HIV AIDS News

AFP - More than three-quarters of AIDS-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa is now officially the country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world, according to a new UN report to be published Wednesday.

Reuters - The world risks a resurgence of the AIDS epidemic if countries let their guard down, United Nations officials cautioned on Tuesday.

AFP - The United Nations sharply reduced its estimate of HIV-AIDS sufferers in an annual report Tuesday, saying a revision of statistics from India meant there were seven million less than previously thought.

AP - To activists concerned about AIDS and prisoners' rights, it's an urgent, commonsense step that should already be nationwide policy — letting inmates have condoms to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases behind bars.

Reuters - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has joined an investigation into how four Chicago transplant recipients contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a single organ donor, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Reuters - Although virtually all obstetrician-gynecologists recommend HIV testing to all their pregnant patients, some are unaware of their state requirements for recommending such testing, according to a report in the Obstetrics & Gynecology.

AFP - Veteran statesmen in Africa's sub-Sahara region are expected to gather in Zambia next week to discuss how to combat the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic ravaging the continent, an official said Friday.

Reuters - Some viruses being used in experimental AIDS vaccines may damage the immune system by exhausting key cells, researchers reported on Thursday in a finding that may further cloud the field of HIV vaccines.

Reuters - HIV infected patients with low literacy levels often don't understand the medication instructions offered by healthcare providers and are therefore much less likely to be compliant with treatment, study findings suggest.

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans newly infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) continues to rise, federal health officials reported Tuesday, with one infection in particular -- chlamydia - hitting a record million-plus reported new cases annually.

Reuters - Four transplant recipients at three Chicago hospitals have contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a single organ donor, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

AP - A troubling case in which a high-risk organ donor infected four patients with the AIDS virus and hepatitis has led medical ethicists to warn that patients need to know more about whose organs they're getting.

Reuters - Companies can save money and retain more staff by offering their workers HIV programs, particularly in areas where infection rates are high, an international aid agency said on Tuesday.

AP - China will relax a long-standing rule that bars foreigners with HIV from entering the country, a health official said.

AFP - The Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved a grant of 132.3 million dollars (90.7 million euros) to boost Kenya's anti-HIV/AIDS drive, the health ministry announced Tuesday.

HealthDay - MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental AIDS vaccine used in a recent trial may have placed participants at higher risk of infection with HIV -- although whether or not that was truly the case remains unclear.

AFP - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday said it has approved 73 new grants worth more than 1.1 billion dollars (757 million euros) in developing countries over the next two years.

Reuters - Drug abuse accounts for 92 percent of new HIV infections in Mauritius, up from just 14 percent in 2002, the government said on Monday.

AFP - China plans to relax rules that are currently barring HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country, the health ministry said on Monday.

AFP - A once-promising vaccine for AIDS may have inadvertently increased the infection risk of people participating in clinical trials, researchers said Wednesday.