Washington Blade - October 8, 2004

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope John Paul II last week reiterated the church's teaching that abstinence is the best way to stop the sexual spread of AIDS and praised drug manufacturers who are keeping down the prices of medicines for AIDS sufferers. The Catholic Church has repeatedly rebuffed campaigns that endorse the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS. The Vatican holds that condoms, because they are a form of artificial birth control, cannot be used to help prevent the spread of the disease. In a written message for the church's World Day of the Sick, the pope described AIDS as "a pathology of the spirit" as well as a disease. "To fight it in a responsible way, we need to increase prevention through education about respect of the sacred value of life and through formation of the correct practice of sexuality," the pontiff said. Cases of AIDS spread via sex, John Paul said, "are best avoided above all through responsible conduct and the observance of the virtue of chastity."

CDC study finds most HIV-positive American gay men practice safer sex

ATLANTA - A recent study examined safe-sex practices of gay and bisexual men in the United States, finding that most who are infected with HIV take steps to prevent spread of the virus. A federal study released last week, in which 1,923 men who have sex with men were surveyed, found that 31 percent abstained from sex with men in the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Reuters reported. The CDC study found that among those who did have sex, 43 percent reported that they only had one partner, according to Reuters. Men who were HIV-positive were 3.5 times more likely to use a condom when having sex with an uninfected partner, the study found, Reuters reported. Most people in the United States who have HIV are men who have sex with men, the CDC noted. The survey was conducted from May 2000 through December 2002, according to the CDC. The report also found that, among these sexually active men, anal sex was less frequent than oral sex, and insertive anal intercourse was significantly less frequent among those who were HIV-positive but had HIV-negative partners or partners with unknown HIV status, the CDC stated.

U.C. Berkeley, Samoa to share profits from AIDS drug created from tree bark

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - The University of California at Berkeley and the government of Samoa have agreed to split profits from any AIDS drug that researchers develop from a rainforest tree. The pact, announced last week, involves prostratin, an experimental anti-HIV compound extracted from mamala tree bark. Samoan healers traditionally use the extract to treat hepatitis. Berkeley researchers plan to clone tree genes and insert them into bacteria to produce the drug. Samoa's half of any profits will go to the government, villages and the families of the healers who first taught ethnobotanist Dr. Paul Alan Cox about the plant's medicinal properties. Under the deal, Berkeley and Samoa also would negotiate to distribute any drug to developing nations at a minimal profit.

Second annual event encourages Latinos to get tested for HIV

NEW YORK - This year's National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is set for Oct. 15, which also is the last day of Hispanic Heritage month, according to leaders of the awareness day. This is the second annual event, a national day of awareness and prevention against HIV/AIDS among Latinos. Organizers of the event challenge Latinos to confront the disease and acknowledge that HIV has no borders, according to the NLAAD Web site. Latinos are encouraged to unite to advocate for the end of stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS, access to health care regardless of immigration status and open discussion of HIV prevention, NLAAD organizers stated. "Oct. 15 is the one day we set aside to renew our commitment to ending the spread of HIV and ensuring quality of life to those with HIV regardless of their Spanish-speaking country of origin or immigration status," organizers write on the Web site. "We do so whether we are Latino, African American, Asian, White or Native American."

DEA: International effort stops source of meth from Canada

A major source of methamphetamine materials flowing into the United States from Canada has been stopped by an international operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, United Press International reported. The joint U.S.-Canadian effort, led by the DEA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, spanned 17 months and eliminated the most significant source of ephedrine, a meth precursor, from Canada into the U.S., UPI reported. The target of the operation was the Armando Solis meth manufacturing and trafficking organization in California, and its ties to Mexico, according to UPI. The group operated throughout the western and central United States, UPI reported. The effort resulted in 90 arrests, seizure of 92.6 pounds of meth and ingredients to make meth, plus two kilograms of cocaine and other items, UPI reported.
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