Inter Press Service on Saturday examined a new emphasis of HIV/AIDS campaigns that focuses on “knowing your epidemic” by analyzing the local HIV/AIDS situation through specific factors that drive the epidemic. The approach helps advocates accurately determine who is HIV-positive and how to address the epidemic successfully with certain populations, Inter Press Service reports. Inter [...]
HIV/AIDS cases in South Dakota increased from 25 cases in 2007 to 34 cases in 2008, and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections reached record levels, according to an infectious disease report released recently by the South Dakota Department of Health, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. The state also reported 2,948 cases of chlamydia, an increase [...]
Although the Colombian government mandates that private health companies provide essential services, including those related to HIV/AIDS treatment, care and prevention, many have refused to do so, and critics of the country’s national health insurance system argue there is no incentive for the companies to promote HIV testing, IRIN/PlusNews reports. Ricardo Garcia, UNAIDS country coordinator, [...]
The European Commission on Tuesday called on HHS to drop a requirement that visitors inform U.S. authorities whether they have HIV, Agence France-Presse reports (Agence France-Presse, 1/13). A law that made foreigners living with HIV/AIDS inadmissible in the U.S. was repealed when President Bush signed legislation reauthorizing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in [...]
About 2,450 HIV-positive people in Niger have registered for no-cost treatment that the country’s HIV/AIDS agency provides, Baba Umaru, director-general of the agency, said last week, Nigeria’s Daily Trust reports. He added that at least 140 HIV-positive children in the country are receiving HIV treatment. In addition, the agency has counseled 77,000 people in the [...]
Some global health advocates on Tuesday expressed concern following news that Mark Dybul will continue to serve in his position as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and administrator of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief following the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, CQ HealthBeat reports. Dybul in a recent e-mail to his staff indicated that [...]
Uganda’s Ministry of Health on Monday announced that it had enough antiretroviral drugs in stock for 2009, relieving fears that the country was facing a shortage of the drugs, New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports. Zainabu Akol, head of the ministry’s HIV/AIDS Control Program, said, “We now have enough [antiretrovirals] in stock,” adding, “In fact, we are trying [...]
Aggressive programs to treat HIV-positive people using highly active antiretroviral therapy could reduce the number of new HIV cases by as much as 60%, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Toronto’s Globe and Mail reports. For the study, Julio Montaner, head of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in [...]
Antibodies stick to HIV particles, preventing them from infecting other cells and triggering their destruction by immune cells. This antibody response starts out strong in HIV-infected individuals but eventually peters out. To find out why, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases examined the cells that make the antibodies, known as B [...]
Specific genetic trait in blacks, which protects them against malaria, increases the risk of HIV infection. A team of researchers from University College London and University of Texas examined data from a 25 year study of people living in Africa. Researchers looked at a specific genetic trait called Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) gene [...]
