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National News
International News
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News Briefs
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the
following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of
key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other
sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC
endorsement. The following summaries were prepared without conducting
any additional research or investigation into the facts and statements
made in the articles being summarized, and therefore readers are
expressly cautioned against relying on the validity or invalidity of any
statements made in these summaries. This daily update also includes
information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background
on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets
and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however,
copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of
the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.
National News
CONNECTICUT: "Syphilis on the Rise with Gays"
Greenwich Time (05.10.05):: Michael Dinan
Syphilis diagnoses are increasing among gay men in Connecticut,
according to new data from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).
In 2004, 45 new cases of primary and secondary syphilis were recorded -
50 percent higher than the previous year and more than triple the number
of cases reported just four years ago. Of last year's cases, 34 were gay
men, including 12 who reside in lower Fairfield County.
Syphilis - an epidemic 10 years ago among poor African Americans
in the state's larger cities - is now spreading among gay suburban men,
who are having unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners, said Heidi
Jenkins, DPH's STD control program director. Compounding that problem is
the increasing number of gay men using crystal methamphetamine, which
can spur such high-risk behaviors.
"It's a great concern to us," said Jenkins. "What we're seeing
with these cases are men with a lot of partners."
The situation in Connecticut mirrors a national trend, according
to national research. Dr. Hillard Weinstock, a CDC medical
epidemiologist, and colleagues conducted a US study tracking the
percentage of gay men among new syphilis cases from 1999 to 2002. Using
state health department data, the researchers found that gay men
comprised 5 percent of new cases in 1999, but that increased to 47
percent three years later. While gay white men accounted for the most
dramatic rise in cases, large increases also occurred among Hispanic and
black gays, the study found.
According to Weinstock, the rise of syphilis among gay men could
indicate prevention burnout and that many younger gays no longer
consider HIV to be a serious threat. Up to half of all gay men who have
syphilis are also HIV-positive, said Weinstock, though data varies from
20 to 70 percent depending on the study.
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UNITED STATES: "Fight for Anti-HIV Microbicides Focuses on
Women"
Southern Voice (Atlanta, Ga.) (05.06.05):: Dyana Bagby
The Microbicide Development Act is a pending Senate bill urging
the creation of a federal office dedicated to funding research on
microbicides, specifically vaginal creams for women and girls to help
prevent HIV transmission.
Focus on vaginal microbicide research is a response to high
rates of HIV infection among women in third-world countries and
subsequent mother-to-child transmission, according to Jim Pickett,
public policy director of AIDS Foundation Chicago. Women in such
countries often contract HIV from their husbands and have no say in
safe-sex practices. Creating a female-controlled product is critical,
Pickett said.
Lori Heise, executive director of the Global Campaign for
Microbicides, said scientists currently have about 60 leads on vaginal
microbicides, and at least 11 have proven safe and effective for animals
and are being tested in people. With a successful trial and sufficient
investment, Heise noted, a microbicide could be available within three
to five years.
Dr. Polly Harrison, director of the Alliance for Microbicide
Development, said microbicides provide lubrication and diminish
opportunities for "microtrauma" to tissue - rips and tears that provide
openings for pathogens. The microbicide adds another layer of coating
and protection, making it difficult for a pathogen to enter the body.
Microbicides can also attack pathogens and destroy attachments and hooks
that occur on cells used in HIV transmission. Harrison said microbicides
are also being designed to prevent HIV cells from replicating should
they enter the body.
According to Heise, with no major pharmaceutical company
currently funding research, microbicide development falls to nonprofit
research firms, university scientists, and small biotech companies, all
of which rely on government grants. The bill before the Senate is SB
550.
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International News
CANADA: "AIDS Set to Explode on Reserves, Study Warns"
Globe and Mail (05.10.05):: Mark Hume
HIV/AIDS rates among young aboriginal injection drug users
(IDUs) in British Columbia show that the problem has moved out of big
cities and into small towns where health services are often minimal,
according to early data from a new study. "The face of the epidemic is
changing," said Dr. Patricia Spittal, lead researcher of the long-term
study of 600 aboriginal drug users in Prince George and Vancouver.
"If not addressed aggressively in small reserves and rural
areas, it is believed that the virus can potentially wipe out whole
communities, as demonstrated in the early phases of the epidemic in
sub-Saharan Africa," said Spittal, who works at the B.C. Center for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS. "I have worked in Africa and lived in Africa and
did most of my HIV/AIDS training in Africa, and there are very real
parallels."
The study, which will be published later this year, found that
hepatitis C infection among Prince George IDUs was higher than among
Vancouver IDUs, 62 percent versus 57 percent. Researchers also found
cocaine injection was more frequent in Prince George and that unsafe sex
and needle sharing were common.
Hepatitis C among IDUs is a key warning sign of pending HIV/AIDS
infection, and research shows that people who inject cocaine are most at
risk. "Hepatitis C is a harbinger, it's a real bad omen," Spittal said.
She said it was alarming that investigators found nearly 300 young IDUs
in Prince George, a small town with a population of some 72,000, 7,000
of whom are aboriginal.
The study, named the Cedar Project, began after researchers
found in 2003 that aboriginal IDUs in Vancouver were contracting HIV at
twice the rate of non-aboriginal IDUs.
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CHILE: "International Labor Day-Chile: Trade Unions Joining
the Fight Against AIDS"
Inter Press Service (04.30.05):: Gustavo Gonzalez
On April 28, ahead of International Labor Day, Chile's Central
Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) trade union federation launched a
campaign against AIDS and other STDs.
Currently, about 6,000 Chileans have AIDS, double the reported
total five years ago. Chile has 12,000 reported HIV cases, mostly among
active members of the labor force. HIV's spread among women increased by
an average 4.7 percent annually between 1998-2003, compared to a 3
percent increase among men for the same period. Women, a large
proportion infected by their husbands, now account for 20 percent of the
country's HIV cases.
The CUT initiative promotes sexual responsibility, which "must
be assumed by male and female workers alike," said Maria Rozas, vice
president of CUT and secretary of its Women's Department.
The campaign, jointly developed with the Ministry of Health,
includes installing condom dispensers at CUT's central headquarters and
the offices of trade union locals, and distributing educational material
on HIV/AIDS and other STDs.
CUT's campaign contributes to the worldwide effort to promote
"decent employment" an initiative of the International Labor
Organization, Rozas noted, adding that the theme of the next Summit of
the Americas - to be held in November in Argentina - is "Creating Jobs
to Confront Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance." According to
CUT, safeguarding health and curbing epidemics such as AIDS are
essential components in the fight against poverty.
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Medical News
UNITED STATES: "Cervical Cancer; Most Women Willing to Accept
Vaccine for Self and Children"
Women's Health Weekly (04.07.05)
A survey of 200 women conducted at gynecology and adolescent
medical clinics at the university of Texas-Galveston during
February-December 2004 found that most would be willing to receive a
cervical cancer vaccine and allow it to be administered to their
children. The findings were presented at the Society of Gynecologic
Oncologists' Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer on March 20, 2005. The
study is the first to examine women's perceptions of a potential
cervical cancer vaccine for both boys and girls.
Women with children ages 8-14 were asked to take the survey,
offered in both English and Spanish. Participants received an education
statement explaining that the STD human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause
cervical cancer, and explaining that scientific studies showed a vaccine
to prevent HPV may be available within the next few years.
Of respondents, 76 percent would accept a cervical cancer
vaccine for themselves; 67 percent of respondents with a daughter would
consent to the child's vaccination; and 64 percent would consent to
their son's vaccination. Reasons for women not accepting the vaccine
included unknown side effects and not being currently sexually active.
Reasons for not accepting vaccines for their children included unknown
side effects, the belief that minors are not sexually active, and the
belief that there is no direct benefit for boys.
Of women who were not willing to vaccinate their children, 23
percent said they also did not want them to participate in sex
education. Factors that influenced women's acceptance of the vaccine
included her acceptance of all previously recommended vaccines for a
child and acceptance of the vaccine for herself. History of an abnormal
Pap test and demographic variables such as race, religion, income, and
education were not found to alter patterns of acceptance.
"This study shows that education will be key to acceptance of
the vaccine," said Diane C. Bodurka, MD, Department of Gynecologic
Oncology, university of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "Given that
the vaccine may be available in the next five to 10 years, it is
critical that we begin educating parents, especially mothers, now about
how the vaccine will be crucial to the prevention of cervical cancer. It
is also important for everyone to understand that a vaccine will be
aimed at both boys and girls, and how this will help prevent the disease
worldwide."
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Local and Community News
VIRGINIA: "EVMS Receives $24 Million Grant"
Virginian-Pilot (05.04.05):: Katrice Hardy
Eastern Virginia Medical School received a $24 million grant to
continue studying whether a vaginal gel could reduce the spread of HIV
and other STDs in some of the world's most affected countries, school
officials recently announced. The US Agency for International
Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave the money to
EVMS's program CONRAD, formerly Contraceptive Research and Development.
CONRAD will use the latest grant for a Phase III trial of
Ushercell to determine its effectiveness against HIV, gonorrhea, and
chlamydia. The trial will include 2,500 women in India, South Africa,
Burkina Faso, Benin, and Uganda. The trial, conducted for the US Food
and Drug Administration, will begin in June and end next summer.
Program officials hope to counsel women about Ushercell and
encourage condom use, according to CONRAD director Henry L. Gabelnick.
If the trial goes well, it could take until 2010 for Ushercell to win
FDA approval.
Ushercell is one of three microbicides the US government hopes
will arm women against STDs. "People don't use condoms all the time,"
Gabelnick said, "so we need something else for women to use. We don't
believe it will wipe out the disease, but if you can get any reduction
of transmission, then you have an impact in slowing down this epidemic."
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NEVADA: "Washoe County Sees Rise in Sexual Diseases"
Associated Press (05.05.05)
Washoe County health officials are investigating the reason
behind an increase in the number of STDs last year. According to a new
report, the county's gonorrhea rate jumped 70 percent to a rate of 92
cases per 100,000 last year. Chlamydia cases increased by 13.5 percent.
The HIV rate increased slightly, while syphilis was the only key STD to
decline.
Health officials pointed to factors that might be unique to the
area, including a highly transient population. Drug use, such as
methamphetamine, also contributes to an increase in high-risk sexual
behavior, noted officials. Another factor could be improved testing
methods.
"In Washoe County, testing technology has changed and that has
provided us with better technology, which picks up more disease," said
Steve Kutz, a program supervisor with the district health department's
STD program. However, officials conceded that improved screening could
only account for so many cases, particularly in detecting gonorrhea. And
they suspect the symptomless nature of some STDs also means that many
infected people are still undiagnosed.
Jennifer Howell, a health educator with the district health
department, is especially concerned about the rise of STDs among young
people. "The younger a person gets an STD, the higher their chance to
develop complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease," she said.
"They have a higher chance of becoming infertile or have pregnancies
with complications. The economic impact is also tremendous."
While the rise in STDs shows a need for enhancing education and
prevention efforts, putting that into practice can be difficult. "Most
research has shown that just raising awareness isn't enough," said
Kristen Clements-Nolle, assistant professor of epidemiology at the
University of Nevada-Reno School of Public Health. "Basic education
needs to be coupled with interventions that address things like
different cultures and gender-specific programming."
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News Briefs
VIETNAM: "Vietnam Prime Minister to Visit United States Next
Month"
Xinhua News Agency (05.06.05)
On Friday in Hanoi, US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick
announced Vietnam will receive $25 million in funding this year under
President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The money will go
toward preventing new HIV infections, providing patients with medicines,
and caring for individuals and orphans affected by the disease, said
Zoellick. Though Vietnam has one of southeast Asia's lowest HIV
prevalence rates, infections are rising. The number of Vietnamese with
HIV/AIDS has increased 40-fold over the past 10 years to its current
241,000, foreign and local health experts report. Vietnam aims to reduce
the infection rate among its 82-million population to under 0.3 percent
by 2010, and keep it unchanged after 2020.
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GLOBAL: "Women Increasingly Victims of the Global HIV/AIDS
Pandemic"
Mercury (South Africa) (05.10.05)
Women's low status in Africa and Asia has contributed to a rise
in HIV/AIDS on those continents, activists at an international women's
right meeting in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, said Monday. Women comprise 57
percent of adult HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, Malaysian AIDS
Council President Marina Mahathir said on the sidelines of the
Nonaligned Movement ministerial conference. In East Asia, the number of
HIV-positive women has risen by 56 percent over the past two years.
"Within the many responses of countries in terms of prevention,
treatment care, and support, women are rarely able to benefit from
them," said Mahathir. Government and senior officials from 78 of the 116
countries in the Nonaligned Movement - a group of developing nations
that tried to stay neutral during the Cold War - are attending the
two-day meeting. Today, they are expected to issue a declaration with
measures to improve the lives of women, including new policies and
programs to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
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ZAMBIA: "Community Radio Stations Key in HIV/AIDS Fight"
allAfrica.com (05.10.05):: Times of Zambia
The wife of the US ambassador to Zambia urged community radio
stations to play a larger role in educating rural communities about
HIV/AIDS. Speaking at a one-day HIV/AIDS media workshop in Livingstone,
Geovenna Brennan said, "Community radio stations are better tools to
educate local communities about HIV/AIDS because you can communicate
using local languages which people are conversant with." Brennan also
said there is a need to establish Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
facilities in rural areas following a five-day VCT promotion and mobile
counseling exercise conducted in rural Livingstone. In five areas
involved in the promotion, 245 people were tested, said Brennan.
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PENNSYLVANIA: "Quick Test for HIV Available Through Health
Department"
Bucks County Courier Times (05.10.05):: Melissa Milewski
Residents of Montgomery County can now get screened for HIV and
receive their results within minutes. Last week, the Montgomery County
Health Department (MCHD) began offering free rapid HIV testing at the
Norristown Health Center at 1430 DeKalb St., Norristown. If there is a
great demand for testing, the center's hours may be extended and testing
could become available at county health centers in Willow Grove and
Pottstown, said Michael Baysinger, director of MCHD's communicable
disease division. Starting next month, the Bucks County Health
Department will offer the test at the department's clinic in Doylestown,
said Barbara Schellhorn, director of personal health services for Bucks
County.
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