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Bird flu strikes again in Thailand

The death of a 59-year-old farmer in northeastern Thailand last month has taken the countries death toll from bird-flu to 17 since late 2003 and is the third death this year.

27 Sep 2006

Spinach in Pennsylvania found to have E. Coli

A sample of fresh bagged spinach containing the E. coli bacteria O157:H7, responsible for the latest outbreak has now been discovered in Pennsylvania.

27 Sep 2006

Laura Bush becoming 'public face' of U.S. commitment to fight HIV/AIDS

First lady Laura Bush is becoming the "public face" of the U.S. government commitment to fight HIV/AIDS and address other humanitarian and social issues, the Washington Post reports.

26 Sep 2006

Companies push condom use, STI messages on college campuses to promote safer-sex

The New York Times on Sunday examined the campaigns conducted by the condom industry on college campuses nationwide that aim to promote condom use and safer-sex messages in an effort to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

26 Sep 2006

Washington DC's HIV prevalence more than twice national average

Initial results from a Washington, D.C., campaign to have all residents tested for HIV show that HIV prevalence in the city is more than twice the nation's average, according to results released Tuesday during a meeting of the Mayor's Task Force on HIV and AIDS, the Washington Post reports.

26 Sep 2006

Indian not-for-profit organization establishes school for HIV-positive children

The not-for-profit organization Karunalayam last week opened a school in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that plans to educate exclusively HIV-positive children who have been turned away by other schools, officials said Thursday, AFP/Today Online reports.

26 Sep 2006

HIV prevalence in Ethiopia lower than expected

HIV prevalence in Ethiopia is lower than expected, according to results of the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2005, which was at the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, the Daily Monitor/AllAfrica.com reports.

26 Sep 2006

Kashmir faces unique challenges in HIV/AIDS fight

Kashmir, which is controlled by India in the south and Pakistan in the north, faces many unique challenges in the fight against HIV/AIDS, IANS/DailyIndia.com reports. According to IANS/DailyIndia.com, there are 745 reported HIV cases in Kashmir; however, unofficial estimates put the number at 25,000.

26 Sep 2006

New CDC HIV testing recommendations could compromise patients' civil rights

CDC's revised recommendations on HIV testing in the U.S. -- that say HIV tests should become a routine part of medical care for residents ages 13 to 64 and that requirements for written consent and pretest counseling should be dropped -- could harm the health and civil rights of people who receive the tests, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a release on Thursday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

26 Sep 2006

Contaminated spinach products recalled

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says two more companies have recalled their products, because they may contain spinach linked to a food poisoning outbreak, which has caused serious illness and at least one death.

25 Sep 2006

Indonesia's death toll from bird flu now at 51

Indonesia's death toll from bird flu has now reached 51 with the death last week of a young child from South Jakarta.

25 Sep 2006

Tests confirm low pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in in Pennsylvania ducks

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior has announced final test results, which confirm that low pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in samples collected last month from wild mallard ducks in Pennsylvania.

25 Sep 2006

USAID Administrator Randall Tobias on bird flu spread

In the past year, the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus moved rapidly outside of Southeast Asia and spread into Europe, Eurasia, and Africa.

21 Sep 2006

Montana wild bird samples undergo additional avian influenza tests

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior today announced a detection of the H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from wild Northern pintail ducks in Montana.

21 Sep 2006

WHO backs health sector response to HIV pandemic

The World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, in collaboration with international partner agencies, is seeking to scale up HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities in line with the goal of universal access for HIV/AIDS treatment throughout Asia and the Pacific by 2010.

21 Sep 2006

Countries urged to prepare for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic

The increasing threat from emerging infectious diseases makes it imperative that countries prepare for rapid response and containment activities and for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised.

21 Sep 2006

E coli outbreak investigation narrows

"We understand tonight that the Food and Drug Administration has reported a confirmed positive sample of E coli 0157:H7 in an open bag of spinach from a consumer who became ill in this outbreak.

21 Sep 2006

World Health Organization launches International Drug Purchase Facility

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially launched UNITAID, the International Drug Purchase Facility being established by Brazil, France, Chile, Norway and the United Kingdom.

20 Sep 2006

USAID issues $15M grant to Ugandan religious coalition

USAID through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief issued a $15 million three-year grant to the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda -- a coalition of five religious groups that promote faith-based strategies to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, AFP/Today Online reports.

20 Sep 2006

HIV testing should become routine, especially in hard-hit countries

As AIDS-related illnesses kill 8,000 people worldwide each day and 14,000 people become HIV-positive daily, "[i]t's time to move to routine [HIV] testing" in countries with high HIV prevalence, Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist writes in a Times opinion piece.

20 Sep 2006