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Gay young men in serious relationships more likely to have unprotected sex

Gay young men in serious relationships are six times more likely to have unprotected sex than those who hook up with casual partners, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

2 Jun 2011

Mouse virus not responsible for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, new study finds

Two years ago, a widely publicized scientific report plucked an old mouse virus out of obscurity and held it up as a possible cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. According to a new study published today by a group of researchers in California, Wisconsin and Illinois, that report was wrong.

1 Jun 2011

UNAIDS Director says Pope's comments on condoms open dialogue for HIV prevention

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe on Saturday "told a Vatican conference [Pope Benedict XVI] had opened the door to greater dialogue with his groundbreaking comments on condoms and HIV prevention - even as Vatican officials stressed abstinence and marital fidelity as the best prevention," the Associated Press reports.

1 Jun 2011

Experts to present latest information on paediatric infectious diseases at ESPID 2011

The Annual ESPID Meeting has become the world's largest meeting in the field of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (PID): it provides the latest information on the number one threat to global child health.

1 Jun 2011

Media examine funding for HIV/AIDS as disease turns 30

"As the war on AIDS heads into its fourth decade, the need for funds is spiralling relentlessly higher, prompting a quest for new resources from consumer levies to contributions from developing giants," Agence France-Presse/France 24 reports (5/30).

1 Jun 2011

Wall Street Journal reports on U.N. AIDS declaration negotiations prior to high level meeting

The Wall Street Journal reports on negotiations surrounding a U.N. declaration to be discussed at the High Level Meeting on AIDS scheduled for June 8-10 in New York.

1 Jun 2011

NIH scientists discuss expanded HIV testing and new prevention tools

In the 30 years since the first reported cases of a mysterious illness now known as AIDS, researchers have made extraordinary advances in understanding, treating and preventing the disease.

1 Jun 2011

At the 30 year mark, AIDS epidemic still poses challenges

Thirty years after America started battling HIV/AIDS, deaths linked to the virus have plummeted. New HIV cases are down by three-quarters. Life expectancy has more than tripled. Many HIV-positive people lead active lives, often on a single pill a day. But there's a darker side: More than 1.2 million Americans still are living with HIV/AIDS, and 40,000 new infections and 16,000 deaths are expected this year.

1 Jun 2011

New York Times examines 30 years of AIDS

The New York Times looks at the evolution of the battle against AIDS since the first federal announcement of the disease 30 years ago this week. "The epidemic has brought a new focus on the power of epidemiology to identify a disease's transmission patterns long before discovery of its cause.

1 Jun 2011

Emory University launches AIDSVu interactive online map for public

On Wednesday, June 1, the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University will launch AIDSVu, an interactive online map that, 30 years into the epidemic, provides for the most detailed publicly available view of the impact of HIV across the United States by state and county.

1 Jun 2011

State roundup: Texas budget cuts; Florida's 'F' in kids' teeth; new insurance programs for Conn., Maine

Texas lawmakers adopted a state budget Saturday night ... Facing a massive revenue shortfall, lawmakers crafted the $172 billion budget by making cuts and using deferrals rather than raising taxes or dipping into the $10 billion reserve fund.

1 Jun 2011

Chronic fatigue syndrome and mouse virus – no association

An earlier study published in 2009 had claimed that a mouse virus was the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. New evidence suggests that this assumption is wrong. According to latest evidence the earlier study findings were likely based on contaminated lab samples, US researchers said Tuesday.

1 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Political impact of Ryan plan; would VA health system work for all?; Calif. insurance rates

Representative Paul Ryan is rebutting critics of his plan to turn Medicare into a "premium support" program, pointing to two existing programs that he says prove his approach would be better for beneficiaries. Don't believe it. The two programs he cites as prototypes — the insurance program for members of Congress and the Medicare prescription drug program — differ in critical respects from his proposal to sharply limit federal spending. The losers will be the beneficiaries who have to pay more.

1 Jun 2011

AIDS epidemic turns 30

It is 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It was fatal then but has now become a treatable, if still incurable, chronic illness. AIDS therapy now has tools that prolong the lives of people infected with the virus and prevent others from acquiring it. They range from antiretroviral therapy (ART), to circumcision and campaigns to reduce promiscuity. On the horizon are gels and pills that protect against infection during intercourse. Even the outlook for an AIDS vaccine is no longer as bleak as it used to be.

31 May 2011

First Edition: May 31, 2011

Today's headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.

31 May 2011

U.N., U.S. re-evaluate HIV/AIDS treatment targets

Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, scheduled for June 8-10 in New York, "public-health leaders face a paradox: New evidence suggests the epidemic can finally be controlled, but that would demand increased spending at a time of severe global budget restraints," the Wall Street Journal reports.

27 May 2011

Current efforts not enough to halt HIV/AIDS in Philippines, UNAIDS country coordinator says

"The Philippines has not been making progress in meeting its sixth Millennium Development Goal, which is halting and reversing the spread of ... HIV/AIDS..., according to the country coordinator of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)," the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

27 May 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

As the G8 summit began in Deauville, France, on Thursday, David Olson, the council's director of policy communications, wrote on the Global Health Council's "Blog 4 Global Health" that "global health is nowhere visible on the agenda," which "is in striking contrast to the final communique of the G8 Muskoka, which devoted a significant amount of space to health" (5/26).

27 May 2011

Obama, Medvedev reaffirm efforts to eradicate polio ahead of G8 summit

President Barack Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Deauville, France, ahead of the G8 summit, ABC News' "Political Punch" blog reports. "The two issued a number of joint statements and agreements on counterterrorism, civil aviation security, visa issues, the Bering Strait region, a joint report assessing 21st Century Missile Challenges, innovation, the rule of law, smart grid partnership, eradicating polio, and medical research," according to the blog.

27 May 2011

Kenya considers how PEPFAR technical guidance on MSM squares with laws against homosexuality

PEPFAR's recent release of its "Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention" (.pdf) for men who have sex with men (MSM) "could force countries like Kenya who are strongly opposed to men having sex with men to backtrack," Nairobi Star/allAfrica.com reports. Because homosexual acts are illegal in some countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, "there are no policies or services targeting HIV interventions towards them," according to the publication.

27 May 2011