| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2005-05-18, 6:00 pm |
| CDC/NPIN Logo <http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/index.asp>
Thursday, May 12, 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
"UNITED STATES: HHS Revises Web Site on How Parents
Should Talk to Kids About Sex"
International News
"GLOBAL: UN Slams AIDS 'Dissident' for Attack on Drugs"
"MYANMAR: Without Drugs, HIV Patients in Myanmar Turn to
Meditation, Herbs"
"GLOBAL: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation,
Johnson & Johnson to Initiate Programs to Prevent Mother-to-Child
Transmission of HIV in 7 Countries"
Medical News
"UNITED STATES/RUSSIA: Expansion of AIDS Centers Needed
to Prevent Spread of HIV in Russia"
Local and Community News
"CALIFORNIA: STD Rates Remain High in San Francisco"
"ILLINOIS: City of Chicago Launches Campaign to Curb
Meth Use"
News Briefs
"GEORGIA: Official Pleased by Drop in Teen Pregnancy in
Georgia"
"ALABAMA: Students Help Students Learn About AIDS"
"GLOBAL: Business News in Brief from Around New Jersey"
"NEW YORK: Local HIV Care Network Plans Candlelight
Memorial"
_____
National News
UNITED STATES: "HHS Revises Web Site on How Parents Should
Talk to Kids About Sex"
Associated Press (05.11.05):: Kevin Freking
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently
revised parts of its Web site designed to help parents talk to their
kids about sex. The changes came after several groups complained the
site was biased and inaccurate.
The sexual orientation section on the site was revised in
response to some of the concerns expressed by gay rights advocates. The
term "alternative lifestyle" was replaced with "lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender lifestyle," to address the concern that the Bush
administration was describing sexual orientation as a choice. Rather
than advising parents of gay kids to consider seeking a family counselor
who shares their values, the site now states that "counselors and other
health professionals may be helpful to both teens and parents when
addressing difficult issues."
"While the section could certainly still be strengthened, we are
immensely grateful for the fact that some of the changes are marked
improvements to the old text," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, wrote in a letter to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt.
HHS had previously planned to update and expand the Web site in
response to new information, said Dr. Alma Golden, HHS deputy assistant
secretary for population affairs. Golden said she was surprised with
some of the groups' concerns, which did not register as problematic with
the focus groups HHS used in developing the abstinence-based site.
Some parents might feel awkward talking with their teen about
sexual orientation, said Golden; HHS is simply trying to help parents
talk with their teens with acceptance and love.
The Sexuality Information and education Council of the United
States, a comprehensive sexual health information group, said it had yet
to hear an HHS response to its site-related concerns. The HHS revisions
are minimal, and the entire site should be reviewed, said SIECUS
President Bill Smith.
Back to Top Back to Top
International News
GLOBAL: "UN Slams AIDS 'Dissident' for Attack on Drugs"
Reuters (05.12.05):: Stephanie Nebehay
Today, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, and UNICEF
criticized as "wrong and misleading" a campaign by the German
vitamin-promoter Dr. Matthias Rath against antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
This week, Rath, a vitamin company operator, placed advertisements in
international newspapers extolling the benefits of vitamins over ARVs,
which he dismisses as toxic.
"Misrepresentations of this sort are both dangerous and
unhelpful," declared the three UN organizations. "In countries where it
is widely available, antiretroviral therapy has turned AIDS from a
'death sentence' into a chronic but manageable disease," they said.
"Vitamins and nutritional supplements alone can not take the
place of comprehensive treatment and care for people living with
HIV/AIDS," which includes treatment of infections, ARV therapy, and a
balanced diet, the agencies said. "Antiretroviral therapy has been shown
in numerous studies to reduce the replication of HIV in the body, reduce
the incidence of opportunistic infections, and AIDS-related illness and
improve the quality of life."
Earlier this year, the Rath Foundation, which has offices in
Germany, Netherlands, and the United States, launched a campaign in
South African newspapers, claiming ARVs are poisonous and cause
congenital deformities. The South African AIDS lobby group Treatment
Action Campaign is suing the Rath Foundation for defaming TAC as a front
for the "drug cartel," and for what TAC calls the foundation's lies
about AIDS drugs.
Rath accuses the United States, Britain, the World Bank, and the
UN of being drug promoters for the pharmaceutical industry.
Back to Top Back to Top
MYANMAR: "Without Drugs, HIV Patients in Myanmar Turn to
Meditation, Herbs"
Agence France Presse (05.07.05)
Approximately 339,000 residents of Myanmar were infected with
HIV at the end of 2004, according to statistics from the military
government's National AIDS Program. Although the country has one of the
highest infection rates in Asia, estimated at 1.2 percent of the adult
population, international agencies have only managed to secure financing
and government approval for a handful of small treatment schemes.
Many HIV/AIDS patients seek alternative remedies such as
traditional herbal medicines and Buddhist meditation, which health care
volunteers say they know cannot cure the disease but may at least
provide some comfort. Charities such as the one run by Aung San Suu
Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy can offer patients little
more than aspirin and multi-vitamins.
In September, Buddhist monks and nuns in Yangon started an
outreach program, Yadana Myitta, that uses the teachings of Buddha to
counsel patients, educate communities about how to avoid HIV, and train
volunteers. Christian groups, who make up about 4 percent of the
population, have also started HIV awareness programs.
After the ruling military junta spent much of the 1990s denying
the country's HIV/AIDS problem, volunteers say the government's attitude
toward HIV prevention has improved in recent years. A special fund was
created for HIV programs to address concerns that the military might
misuse the money. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has
allocated about $54 millions for Myanmar.
Volunteers say that is not nearly enough to provide treatment
for everyone with HIV, or to provide clinics for rural poor people who
cannot travel to cities for treatment.
Back to Top Back to Top
GLOBAL: "Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, Johnson &
Johnson to Initiate Programs to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of
HIV in 7 Countries"
AIDS Weekly & Law (05.05.05)
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has announced a
$1.25 million partnership with Johnson & Johnson to initiate and expand
programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in seven
developing countries: China, India, Russia, Malawi, Republic of Georgia,
Zimbabwe, and Dominican Republic. In recognition of World Health Day and
its theme, "Make every mother and child count," the partnership will
support training health workers, delivery of HIV counseling and testing,
and critical drug interventions at 200 health care delivery sites in the
target countries. The Glaser Foundation expects partnership efforts to
reach 200,000 women a year with services that significantly reduce a
mother's chance of passing HIV to her newborn.
"The dramatic reduction in mother-to-child transmission of HIV
in the United States has been a true success story in the fight against
pediatric AIDS," said Kate Carr, president/CEO of the Glaser Foundation.
"We work everyday with the hope of one day achieving that same success
around the world. And thanks to Johnson & Johnson's generous support, we
will be able to further expand our lifesaving programs and get one step
closer to reaching our goal."
The partnership builds on a successful two-year collaboration
between Johnson & Johnson and the Glaser Foundation's Call to Action
program, an initiative to provide PMTCT services at health sites in
parts of the world lacking adequate resources.
Back to Top Back to Top
Medical News
UNITED STATES/RUSSIA: "Expansion of AIDS Centers Needed to
Prevent Spread of HIV in Russia"
AIDS Weekly & Law (04.07.05)
"Expansion of outreach through government AIDS centers is needed
to prevent the spread of HIV in Russia. Orel, Russia, is the site of a
pilot project in HIV community outreach conducted by the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Russian Ministry of Health,"
reported Scott S. Santibanez of CDC and colleagues in the United States
and Russia. "We sought to determine whether outreach, a documented
method for reaching injection drug users and their female sex partners
for HIV prevention, is feasible through a Russian Government AIDS
Center."
We used a rapid assessment cross-sectional survey," the
researchers wrote. "We demonstrated that at-risk persons who are not
currently in contact with the public health system can be reached
through community outreach by a government AIDS Center with limited
resources and political constraints. Community-recruited persons,
compared with institutionally recruited persons, had more risk behaviors
and less HIV knowledge, suggesting that they are not being reached by
current prevention efforts."
"We recommend that other AIDS centers in Russia consider
piloting similar outreach projects in partnership with non-government
organizations and the federal government," Santibanez and colleagues
concluded. The report, "Expansion of Outreach Through Government AIDS
Centers Is Needed to Prevent the Spread of HIV in Russia," was published
in Drugs - education Prevention and Policy (2005;12(1):71-74).
Back to Top Back to Top
Local and Community News
CALIFORNIA: "STD Rates Remain High in San Francisco"
San Francisco Examiner (05.04.05):: Jo Stanley
A recent Department of Public Health report on STDs revealed
that the incidence of chlamydia and gonorrhea in San Francisco was the
highest in the nation during 2004, with young people particularly
vulnerable. Chlamydia, often asymptomatic, climbed to around 3,700
cases, with highest rates among girls 15-19. Since 2003, rates of
chlamydia, gonorrhea, and early syphilis have risen despite education,
Internet outreach, and medical treatment in jails and specialty clinics.
Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, head of the department's STD prevention
services, said San Francisco outranks other areas partly because of
increased efforts to test for STDs. "We provide the most comprehensive
STD screening per capita in the country," he said.
Dr. Janet Shalwitz of the city's Adolescent Health Working Group
is not surprised that teenagers and young adults, especially in the
African-American community, are at higher risk for STDs than the overall
population. She noted that budget cuts have trimmed services, while the
emphasis on abstinence has caused many health practitioners to avoid
frank talk about sex and the protective value of condoms. Advertising
promoting youthful sexuality is another factor.
"There are a lot of messages out there," Shalwitz said. "Being a
teenager right now, it's very confusing." Only one public high school in
the city, Balboa, has an on-campus health clinic where youth can be
tested.
Klausner said he is encouraged that some Internet sex sites are
cooperating in disseminating health information and said he hopes to see
more such cooperation.
The Department of Public Health has STD information and
downloadable testing kits available at its City Clinic Web site,
www.dph.sf.ca.us./sfcityclinic. For an online brochure about teen health
options, "Updated San Francisco Youth Health Services and Referrals
Pocket Card," look under Resources at www.ahwg.net.
Back to Top Back to Top
ILLINOIS: "City of Chicago Launches Campaign to Curb Meth Use"
Associated Press (05.05.05):: Tara Burghart
On May 5, Mayor Richard Daley launched a campaign against
methamphetamine use in the city, with particular emphasis on Chicago's
gay community, where, according to authorities, it is an increasing
problem. The mayor said police and health departments, social service
providers, medical personnel, and leaders in the gay community will
participate in the campaign.
Methamphetamine use has spread across the country in the last
decade, especially in rural areas where makeshift labs are less likely
to be noticed. But the drug is also a problem in urban areas, sometimes
first catching on in the club scene and among certain populations such
as gay men, experts said.
A task force set up by the Department of Public Health and the
AIDS Foundation of Chicago will distribute posters and brochures about
meth's dangers and will send outreach teams to talk to at-risk people.
Police are conducting more undercover searches to identify sources of
the drug, and they are educating club owners on how to identify users
and keep meth out. In one city district with a large gay population,
according to police, meth-related search warrants have risen from 13 at
this time last year to 32 so far this year.
Alderman Tom Tunney, who is gay, said he thinks the gay
population can be vulnerable to drug use due to "issues of acceptance,
issues of fitting into society and [lack of] positive role models."
Tunney and Daley both stressed that the highly addictive drug and its
dangers are not confined to the gay community.
Back to Top Back to Top
News Briefs
GEORGIA: "Official Pleased by Drop in Teen Pregnancy in
Georgia"
Macon Telegraph (05.11.05):: Don Schanche Jr.
The state Department of Human Resources this week reported a 41
percent drop in the pregnancy rate for Georgia 15- to 17-year-olds
between 1994 and 2003. The pregnancy rate was 68.3 per 1,000 in this age
group in 1994; in 2003, it was 40.1. "Even though there's still so much
more work to be done, I think we've done really well in terms of our
state," said Janet Tyree, who directs the department's public health
abstinence initiative.
Back to Top Back to Top
ALABAMA: "Students Help Students Learn About AIDS"
Birmingham News (05.09.05):: David Parks
At Fairfield Preparatory High School in Fairfield, Ala., members
of the Peer Helpers class spent a recent Saturday undergoing training in
how to teach other students about HIV/AIDS. Cynthia Ward, who teaches
the class, said the students will educate others in classroom and
community settings. Though the students have received training in
risk-prevention strategies including condom use, they will be advocating
an abstinence-only approach. The students were also given antismoking
and cancer awareness training, said Principal Kecia A. Mathews.
Back to Top Back to Top
GLOBAL: "Business News in Brief from Around New Jersey"
Associated Press (05.11.05)
On Wednesday, Merck & Co. said its charitable foundation is
spending $30 million over the next five years to assist the Chinese
government with AIDS prevention, treatment, and care. The effort will
launch in Sichuan Province in the fall. Merck is providing similar
assistance to Botswana, Romania, and other countries. On Tuesday,
medical technology company BD announced it is working with the Catholic
Medical Mission Board to send 10 associates to Zambia to work at five
rural health care facilities. BD is matching funds raised by its workers
to pay for the trip. Money the workers donated is also being used to
purchase computers and other equipment for clinics in Zambia.
Back to Top Back to Top
NEW YORK: "Local HIV Care Network Plans Candlelight Memorial"
Post-Standard (05.09.05)
The Central New York HIV Care Network will participate in the
International AIDS Candlelight Memorial on Sunday, May 15, from
8:30-9:30 p.m. The ceremony in Clinton Square will include reflections
on the changing epidemic. For information, telephone 315-472-8099.
Back to Top Back to Top
_____
The Prevention News Mailing List is maintained by the National
Prevention Information Network (NPIN), part of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention.
Regular postings include the Prevention News Update, conference
announcements, current funding opportunities, select articles from the
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series and announcements about new
NPIN products and services.
To join the PreventioNews listserv, send a blank e-mail to
prevention-news-subscribe@cdcnpin.org
<mailto:prevention-news-subscribe@cdcnpin.org> . For instructions on how
to remove yourself from the listserv, send a blank e-mail to
prevention-news-unsubscribe@cdcnpin.org
<mailto:prevention-news-unsubscribe@cdcnpin.org> .
You can also join or leave the PreventioNews listserv from the
NPIN Web site at: http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/prevention_news.asp.
Back issues of the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update can be
found at http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/locates/LocateNews.asp. You can
search for back issues in the Prevention News Update Database at
http://www.cdcnpin.org/news/.
We'd like to know what you think of the Prevention News Update.
Please take a minute to send an e-mail with your comments to
update-feedback@cdcnpin.org <mailto:update-feedback@cdcnpin.org> . With
your help, we will continue to improve this service to better meet your
information needs.
Please send all other e-mail inquiries to info@cdcnpin.org
<mailto:info@cdcnpin.org> .
**This message may be copied and distributed; however, it may
not be distributed for profit.**
---
You are currently subscribed to prevention-news as: ssah-submit@ezmort.com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-prevention-news-1356515G@listmanager.aspensys.com
|