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Need for more African American HIV/AIDS researchers

African Americans, who make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, are disproportionately affected by AIDS, accounting for nearly 49 percent of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases nationwide.

1 Apr 2009

Self-collection of samples in sex workers works best when screening for STIs

Researchers at the University of Westminster have used a simple and convenient method for screening female commercial sex workers (CSW) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without the need for them to attend clinics.

1 Apr 2009

A magic bullet for superbugs

Attaching an antimicrobial drug, which is activated by light, to a peptide that binds to bacteria and stops them making toxins, produced a "magic bullet" that was highly effective at killing the superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

1 Apr 2009

Insecticide spraying targeted at mosquito larvae can help control malaria in urban areas, study says

The use of insecticide to kill mosquitoes during the larval stage of development can control malaria effectively in urban areas when combined with existing malaria interventions, such as insecticide-treated nets, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS One, ANI/Thaindian News reports.

31 Mar 2009

'Compassion,' 'sense of justice' could 'motivate' Washington, D.C., to 'do more' for HIV-positive people, opinion piece says

"[C]ompassion and a sense of justice can motivate" the Washington, D.C., community "to do more" for people living with HIV/AIDS in the district, Patricia Wudel -- executive director of Joseph's House, which provides hospice services for HIV-positive people -- writes in a Washington Post opinion piece in response to an earlier opinion piece by columnist Courtland Milloy (Wudel, Washington Post, 3/29).

31 Mar 2009

Teacher-student relationships in Kenyan province places girls at increased risk for HIV, education official says

An increasing number of sexual relationships between teachers and students in Kenya's Nyanza province is placing girls at increased risk of HIV/AIDS, Geoffrey Cherongis, Nyanza's provincial director of education, said recently, IRIN/Plus News reports. Cherongis said that some HIV-positive teachers engage in sexual relations with female students and spread the virus to "young girls who hardly know the kind of thing they are getting into."

31 Mar 2009

Somali religious leaders increase efforts to reduce stigma, discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDS

Islamic religious leaders in Somalia are increasing efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive people in the country, IRIN/Plus News reports. Religious leaders in the predominantly Muslim country are encouraging people to treat HIV-positive people with respect and are becoming involved in HIV prevention efforts, according to IRIN/Plus News.

31 Mar 2009

Health officials in Canadian province develop communications strategy to address increase in HIV cases

Health experts are developing plans to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in response to the virus' rising incidence in the province, Moira McKinnon, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, said recently, the Regina Leader-Post reports.

31 Mar 2009

Funding HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria 'smart investment,' U.N. Secretary General Ban says

Funding programs aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is a "smart investment," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday in a video message to a meeting in Cacares, Spain, to call on donors to fund United Nations-supported efforts against the three diseases, Xinhuanet reports.

31 Mar 2009

Intestinal parasites significantly reduce immune response to the cholera toxin

Cholera patients also infected with parasitic intestinal worms have a significantly reduced immune response to the cholera toxin, according to a report published March 31st in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

Regular handwashing more important than isolation in controlling MRSA infection

Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors did more to prevent the spread of the MRSA superbug than isolating infected patients.

30 Mar 2009

Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members

All members of the household need to be treated for trachoma in order to prevent rapid re-infection, according to a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

AHF lauds ‘Lancet’ editorial criticizing Pope on condoms and HIV

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today lauded the respected British medical journal, 'The Lancet,' for its strongly-worded editorial criticizing Pope Benedict XVI for his public remarks early last week suggesting that condoms are fueling the spread of AIDS in Africa.

30 Mar 2009

River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala

An international team of researchers led by Rodrigo Gonzalez of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala reports that the transmission of onchocerciasis or river blindness has been broken in Escuintla, Guatemala, one of the largest endemic areas in the Western Hemisphere to date to stop the transmission of the parasitic disease.

30 Mar 2009

NPR program examines efforts to improve BCG tuberculosis vaccine

NPR's "Morning Edition" last week examined the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation's efforts to improve the existing BCG vaccine to provide increased protection against tuberculosis.

30 Mar 2009

AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries

The AP/Google.com on Monday examined efforts to prevent and control the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China and other countries.

30 Mar 2009

Tampa Bay religious leaders join effort to address HIV/AIDS among the black community

The New York-based National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS -- which raises HIV/AIDS awareness in cities with high rates of the virus -- on Thursday established an affiliate in Tampa Bay, a "'badly needed'" effort, according to organizers, a St. Petersburg Times editorial states.

30 Mar 2009

Newly created institute 'rare bit of good news' in HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts, editorial says

Although former President George W. Bush "made an ambitious new commitment to the global fight against AIDS," and Congress in 2008 "authorized billions in new spending," lawmakers and philanthropists "will retreat" as the current economic recession continues, a Providence Journal editorial says.

30 Mar 2009

Research may support Pope's comments against condom use in Africa, opinion piece says

Pope Benedict XVI "set off a firestorm of protest" earlier this month when he commented that condom distribution "isn't helping, and may be worsening" the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, but "in truth, current empirical evidence supports him," Edward Green, a senior research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

30 Mar 2009

Cambodian Government plans to use drivers license tests to raise HIV/AIDS awareness

In an effort to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among drivers -- particularly professional truck drivers, many of whom visit commercial sex workers while on the road -- the Cambodian government plans to add questions about the disease to the driver's license exam administered by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

30 Mar 2009

Disease/Infection News

Need for more African American HIV/AIDS researchers

Self-collection of samples in sex workers works best when screening for STIs

A magic bullet for superbugs

Insecticide spraying targeted at mosquito larvae can help control malaria in urban areas, study says

'Compassion,' 'sense of justice' could 'motivate' Washington, D.C., to 'do more' for HIV-positive people, opinion piece says

Teacher-student relationships in Kenyan province places girls at increased risk for HIV, education official says

Somali religious leaders increase efforts to reduce stigma, discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDS

Health officials in Canadian province develop communications strategy to address increase in HIV cases

Funding HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria 'smart investment,' U.N. Secretary General Ban says

Intestinal parasites significantly reduce immune response to the cholera toxin

Regular handwashing more important than isolation in controlling MRSA infection

Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members

AHF lauds ‘Lancet’ editorial criticizing Pope on condoms and HIV

River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala

NPR program examines efforts to improve BCG tuberculosis vaccine

AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries

Tampa Bay religious leaders join effort to address HIV/AIDS among the black community

Newly created institute 'rare bit of good news' in HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts, editorial says

Research may support Pope's comments against condom use in Africa, opinion piece says

Cambodian Government plans to use drivers license tests to raise HIV/AIDS awareness

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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