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Why H5N1 bird flu is so lethal

Researchers in Vietnam have discovered why the H5N1 bird flu virus currently at large is so lethal to humans.

11 Sep 2006

Faith-based groups tackling HIV/AIDS in Sudan's Darfur region

Various faith-based organizations recently have been working together to combat the spread of HIV in Sudan's Darfur region, PlusNews reports.

11 Sep 2006

HIV prevalence declines in Zimbabwe

Adult HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe since 2004 has fallen from 20.1% to 18.1%, Minister of Health and Child Welfare David Parirenyatwa said, citing the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey of 2005-2006, Reuters AlertNet reports (Reuters AlertNet, 9/7).

11 Sep 2006

WHO publishes new guidelines for safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater

In many parts of the world, good quality fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, wastewater is produced in ever-larger quantities, mainly as a result of the continued growth of the human population and the process of rapid urbanization.

11 Sep 2006

New Indonesian case of human infection with the H5N1 virus

The case is a 14-year-old female from Makassar, South Sulawesi Province. She developed symptoms on 18 June, was hospitalized on 23 June and died on 24 June.

11 Sep 2006

Coalition drive to eradicate polio from Horn of Africa

Countries in the Horn of Africa are increasing their level of planning, coordination and streamlining their polio eradication strategies to cut the corridor of transmission of the poliovirus.

11 Sep 2006

U.S., Africa HIV/AIDS epidemics deserve equal attention, funding

Over the last few years, the U.S. increasingly has "turned its attention" to the HIV/AIDS "crisis" in Africa even though in "large parts of this country, America is Africa," Patrick Moore, author of "Tweaked: A Crystal Meth Memoir," writes in a Long Island Newsday opinion piece.

7 Sep 2006

Please go Tshabalala-Msimang!

HIV/AIDS advocates and scientists, including a U.S. Nobel laureate, on Tuesday in a letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki called for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to step down and protested the government's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Sep 2006

Crisis of HIV/AIDS in Florida's black communities

Although there has been progress in recent years, blacks in south Florida are more than three times as likely to be HIV-positive than whites in the region, according to a report from the Florida Department of Health, the Miami Herald reports (Goldstein, Miami Herald, 9/7).

7 Sep 2006

China appears to have beaten the world to a bird flu vaccine

Scientists in China have developed a potential vaccine against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus currently sweeping across Asia.

7 Sep 2006

Iran-U.S. collaboration on HIV/AIDS treatment

Despite the "political chasm" between Iran and the U.S., "some courageous doctors and scientists on both sides have been reaching out to collaborate on important projects," including HIV/AIDS treatment programs, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius writes in a Post opinion piece.

6 Sep 2006

MAC Cosmetics launches new Viva Glam campaign to raise money for HIV/AIDS

MAC Cosmetics on Wednesday will launch an advertising campaign in support of its Viva Glam lipstick and lip gloss line, which aims to raise money for the MAC AIDS Fund, USA Today reports.

6 Sep 2006

HIV/AIDS' disproportionate impact on U.S. blacks must be addressed, but epidemic should not be labeled as 'black disease'

The appraisal made by U.S. black leaders at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto last month that AIDS-related illnesses are "claiming a disproportionate number of black lives" in the U.S. is "undeniable," a Boston Globe editorial says.

6 Sep 2006

Supervised drug-injection facility in Vancouver, Canada, to remain open until December 2007

A supervised drug-injection facility in Vancouver, Canada, will remain open until December 2007 after it received a reprieve on Friday from Health Minister Tony Clement, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports (Fong, Globe and Mail, 9/2).

6 Sep 2006

Illinois Appellate Court reverses $2 miilion award to HIV-positive woman who sued fiance's parents for allegedly lying about son's HIV status

An Illinois appellate court on Friday reversed a $2 million award to an HIV-positive woman who sued the parents of her now-deceased fiance for allegedly lying about their son's HIV status, the Chicago Sun-Times reports (Patterson, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/4).

6 Sep 2006

GPS the latest tool in fight against avian influenza

Wearing light solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters, wild swans from Mongolia are winging their way across Eurasia, while land-bound scientists tracking the birds' journeys on computers say that these unique studies will shed light on how wild birds may be involved in the spread of avian influenza.

6 Sep 2006

H5 and N1 avian influenza found in Pennsylvania wild bird samples

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior today announced that the presence of the H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from wild mallard ducks in Pennsylvania.

5 Sep 2006

Extensive Drug Resistant TB now a major threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the emergence of virulent drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) and is calling for measures to be strengthened and implemented to prevent the global spread of the deadly TB strains.

5 Sep 2006

Iraqis allegedly infected with HIV in 1980s through contaminated blood products file civil lawsuit

Three groups in Iraq -- including about 35 Iraqis who allegedly contracted HIV through contaminated blood products in the 1980s -- have filed a civil lawsuit against the country's Ministry of Health and two companies that sold blood products, the New York Times reports.

5 Sep 2006

India primarily to promote condom use in HIV prevention programs

India primarily will promote condoms to prevent HIV transmission as part of the government's five-year, $2.5 billion HIV/AIDS initiative, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said recently, Bloomberg News reports.

5 Sep 2006