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HIV-positive Batwa in Democratic Republic of the Congo have little access to treatment

Although HIV prevalence among the Batwa, or pygmies, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated to be lower than the rate for the entire country, "little help is available" for HIV-positive Batwa because of the community's poverty, undernutrition, "social isolation" and lack of health care services, PlusNews reports.

18 Sep 2006

Zimbabwean antiretroviral drug manufacturers seeking WHO certification to receive U.N. funding

Zimbabwean antiretroviral drug manufacturers are seeking certification from the World Health Organization to receive U.N. and other multilateral agency funding to produce more affordable antiretroviral drugs.

18 Sep 2006

GSK to supply antiretroviral drugs to Russia at discounted price

GlaxoSmithKline has announced it would supply 90,000 packs of its antiretroviral drugs Combivir, Epivir and Ziagen to Russia at discounted prices by the end of 2006, the AFP/Yahoo! U.K and Ireland reports (AFP/Yahoo! U.K and Ireland, 9/15).

18 Sep 2006

Extremely virulent, drug resistant strain of TB running wild in South Africa

It was 18 months ago when doctors in South Africa who were treating HIV/AIDS patients first raised the alarm that an untreatable form of tuberculosis (TB) was circulating.

18 Sep 2006

WHO gives indoor use of DDT a clean bill of health for controlling malaria

Nearly thirty years after phasing out the widespread use of indoor spraying with DDT and other insecticides to control malaria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that this intervention will once again play a major role in its efforts to fight the disease.

18 Sep 2006

Reuters examines how some New York City public bathhouses serve as venues for awareness of safer sex

Reuters on Monday examined how some public bathhouses frequented by men who have sex with men in New York City have become "a place where a captive audience can be taught about sex safe," despite the common belief that the clubs are "havens for illicit drug use and the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections."

14 Sep 2006

George Soros to donate $50 million to the Millennium Villages Project

Financier and philanthropist George Soros on Tuesday announced he will donate $50 million to the Millennium Villages Project -- which aims to fight poverty and diseases, including malaria and HIV/AIDS, in villages throughout Africa -- the New York Times reports (Dugger, New York Times, 9/13).

14 Sep 2006

Businesses, Government, NGOs launch alliance to address HIV, TB in China

The Global Health Initiative of the World Economic Forum on Monday launched a public-private partnership that aims to address tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in China, China Daily reports.

14 Sep 2006

India must enhance HIV/AIDS programs in Uttar Pradesh to defeat epidemic

India must scale up its HIV/AIDS programs in the densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh to accurately estimate the number of HIV-positive people and curb the epidemic, according to HIV/AIDS advocates, Reuters India reports.

14 Sep 2006

Live H5N1 avian flu vaccines show promise

When tested in mice and ferrets, experimental vaccines based on live, weakened versions of different strains of the H5N1 avian influenza virus were well-tolerated and protected the animals from a deadly infection with naturally occurring H5N1 flu viruses.

13 Sep 2006

New evidence in Libyan medic trial appears shaky

At the retrial in Tripoli of six medics accused of infecting 400 children with HIV, a Libyan court has been hearing evidence from four new prosecution witnesses.

13 Sep 2006

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medivira announce collaboration to commercialize HIV treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medivir AB have announced a worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize MIV-170, a preclinical non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or NNRTI, intended for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults as part of an antiretroviral drug regimen.

13 Sep 2006

Introduction of Bill to provide HIV tests for inmates at the beginning and end of their incarcerations

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) last week introduced a bill (HR 6038) that would require federal prisons to provide HIV tests for inmates at the beginning and end of their incarcerations, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2006

Church of England appoints first HIV-positive, gay priest

A Church of England assistant bishop has appointed the first HIV-positive gay priest to head a congregation in the United Kingdom, London's Times reports.

13 Sep 2006

Thailand urges married couples to regularly test for HIV

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health is urging hospitals nationwide to encourage abstinence, faithfulness, condom use and regular HIV testing for married couples after the country recorded an increase in new HIV cases among married women, Sombat Tanprasertsuk -- director of the country's AIDS, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Bureau -- said on Friday, the Bangkok Post reports.

13 Sep 2006

Zimbabwe's new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS

Zimbabwe's National AIDS Council has drafted a new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic that will be launched soon, Amon Mpofu, NAC evaluation and monitoring manager, said on Sunday, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

13 Sep 2006

First step to developing effective therapy against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus

Biomedical researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have taken an important early step toward developing effective drug therapies against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE) virus, a potential bioterrorist weapon.

12 Sep 2006

Live H5N1 avian flu virus vaccines show protection in animal studies

12 Sep 2006

SARS: Systematic review of treatment effects

The SARS virus set alarm bells ringing across the world when it first appeared in 2002, but now a review of the effectiveness of the treatments used against it has found no evidence that any of them worked.

12 Sep 2006

Was the "ABC" approach responsible for Uganda's decline in HIV?

The much-publicized "ABC" approach to HIV prevention continues to be mired in controversy, partly because of its focus on abstinence-only sex education programs over condom promotion, a focus that pits political and religious conservatives against their liberal counterparts.

12 Sep 2006