National News Archives
National News Briefs
Across the Nation
UNITED STATES:
"Under 1 Percent of US Adults Have HIV: Report"
Reuters, (01.29.2008) Maggie Fox
In a new report, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) said its
household survey shows about one-half of one percent of adults ages 18 to 49 are
infected with HIV. CDC Summary
UNITED STATES:
"Text of Bush’s Final State of the Union"
Associated Press, (01.29.2008)
Following is an excerpt from the State of the Union address President George W.
Bush delivered to Congress on Monday night. "America is leading the fight
against disease. With your help, we are working to cut by half the number of
malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations. And our Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many
more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and
made this program a success. And I call on you to double our initial commitment
to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next five
years." CDC Summary
Bush in State of the Union Address Calls on Congress To Allocate $30B for PEPFAR
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50071
President Bush Addresses Health Care, Entitlement Programs in Final State of the
Union Speech Washington Post (Requires free, one-time registration)
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/fe.cfm?id=8037
U.S. Patent Office Rejects Patents on Gilead's Antiretroviral Viread
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49984
Dell, Microsoft To Launch Product RED Computer
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49985
Bush in State of Union Address To Call for $30B Extension of PEPFAR
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50013
FDA Approves Tibotec's Antiretroviral Etravirine
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49955
Groups Respond to Research That Links Drug-Resistant MRSA Strain to MSM
Communities in Boston, San Francisco
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49924
Drug-Resistant MRSA Strain Spreading Through MSM Communities in Boston, San
Francisco, Researchers Say
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49819
Researchers Identify 273 Human Proteins That Play a Role in HIV Transmission,
Progression
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49772
CALIFORNIA:
"Documenting the Toll of AIDS"
Los Angeles Times, (01.02.2008) Larry Gordon
Hundreds of thousands of previously unsorted documents and artifacts detailing
the history of the AIDS epidemic are now available for study in three archives
in Los Angeles and San Francisco. CDC Summary
New York Times Examines How PEPFAR Could Be Bush's 'Most Lasting Bipartisan
Accomplishment'
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49672
HIV/AIDS Experts, Doctors Voice Concerns About Health Problems Seen Among
Long-Term HIV/AIDS Survivors
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49673
Amino Acid Mutations in Protein Might Make HIV Vulnerable to Immune System
Attack, Study Finds
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49674
Presidential Candidates Discuss Health Care During New Hampshire Debates New
York Times (Requires free, one-time registration)
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/fe.cfm?id=7864
Bush Signs $555B Spending Bill, Lifts Ban on Funding of Needle-Exchange Programs
in Washington, D.C.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49557
Two Miami-Area Universities Receive NIH Grants To Study
HIV/AIDS, Other Health Issues Among Hispanics
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49563
Across the Nation
Texas Officials Studying Needle-Exchange Program; District Attorney Says
People Distributing Needles Do Not Have Immunity
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50072
Number of HIV Cases Among Elderly in Puerto Rico Increasing
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=50073
Arkansas Gov. Beebe Forms Task Force To Study HIV/AIDS Among State's
Minority Populations
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49956
Washington, D.C., Public Health Officials Pledge To Implement HIV/AIDS
Curriculum by Fall 2008
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49870
Washington, D.C.-Based Whitman-Walker Clinic To Expand Medical, Social
Service Programs
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49773
California Gov. Schwarzenegger Proposes FY 2008 Budget, Includes Funding
Levels for HIV/AIDS Services
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm? DR_ID=49800
Majority of New York City Adults at Increased Risk of HIV Transmission
Think They Are Not at Risk, Survey Says
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49801
HIV/AIDS Cases Increasing in South Dakota, Health Department Reports
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49675
ILLINOIS:
"HIV: It’s on the Rise in Cook County"
La Grange Suburban Life, (12.31.2007) Catherine Leyden
The Cook County Department of Public Health said at the beginning of 2007 there
were 3,000 reported cases of HIV infection in the county's suburban regions. As
the new year begins, officials are seeing rising numbers of infections among
suburban residents. CDC Summary
New Jersey Requires HIV Tests for Pregnant Women, Some Infants
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49558
Needle-Exchange Pilot Programs Launch in New Jersey
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49559
New HIV Cases Increasing Among Young MSM in New York City Despite Drop in
Overall New Cases, New York Times Reports
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49560
See December 2007 Archives
Summaries
UNITED STATES:
"Under 1 Percent of US Adults Have HIV: Report"
Reuters, (01.29.2008) Maggie Fox
In a new report, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) said its
household survey shows about one-half of one percent of adults ages 18 to 49 are
infected with HIV.
This rate is stable, and the report confirms the results of other surveys
showing that black men in the United States are far more likely than other
Americans to be infected with HIV. The NCHS survey said black men ages 40-49 had
the highest infection rate - close to 4 percent.
The report combines data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey from 1999 to 2006. Survey participants volunteer to have their blood
tested for a variety of conditions, and they also undergo physical exams. Due to
the "very low prevalence" of HIV, "you have to combine all the years," said
study leader Gerry McQuillan.
"In 1999 to 2006, the prevalence of HIV infection among adults aged 18-49 years
in the civilian non-institutionalized household population of the United States
was 0.47 percent," according to the report.
This percentage equates to between 447,000 and 841,000 people, with 618,000
being the middle number, McQuillan said. NCHS included 11,928 adults in the
survey and extrapolated these numbers to the full population. The report does
not include data on how many persons are newly infected with HIV.
In the survey, men were more likely to be infected (0.7 percent) than women (0.2
percent). People infected with herpes simplex type 2 virus (genital herpes) were
15 times more likely to be co-infected with HIV.
CALIFORNIA:
"Documenting the Toll of AIDS"
Los Angeles Times, (01.02.2008) Larry Gordon
Hundreds of thousands of previously unsorted documents and artifacts detailing
the history of the AIDS epidemic are now available for study in three archives
in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
"It is important for us to see not only how AIDS was treated medically but to
document historically people's responses to it," said Michael Palmer, an
archives project director at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives. At that
center, which is affiliated with the University of Southern California, Palmer
and colleagues have finished indexing and filing an estimated 200,000 items in
the AIDS History Project.
The other projects are at University of California-San Francisco's library and
at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society in San
Francisco. "Most fundamentally, it means this history won't be lost," said Paul
Boneberg, executive director of the historical society. "Our collections tell
the story of average people and smaller organizations caught up in the greatest
national disaster of modern times."
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded a shared
grant of $170,000 to the historical society and UC-San Francisco's special
collections library. The federal agency also gave some $195,000 to the ONE
center, much of it used for the AIDS materials.
Documentation includes records compiled by the California Department of Health
Services, reports on protests from groups such as Mobilization Against AIDS,
diaries, medical bills, letters, photographs, and old copies of Diseased Pariah
News, a gallows-humor magazine for patients.
ILLINOIS:
"HIV: It’s on the Rise in Cook County"
La Grange Suburban Life, (12.31.2007) Catherine Leyden
The Cook County Department of Public Health said at the beginning of 2007 there
were 3,000 reported cases of HIV infection in the county's suburban regions. As
the new year begins, officials are seeing rising numbers of infections among
suburban residents.
According to Curt Hicks, HIV prevention coordinator of the health department,
some 16 agencies throughout suburban Chicago offer outreach, but that is not
enough. "Oftentimes when someone is newly diagnosed they are stunned and not
very helpful with providing information," Hicks said.
Hicks noted the department receives very little federal funding. "Fifty cents
per person per year is not a lot to stop an epidemic," he said. "West suburban
residents need to be demanding of their federal legislators to make sure the
city is funding mental health and substance abuse programs in the suburbs so
people don't have to travel all the way to the city to be able to access
services." Hicks said Chicago's suburbs also lack housing for homeless HIV
patients.
Karie Holdorf, HIV coordinator at Loyola University Medical Center's
infectious-disease department, said the division treats some 400 HIV patients on
a regular basis. She said increased awareness and primary care providers
offering testing to people they do not think are high risk could account for the
higher numbers.
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