May, 2009 |
| (05/05) The Globalist Examines HIV/AIDS in Haiti, Latin America |
The Globalist recently examined the HIV/AIDS situation in the Caribbean and Latin America. Although Haiti was "one of the countries hardest hit" by HIV/AIDS in the region, infection rates have been falling during the last few years, according to UNAIDS statistics. Infection rates have been declining more slowly in rural areas than in urban areas, and the percentage of pregnant women who have tested HIV-positive has declined by half over the last 10 years, the Globalist reports. Currently about 190,000 Haitians or 2.2% of the population is HIV-positive. In 2001, 6.1% of the adult population was HIV-positive, according to UNAIDS ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 05/05/2009 |
| |
| (05/05) HIV-Positive People at Increased Risk of New Flu Strain, WHO Says |
HIV-positive people worldwide are at an increased risk of the H1N1 flu strain, the World Health Organization said on Saturday in guidelines for health workers published on its Web site, Reuters India reports. According to WHO, people with immodeficiency diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, likely will be vulnerable to complications related to the flu strain, just as they are from the seasonal flu, which results in about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually. According to WHO, the H1N1 strain and HIV could prove to be a hazardous combination, similar to HIV and tuberculosis. "Although there are inadequate data to predict the impact of a possible human influenza pandemic on HIV-affected populations, interactions between HIV and A(H1N1) influenza could be significant," WHO said, adding that HIV-positive people "should be considered as a high risk and a priority population for preventive and therapeutic strategies against influenza, including emerging influenza A(H1N1) virus infection" ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 05/05/2009 |
| |
| (05/04) ‘Congressional Quarterly’ Article Focuses on Obama’s Silence on AIDS |
An article in today’s issue of ‘Congressional Quarterly’ headlined, “AIDS Group Shows Impatience,” focuses on AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s growing concern that President Obama’s total silence on HIV/AIDS during his first 100 days in office signals the relatively low priority that AIDS seems to hold for the President and his Administration. The article, written by CQ staff reporter Shawn Zeller, reports on a 60 second television advertisement titled, “President Obama: We Hope you are the Change We Can Believe In On AIDS,” that AHF produced and aired on CNN in Washington and New York. Following is the CQ article: Click to view video.
~AIDS Healthcare Foundation - 05/04/2009 |
| |
| (05/01) Depression and HCV |
May is Mental Health Month. In the U.S., roughly one in five experience some sort of mental illness. Depression is the most widespread psychiatric condition. Those with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) frequently experience depression. Depression is common in the general public, with sources reporting from 5% to 20%. That number increases for those living below the poverty level. Women, non-Hispanic blacks and those ages 40-59 have higher depression rates. The World Health Organization reports that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - May 2009 |
| |
| (05/01) Omega-3’s Protect Liver |
In the last few years omega-3 fatty acids have been in the news as the next best thing to help manage and treat a wide variety of health-related issues. Usually when this type of hype builds up on anything it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. But omega-3’s just might buck this trend because there is a good amount of scientific data that is confirming some of the claims made in the last few years. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids have been found to improve the overall health of the heart by lowering unhealthy cholesterol and blood pressure. Some research has also found that omega-3’s may even help to lower the risk of stroke. In this article I will explore some of the facts of omega 3’s and how these relate to the liver – namely fatty liver disease and insulin resistance, two factors that greatly affect HCV disease progression and treatment outcome ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - May 2009 |
| |
| (05/01) Needle-exchange worker helps heroin users in Rock County |
Jimi Reinke is in Rock County twice a week distributing syringes to drug users. He is doing nothing illegal. His job is to keep people from dying from dirty needles. Reinke works for Lifepoint Needle Exchange, a program of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. Based in Madison, he works a territory from the Dells south to the state line. Rock County is a prime territory ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - 05/01/2009 |
| |
| (05/01) Early treatment gives hepatitis C patients the all-clear |
THERE is good news for people with hepatitis C, say medical researchers who have found that with early treatment up to 70 per cent of patients will be cured of the debilitating infection. What's more, the international team showed that, overall, when treating the blood-borne virus, the standard combination drug treatment was as effective as a stronger regimen, which caused more serious side effects ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - May 2009 |
| |
| (05/01) Black Leaders Convene AIDS Mobilization Summit in Response to New Washington D.C. HIV/AIDS Data |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leaders of traditional Black political, civil rights, social, and faith based organizations will come together with local AIDS and community based organizations on Monday, May 4, 2009 for a D.C. Black AIDS Leadership Mobilization Summit to respond to recent data released by the D.C. Department of Health. The meeting will take place 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Kaiser Family Foundation located at 1310 G. Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005. National television commentator Jeff Johnson will moderate the event ...(continued)
~Black AIDS Institute - 05/01/2009 |
| |
April, 2009 |
| (04/30) Solomon Islands' Media Should Increase HIV/AIDS Awareness, Combat Stigma, Official Says |
Media outlets in the Solomon Islands should undertake efforts to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and counteract the stigma associated with the disease, Joe Weber, Oxfam International representative for the country, said recently at the close of a week-long media training on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, PINS/Solomon Star News reports. The meeting -- funded by Oxfam and organized by the Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association -- included 20 media personnel from various organizations in the country's capital of Honiara ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/30/2009 |
| |
| (04/29) UNAIDS Official Calls for Efforts To Address Disease Among Workers in Fiji |
HIV/AIDS efforts in Fiji should be mobilized to address disruptions in productivity among workers in the country, Stuart Watson, UNAIDS coordinator for the Pacific Region, said on Tuesday, the Fiji Times reports. Watson was addressing participants at an event to mark the 2009 World Day for Safety and Health at Work. He noted that HIV/AIDS often affects workers, who are the drivers of a country's economy ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/29/2009 |
| |
| (04/29) Report Examines HIV/AIDS, Other Issues in Tanzanian Prisons |
About 9.2% of inmates in Tanzania's prisons are HIV-positive, according to a recently released 2008 Human Rights Report compiled by the country's Legal and Human Rights Centre, Guardian/IPP Media reports. LHRC advocate Clarence Kipobota at the release of the report said that the situation in Tanzanian prisons is alarming, adding that there are no systems in place to aid HIV-positive inmates. He said, "There is no information on appropriate health facilities for people living with HIV/AIDS in prisons," adding that there are "no mechanisms designed to facilitate a convicted person's transition back into the society when they are released" ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/29/2009 |
| |
| (04/28) Reviving Dormant Protein That Resists HIV Could Further Microbicide Research |
By tinkering with a dormant human gene, researchers at the University of Central Florida have found a way to produce a protein that resists HIV in the lab, the AP/Orlando Sentinel reports (Quintero, AP/Orlando Sentinel, 4/28). The researchers say that the findings could one day be used to create a topical cream, or microbicide, that helps to prevent the transmission of HIV from men to women, McClatchy-Tribune News Service/Journal Gazette reports (McClatchy-Tribune News Service/Journal Gazette, 4/28) ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/28/2009 |
| |
| (04/28) Obama Administration Names Former Clinton Official Goosby to Global AIDS Coordinator Post |
President Obama on Monday named Eric Goosby as the new global AIDS coordinator and administrator of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the New York Times reports (Macfarquhar, New York Times, 4/27). Goosby, whose nomination has to be confirmed by the Senate, currently serves as CEO and chief medical officer of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation and as a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California-San Francisco (CQ HealthBeat, 4/27). During the Clinton administration, he served as deputy director of the White House National AIDS Policy Office and director of HHS' Office of HIV/AIDS Policy. According to White House officials, Goosby was a key player in developing and implementing national HIV/AIDS treatment programs in China, Rwanda, South Africa and Ukraine (White House release, 4/27) ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/28/2009 |
| |
| (04/28) Increasing Number of New HIV Cases in El Paso, Texas, Recorded Among Young People |
The number of HIV cases among people younger than age 35 in El Paso, Texas, is on the rise, highlighting what some health officials say is a trend of complacency about the virus, the El Paso Times reports. The city's health department records indicate a shift in the ages of people testing HIV-positive. In 2004, the majority of newly reported cases occurred among men older than age 35, while in 2007 and 2008, more cases were newly recorded among people in their 20s and early 30s. Twenty-two cases have been reported in the first three months of this year, with more than half among people younger than age 35. Twenty-one cases were among men, with seven among men ages 24 or younger and five among men ages 25 to 34. Three cases occurred among men between ages 35 and 39, while the remaining six cases occurred among men ages 45 to 64 ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/28/2009 |
| |
| (04/28) Taiwan Harm Reduction Program for IDUs Praised at International Conference |
Taiwan's harm reduction program for injection drug users -- which has reduced the number of new HIV cases among the group by about 50% over a three-year period -- recently received praise at the International Harm Reduction Association's 20th International Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Inter Press Service reports. According to Inter Press Service, Taiwan's HIV incidence declined to 1,752 new cases in 2008, compared with more than 3,300 in 2005 -- nearly double the number recorded in 2004. Sheng Mou Hu, the country's health minister at the time, said the success in reducing the number of new HIV cases can be attributed to the approach that "harm reduction should be based on human rights." The program was launched in 2006 and includes elements like enhanced screening and monitoring of HIV-positive IDUs, a needle-exchange program and methadone replacement initiatives. As a result, IDUs in Taiwan are presented to the public as "patients" who required medical attention rather than criminals, Inter Press Service reports ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/28/2009 |
| |
| (04/27) CDC Report Examines HIV/AIDS in Chinese Province |
A report by Chinese and U.S. researchers released last week in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report examined the spread of HIV in China's Guangdong province, Reuters reports. The team of researchers -- from CDC and the Guangdong Center for Disease Control -- said that 82.1% of new HIV cases among men in Guangdong occurred through injection drug use, while 53.7% of HIV-positive women had "engaged in high-risk heterosexual contact" (Fox, Reuters, 4/24). According to the report, injection drug use was the most common mode of transmission over the period 1997 to 2007, but new infections attributable to injection drug use declined from 2005 to 2007 while those related to high-risk heterosexual contact increased (MMWR, 4/24). The researchers said that the findings "might suggest a shift in Guangdong's HIV epidemic similar to the national trend, in which heterosexual transmission was the main transmission category in China in 2007." The researchers added, "Migrant women who lack appropriate job skills or who seek to supplement the family income might become sex workers, and migrant men living apart from their spouses might become clients of sex workers" ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/27/2009 |
| |
| (04/27) Uganda Releases Guidelines on Breastfeeding, Including Recommendations for HIV-Positive Women |
Uganda's Ministry of Health last week released breastfeeding guidelines as part of a wider policy on feeding policies for infants and young children, New Vision reports. The guidelines also include breastfeeding recommendations for HIV-positive women. According to the guidelines, women should exclusively breastfeed for the first six months. In addition, they say that health workers should determine the HIV status of pregnant and breastfeeding women -- and that such women should disclose their status -- to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. According to the guidelines, HIV-positive women should still breastfeed for the first six months, regardless of their infants' HIV status, unless adequate breastmilk replacements are available. Current guidelines recommend HIV testing among infants at age six weeks if they are born to HIV-positive women ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/27/2009 |
| |
| (04/24) Metabolic Syndrome Hikes Mortality in Hepatitis C |
WHEELING, W.Va. - Patients with hepatitis C infection appear more likely to die from the condition if they also suffer from one or more components of metabolic syndrome, a researcher said. Excess body weight and hypertension both significantly heightened the risk of liver-related mortality in hepatitis C patients, according to data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) series, reported Zobair Younossi, M.D., of Inova Health System in Falls Church, Va. Those two factors as well as the third component of metabolic syndrome -- type 2 diabetes -- also made death from all causes more likely during the study period, said Dr. Younossi ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - May 2009 |
| |
| (04/23) Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Remains Challenge in Zambia, Health Minister Says |
Zambia's health minister, Kapembwa Simbao, recently said that the provision of services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission remains a challenge in the country, despite the government's efforts to expand such services in recent years, the Lusaka Times reports. Simbao's remarks, read by Deputy Health Minister Mwendoi Akakandelwa, came as the ministry completed an initial mid-term review of efforts under a regional grant provided by the Canadian International Development Agency and the World Health Organization ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/23/2009 |
| |
| (04/22) HIV Infection - Guangdong Province, China, 1997-2007 |
Results of ongoing HIV infection trend analysis in China conducted with technical assistance from the U.S. CDC help to characterize HIV transmission and provide valuable information to China for targeting and evaluating HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs. In 2007, an estimated 700,000 persons in China were living with HIV infection, of which 40.6 percent were infected through heterosexual transmission and 38.1 percent were infected through injection-drug use. To assess recent trends in HIV infection in Guangdong Province, the country's most populous, the Guangdong Center for Disease Control, with technical assistance from CDC, analyzed case-based surveillance data from 1997 to 2007. The results of this analysis indicated that, from 2003 to 2005, the number of reported new HIV infections increased from 1,284 to 5,223, with the majority of infections related to injection-drug use. However, 2007 data indicate a decline in infections related to injection-drug use while infections from heterosexual contact continued to increase.
~Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - 04/22/2009 |
| |
| (04/22) Uganda Officials Urge WFP To Continue Support for HIV-Positive Displaced People |
Ugandan government officials and HIV/AIDS advocates are concerned that cutbacks in the World Food Program's aid initiatives to internally displaced people living with HIV in the country will make it difficult to meet the needs of the large number of people who are leaving resettlement camps, IRIN/PlusNews reports. WFP in 2008 announced that a funding shortfall forced the organization to reduce its Ugandan food programs, phasing out general food distribution in the north. Bai Mankay Sankoh, head of WFP's Gulu office, said the organization "shall only be providing food support to those HIV-positive IDPs who are extremely sick or those whose health condition has relapsed, based on evidence from health workers." According to IRIN/PlusNews, IDPs are being encouraged to leave the camps as a two-year lapse in hostilities between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has led to an ongoing peace process. Local officials say that about 40% of the country's nearly one million IDPs have relocated to camps closer to their home villages ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/22/2009 |
| |
| (04/10) HIV/AIDS Presents 'Opportunity' for Social Change, UNAIDS Chief Sidibe Says |
Although HIV/AIDS poses significant challenges, the disease also presents opportunities for social change, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said recently during a visit to Senegal, AFP/Google.com reports. Sidibe said people should not regard HIV/AIDS simply as a problem but rather should use HIV/AIDS as an "entry point" to discuss social issues and "bring about changes in legislation." According to Sidibe, HIV/AIDS presents a "political opportunity to trigger profound changes in society, to talk about difficult issues like sex education, homophobia and human rights issues in general, like the position of women in society." He added that he regards UNAIDS "as a political agent which has to demand change" rather than as an organization with "clearly outlined programs." He said, "UNAIDS has to be the voice for the voiceless, it should have political courage" ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/10/2009 |
| |
| (04/10) UNODC, Afghan Health Ministry Establish Regional Initiative To Control Spread of HIV Among IDUs |
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Afghan Ministry of Health have established a regional plan to prevent and control the spread of HIV among injection drug users who are refugees in Iran and Pakistan, Xinhua News Agency reports. According to a release from the health ministry, the project aims to bolster access to and availability, quality and uptake of HIV prevention and care services. It also aims to create a regional network of HIV prevention efforts (Xinhua News Agency, 4/8) ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/10/2009 |
| |
| (04/10) HIV/AIDS Hindering Namibia's Progress in Improving Child Health |
The spread of HIV/AIDS in Namibia over the past decade has halted the country's gains in improving children's health, and some organizations are calling for improved access to health care services and programs addressing poverty and hunger, South Africa's Mail and Guardian reports. Namibia was on track to reduce its child mortality rates until 2000, when child mortality rates began to increase. Ian McCleod, Namibia's representative for UNICEF, said that 50% of all child deaths among children under age five are because of HIV-related conditions such as malnutrition, low birthweight, premature births, immune deficiency, pneumonia and diarrhea ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/10/2009 |
| |
| (04/09) Cleveland Health Officials Launch Online Campaign To Inform People of HIV, STI Risk |
In an effort to monitor cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, the Cleveland Health Department plans to use social networking sites and e-mail messages to reach people who have come in contact with a person who recently tested positive for an STI, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Health officials typically track people who might have been exposed to HIV or syphilis by visiting their homes or popular gathering places, such as bars or bathhouses. Beginning next week, the department will create profiles on two popular networking sites for men who have sex with men and contact people through these sites. In addition, the department eventually plans to create a profile on Facebook ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/09/2009 |
| |
| (04/09) Kenyan University Launches Program To Address HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma |
The AIDS Control Unit at Maseno University in Kenya has launched an initiative to address stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS by encouraging students to avoid offensive language regarding the disease, IRIN/PlusNews reports. Maurine Olel, coordinator of the control unit, said, "We are working with student clubs, students leaders and other partners to ensure that students are ... sensitive to their colleagues who might be living with HIV," adding, "When you create stigma, other efforts geared towards fighting HIV become hard to implement." Rosemary Wambui, a psychologist and counselor at the control unit, said, "Students are generally aware of HIV, but it is important to fight stigma ... and what it is that causes it, including the language, because it leads to silence and denial, which are big hindrances to the fight against HIV" ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/09/2009 |
| |
| (04/08) Needle-Exchange Program Needed in Canadian City of Victoria, Health Researcher Says |
Needle-exchange efforts in the Canadian city of Victoria are "clearly inadequate" and do not meet international health guidelines on HIV/AIDS prevention, Thomas Kerr, a health researcher with the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said recently, the Victoria Times Colonist reports. Kerr said that the city has been without a permanent needle-exchange facility since the last site closed about one year ago, following complaints from neighboring residents. After the Vancouver Island Health Authority decided not to open a fixed site, authority officials contracted AIDS Vancouver Island to offer a mobile needle-exchange service with two teams working from a van and on foot, the Times Colonist reports ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/08/2009 |
| |
| (04/08) IRIN/PlusNews Examines Program in Laos Targeting MSM |
IRIN/PlusNews on Monday examined a peer education program in Laos directed toward "hidden" men who have sex with men, a group that is "difficult to identify in HIV prevention and surveillance" despite being "probably the largest group of MSM in the country." Anan Bouapha -- a former coordinator for the project, which is run by the Australian medical research facility the Burnet Institute -- said, "Unlike transsexuals or openly gay men, hidden MSM can be homosexual, bisexual or straight. They might not want to be identified as MSM but we need to get the safe-sex message to them, no matter how difficult this is." IRIN/PlusNews reports that the program's peer educators visit places young men are most likely to gather, such as beer shacks, saunas or video shops. Bouapha said that the peer educators are trained to discuss HIV and other sexually transmitted infection prevention, as well as how to approach MSM so that they feel comfortable asking questions ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/08/2009 |
| |
| (04/07) PEPFAR Helped Prevent More Than 1M AIDS-Related Deaths in Africa, Study Says |
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has helped prevent more than one million AIDS-related deaths and reduced AIDS-related mortality by an average of 10.5% annually in 12 African focus countries as more people gained access to antiretroviral drugs, according to a study published online Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Bloomberg reports. According to the study, the program did not have any effect on overall HIV prevalence. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provided funding for the study ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/07/2009 |
| |
| (04/07) VOA News Examines HIV/AIDS Efforts in Papua New Guinea |
VOA News on Saturday examined efforts to address HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea. Some estimates place the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence at 2%, and some studies indicate that about 10% of the population could be living with the disease by 2025. According to VOA News, young women and older men are disproportionately affected by the disease, and most HIV cases are transmitted through heterosexual intercourse ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/07/2009 |
| |
| (04/07) Miami Herald Examines Issues Surrounding HIV Status Disclosure Among MSM |
The Miami Herald on Monday examined issues that some HIV-positive men who have sex with men face when determining when to reveal their status to potential partners. According to the Herald, a recent study from the Gay Men's Health Crisis found that half of U.S. residents surveyed said they believe that HIV/AIDS contributes to discrimination against MSM. In addition, discrimination in the MSM community toward HIV-positive MSM is not discussed widely, according to the Herald. This stigma often leads to a fear of disclosure among HIV-positive MSM, which can contribute to high-risk sexual activity and the spread of HIV ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/07/2009 |
| |
| (04/06) Cambodia Aims To Decrease HIV/AIDS Prevalence to 0.6% by 2010 |
Cambodia aims to decrease its HIV/AIDS prevalence to 0.6% by 2010, compared with a prevalence of more than 0.7% in 2008 and 0.9% in 2006, Xinhuanet reports. To reach the target, the government has allocated between $45 million and $50 million annually to address the disease. Following efforts from the government and nongovernmental organizations, more than 90% of commercial sex workers, injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and women who have sex with women are aware of HIV/AIDS, according to government figures. In addition, the figures indicate that at least 90% of sex workers use condoms ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/06/2009 |
| |
| (04/06) Ugandan First Lady Calls for Increased Efforts To Prevent Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission |
Uganda's first lady Janet Museveni recently called for increased efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in the country, Uganda's New Vision reports. MTC prevention efforts are a prerequisite in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Museveni said, adding that more than 90% of pregnant women have contact with a health care provider at least once during pregnancy ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/06/2009 |
| |
| (04/06) Inter Press Service Examines Research Into PrEP |
Inter Press Service last week examined how researchers are investigating the use of antiretroviral drugs as a possible method of pre-exposure prophylaxis. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition's Executive Director Mitchell Warren recently said that such efforts are "a pivotal moment in HIV/AIDS research." Mitchell -- who was speaking at the Fourth South African AIDS Conference -- said, "We are at a time where prevention and treatment need to marry." Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, said that PrEP is "biologically plausible" and that the method "could prevent millions of new infections every year." Inter Press Service reports that there are three PrEP trials planned by different research organizations worldwide that aim to examine preventing the heterosexual transmission of HIV among women ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/06/2009 |
| |
| (04/02) Kenya's Transport Industry, World Food Program Launch HIV/AIDS Service Centers Along Transport Routes |
Officials in the transport industry in Kenya have partnered with the World Food Program to open HIV/AIDS service centers along major transportation routes that will offer testing and care to transport workers, port workers and commercial sex workers, Kenya's Business Daily reports. WFP, the Kenya Ports Authority, Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, and the North Star Foundation established the first center along the corridor route at Mombasa port. An additional 20 centers have been established ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/02/2009 |
| |
| (04/02) Namibian Health Official Urges Conference Participants To Focus on Prevention |
Petrina Haingura, Namibia's deputy health minister, recently called on participants at the bi-annual Namibia Network of AIDS Service Organizations to increase prevention efforts in the country's fight against HIV/AIDS, Namibia's New Era reports. A 2008 survey that monitored HIV prevalence among women showed "a welcome fall" from 19.9% in 2006 to 17.7% in 2008, Haingura said. She added that prevalence rates have decreased to 5% among people between ages 15 and 19, and to 14% among people ages 20 to 24. In addition, HIV prevalence in six of Namibia's regions has declined to 15%, compared with previous rates as high as 40%, Haingura noted ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/02/2009 |
| |
| (04/02) Angolan Official Calls for Creation of Parliamentary HIV/AIDS Commission |
Joao Lourenco, first deputy speaker of Angola's National Assembly, on Tuesday called for the creation of a parliamentary HIV/AIDS commission to address issues surrounding the disease, the Angola Press reports. According to Lourenco, members of parliament, the National AIDS Commission and nongovernmental organizations should establish a permanent relationship with the committee. He said that members of parliament should take a larger role in Angola's HIV/AIDS strategies in an effort to assist HIV-positive people, adding that they also should help the country's efforts to obtain foreign, technical and financial aid. In addition, Lourenco said that parliament should hold more frequent sessions and discussions on the disease and involve all sectors of society ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/02/2009 |
| |
| (04/01) Papua New Guinea Defense Force To Distribute 43M Condoms Nationwide |
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force will store and distribute 43 million condoms throughout the country in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV, ABC Online reports. ABC Online reports that the National AIDS Council does not have the resources to distribute large amounts of condoms, which in the past has resulted in the expiration of some condoms. The Defence Force will provide storage space in the capital of Port Moresby and transport condoms throughout the country. Commodore Peter Llau said the distribution effort is a worthwhile cause, adding, "We don't normally deal with civil donor agencies, but this is one of those rare occasions when we've responded." ABC Online reports that an estimated 2% of the country's population is HIV-positive (Fox, ABC Online, 3/30) ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/01/2009 |
| |
| (04/01) 160,000 Children in Ghana Orphaned by HIV/AIDS, Commission Says |
Recent data compiled by the Ghana AIDS Commission indicate that about 160,000 children have been orphaned by the disease in the country, Ghana's GNA/My Joy Online reports. According to Damien Punguyire, medical superintendent of the country's Kintampo Hospital, without adequate care, more people will be affected by the pandemic and more children will be orphaned within the next five years ...(continued)
~Kaiser Network - 04/01/2009 |
| |
| (04/01) What Is Acute Hepatitis B? |
When someone is exposed to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), there are two types of infections that can result – acute (shortlived)
or chronic (long-term) ...(continued)
~HCV Advocate - April 09 |
| |
| (04/01) HBV: Preventing Mother-to-Child Infection |
Pregnant women who are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) frequently infect their newborns because of the HBV present in their blood and body fluids. About 40 percent of infants born to HBV-infected mothers in the United States become infected unless they are immediately vaccinated and receive hepatitis B antibodies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ...(continued)
~HBV Advocate - April 2009 |
| |
| (04/01) The Liver: Stress and the Liver |
It is an established fact that stress can have a negative impact on both mind and body. People with hepatitis B often comment that a period of stress usually leads to a ‘flare-up’ of symptoms, especially fatigue. Surprisingly, there is a wealth of information about how stress can affect liver disease. This fact sheet will cover some of the data from a review article titled “Does Stress Exacerbate Liver Disease?” by Y. Chida and colleagues, and sheds some light on the effects of stress on liver disease as well as raising some interesting questions ...(continued)
~HBV Advocate - April 2009 |
| |
