HIV in Blood Differs From HIV in Semen The genetic makeup of HIV in semen differs from that of HIV in the bloodstream, according to a study published in the Public Library of Science online journal PLoS Pathogens and reported by The Seattle Times.
China Court to Hear HIV Discrimination Case A court in China's Anhui province has agreed to hear a lawsuit involving a prospective schoolteacher who says he was denied a job because he is HIV positive, The New York Times reports.
Iowa Radio Host Rebuked for AIDS Comments After WHO-AM host Jan Mickelson made contentious remarks about AIDS education and gay marriage during a broadcast from the Iowa State Fair, station owner Clear Channel Communications denounced the comments on-air, DesMoinesRegister.com reports.
Michigan AIDS Walk Raises $10,000 The Grand Rapids, Michigan, AIDS Walk/Run raised more than $10,000 during its 18th annual 5K run or walk on August 28, Mlive.com reports.
August 27, 2010
Guilty Verdicts for HIV-Positive German Pop Star
Nadja Benaissa, a member of the all-girl German pop band No Angels, was found guilty of aggravated battery for having unprotected sex with a man without revealing her HIV-positive status, Der Spiegel reports.
Confusion on HIV Breast-feeding Policy in Uganda The World Health Organization says that HIV-positive mothers on antiretroviral medications can breast-feed their babies up to 12 months without transmitting the virus.
August 25, 2010
Harry Popper Condoms Sued by Harry Potter Studio
Safer sex for wizards? Magic X, the Swiss maker of Harry Popper condoms, is being sued by Warner Brothers, the Hollywood studio behind the Harry Potter movies, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Child Forced From School in India Over HIV Status A group of parents at a private school in Anantapur, India, forced a 4-year-old girl out of the school because they suspected she was HIV positive after they learned the girl’s parents were HIV positive, The Times of India reports.
Strike Threatens HIV Treatment in South Africa A health worker wage strike in South Africa has disrupted antiretroviral and tuberculosis treatment as well as local programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, PlusNews reports.
Obama Seeks Extra $65M for HIV/AIDS in FY2011 The Obama administration has asked Congress for an additional $65 million for HIV/AIDS funding for fiscal year 2011, according to a statement from the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP).
HIV-Positive Chinese AIDS Activist Detained A well-known AIDS activist has been detained in China for lobbying for compensation for Chinese people who contracted HIV through tainted blood supplies, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports.
August 23, 2010
White House Seeks Stricter Medical Privacy Rules The Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) has withdrawn proposed final rules on medical privacy
at the urging of the White House, The New York Times reports.
Errors Result in Delayed HIV Drug Payments in Ohio The Ohio Department of Health is investigating the extent of a computer glitch by a third-party insurance administrator that delayed payments to HIV-positive people, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
Candidate for Minn. Gov. Wanted to End HIV Funding
Tom Emmer—the Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota who received a $150,000 campaign contribution from Target Corporation—led an effort in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2005 to eliminate statewide funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project, change.org reports.
HIV Prevention in Southern Africa Ignores MSM HIV prevention campaigns in southern Africa focus on heterosexual transmission of the virus and ignore men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a study reported by PlusNews.
Oil and Gas Companies Urged to Prioritize HIV/AIDS Oil and gas companies consistently fail to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria among their workforces, according to a study by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) and Booz & Company.
August 19, 2010
Rand Paul Belongs to HIV Denialist Group
Rand Paul, MD, the Republican Senate candidate from Kentucky, is a member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), prwatch.org reports. According to the article, AAPS denies that HIV causes AIDS.
Clinton Foundation Seeks Matching Donations The William J. Clinton Foundation, which works on several issues including HIV/AIDS, has comprised a list of projects it seeks to accomplish in the next year.
August 18, 2010
National AIDS Fund to Grant $1.5M in Southern U.S.
The National AIDS Fund (NAF), with support from the Ford Foundation, is providing $1.5 million in grants to advance HIV/AIDS public policy and advocacy through an initiative called Southern REACH (Regional Expansion of Access and Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS), according to an NAF statement.
HIV-Positive Canadian Man Gets 3 Years for Nondisclosure John Duane Gilbertson of Edmonton, Canada, has been sentenced to three years in prison for having sex with a woman and not disclosing he was HIV positive, the Toronto Sun reports.
Swaziland Studies New HIV Prevention Program
Swaziland, the country with the highest HIV rate and lowest life expectancy, is shelving its current HIV prevention program, PlusNews reports.
August 17, 2010
HIV/AIDS Advocate Kory Montoya Dies
HIV/AIDS advocate Kory Montoya has died. A New Mexico Apache, Montoya held numerous leadership roles throughout the years in the Native American HIV/AIDS community.
NIH Awards $21M to Study Early Response to HIV The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $21 million grant to a multi-institutional team to study the early stage immune response to HIV, according to a statement by the Salk Institute.
August 16, 2010
German Pop Star Admits During Trial to Unprotected Sex
Nadja Benaissa, a member of the all-girl German pop band No Angels, has admitted to having unprotected sex with several partners without disclosing to them she was HIV positive, BBC News reports.
Lawsuit Claims Delta Flight Attendant Fired for HIV A former Delta Airlines employee has filed a lawsuit against the company claiming he was fired because he was HIV positive, had a sleep disorder and was in recovery from drug addiction, Sun-Times Media Wire (STMW) reports.
Prison Sentence in Fake Trojan Condoms Scheme New York City resident Jian Wang, a U.S. citizen who emigrated from China, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for his part in a counterfeiting scheme that involved over a million fake Trojan condoms imported from China, Bloomberg News reports.
Free Condom Machines in Schools Proposed in Australia
Family
Planning Victoria, a sexual and reproductive health organization in Australia,
has asked the federal government to fund contraceptive services and recommends
free condoms in high schools, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
New Sex Ed Program to Begin in North Carolina
North
Carolina’s Healthy Youth Act takes effect this year, mandating a sex education
program in the state’s schools, the Asheville
Citizen-Times reports.
August 12, 2010
ADAP Crisis Task Force and BMS Enhance Support Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) have agreed to enhanced support by BMS of AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).
Americans Still Confused About Health Care Reform Americans are still confused about the provisions of health care reform, even as many of its components soon begin taking effect in stages and continue through 2015.
Study: Biology Affects Susceptibility to HIV Kenyan women are more biologically susceptible to HIV, according to a study published in the journal AIDS and reported by PlusNews.
India Expands Female Condom Program India will expand its female condom program from eight states to 17 in an effort to control HIV rates among female sex workers and other women at high risk, The Times of India reports.
UNAIDS: Major Cities Must Increase HIV/AIDS Efforts Major cities around the world must increase their HIV/AIDS efforts, said Michel Sidibe, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), during a visit to Shanghai, UNAIDS reports.
August 10, 2010
Black AIDS Institute Launches Treatment Network
The Black AIDS Institute, with support from Merck, has launched the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN), according to a statement released by the institute.
Senator John Kerry Introduces Bill to Fight Viral Hepatitis
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act of 2010 in the Senate, calling for a national strategy to help prevent and stop hepatitis B and C, according to a statement by the senator’s office.
H1N1 Virus Enters Post-Pandemic Phase
The H1N1 virus, a.k.a. “swine flu,” is no longer classified as a pandemic, according to a World Health Organization statement.
August 09, 2010
Free Crack Pipes for HIV Prevention in Seattle
The People’s Harm Reduction Alliance, a Seattle-based
nonprofit group, has started a new program that hands out free crack pipes to
reduce HIV transmission, Hip-Hop Wired reports. (Watch video.)
Study: 1 in 4 Canadians Wouldn’t Get an HIV Vaccine If a vaccine to prevent HIV transmission were 100 percent effective, only 74 percent of Canadians would get vaccinated, according to a University of Toronto study reported by the Toronto Sun.
"Brothers for Life" HIV Prevention Ads in South Africa
Health officials in South Africa are continuing the "Brothers for Life" HIV prevention campaign with new radio, television, billboard and newspaper ads, the Detroit Free Press reports.
August 06, 2010
Plans for a “Gay Condom” in India A
year after India’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality, a leading condom
manufacturer in the country plans to market a “gay condom” with extra
lubrication, making it more suitable for anal sex, Mid Day reports.
USAID Awards $38M to Pediatric AIDS in Uganda The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is awarding the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and the Ugandan Ministry of Health a five-year, $38 million cooperative agreement to provide services related to HIV, tuberculosis and malnutrition in southwest Uganda, according to an EGPAF statement.
New HIV Cases in Fiji Increase Prevention Efforts Fiji's Health Ministry is exploring options to deal with a rise in HIV cases, Xinhua News Agency reports. Officials are calling on parents, teachers and religious groups to encourage HIV prevention, including sex education in schools.
August 05, 2010
San Francisco HIV/AIDS Coalition Commends Speaker Pelosi A coalition of San Francisco HIV/AIDS groups and advocates released a joint statement expressing their concerns with funding cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
Generic HIV Drugs Threatened by Stricter Patent Rules Stricter global intellectual property rules are threatening generic versions of antiretroviral (ARV) treatments manufactured in India and other developing countries.
CDC Awards $42M to Community-Based HIV Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $42 million to 133 community-based organizations (CBOs) to help them implement HIV prevention programs, according to a CDC statement.
South Carolina Faces HIV Inmate Segregation Lawsuit The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing a lawsuit against the South Carolina prison system for segregating its HIV-positive inmates in separate dorms, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
Hip Hop 4 HIV Concert Gets Thousands Tested The fourth annual Hip Hop 4 HIV concert treated more than 15,000 young adults to a free concert in Houston, but there was one catchthey had to be tested and educated about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), khou.com reports.
August 03, 2010
LGBT Advocates Condemn U.S. Gay Blood Ban
LGBT advocates are condemning the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on blood donations from gay men as discriminatory, The New York Times reports.
Global Fund Seeks Contributions From China, India China, India and other countries with fast-growing economies should begin contributing to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said the head of organization, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports.
Using Faith-Based Groups to Fight HIV/AIDS in Africa Since faith-based organizations (FBOs) provide an estimated 30 percent to 70 percent of health care in Africa, they should be used to help fight HIV/AIDS, according to a study of nongovernmental organizations reported by PlusNews.
August 02, 2010
HIV Testing, Needle Exchange Laws Enacted in New York New York Governor David
Paterson signed into law two bills updating rules for HIV testing and needle
exchange, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Sex Ed Implemented Slowly in Latin America Many countries in Latin
America have enacted legislation and policies promoting sex education and
sexual health services for young people, but implementation has been slow, the
Inter Press Service (IPS) reports.
Study: HIV Prevention Often Ignores Gay Couples Gay couples are often
ignored in HIV prevention efforts despite their sexual behaviors, which can
lead to seroconversions, according to a study published in the journal AIDS
Care and reported by the Bay
Area Reporter.
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