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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

HIV/AIDS advocates express concern about Obama's continuation of needle-exchange funding ban

Although President Obama previously has expressed support for needle-exchange programs as part of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, advocates recently expressed concern that the administration's 2009-2010 budget proposal intends to continue a funding ban for such programs that dates back to the 1980s, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

12 May 2009

Money from Bill and Melinda Gates will help beat Dengue fever in Australia

The University of Queensland (UQ) has won a grant of $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

11 May 2009

Australian scientists win funds for new research

One bold idea - that's all it takes - such is the creed of a bold initiative fostered by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and once again Bill Gates is putting his hand in his pocket for the good of mankind.

11 May 2009

Two government reports show little progress in improving patient safety; reducing racial, ethnic health disparities

The U.S. has not made substantial improvement in narrowing health care disparities among racial and ethnic groups, nor has it improved quality of care, according to two Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports released on Wednesday by HHS, Politico reports (Allen, Politico, 5/6).

7 May 2009

New Jersey should continue efforts to provide no-cost HIV testing, editorial says

No-cost HIV testing "should continue to be available and easily accessible" in Bergen County, New Jersey, a NorthJersey.com editorial says, adding, "Anyone who is worried about whether he or she has been infected with [HIV] should be able to learn the truth as soon as possible and as discretely as possible. The uninsured, in particular, should have access to free testing."

7 May 2009

Obama's $63 billion global health initiative 'will sustain' PEPFAR, editorial says

"President Obama's push to reenergize the fight against the AIDS epidemic in the United States led to concern that he was going to allow U.S. global leadership in fighting the disease to languish," a Washington Post editorial says, adding, "Those fears ought to be calmed after Mr. Obama's announcement Tuesday of an initiative that will sustain" the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

7 May 2009

Africa prepares for possible H1N1 flu outbreak amid concerns about HIV/AIDS, other diseases

African countries are preparing for the possibility that the H1N1 flu virus could expand in the continent, which already is experiencing epidemics of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

7 May 2009

British scientists win grant to develop hand-held self-monitoring test for HIV viral loads

Scientists in the United Kingdom have received a grant worth two million euros, or about $2.67 million, to develop a self-monitoring system for HIV-positive people that measures viral loads through a finger-prick of blood, BBC News reports.

7 May 2009

$10.4 billion increase in NIH funding could increase HIV/AIDS research

Bloomberg on Wednesday examined how the $10.4 billion increase in NIH funding that is part of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan could boost funding for HIV/AIDS research.

7 May 2009

Study reveals current multi-component vaccines may need reworking

Current strategies for designing vaccines against HIV and cancers, for instance, may enable some components in multi-component vaccines to cancel the effect of others on the immune system, eliminating their ability to provide protection, according to an article to be published shortly in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

7 May 2009

Ghana's Justice Minster calls for workplace HIV, tuberculosis policies

Ghana's minister of justice and attorney general, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, recently called on private and public employers to create policies that would provide comprehensive care to employees living with HIV or tuberculosis, as well as their families, GNA/GhanaWeb.com reports.

6 May 2009

Australia's harm reduction strategies serve as model for other countries, UNAIDS official says

The Australian government's efforts to curb the spread of HIV by advocating harm-reduction initiatives, such as needle-exchange programs and drug substitution therapy, for injection drug users serve as a model for other countries throughout the region, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Director Prasada Rao said recently, the AAP/Sydney Morning Herald reports.

6 May 2009

Stigma preventing some HIV-positive women in Kenya from following recommended infant feeding practices

Some HIV-positive women in Kenya are following cultural infant feeding practices, such as starting solid foods at an early age, instead of World Health Organization recommendations that infants born to HIV-positive women be exclusively breastfed for the first six months to improve their chances of survival, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

6 May 2009

Lesotho, UNICEF, European Union launch pilot program to provide financial support to AIDS orphans

The Lesotho government in partnership with the European Union and UNICEF has begun a pilot project to provide monetary assistance to children whose parents have died of AIDS-related causes, Inter Press Service reports. The pilot project -- called the Lesotho Child Grants Program -- will be rolled out in 1,200 households in the Mafeteng, Maseru and Qacha's Nek districts.

6 May 2009

Obama proposes $63 billion global health initiative over six years

President Obama has proposed a $63 billion, six-year global health initiative as part of his fiscal year 2010budget, Reuters reports (Bohan, Reuters, 5/5).

6 May 2009

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

IBM and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) launched an effort using IBM's World Community Grid "virtual supercomputer" to allow laboratory tests on drug candidates for drug-resistant influenza strains and new strains, such as H1N1, in less than a month.

6 May 2009

International community should ensure access to diagnostic, treatment services to control tuberculosis in Africa, blog entry says

Tuberculosis "remains the most common cause of adult death in some countries" even though the global health community knows "what causes" the disease, "how it spreads" and "how to treat it," Ruth McNerney of the TARGETS Consortium at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine writes in the Guardian's "Katine Chronicles" blog.

5 May 2009

Eliminating Rhode Island's HIV test signature requirement would boost prevention, treatment efforts

Rhode Island's legislature currently is considering a bill (H.B. 5415) that would eliminate a requirement that a person sign his or her name before undergoing an HIV test, which "would essentially make getting an HIV test more like getting any other medical test," Brian Alverson, assistant pediatrics professor at Brown University's Alpert Medical School and head of the Section of Pediatric Hospitalists at Hasbro Children's Hospital, writes in a Providence Journal opinion piece.

5 May 2009

Recent criticism of Washington, D.C.'s Whitman-Walker could 'undermine' clinic, editorial says

Washington, D.C., Council Member David Catania's recent criticism of the Whitman-Walker Clinic could "undermine the very institution he says he's trying to save," a Washington Post editorial says.

5 May 2009

Iran reports on new HIV cases

At least 19,435 HIV cases have been reported in Iran, with more than 1,000 cases recorded since December 2008, according to a report recently released by the country's Ministry of Health, AFP/Google.com reports.

5 May 2009

HIV/AIDS News and Research

Further Reading

HIV/AIDS advocates express concern about Obama's continuation of needle-exchange funding ban

Money from Bill and Melinda Gates will help beat Dengue fever in Australia

Australian scientists win funds for new research

Two government reports show little progress in improving patient safety; reducing racial, ethnic health disparities

New Jersey should continue efforts to provide no-cost HIV testing, editorial says

Obama's $63 billion global health initiative 'will sustain' PEPFAR, editorial says

Africa prepares for possible H1N1 flu outbreak amid concerns about HIV/AIDS, other diseases

British scientists win grant to develop hand-held self-monitoring test for HIV viral loads

$10.4 billion increase in NIH funding could increase HIV/AIDS research

Study reveals current multi-component vaccines may need reworking

Ghana's Justice Minster calls for workplace HIV, tuberculosis policies

Australia's harm reduction strategies serve as model for other countries, UNAIDS official says

Stigma preventing some HIV-positive women in Kenya from following recommended infant feeding practices

Lesotho, UNICEF, European Union launch pilot program to provide financial support to AIDS orphans

Obama proposes $63 billion global health initiative over six years

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

International community should ensure access to diagnostic, treatment services to control tuberculosis in Africa, blog entry says

Eliminating Rhode Island's HIV test signature requirement would boost prevention, treatment efforts

Recent criticism of Washington, D.C.'s Whitman-Walker could 'undermine' clinic, editorial says

Iran reports on new HIV cases

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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