PROVIDENCE , R.I., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Family intervention is key to HIV prevention efforts in teens with mental illness, U.S. researchers suggest. Previous research has shown that teens in mental health treatment have high rates of risky sexual behavior, such as not using condoms, which can increase their risk for HIV.
TUCSON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S.-led scientists estimate the human immunodeficiency virus began spreading between 1884 and 1924, about 30 years earlier than prior estimates. Led by University of Arizona Assistant Professor Michael Worobey, the researchers discovered the world s second-oldest genetic sequence of a strain of
ATLANTA, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- An analysis of studies indicates a lack of sufficient evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of HIV in men who have sex with men, U.S. researchers said. Studies in Africa have shown that male circumcision reduces the likelihood of female-to-male transmission of HIV infection by 50 percent
COLUMBIA, Mo., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have, for the first time, witnessed the human immunodeficiency virus mature from an inactive form into an active infection. We actually saw the process occur, said University of Missouri Assistant Professor Chun Tang, We now understand more about the maturation pr
STOCKHOLM, Sweden , Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine was shared by three people for discoveries of viruses causing HIV and cervical cancer, the Swedish organization said. Harald zur Hausen of Germany was recognized for his discovery of human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer in women, the Nob
ATLANTA, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- More than 1 million people in the United States had HIV in 2006, but one in five are unaware of their infections, federal health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released Thursday estimated that 1,106,400 people were living w
NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- China should free Hu Jia, a human rights activist who criticized security measures for the Olympics, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Hu was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in April for inciting subversion against the state. The group said that he suffers from chronic cirrhosis because of liver dam
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Nevada prosecutors say it will likely be early next year before charges are filed against a medical center that allegedly exposed patients to hepatitis C. Clark County District Attorney Scott Mitchell said witnesses have been reluctant to cooperate in the investigation of the Endoscopy Cent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The media puts a lot of pressure on teens to have sex and teens need adults to help clear up the media message, a U.S. researcher said. There aren t any consequences to premature sexual activity in the media, so teens receive mixed messages, Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin of Indiana Un
DAYTON, Ohio, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- An Ohio prostitute was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday for continuing to ply her trade in spite of being infected with the virus linked to AIDS. Vickie West asked the judge who sentenced her to allow her to move to Arkansas where she has relatives, the Dayton Daily News report
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A study of 30 black New York City men who have sex with men and women found they feared the consequences of disclosing their bisexuality, researchers say. Indiana University sexual health expert Brian Dodge says that some of the men feared that their bisexuality disclosure put them at ri
STANFORD, Calif., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say early initiation of anti-retroviral therapy and immune system monitoring provides cost-effective human immunodeficiency virus monitoring. Dr. Eran Bendavid of Stanford University and colleagues developed a computer model to compare three types of HIV monitoring st
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Following are remarks delivered Tuesday by U.S. President George Bush before the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I m pleased to be here to address the General Assembly. Sixty-three years ago, representatives from
ATLANTA, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a paradoxical discovery might help explain why some species can live with immunodeficiency viruses that never progress to AIDS. A team of scientists from Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Emory Vaccine Center report the simian immunodeficiency virus -- the AI
MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The degree of internalized homonegativity -- negative attitude on homosexuality -- among gay men predicts mental and sexual health, U.S. researchers said. As part of attending an HIV prevention seminar, 422 Midwestern gay and bisexual men completed surveys assessing their degree of homose
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The Greek Orthodox Metropolis church of San Francisco has settled a lawsuit in which a man alleged he was sexually abused by his priest, lawyers say. Lawyers for both sides offered few comments regarding the concluded litigation that focused on allegations made by a man with a serious m
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Canadian prosecutors in Winnipeg have asked for a 24-year prison sentence for a man who hid his HIV-positive status from sexual assault victims. At a sentencing hearing Thursday, Crown prosecutors asked for the lengthy sentence for 31-year-old Sudanese refugee Clato Mabior for his
NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A report by New York officials says the city gave away 39.07 million male condoms during fiscal 2008 -- amounting to six condoms for every city resident. The Mayor s Management Report, which was released Wednesday, said the city Health Department more than doubled its condom distribution fro
NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they ve found a recent change to human immunodeficiency virus treatment guidelines recommending genetic screening is cost effective. The study by medical researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and Massachusetts General Hospital suggests conducting genetic screening
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they ve found a way to invigorate the body s immune cells that often become exhausted and ineffective while battling chronic infections. Wistar Institute researchers in Philadelphia said they found a way to restore vigor to the killer T cells by blocking a key recepto
MIAMI, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Two Florida doctors have admitted to conspiring to defraud Medicare of $110 million by billing the federal health insurance program for bogus HIV treatments. Drs. Carlos Contreras, 60, and Ramon Pichardo, 58, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges Thursday in federal court, The Miami Herald repor
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Fashion designer Gregory Poe, known best for see-through purses and plastic fish-laden raincoats, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 51, his brother says. Jeffrey Poe confirmed the noted designer died in his sleep Sept. 1 after being in poor health for years, but no official cause of d
ATLANTA, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A study of human immunodeficiency virus -- HIV -- infection in the United States suggests gays, bisexual men and blacks are most at risk of becoming infected. Of the estimated 54,230 new infections among whites, blacks, and Hispanics in 2006, 46 percent of the infections occurred among blacks
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- California s Department of Motor Vehicles says it will go ahead and allow a motorist to order a vanity plate touting his HIV status. The DMV had earlier denied a request by Julien Pierre, 32, Santa Clara for a plate reading, HIV POZ. DMV spokesman Mike Mardano told the San Jose Me
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands , Sept. 9 (UPI) -- People with genital herpes , gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia have an increased risk of being infected if exposed to HIV, Dutch researchers warn. Teunis B.H. Geijtenbeek and colleagues at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam said a way in which STDs can increase acquisiti
BOSTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The arrests in Tehran of two Iranian doctors participating in a U.S.-sponsored anti-AIDS program have chilled scientific exchanges, U.S. officials say. Harvard alumnus Kamiar Alaei and his brother Arash were arrested by Iran in June and the move is being seen as a setback in quiet U.S. diplomat
MIAMI, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The president of a Miami clinic for patients with human immunodeficiency virus pleaded guilty Tuesday to Medicare fraud, officials said. Dilcia Marinez, 57, of Miami admitted her role in defrauding the program and laundering proceeds from the $14 million scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said
LUDZIDZINI, Swaziland , Sept. 6 (UPI) -- As the impoverished African kingdom of Swaziland celebrated its 40th year of independence Saturday, dissidents were criticizing its king s lavish lifestyle. King Mswati III, with a fortune estimated at $200 million, is also celebrating his 40th birthday. The event has prompted p
NEWARK, N.J., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Rock star Jon Bon Jovi has helped break ground on a planned $15 million affordable-housing project his non-profit helped finance in Newark, N.J. Bon Jovi attended the groundbreaking for the project this week with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. The singer s Phila
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they have discovered brain cells called astrocytes radically change their shape and function after contact with anti-viral T-cells. Astrocytes are normally star-shaped cells that provide nutrients to other types of brain cells, help form the blood-brain-barrier and con
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Two Philadelphia morticians have pleaded guilty to being part of a body-snatching ring that illegally harvested parts for surgical usage. Louis Garzone, 65, and his brother, Gerald, 48, allegedly collected $1,000 a corpse for letting a North Jersey tissue bank dismember 244 bodies, some i
NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A new book detailing the lives of Guns N Roses band members alleges the U.S. rockers lived lives of excessive drug use and risky sex. Music historian Stephen Davis alleges in Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N Roses that if guitarist Slash wasn t risking his life having unprotected sex with
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The mastermind behind nearly $4 million in illegal body parts sales has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against his Philadelphia mortician partners. Michael Mastromarino, 44, pleaded guilty to 1,353 counts, including charges of engaging in a corrupt organization, taking body par
BOSTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- HIV infected patients may have a 60 percent higher risk of bone fractures, U.S. researchers say. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, finds HIV-associated increases in fracture rates in men and women. This very large study group including more than 8,500
NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Nearly 4,800 New Yorkers contracted HIV in 2006 -- three times the national rate, New York City Health Department officials said. The Health Department has tracked the number of people newly diagnosed each year but, in most cases, hasn t been able to distinguish recent infections from those t
MONTREAL, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A Canadian company warned a national police conference in Montreal that dirty handcuffs can transmit herpes, HIV, influenza and hepatitis B. Among the exhibitors at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police this week was the Cuff Cleaner company, based in Edmonton,
NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say new computer-modeling methods can help resolve drug distribution delays and medical staffing problems in developing nations. Researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative explored how combining engineering science with medi
NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have found evidence that a component of the cell walls of intestinal bacteria help the human immunodeficiency virus enter the brain. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers said in up to 20 percent of people infected with HIV, the virus manages to escape f
BAUCHI, Nigeria , Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Officials in Nigeria say they have begun to crack down on sex workers identified by the Red Cross as being in need of HIV assistance. Islamic authorities in the Nigerian city of Bauchi have begun to round up the women, BBC reported Monday. A local commissioner said no arrests had been
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Television stars America Ferrera, Emily Deschanel and Neil Patrick Harris attended the AIDS Healthcare Foundation s benefit in Los Angeles, say organizers. Organizers of the benefit, held Saturday night, said it had a 1960s theme and the stars didn t disappoint, USA Today reported Monday.
LONDON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. pop star Madonna, who turned 50 Saturday, has sold more albums than any other female solo artist in history, Guinness World Records show. The Celebrity News Service said since her success with such 1980s hits as Like a Virgin and Like a Prayer, Madonna has enjoyed unequaled success among f
BOSTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Married women in India whose husbands abuse them physically and sexually have an increased risk of HIV infection, researchers said. Jay G. Silverman of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues conducted a study in 2007 and 2008 to assess the relationship between experiencing
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A federal law banning foreigners with HIV or AIDS from entering the United States is coming to an end. President Bush recently signed a bill giving $48 billion to fighting the disease that also removes the visitor provision from U.S. immigration law, reported the San Antonio Express News Su
MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- The industrialized countries are falling short of their goal of universal HIV treatment by 2010, health advocates at a Mexico City AIDS conference said. The Group of Eight wealthy countries promised in 2005 that they would band together to provide funding for HIV treatment for anyone in the world w
ATLANTA, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say African-American girls who use marijuana are more likely to have riskier sex and more sexually transmitted diseases. Emory University researchers found 32 percent of African-American girls using marijuana had incident STDs compared to 23 percent of non-marijuana users. The
BOSTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A team of U.S., Korean, and German scientists says it has halted the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus in mice by using a novel type of RNA. Working with mice infected with HIV, the team used a Nobel Prize-winning method called ribonucleic acid interference, or RNAi, to disable the expr
BANGKOK, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and the Thai prime minister agreed to improve relations through health and education, and security issues, the two leaders said. We discussed the strengthening of the close military and the security cooperation, which benefit both countries and the region, said
BOSTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, can be commuted in an individualized outpatient therapy program, researchers in Peru said. The study, conducted in Peru from 1999 to 2002, showed that more than 60 percent of XDR-TB patients not co-infected with HIV were cured after receiving t
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Human rights activists told AIDS researchers that HIV-positive immigrants detained in the United States don t get adequate medical care for their conditions. Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (OTCBB:HSCC) isn t doing enough to either treat the disease
DORAL, Fla., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Manassas Medical Center of Doral, Fla., has allegedly been collecting Medicare funds in exchange for non-existent services, alleged participants say. Alexander McCray alleges he routinely would visit the medical center in the Miami suburb in order to collect funds in exchange for allowing t
MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- AIDS experts meeting in Mexico City said anti-retroviral drugs being tested for HIV prevention are among the most promising AIDS interventions in development. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition said clinical trials are currently planned or under way in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and
BONN, Germany , Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A German researcher says he is optimistic a cure for AIDS will be found within 10 years. As medical professionals gathered in Mexico City for the 17th annual AIDS conference Sunday, Hans Jaeger told Deutsche Welle in an interview research has enabled medicine to move from not being able
NEW YORK (UPI) -- A New York company provides the sexually active with proof that they have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. STFree Certifications also has a hotline the cautious can use to check on testing history of people they are considering as partners, the New York Daily News reported. Eli Dancy, 28
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A study released Saturday suggests estimates of the number of new U.S. cases of human immunodeficiency virus every year have been low for at least a decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said there were 56,300 new HIV infections in 2006, The New York Times reported. The a
MELBOURNE, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A jury acquitted an HIV-positive Australian man of deliberately infecting others but convicted him of a long list of charges, including attempted infection. Michael John Neal of Coburg faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by a judge in Melbourne, The Age reported. A pre-sentenc
TIJUANA, Mexico, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Tijuana is a chaotic Mexican border city of 1.5 million people and seen as a direct threat to the United States through its AIDS crisis, officials say. When Mexican President Felipe Calderon opens the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City on Sunday, he can boast that his cou
ATLANTA, July 31 (UPI) -- In the past 17 years, there s been a decrease in sexual activity among U.S. high school students and an increase in condom use, U.S. health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report study said there has been a decrease in the prevale
WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- The AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in some parts of the United States rivals that in some parts of Africa, researchers say. The report, published by the Black AIDS Institute, an HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on African-Americans, found that while blacks represent only about
NEW ORLEANS, July 28 (UPI) -- The use of vaginal microbicide gels may help protect women against sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, U.S. researchers said. Ronald S. Veazey of Tulane National Primate Research Center in New Orleans successfully used vaginal gels containing the fusion inhibitory
Bush: U.S. aid fights violent extremism U.S. President George W. Bush walks across the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington on July 25, 2008. President Bush is going to a private luncheon in Peoria, Illinois. (UPI Photo/Alexis C. Glenn) WASHINGTON, July 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bu
WASHINGTON, July 26 (UPI) -- While it has drawn much praise, U.S. President George Bush s $40 billion effort to fight AIDS overseas contains an open-ended commitment, observers say. Bush is expected to sign a bill next week that will authorize $40 billion for The President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, w
LOS ANGELES, July 25 (UPI) -- Reducing stress can bolster the immune system in human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV-positive adults, U.S. researchers said. CD4+ T lymphocytes, or CD4 T cells, are the brains of the immune system, coordinating its activity when the body comes under attack. They are also the cells that ar
NEW YORK, July 24 (UPI) -- Thirty-nine percent of men in New York City who have sex with other men do not disclose their sexual orientation to their doctors, health officials said. Healthcare providers, who know about their patients sexual behavior, can help prevent HIV infection through testing, counseling and other s
LAS VEGAS, July 24 (UPI) -- Another hepatitis C case linked to a closed Las Vegas endoscopy clinic brings the number of confirmed cases of the disease to nine, health officials said. However, the latest patient to test positive for the disease didn t become ill within a six-month incubation period, meaning the case is
NEW YORK, July 23 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says combating AIDS will be a top priority on his first official visit to Mexico, scheduled to begin Aug. 3. The secretary-general will open the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Ban will reaffirm that
BOSTON, July 22 (UPI) -- How and where viral strains of HIV swap DNA may be determined by the immune response against the original infecting strain, U.S. researchers said. Researchers at the partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital said that when individuals infected with HIV become infected with
TOKYO, July 20 (UPI) -- The Japanese government has blocked an attempt to use in vitro fertilization procedures for couples in which both partners have the HIV virus, sources say. Japan s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry made the move despite earlier approvals given by ethics committees for Tokyo s Ogikubo Hospital,
KISUMU, Kenya , July 19 (UPI) -- Members of western Kenya s Luo community say a proposed circumcision plan aimed at limiting the spread of AIDS is against their cultural beliefs. The Luo Council of Elders said the Ministry of Health plan not only violates the community s beliefs, but could lead some Luo members to inco
BETHESDA, Md., July 18 (UPI) -- Health officials canceled a U.S. human trial of a human immunodeficiency virus vaccine, saying the size and scope of the proposed trial was too large. After soliciting and considering broad input from the scientific and HIV advocacy communities, the National Institute of Allergy and Infe
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 16 (UPI) -- A court in Winnipeg, Canada , has found an HIV-positive man guilty of having unprotected sex with six young women who were unaware of his infection. Clato Mabior, 31, was sentenced Tuesday to six counts of aggravated sexual assault, along with two additional counts of sexual touchin
HOUSTON, July 16 (UPI) -- HIV researchers at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston said they think they ve found the chink in armor of the virus linked to AIDS. The vulnerable spot is hidden in a protein essential for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrom
SAN ANTONIO, July 16 (UPI) -- A genetic variation that once may have protected people of African descent from HIV now may increase their susceptibility to the virus, U.S. scientists said. The variation is one of the first genetic risk factors for HIV identified only in people of African descent, spotlighting how geneti
MEXICO CITY, July 16 (UPI) -- Human rights activists say the Mexican government is falling short on efforts to address HIV-related human rights abuses. Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, called on organizers of the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Mexico City to make human rights a c
TORONTO, July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers are developing a freeze-dried formula with a longer shelf-life that protects infants from human immunodeficiency virus while breastfeeding. Researchers from Lavax in Palatine, Ill., and the University of Illinois at Chicago report they have isolated a special strain of probioti
PHILADELPHIA, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they ve used tiny proteins called zinc fingers to modify T-cell receptor genes in a study that may lead to a new type of AIDS treatment. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues at Sangamo BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMO) of Richmond
WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush is urging Congress to act on an aid package to Africa stalled by a handful of Senate Republicans. The White House considers aid to Africa, including a global HIV/AIDS initiative, a signature piece of Bush s foreign policy, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.
LONDON, July 2 (UPI) -- People infected sexually with HIV seem to have mortality rates similar to those of the general population in the first five years, British researchers said. However, the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , said a higher risk of death remains as the duration of HI
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., July 1 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles-area police department has agreed to settle a suit by a gay officer by paying him $4,000 a month for the rest of his life. Adam Bereki, 29, has already been paid a $150,000 lump sum by Huntington Beach, The Orange County Register reported. The rest of the money wi
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 30 (UPI) -- People often determine a sexual partner s risk for sexually transmitted disease by how long they have known each other, Canadian researchers said. Cindy Masaro of the University of British Columbia and colleagues had 317 people at Canadian STD clinics complete questionnaire
ATLANTA, June 30 (UPI) -- The number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses from 2001 to 2006 among men who have sex with men increased 8.6 percent, U.S. health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta conducted an analysis of trends in diagnoses of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men in the 33 sta
NEW YORK, June 26 (UPI) -- The New York City Health Department launched a plan Thursday to have all Bronx residents tested for HIV during the next three years. The campaign, The Bronx Knows, is aimed at reaching 250,000 Bronx adults who have never been tested, the agency said. The Health Department said Bronx residents
NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Rates of unsafe sexual behavior, particularly among men who have sex with men, continue at a high rate in New York City, officials said. The New York City Health Department report said that in 2006 alone, more than half of all New York City pregnancies were unplanned and more than 60,000 new
LONDON - AUGUST 29: Ex-South African President Nelson Mandela looks on during a statue unveiling ceremony in Nelson Mandela s honour at Parliament Square on August 29, 2007 in London, England. The statue depicting Nelson Mandela delievering a speech, by sculptor Ian Walters, is nine-feet (2.7-metres) high, made of bron
NEW YORK, June 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Health has confirmed hundreds of people were falsely informed they tested positive for HIV at New York clinics. Nearly half of the people tested received false positive results this past winter, the New York Post reported Sunday. A total of 213 people from November to A
WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- Two doctors, a general, a judge, a university president and the family of a Holocaust survivor-turned-U.S. congressman received U.S. Medals of Freedom Thursday. U.S. President George Bush presented the nation s highest civilian award to the six recipients in a White House ceremony. The awa
SAN ANTONIO, June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they ve found a protein that can predict Alzheimer s disease and the rate of progression of the human immunodeficiency virus. Investigators from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio led the study that provides more conclusive evidence of a link
DURHAM, N.C., June 17 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest screening most adults ages 55 to 75 for human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, since many seniors are sexually active. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., say seniors may be overlooked as possible carriers of the AIDS virus and are recomm
CAPE TOWN, South Africa , June 14 (UPI) -- A South African judge has banned unapproved trials involving vitamin treatments for AIDS, officials say. Cape High Court Judge Dumisani Zondi ruled against David Rasnick, a U.S. biochemist who was once an adviser to South African President Thabo Mbeki, and Dr. Matthias Rath of
KAMPALA, Uganda , June 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. human rights advocacy group is urging Ugandan officials to dismiss charges against three sexual rights activists arrested during a demonstration. The June 3 arrests of Onziema Patience, Valentine Kalende and Usaam Mukwaaya prove the Ugandan government s desire to suppress issue
WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- The White House announced Wednesday the six Americans U.S. President George W. Bush will honor with the Presidential Medal of Freedom next week. The medal, the nation s highest civilian honor, may be awarded by the president to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution
WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Three Miami brothers and a physician s assistant were charged in a $110 million HIV infusion fraud scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday. The brothers allegedly financed 11 corrupt HIV infusion clinics and the physician s assistant allegedly worked at the clinics, the Justice D
ATLANTA, June 10 (UPI) -- A New York Giants football star and his brother say they ve learned lessons about the pitfalls of starting a charity after losing thousands of dollars. Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who signed a six-year, $41 million contract with the team in 2005, and his brother, Jim Umenyiora, have se
LOS ANGELES, June 10 (UPI) -- A California court has approved for trial a case in which a wife is suing her ex-husband for allegedly giving her HIV after assuring her he was virus free. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday that a 42-year-old woman identified only as Bridget B. could move forward with a suit
UNITED NATIONS, June 9 (UPI) -- Cultural factors in Africa, such as wife inheritance, need to be addressed if HIV prevention is to be more effective, U.N. officials said. The report, issued Monday by the U.N. Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, calls for serious discussion and action on cultural issues tha
NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- Twenty-six percent of New York City residents have genital herpes , compared to 19 percent nationally, New York health officials say. Herpes Simplex Virus-2, the virus that causes genital herpes, is a lifelong sexually transmitted infection that can cause painful genital sores in a minority of
LOS ANGELES, June 6 (UPI) -- A representative for Ashley Tisdale said Internet reports that the U.S. actress has been diagnosed HIV positive are not true. Several online posts said the 22-year-old High School Musical star may have contracted the disease through a rhinoplasty procedure last year, People.com reported.
LOS ANGELES, June 5 (UPI) -- Interventions help cut high-risk sex in HIV-positive African-American and Hispanic men who were sexually abused as children, U.S. researchers said. Sexual-issue focused interventions decreased risky behavior significantly more than the other health interventions from the beginning of the st
Font size: GENEVA, Switzerland , June 4 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization says nearly 3 million people with AIDS are now receiving anti-retroviral HIV drugs. A report release jointly by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF said about 31 percent of the estimated 9.7 million people in need of anti-retroviral ther
CAIRO, May 29 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch has criticized an Egyptian court for upholding prison sentences for five men arrested in a campaign targeting people with HIV. The New York based organization said the May 28 ruling underscores the Egyptian government s dangerous indifference to public health and justice.
ATLANTA, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they ve identified a protein that restricts the release of the human immunodeficiency virus from human cells. That achievement, said the researchers from the Mayo Medical School and the Emory University and Vanderbilt University schools of medicine, moves science clo
PARIS, May 27 (UPI) -- An alarming new word has been born. It is hypermortality, which might be defined as an extraordinary tendency toward death. It jumps from the first page of the U.N. Development Program report entitled Demographic Policy in Russia . The Russian phenomenon of hypermortality comes to be observed pri
GENEVA, Switzerland , May 23 (UPI) -- Chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke are the chief causes of death globally, a study by World Health Organization in Geneva reported. The report, issued Friday, shows a trend indicating leading infectious diseases -- diarrhea, HIV, tuberculosis, neonatal infections a
LONDON, May 22 (UPI) -- Hundreds of new mothers in Britain are being tested for the HIV virus after learning the doctor who delivered their babies has the deadly virus. Women who had Caesarean section births at two hospitals in Essex were sent letters urging the tests to determine whether they contracted HIV, the virus
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. students and faculty at Purdue University in Indiana have modified a popping machine that might bring needed relief to malnourished people in Africa. The machine, called an amaranth popper, works something like a popcorn popper. Officials said amaranth grain has been shown to
WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- The death gap between U.S. adults with less than high school education and those with college degrees increased rapidly from 1993 to 2001, a U.S. study said. Epidemiologists at the American Cancer Society led by Ahmedin Jemal worked with scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prev
DALLAS, May 15 (UPI) -- A man who tested positive for HIV was given a 35-year jail sentence for allegedly spitting into a Dallas police officer s eye and mouth, authorities said. Willie Campbell, 42, was sentenced Wednesday after a Dallas County jury found him guilty of harassment of a public servant for spitting on Of
ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 15 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they ve created what s believed to be the first new mechanism in more than 20 years for treating the human immunodeficiency virus. Researchers at the University of Michigan said they used computer models to develop a compound that inhibits the HIV protease -- an enz
BOSTON, May 9 (UPI) -- Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, prevention programs in Africa should promote male circumcision and discourage multiple partners, U.S. researchers say. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed HIV prevention strategies in parts
OAKLAND, Calif., May 7 (UPI) -- The Clorox Co. says its Clorox Pro Quaternary All-Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner kills germs including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. A product that is Environmental Protection Agency registered to kill germs, the disinfectant kills both strains of MRSA -- community-
MONTREAL, May 7 (UPI) -- A saliva test could help speed up detection of human immmunodeficiency virus, or HIV, Canadian researchers say. The McGill University Health Center study, published in PLoS Medicine, demonstrated the efficacy of rapid saliva tests for all subtypes of HIV-1 and HIV-2 and produced results in as l
LONDON, May 6 (UPI) -- Queen, Leona Lewis and Annie Lennox have signed on to perform at Nelson Mandela s upcoming 90th birthday concert in London, organizers said. The June 27 event honoring the former South African president will also feature performances by the Soweto Gospel Choir, Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Simple
WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama s decision to break from his controversial ex-pastor was hard but necessary, the wife of the Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful says. The campaign should be about issues, not remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Michelle Obama told CNN. I was proud of the statement he made
BETHESDA, Md., May 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. research group says it has found a new way to treat the human immunodeficiency virus that might circumvent problems with drug resistance. The researchers said they blocked HIV in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells. The scientists -- led by Dr
SACRAMENTO, April 30 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old California girl s needle-sticking prank has forced authorities to test three dozen of her classmates and teachers for blood-borne diseases. Officials at Alicia Intermediate School in Linda say the girl thought it would be funny to prick everyone with the same sewing needle, K
ROME, April 30 (UPI) -- Italy s health minister Wednesday ended the predominantly Catholic country s ban on screening embryos in assisted fertility cases. The action taken by outgoing Health Minister Livia Turco comes just before Italy s new center-right government takes over, ANSA reported Wednesday. Under the new rul
NEW YORK, April 26 (UPI) -- A new film documentary about orphans in Malawi suffering from HIV/AIDS was directed by Madonna s gardener, the pop singer said. The Material Girl star said during an appearance at New York s Tribeca Film Festival this week she hired Nathan Rissman to direct her I Am Because We Are document
LONDON, April 24 (UPI) -- A survey of leading U.S. and British AIDS researchers said many scientists see little hope of an effective vaccine against HIV in the near future. Just two of the 35 scientists surveyed said they were more optimistic about the prospects for an HIV vaccine than they were a year ago, while only
GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they ve developed a breath monitoring device designed to track AIDS patients adherence to their medication schedules. The University of Florida scientists said most people have forgotten to take a prescribed drug at one time or another, but for people with AIDS o
ROME, April 21 (UPI) -- Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the Vatican s leading voice in defense of family values, has died in Rome at the age of 72. The Vatican says the cardinal had been hospitalized for several weeks for treatment of complications from diabetes when he suffered cardiac arrest, The New York Times repo
DOVER, N.H., April 14 (UPI) -- A New Hampshire mother says she wants a greeting card taken off Hallmark shelves because she believes it advocates teen sex. The card in question shows two wine glasses on the cover with the words, Pardon me ..., and reads on the inside, Care for some liquid clothes remover?, the Portsmou
MIAMI, April 2 (UPI) -- A doctor and six Miami-area residents were indicted Wednesday in an alleged Medicare fraud scheme involving HIV clinics, the U.S. Justice Department said. Dr. Ana Alvarez, 54; Mariela Rodriguez, 39; Aisa Perera, 42; Beatriz Delgado, 48; Angel Rodriguez, 40; Sandra Mateos, 43; and Carmen Gonzalez
SAN FRANCISCO, April 2 (UPI) -- A European study suggests that patients who take the popular AIDS drug abacavir nearly doubled their risk of heart attack. The findings, published in the journal Lancet, have prompted a U.S. Food and Drug Administration review of the anti-viral medication, the San Francisco Chronicle sai
MIAMI, April 2 (UPI) -- The former owner of a Medicare billing service was sentenced to 10 years Wednesday in Miami for her role in a $170 million scheme to defraud the program. Miami resident Rita Campos Ramirez, 60, also was ordered to forfeit $207,000, her three homes and an automobile; and to pay $105 million in re
PHILADELPHIA, April 2 (UPI) -- Abortion opponents say remarks by Sen. Barack Obama suggesting pregnancy is a punishment may hurt his chances to win the U.S presidency. Obama, a Democratic contender and Illinois senator, told a town-hall meeting in Pennsylvania Sunday he would advocate sex education in response to a que
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 29 (UPI) -- A Canadian man in British Columbia is challenging the 1987 U.S. law banning people with HIV from entering the United States . Martin Rooney was fingerprinted at the Washington state border and told to return home to Surrey in November after he told an immigration official
WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced safety reviews of the FDA-approved medications Regranex Gel, Ziagen and Videx . The FDA said study data suggests there might be an increased risk of death from cancer in diabetic patients using Reg
OLYMPIA, Wash., March 26 (UPI) -- A new state law in Washington will strip 18,000 counselors of their credentials, officials said. The Seattle Times reported Tuesday that the legislation signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire will eliminate the state s registered counselor profession, which legislators created 20 years ago.
DAVIS, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- The rise in deaths from Salmonella in African AIDS patients has led U.S. researchers to link both illnesses to Th17 -- a white blood cell. The findings, published online in Nature Medicine, may help scientists not only find treatments for HIV and the deadly form of Salmonella, but may a
WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. agency in charge of AIDS research says scientists need to go back to basics to find a vaccine against the HIV virus. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said the agency will re-evaluate the use of the $1.5 billion it spends
PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa , March 25 (UPI) -- Tuberculosis patients at a South African hospital are being kept behind barbed wire to keep them from escaping and spreading the disease, doctors say. The Jose Pearson TB Hospital has tripled the number of guards after dozens of patients escaped around Easter in an effor
WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert concerning reports of liver injury in patients taking Prezista. The FDA said Prezista (darunavir), an anti-retroviral drug used to treat for the human immunodeficiency virus HIV, is suspected of contributing to several hepatic event
BETHESDA, Md., March 21 (UPI) -- Two field tests of an AIDS vaccine not only failed to protect people from the virus but may have put them at greater risk, U.S. researchers said. The results of the worldwide trials prompted scientific inquiry as researchers try to assess what happened and whether they should known the
TORONTO, March 20 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists said a study identifying several compounds that block activity of a key protein might lead to innovative cystic fibrosis therapies. The University of Toronto researchers said their findings might also serve as a model for future therapies against the human immunodeficiency
NEW YORK, March 19 (UPI) -- A New Jersey dentist has pleaded guilty to heading a multimillion-dollar operation that sold body parts plundered from funeral homes in New York. Among the victims of Michael Mastromarino s illegal enterprise was the late British journalist and host of Masterpiece Theater Alistair Cooke, The
LONDON, March 19 (UPI) -- The rapid growth of HIV/AIDS cases in London during the late 1990s was driven, in part, by transmission of the deadly virus within clusters of sexual contacts. Study leader Andrew Leigh Brown and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and London s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital said peopl
PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 18 (UPI) -- A study has identified which U.S. women are most likely to use a microbicide to prevent sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. Researchers at Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Providence, R.I., found women who have used protective methods in the past, and thos
BEIJING, March 18 (UPI) -- A Beijing court Tuesday tried Internet rights activist Hu Jia on charges of insurrection against the Chinese government. Chinese officials arrested Hu Dec. 27 in an apparent crackdown against dissenters ahead of the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. He was arrested following the publication of an
LOS ANGELES, March 14 (UPI) -- Authorities in India canceled an arrest warrant for U.S. actor Richard Gere, who was cleared of obscenity charges for kissing a Bollywood actress in public. Gere sparked outrage in India when he kissed Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event in the country last year. He apologized th
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti , March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. first lady Laura Bush arrived in Haiti Thursday for meetings with President Rene Preval and a visit to an HIV/AIDS clinic. Bush is also scheduled to meet with officials in the Haitian capital from the U.S. Agency for International Development, The Miami Herald reported Thu
CHICAGO, March 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. syphilis rate increased in 2007 for the seventh consecutive year, largely among men who have sex with men, a government report said. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented at the National STD Prevention Conference in Chicago Wednesday, show th
LA JOLLA, Calif., March 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have created a two-step process that in the laboratory stops the human immunodeficiency virus at its earliest state of infection. Scripps Research Institute scientists said their findings might energize attempts to create a preventive/therapeutic vaccine against HIV.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa , March 11 (UPI) -- AIDS advocates in South Africa say they re angry the government has taken so long to adopt a two-drug strategy to treat HIV-positive women. The evidence that AZT plus nevirapine works better than j
WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned six companies to stop marketing unapproved drugs for treating and preventing sexually transmitted diseases. The FDA said some of the products falsely claim to have received FDA approval, while some claim to be more effective than conventiona
LONDON, March 9 (UPI) -- Scottish singer Annie Lennox wants to bring increased awareness to the AIDS epidemic in Africa with her new song Sing featuring 23 top female singers. While the new single sounds like something Lennox would have made with the rock group the Eurythmics, the singer told The Sunday Times of London
PARIS, March 8 (UPI) -- French women are increasingly assertive when it comes to their sexuality while their male counterparts are losing interest in sex, a study purports. The French Aids research agency conducted a study that found French women now have had more than twice the number of sexual partners than their cou
MONTREAL, March 7 (UPI) -- Two Canadian agencies responsible for blood donations have ignored scientific appeals to accept blood from gay men, Montreal s Gazette newspaper reported. Mark Wainberg and Norbert Gilmore, of Montreal s McGill University AIDS Center filed data with Hema-Quebec and Canadian Blood Services say
EDMONTON, Alberta, March 7 (UPI) -- The Canadian province of Alberta has authorized the country s first 15 pharmacists to write clients prescriptions, the Edmonton Journal reported. The new policy excludes prescriptions for such drugs as narcotics, anabolic steroids and barbiturates, but grants the pharmacists liberty
NEW YORK, March 4 (UPI) -- The fourth annual ABC Daytime Salutes Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS show at Town Hall in New York City raised $300,000 last weekend. The event brought the cumulative total earned to more than $1 million since the show s inception in 2005. The total was announced Tuesday by Brian Frons, pr
LAS VEGAS, March 1 (UPI) -- An embattled endoscopy clinic in Las Vegas was shut down after authorities announced 40,000 patients were potentially exposed to deadly diseases. City officials served the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada with an emergency suspension order Friday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
BARRIE, Ontario, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- An odd second trial for an Ontario, Canada , man accused of sexually assaulting a fellow inmate who is HIV positive came to an abrupt end, the Toronto Sun said. In his trial before a new judge in Barrie, 55 miles north of Toronto, Lee Wilde, 25, abruptly changed his plea to guilty Thur
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Thursday urged the country to give the economic stimulus package a chance to work during a White House news conference. I don t think we re headed to recession, but we are in a slowdown, Bush said. He said the $147 billion stimulus package was a robust example of
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists reported a new vaccinating technique involving nanoemulsions made up of 200-nanometer droplets is showing increasing promise. University of Michigan researchers said the high-energy, oil-in-water emulsions used against a variety of infectious are placed in a person s n
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A U.S. study of women with the human immunodeficiency virus found an experimental gel, which keeps HIV from replicating, is safe for daily use. The gel -- tenofovir -- is safe to use, and well tolerated by HIV-negative women. That s a key message in our findings, study author Dr.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- One in four women who test positive for the human immunodefieciency virus, or HIV, want to have babies, U.S. researchers say. The study findings, published in the journal AIDS and Behavior, show clinicians need to be aware that HIV-positive women may be struggling with decisions about m
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- An HIV-positive man has been charged in Illinois with having unprotected sex soon after he was released from serving a prison term on the same charge. Casey Yonts allegedly had sex with both his 24-year-old girlfriend and her younger sister, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The girlfrie
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The 16th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party raised $5.1 million in Los Angeles Sunday night, the foundation announced Monday. The Oscar night gala, which was held at the Pacific Design Center and co-sponsored by Chopard and VH1, was one of the evening s best att
ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led team of scientists has developed the first definitive proof that emerging infectious diseases are increasing in number. The researchers, led by University of Georgia Professor John Gittleman, analyzed 335 incidents of disease emergence occurring since 1940. The scientists -- inc
ACCRA, Ghana , Feb. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Wednesday announced a new orphaned diseases initiative and sought to dispel concern about a U.S. military presence in Africa. Bush, speaking during a news conference with Ghana President John Agyekum Kufuor in Accra, said the Uni
WINDSOR, Ontario, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A Canadian man convicted of having unprotected sex with women despite knowing he was HIV-positive claimed Wednesday he wasn t aware of the risk. Carl Leone, 32, made the claim at a dangerous offender hearing in Windsor, Ontario, which borders Detroit, the Windsor Star reported. Leon
NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A 24-year-old New York woman is running for a record to become the youngest person in the world to complete a marathon on each continent for charity. Already having run 26.2-mile marathons on five continents, Erin Sprague is preparing to run in Antarctica next month, her non-profit organi
GOTEBORG, Sweden , Feb. 19 (UPI) -- A Swedish hospital has been told to improve its procedures after a nurse allegedly injected a patient with a needle that had been used on an AIDS patient. The Board of Health and Welfare issued a reprimand for Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, the Goteborgs Posten reported
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A mathematical model predicts a new wave of drug-resistant HIV infections in San Francisco, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles said. However, paradoxically at same time, the evolution of drug-resistant HIV may have actually reduced the severity of the city s epidemic,
LONDON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Britain s Princes Harry and William are plotting a 1,000-mile motorcycle ride across Africa, nicknaming their adventure Operation ER+Queen. The ER in the trek s name refers to Peter Fonda s 1969 U.S. road movie Easy Rider and Queen is a nod to actor Steve McQueen s memorable motorcycle jumps in
DODOMA, Tanzania , Feb. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Sunday pledged $698 million in global development funds to Tanzania during a stop on his five-nation African tour. Bush traveled to Africa to highlight U.S. efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other health and economic initiatives. Bush told Tanzani
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania , Feb. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. first lady Laura Bush Sunday helped promote Tanzania s new effort to improve the way its citizens treat orphans and children with HIV-AIDS. The American people are proud to stand with the people of Tanzania as you confront HIV/AIDS, she said while visiting Dar es Salaam,
NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Singer Bono s (RED) charity reportedly raised more than $42 million through an art auction in New York to help battle AIDS in Africa. Bono is the frontman for the Irish rock band U2. Proceeds from the event at Sotheby s auction house Thursday night go to the Global Fund of the United Nations
COTONOU, Benin , Feb. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Benin Saturday on the first stop of his five-nation trip to some of the poorest countries in Africa. The trip will allow Bush to highlight his record of fighting the AIDS pandemic, The Washington Post reported Saturday, noting even Bush s harshe
AMHERST, Mass., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A U.S. study said a protein in the saliva of deer ticks prevents HIV-1 from attaching to the surface of white blood cells called T Cells. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst said the finding may lead to new treatments for autoimmune diseases and prevent rejection of o
BOSTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A Nobel Prize-winning U.S. biologist says researchers are no closer to an HIV vaccine today than they were in 1984. David Baltimore, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said that despite continuing efforts to develop a vaccine, scientists hold little hope for s
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, announced that a priest, who was accused by several people of sexual misconduct, has HIV. The Rev. Philip Magaldi, who provided service at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in North Richland Hills, informed the diocese Feb. 7, that
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- President George Bush will stress the United States commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS during his upcoming trip to Africa, the administration said Wednesday. The president and first lady Laura Bush leave for Africa Friday, with stops planned in Benin , Tanzani
ST. CHARLES, Mo., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- An HIV-positive Missouri man has been charged with having unprotected sex with a woman in St. Charles County without warning her she might get AIDS. Michael Bergman was jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Investigators say Bergman may have had sex wi
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. government scientists have discovered an important piece of the puzzle in their efforts to learn how the human immunodeficiency virus operates. The latest discovery involves identification of a specific receptor that guides the virus to the intestines where it replicates and eventua
NOTTINGHAM, England, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A baby is facing a series of HIV tests after a mix-up at a British hospital allowed the newborn to be breastfed by the wrong new mother. The Daily Mail said Saturday the incident occurred at Bassetlaw Hospital in the British town of Worksop when maternity staff members accidentally
BOSTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said pre-chewing food for infants poses a possible risk of HIV transmission. Caregivers in some cultures are known to masticate, or pre-chew, food for infants during the weaning period. A report presented at the 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Bos
NEW YORK, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The New York gala that Gucci and Madonna presided over Wednesday raised an estimated $5.1 million for Raising Malawi and UNICEF, Gucci said. The money was raised through the sale of tickets to the star-studded event, as well as proceeds from a live auction. The party, which took place in a
BOSTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- AIDS researchers meeting in Boston said they are starting basically from scratch in the search for a vaccine to protect against the immune disease. The San Francisco Chronicle said the failure of a Merck vaccine study that left some volunteers susceptible to HIV has led to calls for a pause in n
LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A university in Illinois is allowing condom distribution on its campus for Condom Awareness Week, while another college said no to the action. The colleges reactions came after Madison County AIDS Program and Bethany Place volunteers asked officials at seven colleges in Southern Illinois
CAIRO, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Human Rights Watch condemned the Egyptian government for jailing a group of alleged homosexual men after one revealed he was HIV positive. The rights group sharply criticized Egyptian authorities for the convictions of four men on charges of habitual practice of debauchery and the arrests of four
ROCHESTER , N.Y., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers find an anti-parasite drug may help the body stop the human immunodeficiency virus -- HIV -- from establishing itself. The research, published online in the journal Retrovirology, indicates an existing drug -- miltefosine -- may promote cells being used by HIV as safe-
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa , Feb. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. actress Kristin Davis is working with Oxfam to raise awareness of and support for community efforts addressing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Davis, an Oxfam global ambassador, was in Johannesburg during the weekend. Oxfam said it was Davis second trip
BOSTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A study conducted in Africa suggests male circumcision does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission to female partners. The report, presented Sunday at the 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, said male circumcision actually increased the risk of HIV transmissi
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Late Aussie actor Heath Ledger fully immersed himself in his final role as the Joker, the villain in the Batman movie The Dark Knight, it was reported Sunday. Ledger, whose death Jan. 22 death in his New York apartment has prompted numerous rumors, intensely prepared for his Knight role by
SOLNA, Sweden , Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A British citizen who is a longtime resident of Sweden has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for infecting two young girls with the AIDS virus. Merrill Christer Aggett, 38, was convicted in November in Solna District Court, just outside Stockholm. He was given a psychiatric evaluation
NAIROBI, Kenya , Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said up to 250,000 people who fled conflict in Kenya s Rift Valley face serious health risks. U.N. agencies estimate that 75 percent of the refugees or internally displaced people are women, children and young people. They are living in makeshift camps that
CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A study of Illinois teachers who teach sex education found 96 percent of them teach about HIV/AIDS, but contraception was less frequently taught. The researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center used data collected by NORC, a survey research firm. NORC mailed self-administered quest
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Children who have been arrested and are depressed are more likely to use drugs, alcohol and engage in unsafe sexual activity, a U.S. study found. Lead author Marina Tolou-Shams of the Bradley Hasbro Children s Research Center in Providence, R.I., suggests the need for depression scree
TORONTO, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A southern Ontario judge who demanded a witness with HIV and hepatitis C wear a mask while in the courtroom is being challenged by two AIDS groups. Complaints were filed in Toronto by the rights groups with the Ontario Judicial Council about Justice Jon-Jo Douglas, who presides in Barrie, abou
SAN FRANCISCO , Calif., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Using marijuana daily may raise the risk of liver fibrosis nearly seven-fold in those with chronic hepatitis C, or HCV, infection, U.S. researchers said. The study, published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, also found combining marijuana use with alcohol use in HCV
ATLANTA, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Approximately half of 1 percent of the U.S. household population between the ages of 18 and 49 are living with HIV, a government report said Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s National Center for Health Statistics report was based on data from the National Health and Nut
CANBERRA, Australia , Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The Australian government is considering a $7.7 million sexual health campaign to combat a rise in HIV infections. Health Minister Tony Abbott says the campaign would target the general community but be specifically designed to include gay men. Latest figures on the number of
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush Monday delivered his seventh State of the Union address to both houses of Congress. Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum. In tha
KEY WEST, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A cyclist diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus is taking a dizzying trip across the United States by unconventional means -- backwards biking. Curan Wright, 36, said his voyage, which began in California, is aimed at raising awareness for homelessness, HIV/AIDS and what he descri
BANGKOK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Reader s Digest has handed out its annual Asian of the Year honor to Thai pharmacist Krisana Kraisintu, who has worked on medications for HIV and malaria. The 55-year-old pharmacist not only has been tirelessly working on developing anti-malaria drugs, but also earned the annual honor for her
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and his wife plan a trip to Africa next month to review progress in economic development and fighting AIDS and treatable diseases. The Bushes will travel to Africa Feb. 15-21, visiting Benin , Tanzania , Rwanda ,
CALIBER, Nigeria , Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The simple act of hand washing could save lives, especially in developing countries, a Nigerian study suggests. It is difficult for people in developed countries to realize that diarrhea is still a major cause of deaths in developing countries, killing more children than AIDS and mal
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. is the first corporation to donate to a new program to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the United Nations said. Chevron committed $30 million over three years to the U.N.-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which began its Co
SEATTLE, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The gay community has accused Seattle blood banks of discriminating against the majority of gay and bi-sexual men who wish to donate blood. Last week s announcement by the Puget Sound Blood Center that blood stock levels were dangerously low was met with frustration from those who claim the ce
KINGSTON, Ontario, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Canadian immunologists have discovered how to manipulate the immune system to increase its power to protect the body from successive viral infections. Queen s University researchers say their discovery could help the immune system fight off cancer, influenza and viruses such as the h
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved etravirine tablets to treat the human immunodeficiency virus in adults not helped by other drugs. Etravirine, sold under the trade name Intelence, is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or NNRTI, that helps block an enzyme, wh
LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Hundreds of plants used to produce more than 50 percent of the world s prescription drugs are at risk of becoming extinct, researchers say. Members of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International blamed stockpiling and habitat loss for putting the plants at risk, the BBC reported Saturday.
LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A British study suggested the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS is shifting from the most- to the least-educated people in sub-Saharan Africa. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine researchers, led by James Hargreaves, found HIV infections appear to be concentrating among
DALLAS, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said it appears that existing AIDS drugs can prevent vaginal transmission of HIV in laboratory mice. A research team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center used a humanized mouse model to test the anti-retroviral drugs, the medical center said Tuesday in a relea
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found a key protein in dendritic cells can stop the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS from replicating. UCLA researchers found the protein prevents HIV budding -- part of the virus life cycle that is crucial to its ability to replicate and infect other cell
LONDON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Blood from U.S. donors who had not been tested for HIV and hepatitis was given to 18 British soldiers and six civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan . The Ministry of Defense only learned in October that the U.S. military had failed to follow its own regulations on
KENNESAW, Ga., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A Georgia artist exhibited paintings prepared with human blood to raise awareness about AIDS. Artist Robert Sherer, said that he paints with uninfected blood as well as blood that has tested positive for HIV to help raise awareness to the virus, WGCL-TV, Atlanta reported Thursday. Sher
BOSTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers using a new genetic screening tool report they can identify human proteins required for HIV propagation, which could lead to new treatments. Current drugs attack HIV itself, leaving patients vulnerable to counterattack by the rapidly mutating virus. Harvard Medical School resea
LONDON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The Ministry of Defense in England said British soldiers who had emergency blood transfusions from U.S. donors were exposed to possible contamination. British Defense Minister Derek Twigg said procedures weren t followed by the United States and said improper screening exposed several British s
NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The New York City health department reports that the death rate in 2006 reached an all-time low of 55,391 deaths, down from 57,068 in 2005. The Annual Summary of Vital Statistics says that mortality declined in eight categories, including diabetes, HIV, chronic lung disease and kidney failure.
CAMDEN, N.J., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The former head of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board claims he was fired for reporting that a deputy commissioner violated health and safety rules. Larry Hazzard Sr. sued state Attorney General Anne Milgram under the federal Conscientious Employee Protection Act, the Star-Ledger of New
BALTIMORE, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- More than 98 percent of Ugandan men circumcised in adulthood said they can enjoy the same levels of sexual satisfaction as men who aren t, a study found. Study co-author Ronald Gray of the Bloomberg School of Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said the randomized trial of nearly
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Newly homeless U.S. youth are likelier to engage in risky sexual behavior if they stay in places such as friends homes, abandoned buildings or the streets. Lead author Dr. M. Rosa Solorio of the University of California at Los Angeles AIDS Institute says interventions for the newly homeless
United Press International - January 6, 2008 at 7:09 PM
NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- AIDS-infected patients are living longer, only to discover they are prematurely susceptible to a host of aging-related illnesses. Though research into the links between anti-retroviral drugs and premature aging is just beginning, anecdotally, many who have lived relatively healthily with AIDS
LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Due to the increasing incidence of genital herpes in Britain, cases of meningitis caused by the herpes simplex virus are set to rise. In 2005-06, 2,898 people were hospitalized in England with a diagnosis of viral meningitis. Herpes simplex virus ranks second among the causes of viral meningitis
NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Older adults who are lesbian, gay or bisexual have a history of caregiving, creating networks who support each other when sick or aging, a U.S. survey found. The survey of 199 lesbian, gay or bisexual U.S. adults found that more than two-thirds of the participants had provided care to one or m
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Canadian actress Gloria Reuben will reportedly be seen reprising her role of Jeanie Boulet on an upcoming episode of the long-running U.S. TV drama ER. Reuben co-starred on the show from its second through its sixth seasons, then went to work as a background performer for Tina Turner. A
NEW YORK, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The number of young men with AIDS who have been infected through unprotected homosexual sex is rising in New York City. Many of the latest victims are black and Hispanic, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The increase in cases has occurred while the city s overall rate of HIV infection an
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