LONDON
(Reuters) - Transmission of the AIDS virus seems to be "out of
control" among gay men in France despite an overall fall in the number of
new HIV cases in the country, according to a study published on Thursday.News (Updated
September 12, 2010)
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Approximately one-third
of newly infected women contracted the disease from their husbands. -
Sep 08, 2010
By Cheng Yingqi
By the end of 2009, women
accounted for more than 30 percent of the estimated 740,000 cases of HIV in
China, compared to 15.3 percent in 1998, according to the latest research by the
UNAIDS, announced on Tuesday.
Of these, approximately
one-third of newly infected women contracted the disease from their husbands,
who were exposed to the virus either through contact with prostitutes or by
engaging in homosexual activity, according to the research.
"Women became
increasingly vulnerable over the period of research, with sexual transmission
accounting for most cases of exposure to the disease," Guo Ruixiang, a
China Program Officer for UNAIDS, said on the sidelines of a forum organized by
the All-China Women's Federation in Beijing on Tuesday.
Guo said
The proportion of women
among those who contracted HIV through sexual contact rose from 44.1 percent in
2001 to 55 percent in 2004.
"The MTCT ratio
increased in line with the number of female infections," Guo said.
The latest reports from
the Ministry of Health show that MTCT transmission accounts for 1 percent of
total cases of infection in recent years, while
"We should root out
societal expectations regarding sex if we want to reduce women's
vulnerability," said Min Ziping, head of the women development department
of the Hubei Provincial Women's Federation.
"Women traditionally
have less say over condom use, which has made them more vulnerable to
infection," she said.
The federation conducted
research on female HIV infection, in which 90 percent of respondents said women
were unable to assert their right to protect themselves.
Li Yao contributed to
this story.
Wed Sep 8, 2010
By Kate Kelland
LONDON
(Reuters) - Transmission of the AIDS virus seems to be "out of
control" among gay men in France despite an overall fall in the number of
new HIV cases in the country, according to a study published on Thursday.
Scientists from the
French National Institute for Public Health Surveillance found that nearly half
of the 7,000 people newly infected with HIV in the country in 2008 were gay men,
and the incidence among homosexual men is 200 times higher than in the
heterosexual population.
Experts said the findings
showed that French authorities needed to revise and renew prevention strategies
and ensure they were properly targeted at groups most at risk of HIV infection.
The human
immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS infects 33.4 million people globally. In
sub-Saharan Africa, 22.4 million people have it, and
Thursday's study,
published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, found that HIV in
But the number of new
infections among gay men was stable despite a decline in other groups, and
accounted for 48 percent of new cases in
Non-French-nationals
living in
The number of new
infections among injecting drug users -- a group in which HIV epidemics are
spreading rapidly in other parts of Europe -- was low and stable in France over
the 5-year study period, accounting for only 1 or 2 percent of new infections
every year.
"Our results provide
a new perspective on the HIV epidemic in
"HIV transmission
disproportionately affects certain risk groups and seems to be out of control in
the MSM population," he said, using an acronym for men who have sex with
men.
Since AIDS emerged in the
1980s, 60 million people have been infected with virus that causes it and 25
million have died. HIV is spread in blood, during sex and in breast milk. Drug
users can spread it by sharing needles with infected people.
In a commentary on the
findings, Robert Hogg from the British Colombia Centre for Excellence in
HIV/AIDS in
He said authorities
should seek to tackle the problem with a combined prevention approach which
would include promoting prevention measures such as condom use among gay men and
expanding access to AIDS drugs for all eligible HIV patients.
Recent studies have shown
that treating HIV patients early in their disease and with potent cocktails of
AIDS drugs not only helps them live longer but also significantly reduces the
spread of the virus to others.
(Editing by Paul Taylor)
© Thomson Reuters 2010
All rights reserved
Lord Penrose has set out
the next stage of his inquiry
The judge chairing the
inquiry into contaminated NHS blood products in the 1980s has set out the next
stages of his inquiry.
Lord Penrose will take
oral evidence from doctors, senior NHS managers and people who contracted HIV
and hepatitis from infected blood products.
The inquiry will look at
whether enough was done to protect patients from the risk of infection.
Hundreds of patients were
infected before screening was introduced.
Lord Penrose will chair
the probe into how Eileen O'Hara and Rev David Black contracted the virus while
in NHS care.
'Provide answers'
It follows complaints by
relatives of the victims over the length of time it has taken to start the
inquiry.
The Scottish government
said the withdrawal of the original chairperson, judge Lady Cosgrove, had led to
the delay.
At the time of Lord
Penrose's appointment, the Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish
Parliament she had "every sympathy with those who have suffered or lost
loved ones as a result of Hepatitis C or HIV infection through NHS treatment
with blood or blood products".
She added: "I hope
the Penrose Inquiry can provide answers and the closure which I know they so
desperately want.
"This inquiry will
also ensure that all possible lessons are learned to prevent such a tragedy
occurring again."
Sep 9, 2010
By Bappa Majumdar
NEW DELHI, Sept 9
(Reuters) - Thousands of AIDS patients in India are not receiving treatment on
time, underscoring huge challenges the country faces as it combats the disease,
the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said on Thursday.
But with HIV cases lying
untreated in many parts of the country, it poses a threat to the country's
prevention measures, the fund's executive director, Michel Kazatchkine, said.
"Some of the
population groups are at higher risks and it means we have to reach these groups
with prevention," Kazatchkine told Reuters in an interview.
"There are 300,000
people receiving treatment, but that is about only one-third of all the people
who are estimated to be in need of treatment."
Indian authorities say
HIV cases are showing signs of rising in parts of
"In order to access
treatment you first have to know that you are HIV positive," Kazatchkine
said.
The Geneva-based Global
Fund, which signed healthcare agreements worth over $244 million with
It also urged
The Indian government
spends about 1 percent of its GDP on healthcare facilities, much less than some
African countries, forcing millions to struggle to get medicines.
"Clearly
While
In March, the World Bank
and other agencies said
Otherwise the cost of
treatment in
Kazatchkine said
"
By ARTIS HENDERSON (AP)
9 Sept, 2010
Ramadan is bad news for
the sex workers on the streets of
"It's a rough
month," said 31-year-old Fatou Diop, who had taken a position on a piece of
pavement just beyond the flashing lights of a nightclub in downtown
"There are fewer
clients during Ramadan — and we earn less. You can work for three days and not
make anything," she said.
Like many prostitutes in
In the same unlit
alleyway, Awa Ndiaye was strutting in a dress as tight as cellophane. She said
her clients dwindled from 10 per night to three. The 24-year-old native of
Casamance, a region in the south of
"I have to support
my family on what's left after I pay them," she said. "Now, there's no
work."
Even though prostitution
is legal, it is still taboo. If the police harass prostitutes — registered or
not_ and threaten to take them to jail, they often have no recourse but to pay a
bribe.
Ndiaye is one of the
registered, or legal, sex workers who are required to report to a health clinic
for HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing every two weeks or risk losing
their health card. Other women work clandestinely.
Djiby Sow coordinates
health programs at Africa Consultants International and works with local groups
in
"The worst impact is
during the first two weeks," he said. "People are very pious then.
Business goes back up toward the end of the month."
In a dark alley near
"We're tired,"
she said after she returned to the sidewalk. "We do this until five in the
morning, but there are still no customers."
Associated Press Writer
Sadibou Marone contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2010 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved.