Hospitalization rates down for young kids with HIV

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The introduction and widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the United States has led to "dramatic decreases" in hospitalizations among HIV-infected infants and children younger than 5 years old, new evidence suggests.

However, the decrease in hospital use has been less noteworthy among HIV-infected adolescent.
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HIV-positive toddler joins protest for being banned from RV park

A 2-year-old boy will join more than 100 AIDS activists convening to the Alabama RV park where he was turned away from using the shared pool and showers because he is HIV-positive. read more

AIDS Activists Rally in S.Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Hundreds of AIDS activists packed the city's cathedral Wednesday to show support for the dismissed deputy health minister they believe was targeted for speaking out about the AIDS crisis and other problems in the nation's health service.

Madlala-Routledge's firing "is a shame for South Africa. It's a shame for our beloved country," said Mpumi Mantangana, a nurse who oversees the treatment of about 2,000 AIDS patients in a poor Cape Town suburb.

"We will never allow ourselves to be silenced by people who are denialists," she said, using a term for people who question the link between HIV and AIDS and play down the extent of the crisis.read more

Woman gets divorce from HIV-infected husband

FUJAIRAH — Upholding the verdict of the lower court, the Shariah Court of Appeal in Fujairah has granted divorce to a woman on the grounds that her husband is an Aids patient.


The court felt that the life of the woman would be in danger if she continued to live with her Aids-affected husband.
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Arrest Yields Meth Bust, HIV-Spreading Charges

The arrest of an Arizona man wanted for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender led Montgomery County detectives to what officials describe as one of the larger and more sophisticated methamphetamine labs ever found in the county.

The suspect, Robert W. Lindsay, was also charged with trying to infect a Montgomery detective with HIV because he bit the investigator during a long and bloody tussle, police said.read more

HIV worker's ashes scattered on Mt Vic

The ashes of a high profile Wellington HIV outreach and support volunteer have been scattered on Mt Victoria after he died of an AIDS-related illness.

Warren Shore, 51, was a long-time volunteer at the Awhina Centre where he prepared safe sex condom packs distributed around the Wellington region and further afield and made up the thousands of red ribbons needed for the Centre's annual street collections. "

According to Shore, he wishes he was cremated and his ashes brought to the Awhina Centre. A celebration of his life was held was then held at Our Bar, one of his favourite haunts. Awhina staff then scattered the ashes around a kauri tree planted in Plimmer Park on Mt Victoria in 2006 in memory of those lost through AIDS.
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Panel discusses changing faces of AIDS

The woman, in the prime of her being, was forced to have sex with the man in order to retrieve water for her children, recalled Geeta Rao Gupta at the "The New Face of AIDS" discussion held in Edgartown last week.

The man, Gupta said, wanted to claim what he believed was a right and capitalize on the vulnerability of the desperate woman. Though the two parties did not have HIV, the male-dominance dynamic, played out in countries across the globe, is one factor resulting in the spread of AIDS.

"Economic and social dependency on men is a major driver of the epidemic," Gupta said in a phone interview four days after speaking on the panel that addressed the socio-economic effects of AIDS.read more

Uganda: Utl Reaches Out to Children Living With HIV/Aids

Uganda telecom (utl) recently embarked on a mission to help children in northern Uganda who are living with HIV/Aids. Over 150,000 children are living with HIV/Aids, about 20,000 of whom were infected through mother-to-child transmission,

As part of its corporate social responsibility, utl's Annual Leadership Series took a charity stance.

The organisation, which also operates in Amuria district, hopes to expand to other places to make sure HIV-positive children are not isolated.

This is the second time utl has extended a helping hand to Health Alert, after it built a dormitory for Sunrise Home in Fort Portal.read more

Why still exist a lot discrimination to H??

HIV/AIDS is a subject that seems to receive scant attention these days. When it does, it's usually because of some scandal. An RV park in Alabama, for example, recently refused to allow an HIV-infected 2-year-old to swim in its pool. The incident prompted a protest from AIDS activists, but it otherwise went unnoticed by most Americans.

Even worse, read a few recent speeches by presidential aspirants, Democratic or Republican, and note how infrequently the phrase HIV/AIDS appears. One of its few mentions came during a debate in June when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) drew a standing ovation for declaring, "If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country." Still, nothing concrete from any candidate was offered on how to stop its spread.

Even an upcoming novel by President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna, about a Panamanian mother born with HIV, has generated little buzz.

Although our government and our compatriots' attention have pay more,our nation, as a fact, is still existing discrimination for H.The purpose to quote this section is just to attract more attention for H not only the US but the whole world. read more

Op-ed: Forgetting living with AIDS for week at camp

'A little bit louder!" screams the counselor. And the campers happily oblige and clap their hands, shake their hips and howl in unison: "I want a boom chick-a-boom!"

This is a familiar scene in summer camps across America. But at Birch Camp, nestled in the hills of upstate Carmel, these kids are either living with HIV or have family members infected with the virus.read more

Number of HIV cases in HK rise to 3,400

Sexual contact among men was still the predominant way HIV-Aids was continuing to spread in Hong Kong, an expert on the disease said on Thursday....read more

Uganda: Kaberamaido Locals Struggle for HIV Tests

HEALTH workers in Kaberamaido district were on Friday overwhelmed by the high turn up of people wanting to take voluntary HIV/Aids tests.

Hundreds of residents in long queues struggled to be tested during the exercise carried out by the Population Services International (PSI) Uganda at the launch of the Basic Care Packages and Living Positively Everyday for Life campaign at Kaberamaido Township Primary School.

PSI has distributed over 112,000 basic care kits and trained about 1,500 health service providers and peer educators on HIV basic care.read more

Patient Rights Body Seeks Immediate Probe into Bogus HIV-kits Scam in Bengal

voluntary medical organisation fighting for patients' rights in India has filed a public suit against West Bengal Health Minister Surja Kanta Mishra and senior state health officials seeking immediate probe into a bogus HIV-kits scam in the state.

PBT, spearheaded by India-born AIDS researcher in the US Kunal Saha, is a medical society dedicated to protect patients' rights in India.

Saha, a researcher based in Columbus, Ohio, was appointed by the World Bank to investigate allegations of sub-standard HIV testing kits being distributed in India.read more

Possible HIV epidemic in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 29 (UPI) — A U.S. researcher working in Kabul, Afghanistan, warns increasing injection drug use and accompanying high-risk behaviors could lead to an HIV epidemic.

Our findings suggest that interventions to reduce high-risk behaviors among injection drug users are urgently needed in Afghanistan, says Dr. Catherine S. Todd, of the University of California, San Diego. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing to avert an HIV epidemic among Afghan injection drug users.

The prevalence of infection with HIV was calculated at about 3 percent, while 38 percent of the respondents tested positive for Hepatitis C infection. The high prevalence of hepatitis C may potentially foreshadow an HIV epidemic because the infections share common risk factors.read more

Gaijatra carries anti-AIDS message

KATHMANDU, Aug 29: Gaijatra, a festival celebrated among the Newar community of the valley in the memory of their deceased family members not only carries historical significance but has also become a tourist attraction.

Gaijatra dates back to the times of the Malla dynasty, Pratap Malla came up with this ingenious idea to bring his queen out of depression and ever since this festival is being celebrated every year.
It's believed that if you do not participate in the festivities and the procession the souls of those who have passed away will not rest in peace.

Apart from the families of the dead various organisations like Cruise AIDS Nepal and Sarathi Nepal were also part of the processions.

"We are here to pay our final respect to people who died of HIV/AIDS, and to raise HIV/AIDS awareness," said Mani Khadka, Cruise Nepal programme coordinator.

Besides giving continuity to Nepalese culture, the festival is also being used as a means to raise awareness on different social issues. read more

Patients possibly infected with HIV

OSS/VEGHEL – 500 patients of the Bernhoven hospitals in Oss and Veghel have possibly been infected with the HIV virus, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

Because of a technical error in four new disinfection machines at the hospital, tubes used for stomach, lung and intestinal examinations may not have been properly cleaned. The Brabants Dagblad announced this on Thursday.

The hospital stresses that the error is in the machines and that the hospital is not to blame. Bernhoven is holding supplier Sanamij from Rotterdam liable.
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HIV tests for top brass

JOHANNESBURG – Top management of Unisa will lead the way in a major HIV-status campaign on campus.

The campaign is part of a national initiative by the Higher Education Aids programme to promote voluntary counselling and testing in the higher education sector.

The campaign comes in the wake of statistics showing “a small, but encouraging” drop in HIV prevalence among teenagers (down from 16,1% in 2004 to 13,7% in 2006) and young adults aged 20 to 24 (down to 28% from 31%).read more

Pre-marital HIV tests to be mandatory in Saudi Arabia

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Saudi couples who wish to get married will have to undergo compulsory premarital HIV and hepatitis tests beforehand, the Saudi daily Arab News reported Thursday, citing Deputy Minister for Preventive Medicine Dr. Khaled Al-Zahrani. "Premarital tests currently performed include genetic blood disorders and diseases," Al-Zahrani told the paper, adding that the 2003 royal decree imposing premarital mentioned that "other contagious diseases would be included in the future."

In case one partner tests positive for HIV positive, and the couple insists on getting married, then "the case would be examined in conjunction with the Justice Ministry."read more