| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2004-10-26, 7:26 pm |
| CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the follo=
wing information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scie=
ntific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmi=
tted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. The f=
ollowing summaries were prepared without conducting any additional resear=
ch or investigation into the facts and statements made in the articles be=
ing summarized, and therefore readers are expressly cautioned against rel=
ying on the validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summar=
ies. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other gover=
nment agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Repo=
rt (MMWR) articles, fact sheets and announcements. Reproduction of this t=
ext is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/T=
B Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the=20
information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for ful=
l texts of the articles.
HEADLINES
NATIONAL NEWS
UNITED STATES: =93Health Officials Put Safer-Sex Message Online=94
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
AFRICA: =93UN AIDS Envoy Urges Blair to Make G8 Do More for Africa=94
BOTSWANA: =93Botswana Confronts AIDS Head-On, Says Mogae=94
MEDICAL NEWS
UNITED KINGDOM: =93Chlamydia trachomatis Prevalence in Men in the Mid-Wes=
t of Ireland=94
UNITED KINGDOM: =93Liquid Based Cytology: Examination of its Potential in=
a Chlamydia Screening Programme=94
LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
MAINE: =93COA Conference Aims to Curb Global Spread of AIDS=94
ARIZONA: =93Roundtable Discussion on AIDS: Second AIDS Wave Hits Hispanic=
s, Asia Likely Next=94
NEBRASKA: =93New Clinic to Treat Ills Transmitted Sexually=94
NEWS BRIEFS
CHINA: =93HIV Carriers to Hit 10 Million in China: Official=94
GEORGIA: =93114 Tested for TB at School in Gwinnett=94
ARIZONA: =93Organizers of Defunct AIDS Walk Will Not Hold Substitute Even=
t=94
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NATIONAL NEWS=09
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UNITED STATES:
=93Health Officials Put Safer-Sex Message Online=94
New York Times (10.26.04)::David Tuller=20
In response to Internet-linked STD transmission, public and communit=
y agencies in many cities have begun to disseminate information on safe s=
ex and STD prevention, screening and treatment on Internet sites where me=
n go to arrange sexual encounters with other men.=20
Research suggests that men who meet through the Internet have a diff=
erent profile than other gay men. A recent Los Angeles Department of Heal=
th study found two-thirds of men who met male sex partners online were HI=
V-positive; the men were 3.5 times as likely to have anonymous sex; and t=
wice as likely to use injection drugs as men who met partners by other me=
ans. In a San Francisco survey of 91 men about their online activities, 3=
9 percent reported having unprotected anal sex with partners they met onl=
ine.
=93The public health community has been reporting that the Internet =
surpasses bars and bathhouses as the most frequent place where sexual par=
tners meet for the first time,=94 said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy dire=
ctor of CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. =20
Because of their relative novelty, Internet interventions that local=
agencies engage in often lack the guiding data on what works. Some healt=
h workers say the interventions are particularly useful for reaching rura=
l areas, gay male youths and those who wish to remain anonymous.
Online health promotions targeting gay men have included placing ban=
ner advertisements on sex-themed Web sites and offering online discussion=
s concerning safe sex strategies and downloadable STD laboratory testing =
slips.=20
Government and private agencies in San Francisco have established th=
e most varied online prevention approaches. One campaign the city backs e=
ncourages people to explicitly ask about partner HIV status and STDs, as =
well as anticipated sexual behavior. Terms like =93clean=94 or =93disease=
free=94 frequently used in Internet postings may be too vague for people=
to properly negotiate safety, said campaign organizers.
However, some private gay Web-site owners impose limits to the inter=
ventions. In some chat rooms, outreach workers can respond to questions o=
nly if members ask for advice. =93If our customers feel as if their right=
to practice sex as they choose is infringed upon, it endangers the whole=
program,=94 said Stephen Adelson, director of operations for Online Budd=
ies, which operates the Manhunt site. =20
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS=09
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AFRICA:
=93UN AIDS Envoy Urges Blair to Make G8 Do More for Africa=94
Agence France Presse (10.26.04)
Today in London, Stephen Lewis, UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa,=
called on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lobby the world's wealthi=
est nations to step up funding for AIDS treatment in Africa. Lewis spoke =
in response to fears that a lack of resources may doom the World Health O=
rganization's goal of having 3 million African HIV patients in treatment =
by the end of 2005.
On BBC radio, Lewis said, =93The international community has been fo=
cusing on prevention for years. What we have not done yet is provide trea=
tment, give people hope and encourage them to get tested.=94
Next year, Britain holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Eig=
ht (G8) industrialized nations; Lewis urged Blair to use that as an oppor=
tunity to pressure the other countries to make sure the WHO goal is met. =
=93The G8, if it puts it mind to it, can provide the resources and assist=
ance to make the target of 3 million by the end of 2005 real.=94 Lewis is=
in London today to launch a new AIDS initiative at Parliament.=20
Lewis said global resources devoted to AIDS amount to =93barely a sm=
idgeon=94 when compared to the $200 billion the international community w=
ill have spent on war and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan by the e=
nd of 2005. =93We have to bring an end to that at some point,=94 he said.
=93If they can maintain the resources, then these countries are goin=
g to break through and the whole world will finally have a sense that we =
can turn this pandemic around,=94 Lewis said.
While visiting Addis Ababa recently, Blair called 2005 =93the year o=
f decision=94 for Africa. He pledged to make the continent the centerpiec=
e of his agenda during Britain's G8 presidency.=20
BOTSWANA:=20
=93Botswana Confronts AIDS Head-On, Says Mogae=94
Agence France Presse (10.26.04)
Although Botswana is openly dealing with its AIDS epidemic, the dise=
ase has severely burdened the nation and diverted economic resources, Pre=
sident Festus Mogae said Monday in Gaborone. =93Everywhere now we talk ab=
out AIDS =97 prayer meetings, political meetings, party meetings=85 there=
are so many groups talking about AIDS,=94 said Mogae.=20
UNAIDS estimates that 37.3 percent of adults in Botswana have HIV/AI=
DS, the world's second-highest prevalence. Since Mogae won the presidency=
in 1998, the 65-year-old Oxford graduate has kept an AIDS focus in his s=
peeches. He once took an HIV test himself in order to help dispel AIDS st=
igma. As a indicator that the awareness campaign is working, Mogae noted =
that more than 10,000 people have taken HIV tests so far this year. Such =
testing is =93becoming routine,=94 he said.
But the campaign supplants other priorities and strains a health car=
e system already short of qualified professionals. =93We are spending so =
much=85 looking after AIDS patients, we don't have the time to do anythin=
g else,=94 he said. =93It has forced us to divert resources away from pro=
ductive purposes, investment purposes.=94=20
Economic growth had been 7 percent annually over the past 20 years, =
especially since the discovery of diamonds. However, AIDS has been shavin=
g 3 percent off those growth rates, the president said. Mogae's Botswana =
Democratic Party, which has been in power since the nation gained indepen=
dence in 1966, is heavily favored in Saturday's national elections =97 in=
part due to its direct approach to fighting AIDS.
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MEDICAL NEWS=09
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UNITED KINGDOM:
=93Chlamydia trachomatis Prevalence in Men in the Mid-West of Ireland=94
Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 349-353::J. Powell; C=
..O'Connor; M. O'hlarlaithe; J. Saunders; J. de Freitas
The researchers estimated the prevalence of chlamydia infection in y=
oung men in the Mid-Western Health Board Region of Ireland to determine r=
isk factors for its acquisition. The investigators recruited consecutive =
men attending orthopedic clinics (OPD) and a university sports arena (UL)=
to a chlamydia prevalence study. Men ages 17-35 who had been sexually ac=
tive and had not urinated in the past hour were eligible. The researchers=
gave out information about chlamydia, obtained informed consent, and had=
participants fill out a self-administered questionnaire. A first-void ur=
ine sample (FVU) was collected and tested by ligase chain reaction (LCR).
Eighty percent of the men from OPD and 60 percent from UL participat=
ed in the study. Of those, 6.3 percent from OPD and 5.4 percent from UL t=
ested LCR positive, for an overall prevalence of 5.9 percent. Proven risk=
factors for chalmydial positivity were: more than one sexual partner in =
the past 6 months; more than eight lifetime sexual partners; and current =
symptoms (dysuria or discharge). The authors found no statistical signifi=
cance for age, condom use, smoking, days since last sexual intercourse an=
d previous genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic attendance. The investigat=
ors found no statistically significant difference to cost effective preva=
lence of 6 percent.=20
=93A 5.9 percent prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis was found which=
is cost effective to screen and treat,=94 the researchers concluded. =93=
Non-invasive screening of men in the community was possible. Numbers of s=
exual partners and current symptoms were significant risk factors. Since =
only 25 percent of men in this laboratory were diagnosed with chlamydia o=
utside the GUM clinic, compared with 59 percent of women, it is important=
that community screening of men is promoted.=94
UNITED KINGDOM:
=93Liquid Based Cytology: Examination of its Potential in a Chlamydia Scr=
eening Programme=94
Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 371-373::J. Hopwood; =
H. Mallinson; E. Hodgson; L. Hull
The researchers assessed the feasibility of chlamydia testing direct=
ly on a single liquid-based specimen (ThinPrep test) collected for cervic=
al screening. Cervical smears were taken using a Cervex spatula and rinse=
d in the liquid-based cytology collection vial. Then, the conventional sa=
mple for chlamydia testing was taken from the endocervix with an Abbott C=
ollection kit. Cytological specimens were prepared using an automated sli=
de processor. Residual cellular material and the conventional samples wer=
e both tested for chlamydia by ligase chain reaction (LCR) in the laborat=
ory. The manufacturer's protocol for LCR urine testing was modified to su=
bstitute 1 ml of PreservCyt suspension.
Of the 581 women both swab and cytology-suspension tested for Chlamy=
dia trachomatis with LCR, there were 19 concordant positive and 562 conco=
rdant negative reports. The stability of chlamydia in the cytology suspen=
sion was maintained for at least five months.
The researchers concluded that samples collected for liquid-based cy=
tology using the ThinPrep test collection vial =93provide a potential pla=
tform for chlamydia screening, though the study established several issue=
s to be addressed to make this a practical proposition.=94
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LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS=09
************************************************************
MAINE:
=93COA Conference Aims to Curb Global Spread of AIDS=94
Bangor Daily News (10.19.04)::Bill Trotter
At a recent weekend conference on the global spread of HIV/AIDS, stu=
dents from seven Maine colleges gathered at college of the Atlantic (COA)=
to learn what they can do to help fight the disease. Around 85 students =
from COA, university of Maine-Orono, university of Southern Maine, and Ba=
tes, Bowdoin, Colby and Husson colleges attended the event, which feature=
d speakers from Maine AIDS groups as well as students from schools that h=
ave organized HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and events. Topics discussed i=
ncluded how HIV/AIDS affects women and children, how the global economy c=
ontrols the availability of AIDS drugs, and how government policies can h=
elp control the disease's spread.
Alexander Post, a Harvard student and member of the Harvard AIDS Coa=
lition, told the students that AIDS is a preventable and treatable diseas=
e but the lack of political will and resources to fight it have caused th=
e disease to flourish in impoverished areas of the world. =93Apathy, by f=
ar, is the biggest obstacle we need to overcome,=94 Post said.=20
The students were encouraged to become involved in raising awareness=
about HIV/AIDS. Akenji Ndumu, an activist from Cameroon and a recent gra=
duate from university of Maryland, said students should contact their ele=
cted officials about the epidemic. =93A lot of people don't know they can=
talk to their representatives,=94 said Ndumu. Getting media attention is=
also essential to raising AIDS awareness, said Ndumu. =93Without the med=
ia you are voiceless,=94 he said. =93Get the issue out there.=94
COA student and conference co-organizer Andres Jennings said he hope=
d the event would motivate students to action. COA has the only Maine cha=
pter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign. Jennings said the conference so=
ught to spur the creation of additional SGAC chapters in the state.
ARIZONA:
=93Roundtable Discussion on AIDS: Second AIDS Wave Hits Hispanics, Asia L=
ikely Next=94
Arizona Daily Star (10.24.04)::Diane Luber
At a recent roundtable discussion on HIV/AIDS and what can be done t=
o halt its spread, four Tucson-area prevention and treatment experts said=
the Hispanic community is increasingly affected by the epidemic. They al=
so predicted HIV/AIDS will soon ravage Asia as it has Africa.
According to Antonio Estrada, director of the university of Arizona'=
s Mexican American Studies and Research Center, the US-Mexican border is =
a new front in the HIV/AIDS battle. Estrada expressed concern over Propos=
ition 200, which would require proof of citizenship or legal residency to=
obtain public services. The measure would keep people from getting teste=
d or treated for HIV and would thus increase =93the likelihood of an epid=
emic,=94 said Estrada.
Increasingly, women are at risk, particularly if their sexual partne=
rs refuse to use a condom, noted Sally Stevens, executive director of the=
Southwest Institute for Research on Women.=20
Young people are put at risk by a state law that bans public schools=
from providing students with medically accurate information about HIV/AI=
DS transmission, said Anne Maley, who directs the Southern Arizona AIDS F=
oundation. Abstinence-only sex education does not address the needs of st=
udents who are determined to have sex, she added.=20
=93Our leaders need to put [HIV/AIDS] on the agenda as a health issu=
e=94 not a moral issue, said Scott Blades, executive director of the Tucs=
on Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network. =93It's a complicated issue that's not ea=
sy to address. But we're paying the price of not addressing it, and we wi=
ll continue to,=94 Blades said.
NEBRASKA:
=93New Clinic to Treat Ills Transmitted Sexually=94
Omaha World-Herald (10.23.04)::Nichole Aksamit
A second STD clinic and a new poster campaign urging testing and tre=
atment are part of the Douglas County Health Department's efforts to lowe=
r local STD rates.=20
According to the Health Department, Douglas County's rates of chlamy=
dia and gonorrhea are at least twice the national average. Two-thirds of =
the county's STD cases occur among 15- to 24-year-olds.=20
=93Testing and treatment is the first step in combating the spread o=
f these diseases,=94 noted Dr. Adi Pour, county health director. =93Studi=
es have shown that for every person diagnosed with an STD, there are at l=
east two individuals that are also infected but not diagnosed.=94=20
The new clinic, located in the Health Department offices at 4102 Woo=
lworth Ave., offers testing by appointment from noon to 8 p.m. Mondays an=
d from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Telephone 402-444-7750. Douglas Count=
y Health Department's other STD clinic, located at 5050 Ames Ave., welcom=
es walk-ins only from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursd=
ays, and on Fridays from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.=20
Both clinics offer testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HI=
V to anyone 13 or older.
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NEWS BRIEFS =09
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CHINA:
=93HIV Carriers to Hit 10 Million in China: Official=94
Xinhua News Agency (10.26.04)
The number of HIV-positive people in China will total 10 million by =
2010 if more measures are not taken to curb the spread of the virus, said=
Zhang Weiqing, minister in charge of the State Population and Family Pla=
nning Commission. Zhang made the warning while addressing an internationa=
l symposium on population and sustainable development strategies held in =
Shanghai over the weekend. Currently, China has 840,000 HIV patients, ran=
king second in Asia and 14th in the world.
GEORGIA:
=93114 Tested for TB at School in Gwinnett=94
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10.26.04)::Laura Diamond
On Monday, Gwinnett County public health officials tested 114 studen=
ts and staff at Peachtree Ridge High School for possible TB exposure. The=
testing followed a ninth-grader's diagnosis with the disease. Eight stu=
dents did not undergo testing, either because they were absent or because=
they had not returned a signed consent form. These students will be test=
ed Wednesday, when nurses return to the school to check skin test results=
.. Principal James Kahrs sent parents a letter on Oct. 15 notifying them o=
f the TB case. The infected student has not returned to school. Students =
or staff who test positive will be X-rayed to verify the presence of TB a=
nd to determine if the case is active.
ARIZONA:
=93Organizers of Defunct AIDS Walk Will Not Hold Substitute Event=94
Arizona Republic (10.22.04)::Susie Steckner
Former AIDS Walk Arizona Director Scott Hummel announced Thursday th=
at the planned Nov. 7 substitute event for the now-defunct walk will not =
take place. On Oct. 18, AIDS Project Arizona suddenly canceled the walk. =
AIDS Project Arizona has closed its doors due to financial problems: Boar=
d members tapped funds set aside for the walk =97 roughly $20,000 =97 to =
make the agency's final payroll. Hummel said volunteers hope to start a n=
ew non-profit group to hold AIDS awareness and fund-raising events but no=
thing is planned at present. Visit www.aidswalkaz.com for more informatio=
n.=20
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference will be convene=
d by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many other =
national and community partners June 12-15 in Atlanta, Ga. The conference=
, which is held every two years, is noted for bringing together preventio=
n programs and science and for its exclusive focus on HIV prevention. Att=
endees include local, regional and national decision makers, researchers,=
policy makers, community leaders and practitioners working to prevent th=
e spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2003, this conference attracted over 3,000 parti=
cipants from across the country.
Abstract Submission Information: Online submission is available through t=
he conference Web site. Abstracts submitted on paper or diskette must be =
postmarked by Jan. 10, 2005. Abstracts submitted electronically must be r=
eceived by Jan. 17, 2005. For more information about abstract submission =
and other conference information, visit the conference Web site at http:/=
/www.2005HIVPrevConf.org, or telephone the conference hotline at 866-277-=
6313.
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