in 2005, found
Merck: ISENTRESS in combination therapy demonstrated HIV RNA reduction comparable to Efavirenz in treatment-naive HIV-positive patients: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Co announces results from an ongoing 48 week Phase II study of ISENTRESS, an investigational oral HIV integrase inhibitor, under development by MRK, in combination with tenofovir and lamivudine demonstrated that ISENTRESS provided reductions in HIV R.N.A to undetectable levels of less than 50 copies/mL (83 to 88% of pa
HIV medics freed from Libya after 8-year ordeal: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA, July 24 (Reuters) - Six foreign medics convicted of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV were freed on Tuesday after a partnership deal between Tripoli and the European Union ended their eight-year ordeal. Their return to Bulgaria ends what Libya s critics called a human rights scandal and
Modern technology and ancient surgery battle AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Michael Perry; SYDNEY (Reuters) - The emergence of new and improved drugs, genetic engineering and the ancient surgical practice of circumcision are the latest weapons in the fight against AIDS, the International AIDS Society conference was told on Tuesday. A new batch of drugs that slow the progress of HIV in patients and geneticall
Phase IIa study results demonstrate that once-daily 200 mg dosing of Incyte's INCB9471 provided antiviral activity in HIV-infected patients: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Co announces results from a 14-day Phase IIa clinical trial, presented today at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, demonstrate that INCB9471, an investigational drug for the treatment of HIV-1, provided a significant decline in viral load when used as monotherapy in
Circumcision could save millions from AIDS: studies: Reuters NewMedia - July 24, 2007; Jane Lee; SYDNEY (Reuters) - Millions of new HIV infections in Africa could be avoided if more men were circumcised, an International AIDS Society conference was told on Tuesday. Studies in Africa have found that male circumcision, the world s oldest surgical procedure dating back to 2300 BC, reduces HIV transmission from female
Clinton pilots subsidized malaria drugs in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 23, 2007; Emmanuel Kwitema; DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton launched a program on Sunday to make subsidized malaria drugs available in Tanzania in a test scheme that could serve as a blueprint for Africa as a whole. The project will make life-saving ACT drugs available at 90 percent less than the current market price to a
New interim results demonstrate high response rate with Trimeris's FUZEON plus darunavir regardless of existing protease inhibitor resistance: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 23, 2007; Roche and co announce interim results from BLQ (Below the Level of Quantification), an ongoing study evaluating the use of FUZEON with the most recently-approved boosted protease inhibitor, darunavir/ ritonavir , in combination with other anti-HIV drugs. The data show that almost two-thirds of three-class, treatment-ex
Medical "brain drain" hindering AIDS battle: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 23, 2007; Michael Perry; SYDNEY (Reuters) - The biggest challenge in the global fight against AIDS is no longer money for drug research and treatment but the lack of local health services in nations worst-hit by the disease, the World Bank said on Monday. While some two million people were now receiving treatment for HIV-AIDS, the lack of heal
Adventrx Pharma combination therapy demonstrates synergistic inhibition of HIV-1 in preclinical tests: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 23, 2007; Co announces it presented results demonstrating synergistic HIV inhibitory activity of the co s broad spectrum antiviral drug candidate, ANX-201, when combined with approved nucleoside and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors in preclinical tests.
AIDS women fight fear and stigma as well as disease: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 23, 2007; Jane Lee; SYDNEY, July 23 (Reuters) - When Papua New Guinea s Maura Elaripe was diagnosed with HIV she thought it was a death sentence, but 10 years later she is still fighting the disease and the fear and stigma associated with it in her homeland. The 31-year-old former nurse said many afflicted with the disease are left untrea
Bulgaria seeks quick deal with Libya for HIV nurses: Reuters NewMedia - July 23, 2007; TRIPOLI, July 23 (Reuters) - Bulgaria said it hoped Libya would finalise a deal on Monday to free six foreign medics convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, a move that would boost Tripoli s relations with the West. Libya lifted death sentences against the medics last week but is now asking for nor
EU aide, French first lady in Libya for HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 23, 2007; Paul Taylor; BRUSSELS, July 23 (Reuters) - A top European Commission official and France s first lady have travelled to Libya to seek the release of six foreign medics convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. The European Union s executive said in a statement on Sunday that EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-
Major HIV/AIDS conference opens in Sydney: Reuters NewMedia - Sunday, July 22, 2007; Michael Smith; SYDNEY (Reuters) - The world s biggest scientific HIV/AIDS conference opened in Australia on Sunday with experts calling for more funding for research and new findings which suggest male circumcision can reduce infection by 60 percent. About 5,000 delegates from more than 130 countries are attending the conference in S
Rwanda launches key test of WTO drug patent waiver: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 20, 2007; Laura MacInnis; GENEVA, July 20 (Reuters) - Rwanda plans to import a generic HIV/AIDS medicine made in Canada , making it the first country to test a World Trade Organisation waiver on drug patents, the WTO said on Friday. In a filing to the global trade arbiter, Rwanda said it intended to import 260,000 packs of TriAvir, a fixed-dose
Samaritan Pharma announces preliminary results in a Phase IIb study for its oral HIV entry inhibitor: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 20, 2007; Co announces its oral HIV entry inhibitor SP-01A, being developed as an adjunct treatment for HIV drug resistance, has received positive preliminary results in a Phase IIb 28-Day Monotherapy Study.
European committee issues positive opinion of Monogram Biosciences's Celsentri for treatment-experienced patients infected with CCR5-tropic HIV-1: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 20, 2007; Co announces that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorization of collaborator Pfizer s (PFE) investigational HIV medication Celsentri - a CCR5 antagonist for use along with other antiretroviral agents for treatment-ex
EU dangles better ties with Libya over HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 20, 2007; BRUSSELS, July 20 (Reuters) - The European Union held out the prospect on Friday of a quick boost to relations with Libya if the fate of six jailed foreign medics is resolved in a satisfactory way. The 27-nation EU is asking for the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who became a Bulgarian citizen recently
Samaritan's oral HIV entry inhibitor shows promise: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 20, 2007; July 20 (Reuters) - Samaritan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LIV.A: Quote, Profile, Research) said its oral HIV entry inhibitor showed promise in preliminary results from a mid-stage trial. The biopharmaceutical company said the HIV entry inhibitor SP-01A is being developed as an adjunct treatment for HIV drug resistance. (R
Scientists detect 3 genes that control HIV levels: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have pinpointed three genes that help some HIV-infected people rein in the virus and postpone the onset of AIDS in a finding that may help guide vaccine and drug development, they said Thursday. They identified variations in the three genes that may help the immune systems of some peop
EU backs Pfizer HIV drug facing U.S. delay: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2007; NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - The scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency said on Friday it had recommended approval of Pfizer Inc. s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Celsentri, a new type of treatment for HIV whose approval has been delayed in the United States . The Committee
Gilead profit rises on sales of HIV fighters: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2007; LOS ANGELES, July 19 (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday its second-quarter profit rose 54 percent on strong demand for its drugs that combat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The maker of Truvada and At
Bulgaria asks Libya to transfer HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 19, 2007; SOFIA, July 19 (Reuters) - Bulgaria asked Libya on Thursday to allow it to take custody of six foreign medics jailed for infecting hundreds of children with HIV after Tripoli commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment. After intensive diplomatic talks and payment of hundreds of millions of dollars to the famil
HIV patients build normal immune strength in study: Reuters NewMedia - 18 July 2007; Will Dunham; WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - AIDS drug cocktails may be able to restore the ravaged immune systems of some people infected with HIV, researchers reported on Wednesday. Immune cells known as CD4 T-cells returned to normal levels in an ideal group of patients, picked because they responded optimally to a combination o
Syphilis prompts HIV fears in Malagasy mining town: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2007; ANTANANARIVO, July 18 (Reuters) - A spike in syphilis infections in a major Malagasy mining town could point to an HIV epidemic there in future, an official said on Wednesday. Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, is passed from one person to another by direct contact with a sore -- and it can facilitate HIV infect
World struggling to treat HIV-AIDS: report: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2007; Michael Perry; SYDNEY (Reuters) - Global AIDS treatment will fall far short of a universal target to have five million people being treated by 2010, due to a continued lack of access to drugs by many of the world s impoverished people, said a new report. The report analyzing AIDS treatment in 17 countries and titled Missing the Targe
Bulgaria, EU move to secure freedom for HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2007; Anna Mudeva; SOFIA, July 18 (Reuters) - Bulgaria and the European Union called on Libya on Wednesday to transfer six foreign medics to Sofia, after Tripoli lifted their death sentences for infecting hundreds of children with the HIV virus. The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor, who have spent more than eight years in
U.S. officials to review Gilead AIDS drug patents: Reuters NewMedia - July 18, 2007; WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. patent officials have agreed to review the validity of four patents on a Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) AIDS drug, the nonprofit group that challenged the patents said on Wednesday. The patents apply to tenofo
UNAIDS chief sees signs of progress in China: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; Ben Blanchard; BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) - There are signs for optimism in China s fight against HIV/AIDS such as growing use of anti-retrovirals, but harassment of civil society activists remains a worry, a top U.N. official said on Tuesday. Peter Piot, head of the United Nations AIDS agency UNAIDS , said Chinese government and
Bio-Rad Labs signs two multi-year agreements with Quest Diagnostics: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; Co announces that the co has signed two multi-year agreements with Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to place BioPlex 2200 systems and autoimmune test reagents as well as BIO s HIV-1/HIV-2 PLUS O E.I.A assay, which allows DGX to detect HIV-1 and HIV-2 in their network of reference laboratories nationwide. Terms of the agreements
Libya lifts death sentences on medics in HIV case: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; Salah Sarrar; TRIPOLI, July 17 (Reuters) - Libya lifted death sentences on Tuesday against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of deliberately infecting children with HIV, paving the way for them to be freed after eight years in jail. The ruling, following a payment of $1 million each to 460 HIV victims familie
Bulgaria to ask Libya to transfer HIV medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; SOFIA, July 17 (Reuters) - Bulgaria said it would ask Libya to transfer six foreign medics to Sofia after the North African country commuted their death sentences for infecting children with HIV, Bulgaria s foreign minister said on Tuesday. This decision is a big step ... For us the case will end once they come back t
New clue for HIV drug side effects: study: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; Ishani Ganguli; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have a new clue about why a widely used AIDS drug has certain side effects such as mysterious fat deposits, they reported on Monday. Parallels between the side effects of protease inhibitors -- a critical component of HIV drug cocktails -- and genetic conditions that cause early aging
Libya lifts death sentences on medics in HIV case: Reuters NewMedia - July 17, 2007; Salah Sarrar; TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya lifted death sentences on Tuesday against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of deliberately infecting children with HIV, paving the way for them to be freed after eight years in jail. The ruling by Libya s highest judicial body, made possible by a financial settlement of
Don't trust your man, Indian minister tells women: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2007; Kamil Zaheer; NEW DELHI, July 16 (Reuters) - Indian men cannot be trusted in their sexual behaviour and are fuelling the country s HIV epidemic, a female government minister said on Monday, slamming the country s hypocrisy about sex. Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said Indian women should protect themselves fr
Libya Postpones Decision on Medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2007; TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya s top judiciary body has put off until Tuesday a ruling on the fate of six foreign medics sentenced to death for infecting Libyan children with HIV. The High Judicial Council has put off its decision on the items left from its schedule until tomorrow morning (Tuesday), state news agency Jana r
Malawi Unveils Mass HIV Testing Campaign: Report: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2007; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Health officials in Malawi were preparing on Monday to launch a massive HIV testing programme to identify tens of thousands of people unknowingly infected with the virus in the southern African nation. Many of the estimated 14 percent of Malawian adults who are HIV-positive do not know they are
S.Africa to raise nurses' pay by 20 percent: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 13, 2007; JOHANNESBURG, July 13 (Reuters) - AIDS-hit South Africa , which has seen many health workers leave for better pay overseas, will raise nurses salaries by around 20 percent in an effort to keep more at home, the health minister said on Friday. The announcement followed a pay strike by public servants last month which cr
EU kept in dark about Libya trip by Sarkozy's wife: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 13, 2007; BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - France kept European partners in the dark about a trip by President Nicolas Sarkozy s wife Cecilia to Libya to visit Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for infecting children with HIV, an EU source said on Friday. The European Commission has been patiently negotiating with Tripoli for y
More child rape cases reported in Burundi: UNICEF: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, July 13, 2007; GENEVA (Reuters) - More and more children in Burundi have reported being raped or sexually abused by men in uniform, in a climate of impunity from prosecution, the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday. Bintou Keita, UNICEF representative in Burundi, said the Bujumbura government needed help to reform
Diaphragms no extra help against AIDS, study finds: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday July 12, 2007; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Giving women diaphragms to use in addition to condoms provides no extra protection against the AIDS virus, researchers reported on Thursday. The hope was that a female-controlled method of contraception might give women a little extra protection against the virus, especially when so many men are
EU optimistic on HIV medics after Libya talks: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2007; BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) - A top European Union official said on Thursday she was cautiously optimistic Libya shared the EU s aim of reaching a deal on the fate of six foreign medics facing death sentences for infecting children with HIV. I am cautiously optimistic that we have reached a point where we all want to s
Hungry Lesotho declares food crisis: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2007; Muchena Zigomo; JOHANNESBURG, July 12 (Reuters) - The impoverished African kingdom of Lesotho has declared an official food crisis after bad harvests left more than 400,000 people in need of food aid, a U.N. agency said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Lesotho s government had declare
EU pledges easier drug access for poorer nations: Reuters NewMedia - 11 July 2007; Huw Jones; STRASBOURG, France , July 11 (Reuters) - The European Union will exclude medicine patent provisions from future trade deals with poorer countries to ease their access to cheaper drugs, the bloc s executive Commission said on Wednesday. The European Commission is responsible for negotiating trade agreements for the 27-n
China orders video monitoring of blood collection: Reuters NewMedia - July 11, 2007; BEIJING (Reuters) - China, reeling from a series of health scandals, has ordered video surveillance at blood collection centers across the country in a bid to stamp out a persistent black market trade, state media reported on Wednesday. The order comes after six people were jailed for illegally soliciting blood from mi
Libya court upholds death sentence on medics: Reuters NewMedia - July 11, 200