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Common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles risk of HIV

A common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles the risk of HIV infection in African women, according to a study by researchers at RTI International.

11 Mar 2012

South Africa's evolving HIV/AIDS policy

In this interview in World Politics Review's "Trend Lines," Peter Navario, an adjunct associate professor of public policy at New York University and a former global health fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the evolution South Africa's HIV/AIDS policy over the last decade, the country's current relationship with pharmaceutical companies, and how South African President Jacob Zuma's HIV/AIDS policy is received in the region and by international donors.

10 Mar 2012

Report calls for compensation for people infected by HIV through illegal blood sales in China

A new report, "jointly published by the Korekata AIDS Law Center in Beijing and the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Asia Catalyst," calls for the Chinese government to conduct "a full and independent investigation into the number of people affected" by illegal blood selling in central China in the 1990s that helped to spread HIV, "an official apology to the people affected, as well as compensation," BMJ reports.

10 Mar 2012

Two-part blog series details Haiti cholera outbreak, response

In the first part of a two-part series in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Alisha Kramer, an intern with the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, and Matt Fisher, project coordinator of the CSIS Project on Global Water Policy and a research assistant at the Global Health Policy Center, provide a brief history of Haiti's cholera outbreak, noting, "Ultimately, by the end of 2011, the outbreak had resulted in over 500,000 infections and 7,000 deaths."

9 Mar 2012

Integration of HIV, family planning services will 'save women's lives'

"Women who are at risk of unplanned pregnancy are also at risk of HIV, and vice-versa so separation of these services no longer makes sense. The global health community must work to bring family planning and HIV services together -- and quickly -- to save women's lives," Dana Hovig, chief executive of Marie Stopes International, and Alvaro Bermejo, executive director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, write in this RH Reality Check blog post marking International Women's Day.

9 Mar 2012

IDRI receives $1 million RHSC grant to eliminate leprosy

Leprosy, otherwise referred to as Hansen's Disease, is one of the most ancient diseases known to humans. Although the World Health Organization declared leprosy to be under control in many previously endemic countries, most experts agree that current approaches to treating the disease are not sufficient to eliminate the disease as a public health problem. Currently, 1.6 billion people are considered at risk of exposure to leprosy, while over 800 new cases occur every day.

9 Mar 2012

Challenges to achieving an AIDS-free generation

In a plenary presentation at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle on Wednesday, Dorothy Mbori-Ngacha of UNICEF examined the challenges to reaching the goal of an AIDS-free generation, by "eliminating 90 percent of HIV infections among children by 2015," and "outlined the four pillars of achieving that goal," including preventing HIV among women, preventing unintended pregnancies, preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and supporting HIV-positive women and their families, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" reports.

9 Mar 2012

Studies presented at CROI examine voluntary medical male circumcision

"HIV incidence among non-Muslim men has decreased with greater uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (MMC) in Uganda, according to data presented Tuesday" by Ronald Gray of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, HIV Medicine Association Executive Director Andrea Weddle writes in this guest post on the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

9 Mar 2012

New vaccination strategy may effectively eradicate HIV-1 infection

In what may prove to be a major step forward for the treatment of HIV-1 infection, scientists have discovered an effective way to eliminate a notoriously persistent form of the virus that does not respond to current therapies. The research, published online by Cell Press on March 8th from the journal Immunity, describes a vaccination strategy that may be essential for successful eradication efforts and should therefore be considered for future clinical trials.

9 Mar 2012

PMI successfully generating 'value for money,' according to external evaluation

"While PEPFAR and the Global Health Initiative (GHI) have dominated the global health community's attention over the past few years, the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) has largely flown under the radar," Rachel Silverman, a research assistant for the Center for Global Development's (CGD) global health team, and Victoria Fan, a research fellow at CGD, write in this post in the CGD's "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog."

9 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Santorum's pro-government record; Electronic health records and lawsuits

If elected president, Santorum vows, he will end the "tyranny" of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. Yet as an up-and-coming congressman in the early 1990s, Santorum took a much different line. Then-;like now-;health care was one of the nation's most divisive issues. In 1993, Republicans were up in arms about a health care reform bill spearheaded by Hillary Clinton and pushed by President Bill Clinton.

9 Mar 2012

Enhanced linkage-to-care strategy helps HIV patients receive, remain in care, study shows

At the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) on Wednesday, Gabriel Chamie of the University of California, San Francisco "discussed outcomes in a routine linkage-to-care strategy versus and an enhanced strategy for accelerated antiretroviral therapy (ART) start in rural Uganda," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

9 Mar 2012

Odds of adult mortality lower in PEPFAR focus countries compared with non-focus countries, study shows

"In an attempt to assess the impact of U.S. international assistance for AIDS, researchers from Stanford University carried out a review of the relationship between U.S. support provided through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and adult mortality in PEPFAR focus countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and whether there were differences in outcome between these countries and other African countries which did not receive PEPFAR support," NAM's Aidsmap reports.

9 Mar 2012

HDAC inhibitors flush latent HIV infection from hiding

A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have successfully flushed latent HIV infection from hiding, with a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma.

9 Mar 2012

Infection with M. genitalium may double African women's HIV risk

A common sexually transmitted bacterial infection more than doubles the risk of HIV infection in African women, reports a study in the March issue of AIDS.

9 Mar 2012

Enzo Biochem to unveil data on AmpiProbe HCV assay at ESCMID meeting

Enzo Biochem Inc. announced today that the company will present for the first time peer-reviewed data on detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) using its novel AmpiProbe technology platform, which provides low cost and high sensitivity real-time nucleic acid amplification assays.

9 Mar 2012

Ugandan government draws up response plan to combat 'nodding disease'

The Ugandan government is creating a "wide-ranging response plan" to "nodding disease, a mysterious ailment characterized by seizures, nodding of the head, mental retardation and stunting, which affects thousands of children in northern Uganda," IRIN reports.

8 Mar 2012

Preliminary results of Partners PrEP Study show promise, investigators report at CROI

"Investigators gave more details about the positive results of the Partners PrEP Study Tuesday at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

8 Mar 2012

International Women's Day provides opportunity to renew commitment to world's girls

In this Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" opinion piece, Kate Roberts, vice president of corporate marketing, communications and advocacy at Population Services International, marks International Women's Day, to be recognized on March 8, and its 2012 theme, "Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures."

8 Mar 2012

Study highlights challenges of adherence in successful deployment of PrEP interventions

"Data presented from the FEM-PrEP trial by Dr. Lut Van Damme Tuesday at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle highlighted the challenge that adherence plays in successfully deploying effective Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) interventions," HIV Medicine Association Executive Director Andrea Weddle writes in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

8 Mar 2012