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Bono meets with Rep. Barbara Lee to discuss HIV/AIDS awareness

Irish musician and international HIV/AIDS advocate Bono on Friday met with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and local church leaders in Oakland, Calif., to discuss HIV/AIDS awareness among the California Bay Area black community, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

5 Mar 2007

UNAID calls on governments to include refugees in HIV/AIDS policies

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UNAIDS in a four-page policy brief released Thursday called on governments worldwide to provide refugees with the same access to HIV/AIDS treatment and services as they would to residents, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

5 Mar 2007

China recruits foreign companies, community-based groups, trade unions to join fight against HIV/AIDS

Chinese officials have begun enlisting international companies, community-based organizations and trade unions to join the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2007

International Narcotics Control board hindering HIV/AIDS control efforts, should be independently reviewed

The International Narcotics Control Board is hindering efforts to fight the spread of HIV, especially among injection drug users, and its practices should be independently reviewed, according to a report released on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

4 Mar 2007

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Kenya could destabilize the country

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Kenya could destabilize the country's social and economic sectors, according to the recently released Kenya National Human Development Report 2006, Kenya's Nation reports.

4 Mar 2007

Mexican Supreme Court rules law that allowed armed forces to expel HIV-positive soldiers unconstitutional

Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled 8-3 that a law used by the armed forces to discharge HIV-positive soldiers is unconstitutional and ordered the Ministry of Defense to re-employ four soldiers who were expelled, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

4 Mar 2007

Increasing numbers of blood collection centers in parts of China contributing to spread of HIV

The increasing number of blood-collection centers in parts of China is posing a threat to vulnerable populations and placing them at an increased risk of HIV transmission, some Chinese HIV/AIDS advocates have said recently, the Boston Globe reports.

4 Mar 2007

HIV/AIDS control efforts should focus on populations targeted by counterterrorism, security measures

In some previous analyses of HIV/AIDS and security issues, the "effect of AIDS on military strength and public security overshadows what may be a substantially more important link between AIDS and security" - the "effect of the unfettered pursuit of a public security agenda, including counterterrorism measures, on the lives of people who are most affect by or vulnerable to HIV/AIDS...

4 Mar 2007

Assumption of 'down-low' lifestyle can distort HIV/AIDS research

A commentary published in the March issue of Annals of Epidemiology questions whether black men pursuing a "down-low" lifestyle -- when black men secretly have sex with both male and female partners -- are causing an increase in HIV cases among black women, Reuters Health reports.

4 Mar 2007

Another case of bird flu appears in Laos

World Health Organization (WHO) officials say it is likely 42-year-old woman who died in Laos had bird flu.

4 Mar 2007

FDA investigating norovirus linked to San Antonio Bay oysters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating an outbreak of norovirus-associated illness linked to eating raw oysters harvested from San Antonio Bay, TX.

4 Mar 2007

FDA follows up on Salmonella outbreak

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an extensive inspection of ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia processing plant.

1 Mar 2007

Health-care workers should undergo preventive drug treatment if exposed to HIV on the job

Doctors, nurses and other health-care providers have worried about HIV exposure since the AIDS epidemic first began in the early 1980s. Since the virus that causes AIDS is transmitted through blood, a simple needle stick could infect anyone treating a patient.

1 Mar 2007

New York reverses HIV/AIDS housing rent increase

The recently appointed New York state commissioner of temporary and disability assistance, David Hansall, on Tuesday reversed a state-ordered rent increase for HIV-positive people living in subsidized housing in New York City, the New York Times reports (Chan, New York Times, 2/28).

1 Mar 2007