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HIV/AIDS services in Myanmar being pulled due to Government pressure

An increasing number of international organizations and health workers have stopped offering HIV/AIDS services in Myanmar because of pressure from the country's military government, the Washington Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

Arkansas Senate approves bill that would require prison inmates to receive HIV test before release

The Arkansas Senate on Monday voted 35-0 to approve a bill (HB 1444) that would require state inmates to receive HIV tests before being released, the AP/Pine Bluff Commercial reports.

8 Mar 2007

Fishing communities in some developing countries highly affected by HIV/AIDS

Fishing communities in some developing countries have higher HIV prevalences, as well as AIDS-related illnesses and mortality rates, than other populations, primarily because of travel and a custom of trading sex for fish, according to a report released on Monday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the SAPA/Cape Argus reports.

8 Mar 2007

California Sen. Carole Migden introduces bill to allow HIV-positive men to use reproductive services

California Sen. Carole Migden (D) recently introduced a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to use reproductive services, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the MediaNews/San Jose Mercury News reports.

8 Mar 2007

HIV-positive men who have sex before circumcision wounds are healed could increase female partners' infection risk

HIV-positive men undergoing circumcision might be more likely to transmit the virus to their female partners if they have sex before the circumcision wounds have healed, according to preliminary results from a study being conducted in Uganda and presented on Tuesday to 75 officials from the World Health Organization and UNAIDS at a meeting in Montreux, Switzerland, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

World Bank will not finance condom purchases in India

The World Bank and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development recently announced that they will not help the Indian government purchase condoms to fight the spread of HIV under the third phase of the country's National AIDS Control Program, which is scheduled to begin in April, because of an alleged lack of transparency in purchasing procedures, the Financial Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

Doctors in Zimbabwe end two-month strike

Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a two-month strike after reaching a deal with the government over their wages, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said on Saturday, Reuters South Africa reports.

8 Mar 2007

Reasons for low fertility rates in industrialized countries

The New York Times Magazine on Sunday examined why industrialized countries have been experiencing decreased fertility rates and how differing policies regarding maternity leave and worker benefits are affecting the rates.

8 Mar 2007

Response to opinion piece saying global maternal health programs deserve more support

The New York Times on Sunday published several letters to the editor in response to a Feb. 25 Times column by Nicholas Kristof. According to Kristof, maternal health programs should receive support from the U.S. in part because the country knows how to lower maternal mortality and morbidity.

8 Mar 2007

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle rejects federal abstinence education funds

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has directed the state Department of Health and Family Services to notify federal officials that Wisconsin is refusing $600,000 in Title V federal abstinence education funds for fiscal year 2007, health department spokesperson Stephanie Marquis said on Friday, the Madison Capital Times reports.

8 Mar 2007

Two Roche HPV diagnostic tests to receive FDA review

Roche on Tuesday announced that FDA will review applications for the company's two human papillomavirus diagnostic tests, the Baltimore Sun reports

8 Mar 2007

Debate over HPV vaccine 'clouded' by worries about promiscuity

The debate over the Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been "clouded" by "worries about promiscuity," New York Times reporter Denise Grady writes in a column

8 Mar 2007

FDA approves Elbit software for use with uterine fibroid treatment

Israel-based Elbit Medical Imaging on Monday said that FDA has approved software that aims to reduce treatment time for the uterine fibroid device ExAblate 2000, the AP/Forbes reports.

8 Mar 2007

International donors must connect fight against HIV/AIDS to ending violence against women

Governments and international donors, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, need to address violence against women in the context of HIV/AIDS programs, according to a report conducted by Women Won't Wait and released on Tuesday, Reuters South Africa reports.

8 Mar 2007

Bold proposal to restructure drug development patents

Weill Cornell Medical College scientist Dr. Carl Nathan has issued a bold call for reforming the pharmaceutical development and patent systems in order to increase the number of vaccines and drugs available to combat neglected diseases that are ravaging the world's poor.

8 Mar 2007

Surgeon General's call to action on underage drinking welcomed

The U.S. Surgeon General's long-awaited Call to Action on underage drinking amplifies the National Academies' Institute of Medicine's report of more than three years ago urging a national strategy to address the nation's worst youth drug problem.

8 Mar 2007

FDA warning on mineral water from Armenia

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to drink certain brands of mineral water imported from Armenia due to the risk of exposure to arsenic, a toxic substance and known cause of cancer in humans.

8 Mar 2007

Allowing greater access to drug safety data would enable researchers to better evaluate risks

For years, pharmaceutical companies have sought to restrict public access to drug safety data collected in clinical trials on the basis that it is proprietary information, arguing that competitors could use that information in the development of their own products.

8 Mar 2007

PAHO, Canada sign agreement to advance health programs

The Pan American Health Organization and the Government of Canada today signed a four-year agreement to support international health work in the Americas.

8 Mar 2007