Disease/Infection News

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Few children in need of HIV/AIDS medications receiving them

Five percent of the children who urgently need HIV/AIDS medications are receiving them, according to research released Tuesday by Medecins Sans Frontieres at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Reuters AlertNet reports.

17 Aug 2006

China taking steps to control the spread of HIV

Zunyu Wu, director of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto said the country plans to continue taking steps to control the spread of HIV in the country, AFP/Today Online reports.

17 Aug 2006

Intensified action needed to halt a quarter of a million TB/HIV deaths a year of people living with AIDS

Leading HIV experts today called on the global HIV community to intensify collaboration on tuberculosis control, to prevent the deaths of a quarter of a million people living with HIV (PLHIV) a year.

17 Aug 2006

Study identifies prevention interventions set to reduce HIV infection in young people

For the first time, the effectiveness of different types of HIV interventions in schools, health services, media, communities, and for young people most at risk of HIV have been reviewed and graded for their usefulness.

17 Aug 2006

Link between male circumcision and protection against HIV infection

In June 2006, the US National Institutes of Health announced that, following an interim review, two ongoing trials in Uganda and Kenya examining the link between male circumcision and the risk of acquisition of HIV infection in men should be continued.

17 Aug 2006

Indonesia confirms 58th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus

The case occurred in a 9-year-old girl from a remote village in Garut district, West Java Province. She developed symptoms on 1 August, was hospitalized on 14 August, and died on 15 August. Recent chicken deaths were reported in her household.

17 Aug 2006

Long-term health effects from West Nile illnesses

More than a year after being diagnosed with a West Nile virus infection, half of the patients have ongoing health complaints including fatigue, memory problems, headaches, depression, and tremors, according to an article in the Sept. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

16 Aug 2006

GenoMed's West Nile treatment speeds up Texas policeman's recovery from paralysis

GenoMed has announced that a Texas policeman with paralysis from the waist down due to West Nile virus has accelerated his recovery since starting GenoMed's treatment last week.

16 Aug 2006

Genotoxic bacteria in the digestive tract

Escherichia coli is a commensal bacterium, which lives peacefully in our digestive tract. However, certain strains are pathogenic and are frequently incriminated in a broad spectrum of infections, affecting both farmed animals and humans (diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, food poisoning, septicaemia, neonatal meningitis, etc.).

16 Aug 2006

Black leaders call for urgent program to increase HIV testing

U.S. black leaders on Monday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto pledged to make efforts to increase access to care and treatment for black U.S. residents and called for an urgent campaign to increase HIV testing and awareness among blacks in the country, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

16 Aug 2006

AIDS vaccine still long way off

Researchers are optimistic about a potential HIV/AIDS vaccine, even though none of the vaccines in development is likely to completely protect people from HIV transmission, participants at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto said at a news conference Tuesday, Reuters reports.

16 Aug 2006

About 4 million additional health workers needed worldwide to fight HIV/AIDS, WHO says

More than four million additional health workers will be needed in 60 countries to fight HIV/AIDS, according to a strategy the World Health Organization released Tuesday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Wall Street Journal reports.

16 Aug 2006

HIV treatment access reaches over 1 million in sub-Saharan Africa

WHO HIV/AIDS Director Dr Kevin De Cock reported that the number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed 1 million for the first time, a ten-fold increase in treatment access in the region since December 2003.

16 Aug 2006

Treatment for STI's has a role in HIV prevention

The findings of a WHO/UNAIDS consultation presented at the XVI International AIDS Conference confirm that caring for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the right stage of an epidemic and targeting them at key population groups can reduce HIV transmission.

16 Aug 2006

Thailand shows how free access to life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs can be affordable

A new report on Thailand's experience of giving free anti-retroviral drugs (ART) to people living with AIDS suggests that even developing countries with few resources may be able to deliver the life-saving drugs on a large scale, according to the World Bank and the Thailand Ministry of Public Health.

16 Aug 2006

AIDS spiraling out of control in Asia because of men's behaviour

South Asia's HIV and AIDS epidemic will continue to grow rapidly unless the eight countries in the region, especially India, can saturate high-risk groups such as sex workers and their clients, injecting drug users, and men having sex with men with better HIV prevention measures.

16 Aug 2006

Male circumcision, microbicides and other tools set to change HIV prevention landscape

In a new report released this week, fifty top AIDS experts warn that a range of promising new HIV prevention approaches are nearing completion of clinical trials, but the world is unprepared to ensure widespread access for those in need.

15 Aug 2006

Serious gaps in Indian public knowledge about HIV

As India gears up implementation of national plans to fight HIV, infectious diseases experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere are pointing out serious gaps in public knowledge about the disease and identifying early problems in private clinics, where 70 percent of HIV-infected Indians receive their everyday medical care.

15 Aug 2006

Elite suppressors of HIV to change how scientists monitor spread of disease

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that 1 percent to 2 percent of those infected with HIV in Baltimore apparently suppress the virus to nearly undetectable levels on their own, confounding public health efforts to accurately monitor the pandemic's spread, now in its 20th year.

15 Aug 2006

Antiretroviral treatment failure due to lack of patient support

A new report to be presented at the Toronto International AIDS Conference shows that access to antiretrovirals is only part of the treatment equation.

15 Aug 2006