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Herpes drug Acyclovir could help control HIV

Acyclovir -- a low-cost, generic drug used to treat herpes -- also might help control HIV in people living with both viruses, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal ell Host and Microbe, Reuters reports.

15 Sep 2008

Uganda plans survey to determine prevalence of MDR-TB, health official says

Uganda this year plans to conduct a survey to determine the prevalence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the country, National Leprosy and TB program manager Francis Adatu said Wednesday, the Monitor reports.

15 Sep 2008

CDC releases subpopulation estimates from data on annual new HIV infections; new infections high among blacks, MSM

The majority of new HIV infections in the U.S. in 2006 occurred among men who have sex with men, according to a study released Thursday in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the New York Times reports.

15 Sep 2008

'Dodgy dossier' partly to blame for failure of war against malaria in the tropics

The war against malaria in tropical countries was fought and lost in the 20th Century on the basis of faulty intelligence, a 'dodgy dossier' which argued that the same methods used to tackle the disease in temperate countries would also work in the tropics.

15 Sep 2008

New study on rural HIV shows significant stigma and discrimination in the rural medical referral system

An Indiana University study found that HIV care providers in rural Indiana report significant stigma and discrimination in the rural medical referral system surrounding issues of HIV and substance abuse. Providers felt that these factors impeded their ability to offer quality care to their patients.

11 Sep 2008

First cholera cases detected in Iraq in 2008

On 20 August 2008, cases of acute watery diarrhoea from Baghdad and Misan Province were laboratory confirmed as cholera. They constitute the first cholera cases detected in Iraq in 2008. By 28 August, seven cases had been laboratory confirmed, and a further 174 cases were suspected as cholera, bringing the total number of reported cases to 181 (128 in Missan and 53 in Baghdad).

11 Sep 2008

Drug-resistant plague - A bioterrorism concern?

The bacterium responsible for the "Black Plague," which led to the deaths of over 75 million people worldwide in the 14th century, may have other nasty tricks. Yersinia pestis can normally be treated and cured with a course of antibiotics, if caught within a few days of the symptoms.

11 Sep 2008

Expanded AIDS research consortium

A national AIDS research consortium led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has two new university partners.

11 Sep 2008

Black clergy 'committed' to addressing HIV/AIDS epidemic in community, opinion piece says

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's "recent series on HIV/AIDS accuses [black clergy] of being unaware, inert and unconcerned about the AIDS pandemic" and did not note a "very important truth: The church is changing in response to this challenge, and people of faith are making a difference," Valda Jean Combs, a local pastor who heads the FullProof HIV Ministry, writes in a Star-Telegram opinion piece.

11 Sep 2008

Genetic mutation prevents fetal malaria transmission, study says

A genetic mutation of the fetal gene sFlt1 might protect fetuses of first-time pregnant women from contracting malaria, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ANI/Thaindian News reports.

11 Sep 2008

Nicolas Sarkozy launches international malaria campaign

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday launched an international malaria campaign during the opening of a photo exhibit on the disease in Paris, Panapress/Afriquenligne reports.

11 Sep 2008

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

Depression is common among teenage and young adult orphans in Rwanda who head households and provide care for younger children, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Tulane University that was published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the New York Times reports.

11 Sep 2008

MSM remain most at-risk group for HIV in Beijing, official says

Beijing's community of men who have sex with men are most at risk of contracting HIV, He Xiong, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday, China Daily reports. According to He, 5% of MSM in the city are HIV-positive.

11 Sep 2008

Irish Times examines HIV/AIDS efforts in Moldovan region

The Irish Times on Tuesday examined the efforts of a Medecins Sans Frontieres mission in Transdniestria -- an enclave in Moldova that supports Russia and declared its independence from Moldova in 1990 -- to improve its health care system and implement an HIV/AIDS center in light of the region's high prevalence of the disease, which is four times that of the national average

11 Sep 2008

More effective HIV/AIDS prevention, education efforts needed to reach Black, Hispanic girls, women, letter says

An "otherwise excellent" editorial recently published by the New York Times did not "mention the rapid spread of HIV among women and girls of color," Tracie Gardner, director of New York state policy and coordinator of the Women's Initiative To Stop HIV-New York at the Legal Action Center, writes in a Times letter to the editor.

11 Sep 2008

Stigma deters HIV-positive people from seeking treatment, panelist says at Arkansas HIV/AIDS Minority Task Force Meeting

The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the Arkansas Delta prevents people living with the disease from coming forward and makes it difficult for the state to help the population, a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researcher told the Arkansas HIV/AIDS Minority Task Force earlier this week, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

11 Sep 2008

Boston Globe examines imprisonment of two HIV/AIDS physicians, brothers In Iran

State Department officials and former students at Harvard University's School of Public Health believe Iranian physicians -- brothers Kamiar and Arash Alaei -- have been arrested and accused of using their work on HIV/AIDS worldwide to destabilize Iran's government, the Boston Globe reports.

10 Sep 2008

U.N. Secretary-General calls for increased attention to connection between literacy, health, including HIV/AIDS

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on International Literacy Day on Monday called for increased attention to the connection between literacy and health, including HIV/AIDS issues, Xinhuanet reports.

10 Sep 2008

Swaziland holds celebrations for King's birthday, independence; advocates call for increased social spending, other reforms

Swaziland on Saturday held celebrations for King Mswati's 40th birthday and the country's 40th year of independence -- an "extravaganza that contrasted sharply with the biting poverty" of the country -- the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

10 Sep 2008

Southern Sudan government passes resolution to bolster fight against HIV/AIDS

The Council of Ministers in southern Sudan on Friday passed a resolution to streamline HIV/AIDS programs at all ministries and independent commissions, as well as at the state level, the Sudan Tribune reports.

10 Sep 2008

Disease/Infection News

Herpes drug Acyclovir could help control HIV

Uganda plans survey to determine prevalence of MDR-TB, health official says

CDC releases subpopulation estimates from data on annual new HIV infections; new infections high among blacks, MSM

'Dodgy dossier' partly to blame for failure of war against malaria in the tropics

New study on rural HIV shows significant stigma and discrimination in the rural medical referral system

First cholera cases detected in Iraq in 2008

Drug-resistant plague - A bioterrorism concern?

Expanded AIDS research consortium

Black clergy 'committed' to addressing HIV/AIDS epidemic in community, opinion piece says

Genetic mutation prevents fetal malaria transmission, study says

Nicolas Sarkozy launches international malaria campaign

Depression common among youth in Rwanda orphaned by AIDS, genocide, survey finds

MSM remain most at-risk group for HIV in Beijing, official says

Irish Times examines HIV/AIDS efforts in Moldovan region

More effective HIV/AIDS prevention, education efforts needed to reach Black, Hispanic girls, women, letter says

Stigma deters HIV-positive people from seeking treatment, panelist says at Arkansas HIV/AIDS Minority Task Force Meeting

Boston Globe examines imprisonment of two HIV/AIDS physicians, brothers In Iran

U.N. Secretary-General calls for increased attention to connection between literacy, health, including HIV/AIDS

Swaziland holds celebrations for King's birthday, independence; advocates call for increased social spending, other reforms

Southern Sudan government passes resolution to bolster fight against HIV/AIDS

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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