Disease/Infection News

RSS

Researcher addresses calls for increased focus on male circumcision, partner reduction programs as part of HIV prevention in Africa

NPR's "News & Notes" on Tuesday included a discussion with Daniel Halperin, a senior research scientist in the Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, about a recent study that recommended a shift in HIV prevention strategies in Africa toward the promotion of male circumcision and partner reduction programs.

30 May 2008

Delegates at Tokyo conference discuss ways to address health issues, including HIV/AIDS, in Africa

About 2,500 delegates from 52 African countries, United Nations agencies and aid groups met Wednesday in Yokohama, Japan, for the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development to discuss strategies aimed at solving health issues, including HIV/AIDS, and other challenges on the continent, the Kyodo News reports (Tang, Kyodo News, 5/27).

30 May 2008

UNICEF project uses children, youth as peer educators to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in India

About 400 children from eight Indian states gathered Wednesday at a workshop to discuss their experiences as peer educators in a joint UNICEF-National AIDS Control Organization pilot project that aims to increase HIV awareness among children and youth, the Times of India reports.

30 May 2008

Japan awards new prize for HIV/AIDS, malaria work in Africa

Japan recently awarded the first Hideo Noguchi Prize to two recipients for their work on HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa, AFP/Google.com reports.

30 May 2008

Washington, D.C., council member recommends eliminating HIV, syphilis test requirements for marriage licenses

Washington, D.C., council member Phil Mendelson (D), head of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, recently recommended eliminating a provision from a marriage bill that would require couples applying for marriage licenses to be tested for HIV/AIDS and syphilis, the Washington Post reports.

30 May 2008

South Carolina House approves bill that would modify regulations concerning HIV-positive students

The South Carolina House on Wednesday voted 97-0 to approve a compromise bill that would require school nurses to inform the Department of Health and Environmental Control when any student in grades kindergarten through 12 has contact with another person's blood in order to determine if the student has been exposed to bloodborne diseases such as HIV, the Columbia State reports.

30 May 2008

Sri Lanka vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic

Sri Lanka is vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic despite the country's relatively low HIV/AIDS prevalence, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Policy Studies in London, Colombo's Daily Mirror reports.

30 May 2008

Is shipping spreading disease?

Ships are inadvertently carrying trillions of stowaways in the water held in their ballast tanks. When the water is pumped out, invasive species could be released into new environments. Disease-causing microbes could also be released, posing a risk to public health, according to an article in the May issue of Microbiology Today.

28 May 2008

Toronto Star examines efforts of Stephen Lewis Foundation's grandmother to grandmother campaign in Africa

The Toronto Star on Monday examined the efforts of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign in Africa, particularly Swaziland.

28 May 2008

Case involving HIV-positive man, saliva illustrates 'long way to go' in efforts to reduce stigma

"In the AIDS field, we often talk about how things were 20 years ago when widespread fear prevailed and knowledge of the virus was minimal," John Samuels -- administrative director of AIDS services at Beth Israel Medical Center -- writes in a New York Times letter to the editor written in response to a recent case involving an HIV-positive man who received a 35-year jail sentence for spitting into the mouth and eye of a Dallas police officer.

28 May 2008

Male circumcision in Kenya following political violence

The AP/International Herald Tribune on Friday examined male circumcision in Kenya in the wake of the disputed December 2007 presidential election that resulted in political violence.

28 May 2008

Risk factors for spread of HIV in Afghanistan high, Health Ministry says

Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is relatively low in Afghanistan, the country's Ministry of Public Health recently said that the potential risk factors for the spread of the virus are high, Reuters reports.

28 May 2008

Bush should call on Congress to reduce PEPFAR funding in reauthorization legislation, opinion piece says

"When considering" bills that would reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Congress "must think hard about our priorities," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

28 May 2008

San Francisco Mayor rejects proposed budget cuts to HIV/AIDS services

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently rejected proposed cuts to HIV/AIDS services in his fiscal year 2009 budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. According to the Chronicle, Newsom rejected a proposal by Mitch Katz, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, to cut $3 million of the $10 million the department allocates to 30 not-for-profit groups that provide HIV/AIDS services.

28 May 2008

Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS organizations call for integration of TB interventions into country's HIV/AIDS programs

The Zimbabwe government should integrate tuberculosis interventions into its HIV/AIDS programs, HIV/AIDS service organizations and other health advocates said at a recent forum hosted by the Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service in the country's capital of Harare, the Herald reports.

28 May 2008

HIV advocates, sex workers in India call for passage of bill aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, discrimination

More than 200 HIV advocates, people living with HIV/AIDS and commercial sex workers rallied in the Indian city of Pune on Thursday, calling for the passage of a bill that aims to reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, India's Daily News & Analysis reports (Daily News & Analysis, 5/23).

28 May 2008

Disease/Infection News

Researcher addresses calls for increased focus on male circumcision, partner reduction programs as part of HIV prevention in Africa

Delegates at Tokyo conference discuss ways to address health issues, including HIV/AIDS, in Africa

UNICEF project uses children, youth as peer educators to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in India

Japan awards new prize for HIV/AIDS, malaria work in Africa

Washington, D.C., council member recommends eliminating HIV, syphilis test requirements for marriage licenses

South Carolina House approves bill that would modify regulations concerning HIV-positive students

Sri Lanka vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic

Is shipping spreading disease?

Toronto Star examines efforts of Stephen Lewis Foundation's grandmother to grandmother campaign in Africa

Case involving HIV-positive man, saliva illustrates 'long way to go' in efforts to reduce stigma

Male circumcision in Kenya following political violence

Risk factors for spread of HIV in Afghanistan high, Health Ministry says

Bush should call on Congress to reduce PEPFAR funding in reauthorization legislation, opinion piece says

San Francisco Mayor rejects proposed budget cuts to HIV/AIDS services

Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS organizations call for integration of TB interventions into country's HIV/AIDS programs

HIV advocates, sex workers in India call for passage of bill aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, discrimination

More attention to neglected tropical diseases

New generation of insect repellents in the pipeline

Warning about the danger of yet another bird flu virus

Advocates call for increased funding, renewed efforts for HIV/AIDS vaccine research

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Latest News