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 March 31, 2008
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New York Times Editorial on Black AIDS Conspiracy Theories
In a New York Times editorial published on March 30 (nytimes.com, 3/30), Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof addressed recent comments made by Barack Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah White, that argued that AIDS was created by the United States government to eradicate blacks.
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Gay Men in Thailand Barred From Donating Blood
Following a Thai Red Cross Society study that found that the majority of blood donations that tested positive for HIV in the country came from men who have sex with men (MSM), gay men in the country are no longer permitted to give blood, Thai newspaper the Bangkok Post reports.
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HIV Rising Among Baltimore’s Twentysomethings
The Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment is calling for increased prevention efforts in the city to tackle rising rates of HIV among twentysomethings, the Baltimore Sun reports.
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March 28, 2008
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More HIV Cases Reported in 2006
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) newly published 2006 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report estimates that there were 52,878 new cases of HIV in 2006.
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HIV Infections in Asia Could Rise by 150 Percent
A recent report presented to the United Nations by the Commission on AIDS in Asia showed that the number of HIV infections in Asia could rise by more than 150 percent by 2020, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
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FDA to Review HIV Drugs for Potential Heart Attack Risk
On March 27, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would make recommendations after reviewing safety data, in response to a recent study that found HIV drugs from GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb may increase heart attack risk, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Some New York Schools Get “Health Smart”
New York City is spending $203,000 on a new program that aims to standardize the sex education received by middle schoolers and high school students, the New York Post reports.
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March 27, 2008
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POZ Founder Sean Strub Responds to Swiss Statement on Condomless Sex
The Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS released a statement recently that claimed that HIV-positive people whose viral loads have been undetectable for at least six months and who do not have any other sexually transmitted diseases are “not sexually infectious.” The statement has created a widespread stir among activists, departments of health and governments worldwide. In response to the global discussion around the issues raised by the statement, POZ founder Sean Strub wrote an essay on the Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com, 3/26) advocating that more thought should be given to developing safer-sex guidelines that include viral load as a factor that can reduce transmission risk.
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AIDS Activist Gregg Gonsalves Honored
Gregg Gonsalves—an South Africa-based AIDS activist credited with accelerating the international approval process for AIDS drugs—has been awarded the $100,000 John M. Lloyd AIDS Leadership Award, the Biloxi, Mississipi-based newspaper The Sun Herald reports.
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March 26, 2008
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Funding for Vaccine Research in Question
At a scientific meeting on March 25, AIDS experts said HIV/AIDS researchers must start fresh and gain more fundamental knowledge about HIV before an effective vaccine against the virus can be developed, the New York Times reports.
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Florida Religious Leaders to Hold Seder of Hope
The Ramat Shalom Synagogue in Plantation, Florida, will be holding an interfaith Passover seder on March 30 that will focus on AIDS awareness, linking the Jewish exodus from Egypt to the modern-day struggle against HIV/AIDS, the Miami Herald reports.
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New Generic HIV Drug From India
According to its website, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for Indian generic pharmaceutical company Strides Acrolan Ltd.’s new fixed-dose combination antiretroviral therapy, Reuters reports.
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March 25, 2008
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China's Online HIV Quiz a Success
An online quiz launched in China last year challenged visitors to put their knowledge of HIV transmission, prevention and stigma to the test. It reached nearly 19 million people in just three months, the China Daily newspaper reports.
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U.S. Researchers Scale Back HIV Vaccine Trial
After the failure of Merck & Co.’s HIV vaccine trial last September—an effort that may have made trial participants even more vulnerable to infection—a separate trial conducted by the United States National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center will be scaled back considerably, Bloomberg reports.
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March 24, 2008
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Food Poisoning May Be Fatal for People With HIV
A new study conducted by scientists from the University of California Davis School of Medicine reveals that people living with HIV are more at risk for lethal Salmonella infection than HIV-negative people, ScienceDaily reports.
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Rwanda’s Rise in Tuberculosis Infection Linked to HIV
In recognition of World Tuberculosis Day, March 24, Rwanda’s health ministry revealed that the country’s tuberculosis (TB) prevalence has increased 20 percent from 2004 to 2008; experts attribute the rise in TB to the country’s also-high HIV infection rate, Rwanda News Agency/allAfrica.com reports.
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12 Men Evicted From AIDS Hospice in Nepal
Twelve men diagnosed with AIDS were thrown out of an AIDS hospice in Nepal on March 20 due to the country’s reportedly prevalent bias against homosexuals and attendant HIV stigma, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reports.
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March 21, 2008
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Experts Say Silence Around Race, Poverty Boosts U.S. HIV Rates
The nation’s hesitation to talk about issues relating to race and poverty is contributing to rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, in the United States, three top health experts write in a Washington Post editorial.
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Genetic Variation Produces Weaker HIV Strain
According to new research from the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, individuals with an immunity gene called HLA may be mutating a weaker strain of HIV, making it less potent when transmitted, reports Reuters.
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Namibian HIV-Positive Flood Victims Need Help
A community health organization in Namibia is calling for increased attention for HIV-positive individuals living in the flood-stricken northern parts of the country, the Namibian newspaper reports.
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March 20, 2008
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Circumcision Does Not Protect Against All STIs
Although research has shown that circumcision can help protect men from contracting HIV through sex with women, it may not protect them from other sexually transmitted infections, Reuters Health/Yahoo News reports.
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To Avoid HIV in Uganda, “Be a Man”
A new campaign by the Ugandan youth initiative Young Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) aims to reduce HIV infections among young people by teaching them how alcohol abuse, sex work and gender-based violence can contribute, the Ugandan news site Monitor Online reports.
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March 19, 2008
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HIV-Positive Inmates Segregated at Alabama Prison
Despite corrections officials’ assurances that two Alabama prisons—Limestone Correctional Facility and Tutwiler prison—would lift restrictions on the activities of HIV-positive inmates, more than 200 men in Limestone’s HIV unit are being kept apart from other inmates, the Associated Press (AP)/Montgomery Advertiser reports.
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London’s HIV Epidemic Evolved in “Clusters”
According to a new study, HIV/AIDS cases in London during the 1990s were in part driven by transmission of the virus within several “clusters” of people around the city, news service United Press International reports.
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Africa’s Top HIV Testers: Rwanda, Kenya and Malawi
According to a recent report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the African countries of Rwanda and Kenya have the highest rates of HIV testing through their tuberculosis care programs, South African newspaper The Citizen/AllAfrica.com report.
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March 18, 2008
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Pennsylvania Targets AIDS Among Seniors
HIV/AIDS groups in Pennsylvania are creating awareness campaigns for older adults, reports The Patriot-News, a newspaper in the state capital of Harrisburg.
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A Key to Safer Sex: Plain Old Romance
A recent study of youth in grades 7 through 12 has found that romantic teen relationships, as opposed to casual sex, may lead to safer sex practices, The Washington Post reports.
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Religious Leaders in Rwanda Get Tested for HIV
Last weekend, 50 religious leaders in Rwanda got tested for HIV in an effort to promote voluntary testing and eliminate stigma in the sub-Saharan African country, local newspaper The New Times/AllAfrica.com reports.
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Chinese College Students Get HIV 101
The China Woman/Child Care Committee launched a yearlong campaign March 13 to enlist each of the country’s 1 million college students in an HIV/AIDS education program, the news website China Daily reports.
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March 17, 2008
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South Dakota Governor Signs HIV Bill
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds has signed a bill that will require individuals found to have purposely infected a partner with HIV to register as sex offenders, the Associated Press/Rapid City Journal reports.
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California’s New Anti-Meth Campaign
California officials have launched an $11 million campaign, “Me Not Meth,” aimed at preventing the use of crystal methamphetamines among the state’s gay population to help curb the spread of HIV, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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South African Leaders Intensify AIDS Fight
At the 4th National Congress of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in South Africa on March 16, the country’s Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka encouraged families to become more involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, South African news service IOL News reports.
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March 14, 2008
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Senate Committee Votes to Remove HIV Travel Ban
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved legislation that would remove a ban that restricts the travel and immigration rights of HIV-positive people, The Washington Blade newspaper reports.
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Confronting Jamaica’s HIV Epidemic
Despite recent strides forward in fighting HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, new UNAIDS data indicates that the Caribbean remains the second-most-affected region in the world behind sub-Saharan Africa, Jamaica Gleaner Online reports.
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Treated Herpes Is Still HIV Risk
A new study examining whether treating genital herpes reduces the risk for HIV transmission found that herpes medications do little to protect sexual partners from HIV infections, Reuters reports.
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Experts Say More STD Screening Needed in Gay Men
On March 12, federal health officials announced that many cases of sexually transmitted disease are not being detected in gay men because of a lack of testing, and the failure of many doctors and clinics to follow screening recommendations, The New York Times reports.
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March 13, 2008
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Floridians Want Comprehensive Sex Ed in Schools
According to a recent survey conducted by Florida’s St. Petersburg Times, most Floridians think the state’s public schools should teach sex education beyond abstinence-only lessons, the newspaper reports.
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Study Examines Physician HIV Care
A recent study of U.S. patients living with HIV suggests that the quality of care for HIV-positive hospital inpatients is unaffected by the type of physician providing treatment, or the physician’s level of experience with HIV care, AIDSMap.com reports.
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Rwanda Imports 14 Million Condoms Each Year
According to recent statistics released by the Population Survey International (PSI), Rwanda imports roughly 14 million condoms each year, local paper The New Times/AllAfrica.com reports.
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March 12, 2008
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1 in 4 American Teenage Girls Has an STD
According to a study released on Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in four teenage girls in the United States has at least one sexually transmitted disease, the Associated Press/FoxNews.com reports.
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Congress May Eliminate HIV Travel Ban
Representative Barbara Lee of California and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry are pushing for legislation that will repeal the current travel restrictions on HIV-positive people, the Associated Press reports.
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Ghanaian Radio Stations Adopt HIV/AIDS Programming
Ten radio stations in Ghana are gearing up to broadcast an HIV/AIDS-themed radio soap opera in order to combat the spread of the virus in the country, Ghanaian newspaper Accra Daily Mail/AllAfrica.com reports.
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Hepatitis C After HIV Infection
A new study published in the March 12 issue of the journal AIDS suggests that many HIV-positive gay men contract hepatitis C soon after they contract HIV, AIDSMap.com reports.
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March 11, 2008
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HIV Rates Rise Among Hispanics
While Hispanic Americans represent one of the fastest growing groups affected by HIV, efforts to provide them with treatment and prevention education have been largely unsuccessful, Tennessee newspaper Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
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Doctor Goes to the Mat for South Africa's Positive Pregnant Mothers
After months of pressure from AIDS advocates, South Africa recently approved a World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended antiretroviral treatment regimen of AZT and nevirapine for HIV-positive pregnant women. However, controversy over the delayed adoption of the treatment guidelines remains, The New York Times reports.
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Sex Ed Class Cancelled in Quebec
Recent education reform in Quebec removes mandated class time for sex education and instead suggests teachers incorporate sex ed lessons in all classes, from math to gym, The Canadian Press reports.
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HIV/AIDS Expert Says PEPFAR Must Include Family Planning
The next phase of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) should emphasize HIV prevention by bridging the gap between family planning and HIV/AIDS programs, says Janet Fleischman, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies HIV/AIDS Task Force.
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March 10, 2008
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HIV/AIDS A Small But Growing Concern in North Dakota
Though North Dakota has consistently ranked lowest in the country in terms of the number of its HIV/AIDS cases, attention still must be paid to reducing infections in the state, says a report in The Bismarck Tribune.
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UN Secretary General Urges Nations to Fight HIV in Women
At a recent UN meeting on gender equality and the advancement of women, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon encouraged nations to invest more funds in nutrition, job opportunities and health care, including HIV care, for women around the world, the Associated Press/PR-Inside.com reports.
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March 07, 2008
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Palm Springs ASO Offers Free HIV Testing for Women and Girls
In recognition of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Monday, March 10, Palm Springs’ Desert AIDS Program is offering free HIV testing for women and girls in California’s Coachella Valley, the Palm Springs Sun/mydesert.com reports.
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How to Strengthen Africa’s Medical Workforce?
The World Health Organization’s Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) presented a 12-point “Kampala Declaration” in Uganda on March 5 that called for an increase in health care workers in the developing world to better combat HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions, Kenyan newspaper the Daily Nation reports.
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Low-Cost Female Condoms for Indian Women
India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) plans to roll out low-cost female condoms in four states to help stop the spread of HIV among women the country, The Times of India reports.
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March 06, 2008
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UNAIDS Task Force Fights HIV Travel Bans
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has set up a task force to work toward the eliminations of international travel restrictions on HIV-positive people, the UN News Center reports.
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Ugandan Parliament Examines Effect of Conflict on HIV
A group of 22 members of Uganda’s Parliament visited the northern districts of the country last week to assess the state of HIV/AIDS in the region that has spent the last 20 years in conflict, reports Ugandan newspaper The Monitor/AllAfrica.com.
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Laura Bush to Visit Haiti, Mexico
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced Wednesday, March 5, that First Lady Laura Bush will travel to Haiti to highlight the United States’ commitment to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which funds AIDS initiatives in the country, Voice of America News reports.
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Fighting HIV and Addiction in Detroit
Dr. Calvin Trent and his team at the Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention and the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion are tackling HIV and drug abuse simultaneously as a linked epidemic, news magazine Between the Lines/PrideSource.com reports.
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March 05, 2008
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Ireland’s HIV Prevalence Rises in 2007
Ireland’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) found that HIV infections in the country rose 21 percent during the first half of 2007, The Irish Times/Ireland.com reports.
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March 04, 2008
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Crossing the Border for Free HIV Meds
Some HIV-positive people in Zimbabwe are crossing the border to neighboring country Mozambique to access life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, reports Agence France-Presse/Yahoo News.
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Apply Now for Gates Foundation AIDS Grants
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced March 3 that it will be accepting grant proposals for a $100 million research initiative to combat HIV, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, the Associated Press/Houston Chronicle reports.
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China Scours Its Blood Supply for HIV
To ensure the safety of the country’s blood supply, the Chinese Ministry of Health announced on February 29 that it would strengthen the supervision and management of blood collection centers, according to the China Daily newspaper.
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South Korea to Deport HIV-Positive Man
A human rights group in South Korea has petitioned a court to overrule a recent government decision to deport an HIV-positive foreign worker, reports Agence France-Presse/Yahoo News.
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March 03, 2008
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Mumbai Helpline Combats HIV Stigma—In Asia
People living with HIV throughout Asia can now turn to a Mumbai-based helpline for answers to questions ranging from status disclosure to safe-sex practices, news portal Sify.com reports.
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Gene Shown to Halt HIV Replication
Researchers at the University of Alberta have shed light on a gene that may be used to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS to uninfected cells, the Edmonton Sun reports.
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