WHO warns of risks of TB vaccine to HIV-infected infants _English_Xinhua

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine is of great risks to HIV-infected infants, Tanzanian local daily the Guardian reported on Thursday."

Commentary: Simple HIV test can save lives - CNN.com

"Every 9½ minutes someone's brother, mother, sister, father, or neighbor becomes infected with HIV in the United States. That's 56,000 people every year. But there's something we can all do to help protect ourselves and our partners from this disease -- get tested for HIV."

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

"The administration continues to enforce the ban on non-Americans living with HIV - against the will of the Congress and the views of president George W. Bush. Here's the latest example:"

Swine flu (H1N1 virus) is a continued threat to travelers with HIV and other diseases

"As of today, nearly 30,000 confirmed cases of swine flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, have been reported in 74 countries. As a result, the World Health Organization has confirmed 'the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met.'

While WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are continuing to encouraging individual at higher risk of infection to be cautious."

Study: Bans on gay marriage lead to rise in HIV infections

"Gay marriage bans can be tied to a rise in HIV infections, according to a new study by economists at Atlanta's Emory University.

“In the first study of the impact of social tolerance levels toward gays in the United States on the HIV transmission rate, the researchers estimated that a constitutional ban on gay marriage raises the rate by four cases per 100,000 people,” the university announced in a press release today."

FDA ignores critical information on home HIV tests

The FDA is ignoring critical information in deciding whether to approve an over-the-counter, rapid HIV test for home use, according to a recent article in the journal Medical Decision Making (MDM) which is published by SAGE.

As the price of the HIV test rises, some lower-income individuals who are at greater risk for HIV infection will not be able to afford it. The FDA has been criticized because it bases its decisions on small studies performed in non-representative populations.

AIDS Spreads to Infants as Most Mothers Fail to Get Treatments - Bloomberg.com

"Drugs that prevent HIV in infants don’t get to two-thirds of infected expectant mothers, leading the virus to spread to 370,000 newborns a year, a treatment advocacy group said.

Only 33 percent of pregnant women with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, receive antivirals, a strategy proven 15 years ago to block mother-to-child transmission of the disease, said a report released today from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition. The group blamed governments and global health groups for poor coordination, funding gaps and valuing “wealthy women over poor,” said Stephen Lewis, founder of AIDS-Free World and co- author of the report’s preface."