AIDS/HIV
Stigma, ignorance risks spread of AIDS in Sudan
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Almost three-quarters of Sudanese youth are sexually active, but less than a tenth know how to use condoms, posing a serious threat that HIV and AIDS will spread in the country, a U.N. official said on Monday.
Sudan has a relatively low incidence of HIV/AIDS - 1.6 percent of adults are infected with the disease and 1.3 percent of young people - compared with sub-Saharan Africa where the rate of infection in some countries is as high as 10 percent.
China warns HIV cases could exceed 10 million by 2010
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China, once accused of being slow to acknowledge the threat of AIDS, could have as many as 10 million HIV carriers in five years if no effective preventive measures are taken, state media said on Monday, echoing a grim UN warning.
China says it has 840,000 HIV-AIDS cases among its 1.3 billion population, but experts say at least a million poor farmers were infected in botched blood-selling schemes in the central province of Henan alone.
HIV Patients Perceive Discrimination by Physicians
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Many doctors don’t gladly welcome HIV patients—or so the patients perceive.
One in four HIV-infected adults reported that they had experienced discrimination by a healthcare provider, with more than half citing their physicians as offenders, according to a large nationally representative study.
Diagnostic test maker receives report on HIV tests from China clinical trials
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Calypte Biomedical Corp. (HIV) announced that it has received the final clinical trial report from the Chinese Centers for Disease Control (Chinese CDC) confirming the performance of the five Calypte HIV tests that were evaluated earlier this year.
Three rapid HIV tests, Aware HIV-1/2 BSP, Aware HIV-1/2 OMT, and Aware HIV-1/2 U were evaluated in these studies. These tests employ, respectively, blood, oral fluid, and urine samples. In addition, the Calypte HIV-1 Serum Western blot and the HIV-1 Urine Western blot tests were evaluated for their performance in various Chinese provinces and populations. The clinical trial was performed by the Chinese CDC.
US Group Alleges Condom Crisis
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THE Centre for Health and Gender Equity (Change) in the United States of America has said Uganda has been facing a shortage of condoms for the last 10 months.
In an August 26 statement, Change’s Executive Director Jodi Jacobson said the shortage could endanger Uganda’s previously successful prevention efforts in the fight against HIV/Aids.
Germany reports sharp rise in HIV infections
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The number of confirmed HIV infections in Germany rose sharply in the first half of this year, which the government said was a worrying trend that indicated the deadly virus was not being taken seriously enough.
The number of HIV infections jumped to 1,164 in the first half of 2005, a 20 percent rise over the first half of 2004, the Robert Koch Institute, the government’s central disease control centre, said in a statement.
Parties for HIV+ men may pose health risks
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Parties for HIV-positive gay men to meet others infected with the virus may help to prevent its spread but scientists said on Thursday the events may also raise the risk of exposure to superinfections.
So-called “POZ Parties” began in New York in the
Orange chemical hailed as a treatment for AIDS
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An Australian pharmaceutical company said on Tuesday a naturally occurring chemical extracted from oranges can be used to treat HIV/AIDS, influenza, SARS and the common cold.
Citrofresh International Ltd. said Europe’s Retroscreen Virology Laboratory had found its Citrofresh bioflavanoid compound to be effective against the HIV-1 virus, the human influenza A virus including Avian influenza or bird flu, the Urbani SARS virus and the human rhinovirus.
South Africa labour boss slams Mbeki on AIDS
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South Africa’s top trade unionist has attacked President Thabo Mbeki in the latest sign of discord between the ruling party and its labour allies, accusing him of failing to stem a raging AIDS pandemic.
“This lack of government leadership on HIV is a betrayal of our people and our struggle,” Zwelinzima Vavi, secretary general of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), was quoted as saying in local newspapers on Monday, prompting an angry reaction from the health ministry.
Testing doesn’t stop HIV spread in porn industry
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Investigators at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services recently became aware of four cases of HIV infection related to work in the adult film industry. The infections occurred despite a widely adopted voluntary program of HIV and STD testing in the industry.
As reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the first identified case was a 40-year-old man who tested HIV-negative on February 12 and March 17, 2004, but tested positive on April 9.
Lesotho will miss AIDS drug treatment target
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Lesotho will likely fail to meet its target of providing 28,000 HIV patients with life-prolonging drugs by the end of the year as part of a global attempt to boost AIDS treatment, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Lesotho’s target was part of a global programme to provide three million people with antiretroviral drugs by the end of 2005, but World Health Organisation global HIV/AIDS director Jim Kim said the tiny mountain kingdom had no chance of meeting it.
African first ladies launch new AIDS drive
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The wives of 40 African leaders launched a campaign on Thursday to fight AIDS, saying the first step is to protect orphans and children suffering from a disease some countries still treat as taboo.
“People don’t want to talk about it for the simple reason that we have a society that is very judgmental on this issue,” Janet Kagame, wife of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, said after announcing the “Treat Every Child as Your Own” campaign.
Zimbabwe eviction drive seen worsening AIDS crisis
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Zimbabwe’s urban evictions violated the rights of hundreds of thousands of people and disrupted AIDS treatment across the country, threatening a new stage in the epidemic, a rights group said on Sunday.
Human Rights Watch called on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to investigate the campaign and accused President Robert Mugabe’s government of blocking U.N. efforts to help victims.
S. Africa says AIDS drugs on track despite critics
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South Africa’s anti-AIDS drugs programme is on track but the government does not have the resources to adequately monitor and evaluate the campaign, a top official said on Thursday.
South Africa is the country hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic with more than 5 million of its 45 million population believed to be infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Volkswagen uses game to fight AIDS in South Africa
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The game the school children are playing in this South African town looks like Trivial Pursuit. But the subject is anything but trivial.
The boardgame was created by Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) - a subsidiary of German car maker Volkswagen - to teach children about HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Pregnancy.
