HIV/AIDS Newsbytes

Menstuff® is actively compiling newsbytes on the issue of HIV/AIDS. Plus the HIV Information Center

There's a new strain of HIV

A new HIV strain was detected for the first time in nearly two decades, a group of researchers announced in a study published Wednesday. (11/6/19) It’s the first strain identified since guidelines of classifying HIV strains were developed in 2000. Interested in the science-y specifics? There are two main types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. Within HIV-1, there are multiple strains. Group M is the strain that led in the global HIV epidemic. The new strain has been classified as subtype L in HIV-1 Group M. Forms of this new strain of the HIV virus could be circulating but are unclassified as of now.

Just the FAQs: What we've learned about HIV and AIDS 30 years later. 10/1/19

Have You Had Your AIDS Test? Why not?
ADIS & Youth
Nevirapine Sustains Advantage Over AZT During Breastfeeding
Rapid Point-Of-Care Testing For HIV-1 During Labor And Delivery
AIDS Is Africa's Major Challenge
Merck Starts Global Test Of AIDS Vaccine
One AIDS Treatment Plan Found Ineffective
China's Denial Of AIDS Problem Propels HIV/AIDS Spread
U.N. Tells Asia-Pacific To Fight AIDS
Brazil Starts Patent Breaking AIDS Drugs
WHO Director-General Calls For "Urgent Treatment" For People With AIDS In Africa
Head Of U.S. Conference Of Mayors Urges Action On AIDS
S. African AIDS Activist Takes AIDS Drugs
One-Step HIV Test May Be Cheaper, Faster, Less Wasteful
Bacteria May Show Promise In AIDS Fight
Russia Reports Rise In HIV Cases
WHO Warns Asia Of Wider HIV/AIDS Epidemi
U.S. Senators Tour AIDS-Ravaged Africa
Asian AIDS Experts Agree To Promote Condom Use Among Prostitutes
Human Rights Group Wants Law To Protect AIDS Vaccine Trialists
Gov't Harasses HIV Prevention Group Again
CDC's HIV Prevention Plan Faces Criticism
Personal Care Home Settles AIDs Complaint
More Women Than Men Seek AIDS Tests In Mozambique
Doctors Urged To Discuss HIV Prevention
Experts: More Expensive To Not Treat HIV
House Rejects Bid To Block Sex Research
Spermicide Might Help Spread Disease
Emory Scientist's AIDS Vaccine Tested In Humans
Progress Reported On Cheaper AIDS Drugs
Pain, Poor Coping Skills Diminish Quality Of Life For HIV Patients
My Relatoinship Had A Negative HIV Test. Are They A Safe Sexual Partner?
Sexual Health Mini Profile
The Plague Century
Can We Avoid The Coming Plague?
Some With HIV Have Unprotected Sex Without Disclosure
Juvenile Prisoners Need HIV Prevention Education
Treatment For Cocaine Addiction May Reduce HIV Risk
Living Longer With HIV Therapy
Study Profiles HIV Patients Who Best Comply With Medication Schedules
Low-Cost Drugs For Poor Countries Urged
U.S. Aid Targets Rwanda's AIDS Orphans
Bayer Unit Sold HIV-Risky Drug
Living With AIDS
Gastrointestinal Manifestations Of HIV
History Repeats Itself in Global AIDS Struggle
New AIDS Drug To Cost 20,000 Dollars A Year
Mutant HIV In San Francisco Men Resists Drugs
Young HIV Carriers Unaware Of Virus
HIV Drugs Not Causing Rise In Vascular Disease
Infection Control Remains An Issue For Tattoo, Piercing Shops
Black Americans Fighting Back Against AIDS
Private Sector Must Do More To Fight AIDS, Business Group Says
Pregnancy In Perinatally HIV-Infected Adolescents And Young Adults
HHS Issues First Clinical Guide On Supportive And Palliative Care For People With HIV/AIDS
U.N. Reduces Global Population Estimate For 2050 By 400 Million Because Of AIDS And Lower Birth Rates
Blacks Seen Wary Of AIDS Vaccine Testing
AIDS Vaccine's Failure May Spur Advance
Nutrition A Tool In Fight Against AIDS
New AIDS Vaccine Shows Some Promise
Albania Urged To Act Quickly To Keep AIDS Cases Low
Trends In Leading Causes Of Death In Los Angeles County
HIV Drugs Not Causing Rise In Vascular Disease
HIV Patients Try To Remedy Gaunt Appearance
Anthrax: Can A Killer Turn Into A Healer?
Kenya To Offer Free Drug To Combat Mother-To-Child HIV Transmission
Afghans Fear A Newcomer: HIV
Fewer Cambodian Men Paying For Sex, Condom Use Rising
S.D. Towns Deal With HIV Fears
Parenthood Help For Men With HIV
Nonoxynol-9 Ineffective In Preventing HIV Infection
Behavior Must Change
Experts See Dangerous Trend In Use Of Viagra With "Party Pills"
Cardiac Differences In Infants Born To HIV-Positive Mothers May Persist
Protein Essential For Switching On T-Cell Response
HIV Therapy During Pregnancy More Likely To Help Than Hurt
France Launches Graphic Anti-AIDS Campaign
Screening Teens For STDs
Rich Nations Failing To Do Their Part To Stop AIDS, U.N. Official Says
New AIDS Treatment Program To Offer Lifelong Care For Families In Thailand
Bill Gates And Jimmy Carter Plan AIDS Tour Of Africa
Drugs Raising Number Of HIV-Infected
NIAID Phase III HIV Vaccine Trial To Determine Correlates Of Protection Will Not Proceed
Government Launches Trial Of Gel To Protect Women Against HIV Infection
Blood Supply Safety Varies Between Developed And Developing Countries
500 Patients Traced After Health Worker Found To Have HIV
Scientists Warn On Primate Meat Sale
Exposure To Hepatitis C Has No Effect On Antiretroviral Treatment Outcomes In HIV Patients
Young HIV Carriers Unaware Of Virus
China Allows AIDS-Related Marriage
Vietnamese HIV Carriers Estimated To Exceed 154,000 By End Of This Year
Adults and Children World-Wide Living with HIV/AIDS
Magic Johnson Free Of AIDS Symptoms
DA OKs Fast, Easy HIV Test
Significantly Improved Survival In Intensive Care For HIV Patients
Editorial Questions Whether HIV-Related Admissions To The ICU Will Continue To Decline
AIDS Drugs Intended For Africa Illegally Sold On European Market
Cambodian Leader Says AIDS More Deadly Danger Than Land Mines
United Nations: Cost Of AIDS Prevention And Treatment Will Surpass 10 Billion Dollars Per Year By 2005
Viacom, Kaiser Plan AIDS Project
FDA Approves First Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) System To Screen Whole Blood Donors For Infections With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) And Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
Women Who Stayed HIV-Free Studied
AIDS Deaths Around the World
HIV Prevention Messages Failing To Convince Gays: Condom-Free Anal Sex Keeps Virus On Increase
Millions Of Grandparents In Developing World Caring For Grandchildren Orphaned By AIDS
Along Mexico-U.S. Border, Fears Of AIDS Growth Come Into Focus
Preventing HIV Infection In Newborns
Technique May Improve Safety Of Donated Blood
Secretary Thompson Signs Agreement With Mozambique
Host Of New Ailments As Aging AIDS Population Continues Antiviral Treatment
Researchers Document Rare Case Of Second HIV Infection With Different Strain
China Says The Number Of Its People Infected With AIDS Virus To Reach 1 Million By End Of This Year
Significantly Improved Survival In Intensive Care For HIV Patients
De Beers Becomes Latest Company To Make AIDS Drugs Available To Its Employees
EU Pledges More Money To Fight AIDS In Poor Countries
Chinese Version Of Anti-AIDS Drug Available By Year End, Says Manufacturer
Alcohol Use, Thrill-Seeking Prove Bad Mix For HIV-Positive Men
HIV Vaccine Testing Under Way In Texas
HHS Awards Millions To Ensure Medical Care, Support Services And Prescription Drugs For People With HIV/AIDS
Parents Claim AIDS Children Are Dying Due To Shortage Of Drugs
Elton John Urges More AIDS Funds
AIDS Cases Nearly Triple In Russia
China Announces Jump In AIDS Cases
AIDS Conference Ends On Hope That Rich Are Listening
Immune Cells In Breast Milk Protect Infants From HIV
Condom-Free Anal Sex Keeps Virus On Increase
Along Mexico-U.S. Border, Fears Of AIDS Growth Come Into Focus
Millions Of Grandparents In Developing World Caring For Grandchildren Orphaned By AIDS
Preventing HIV Infection In Newborns
Technique May Improve Safety Of Donated Blood
HIV Infection Cases Surging Among Latinos
Drug Manufacturers: Approving Generic AIDS Drugs Could Reduce Quality
California Is Tightening Rules On HIV Care
Company Withdraws AIDS Drug Application
Court Rules Government Must Provide Key AIDS Drug To HIV-Positive Pregnant Women Despite Appeal Proceedings
Drug Manufacturers: Approving Generic AIDS Drugs Could Reduce Quality
Initiative To Promote Access To Quality HIV Medicines Releases First Batch Of Results
Helms Pledges To Seek AIDS Funding
California Is Tightening Rules On HIV Care
Bush To Propose AIDS Initiative
South African AIDS Rates Slightly Lower
Debate Over AIDS Prevention Bill Frays Tempers In Cambodia's Parliament
Swedish Medical Company Reports Strong Results In Early Tests Of HIV Drug
Drug Used In Treatment Of Alcoholism May Have Role In Treatment Of HIV
Scientists Optimistic That AIDS Vaccine Could Be Developed In Africa
Researchers Develop HIV Fighter
Europe Becoming Complacent Over HIV Prevention
We Can Beat AIDS, TB And Malaria, UN Agencies Say
WHO Issues Essential Medicines List
South Dakota Governor Says Hundreds Will Be Tested For AIDS
AIDS Fund Issues Million In Grants
Protesters Rally Against US Role In AIDS Fight
South African Gold Mining Giant Finds Up To 30 Percent Of Work Force Is HIV Positive
Gastrointestinal Problems Common
HIV epidemic blamed on flies
Report Finds Young Black Men at Higher Risk for HIV
Drug simplifies living with HIV
Drug giants sue to cut HIV lifeline
US Teens Lack Information on Avoiding HIV
Kissing tied to AIDS-related virus

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Resources: AIDS & Aging

Newsbytes

Nevirapine Sustains Advantage Over AZT During Breastfeeding

Period Infants who received a single dose of the inexpensive antiviral drug nevirapine (NVP) soon after birth--and whose mothers took one dose of the same drug during labor--were 41 percent less likely to acquire HIV at birth or during breastfeeding than infants in infant-mother pairs who were treated with a multi-dose regimen using AZT, according to new results from a study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21345/369236.html?d=dmtICNNews

Rapid Point-Of-Care Testing For HIV-1 During Labor And Delivery

CDC study concludes that rapid HIV tests performed by obstetrics staff during labor and delivery can offer fast and accurate results.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/31697/31807/352068.html?d=dmtContent

AIDS Is Africa's Major Challenge

The AIDS epidemic represents the biggest challenge to improving the lives of people in Africa, but the disease can be contained with the right programs and the required resources, according to a U.N. report.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC245/333/24524/369448.html?d=dmtICNNews

Merck Starts Global Test Of AIDS Vaccine

Pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. said Friday that it has started the first global human tests of an experimental AIDS vaccine, working with the Seattle-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21291/369523.html?d=dmtICNNews

One AIDS Treatment Plan Found Ineffective

A new study finds that temporarily stopping AIDS treatment is ineffective and even dangerous as a strategy for controlling drug-resistant HIV.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/368754.html

China's Denial Of AIDS Problem Propels HIV/AIDS Spread (9/3/03)

China is fueling the spread of AIDS by refusing patients treatment and information, and by failing to hold officials accountable for a blood-selling scandal blamed for infecting thousands of people, a human rights group said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/368919.html

U.N. Tells Asia-Pacific To Fight AIDS

U.N. officials on Tuesday urged Asia-Pacific countries to take decisive action against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which they said is devastating the region the same way it ravaged Africa.
Source:
www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/368885.html

Brazil Starts Patent Breaking AIDS Drugs

Brazil took the first formal step toward breaking patents with three pharmaceutical companies selling AIDS drugs to South America's largest country after talks failed to produce price reductions acceptable to the government.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/369087.html

WHO Director-General Calls For "Urgent Treatment" For People With AIDS In Africa

HIV/AIDS is a "catastrophe" and people affected need urgent access to treatment, said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/368888.html

Head Of U.S. Conference Of Mayors Urges Action On AIDS

The world's mayors must unite to help fight the AIDS epidemic currently affecting millions of people in Africa, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors said Monday after returning from a two-week visit to the continent intended to focus attention on the disease.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/369088.html

S. African AIDS Activist Takes AIDS Drugs

A high-profile AIDS activist, who had vowed not to take AIDS drugs until the general South African population had access to them, announced Monday he has begun taking the potentially lifesaving medication.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/369087.html

One-Step HIV Test May Be Cheaper, Faster, Less Wasteful

A quick, readily available test for the AIDS virus that offers results in half an hour may not only be faster but also much cheaper than standard tests that take weeks to deliver results, a new study suggests. Using this one-step rapid test also means that clients know their HIV status immediately and don't have to return to the clinic for a later visit.
Source: Center for the Advancement of Health, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/369073.html

Bacteria May Show Promise In AIDS Fight

A modified form of bacteria normally present in the vagina may one day be used to protect women from AIDS, according to new research.
Source:
www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/8013/369089.html

Russia Reports Rise In HIV Cases

The number of Russians registered as having contracted HIV has reached 250,000 and efforts to slow the rapid spread of AIDS in the country have failed, officials said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC272/333/8013/369175.html

WHO Warns Asia Of Wider HIV/AIDS Epidemi

The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that an HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region could widen because of a rise in sexually transmitted infections, particularly among young adults.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC272/333/8013.html

U.S. Senators Tour AIDS-Ravaged Africa

The unemployed, HIV-positive South African woman sobbed as she told her story to a U.S. Senate delegation seeking to learn more about the AIDS epidemic ravaging sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/8013/368499.html?d=dmtICNNews

Asian AIDS Experts Agree To Promote Condom Use Among Prostitutes

AIDS experts from several Asian countries agreed to expand a program to ensure rigorous condom use among prostitutes as they ended a regional meeting organized by the World Health Organization.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/24524/368466.html?d=dmtICNNews

Human Rights Group Wants Law To Protect AIDS Vaccine Trialists

The Botswana Center for Human Rights has criticized the government for not passing legislation protecting people participating in HIV/AIDS vaccine trials.
Source: www.intelihealth.com

Gov't Harasses HIV Prevention Group Again

For the third time in a year, the federal government is examining the books of a group that promotes the use of condoms to fight AIDS and whose leaders have criticized the Bush administration's support for "abstinence-only" sex education.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/8013/368167.html?d=dmtICNNews

CDC's HIV Prevention Plan Faces Criticism

Workshops on safe sex in San Francisco's Mission District. HIV-prevention skits developed by teenagers in Chicago. A ministry that counsels black women in Baltimore, where syphilis rates are shockingly high. All are among the programs that could lose funding under the new HIV prevention strategy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls for increased attention to people who already carry the virus that causes AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/24524/367314.html?d=dmtICNNews

Personal Care Home Settles AIDs Complaint

A man who said he was refused admission to a personal care home because its staff was uncomfortable caring for someone with AIDS has settled a complaint against the facility, his attorneys said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21344/366889.html?d=dmtICNNews

More Women Than Men Seek AIDS Tests In Mozambique

Most of those taking advantage of new voluntary HIV testing and counseling centers set up in Maputo are women, the health minister said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/8013/366893.html?d=dmtICNNews

Doctors Urged To Discuss HIV Prevention

Doctors need to have more detailed discussions about sex and drug use with HIV patients to keep them from spreading the virus, federal officials said as they announced guidelines intended to help cut new infections in half.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/24524/366869.html?d=dmtICNNews

Experts: More Expensive To Not Treat HIV

A leading economist on Sunday dismissed arguments that treating HIV in developing countries is not cost-effective and increases the virus' resistance, saying it is more expensive not to treat the virus that causes AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21291/366700.html?d=dmtICNNews

House Rejects Bid To Block Sex Research

The House handed a narrow defeat to conservatives who wanted to forbid the National Institutes of Health from giving grants to researchers conducting four sexual research projects, including studies of older men and of San Francisco's Asian prostitutes and masseuses.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/22002/366669.html?d=dmtICNNews

Emory Scientist's AIDS Vaccine Tested In Humans

An experimental AIDS vaccine developed by an Emory University researcher is being tested in people, after years of studies in monkeys.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/360397.html

Progress Reported On Cheaper AIDS Drugs

Global business leaders reported progress on making cheaper AIDS drugs available to poor nations as Microsoft founder Bill Gates made another contribution to health in the developing world - announcing a million grant to fund medical research.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/360479.html

Pain, Poor Coping Skills Diminish Quality Of Life For HIV Patients

HIV patients who live in pain and use poor coping strategies to handle the stress of their illness also report that they have less energy and more limits on their physical, social and work activities, according to a new study.
Source: Center for the Advancement of Health, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/360459.html

My Relatoinship Had A Negative HIV Test. Are They A Safe Sexual Partner?

One negative HIV test doesn't guarantee security. If they test negative again six montyhs down the road, and if you are certain you were their only sexual contacat for those six months, you can then rely on the test results. But, it also comes down to trust. If they lie to you, that lie could cost you your life.

The Plague Century

The 14th Century could be called the Plague Century 1. Will the 21st Century Plague Century II.
Source: www.healthcentral.com/columnists/columnistsFullText.cfm?ID=36601&storytype=Column_Flower

Can We Avoid The Coming Plague?

However large AIDS looms in our future -- and it looms far larger than most people think -- this battle is about more than AIDS.
Source: www.healthcentral.com/columnists/columnistsFullText.cfm?ID=35205&storytype=Column_Flower

Spermicide Might Help Spread Disease

Anal sex is the most dangerous sex act. To decrease the risk of spreading disease, it has been advised that people to use condoms. It turns out that may be the wrong advice.
Source: www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?ID=47067&storytype=DeanTopics

Some With HIV Have Unprotected Sex Without Disclosure

Thirteen percent of HIV-positive people are having unprotected sex with partners who are HIV-negative or uncertain of their virus status without telling these partners that they have HIV, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.
Source: Center for the Advancement of Health, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC274/333/22002/365260.html?d=dmtICNNews

Juvenile Prisoners Need HIV Prevention Education

Juvenile detainees are at high risk for HIV infection and should be a target of prevention efforts, according to a recent study.
Source: American Journal of Public Health, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/24524/365062.html?d=dmtICNNews

Living Longer With HIV Therapy

The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has completely changed the prognosis for people with HIV.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/8776/28838/338870.html?d=dmtContent

Treatment For Cocaine Addiction May Reduce HIV Risk

Cocaine addiction has previously been linked to an increased risk of contracting HIV, mainly as a result of sharing contaminated injection equipment, unprotected sex, exchange of sex for drugs, increased sexual drive from the stimulatory effects of cocaine, and impaired judgement. Although research has indicated that patients receiving treatment for heroin addiction have a decreased risk of HIV infection, few studies have focused on changes in HIV risk following treatment for cocaine addiction. Now, NIDA-funded researchers have found more evidence that participation in cocaine treatment may reduce the risk of HIV infection.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/20789/364940.html?d=dmtICNNews

Study Profiles HIV Patients Who Best Comply With Medication Schedules

In a study to assess the effects of age, substance abuse, and neuropsychological function on adherence to antiretroviral treatment among HIV-infected adults, researchers found that patients over the age of 50 who did not abuse drugs and who were free of cognitive impairment had the best adherence rates.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21291/364942.html?d=dmtICNNews

Low-Cost Drugs For Poor Countries Urged

European Union governments approved a measure to encourage pharmaceutical companies to sell cut-rate AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis drugs to poor countries by reducing worries the medicines will end up on the black market back in Europe.
Source: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC276/333/21291/364961.html?d=dmtICNNews

U.S. Aid Targets Rwanda's AIDS Orphans

The plight of AIDS orphans is one of the targets of new U.S. legislation allocating billion for Rwanda and 13 other African and Caribbean countries to support the fight against the disease.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC251/333/8895/365003.html?d=dmtICNNews

Bayer: Trading Lives for a Better Bottom Line

Cutter Biological, a division of Bayer, sold millions of dollars worth of a blood-clotting medicine for hemophiliacs that carried a high risk of spreading HIV to customers in Argentina, Asia, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Malaysia, and Singapore in the mid-1980s, (2/84) while selling a new, safer product that was heat-treated to kill HIV in the United States and Europe. The sales continued partly because of Cutter's desire to deplete stocks of the older medicine, and partly because of fixed-price contracts, for which the company believed the older product would be cheaper to make. In March 1983 the federal Centers for Disease Control warned that blood products appeared responsible for AIDS among hemophiliacs. Three months later, Cutter sent a letter to distributors in nearly two dozen nations saying that AIDS was "the center of irrational response in many countries. The company assured its distributor that the unheated product posed "no severe hazard" and was the "same fine product we have supplied for years."
Source: www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24657-2023May22?language=printer

Living With AIDS

Nearly a third of patients with the AIDS virus say life is generally better since they received their diagnosis, according to study findings. Read the story and comments from a Harvard physician.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8776/28838/334713.html?d=dmtContent

One In Three HIV Patients Say Life "Better" Since Diagnosis

Nearly a third of patients with the AIDS virus say life is generally better since they received their diagnosis, according to study findings presented May 1 at the annual meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine in Vancouver, B.C. The study was based on interviews with 449 HIV patients in 2002 and 2003.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/364090.html?d=dmtICNNews

Gastrointestinal Manifestations Of HIV

Gastrointestinal problems are common for people with HIV. In one recent study, 88 percent of HIV-positive people were found to have abnormalities in gastrointestinal function.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8776/28838/334713.html?d=dmtContent

New AIDS Drug To Cost 20,000 Dollars A Year

A new, breakthrough AIDS medicine will cost nearly 20,000 dollars a year in the United States, almost triple the cost of the most expensive treatment currently available.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?t=21291&c=362483&p=~br,IHC|~st,333|~r,EMIHC276|~b,*|&d=dmtICNNews

Mutant HIV In San Francisco Men Resists Drugs

Mutant strains of the AIDS virus resistant to many of the newest drugs are turning up in larger numbers of newly infected gay men in San Francisco.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9105/342/352203.html

Young HIV Carriers Unaware Of Virus

A study of young gay and bisexual men in major U.S. cities found that more than three-quarters of those infected with HIV were unaware they had the AIDS virus.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9105/342/352198.html

Infection Control Remains An Issue For Tattoo, Piercing Shops

A new study of tattooing and body piercing finds that many operators may be putting clients at risk of HIV and hepatitis B and C infection.
Source: Center for the Advancement of Health, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361830.html

Black Americans Fighting Back Against AIDS

With magazine articles and television ads, prayers and free testing, the effort to fight AIDS among black Americans is taking on new vigor in the face of bleak statistics about the disease. Read the story and comments from a Harvard physician.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361803.html

or www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361771.html

Private Sector Must Do More To Fight AIDS, Business Group Says

Asia could be hit by the same kind of catastrophic AIDS epidemic as Africa, and the world's business sector must help fight the disease, international business leaders said Friday in Bangkok.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361779.html

Pregnancy In Perinatally HIV-Infected Adolescents And Young Adults

A first-time CDC report shows that as perinatally HIV-infected children are surviving to adolescence, they are becoming sexually active and, in some cases, pregnant.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361728.html

HHS Issues First Clinical Guide On Supportive And Palliative Care For People With HIV/AIDS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the release of 'A Clinical Guide to Supportive and Palliative Care for HIV/AIDS,' which provides practical, experience-based advice and authoritative guidelines for clinicians in providing palliative and supportive services to their patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361613.html

U.N. Reduces Global Population Estimate For 2050 By 400 Million Because Of AIDS And Lower Birth Rates

The United Nations reduced its estimate of the global population in 2050 by 400 million, primarily because of the prolonged and worsening impact of the AIDS epidemic and lower than expected birth rates.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361627.html

Blacks Seen Wary Of AIDS Vaccine Testing

Researchers trying to learn more about why an AIDS vaccine appeared to work well in a small number of black volunteers may have trouble finding people for further studies, advocates and educators warn.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361605.html

AIDS Vaccine's Failure May Spur Advance

Though a once-promising AIDS vaccine candidate failed a significant test, scientists and activists still applauded the biotechnology company for conducting an ethical experiment and said the results can be used to further the field.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361573.html

Nutrition A Tool In Fight Against AIDS

A good diet can help people better cope with AIDS and may even help delay the progression of the disease by boosting defenses, the U.N. food and health agencies said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361607.html

New AIDS Vaccine Shows Some Promise

A highly anticipated experimental AIDS vaccine failed to protect most people from the disease in its first major trial, although it did show promise in protecting blacks and Asians, its developer said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361519.html

Albania Urged To Act Quickly To Keep AIDS Cases Low

International health officials urged Albania Friday to intensify efforts to prevent the spread of AIDS and keep its status as a low-prevalence country.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361484.html

Trends In Leading Causes Of Death In Los Angeles County

Using the California Master Death File for 1990 to 2000, these investigators classified leading cause of death categories based on underlying cause of death.
Source: American College of Preventive Medicine, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361388.html

HIV Drugs Not Causing Rise In Vascular Disease

Amid concern over the impact of potent HIV drugs on patients' cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, a study of 36,766 patients treated for HIV in the Veterans Affairs health-care system from 1993 to 2001 found a steady drop in the rate of deaths and hospital stays due to these vascular problems, even as use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) increased. The study, appearing in the February 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, may reassure doctors and patients who see benefits from HAART but worry about vascular complications, among other side effects.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/361393.html

HIV Patients Try To Remedy Gaunt Appearance

Even as people with HIV are living longer than ever, a significant number look deathly ill because of a condition called lipodystrophy - a disruption in the body's methods of processing and distributing fat.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350254.html

Anthrax: Can A Killer Turn Into A Healer?

Biologists have devoted many years to studying how the anthrax toxin invades a cell and does its killing work. In the past two decades, researchers have discovered how the toxin forms a pore that provides an entryway for two other toxin proteins to get into a cell's inner recesses and wreak havoc.
Source: Scientific American, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350354.html

Kenya To Offer Free Drug To Combat Mother-To-Child HIV Transmission

Kenya is about to become one of the few African countries offering HIV-positive pregnant women a free drug that helps prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child, a health ministry spokesman said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350475.html

Afghans Fear A Newcomer: HIV

Afghanistan's first-ever HIV scare began late last week, a fuse lit by rumors, innuendo, and enmity toward Pakistan held by many in the nation's fledgling intelligence services.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350304.html

Fewer Cambodian Men Paying For Sex, Condom Use Rising

Fewer Cambodian men are visiting sex workers, while those who still do are using condoms more frequently.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350373.html

S.D. Towns Deal With HIV Fears

For years, AIDS wasn't much more than a big-city problem to people in this middle-of-nowhere town on the bleak plains of South Dakota. But the fear finally struck home last week with the arrest of Nikko Briteramos at SiTanka Huron University
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/23414/22002/349665.html

Parenthood Help For Men With HIV

When Sally Morrison and Paul Corser of New York decided they wanted to have a baby, they went to local fertility doctors for help. But everywhere they went they were turned down, for Corser was infected with HIV.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/23414/22002/349419.html

Nonoxynol-9 Ineffective In Preventing HIV Infection

Spermicides containing nonoxynol-9 do not protect against HIV infection and may even increase the risk of HIV infection in women using these products frequently, according to a WHO report released today. The report also advises women at high risk of HIV infection against using nonoxynol-9 spermicides for contraception.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/23414/22002/351931.html

Behavior Must Change

A year after the 189-nation General Assembly adopted a plan to halt the AIDS epidemic, a U.N. report issued Sunday said "dramatic changes" in sexual awareness and behavior are still needed in many poor countries to stop the advance of the killer disease.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351642.html

Experts See Dangerous Trend In Use Of Viagra With "Party Pills"

People who use Viagra to offset the impotence effect of "party drugs" such as ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine also acknowledge having unprotected sex with more partners - which can breed disease. And Viagra can be deadly if used with amyl nitrite, commonly called "poppers," which some gay men take to facilitate sex.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351666.html

Cardiac Differences In Infants Born To HIV-Positive Mothers May Persist

The hearts of children whose mothers are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) show subtle differences in cardiac structure and function by echocardiogram regardless of whether the children are born infected with HIV. New results from a five-year, multicenter study indicate that, on average, these children are born with hearts that are larger than those of healthy children born to healthy mothers and that may not pump as effectively. The authors found the abnormalities to be initially mild and asymptomatic; they report that the changes appear to persist -- and, in some cases, even worsen -- in children born infected with HIV. The long-term cardiac consequences in uninfected children born to HIV-positive mothers are unknown.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351456.html

HIV Therapy During Pregnancy More Likely To Help Than Hurt

Pregnant women with HIV can safely take AIDS drugs without risking a premature baby or one with neurological problems, a study found.. Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351149.html

Protein Essential For Switching On T-Cell Response

A minor change in a cell protein impairs the ability of a key type of immune cell to marshal the body's defenses against disease, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study appears in the June 14, 2002 issue of 'Science'. The researchers also found that the change causes these white blood cells, known as T-cells, to multiply out of control and to attack the body's own tissues.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351236.html

France Launches Graphic Anti-AIDS Campaign

It's a common attention-getter: Advertisers and activists often create characters like Smokey the Bear or the Pillsbury Doughboy to get their messages across.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/enews?359558

Rich Nations Failing To Do Their Part To Stop AIDS, U.N. Official Says

Rich nations are committing "mass murder by complacency" by failing to contribute enough money to defeat the AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Africa and killing millions every year, a top U.N. official says.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/359911.html

New AIDS Treatment Program To Offer Lifelong Care For Families In Thailand

A new health program will provide lifelong care for Thailand's babies, mothers and fathers who are HIV-positive, the Thai Red Cross said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/359811.html

Bill Gates And Jimmy Carter Plan AIDS Tour Of Africa

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates has announced plans for a trip to Africa with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to publicize the campaign against AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/22002/346333.html

Drugs Raising Number Of HIV-Infected

Doctors have been so successful in saving the lives of people with AIDS that the number of Americans with HIV is actually increasing again after holding steady for years and is now approaching 1 million, according to government estimates.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346336.html

NIAID Phase III HIV Vaccine Trial To Determine Correlates Of Protection Will Not Proceed

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) of the Department of Defense (DoD), support a broad, comprehensive HIV/AIDS research and development program. Two recent decisions will substantially contribute to a coordinated and comprehensive U.S. government effort to develop preventive HIV vaccines.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346357.html

Government Launches Trial Of Gel To Protect Women Against HIV Infection

The British government, working with agencies in five African countries, launched a five-year program to find an effective gel to protect women against HIV infection.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346047.html

Blood Supply Safety Varies Between Developed And Developing Countries

An article reviewing the current status of blood safety in several countries finds that in developed countries, viral transmission from contaminated blood or blood products is extremely rare, but, in developing countries, up to 10 percent of HIV infections result from transfusion of blood or blood products.
Source: American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346018.html

500 Patients Traced After Health Worker Found To Have HIV

The National Health Service said it traced 509 patients who had contact with a London healthcare worker who was found to have the HIV virus, which causes AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346029.html

Scientists Warn On Primate Meat Sale

The killing of gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates for food is threatening AIDS research and may cause diseases to spread, scientists said.
Source: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/346058.html

Young HIV Carriers Unaware Of Virus

Exposure To Hepatitis C Has No Effect On Antiretroviral Treatment Outcomes In HIV Patients

A study of HIV-infected patients in Baltimore, Maryland, revealed that individuals seropositive for hepatitis C had similar clinical outcome measures when treated with antiretroviral drug regimens compared to seronegative patients.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/352182.html

China Allows AIDS-Related Marriage

In a first, China will allow a person infected with the virus that causes AIDS to marry someone healthy, a matchup aimed at raising awareness of the disease, state media said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/358429.html

Charges Filed In Canada Blood Case

Police filed charges Wednesday in what is considered one of Canada's worst public health disasters, a tainted blood scandal that infected thousands of people with HIV and Hepatitis C.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/358329.html

Vietnamese HIV Carriers Estimated To Exceed 154,000 By End Of This Year

The number of people in Vietnam estimated to be infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, will exceed 154,000 by the end of this year, an official said Wednesday.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/358259.html

Magic Johnson Free Of AIDS Symptoms

Magic Johnson's latest checkup confirmed that he is free of AIDS symptoms, 11 years after he first tested positive for HIV.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/enews?355620

Syphilis Outbreaks Increase In N.Y.

An increase in syphilis infections among gay and bisexual men in New York and elsewhere indicates they may be letting their guard down against sexually transmitted diseases, the government said Thursday.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/355850.html

FDA OKs Fast, Easy HIV Test

A new simple, rapid, and accurate HIV test could make it much easier for people to get tested, even away from traditional testing centers such as hospitals and clinics.

Today, the FDA announced approval of the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test, manufactured by OraSure Technologies, Inc. It generates a result that is greater than 99% accurate within 20 minutes after collecting a drop of blood with a simple pinprick. That rapid turnaround time is good news for doctors who have been frustrated by current tests that can take as many as 14 days to complete. The delay creates a tendency for people to come in for an HIV test but then skip the later appointment, never learning their HIV status.

It is estimated that some 8,000 people per year fail to return to see their results. Moreover, of the estimated 900,000 people infected with HIV in the United States, as many as one quarter of them, or 225,000 people, may be unaware that they carry the virus.
Source: Jim Kling, my.webmd.com/content/article/1624.52069

Significantly Improved Survival In Intensive Care For HIV Patients

A patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in this era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has a markedly improved survival rate.
Source: American Thoracic Society, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353237.html

Editorial Questions Whether HIV-Related Admissions To The ICU Will Continue To Decline

In an editorial directed at whether HIV-related admissions to the ICU will continue to decline, Henry Masur, M.D., of the Critical Care Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, said that, after the HAART era began, more and more patients started to be admitted to the ICU for problems unrelated to their AIDS. These included drug overdose, trauma, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Source: American Thoracic Society, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353236.html

AIDS Drugs Intended For Africa Illegally Sold On European Market

Health authorities scrambled to recover illegally imported AIDS medication after uncovering a smuggling operation that sold the drugs on the European market rather than in poor African nations at discounted prices.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/356207.html

Cambodian Leader Says AIDS More Deadly Danger Than Land Mines

Prime Minister Hun Sen said that AIDS is Cambodia's most dangerous scourge - deadlier than the millions of land mines that still dot the countryside after decades of war.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/356167.html

United Nations: Cost Of AIDS Prevention And Treatment Will Surpass 10 Billion Dollars Per Year By 2005

The United Nations warned on Thursday that the global cost of treating HIV and AIDS cases and containing the epidemic could reach US 10.5 billion a year by 2005.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/356564.html

Viacom, Kaiser Plan AIDS Project

Viacom Inc. will use its vast media holdings, including the Paramount studio, CBS and MTV, in a global anti-AIDS campaign, the company said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/356438.html

South Africa May Provide AIDS Medicine

The South African government, long criticized for its slow response to the AIDS crisis, has announced it was investigating the possibility of providing AIDS medicine through the public health system.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/356526.html

HIV Prevention Messages Failing To Convince Gays: Condom-Free Anal Sex Keeps Virus On Increase

A small but worrisome proportion of gay men in the Bay Area are engaging in unprotected anal intercourse, knowingly putting themselves at risk for AIDS, a groundbreaking health study shows.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348288.html

FDA Approves First Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) System To Screen Whole Blood Donors For Infections With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) And Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

The Food and Drug Administration has licensed the first nucleic acid test (NAT) system intended for screening donors of whole blood and blood components intended for use in transfusion. This test system can simultaneously detect the presence of HIV and HCV in blood using a semi-automated system and is expected to further ensure the safety of whole blood and blood components, including fresh plasma, red cells and platelets, by permitting earlier detection of HIV and HCV infections in donors.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/23414/22002/346575.html

Women Who Stayed HIV-Free Studied

For years, more than a dozen women have intrigued AIDS scientists: They have remained HIV free despite having frequent, unprotected sex with an infected partner.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/23414/22002/346464.html

Millions Of Grandparents In Developing World Caring For Grandchildren Orphaned By AIDS

A multitude of grandparents in developing countries have found themselves caring for grandchildren orphaned by the epidemic. Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348328.html

Along Mexico-U.S. Border, Fears Of AIDS Growth Come Into Focus

With thousands of people moving across the border every day, and many eventually traveling farther north into California or farther south into Mexico, health officials fear there could be an AIDS explosion in the making.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348335.html

Preventing HIV Infection In Newborns

Although all pregnant women in Canada are supposed to be offered voluntary HIV testing to allow treatment and possible prevention of transmission to the baby, cases are still missed.
Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348012.html

Technique May Improve Safety Of Donated Blood

A new process now undergoing final testing may rid donated blood of virtually all viruses and bacteria, bringing a new level of safety to blood transfusions.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348039.html

Secretary Thompson Signs Agreement With Mozambique

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the health minister of Mozambique, an agreement that pledges the United States will work with the ministry over the next five years to improve HIV surveillance systems in the country.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348165.html

Host Of New Ailments As Aging AIDS Population Continues Antiviral Treatment

Successful use of antiviral drugs has transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic long-term condition for many patients. Now, doctors are confronting a host of new issues as aging HIV-positive people seek treatment for such things as diabetes, liver and kidney failure, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/21142/346549.html

Researchers Document Rare Case Of Second HIV Infection With Different Strain

Swiss researchers have documented a rare case of a patient contracting a second HIV infection years later with a different strain of the virus.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/enews?354711

China Says The Number Of Its People Infected With AIDS Virus To Reach 1 Million By End Of This Year

The number of people in China infected with the AIDS virus will soar to 1 million by the end of this year, but the rate of new infections seems to be falling, a Health Ministry official said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/enews?354817

De Beers Becomes Latest Company To Make AIDS Drugs Available To Its Employees

With a swipe at South Africa's often criticized AIDS policy, diamond giant De Beers announced it would heavily subsidize the cost of AIDS medicine for its employees.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353564.html

EU Pledges More Money To Fight AIDS In Poor Countries

The European Union's head office said it would spend an additional 22 million euro (million) to fight the spread of AIDS in poor countries.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353510.html

Significantly Improved Survival In Intensive Care For HIV Patients

A patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in this era of highly active antiretroviral therapy has a markedly improved survival rate, according to a study in the first issue for August 2002 of the American Thoracic Society's peer-reviewed journal.
Source: American Thoracic Society, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353543.html

Chinese Version Of Anti-AIDS Drug Available By Year End, Says Manufacturer

A generic version of the anti-AIDS drug AZT will be available in China before the end of the year as a low-cost alternative to imported medicines, the manufacturer said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/353850.html

HIV Vaccine Testing Under Way In Texas

Human tests on a possible vaccine to prevent HIV are under way in Austin, the first site in Texas to take part in the trials.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348455.html

HHS Awards Millions To Ensure Medical Care, Support Services And Prescription Drugs For People With HIV/AIDS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced grants totaling millions to provide medical care, support services and prescription drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348484.html

Parents Claim AIDS Children Are Dying Due To Shortage Of Drugs

Shortages of drugs and the poverty of their families have led to the death of dozens of children infected with the HIV virus so far this year, a national union of parents' organizations said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348472.html

Elton John Urges More AIDS Funds

British pop singer Elton John, testifying before Congress, said America has an obligation to use its vast resources to stop the spread of AIDS around the world.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348515.html

AIDS Deaths Around the World

There were 41,985,000 people living with AIDS or HIV in 2001, according to the United Nations AIDS Agency. Though progress has been made with treatments and vaccines, millions of people continue to die from the disease. Last year, UNAIDS reported that 3,000,000 people died of AIDS, about 20,000,000 people since the onset of the diesase in 1981. Here are some of the vital statistics around the world. The majority of people with AIDS are heterosexual men.

	People w/AIDS	Men	New Cases	Transmission Modes
North America	940,000	80%	45,000	IV, HM, H
Caribbean	420,000	50%	60,000	MH, H
Latin America	1,400,000	70%	130,000	IV, MH, H
Western Europe	560,000	75%	30,000	IV, MH
Eastern Europe, Central Asia	1,000,000	80%	250,000	IV
North Africa, Middle East	440,000	60%	80,000	H
Sub-Saharan Africa	28,100,000	45%	3,400,000	H
East Asia, Pacific	1,000,000	80%	270,000	IV, MH, H
South, Southeast Asia	6,100,000	65%	800,000	IV, H
Australia, New Zealand	15,000	90%	500	MH
Total	40,985,985	51%	5,065,500	IV, MH, H

Modes: IV-Intravenous drug use; MH-male homosexual sex; H-heterosexual sex

Adults and Children World-Wide Living with HIV/AIDS

The following compares the change in the number of people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, comparing 2001 data above with 2000. An additional 4,880,985 people were diagnosed in 2001, a 12% increase. Who knows how many continue living undiagnosed. Yet, the Bush administration has vetoed a budget item approved by both sides of the house, not to contribute $34,000,000 to the UN, some of which would go to AIDS, some to teach the use of condoms, and more. It feels like, where we can't reduce the world population with our bombs, we'll do it by pulling much needed health funds.

	2001	2000	%+/-
North America	940,000	920,000	2%
Caribbean	420,000	390,000	7%
Latin America	1,400,000	1,400,000	0%
Western Europe	560,000	540,000	4%
Eastern Europe, Central Asia	1,000,000	700,000	30%
North Africa, Middle East	440,000	400,000	9%
Sub-Saharan Africa	28,100,000	25,300,000	10%
East Asia, Pacific	1,000,000	640,000	36%
South, Southeast Asia	6,100,000	5,800,000	5%
Australia, New Zealand	15,000	15,000	0%
Total	40,985,985	36,105,000	12%

Source: For 2000 data, UNAIDS/WHO 2000, AIDS Epidemic Update, December, 2000, Geneva: UNAIDS

AIDS Cases Nearly Triple In Russia

The number of Russians infected with the virus that causes AIDS has nearly tripled since last year to more than 250,000 registered cases, experts on the disease said at a conference.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348526.html

China Announces Jump In AIDS Cases

The Chinese government announced a 17 percent increase in the number of Chinese infected with the AIDS virus and sharply raised its estimate of the disease's spread.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348492.html

AIDS Conference Ends On Hope That Rich Are Listening

After a week of rowdy protests, bold proclamations, serious scientific exchange and intense hand-wringing, the 14th International AIDS Conference finished on a weary note.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/enews?352503

Immune Cells In Breast Milk Protect Infants From HIV

Scientists have found immune cells in the milk of HIV-infected mothers that target and kill the virus. This finding, which could help explain the low transmission rate from mother to child via breastfeeding despite high levels of the virus in mother's milk, appears in the August 2002 issue of the Journal of Virology.
Source: American Society for Microbiology, www.intelihealth.com/enews?352479

Condom-Free Anal Sex Keeps Virus On Increase

Young HIV Carriers Unaware Of Virus

Millions Of Grandparents In Developing World Caring For Grandchildren Orphaned By AIDS

A multitude of grandparents in developing countries have found themselves caring for grandchildren orphaned by the epidemic.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/348328.html

Along Mexico-U.S. Border, Fears Of AIDS Growth Come Into Focus

Preventing HIV Infection In Newborns

Technique May Improve Safety Of Donated Blood

HIV Infection Cases Surging Among Latinos

Health officials in California and Mexico have detected "alarming" increases in AIDS virus infections among gay and bisexual Latino men moving across the border.
Source: http://www.intelihealth.com/enews?347267

Drug Manufacturers: Approving Generic AIDS Drugs Could Reduce Quality

United Nations approval of generic HIV/AIDS drugs could reduce quality of treatment in poor countries and might lead to widespread drug resistance, the federation that represents international pharmaceutical companies said Thursday.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8799/22002/347521.html

California Is Tightening Rules On HIV Care

Managed care plans in California will be required to refer HIV patients to doctors certified as AIDS specialists under regulations scheduled to take effect in July, making the state the first to impose such a requirement on private health insurers.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8799/22002/347292.html

Company Withdraws AIDS Drug Application

Problems which federal officials said were "potentially quite serious" prompted the withdrawal of an application for approval to allow pregnant women and newborn babies to take an existing AIDS drug.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347633.html

Court Rules Government Must Provide Key AIDS Drug To HIV-Positive Pregnant Women Despite Appeal Proceedings

A High Court judge ruled again that the government must provide a key AIDS drugs to HIV- positive pregnant women even as they wait to appeal the decision to the country's highest court.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347632.html

Drug Manufacturers: Approving Generic AIDS Drugs Could Reduce Quality

United Nations approval of generic HIV/AIDS drugs could reduce quality of treatment in poor countries and might lead to widespread drug resistance, the federation that represents international pharmaceutical companies said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347521.html

Initiative To Promote Access To Quality HIV Medicines Releases First Batch Of Results

A new effort to assess the quality of HIV medicines could make treatment services more accessible to poor countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has evaluated several HIV-related medicines and today publishes the first list of products which were found to meet WHO recommended standards. This initial phase of the project includes forty products from eight branded and generic manufacturers. Managed by WHO, the initiative counts on the expertise of UNICEF and the UNAIDS Secretariat, and is supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.
Source: WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF, www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347491.html

Helms Pledges To Seek AIDS Funding

Two Senate Republicans pledged to seek million more in federal money to fight AIDS overseas.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347639.html

California Is Tightening Rules On HIV Care

Bush To Propose AIDS Initiative

Senate Republicans decided to seek less money for fighting AIDS in Africa and elsewhere after White House officials said they would unveil a new plan to combat the disease abroad, a GOP lawmaker said.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351023.html

South African AIDS Rates Slightly Lower

The AIDS infection rate among young South Africans appears to have dipped slightly and overall infection rates appear to be stabilizing, according to figures released by the health ministry.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351051.html

Debate Over AIDS Prevention Bill Frays Tempers In Cambodia's Parliament

An opposition leader caused an uproar in Parliament on when he said that the failure of Cambodia's government to make available cheap drugs had allowed AIDS "to kill more people than during the Pol Pot regime."
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/351054.html

Swedish Medical Company Reports Strong Results In Early Tests Of HIV Drug

Pharmaceutical company Medivir said that early tests of an HIV drug showed strong results among patients who haven't responded to other treatments.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350748.html

Drug Used In Treatment Of Alcoholism May Have Role In Treatment Of HIV

Naltrexone, a drug used in the treatment of heroin addiction and alcoholism, may increase the effectiveness of the antiretroviral drugs zidovudine (AZT) and indinavir, which are used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Naltrexone blocks opioid receptors in the brain preventing the 'high' associated with the use of heroin and other opioids. Although the mechanism of the synergistic activity of naltrexone, AZT, and indinavir is unknown, the interaction of naltrexone with opioid receptors may play a role.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350575.html

Scientists Optimistic That AIDS Vaccine Could Be Developed In Africa

Researchers said they were about seven to 10 years away from developing an AIDS vaccine in Africa - home to 70 percent the world's HIV cases.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350795.html

Researchers Develop HIV Fighter

A form of RNA developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology silences genes that play a role in HIV infection, potentially showing a new way to combat the virus that causes AIDS.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350791.html

Europe Becoming Complacent Over HIV Prevention

Rising levels of gonorrhoea and syphilis across western Europe since 1995 imply that complacency over HIV prevention efforts may have set in among individuals and some governments, argue researchers.
Source: British Medical Journal www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/350709.html

We Can Beat AIDS, TB And Malaria, UN Agencies Say

A new joint report by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) released today says that with the right intervention at the right time AIDS, TB and Malaria can be prevented and treated.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349034.html

WHO Issues Essential Medicines List

The World Health Organization on Monday for the first time put AIDS drugs on an international list of "essential medicines" and issued treatment guidelines suitable for poor countries.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349036.html

South Dakota Governor Says Hundreds Will Be Tested For AIDS

The governor said Friday that hundreds of people will be tested for the AIDS virus because an infected 18-year-old man had unprotected sex with another person.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349302.html

AIDS Fund Issues Million In Grants

Less than a year after its creation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday announced a first round of 40 grants that will provide million to fight the diseases in 31 severely stricken countries.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349221.html

Protesters Rally Against US Role In AIDS Fight

Above a gathering of protesters at City Hall Plaza who were rallying Sunday against what they say is near inaction by the United States in the face of the global AIDS pandemic, a sign with a bent black line held by Justin Yarrow told the story of his generation's Black Plague with heartbreaking simplicity.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349321.html

South African Gold Mining Giant Finds Up To 30 Percent Of Work Force Is HIV Positive

Gold mining giant AngloGold estimated Wednesday that between 25 and 30 percent of its South African work force was HIV positive and called for a coherent national strategy to combat the AIDS epidemic.
Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/349167.html

Gastrointestinal Problems Common

Study Supports Triple Combination Therapy For HIV

New evidence in this week's British Medical Journal supports the use of up to three antiviral drugs (triple therapy) to treat people with HIV. Source: www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8013/347900.html

HIV epidemic blamed on flies

Blood-sucking flies may have been to blame for the HIV epidemic being unleashed on humans, scientists suggest. German scientists think stable flies may be responsible for HIV invading humans, according to an article in New Scientist magazine.

Most blood-sucking insects pose no risk of passing on HIV, including mosquitoes, which inject saliva through one tube and suck up blood through another. However, stable flies, which bite humans, could be an exception and are known to transmit equine leukaemia virus between horses. When feeding, they scrape skin to make a wound, suck up blood and regurgitate some on the skin next time they feed. Any viruses in the regurgitated blood can invade the body through the wounds made by the flies. Unlike other blood-sucking insects that regurgitate blood, the stable fly does not digest the blood it regurgitates. They speculate that sporadic cases of HIV transmission via stable flies may have happened for years but gone unrecognised.

"The trouble with all these stories is that they distract attention from the main public health message, to practice safe sex and not to worry about being bitten by flies."

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1871000/1871199.stm

Report Finds Young Black Men at Higher Risk for HIV

Young gay men, particularly black men, are becoming infected with the AIDS virus at "alarming" rates in this country, and expanded prevention efforts are needed to stop the resurgence, federal health officials said in releasing findings from a new study today.

The rate of new infections with H.I.V., the AIDS virus, among black gay men 23 to 29 years was six times that of a comparable group of young white gay men and three times that of all young gay men in the study.

The study found that young black gay men had a 14.7 percent annual rate of new infection compared to 2.5 percent among young white gay men, 3.5 percent among Hispanic gay men, and 4.4 percent for all gay men 23 to 29 years old.

The findings add to a number of earlier reports of increasing rates of sexually transmitted diseases, which increase the risk of becoming H.I.V.-infected, among gay men.

At a news conference, Dr. Helene D. Gayle, who directs the H.I.V. program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Linda Valleroy, who led the study, described the situation using the same terms: the "explosive H.I.V. incidence rates" are "alarming" and "of critical public health importance."

C.D.C., the federal agency in Atlanta that is responsible for tracking H.I.V. and AIDS in the United States, conducted the study from 1998 through 2000 in six cities: Baltimore, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Seattle. Many of the gay men said they were bisexual.

In February, the disease centers reported that among young gay black men the prevalence, or the total number of H.I.V. infections and AIDS cases, was 30 percent. The new evidence shows that such infections occurred from 1998 to 2000. Although the number of infections could continue to rise, the findings do not necessarily mean that all would become infected in time because many of the uninfected are using recommended prevention measures.

The preliminary information on the incidence, or number of new infections each year, comes from a different phase of the same study reported in February. The earlier portion of the study involved a seventh city, San Francisco. But at that time the incidence information was not available.

To measure incidence, epidemiologists tested volunteers recruited at 194 urban areas, dance clubs, bars and other public venues frequented by gays. Prisoners were not included in the study. Of 224 found infected, C.D.C. used a blood test that its scientists recently developed to determine that 29 were infected within months of when the blood sample was taken.

Because the test is new, the epidemiologists lacked a basis for comparison. The 2,942 participants were chosen at random. Because the sample was small, there was a wide statistical range in calculating the percentage of newly infected people among the different ethnic and minority groups. The range, known as the confidence interval, is a standard part of reporting findings. In the study, the lowest limit was 7.9 percent.

Even the lower figure suggests a resurgence of H.I.V. among young gay men, C.D.C. officials said.

"The important thing about this is there is a significant and continuing H.I.V. epidemic among men having sex with men in these cities right now," Dr. Valleroy said.

And Phill Wilson, executive director of the African American AIDS Policy and Training Institute in Los Angeles, said: "As a black gay man who has been living with H.I.V. for 20 years now, a prevalence in this population of 30 percent and an annual incidence of 14 percent is reason to be alarmed no matter if the number is stable, rising or falling."

C.D.C. released the findings on the 20th anniversary of the federal agency's first report on AIDS, a then unknown disease. Since then, more than 1 million Americans have been infected, of whom 450,000 have died. In Africa and elsewhere, H.I.V. has caused about 20 million deaths and has infected an estimated additional 36 million.

"We tend to think about our rates in the United States as being so much less than what we are seeing in other countries, and that is true if we look at it overall," Dr. Gayle said. She added that the findings "show that there may be populations in this country that have rates and potential for explosion analogous to what we have seen in other parts of the world."

While cautioning against extrapolating the findings from the six cities, Dr. Gayle said that "it gives us a very good picture of what is happening, at least in those young gay men and potentially what could be happening in other parts of the country."

The gay men in the study were toddlers in the 1980s when health officials issued the early information that helped reduce infection rates among gay men. Now, health officials say they must renew and sustain such messages to a new generation of gay men.

For a decade, the estimated number of people newly infected with H.I.V. in this country each year has been a stable 40,000. Gay men account for about 42 percent of new infections, Dr. Gayle said.

In part because about 300,000 Americans do not know they are infected and not all states report new H.I.V. infections, health officials do not have "a good sense of the populations newly affected by the epidemic," Dr. Gayle said.

In January, C.D.C. announced a new strategy that aims in part to encourage people at high risk to get a H.I.V. test and characterize those who are newly infected. C.D.C. intends to use the information to tailor prevention and treatment efforts to the needs of infected gay men as part of the $400 million that the agency provides to state and local prevention programs. One aim will be to determine how such men can best be referred to health care and prevention services to reduce the risk of transmission. Because about half of those in the study said they engaged in unprotected anal sex, another goal will be to develop new and more effective prevention messages.

Dr. Gayle said that programs for black men "must address the stigma of homosexuality which prevents many of these men from identifying themselves as gay and bisexual and may keep them from accessing needed prevention and treatment services."

A chief goal of the strategy is to reduce by half the number of newly infected individuals in five years. Even then, 20,000 new infections will occur each year.

The new test will be used to get a better handle on hot spots of infection so health officials can garner the resources needed for testing and prevention efforts in communities across the country. But Dr. Gayle said "We are not going to be able to do door to door surveys looking at who are the most recently infected people."

Source: New York Times, By Lawrence K. Altman, www.NYtimes.com

Drug simplifies living with HIV

Combination treatments can involve 15 pills every day. A new treatment for the Aids virus - which will significantly reduce the number of pills patients have to take - is available now.

Trizivir is the first treatment to combine three proven and established HIV therapies - zidovudine, lamivudine and abacavir. Its manufacturers, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, says the treatment will cost basically the same as if the three drugs were taken separately. The convenient way the dose can be taken - only one tablet twice a day - is designed to reduce the number of people who give up on treatment. And unlike some other HIV regimes it has no dietary restrictions, so patients can eat and drink without any complications. www.healthlinkusa.com/getpage.asp?http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1119000/1119634.stm

Drugs giants sue to cut HIV lifeline

The might of the world's drugs industry is suing South Africa over alleged violation of intellectual property rights. The action will reignite a furious row between African countries, where 25 million people are infected by the HIV virus. Only 25,000 of these have access to the drugs they need to stay alive. Theses companies will try to prevent South Africa from making or buying abroad huge quantities of cheap, generic drugs to treat patients. Anti-HIV drugs from countries such as Thailand can cost as little as a tenth of the price of buying them from the multinationals. Drugs firms refuse to grant price cuts to developing countries until their health systems are deemed 'sophisticated'. (Ed. The West Wing was right. Sounds like money and greed might win out over people's lives once again.) www.healthlinkusa.com/getpage.asp?http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,421922,00.html

Kissing tied to AIDS-related virus

A form of the herpes virus that causes an AIDS-related skin cancer appears to spread through kissing.

Herpes virus 8 was discovered six years ago and causes a skin cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma. In the United States, the cancer occurs almost exclusively in people with AIDS.

Some had suspected that the virus was transmitted through sexual intercourse, but the new research from the University of Washington, reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, contradicts that idea.

Dr. John Pauk and others tested 39 gay men who were infected with the virus but did not have Kaposi's sarcoma. They found the virus in 30 percent of their saliva samples and mouth swabs, compared with 1 percent of anal and genital samples. When present, the virus levels were also much higher in saliva than in semen.

"The important thing is it suggests that oral-oral contact plays some role in transmission, although more study is needed to confirm that," said Pauk.

The study also found that homosexual men who engaged in "deep kissing" - kissing that involves a lot of contact with saliva - appeared to be at substantially higher risk of catching the virus.

Kaposi's sarcoma causes purple skin blotches and can also attack the internal organs. Like many other diseases that kill people with AIDS, it usually affects those with weakened immune systems. The virus alone rarely causes sickness among people with normal disease defenses.

The research "definitely has public health implications for people infected with HIV," said Dr. Ronald O. Valdiserri of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, he said there was not enough data to recommend that people with HIV avoid deep kissing.

Thirty percent to 50 percent of HIV-infected people who catch herpes virus 8 will eventually get Kaposi's sarcoma. Kaposi's sarcoma has been present for centuries in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But it was rare in the United States until the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.

Experts say the virus is still largely confined to homosexuals in the United States, and that is why kissing has not yet spread herpes virus 8 among heterosexuals.

Dr. Anna Wald, another University of Washington researcher, noted that herpes virus 8 is closely related to the common Epstein Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis, long known as the kissing disease.

"Teen-agers tend to get this when they start kissing," she said. "The reason they get Epstein Bar virus and not herpes virus 8 is that most people have Epstein Bar virus, but relatively few have herpes virus 8."

Dr. Patrick S. Moore of Columbia University, who discovered the virus, said exposure to saliva may explain the high rate of infection in parts of Africa, where more than 70 percent of people may carry herpes virus 8.

Other forms of the herpes virus cause chicken pox, shingles, cold sores and genital herpes.

The New England Journal of Medicine: www.nejm.org/content/index.asp

www.healthcentral.com/News/NewsFullText.cfm?ID=44085&storytype=APNews

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For each $1 spent on the Safer Choice Program (a school-based HIV, other STD, and pregnancy prevention program), about $2.65 is saved on medical and social costs. www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/overview.htm

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