AIDS News and Research

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African Union adopts reproductive health rights policy

African Union health ministers meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, last week adopted a policy framework to address sexual and reproductive health and rights but did not agree on how to address the issue of unsafe abortions, resolving to allow each member state to handle the issue separately, Lilongwe's Chronicle/AllAfrica.com reports.

19 Oct 2006

Fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa should focus more on blood safety

A renewed focus on unsafe blood transfusions and used syringes is needed to combat the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, Ambassador Mark Dybul -- who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- said on Wednesday during a visit to Zambia, Reuters reports.

19 Oct 2006

Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic could fuel deaths from XDR-TB

Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic could fuel deaths from XDR-TB -- tuberculosis that is resistant to first- and second-line drugs -- which has resulted in the deaths of least 74 people in South Africa since January 2005, World Health Organization officials said on Tuesday, Reuters reports (McGregor, Reuters, 10/17).

19 Oct 2006

Uganda begins enrollment of Phase I trials of a perinatal HIV vaccine

Uganda last week began enrollment of Phase I trials of a perinatal HIV vaccine that aims to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, Uganda's Daily Monitor reports (Nabayunga, Daily Monitor, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

HIV in China spreading beyond high-risk groups

HIV in China has spread beyond high-risk groups -- such as injection drug users, commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men -- a senior health official said recently, Reuters reports (Lyn, Reuters, 10/17).

19 Oct 2006

HIV prevalence in Botswana is 17.1%, President Mogae says

HIV prevalence in Botswana is 17.1%, lower than figures previously reported by UNAIDS, Botswana President Festus Mogae said Monday, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

19 Oct 2006

Discrimination against HIV-positive teachers adversely affects education sector in Uganda

Discrimination against HIV-positive teachers is having an adverse effect on the education sector in Uganda, the East African reports.

19 Oct 2006

Hospitals taking steps to limit ED patient 'boarding'

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how a "growing number of hospitals are taking steps" to limit the practice of "boarding," in which hospitals admit emergency department patients when no rooms are available and leave them in hallways for extended periods of time.

19 Oct 2006

HIV exploits competition among T cells - points to new strategy for AIDS vaccination

A new HIV study shows how competition among the human immune system's T cells allows the virus to escape destruction and eventually develop into full-blown AIDS.

17 Oct 2006

Why organs fail following massive trauma

Massive trauma, say from a sabertooth tiger attack, meant immediate death for the primitive human.

17 Oct 2006

Researchers identify cell line that is resistant to retroviruses

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a protein that enables viruses such as HIV to infect cells and spread through the body.

17 Oct 2006

HIV/AIDS education classes cause controversy in China

A lecture in Harbin, China, led by the Harbin Municipal Disease Prevention and Control Center that informed commercial sex workers about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections has "sparked a strong rebuke" from some authorities and residents, Reuters reports (Reuters, 10/15).

17 Oct 2006

Increased Ryan White CARE Act funding to rural areas should not come at expense of urban areas

Reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the U.S., has stalled in Congress for months because of the "cynical assumption that a Solomon-like choice must be made between two groups of states," a Newark Star-Ledger editorial says.

17 Oct 2006

HIV/AIDS pandemic and food shortages connected and must be addressed together

The HIV/AIDS pandemic and food shortages are connected and must be addressed together, according to panelists at a discussion on Monday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Oct 2006

Death sentence given to medical workers accused of infecting Libyan shildren with HIV a 'miscarriage of justice'

The decision to sentence to death five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian physician accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV is a "miscarriage of justice" based on "preposterous charges," a New York Times editorial says (New York Times, 10/14).

17 Oct 2006

Study points to new strategy for AIDS vaccination

A new HIV study shows how competition among the human immune system's T cells allows the virus to escape destruction and eventually develop into full-blown AIDS.

16 Oct 2006

Thai temple providing HIV/AIDS services becomes overcrowded as people live longer with disease

A temple in Thailand that offers medical care and shelter for HIV-positive people is becoming "overcrowded by the living," as antiretroviral drugs provided by the government are enabling people to live longer with the disease, the International Herald Tribune reports.

16 Oct 2006

IRIN/PlusNews profiles initiative that recruits local community members to help raise AIDS orphans in Rwanda

IRIN/PlusNews has profiled the Rwanda-based initiative Nkund'abana -- which stands for "I love children in Kinyarwanda" -- that involves local community members in raising children whose parents or guardians have died of AIDS-related illnesses.

16 Oct 2006

Myanmar's HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB fund to begin operations

Myanmar's Three Diseases Fund, which aims to combat malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in the country, is scheduled to begin operations on Thursday, AFP/Khaleej Times reports (AFP/Khaleej Times, 10/10).

16 Oct 2006

Apple begins selling iPod under product RED label

Apple Computer on Friday began selling a red-colored iPod Nano and $25 iTunes gift cards under the label of Product RED -- a project created by Irish musician Bono and Bobby Shriver that aims to raise money for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by donating a portion of profits from a range of branded products -- the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

16 Oct 2006