2004

Sex Education Gets Party Treatment in West Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 30, 2004; James Knight and Katrina Manson; NOE, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - A day after the rest of the world marked World Aids Day on December 1, the Love Life Caravan blasted its way into the remote border outpost of Noe between Ivory Coast and Ghana . An enormous sound system pumped out a thunderous mix of home-grown hip hop, as dancers, artists and health exper
Bad Water, Not Corpses, Main Tsunami Disease Threat: Reuters NewMedia - December 30, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Preventing outbreaks of diseases across tsunami-hit Asia is a race against time, but contrary to popular belief, the thousands of rotting corpses do not pose the main threat, health officials said on Thursday. Sewage-contaminated water is the main risk factor in the spread of deadly diseases like ch
India's new patent law to shake up drug industry: Reuters NewMedia - December 30, 2004; Rosemary Arackaparambil; BOMBAY (Reuters) - India s drug industry enters a new era in 2005 when laws recognizing foreign patents take effect, ending a copycat trade that has fostered local pharma firms for three decades and helped bring cheaper medicines to the poor. By presidential decree this week, India met a World Trade Organization commi
Brown to Start UK G8 Presidency with Africa Visit: Reuters NewMedia - December 29, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Gordon Brown will launch the UK s 2005 presidency of the Group of Eight rich nations with a six-day visit to Africa to highlight the need for more money for the world s poorest countries. Britain has dubbed the next year as make or break for development and says its leadershi
British lawmakers launch AIDS fund plea: Reuters NewMedia - December 24, 2004; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON (Reuters) - A group of British lawmakers on Friday launched a bid to force the European Union to divert billions of pounds paid in subsidies to its farmers to help the millions of people suffering from AIDS in Africa. A letter in the Daily Telegraph newspaper signed by 22 parliamentarians from the two main polit
Zoellick Bad Choice to Head World Bank -Activists: Reuters NewMedia - December 23, 2004; Doug Palmer; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Social activists expressed concern on Thursday at the possible selection of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to head the World Bank. David Waskow, international program director at the Friends of the Earth, said many groups were worried that Zoellick -- the top U.S. official in charge of
U.S. Looking for Funds to Boost Food Aid: Reuters NewMedia - December 23, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Thursday it was looking for money to increase food aid and head off shortages that humanitarian groups say could threaten programs across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. An administration official said an interagency review has been launched to determine what addit
Annan: Won't Resign Over Iraq Oil, Food Scandal: Reuters NewMedia - December 22, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday corruption allegations in the Iraqi oil-for-food program had cast a shadow over the United Nations but said again he would not resign as the world s top diplomat. To meet criticism in the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress that the United Nati
Mandela Plans New AIDS Concert: Reuters NewMedia - December 22, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela announced plans on Wednesday for a second concert to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS, bringing rock group Queen and other artists back to South Africa in March for a televised show. Mandela, 86, has made fighting Africa s AIDS pandemic one of his major campaigns since stepping down
GSK gets EU approval for combination HIV drug: Reuters NewMedia - December 22, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has won approval from European regulators to sell KIVEXA, a new treatment for HIV combining two antiretrovirals in one tablet dosed once a day, Europe s biggest drug maker said on Wednesday. KIVEXA comprises existing HIV treatments EPIVIR and ZIAGEN and does not have any food or f
Medics Answer AIDS Pill Drug Resistance Charge: Reuters NewMedia - December 20, 2004; Frank Nyakairu; KAMPALA (Reuters) - A key anti-HIV/AIDS drug distributed in Africa causes drug resistance in pregnant women, but only if they ignore doctors orders on how to take the pills, medical officials said on Monday. The drug, nevirapine , is distributed as part of President Bush s high-profile bid to fight the spread of the di
Bristol-Myers, Gilead form HIV drug joint venture: Reuters NewMedia - December 20, 2004; NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Gilead Sciences Inc. have formed a joint venture to develop and market a fixed-dose combination of their two HIV drugs, the companies said on Monday. The joint venture will work to combine Bristol-Myers drug
S.Africa's ANC Accuses U.S. of AIDS Drug Cover-Up: Reuters NewMedia - December 18, 2004; Rebecca Harrison; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s ruling party has accused top U.S. officials of treating Africans like guinea pigs amid questions over testing of a key HIV/AIDS drug before a U.S.-backed roll-out of the treatment across the continent. The African National Congress (ANC) said on its Web site U.S. health officials
Condom Shortage Alarm for Uganda's Festive Season: Reuters NewMedia - December 17, 2004; KAMPALA (Reuters) - AIDS-aware Ugandans, who use about 250,000 condoms a day, face a shortage of the product after the government introduced new condom tests likely to cut supply over the festive season, the Health Ministry on Friday. The Ministry withdrew Engabu, a local popular brand that was emitting a bad smell, af
Stop Condom Debate and Help AIDS Victims -Cardinal: Reuters NewMedia - December 17, 2004; Philip Pullella; VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The cardinal chosen by Pope John Paul to head a new Vatican foundation to help AIDS victims said on Friday too much time was spent arguing over the Catholic Church s opposition to condoms while too many people were dying. I don t care about the condoms yes, condoms no, debate, Cardinal Javier L
Americans Give Up on Flu Vaccine, Survey Shows: Reuters NewMedia - December 16, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of Americans, frightened off by news reports of long lines or discouraged by their own failed attempts, have given up on getting flu shots this year, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were still enough flu vaccines left
Glaxo, Roche drugs backed for wider European use: Reuters NewMedia - December 16, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Two established drugs sold by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Roche Holding AG were recommended for wider use by a panel of European drug experts on Thursday, the European Medicines Agency said. GSK s Arxitra -- an ex-Sanofi product which it was forced to sell when it merged with Aventis -- is now recommende
Swaziland Army to Reject HIV-Positive Recruits: Reuters NewMedia - December 16, 2004; MBABANE (Reuters) - The army will not accept HIV-positive recruits in the small southern African kingdom of Swaziland , one of the countries worst hit by the AIDS pandemic, officials said on Thursday. The army is experiencing a rise in HIV/AIDS-related illnesses and deaths, and this has adverse effects on the overall m
Jazz Stars Help U.S. HIV/AIDS Campaign in India: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2004; Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell enlisted U.S. jazz stars on Tuesday to help India fight AIDS and HIV, an epidemic he called the worst weapon of mass destruction on the face of the earth. Next month s concert tour of India by jazz musicians including Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane highli
Glaxo grants S.African AIDS drug licence to Cipla: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2004; LONDON - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has granted a voluntary licence allowing India s Cipla Ltd to make and sell generic copies of its anti-AIDS medicines in South Africa , the British-based company said on Tuesday. The licence for Cipla Medpro (Pty) Ltd, a local unit of Cipla, is the fifth such voluntary licence g
Australia Urged to Run PNG Border Controls: Reuters NewMedia - December 14, 2004; CANBERRA - Australia should consider taking over the customs and border controls of neighboring Papua New Guinea to crack down on cross-border gun running and drug trafficking, an Australian thinktank said Tuesday. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report on PNG warned th
Schwarzenegger Nominates Stem Cell Research Chief: Reuters NewMedia - December 13, 2004; Leonard Anderson; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday nominated a leading financial backer and campaigner for the state s stem cell initiative to chair a committee to oversee the $3 billion, 10-year research effort. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, nominated Robert Klein, a real estate developer, for c
Abandoned Africa HIV Orphans Struggle with Stigma: Reuters NewMedia - December 13, 2004; William Maclean; NAIROBI (Reuters) - Monica is 12, likes ice cream, thinks boys are rough and dirty, and wants to grow up to be a flight attendant because they work hard and play hard . Robert is 13, good at science, likes french fries, dreams of being a pilot and thinks corruption is hurting Africa. The two bright-eyed Kenyans with br
S.Africa's Aspen jumps on US OK for AIDS drug plan: Reuters NewMedia - December 13, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Shares in Africa s biggest generic drug maker Aspen jumped more than 5 percent on Monday after the company said it won U.S. regulatory approval to make life-prolonging AIDS drugs. If the company also wins approval for the drugs themselves, it could pave the way for it to supply anti-ret
Chinese official moved as Hu consolidates power: Reuters NewMedia - December 13, 2004; Benjamin Kang Lim; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s Communist Party chief Hu Jintao moved a close political ally out of a problem-plauged province on Monday and analysts say he will make more personnel changes as he continues to consolidate power. Hu only replaced Jiang Zemin in the country s top military job in September after taking over as
French Court to Rule on Hizbollah TV Ban on Monday: Reuters NewMedia - December 11, 2004; PARIS (Reuters) - A French court is to decide on Monday whether to ban television broadcasts to Europe by Lebanon s Hizbollah guerrilla group, after the satellite station claimed Zionists were trying to export AIDS to Arab countries. France s broadcasting authority, the Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA), approved the al
Nobel Winner Maathai Sounds Alarm Over Planet: Reuters NewMedia - December 10, 2004; Inger Sethov; OSLO (Reuters) - Calling humanity a threat to the planet, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai urged democratic reform and an end to corporate greed after becoming the first African woman to collect the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. She said sweeping changes were needed to restore a world of beauty and wonder by over
Modern Ills Burden Mexico's Aging Health System: Reuters NewMedia - December 10, 2004; Lorraine Orlandi; MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Pleading with doctors at a Mexican hospital to treat his 26-year-old daughter as she bled from her nose, mouth and vagina, Jesus Domingo Trasvina was told to stop exaggerating, that she had a sinus infection. Hours later, Ana Elvia stopped breathing and died. A hospital worker then approached Tr
Ugandan Virgins Rally to Promote Abstinence: Reuters NewMedia - December 10, 2004; Daniel Wallis; KAMPALA (Reuters) - Hundreds of virgins gathered in the Ugandan capital on Friday to meet the country s first lady and renew their pledges to abstain from premarital sex. If you don t have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, they say you are crazy, don t they? 23-year-old Alex Mumale asked the youngsters as they banged drums
From Herders to Gem Dealers, Tanzania's Maasai Reborn: Reuters NewMedia - December 10, 2004; Helen Nyambura; MERERANI, Tanzania (Reuters) - The orange sun sets over the Tanzanian mining town of Mererani as pick-up trucks take the night shift to pits producing blue Tanzanite gemstones, and tired workers trudge home in the opposite direction. As the dirty miners return to their villages, they are watched by a much cleaner group
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maathai answers critics: Reuters NewMedia - December 9, 2004; Alister Doyle; OSLO (Reuters) - Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai dismissed critics on Thursday who say ecology has too little to do with peace to merit the award. She said most wars are fought over natural resources. It may be water, it may be firewood, it may be oil, it may be timber ... but it s mostly natural resour
UK to Seek Bush Support on G8 Poverty Goals: Reuters NewMedia - December 9, 2004; Katherine Baldwin; LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will seek Washington s support to help it achieve goals on global poverty reduction, debt relief and fair trade during London s G8 presidency next year, finance minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday. He said 2005, when Britain chairs the group of rich nations, marked a vital test for the world
Key Facts from the UNICEF Annual Report: Reuters NewMedia - December 9, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Half of the world s two billion children are living in poverty at the start of the 21st century, and the world s political leaders are to blame, UNICEF, the UN s child rights organization said on Thursday. The following are some key facts from the annual report. *2.2 million children die each year th
Interview: Political Leaders Fail Children Worldwide: Reuters NewMedia - December 9, 2004; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON (Reuters) - Political leaders the world over are failing the most vulnerable of their people -- children, the U.N. child rights organization UNICEF said on Thursday. Although child mortality rates had fallen by one-fifth in the past decade, they remain far too high due to a combination of grinding poverty, the H
UN Members Back Annan with Lengthy Standing Ovation: Reuters NewMedia - December 8, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan received an unusual standing ovation in the 191-nation General Assembly on Wednesday following calls for his resignation from conservative U.S. lawmakers. Annan has been accused by some Republicans in the U.S. Congress of presiding over corruption in the U.N.
Scientists Find Gene Clue in Hunt for AIDS Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - December 8, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists said Wednesday they have identified key genes involved in the body s response to HIV, which causes AIDS -- a finding that could narrow the search for an effective vaccine against the deadly illness. A vaccine is considered the Holy Grail in the battle against the global AIDS epidemic but e
Asia religious leaders join to fight radicals: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2004; Jerry Norton; YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Leaders at a 13-nation interfaith conference that ends on Tuesday said they would go home with new ideas on working together against violence-prone religious radicals and solving problems that fuel extremism. The two-day meeting had begun with a call for tolerance by President Bambang
UNICEF: Arab Media Should Help Knock AIDS Taboos: Reuters NewMedia - December 7, 2004; Heba Kandil; DUBAI (Reuters) - Media in the Middle East and North Africa, with one of the fastest AIDS growth rates, needs to help combat the epidemic by fighting cultural taboos, a U.N. Children s Fund (UNICEF) official said on Tuesday. Currently 540,000 people in the region live with the HIV virus, up from 430,000 in 2002. The di
Honey, Here's Why You Shouldn't Hitch-Hike...: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; HARARE (Reuters) - A group of late night Zimbabwean hitch-hikers had a shock when they were driven to a cemetery and forced to dig up a coffin at gunpoint. The three men in a truck who offered the 20 hitch-hikers a lift to Chitungwiza, a township outside Harare, instead sped to a graveyard, gave them picks and shovels
A Condom by Any Other Name ...: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has shelved a plan to replace the English word for condom with a Korean word after a string of complaints from people with identical or similar sounding names. The Korean Anti-AIDS Federation said it would drop the use of a suggested new word for condom, ae-pil, which was derived from th
Glaxo grants 4th AIDS drug licence in South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, Dec 6 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has granted a fourth voluntary licence to a South African generics firm to market its anti-AIDS medicines, the world s leading supplier of HIV/AIDS drugs said on Monday. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has granted a voluntary licence to generics company Biotech Laboratories for
Nadine Gordimer Enlists Literati to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Novelist Nadine Gordimer decided that if rock stars could stage huge gigs for worthy causes, writers could do the same and she launched on Tuesday a book of stories by 21 of the world s most distinguished authors in support of AIDS victims. The 81-year old Gordimer contacted 20 colleagues aro
AEterna Zentaris wins German approval for Impavido: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; TORONTO (Reuters) - AEterna Zentaris Inc. said on Monday it has won approval to market in Germany its drug for black fever and to distribute it to German troops infected while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq .
Religious Forum in Indonesia Aims to Blunt Radicals: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; Jerry Norton; YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, the world s most populous Muslim nation, called on all religions Monday to rise up against terrorism and show that faith could be a force for peace. The former general, who took power in October, made the comments at an international rel
Amnesty: China arrests, jails human rights defenders: Reuters NewMedia - December 6, 2004; Marcin Grajewski; BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Human rights defenders face arrest and torture in China , and the European Union should raise the issue at a summit with Beijing s leaders this week, Amnesty International said in a new report on Monday. EU leaders should take into account that while the number of human rights activists is growing
Singapore may test couples for HIV before marriage: Reuters NewMedia - December 5, 2004; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Couples in Singapore may face mandatory HIV tests before marrying, Singapore media reported on Sunday, a week after the government said all pregnant women would be screened for HIV/AIDS to stem a rise in new infections. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said Singapore planned to seek public feedback o
Barr says FDA approves AIDS drug generic version: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company s generic version of Videx EC, an AIDS treatment marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb . The FDA granted an expedited review of Barr s application to make a copycat versi
L.A. TV Stations Shun 'Phil the Sore' Syphilis Ad: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2004; Dan Whitcomb; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The group behind an anti-syphilis commercial starring an irascible chancre named Phil the Sore says it will file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission after Los Angeles broadcasters balked at airing the government-funded ad. A spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which
Hollis-Eden pursues first radiation sickness drug: Reuters NewMedia - December 3, 2004; Deena Beasley; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc. has set aside its quest for an AIDS antidote in order to develop the first drug for acute radiation sickness as nuclear terrorism fears spur market demand for such medicines. If a major city were hit with a nuclear device, it has been estimated that close to a mi
Who Wears the Wrong Size Condom?: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2004; BERLIN (Reuters) - Most German men wear condoms of the wrong size, a condom distributor said on Wednesday, after asking more than 2,500 men to measure their erect penis. People measure their feet when they buy shoes. Why shouldn t they measure their penises? A man would not wear children s shoes, said Jan Vinzenz Kraus
Women Key to Reversing AIDS Epidemic, Experts Say: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any effort to battle the AIDS epidemic must focus on changing the fate of women by educating them, helping them own property and giving them the power to stand up to men, experts said on Wednesday. Women make up nearly 60 percent of all people infected with the AIDS virus in Africa, the continent
India Aims to Stabilize New HIV Infections by 2007: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2004; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India , home to the second largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS, expects its growth rate in new infections to stabilize by 2007, the country s top official dealing with the deadly disease said on Thursday. Our goal in the national AIDS control policy is to achieve zero rate of growth in n
Sex-Disease Chlamydia Rife Among Japanese Teens: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2004; TOKYO (Reuters) - More than 10 percent of Japanese teenagers who were screened for a sexual disease that can cause infertility tested positive, a newspaper reported, adding to concerns about increasing sexual activity among Japan s youth. An average of 11.4 percent of high school students on the main northern island of
Abstinence Programs Stretch the Facts - Post: Reuters NewMedia - December 2, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only sex-education courses frequently receive inaccurate or misleading information, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. According to a congressional staff analysis, some courses teach that touching a person s genitals can lead to pregn
U.N. releases major report on reform, global threats: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A blue ribbon panel released on Tuesday a landmark report on global threats that insisted the U.N. Security Council approve any preventive war, which was not the case when the U.S. invaded Iraq . U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked the panel of 16 veteran foreign ministers and diploma
Swazi King Unbowed by Rising Calls for Reform: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; MBABANE, Swaziland (Reuters) - He is reviled by critics at home and abroad for his authoritarian and often arbitrary rule but adored by others as a God-given monarch in his small kingdom. King Mswati of Swaziland has come under fire from groups like Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and Reporters
Germany Risks HIV Import from Sex Tourism-Experts: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Alexandra Hudson; FRANKFURT ODER, Germany (Reuters) - Germany faces soaring HIV infection rates if thousands of German tourists continue to seek cheap, unprotected sex across its eastern border, health campaigners said on Wednesday. Almost all major roads running from Germany s borders into the Cz
Annan Pushes Firms to Treat Employees with AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - In today s global economy, AIDS affects us all, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday, urging corporate boards to do more to prevent its further spread and treat their infected workers. While the disease has hit Africa harder than other parts of the world, it has become the wors
HIV, AIDS Cases Rise Among U.S. Gay, Bisexual Men: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - A rise in new cases of AIDS and HIV infection among gay and bisexual men in many U.S. states, reported in a federal study on Wednesday, has given support for concerns the disease is resurgent in the country. The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released in connection with Wo
Women Key to Reversing AIDS Epidemic, Experts Say: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any effort to battle the AIDS epidemic must focus on changing the fate of women by educating them, helping them own property and giving them the power to stand up to men, experts said on Wednesday. Women make up nearly 60 percent of all people infected with the AIDS virus in Africa, the continent
HIV Found in More U.S. Gay, Bisexual Men: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of newly diagnosed HIV infections in gay and bisexual men has risen in many U.S. states, according to a federal study on Wednesday which stoked concerns AIDS may be poised for a resurgence in the country. In a study of HIV/AIDS data from 32 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prev
Parades mark World AIDS Day, Africans told "Abstain": Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Lindsay Beck; BEIJING (Reuters) - The world s two most populous nations promised on Wednesday to eradicate ignorance about AIDS, a disease that was at first dismissed by many as a Western evil confined to drug users, homosexuals and prostitutes. In the world s poorest continent, Africa, where the epidemic has ripped huge holes in th
Botswana Leader Warns on AIDS: Abstain or Die: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Botswana President Festus Mogae issued a blunt message to his people Wednesday on HIV/AIDS: abstain from unsafe sex or die. Botswana, which has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, could not afford on its own to keep a rising number of patients alive and depended on outside funding
Mozambique cemeteries become shrines as AIDS bites: Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2004; Mateus Chale; MAPUTO (Reuters) - On Saturday mornings in Mozambique the cemetery is the place to be -- for both the living and the dead. On a recent Saturday, some 100,000 people carrying flowers and picnic bags crowded outside the gates of Maputo s largest cemetery, bringing traffic on a nearby highway to a virtual standstill.
World Kicks Off AIDS Day, China Gets Tough: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; Lindsay Beck; BEIJING (Reuters) - The world marked AIDS Day on Wednesday, promising to eradicate ignorance and prejudice about a disease that was at first dismissed by many as a Western evil confined to drug users, homosexuals and prostitutes. China , criticized for its slow initial response to HIV/AIDS, put on a public display of c
Nadine Gordimer Enlists Literati to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Novelist Nadine Gordimer decided that if rock stars could stage huge gigs for worthy causes, writers could do the same and on Tuesday she launched a book of stories by 21 of the world s most distinguished authors in support of AIDS victims. The 81-year old Gordimer contacted 20 colleagues aro
Violence against women abets HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; LONDON - A orldwide pandemic of violence against women is fuelling the spread of HIV/AIDS, Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Mass rape and sexual violence in conflicts, coupled with collapsing health systems in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, put women at much greater risk of contracting HIV, it
TV Show Unmasks Sexual Taboo: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s first nationally televised show about sex will get participants talking freely but allow them to wear masks to avoid embarrassment, the state-run China Daily said Tuesday. The late-night educational program, The Masks, would air on more than 50 provincial and city channels, the newspaper sai
Improved Screening Prompts Jump in Chlamydia Cases: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of sexually transmitted chlamydia infections reported in the United States rose more than 5 percent last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday. The increase is due largely to better screening and diagnosing of the sexually transmitted disease (STD), it said.
Brazil to Break Foreign AIDS Drugs Patents: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; Andrew Hay; BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil will break patents on some foreign AIDS drugs next year to escape the control of multinational firms holding developing countries hostage, the government said on Tuesday. Brazil, which has a much-copied universal free AIDS program, has for years threatened to break patents in its dri
Cipla HIV Drugs Back on WHO Approved List: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; GENEVA (Reuters) - Two generic drug products by the Indian drug maker Cipla for treating HIV/AIDS have been reinstated on the World Health Organization s recommended list six months after being removed, a senior WHO official said on Tuesday. The two, lamivudine and lamivudine combined with zidovudine, were returned to
Glaxo Defends Testing AIDS Drugs in Children: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc Tuesday defended trials of AIDS/HIV drugs in children in care homes, saying clinical studies involving children were legal and not unusual. A BBC television documentary entitled Guinea Pig Kids, being shown later in the day, revives criticism of company-sponsored studies at the In
India to Begin Trials of HIV Vaccine on Humans: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; BOMBAY, India (Reuters) - India, home to the world s second largest HIV population after South Africa , is set to begin human trials of a new vaccine against the virus in January, a research institute said Tuesday. The country has over 5.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS and experts saying the number could quadrupl
China President Hu Shakes Hands with AIDS Patients: Reuters NewMedia - November 30, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - In a public display of commitment to fighting the disease a day before World AIDS Day, state media reported on Tuesday that China s President Hu Jintao shook hands with patients during a visit to a hospital in the capital. China s battle against the spread of HIV has been hampered by politics, with
Brazil to manufacture its own AIDS drugs: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2004; Carlos A. DeJuana; SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - The Brazilian government plans to start domestic production next year of three to five anti-AIDS drugs it currently buys from foreign pharmaceutical companies, a Health Ministry official said on Monday. Given the high cost of the medicines it hands out free to HIV and AIDS patients, Brazil
HIV Vaccine Shows Promise in Brazil Study: Reuters NewMedia - November 29, 2004; SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - An experimental vaccine reduced the presence of the HIV virus by at least 80 percent in a Brazilian study of 18 infected patients released in the journal Nature Medicine. Viral loads in all patients fell and stayed low for one year after being inoculated with the vaccine three times in a s
S.Africa Party Challenges Mbeki as Tutu Row Rages: Reuters NewMedia - November 28, 2004; Alistair Thomson; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s main opposition has challenged President Thabo Mbeki to a series of parliamentary debates after a spat between Mbeki and Archbishop Desmond Tutu over the level of debate in the ruling party. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, last week accused Mbeki s African National Congress (
Singapore Intensifies Battle Against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 27, 2004; Fayen Wong; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore , facing a rise in AIDS cases, is considering making it compulsory for pregnant women to be screened for HIV/AIDS, an official said on Saturday. If all mothers had been tested for HIV, and treatment started for HIV positive mothers, the risk of the baby having AIDS would be reduced from
China Approves Testing for Potential AIDS Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - November 26, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China has approved human testing of a locally developed potential AIDS vaccine, the official Xinhua news agency said Friday, just days before World AIDS Day. Officials have pledged to speed up the approval process for anti-AIDS drugs in China, where the United Nations has warned AIDS victims could r
Everybody must fight AIDS, Mandela says: Reuters NewMedia - November 25, 2004; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela, surrounded by rock stars, launched a book of photographs of a major anti-AIDS concert on Thursday with a call to ordinary people to take a lead in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We all have a responsibility to act. Each of us must do more. We are all leader
Worker Shortages Threaten Health Advances - Report: Reuters NewMedia - November 25, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - A shortage of doctors, nurses and midwives around the globe is threatening health initiatives and could have dire political and economic consequences, public health experts said on Friday. Without an estimated 4 million more healthcare workers, efforts to battle HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and ot
AIDS Seen Undercutting Africa's Young Democracies: Reuters NewMedia - November 25, 2004; Andrew Quinn; PRETORIA (Reuters) - Southern Africa s AIDS crisis is undermining the region s young democracies as politicians die, voter rolls shrink and electoral shifts help to entrench ruling parties in power, a new study said on Thursday. The threat really is in the area of elections and thus the foundation of democratic governa
UK Pledges Extra Funding for Surge in Sexual Diseases: Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2004; Friedel Rother; LONDON (Reuters) - The British government pledged on Thursday to put 300 million pounds aside to combat a surge in sexual diseases as health experts revealed record numbers of people in the UK living with HIV and other sexual diseases. Campaigners said that in addition to more investment in sexual health clinics, more
China University Puts Halt to Condom Handout: Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China has halted a plan to distribute free condoms on university campuses, quashing the AIDS prevention effort only a week before World AIDS Day, state media said Wednesday. University authorities said the distribution of 1,000 condoms at the elite Peking University had not been approved by the coll
Violence against women is spreading AIDS - Amnesty: Reuters NewMedia - November 24, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A worldwide pandemic of violence against women is fuelling the spread of HIV/AIDS, human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Mass rape and sexual violence in conflicts, coupled with collapsing health systems in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, put women at much great
Broadcasters, activists harness TV against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - November 23, 2004; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - About 100 broadcasters, advertisers, activists and U.N. officials exchanged ideas at U.N. headquarters on Tuesday on how to get messages into television programming to help contain the spread of AIDS. Programming and creative directors from 35 media companies including Viacom Inc., South Afri
Babies Exposed to HIV Should Get Antibiotic--U.N.: Reuters - November 23, 2004; GENEVA (Reuters) - Babies of HIV-infected mothers should be given an inexpensive antibiotic to prevent infections and prolong their lives, United Nations aid agencies said on Tuesday. The recommendation by the U.N. Children s Fund (UNICEF), UNAIDS and World Health Organization (WHO) follows a report in The La
Report: Nearly Half of HIV Adults Are Women: Reuters - November 23, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Women make up nearly half of the 37.2 million adults living with HIV and in sub-Saharan Africa the proportion rises to almost 60 percent, according to a UN report released on Tuesday. Increasingly the face of AIDS is young and female, said Dr Kathleen Cravero, deputy executive director of the Joint U
FACTBOX-Key Facts and Figures About HIV/AIDS: Reuters - November 23, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A report from UNAIDS , the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, released on Tuesday, shows the number of adults and children living with HIV reached 39.4 million in 2004. Following are some key facts and figures about the disease: - The number of people living with HIV has increased from 35 mill
CHRONOLOGY-Development and Spread of HIV/AIDS.: Reuters - November 23, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - UNAIDS , the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reported on Tuesday that 3.1 million people died from AIDS in 2004. Here is a short chronology of major developments in AIDS: 1981 - Outbreaks of two rare illnesses are reported among young homosexual men in the United State
Encircled Lesotho Mulls South Africa Links: Reuters - November 23, 2004; Peter Apps; MASERU, Lesotho (Reuters) - Because it is completely encircled by South Africa , many people assume Lesotho is part of its much larger neighbor. Although the small mountain kingdom is dependent on the giant next door, it has failed to reap any significant benefits from the relationship. Gross domestic product per h
Mandela Unveils New Project to Mark World AIDS Day: Reuters NewMedia - November 22, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela has launched a new project to get people actively involved in fighting AIDS in South Africa , one of the country s hardest hit by the epidemic, his charitable foundation said on Monday. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is appealing to South Africans to volunteer their services to no
APEC Leaders Want to Revive World Trade Talks: Reuters NewMedia - November 21, 2004; Jason Webb; SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific leaders promised on Sunday to try to revive world trade talks and fight terrorism after a summit marred at the end by disputes over the security of President Bush. The leaders of 21 Pacific Rim states from China to Canada , gathered in Chi
SWAPO Declared Winner in Namibia Election: Reuters NewMedia - November 21, 2004; Petros Kuteeue; WINDHOEK (Reuters) - A former comrade-in-arms hand-picked by former guerrilla leader Sam Nujoma won election on Sunday to succeed him as Namibian president. Hifikepunye Pohamba, who won 76.4 percent of the vote, is widely expected to remain in the shadow of Nujoma, who will retain the leadership of his SWAPO party afte
Congress Passes $388 Billion Spending Bill: Reuters NewMedia - November 20, 2004; Anna Willard; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Saturday passed a $388 billion package financing government programs in this fiscal year after days of battling over spending cuts and priorities for programs including foreign aid, energy and a presidential yacht. The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday b
Cheap antibiotic works well with HIV children: Reuters NewMedia - November 19, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A low-cost antibiotic which has performed well in tests should be given to all HIV children in developing countries to prevent infections such as pneumonia and reduce deaths, scientists said on Friday. Dr Diana Gibb of Britain s Medical Research Council said a trial involving HIV-infected children in
India's Hetero Takes AIDS Drugs Off WHO List: Reuters NewMedia - November 19, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; GENEVA (Reuters) - Hetero Drugs has withdrawn all six of its generic antiretroviral drugs from the WHO s list of approved drugs following concerns about their laboratory tests, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. It was the third time since June that an Indian company has removed anti-AIDS drugs following
Thailand to deport German accused of spreading HIV: Reuters NewMedia - November 19, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand is to deport a one-legged German accused of trying to infect nearly 100 Thai teenage girls with HIV through unprotected sex, his lawyer said on Friday. A court sentenced Hans-Otto Schiemann, 56-year-old former sailor, to two months in jail for overstaying his visa as Thailand had no law to
Doctors call for antibiotic drug for HIV children: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A low-cost antibiotic should be given to all children with HIV in developing countries to prevent infections such as pneumonia and reduce deaths, scientists said on Friday. Dr Diana Gibb, of Britain s Medical Research Council, and her colleagues said a trial involving HIV-infected children in
New Boehringer AIDS drug outdoes rivals in study: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2004; FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A greater portion of patients on a new AIDS drug from Boehringer Ingelheim achieved a reduction in their viral count than those given rival drugs in a study, Germany s top drugmaker by sales said on Thursday. Unlisted Boehringer said that its tipranavir drug achieved a treatment response -- a pred
Elan, Teva and Gilead drugs backed by EU panel: Reuters NewMedia - November 18, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A panel of European experts on Thursday backed the use of Elan Corp Plc s new painkiller Prialt, providing a fillip for Ireland s leading drug maker. The London-based European Medicines Agency said its committee also recommended use of Azilect, a treatment for Parkinson s disease from Israel s Teva P
'All My Children' Plans 35th Birthday Broadway Show: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - The stars of daytime soap opera All My Children will celebrate 35 years of twisted plot lines and melodrama with a Broadway musical in February to support the fight against AIDS, ABC said on Wednesday. The one-off production on Feb. 7 will feature daytime television names such as former talk show h
Africa Lobbies for More AIDS, TB, Malaria Funds: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2004; Wangui Kanina; ARUSHA, Tanzania (Reuters) - African leaders lobbied the Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria for more money on Wednesday to solve a cash crunch but were told a new round of funding was likely to be delayed by several months. The Global Fund, an independent private-public partnership that raises and disburses
Bristol-Myers plans new test of HIV fusion blocker: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Wednesday said it plans to begin mid-stage clinical trials next year of a pill designed to block HIV from fusing with human cells, a possible improvement over Trimeris Inc. s similar Fuzeon drug, which must be injected. Bristol-Myers also told industry analysts at a rese
Is More Aid Needed to Solve Africa's Woes?: Reuters NewMedia - November 17, 2004; Ed Stoddard; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - American economist Jeffrey Sachs has a novel way to tackle African poverty: Shower more aid on the world s poorest continent. This may shock critics of African development who say aid has only made a bad situation worse. Some analysts say aid has created a continent-wide sense of dependency and
Top Researchers Ask Web Users to Join Science Grid: Reuters NewMedia - November 16, 2004; Eric Auchard; NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM and top scientific research organizations are joining forces in a humanitarian effort to tap the unused power of millions of computers and help solve complex social problems. The World Community Grid will seek to tap the vast underutilized power of computers belonging to individuals and busines
Polio Epidemic in Africa Coming Under Control--WHO: Reuters NewMedia - November 16, 2004; GENEVA (Reuters) - A polio epidemic spreading from Nigeria throughout West and Central Africa has begun to come under control, but more funds are needed to wipe out the disease in 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Unless it received some $35 million soon, the WHO will be forced to postpone or c
Merck's Gilmartin-Teflon CEO Impervious to Attacks: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2004; Bill Berkrot; NEW YORK (Reuters) - For a man being painted as corporate America s latest public enemy No. 1, and after nearly seven weeks of constant assault, Merck & Co. Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin remains remarkably cool and unflappable under fire. Hit with daily attacks in the media and in medical circles and mounting l
FDA Encourages Radio Tags on Drug Bottles: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Viagra, Oxycontin and some AIDS drugs will be among the first to carry radio chip tracking devices under a new Food and Drug Administration initiative to prevent theft and counterfeiting announced on Monday. The FDA said it was lifting restrictions on labeling that may have discouraged companies
Reuters Summit-Merck's Gilmartin Cool Under Fire: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2004; Bill Berkrot; NEW YORK (Reuters) - For a man being painted as corporate America s latest public enemy No. 1, and after nearly seven weeks of constant assault, Merck & Co. Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin remains remarkably cool and unflappable under fire. Hit with daily attacks in the media and in medical circles and mounting l
MTV to Launch Local Africa Music Channel in 2005: Reuters NewMedia - November 15, 2004; Jeffrey Goldfarb, European Media Correspondent; LONDON (Reuters) - Viacom Inc. s MTV Networks will next year launch its first local channel in Africa, the final global outpost for the music video and kids broadcaster and its 100th channel worldwide. MTV Base in Africa will reach only about 1.3 million homes in 48 countries, primarily in South Africa an
India's Ranbaxy Pulls All AIDS Drugs from WHO List: Reuters NewMedia - November 12, 2004; Richard Waddington; GENEVA (Reuters) - Indian firm Ranbaxy took all its anti-AIDS drugs off the U.N. s approved list, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to efforts to make cheaper medicines more widely available for the scourge. The United Nation s health agency said the company took the step voluntarily after d
Mystery lingers around Yasser Arafat's death: Reuters NewMedia - November 12, 2004; Timothy Heritage; PARIS (Reuters) - What killed Yasser Arafat? It s a mystery that could keep the rumour mill churning and fuel conspiracy theories for years to come. Internet Web sites are spilling over with speculation that Arafat, who died in a French hospital on Thursday, had anything from stomach cancer or a rare blood disorder to
London drug users hit by hepatitis C epidemic: Reuters NewMedia - November 11, 2004; Mohammed Abbas; LONDON (Reuters) - An epidemic of the deadly disease hepatitis C is spreading unchecked amongst London s drug users. London now has higher rates of hepatitis C infection among injecting drug users than Sydney and New York, and a greater incidence of HIV infection than Amsterdam, researchers said on Friday. Hepatitis C
Finding No Fish, Ghanaians Turn to Bushmeat, Report Says: Reuters NewMedia - November 11, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overfishing by subsidized European fleets off the coast of West Africa is hurting local fisheries and forcing people to slaughter wildlife to get enough to eat, researchers said on Thursday. They said the so-called bushmeat trade in Ghana is strongly driven by a lack of fish, and added the countr
Singapore facing AIDS epidemic - health ministry: Reuters NewMedia - November 11, 2004; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore faces an AIDS epidemic, with the number of new infections diagnosed expected to hit a rate of 1,000 a year by 2010, a health official said. Homosexuals and heterosexual men who have casual sex in other countries were two groups that needed attention, said Senior Minister of State for Hea
Legal row over Princess Diana fund settled: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. souvenir firm has dropped its lawsuit against a memorial fund dedicated to the late Princess Diana after the two sides settled out of court. The Diana fund and the Franklin Mint agreed in a joint statement on Wednesday that the energy and resources needed for a court battle over the use of Dia
Female Genital Mutilation Lives on in Djibouti: Reuters NewMedia - November 10, 2004; Ed Harris; DJIBOUTI (Reuters) - Late one evening on a stony hill above Djibouti s northern town of Tadjourah, an old Afar woman is squatting comfortably on a thin mat, tiny limbs wrapped tidily up around her. A reputed practitioner of female circumcision, the woman answers questions in a croaking voice about a custom reviled by h
Mandela Lawyers Fight for His Prison Number: Reuters - November 9, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lawyers for former South African President Nelson Mandela are fighting a commemorative coin importer over the use of his prison number as a telephone hotline. Private firm Investgold has been using the number to sell coins with Mandela s image on them, but the Nelson Mandela Foundation says it
India's Ranbaxy Pulls All AIDS Drugs from WHO List: Reuters - November 9, 2004; Richard Waddington; GENEVA (Reuters) - Indian firm Ranbaxy took all its anti-AIDS drugs off the U.N. s approved list, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to efforts to make cheaper medicines more widely available for the scrounge. The United Nation s health agency said the company took the step voluntarily after
Botswana sees 2004-05 GDP growth slowing to 5.4 pct: Reuters - November 8, 2004; GABORONE, (Reuters) - Botswana s gross domestic product growth will slow to 5.4 percent in 2004-05 from 6.7 percent the previous fiscal year, President Festus Mogae told Parliament on Monday following his re-election this month. The immediate outlook for the economy is satisfactory. The projected growth for the current
Asia takes aim at growing child sex trafficking: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2004; Karishma Vyas; CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Reuters) - In a small brothel in northern Thailand, six girls, their bodies covered in bruises and cigarette burns inflicted by drunken customers, cower inside dark, grimy rooms. It is one of the more horrific memories of Ben Svasti s time on the front line of the fight against child trafficking.
Refugees from Ugandan War Say World Forgets Them: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2004; Daniel Wallis; LALOGI CAMP, Northern Uganda (Reuters) - Natalia Lariang survives on handouts in one of scores of refugee camps dotted across northern Uganda, praying for an end to one of the world s most brutal civil wars. The mother of eight says outsiders have forgotten her and the other victims of an 18-year-old conflict that has
V.I, Techologies amends merger deal with Panacos: Reuters NewMedia - November 8, 2004; NEW YORK, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Biotechnology company V.I. Technologies Inc. on Monday amended its merger deal with privately-held U.S. Panacos Pharmaceuticals after trials of a new HIV drug proved more promising than expected. V.I. Technologies (Vitex) said in a statement the revised merger terms reflected the enhanced va
S. African Theatre Icon Gibson Kente Dies - Media: Reuters NewMedia - November 7, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African playwright Gibson Kente, the founding father of black township theater who announced he had HIV/AIDS last year, died in Soweto on Sunday. He was 72. One of Kente s relatives told SA FM radio the playwright had died at a hospice in South Africa s most famous township early on Sunda
EU to Bush: You Need Us to Solve World Problems: Reuters NewMedia - November 5, 2004; Paul Taylor, European Affairs Editor; BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union urged re-elected President Bush on Friday to make a fresh start in transatlantic cooperation, but internal EU differences over ties with Washington refused to die down. The EU and its member states look forward to working very closely with President Bush and his new administratio
Calif. stem cell victory draws praise, concern: Reuters NewMedia - November 3, 2004; Deena Beasley and Leonard Anderson; LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California voters decision to fund a decade of stem-cell research with $3 billion in state money was hailed on Wednesday by researchers and patient groups, while critics called for tough public oversight on how the money is spent. California s decision to back stem cell research to
Dismayed Africa sees little to gain from Bush win: Reuters NewMedia - November 3, 2004; William Maclean; NAIROBI (Reuters) - Few Africans cheered President George W. Bush s re-election on Wednesday, reflecting his reputation in much of the continent as a warmonger. Many commentators said they expected the Iraq crisis and the U.S.-led war on terror to continue to divert U.S. attention from efforts to rescue Africa from pov
Two Abbott HIV Drug Ads Misleading, U.S. FDA Says: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Abbott Laboratories Inc. promotions for HIV-fighting drug Kaletra exaggerated benefits and left out information about life-threatening safety risks, U.S. regulators charged in a letter made public on Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration ordered the company to stop circulating the a
Study: Sub-Saharan Africa Slides Deeper Into Poverty: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2004; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the poorest regions in the world, will slide deeper into poverty over the next decade despite a bold economic recovery plan, according to a survey released Tuesday. The independent South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) annual report estimates that the region,
WHO: Africa Needs 10-Fold More Cash to Fight Malaria: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2004; BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Africa needs up to $2.5 billion a year to fight malaria, or 10 times the donor funds pledged for a campaign against the disease, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The mosquito-borne disease kills more than 1 million people a year around the world -- more than 90 perc
Cholesterol pills and grapefruit don't mix: Reuters NewMedia - November 2, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Taking certain cholesterol-lowering drugs at the same time as grapefruit juice can increase the risk of potentially life-threatening muscle toxicity, British regulators warned on Tuesday. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said the risk was greatest with Merck & Co Inc s, Zoc
Tipranavir cuts AIDS virus better than rivals-study: Reuters NewMedia - Monday November 1, 2004; FRANKFURT, Nov 1 (Reuters) - A greater portion of patients on Boehringer Ingelheim s anti-AIDS drug tipranavir experienced a reduction in their virus count than those given rival drugs in a study, Germany s top drugmaker by sales said on Monday. Unlisted Boehringer said in a statement that tipranavir, which it said was
Gilead says AIDS drug combo beats Glaxo's Combivir: Reuters NewMedia - Monday November 1, 2004; LOS ANGELES, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said its AIDS drugs Viread and Emtriva are more effective than competitor GlaxoSmithKline Plc s (GSK.
Glaxo's entry-blocking AIDS drug promising in test: Reuters NewMedia - Monday November 1, 2004; LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - An experimental anti-AIDS pill from GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , known as a CCR5 inhibitor, has produced promising results in early stage trials. In a 10-day study, GSK s product 873140 reduced the amount of virus in the blood by more than 90 percent in the majority
Rare Infection a Risk to Gay, Bisexual Men in US: Reuters NewMedia - October 29, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - A rare sexually transmitted disease that is spreading among gay and bisexual men in Europe could be poised to surface in the United States , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The CDC, a federal agency that monitors epidemics and other health threats, urged doctors
Bristol Hepatitis B Drug Beats Glaxo's in Study: Reuters NewMedia - Friday October 29, 2004; Bill Berkrot; NEW YORK (Reuters) - An experimental Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. pill for the liver disease hepatitis B proved better than a commonly-used anti-viral medicine made by GlaxoSmithKline in late-stage clinical studies, researchers said. Bristol-Myers, which has already applied to U.S. regulators for approval of its hepatitis
Drug May Block Alzheimer's, Scientists Say: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday October 28, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It might be possible to make a pill that prevents the brain damage that marks Alzheimer s disease, U.S. researchers said Thursday. Scientists said they had designed a drug that, at least in test tubes, stops the buildup of sticky proteins that kills brain cells in Alzheimer s patients. The appr
CDC: Rare Infection a Risk to Gay, Bisexual Men in US: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday October 28, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - A rare sexually transmitted disease that is spreading among gay and bisexual men in Europe could be poised to surface in the United States , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The CDC, a federal agency that monitors epidemics and other health threats, urged doctor
AIDS Fund Head Warns of 2005 Funding Crunch: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday October 28, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BARCELONA (Reuters) - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, battling a shortfall in funding from donors, faces a critical year in 2005, its executive director said on Thursday. Lack of cash means it is still unclear whether a new round of project funding against the three killers will be approved whe
Jailed Street Children in Excrement Protest: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; NAIROBI (Reuters) - More than 100 jailed Kenyan street children smeared themselves and their Nairobi cells with feces in a protest Wednesday, leading police to call in firefighters to hose them down. The homeless boys had been jailed at the central police station for several weeks, awaiting transfer to government-spons
MTV to charm Africans with local sounds: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, October 27, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Video music broadcaster MTV is launching an African channel that will trade Britney Spears, Eminem and Beyonce for Youssou N Dour, Mandoza and other top homegrown artists. The youth broadcaster aims to launch an English language African version of its 24-hour MTV Base channel in Februar
In Africa, hoping for Kerry because he's not Bush: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday October 26, 2004; C. Bryson Hull; NAIROBI - U.S. President George W. Bush s administration boasts no other American presidency has done more for Africa than his, and many on the world s poorest continent agree. But despite Bush s championing of a $15 billion anti-AIDS programme and efforts to drop trade barriers, sub-Saharan Africa appears to want to s
Group: New Drugs, Plan Needed to Fight Killer TB: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; PARIS - Tests and medicines used to diagnose and combat tuberculosis (TB) in poor countries are outdated and ineffective and new treatments must be developed to fight the disease, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday. Strategies being used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union Against Tuber
AIDS-hit Zambia bans condom handouts to students: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, October 26, 2004; Shapi Shacinda; LUSAKA - Zambia banned free distribution of condoms in schools on the same day the United States began a $24 million programme to fight AIDS by handing them out. A government official who declined to give his name said a circular had been sent round primary and secondary schools on Tuesday ordering condom programs most
Transatlantic Live Brain Surgery to Be Beamed to UK: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - It s not for the squeamish but Britons with a strong constitution will get a rare opportunity to view brain surgery as it happens, in an operating room 4,000 miles away in the United States . As a team of surgeons at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey remove a benign tumor from the brain of a patient on
Boehringer files key AIDS drug for US, European nod: Reuters NewMedia - October 25, 2004; Sitaraman Shankar; FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim has applied for U.S. and European approval for its anti-AIDS drug tipranavir, a potential rival to drugs from Roche and GlaxoSmithKline , it said on Monday. Unlisted Boehringer, Germany s top drugmaker by sales, said in a statement that it was seeking priority
S.Africa AIDS Group Drops Legal Case on Drug Delays: Reuters NewMedia - October 24, 2004; Mariam Isa; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa s main AIDS treatment lobby group has dropped a court case against the government demanding it reveal target dates for the rollout of life-prolonging drugs, activists and officials said Sunday. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said it withdrew the case after health
U2's Bono Finds Long-Lost Lyrics in Oregon: Reuters NewMedia - October 22, 2004; PORTLAND (Reuters) - A briefcase containing lyrics for songs meant to be used in U2 s 1981 album October has been returned to the group s lead singer Bono, 23 years after it was stolen at a Portland concert, the band said on Friday. Cindy Harris of Washington state found the briefcase in the attic of a rental home in T
Russia Duma ratifies Kyoto environment pact: Reuters NewMedia - October 22, 2004; Oleg Shchedrov; MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s lower house of parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Friday, clearing the way for the long-delayed climate change pact to come into force worldwide. The U.N. accord aimed at battling global warming is already backed by 126 countries, but it needed Russia s support to make it internationa
Theratech names Yves Rosconi CEO: Reuters NewMedia - October 21, 2004; TORONTO (Reuters) - Theratechnologies Inc. named Yves Rosconi as president and chief executive on Thursday as the company prepares for late-stage development of its key growth-hormone compound. The Montreal-based biotech said Rosconi will build on research and development, including ThGRF. The compound, a treatment for
Gilead Sciences drops development of 2 HIV drugs: Reuters NewMedia - October 21, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Thursday said its quarterly net profit rose 55 percent on increased sales of its HIV drugs, including its recently launched two-drug combination pill Truvada . The biotechnology company, based in Foster City, California, also said it has discontinued work on two experi
Uganda Opens Africa's Biggest AIDS Training Center: Reuters NewMedia - October 20, 2004; Daniel Wallis; KAMPALA, Uganda (Reuters) - The biggest HIV/AIDS training center in sub-Saharan Africa opened in Uganda Wednesday with officials hopeful it will significantly boost the continent s ability to fight the deadly pandemic. The Infectious Diseases Institute, largely funded by drug giant
India wins new fans in drug R&D stakes: Reuters NewMedia - October 19, 2004; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON (Reuters) - A few years ago, Western drug makers would never have dreamt of putting their research dollars to work in India , a country associated with pirating medicines invented elsewhere. Today, pharmaceutical executives are predicting a surge of investment to exploit a low-cost base of scientific talent.
Disease Stages Revival in Rebel-Held Ivory Coast: Reuters NewMedia - October 19, 2004; Peter Murphy; ODIENNE, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - A battered pick-up truck weighed down by a dozen passengers sitting on sacks of mangoes crawls though a checkpoint and enters Ivory Coast s rebel zone. Behind the truck is the government-controlled South where much of the population in the main towns has access to state-run hospitals, m
Proud Africans Love Their Continent - BBC Survey: Reuters NewMedia - Monday October 18, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Africa may be seen by the rest of the world as a continent dogged by war and poverty, but Africans themselves are fiercely proud of their homeland, a survey conducted by British broadcaster the BBC showed on Monday. The survey, which questioned more than 7,500 people across 10 countries, showed 90 pe
German accused of HIV vendetta against Thai girls: Reuters NewMedia - Monday October 18, 2004; Karishma Vyas; CHAIYAPHUM, Thailand (Reuters) - A one-legged German, accused of trying to infect nearly 100 teenage girls with HIV through unprotected sex, launched a tirade of abuse against Thai women on Monday, calling them witches and monkeys . Hans-Otto Schiemann, a 56-year-old former sailor from Schweinfurt in Bavaria, has beco
EU gives $75 mln to U.N. population agency U.S. shuns: Reuters NewMedia - October 15, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The European Union has pledged $75 million for a U.N. population agency that the White House has shunned so the group could buy contraceptives, medicines and other supplies for needy men and women. The grant for reproductive health goods was announced on Thursday at a U.N. General Assembly se
Amnesty blasts Mugabe over Zimbabwe food crisis: Reuters NewMedia - October 15, 2004; Andrew Cawthorne; LONDON (Reuters) - President Robert Mugabe s government is underplaying Zimbabwe s food crisis and may again use hunger to punish political foes prior to next year s parliamentary elections, a rights group charged on Friday. Harare has curtailed foreign food aid since May, forecasting a good harvest in the coming year.
Trimeris HIV drug, already sold, gets formal ok: Reuters NewMedia - October 15, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Trimeris Inc. on Friday said U.S. regulators had granted traditional approval to its already marketed Fuzeon treatment for HIV, meaning the drug s package insert label can now include longer-term clinical trial data. The Food and Drug Administration in March 2003 had granted fast-track approval of
U.S. Worried by Health Disparities Among Hispanics: Reuters NewMedia - October 14, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - Hispanics in the United States are more likely to be overweight or obese, develop diabetes and die from strokes, AIDS and liver disease than whites, federal officials said on Thursday. Those problems, when combined with an expected jump in the U.S. Hispanic population, pose a challenge to the well-b
Drug Protects Monkeys from AIDS in Experiment: Reuters NewMedia - October 14, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A souped-up version of a naturally occurring immune system protein can protect female monkeys from the AIDS virus, scientists reported on Thursday in a finding they say may lead to a new way to prevent infection in people. They hope to eventually use their discovery to develop a microbicide -- a
Abbott Profit Lifted by Arthritis Drug: Reuters NewMedia - October 14, 2004; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. on Thursday posted higher third-quarter profit, helped by surging demand for its new arthritis drug and rising sales of medical devices. The company said fourth-quarter earnings would match or slightly exceed Wall Street expectations. Third-quarter profit from continuin
250 Leaders, But Not US, Back UN Population Plan: Reuters NewMedia - October 14, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 250 world figures -- but not the Bush administration -- have urged the United Nations to promote a population agenda that seeks women s education, health care and family planning. The United States refused to support a statement from presidents, prime ministers and Nobel Prize winne
China to Scrutinise Blood Sellers for AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - October 13, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China is to launch a nationwide survey of people who sold their blood in the 1990s as it tries to track down HIV/AIDS victims, state television said on Wednesday. China passed a law in August banning the buying or selling blood to prevent the spread of AIDS after botched selling schemes of the 1990s
France Tops the League, Asia Lags in Sex Poll: Reuters NewMedia - October 12, 2004; Kate Kelland; LONDON (Reuters) - France is well positioned as the world s sexiest state, according to a global survey of lovemaking published on Tuesday. In a poll of more than 350,000 people, condom maker Durex found that lovers across the globe are having sex an average of 103 times per year, but the French are living up to their
AIDS Crisis Could Fuel Africa Famine - U.N.: Reuters NewMedia - October 12, 2004; ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Famine in Africa could worsen unless action is taken to tackle the continent s HIV/AIDS epidemic, a senior U.N. official said on Tuesday. Unless urgent interventions are made, the epidemic could cause a steady fall in agricultural production which would fuel serious famine in African countries,
Osbournes on Best Behavior for Charity Event: Reuters NewMedia - October 11, 2004; Chris Gardner; LOS ANGELES - There was no ham-tossing or obscenity-spewing in the Osbournes backyard in Beverly Hills on Thursday night. Instead, it was a little bit of glitz and a lot of music with some fund-raising in between. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne opened the doors to the home made famous by the cameras of MTV to host An Evening
EU Ends Libya Sanctions Despite Bulgaria Worries: Reuters NewMedia - October 11, 2004; Sebastian Alison; LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - EU foreign ministers agreed to lift an arms embargo on Libya on Monday, despite fears for Bulgarian and Palestinian medical workers sentenced to death there, but imposed a visa ban on senior officials from Myanmar . At a meeting that illustrated conflicting pressures on the EU on sanctions and hu
Beijing to Install Condom Machines to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - October 10, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing will install about 1,000 condom vending machines in hotels, bars, universities and on construction sites in the Chinese capital this month to fight the spread of AIDS, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday. The machines will dispense condoms for 1 yuan (12 U.S. cents) a piece and th
Cellegy to acquire Biosyn for AIDS prevention gel: Reuters NewMedia - October 8, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cellegy Pharmaceuticals on Friday said it would buy privately-held Biosyn to acquire its experimental vaginal gel, a drug in late stage of development, designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Under the terms of the deal, Cellegy will exchange 2.5 million shares of its common stock and $3.
Many nations lagging on child health - UNICEF: Reuters NewMedia - October 7, 2004; Irwin Arieff; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than half the world s countries are falling behind in a U.N. campaign to reduce child deaths by two-thirds by 2015, the U.N. children s agency UNICEF reported on Thursday. Worldwide in 2002, the latest year for which reliable data is available, one in 12 children died before age 5, repre
S.African AIDS Campaigner Not Betting on Nobel: Reuters NewMedia - October 7, 2004; Gordon Bell and Manoah Esipisu; CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African AIDS campaigner Zackie Achmat knows he s a long shot for the Nobel Peace Prize, but says his nomination is already a victory for the millions of people around the world battling the epidemic. I would not bet on (winning) it if I were a betting man, said Achmat, who is
Africa's Woes Make It Haven for Terrorists - Blair: Reuters NewMedia - October 7, 2004; Andrew Cawthorne; ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Poverty and conflict in Africa have made it a refuge for terrorists, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday at a summit in Ethiopia he hopes will turn the continent s problems into a global priority. We know that poverty and instability leads to weak states, which can become havens f
Roche hepatitis drugs win fast review for HIV use: Reuters NewMedia - October 6, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roche Holding SA on Wednesday said U.S. regulators would give priority review to whether the company s combination treatment for hepatitis C should be used by patients also infected with HIV. Roche s injectable interferon drug, Pegasys, and ribavirin pill are already approved to treat patients infe
CombiMatrix to take stake in cancer drug developer: Reuters NewMedia - October 4, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Acacia Research Corp. said on Monday that its CombiMatrix group plans to acquire a 33 percent stake in cancer drug developer Leuchemix for $4 million as it continues to expand drug development efforts. CombiMatrix, an operating group of Newport Beach, California-based Acacia Research, makes semi
Israel to soothe battle trauma with marijuana: Reuters NewMedia - October 2, 2004; Corinne Heller; JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers traumatised by battle with the Palestinians have a new, unconventional weapon to exorcise their nightmares -- marijuana. Under an experimental programme, Delta-9 tetrohydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient found in the cannabis plant, will be administered to 15 soldiers over
Franklin Mint Wins Right to Sue Lady Di Memorial Fund: Reuters NewMedia - October 2, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A judge has given the green light to a U.S. firm to sue a memorial fund dedicated to the late Princess Diana over its attempt to stop the firm from selling Diana trinkets such as dolls and plates. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund said Saturday a U.S. judge had decided at a preliminary heari
Leaders Launch Drive to Curb Polio in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - October 2, 2004; Mike Oboh; KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Political leaders and health workers launched a drive Saturday to immunise more than 80 million children against polio in 23 African nations and fight back against a resurgence of the crippling disease. Campaigners had been hoping to eradicate polio this year or next but the virus has spread i
'Black Pinocchio' Tells of Dreams and Desperation: Reuters NewMedia - September 30, 2004; Rachel Sanderson; ROME (Reuters) - Some Italians want African illegal immigrants deported, others want them arrested, but theater director Marco Baliani believes one way to ease Italy s refugee crisis is with a long-nosed wooden puppet. And that s no lie. Baliani is touring Italy with Black Pinocchio, a fresh spin on the classic tale wh
Most Gay Men with HIV Practice Safer Sex -US Study: Reuters NewMedia - September 30, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - Most gay and bisexual men infected with HIV in the United States are taking steps to reduce the chances of passing on the deadly virus to their sex partners, according to a federal study released on Thursday. A survey of 1,923 men who have sex with men found that 31 percent had abstained from sex wi
US's Snow urges more debt relief for poor nations: Reuters NewMedia - September 30, 2004; Glenn Somerville; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global lenders need to offer more grants and debt relief to impoverished countries and tailor their lending toward building up the private sector, Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Thursday. In an address to the Bretton Woods Committee ahead of semiannual meetings of the International Monetary
British, French Drug Firms Lead on Marijuana Tests: Reuters NewMedia - September 29, 2004; Leonard Anderson; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - British and French pharmaceutical companies are racing ahead of their U.S. counterparts to develop new drugs containing marijuana to relieve pain and treat a wide range of illnesses because marijuana is illegal in the United States , scientific researchers said on Wednesday. The plant tha
Trinity gets FDA nod for finger stick HIV test: Reuters NewMedia - September 29, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Irish diagnostic company Trinity Biotech plc on Wednesday said U.S. regulators had approved a finger stick version of its test for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The Uni-Gold finger stick HIV test gives results within 10 minutes, Trinity said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had previously
Madagascar to Distribute 15 Million Free Condoms: Reuters NewMedia - September 28, 2004; ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Impoverished Madagascar is to distribute 15 million free condoms next year to promote safe sex and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, officials said Tuesday. Fenosoa Ratsimanetrimanana, executive secretary of the national AIDS committee, said the giant island s first ever distribution of free condoms
Ethiopia Church Says Condoms Unchristian: Reuters NewMedia - September 28, 2004; ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Condoms should not be used to fight HIV/AIDS as they are unchristian and unreliable, according to an influential church in Ethiopia , where 1,000 people are infected daily. Our church does not condone the campaign to use condoms against HIV/AIDS because such practices are unchristian and are not
Move Over Sniffer Dogs, Here Come Africa's Rats: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2004; Helen Nyambura; MOROGORO, Tanzania - Tom sits patiently in a cage while Jerry, tethered by a harness, scuttles around sniffing and scratching the earth. They may look like nothing more than ordinary laboratory rodents, but these rats are on a mission to root out Africa s land mines with the tips of their twitchy pink noses. Scient
Black Pinocchio: tale of migrant dreams and desperation: Reuters NewMedia - September 27, 2004; Rachel Sanderson; ROME - Some Italians want African illegal immigrants deported, others want them arrested, but theatre director Marco Baliani believes one way to ease Italy s refugee crisis is with a long-nosed wooden puppet. And that s no lie. Baliani is touring Italy with Black Pinocchio , a fresh spin on the classic tale which he ho
Viacom Expands in China: Reuters NewMedia - September 26, 2004; Steve Brennan; LOS ANGELES - Viacom is continuing its march into the emerging Chinese media market with a strategic partnership with Beijing Television for music and entertainment content production as well as new developments in the region for its MTV and Nickelodeon brands. Details of Viacom s continued expansion in
S.Africa Gays, Lesbians March to Celebrate Freedom: Reuters NewMedia - September 25, 2004; Dinky Mkhize; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Thousands of gays and lesbians held a noisy march on Saturday to celebrate South Africa s gay rights laws, unprecedented on a continent where many regard homosexuality as an un-African taboo. South Africa s post-apartheid constitution was the first in the world to recognize the rights of gays,
Lawmakers Seek Probe of Cheap Drugs Rejection: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic lawmakers on Friday called for an investigation into two recent U.S. government decisions to block a nonprofit company from making cheaper versions of two drugs, including an Abbott Laboratories Inc. AIDS medicine. On Thursday, the National Institutes of Health rejected a bid to ma
Miniskirted women in Swaziland threatened with rape: Reuters NewMedia - September 24, 2004; James Hall; MANZINI, Swaziland (Reuters) - Bus conductors in Swaziland vowed on Friday to assault and rape female passengers who wore miniskirts, sparking outrage among women s groups in the conservative African kingdom. The threat followed this week s arrest of two conductors and a bus driver who were charged with indecently assa
AIDS Up 6 Percent in S.Africa, Seen Stabilizing: Reuters NewMedia - September 23, 2004; CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) - The number of South Africans carrying the virus that causes AIDS rose in 2003 but the rate of infection especially among teenagers was stabilizing, the government said in a report released Thursday. The Department of Health estimated that 5.6 million of the country s 45 million popul
Savient explores sale of Israeli operations: Reuters NewMedia - September 23, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on Thursday said it was exploring a potential divestiture of its Israeli business operations, including its subsidiary Bio-Technology General (Israel) Ltd. Savient, which is based in East Brunswick, New Jersey, said it hopes to complete the divestiture in the first hal
Glaxo grants Kenya firm ARV drug licence: Reuters NewMedia - September 22, 2004; David Mageria; NAIROBI (Reuters) - Europe s largest drug maker GlaxoSmithKline Plc has agreed to license a Kenyan firm to make and sell generic versions of its antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS, officials said on Wednesday. British-based Glaxo said it had allowed Cosmos Limited to make the drugs in Kenya and sell them in Ke
Southern Africa Faces Food, Water Crises - Study: Reuters NewMedia - September 22, 2004; Ed Stoddard; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Southern Africa faces major challenges to feed its swelling populations and to keep its wells from running dry, a study showed Wednesday. On a greener note, it said much of the region s biological diversity is intact and tourism related to nature is growing quickly -- a huge economic boom.
Official Wants Law to Limit Youth Sex: Reuters NewMedia - September 22, 2004; TOKYO (Reuters) - Parents in Tokyo would be legally responsible for keeping school-aged children from having sex if the city s top law and order official gets his way. The feasibility of such a step, proposed by Tokyo Vice Governor Yutaka Takehana, will be one of the topics discussed when a panel of experts meets on We
Nobel peace winner picked, tips include ElBaradei: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2004; Alister Doyle; OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian Nobel Committee picked the winner of the 2004 Peace Prize from a record field of 194 candidates on Tuesday with the U.N. nuclear watchdog and its head, Mohamed ElBaradei, tipped as favourites. But the winner of what many consider the world s top accolade will not be announced until next m
Asian drug fight hobbled by information gap: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2004; Stuart Grudgings; MANILA (Reuters) - Poor sharing of information is hobbling Asian countries efforts to fight a dramatic rise in the use of amphetamine-type drugs supplied by gangs unhindered by national borders, anti-drug officials said on Tuesday. From Thai school children addicted to ya ba to Philippine slum dwellers hooked on shabu
Ugandan HIV/AIDS Rate Higher Than Thought-NGO: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2004; KAMPALA (Reuters) - The rate of HIV/AIDS cases in Uganda , a country widely praised for its fight against the disease, may be nearly three times as high as official figures suggest, according to an NGO that works with HIV/AIDS sufferers. The National Guidance and Empowerment Network (NGEN) used a network of people livi
TB Care Will Save 500,000 Lives in Africa-Experts: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2004; ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - As many as half a million lives could be saved every year in Africa if governments combine their approach to tackle a rampant AIDS epidemic with measures to treat tuberculosis, health experts said on Tuesday. Campaigners meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this week said tuberculosis is
Dutch Singles Just Aren't Loving It: Reuters NewMedia - September 21, 2004; AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch singles aren t having satisfying love lives despite the country s reputation as a haven for free and easy sex, according to a new poll. Close to two-thirds of the men and women surveyed said their intimate relations compared poorly with married couples, and one third of the men and nearly ha
Investors tell drug makers to do more for poor: Reuters NewMedia - September 20, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - The pharmaceuticals industry needs to do more to fight public health problems in developing countries, shareholders said on Monday. Failure to develop a more effective strategy could hit the industry s reputation and jeopardise its operations in some countries, according to a report from the Pharmace
Abbott seeks foothold in high-stakes stent business: Reuters NewMedia - September 20, 2004; Julie Steenhuysen; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. is betting $1 billion in deals and the start of a new clinical trial will finally get Wall Street to focus on its cardiovascular device business. The company, best known for its drugs for HIV and rheumatoid arthritis, recently launched tests of its drug-eluting stents -- tin
'Sopranos' Gets Respect as HBO Sweeps Emmys: Reuters NewMedia - September 20, 2004; Arthur Spiegelman; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The dark side of American life dominated the 56th annual Emmy Awards Sunday as the mobsters of The Sopranos and the AIDS victims of Angels in America walked off with top awards, making cable network HBO king. But the evening had a sentimental side as the stars of two recently departed prime-time
TB set to be global scourge again, models predict: Reuters NewMedia - September 19, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Super drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis are at the tipping point of a global epidemic, and only small changes are needed to help them spread quickly, U.S. researchers predicted on Sunday. Two separate studies show that multiple-drug-resistant TB, which can only be cured with a carefully monito
Bush Faces Global Critics at U.N. This Week: Reuters NewMedia - September 19, 2004; Steve Holland; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two years after he made a case against Iraq over unconventional weapons that were never found, President Bush faces global critics at the United Nations this week to argue it is essential that war-ravaged Iraq become a stable democracy. Bush makes his annual trek to New York to speak to the U
L.A. Porn Industry Stung by First Condom Fines: Reuters NewMedia - September 17, 2004; Jill Sergeant; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The lucrative Los Angeles porn film industry was reeling on Friday by news that two production companies had been slapped with the first fines for allowing actors to perform without condoms. California s state health and safety board fined Evasive Angles and TTB Productions $30,560 each for maki
Non-profit drug research needs $1 bln injection: Reuters NewMedia - September 17, 2004; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON (Reuters) - Non-profit groups developing new drugs and vaccines for neglected tropical diseases urgently need more than $1 billion in additional funding, according to a report on Friday. The Initiative on Public-Private Partnerships for Health (IPPPH), based in Geneva, said $2 billion had been pledged in last fi
Sweden and Tanzania to Start HIV Vaccine Trials: Reuters NewMedia - September 17, 2004; DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Medical researchers will start trials of an HIV vaccine in Sweden in October and expect to extend the program to Tanzania next year, a senior member of the research team said on Friday. Tanzania estimates that 2.2 million of its 34 million people are infected with the virus that leads to AIDS.
Experts warn AIDS on rise in eastern Europe: Reuters NewMedia - September 17, 2004; Darius James Ross; VILNIUS (Reuters) - A lack of information and public funding is helping fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS in several recent European Union entrants and threatens to become pandemic across the bloc, a panel of experts said on Friday. They said the opening of borders on Europe s eastern flank could allow for an influx of infec
Drug Firms Walk Tightrope on Trials Disclosure: Reuters NewMedia - September 16, 2004; Ben Hirschler and Toni Clarke; LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drug companies, already struggling to find enough new medicines to sustain historic growth rates for their businesses, face a dilemma as demands increase for them to reveal results of all clinical trials. Firms don t want to share scientific secrets with rivals but cannot afford to alienate
Experts: Scarce Vaccine Back in Supply, So Get It: Reuters NewMedia - September 16, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A once-scarce vaccine that protects against a range of infections including meningitis is back in supply and small children should get four doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. There have been on- and off-again shortages of Prevnar, but the maker, Wyeth, ha
New Lilly, Glaxo drugs win nod from EU expert panel: Reuters NewMedia - September 16, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co s new drug for depression Cymbalta and GlaxoSmithKline Plc s fixed dose anti-AIDS pill Kivexa were both recommended for approval by the European Medicines Agency s expert committee on new drugs, the London-based regulator said on Thursday. The panel also backed extended uses for
Roche boosts pipeline with asthma drug deal: Reuters NewMedia - September 16, 2004; Tom Armitage; ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG will jointly develop a new asthma treatment with U.S. biotech firm Protein Design Labs Inc in a move that continues the Swiss drug maker s strategy of co-developing drugs. Roche will pay Protein Design $17.5 million up front as well as $187.5 million in development and commercialisat
Senate Panel Suggests Using Iraq Money for Sudan: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; Anna Willard; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday suggested sending $102 million of unused Iraq reconstruction money to Sudan as the Bush administration came under fire for having spent only a tiny fraction of the funds set aside for Iraq. Senators fumed that the administration has us
South Africa Group Demands Info on AIDS Drug Delays: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; Gershwin Wanneburg; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s leading AIDS treatment lobby is taking the government to court, accusing the authorities of falling behind their own targets to give drugs to people with HIV, the group s lawyer said on Wednesday. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) earned international plaudits for demanding lif
U.N.: World Population Goals Could Be Missed: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Goals set a decade ago to cut world population growth and ensure women s rights could be missed without greater resources and political will, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. Progress has been made since 179 nations pledged at a meeting in Cairo to implement a Program of Action by 2015, but daunting
World Population Trends: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations released a report on Wednesday on progress since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo. Here are some points from the report, issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). * THE ORIGINAL PLAN - Adopted by 179 countries in Cairo 10 y
Fund shortage hampers Asia's poverty fight - U.N.: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; Karishma Vyas; BANGKOK (Reuter) - A shortfall in donor funding, including a U.S. decision to cut aid, jeopardises Asia s efforts to curb widespread poverty by reining in population growth, the United Nations said on Wednesday. In July, the United States withheld $34 million earmarked for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in
Billions Needed to Meet U.N. Development Goals: Reuters NewMedia - September 15, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Wealthy countries must donate billions more dollars to ensure women s reproductive rights and cut population growth, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. If nations fail to keep their pledges, plans to balance the world s people with its resources and improve the status of women by 2015 may not be met, a
Crucell in licence deal to develop AIDS vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - September 14, 2004; AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch biotechnology company Crucell has signed an exclusive licence agreement to develop an AIDS vaccine based on its technology, the firm said on Tuesday. Crucell expects to receive development funding and substantial upfront, annual and milestone payments, as well as royalties on future HIV vacc
WHO's Plan to Tackle Global TB Not Working -Experts: Reuters NewMedia - September 14, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Global efforts to control rising levels of tuberculosis are not working and more needs to be done to fight the deadly airborne disease, public health experts said Tuesday. The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced a strategy in 1993 aimed at halving deaths over the following decade from the cont
Abbott targets Europe growth with new Dutch site: Reuters NewMedia - September 13, 2004; Karl Emerick Hanuska; BREDA, Netherlands (Reuters) - U.S. pharmaceuticals company Abbott Laboratories plans to invest 42 million euros ($51.41 million) in a new Dutch logistics centre to cash in on growth as new countries join the EU, it said on Monday. The Illinois-based firm, which is overhauling its logistics network in Europe, said the
Crucell in human genome technology licensing deal: Reuters NewMedia - September 13, 2004; AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell has sealed a licensing deal with Vaxin Inc. allowing the U.S. company to use its PER.C6 human genome technology, Crucell said on Monday. The agreement will permit Vaxin to use the technology for research, development and commercialisation of vaccines against certai
Chiron settles with Roche over HIV patent: Reuters NewMedia - September 10, 2004; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chiron Corp. on Friday said it settled a patent dispute with Swiss drugmaker Roche over a patent on an AIDS drug, allowing Chiron to keep certain funds and get a $78 million payment. The row dealt with licensing fees and royalties that Chiron claimed it was owed based on its patent for nucleic acid
Cannabis may have long-term benefit for multiple sclerosis - study: Reuters NewMedia - September 10, 2004; Patricia Reaney; EXETER, England (Reuters) - Cannabis-based treatments may have longer-term benefits for multiple sclerosis patients, scientists said on Friday. The findings of a short, 15-week trial of MS patients published last year were inconclusive because although patients reported relief in muscle stiffness, rigidity and mobility
British Lab Scraps Experimental Anti-AIDS Gel: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental gel designed to prevent men and women from being infected with the virus that causes AIDS has been dropped by the British biotechnology firm developing it. ML Laboratories Plc said on Thursday it was scrapping the project after scientists from Britain s state-funded Medical Research C
Trimeris names new chief executive officer: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Trimeris Inc., a maker of drugs for HIV, on Thursday named Steven D. Skolsky as its chief executive officer. Skolsky will replace Dani Bolognesi, the company s founder, who will continue to be chief scientific officer and who was named vice chairman of the board of directors. Skolsky was most recen
S.African Musician Masekela Tells of Drug Risks: Reuters NewMedia - September 9, 2004; Peter Apps; TEMBISA, South Africa (Reuters) - Exile, alcoholism, drug addiction, discrimination, failed marriages -- South African jazz icon Hugh Masekela has been through them all. Now he has now broadened his act beyond music to include educating township children on the dangers of addiction, talking about more than four decades
Antibiotic Interaction May Raise Heart Death Risk: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2004; Gene Emery; BOSTON (Reuters) - Doctors have known for years that the antibiotic erythromycin can, in rare cases, spark an abnormal and sometimes fatal heartbeat. But combining it with several common drugs may dramatically increase that risk, researchers warned on Wednesday. Their analysis of 1,476 sudden deaths in Tennessee found
African Leaders Meet to Draw Up Poverty Battle Plan: Reuters NewMedia - September 8, 2004; Alistair Thomson; OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (Reuters) - More than a dozen leaders from across Africa met Wednesday hoping to draw up a battle plan to fight poverty and create jobs in the poorest continent. Leaders from Africa s biggest and some of its smallest economies hope to succeed where previous efforts have failed and break the tw
Swazi King Wants Teen Beauty Queen for Bride?: Reuters NewMedia - September 7, 2004; MBABANE (Reuters) - Swaziland s King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa s last absolute monarch, has chosen a 16-year-old beauty queen as his 13th wife following a ceremony at which 20,000 bare-breasted maidens danced in his honor. The Times of Swaziland reported on Sunday that Mswati had chosen the girl -- a Miss Teenage Swaz
Roche bullish as Pegasys drug reaches new patients: Reuters NewMedia - September 6, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG said on Monday its hepatitis treatment Pegasys/Copegus was well on track to hit peak annual sales of 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.57 billion), as it reaches new patient groups. In a presentation to analysts in Zurich, details of which were posted on the company s Web s
Bill Gates' charity wins $100 mln China QFII quota: Reuters NewMedia - September 3, 2004; SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A charitable body set up by Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates has won approval to invest $100 million in China s main stock and debt markets, regulators said on Saturday. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is only the 17th institution allowed to trade in China s $500 billion stock markets und
Zambia Declares AIDS Emergency to Produce Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - September 3, 2004; LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia has declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency in a bid to start manufacturing generic AIDS drugs under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, a senior government official said on Friday. One in every five Zambians is infected with HIV or AIDS, which has orphaned more than 800,000 children and kill
Roche seeks expanded use of its hepatitis C drugs: Reuters NewMedia - September 2, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG on Thursday said it would seek approval from U.S. regulators to use its popular hepatitis C combination therapy to treat patients with the chronic liver disease who are also infected with HIV. Pegasys, or peginterferon, in combination with ribavirin, sold as Copegus
U.S. Policies 'Hurt Poor Women's Health' -Advocates: Reuters NewMedia - September 2, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is endangering the lives of millions of women because of its policy of teaching that sexual abstinence is the best way to fight AIDS, women s health experts said on Thursday. They also accused the United States of putting women at risk by cutting funding to groups Washington says pr
Republican convention dogged by relentless protests: Reuters NewMedia - September 2, 2004; Grant McCool; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five thousand people protesting high job losses formed a 3 mile unemployment line in Manhattan on Wednesday and AIDS activists disrupted a Republican meeting on the third day of the party s convention to nominate the president to a second term in office. The unemployment line snaked from Wall Stree
Anti-Bush Protesters Swarm Grand Central Station: Reuters NewMedia - September 2, 2004; Grant McCool; NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 200 activists swarmed into New York s Grand Central Station on Thursday, hung banners and chanted Fight AIDS, not war on the day President Bush accepts the Republican nomination at his party s convention. Police officers arrested about a dozen people who sat down around the information booth
More anti-Bush protests mark New York convention: Reuters NewMedia - September 1, 2004; Grant McCool; NEW YORK (Reuters) - An unemployment line of thousands snaked through New York on Wednesday to mark jobs lost under President George W. Bush in a quiet protest a day after street scuffles and the arrest of more than 1,000 demonstrators. The third day of the Republican National Convention brought out 5,000 silent joble
After SARS, bird flu, China now reports plague: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - After outbreaks of SARS and bird flu, China says plague has killed one person and infected another, and has appealed for efforts nationwide to stamp it out. The cases were found earlier this year in China s impoverished west -- one in Gansu province s Sunan county and another in Qinghai province s Q
Mixed Results in Improving Women's Health -- Report: Reuters NewMedia - August 31, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Some countries have taken major strides to improve the rights and reproductive health of women but more must be done to meet goals set at a U.N. conference a decade ago, according to a report released Tuesday. Twenty-three countries including Bangladesh ,
Republicans Salute Bush's Leadership After 9/11: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2004; John Whitesides, Political Correspondent; NEW YORK (Reuters) - John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani kicked off the Republican convention on Monday with an impassioned tribute to President Bush s wartime leadership and said his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks proved his strength as commander in chief. At the convention s opening session, Republicans repeate
Poor, homeless rally against Bush in New York: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2004; Larry Fine; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several thousand protesters staged demonstrations and marches against the Bush administration s economic policies on Monday as the Republican Party opened a four-day convention to nominate the president for a second term in office. An estimated 1,000 people rallied on behalf of the homeless opposit
Swazi King's Dancers Seek to Trade Life of Poverty: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2004; LUDZIDZINI ROYAL VILLAGE, Swaziland (Reuters) - Thousands of young women bared their breasts and danced in Swaziland Monday in the hope of trading a life of poverty for one of royal comfort as one of King Mswati s many wives. The 36-year-old king picks a new bride each year at the Reed Dance in a royal ritual that is d
AIDS Researchers Call for 10-15 Bln Euros: Reuters NewMedia - August 30, 2004; ZURICH (Reuters) - AIDS researchers need some 10-15 billion euros over the next decade in order to fully develop potential vaccines for the disease as HIV infection rates continue to climb, delegates at a conference said on Monday. Delegates at the AIDS VACCINE 2004 conference held in Lausanne this week called for more
China Bans Blood Trade to Stop AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 28, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China s parliament passed a law Saturday banning the buying or selling of blood to prevent the spread of AIDS and outlawing discrimination against victims of infectious diseases, state media said. China says it has 840,000 HIV/AIDS cases, but experts say at least one million poor farmers were infect
Aids study shows fewer teenage infections: Reuters NewMedia - August 27, 2004; James Hall; Mbabane - Far fewer Swazi teenage girls are HIV positive than previously estimated, bringing a rare glimmer of good news to a country fighting one of the world s worst Aids epidemics, according to a United Nations-sponsored study. The study, which involved the first mass blood testing in the tiny African kingdom, found
Glaxo grants 3rd AIDS drug licence in South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - August 27, 2004; LONDON, (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc, has granted a third voluntary licence to a South African generics firm to market its anti-AIDS medicines, the world s leading supplier of HIV/AIDS drugs said on Friday. Feza Pharmaceuticals will be allowed to manufacture, import and sell antiretrovirals containing GSK s two pate
World Bank increases lending to India: Reuters NewMedia - August 26, 2004; Lesley Wroughton; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Thursday increased its lending to India s new government by about $1 billion a year, saying the majority of the money would target the country s four poorest-performing states. The bank said it would lend India up to $3 billion a year between 2005 and 2008 under a new country st
India Struggles to Revive Ailing Health Sector: Reuters NewMedia - August 26, 2004; Sugita Katyal; MADRI, India (Reuters) - Whenever Lalibati, a poor farmer s wife in western India, falls sick, she heads for only one person: the local faith healer. The Bhopaji waves a peacock feather fan on my head, gives me a little packet with some ash and that cures me, the middle-aged woman giggled, as she sat on the floor of a
Gilead says HIV drug combo beats Glaxo's Combivir: Reuters NewMedia - August 26, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences , on Thursday said a preliminary analysis of a late-stage trial shows its two drugs Viread and Emtriva were better able to control levels of HIV than Combivir ,
Theratech research VP quits, stock drops 11 pct: Reuters NewMedia - August 25, 2004; TORONTO (Reuters) - Theratechnologies Inc., shares fell to a year low on Wednesday as investors fretted about the resignation of a top research executive, less than three months after he was promoted to the position. Theratech, whose flagship growth-hormone compound ThGRF is poised to enter phase III clinical trials, s
Jackson on Libyan Mercy Trip for Condemned Nurses: Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. civil rights campaigner Rev. Jesse Jackson said on Tuesday he would appeal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to show mercy to five Bulgarian nurses condemned to death for infecting children with HIV. In a telephone call from Benghazi, Libya, Jackson told reporters he would also urge Gaddafi i
Tense NY Convention Seen for Protesters, Police: Reuters NewMedia - August 24, 2004; Grant McCool; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activists and police are preparing for a tense standoff and possible violence on New York streets when hundreds of thousands gather to decry the Iraq war and Bush administration polices during the Republican convention. People have been saving themselves for this, said Eric Laursen, one of th
Bollywood Film Tackles HIV Stigma in India: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2004; Jayashree Lengade; BOMBAY (Reuters) - In a movie-mad country where people are shy about discussing sex, a Bollywood film-maker hopes to shed some light on India s potentially disastrous HIV problem. While the virus, which is mainly spread through sex in India, has already infected one out of every 215 people, the subject has rarely been
Injected contraceptive raises STD risk - study: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who use the injected contraceptive Depo-Provera have a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. This holds true even when behavior and other factors are taken into account, the research team at the National Institutes of Health, University of North
Viagra abuse may boost sex diseases, officials warn: Reuters NewMedia - August 23, 2004; Adam Tanner; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco has petitioned federal regulators to warn that the anti-impotence drugs like Viagra use could increase the risk of sexually transmitted disease and HIV, officials said on Monday. The request to the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month is a response to recreational use
S.Africans bring case against GSK over AIDS drugs: Reuters NewMedia - August 20, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African activists on Friday filed a lawsuit accusing GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) of charging excessive prices for AIDS drugs but said they would drop the case if the firm made the drugs more affordable. UK-based GSK and Germany s Boehringer Ingelheim last year reac
Canada says G7 not doing enough to help Africa: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2004; OTTAWA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Leaders from the Group of Seven rich industrialized nations need to do more to aid poor African countries, Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said on Thursday. Quite frankly, I don t believe we are doing as much as we should be doing, or as well as we should be doing it, Goodale told rep
Poor nations must unite to reform U.N. - South Africa: Reuters NewMedia - August 19, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - Developing countries must band together to force the West to help tackle problems from poverty to reform of the United Nations, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. Mbeki told foreign ministers from the 115-member Non-Aligned Movement that poor countries had shown they
U.S. to Set Aside Cash for Global AIDS Fund: Reuters NewMedia - August 18, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will set aside $120 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to give European donors time to come up with a bigger share for 2004, the U.S. AIDS czar said on Wednesday. Randall Tobias, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, said he would hold the money unti
Nigeria Says Needs $248 Million to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - August 18, 2004; ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria needs about $248 million to expand its anti-AIDS program and provide life-saving pills for 200,000 of its 3.5 million citizens infected with the virus, the country s health minister said Wednesday. Nigeria launched Africa s biggest AIDS control plan in 2002 to distribute cheap antiretroviral dr
FDA gives Roche HIV drug dose priority review: Reuters NewMedia - August 17, 2004; NEW YORK - Roche Holding AG said on Tuesday U.S. regulators will review on an expedited basis a new dosage form of its HIV drug Invirase , which would reduce the number of pills a patient needs to take daily. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted priority review status to the 500 mg formula. The company said tr
S. Africa urged to see AIDS as wider crisis: Virus killing people crucial to society, official says: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2004; GRANDE BAIE, Mauritius - Southern Africa should treat AIDS as a political, social and economic crisis because it is killing off people crucial to its development, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika said on Monday. Almost two-thirds of the world s HIV/AIDS sufferers -- or 25 million people -- live in sub-Saharan Afri
Heart Drugs May Target AIDS Virus, Study Shows: Reuters NewMedia - August 16, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON - Statin drugs that lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease may also help slow down the AIDS virus, Spanish researchers reported on Monday. Statins alone given to HIV-infected patients suppressed the virus and helped replenish immune cells known as T-cells -- two key measures of health
DSM, Crucell in licensing deal with GSK: Reuters NewMedia - August 13, 2004; AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch chemicals firm DSM and biotechnology firm Crucell said on Friday they sealed a licensing deal with GlaxoSmithKline for the use of the PER.C6 human genome technology. The Dutch firms said in a statement that under the deal they would receive an unspecified upfront payment and annual maintenan
India's New HIV Infections Rising: World Bank: Reuters NewMedia - August 13, 2004; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The number of Indians with HIV infection could rise to 5.5 million a year by 2033 -- more than the total number of existing cases -- unless urgent steps are taken, the World Bank said on Friday. Without a change in treatment policy and progress in prevention, HIV/AIDS will become the single larges
Many U.S. Parents Unaware of Teen Sex, Study Finds: Reuters NewMedia - August 12, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many parents seem to be in the dark about the sex lives of their adolescents, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. They found that 84 percent of parents they surveyed did not think their teenager was sexually active -- despite a recent government study showing that nearly half of ninth through
Calif. Ruling Seen Stoking Fight for Gay Marriage: Reuters NewMedia - August 12, 2004; Leonard Anderson; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tuxedo-clad John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney arrived early at the California Supreme Court building on Thursday to await the seven justices ruling on San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom s action to allow thousands of same-sex couples to wed. We were wearing sweatshirts and jeans when we got married
Brazil Plans 3 Billion Free Condoms for AIDS Fight: Reuters NewMedia - August 11, 2004; BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil intends to distribute 3 billion free condoms every year, mainly to the poor and young, in a bid to prevent the spread of AIDS, the country s AIDS director said on Wednesday. The plan to offer universal, free access to condoms builds on the country s renowned AIDS treatment program, w
Ex-007 hits China hotels for shunning AIDS kids: Reuters NewMedia - August 11, 2004; John Ruwitch; BEIJING (Reuters) - Former James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore took aim at hotels and schools in the Chinese capital on Wednesday for turning away a group of AIDS orphans in town for a three-day summer camp. Moore, now a UNICEF goodwill envoy who is visiting China to draw attention to the problems of children orphaned by
MIM Corp to acquire Chronimed for $100 million: Reuters NewMedia - August 9, 2004; NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - MIM Corp.on Monday said it would acquire Chronimed Inc. in a stock deal worth about $100 million, with the new combined company to be called BioScrip Inc. Under terms of the deal, each Chronimed shareholder will receive 1.025 MIM shares for each Chronimed share held. MIM said it expects to i
UNICEF: Nigeria Polio Could Be Halted by Year-End: Reuters NewMedia - August 8, 2004; Mike Oboh; KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - The United Nations said it was confident of stopping the spread of polio in Nigeria by the end of the year as it races to stem an epidemic fueled by a 10-month ban on vaccinations in a northern state. The predominantly Muslim state of Kano lifted the boycott last month and restarted polio immu
South Africa's Buthelezi says AIDS kills second child: Reuters NewMedia - August 7, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi said on Saturday AIDS had killed his daughter, his second child to die from the disease this year, and slammed the government s handling of the pandemic. Buthelezi, head of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), is one of the few high profile figures to t
US NIH rejects generic copies of Abbott AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday August 4, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Institutes of Health on Wednesday rejected a nonprofit company s challenge to Abbott Laboratories Inc. s (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 400 percent price hike on a key AIDS medicine. Washington-based Essential Inventions had asked the government for a license to produc
WHO pulls 3 Ranbaxy generics from AIDS drugs list: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday August 4, 2004; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation said on Wednesday it was removing three generic HIV/AIDS drugs made by India s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd (RANB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) from its recommended list amid concerns about quality. Ranbaxy has not proved that the medicines are biologically equivalent
Health Express Rushes Medicine to S. Africa's Poor: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday August 3, 2004; Tiziana Cauli and Dinky Mkhize; KIMBERLEY, South Africa (Reuters) - Patients wrapped in coats and blankets against the bitter cold crowd together, thrusting prescriptions through the train s window. Inside, pharmacology student Freddy Mohlala takes the slips one by one and hands back medicine to each patient who has come from miles around for cheap
Wrinkle-Filler for HIV Patients Approved: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday August 3, 2004; Susan Heavey; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - HIV patients who suffer from a disease called facial wasting will be able to treat sunken cheeks, hollow eyes and other signs of the virus with a new drug approved by the U.S. government on Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) okayed the injectable drug, Aventis Sculptra, to plump
Two AIDS Drug Combinations Approved: Reuters NewMedia - Monday August 2, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Monday said they approved two AIDS drug combinations designed to simplify treatment for patients in the United States and in poor countries grappling with the epidemic. Makers GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Gilead Sciences Inc. said they intended to provide
Nigeria Resumes Polio Campaign After Boycott: Reuters - July 31, 2004; TAKAI - Nigeria s mainly Muslim state of Kano resumed polio immunizations Saturday after a 10-month ban which health workers said was caused by authorities pandering to Islamic radicals. Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau kicked off the restart Saturday by vaccinating his infants in public in the village of Takai, 50
New drug mix helps those with hepatitis C and HIV: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday July 28, 2004; Gene Emery; BOSTON (Reuters) - A new drug combination can do a much better job guarding against liver damage caused by hepatitis C than previous therapy in people also infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, according to two studies released on Wednesday. Like HIV, hepatitis C is spread by infected body fluids and has become a major pr
South Africa Says Has Fewer HIV/AIDS Cases: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, July 28, 2004; Gershwin Wanneburg; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa has one million fewer HIV/AIDS cases than previous estimates, officials said Wednesday, although the death toll remains alarming in the country battling the world s largest AIDS epidemic. Government statistics agency Stats SA said an estimated 3.83 million South Africans were HIV
Nigeria to begin making HIV/AIDS generic drug: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, July 27, 2004; LAGOS, July 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria s first generic HIV/AIDS drug plant is set to start production in September, company officials said on Tuesday, raising prospects of wider access to the life-saving pills for 3.5 million infected Nigerians. Archy Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which commissioned the plant on the outskirts of N
EU Launches Key Africa AIDS Research Center: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 26, 2004; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The European Union Monday launched a research center in South Africa to help Africa fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The diseases kill millions of people on the continent annually, with an estimated 3,000 children dying of malaria -- a preventable and curable illness -- eve
Botswana AIDS Drug Lines Mushroom: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 26, 2004; Barry Baxter; GABORONE, Botswana (Reuters) - Botswana, with the highest per-capita rate of HIV infection in world, is struggling to cope with the demand for treatment, despite pouring much of its diamond wealth into the battle against the killer disease. We are faced with an ever worsening, perpetual, insatiable demand, Ernest Dar
Djibouti Worries Over AIDS Spread from Ethiopia: Reuters NewMedia - Saturday, July 24, 2004; Ed Harris; DJIBOUTI (Reuters) - On a humid night, a stone s throw from Djibouti s thriving port, 22-year-old Helen is competing with other tactile young women at the half-lit Calypso Bar to catch the client s eye. Competition is plentiful, but in her revealing red top, Helen still makes a better living as a prostitute here than s
HIV Patients May Risk Alzheimer's, Report Finds: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, July 22, 2004; PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Patients with the AIDS virus may have a higher risk of Alzheimer s disease, researchers said on Thursday. And a second study found that a schizophrenia drug can help reduce the agitation suffered by some Alzheimer s patients. Dr. Cristian Achim of the University of Pittsburgh and colleagues exa
AIDS Drugs May Fight Cervical Cancer, Study Finds: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday July 20, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drug cocktails used to control the AIDS virus may also work to prevent cervical cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. It is not clear whether the drugs have a direct effect on precancerous lesions or if they allow the immune system to naturally battle them, the researchers report in this
Extreme Poverty Spreading in Sub-Saharan Africa - UN: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday, July 20, 2004; VIENNA (Reuters) - Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where the proportion of people living in extreme poverty has continued to grow for 20 years, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) said. In its annual Industrial Development Report released on Tuesday, UNIDO described the reg
Britain to Earmark AIDS Funding for Children: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, July 19, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will earmark 150 million pounds ($280 million) on Tuesday for children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS. The funds are part of 1.5 billion pounds set aside to battle AIDS in the three-year spending review announced by the British government last week. Britain has pledged to put the AIDS fi
U.S. to Train, Expand S.African Peacekeeping Force: Reuters NewMedia - Saturday, July 17, 2004; Ben Harding; HOEDSPRUIT AIR FORCE BASE, South Africa (Reuters) - The United States will help train and equip thousands of South African troops to expand Pretoria s peacekeeping efforts on the troubled continent, Washington s ambassador to the country said. Cameron Hume said during a joint military training operation deep in the
Abbott settles AIDS drug price lawsuits: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; CHICAGO, July 16 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. on Friday said it settled lawsuits against it by an influential AIDS group over the drugmaker s hefty price hike on a key AIDS drug. The company faces a barrage of criticism -- including scrutiny from regulators -- over its move late last year to hike the price on i
House Approves $19.4 Billion Foreign Aid Bill: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Anna Willard; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives approved a $19.4 billion foreign aid bill on Thursday that halves the funding requested by the Bush administration for a program to help the world s poor. The bill provides only $1.25 billion for the Millennium Challenge Account, an administration initiative designed
S.African activist slams Cipla on AIDS pill patent: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; BANGKOK, July 16 (Reuters) - South Africa s leading AIDS activist condemned Indian drug maker Cipla , on Friday for taking out a patent on a pill that combines three generic antiretroviral medicines. Cipla s joint managing director Amar Lulla told Reuters on Monday it had patented Triomune in South Africa and was seeki
Israeli, Palestinian doctors join hands to fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian doctors came together this week to forge an alliance against HIV/AIDS at a global conference on the killer disease. In a first for the biennial AIDS gathering, health experts from Israel, Palestine, Lebanon , Egypt ,
Glaxo, Vertex get European approval for HIV drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline and U.S. biotechnology firm Vertex have won approval from European regulators to sell their Telzir treatment for HIV, the two firms said on Friday. The drug, known as Lexiva in the United States , is part of a class of AIDS treatments called
Science takes back seat at AIDS conference: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Bangkok s Impact conference centre swarmed with 19,843 delegates to the annual global meeting on AIDS this week, but Hall 3, where the scientific posters were displayed, was eerily quiet. Science has taken a backseat to politics at the 15th International AIDS Conference, which closed on Friday with
Mandela Closes AIDS Meeting with Cry for Cash: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Ed Cropley; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela made an impassioned plea Friday for cash and cooperation to fight the killer AIDS virus after a week of discord at the world s biggest AIDS conference over Washington s go-it-alone approach. History will surely judge us harshly if we do not respond with all the energy and resources th
South Africa hits back at critics of AIDS policies: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa on Friday rebuffed accusations made at this week s world AIDS conference that it was dragging its feet on the pandemic and said its critics, including a top U.N. envoy, had misled the public. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said South Africa was committed to a holistic a
Gandhi Vows Fiercer War on India AIDS Timebomb: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - India , ranked a ticking timebomb by activists in the global AIDS war, will intensify the fight against the killer disease, ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi said Friday. Gandhi made the pledge at an international AIDS conference in Bangkok where India faced accusations of foot-dragging and
U.S.-Canada to Exempt AIDS Law from NAFTA: Reuters NewMedia - July 16, 2004; WASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Canadian Trade Minister Jim Peterson are set to exchange letters exempting Ottawa s AIDS medicines legislation from North American Trade Agreement rules, two officials said on Friday. They are going to exchange letters to suspend parts of Chapt
Gates charity gives $45 mln for TB/AIDS research: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Research into the dual tuberculosis and AIDS epidemic got a boost on Thursday with a $45 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The philanthropic organisation set up by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said the money will fund studies into strategies to control TB in areas with hig
Jury out on whether circumcision prevents AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Male circumcision may help prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but there is not yet enough clinical evidence to promote the practice widely, an expert on AIDS prevention said on Thursday. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, associate professor in public health at the Nelson Mandela School of
Norway best place to live; AIDS devastates Africa: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Norway , Sweden , Australia , Canada and the Netherlands ranked as the best five countries to live in but Africa s quality of life plummeted because of AIDS, said a U.
Europe Backs Condom Use in Battle Against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Condoms should be the first line of defense against AIDS, British and EU officials said on Thursday, distancing Europe from the United States on the issue. We have a very good relationship with the Americans, British junior development minister Gareth Thomas said at an AIDS conference riven by a row
Mandela Warns of TB 'Death Sentence' in AIDS War: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - The global war on AIDS could be lost if the world ignores tuberculosis, often a death sentence for people infected with HIV, former South African president Nelson Mandela said on Thursday. The world has made defeating AIDS its top priority. This is a blessing, but TB remains ignored, the frail Nobel
New 'Toaster Size' AIDS Test to Speed Diagnosis: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Scientists at the University of Texas have developed a mobile HIV testing laboratory that experts say should speed up diagnosis and treatment of AIDS in remote regions of the world. The device, smaller than a toaster, measures the level of patients immune system CD4 cells within 15 minutes and works
Sex Workers Want Voice in HIV/AIDS Prevention: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Sex workers, tired of being blamed for spreading AIDS, said Thursday they could help fight the deadly disease but were being shunned by governments and agencies. We are sex experts. We teach a lot of people, men and women all over the world, how to have sex. If we teach people how to have sex, why d
Mandela urges donors to back global AIDS fund: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela, in a veiled swipe at the United States , called on donors on Thursday to join efforts to pour billions of dollars into a global fund to fight AIDS. Speaking at a major AIDS conference in Bangkok where Washington has come under fire for its go-it-alone a
Cuba to Help Caribbean Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 15, 2004; HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba offered on Thursday to build training centers for nurses to handle AIDS patients in Caribbean nations and provide antiretroviral drugs to fight the pandemic. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque made the offer at a one-day meeting with counterparts from the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
Dimethaid says drug fails in phase III HIV trial: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada s Dimethaid Research Inc. reported on Wednesday the failure of its WF10 drug, aimed at increasing the chance of survival among late-stage HIV/AIDS patients, in a final-stage clinical trial. The phase III clinical trial, conducted in 229 patients, showed no statistical difference between WF10
India Gets Star Treatment from Gere to Battle AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - India is getting the star treatment in an effort to halt an HIV/AIDS epidemic that experts fear could vault it over South Africa as the world s top infected country. Just as Princess Diana and U.S. basketball legend Magic Johnson lifted the profile of the incurable illness, actor Richard Gere is hop
U.S. Biotech Panacos Unveils New Kind of AIDS Drug: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - A new kind of AIDS drug, which interrupts the last of the six stages in the life-cycle of HIV, has cleared the initial hurdle of clinical development, its developer said Wednesday. Privately held U.S. biotech firm Panacos Pharmaceuticals told scientists at the 15th International AIDS Conference the
Feminisation of AIDS spurs need for microbicide: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - The increasing toll on women from the AIDS epidemic has spurred research for a protective gel or cream and one could be on the market in five years if all goes well, a leading researcher said on Wednesday. With women making up nearly 60 percent of all HIV infections in Africa, and because being youn
Thais to Launch AIDS Drug for Children in 2005: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will launch a children s version of its three-in-one generic antiretroviral pill next year to simplify treatment of HIV-infected youngsters, the state drug agency said Wednesday. The drug is in clinical trials now and we hope to complete that and make it available on the market by the middl
Africa War Rapes Worsens AIDS Risk - Group: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; Tan Ee Lyn; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Warring groups in Sudan , Congo and Uganda have raped thousands of women and girls in recent months, putting them in dire danger of contracting AIDS, a humanitarian group said on Wednesday. Immediate steps can and must be taken by governments and civil societies to stop these attacks on women and gi
Britain's 'Pope of Soap' Brings ER to Cambodia: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; Ed Cropley; PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) - The guru of British soap operas is giving birth to an unusual TV baby -- an E.R. -style hospital drama set in deeply impoverished Cambodia. Dubbed the Pope of Soap for first bringing hit series Eastenders to British screens in 1985, director Matt Robinson now has something else to think
U.S. Fights Back in AIDS Dispute, Spurns Annan Plea: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) - The United States fought back Wednesday against widespread attacks on its AIDS policies, insisting it is leading the fight against the killer epidemic and spending more money on it than the rest of the world combined. But it rejected a plea from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to inj
Resistance to Abbott AIDS drug very rare-study: Reuters NewMedia - July 14, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Resistance to Abbott Laboratories Inc s anti-AIDS drug Kaletra is extremely uncommon, according results of a five-year study presented at a global conference on the disease on Wednesday. Charles Hicks, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in the
Glaxo, Vertex drug keeps HIV at bay for two years: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - A new HIV-fighting drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline and biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticalse, has demonstrated sustained virus suppression over two years, researchers said on Tuesday. The drug, which is known as Lexiva in the United States and Telzir in Europe, is part of a class of
France: U.S. Trade Deals Threaten Cheap AIDS Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Ed Cropley; BANGKOK (Reuters) - A U.S. drive for bilateral trade deals is undermining an international pact to provide cheap copycat AIDS drugs to the developing world, France said Tuesday. In thinly veiled criticism of the Bush administration, French Development Minister Xavier Darcos said Washington must honor the spirit of a mu
AIDS robs 15 million children of parents - U.N. report: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - The AIDS epidemic has robbed 15 million children of one or both parents and reversed a trend toward fewer orphans driven by better health and nutrition, a U.N. report said on Tuesday. With HIV infection rates rising and the incurable disease taking 10 years to kill without treatment, an estimated 18
Sex workers stand up to be counted at AIDS meeting: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Tim Large; BANGKOK (Reuters) - From under her skirt, she teases out knotted ribbons, bells and a string of needles. She fires blow darts at balloons and produces an improbable chain of flowers. For Mo, a Thai sex worker, this is all in a night s work at one of Bankok s notorious go-go bars, where girls pole-dance to raunchy music
Pfizer boss defends R&D as AIDS drug shows promise: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - A novel AIDS pill designed to exploit the discovery that some people appear naturally resistant to HIV has produced good results in early-stage clinical trials, researchers said on Tuesday. Pfizer s experimental compound UK-427,857 belongs to a new class of medicines that block the virus before it c
Merck licenses HIV/AIDS drug to S. African company: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Merck & Co.said on Tuesday it has licensed its HIV/AIDS therapy to a South African drug company in the hopes of speeding access to treatment in South Africa and other nearby countries hit by the AIDS epidemic. Merck granted Thembalami Pharmaceuticals a non-exclusive patent to license a generic v
Oblivious Japan May Be on Brink of AIDS Explosion: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Elaine Lies; YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - As midnight nears, lights flash and rock music throbs, as a line forms in one corner of the busy club in the port city of Yokohama, near Tokyo. Faces tense, each person is ushered behind a curtain, steeling themselves as Tsuneo Akaeda draws their blood. Akaeda, a doctor, is casual in a b
Annan Says AIDS Fight Must Match War on Terror: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - The United States must lead the fight against AIDS with the same commitment it shows in the battle against terrorism, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday. We hear a lot about weapons of mass destruction. We hear a lot about terrorism, and we are worried about weapons of mass destruction b
Generic AIDS Pill Gets Patent in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - July 13, 2004; BANGKOK, Thailand - India s Cipla Ltd., a pioneer in supplying cheap generic AIDS drugs in Africa, has patented a three-in-one combination tablet called Triomune in South Africa , in a move that will surprise many industry watchers. The company is also seeking patents on the product in 17 other countr
Protesters target Glaxo at AIDS conference: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; BANGKO (Reuters) - Protesters besieged GlaxoSmithKline s stand at the 15th International AIDS Conference on Monday, accusing the company of failing to get its drugs to South Africans with HIV. Three years ago, British-based GSK granted a so-called voluntary licence to South African drug maker Aspen Pharmacare to make g
AIDS vaccine still years away, reseachers say: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - An AIDS vaccine is still years away even under the most optimistic scenario and scientists may have to go back to the drawing-board if the current batch of candidates, all focused on one approach, fails. Seth Berkley, president and chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),
More AIDS drug price cuts needed - medical group: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - AIDS drugs can dramatically increase survival for patients in poor countries but further drug price cuts are needed for patients who develop a resistance to the initial therapy, Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Monday. The independent humanitarian relief organisation treats 13,000 patients in 25 cou
China strikes deal with Glaxo on cheaper HIV drugs: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - China has signed a deal with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to buy the antiretroviral drug lamivudine ( 3TC ) at a reduced price, a step that will make HIV/AIDS treatment affordable to more Chinese victims. They agreed to sell us the drug at a lower price la
Abstinence, Condom Controversy Erupts at AIDS Meet: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - A controversy erupted at a global AIDS conference on Monday over whether abstaining from sex or using condoms was more effective to prevent the disease. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni brought the issue, which has set many AIDS activists at odds with Washington, into the open at the first full day
Boehringer, Glaxo Plan AIDS Drugs Pack for Poor: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; Sitaraman Shankar; FRANKFURT, July 12 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim plan to soon offer the poor a cheap combined anti-AIDS drugs pack, they said on Monday, as pressure grows on drugmakers to do more to fight the disease s spread. Unlisted Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany s largest drugmaker by sales, and GSK said in
Drugs and prevention vital to battle AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 12, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Combining prevention with treatment is the only way to battle the global AIDS epidemic and to ensure that everyone who needs life-saving drugs gets them, a leading AIDS expert said on Monday. Dr Helene Gayle of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the message of access, which has been a prim
Roche's AIDS Drug Fuzeon Shows Two-Year Benefits: Reuters NewMedia - July 11, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Fuzeon, the first of a new class of AIDS drug known as fusion inhibitors designed to fight resistant strains of HIV, works well even after two years of treatment, its maker said on Monday. But Switzerland s Roche Holding AG, which developed the medicine with U.S. biotechnology firm Trimeris Inc, sai
China Rallies Medical Students to Stop AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China is sending 1,300 university medical students to the countryside during their summer vacation to teach villagers how to prevent AIDS, the government announced Saturday. The initiative comes a day after Premier Wen Jiabao warned that AIDS was spreading from high-risk groups to ordinary people
Thailand Eyes Generic Versions of Two AIDS Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand may produce generic versions of two antiretroviral (ARV) drugs made by U.S. drug companies in a bid to treat patients resistant to a domestically-made AIDS drug, health officials said Saturday. The two drugs are Efavirenz , produced by Merck, and
Testing is missing link in AIDS fight, experts say: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2004; Ben Hirschler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - The world will not meet its goal of getting AIDS medicines to the many millions who need them unless testing is stepped up dramatically, experts said on Saturday. A new public-private alliance to promote routine testing met for the first time in Bangkok, on the eve of the 15th international AIDS con
WHO confident of meeting AIDS "3 by 5" drugs target: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2004; Patricia Reaney; BANGKOK (Reuters) - World health experts are confident they can provide AIDS drugs to three million people in poor nations by the end of 2005, despite being behind target over the first six months of the project, they said on Saturday. About 440,000 people in the developing world are receiving antiretroviral drugs, 60,
Thais go condom crazy over biggest ever AIDS meet: Reuters NewMedia - July 10, 2004; Ed Cropley; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Waiters wearing condoms on their heads greet diners at the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant in Bangkok and volunteers dole out condoms of all shapes, colours and sizes at cash machines, metro stations and the airport. Visitors might be forgiven for thinking that Bangkok, infamous as the flesh-pot of
House Panel Stops UN Family Planning Funds Again: Reuters NewMedia - July 9, 2004; Anna Willard; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel backed a $19.4 billion foreign aid bill on Friday but defeated a Democratic bid to win funding for a U.N. family planning agency opposed by anti-abortion groups. The House Appropriations Committee approved the foreign operations bill by voice vote but voted 2
Abbott Earnings Rise on Higher Drug Sales: Reuters NewMedia - July 9, 2004; Toni Clarke; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. on Friday said second-quarter earnings rose, helped by higher-than-expected sales of its rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Humira, and it raised its sales outlook for the drug. The Abbott Park, Illinois-based maker of drugs, nutritional products and diagnostic tests, said net
Vietnam Gets Its First Condom Vending Machine: Reuters NewMedia - July 9, 2004; Christina Toh-Pantin; HANOI (Reuters) - Surrounded by the bustle of a tavern in full lunchtime swing on Friday, communist Vietnam saw the launch of its first condom vending machine, a move hailed by anti-AIDS groups as a key step to fighting the disease. DKT International, a non-government organization that sells subsidized condoms, local f
Top U.S. AIDS Official Discusses New Vietnam Funding: Reuters NewMedia - July 9, 2004; HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam is expected to receive about $10 million in HIV/AIDS funds under a $15 billion U.S. program, with prevention and treatment as the main strategies, the head of the U.S. AIDS project said Friday. The communist nation was last month designated as one of 15 countries eligible to share in the U.S.
Price of HIV Drug in Developing World Cut: Reuters NewMedia - July 9, 2004; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc. on Friday said it cut the price of its drug to treat HIV by 37 percent in the developing world. Gilead s drug Viread is a once-a-day antiretroviral medication for HIV to be used in combination therapy. The company said it will sell the drug in 68 nations for $24.
No HIV Impact Seen in Calif. Syphilis Surge -Study: Reuters NewMedia - July 8, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An alarming outbreak of syphilis among gay men in San Francisco and Los Angeles has not yet caused a corresponding jump in AIDS virus infections, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday. But there is a steady annual increase in AIDS infections -- 13 percent in one group of men studied, the Cen
Asian AIDS crisis, prevention in focus at Bangkok: Reuters NewMedia - July 8, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Asia s rapidly growing AIDS crisis, the latest advances in lifesaving drugs and stalled efforts to get them to millions of people in need will dominate a global conference opening in Thailand on Sunday. With a cure and vaccines still years away, prevention will be high on an agenda showcasing Thaila
Thailand's 'Condom King' Aims at Renewed AIDS Threat: Reuters NewMedia - July 8, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Armed with the shiny packets of rubber that made him famous years ago, Thailand s Condom King Mechai Viravaidya is taking aim at a new generation of Thais threatened by the deadly AIDS disease. Don t be shy; these are to protect yourselves, the 63-year-old veteran AIDS campaigner said as he doled ou
'AIDS Corps' Needed to Help Poor Nations - Panel: Reuters NewMedia - July 7, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An HIV/AIDS corps of medical and technical specialists modeled on the U.S. Peace Corps is needed to expedite drugs and testing in countries hardest-hit by AIDS, experts said on Wednesday. The Institute of Medicine panel joined the United Nations and numerous AIDS groups in saying immediate action
How AIDS Drugs Save Lives: Reuters NewMedia - July 7, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Antiretroviral drugs have transformed HIV infection from a death sentence to a manageable, chronic disorder for many people in the West. But they are still not getting to millions who need them in the developing world. The question of drug access will dominate discussions at the July 11-16 global AID
Cambodia Past, Present Moves Ashley Judd to Tears: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia s tragic past and present moved Hollywood star Ashley Judd to tears on Wednesday as she visited a hospice for people dying of AIDS and a museum of the Killing Fields genocide of the Khmer Rouge. I feel very sad, but I feel very privileged that I ve been allowed to see some beautiful peop
Fear and Ignorance Barriers to China's AIDS Fight: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; Tan Ee Lyn; HONG KONG (Reuters) - China belatedly acknowledged the country s exploding HIV/AIDS problem when Premier Wen Jiabao shook hands with a victim in 2003, but there is still a long way to go before the deadly virus can be countered. Arthur Pang, a doctor with humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres and who treated AIDS
Key Facts and Figures About HIV/AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - A report from UNAIDS , the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, shows almost five million people were infected with HIV in 2003, the highest number in a single year. Following are some key facts and figures about the disease: -- The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased from 35 mil
Asian AIDS Infections Up as World Response Falters: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - AIDS is gaining ground, and Asia, with 60 percent of the world s population, has some of the sharpest rises in HIV infections, according to a report released on Tuesday. We are not doing well, at all, said Dr Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS , the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.
Women, Youths Most Vulnerable to AIDS in Africa: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Sub-Saharan Africa is the region hardest hit by AIDS and its women and young people are the most vulnerable, according to a UN report on Tuesday. Although it only has some 10 percent of the world s population, 70 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa and about 57 percent ar
AIDS body says WTO drug deal not being implemented: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organisation deal allowing poor nations to import generic copies of patented drugs is not being implemented, depriving countries of a cheap source of supply, UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot said on Tuesday. The pact, finalised last September, is supposed to allow developing
Expert: Face of AIDS Epidemic Is an African Woman: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Women in sub-Saharan Africa are the face of the epidemic in the region hardest hit in the world by AIDS, a U.N. expert said on Tuesday. Young women and teenage girls are twice to four times as likely to become infected with HIV as the boys and men of their age, said Dr Peter Piot, executive director
India's AIDS Population Up to 5.1 Million: Govt: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The number of people living with AIDS in India rose to 5.1 million in 2003, narrowing the gap with South Africa , which has the largest number of people suffering from the disease, official figures showed on Tuesday. Experts have been warning that the number of people with HIV/AIDS in India could
Drugs alone no cure for Africa's AIDS crisis: Reuters NewMedia - July 6, 2004; Andrew Quinn; WELKOM, South Africa (Reuters) - Sibongile Sambo, smiling and clutching her new government-funded anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, is a lonely symbol of Africa s progress in fighting its devastating AIDS epidemic. The 41-year-old South African is part of a wave of treatment across the continent as governments roll out prog
Cheap Indian AIDS pill as good as pricey brands: Reuters NewMedia - July 2, 2004; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON (Reuters) - A cheap three-in-one generic AIDS pill from India is just as good as more expensive branded medicines and should be widely used in developing countries, researchers said on Friday. Lack of scientific evidence about the clinical effectiveness of such generic fixed-dose combinations has until now cause
Nearly $6 billion needed to reach AIDS drug target: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly $6 billion will be needed to achieve the World Health Organisation s goal of providing drugs to three million AIDS sufferers in developing countries by 2005, researchers said on Friday. That is the top end of the estimate to fund the three by five initiative launched in September 2003 to ensur
Vitamins May Slow Progress of AIDS Virus -Study: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2004; Gene Emery; BOSTON (Reuters) - A daily multivitamin tablet may slow the progress of the AIDS virus and allow doctors to delay treatment of the deadly disease, according to a study released on Wednesday that may prove especially helpful in developing countries where resources are scarce. B Vitamins, along with vitamins C and E, may
Glaxo to join AIDS drug trial after complaint: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday it would relent and take part in an AIDS drug trial after a U.S. congressman complained about the drug giant s decision to drop out. California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman had accused GlaxoSmithKline of acting out of pique when a rival s drug was substituted for
Glaxo Quits HIV Drug Trial for Third World: Reuters NewMedia - July 1, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Giant international drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc. dropped out of an AIDS drug trial after a rival company s drug was substituted for a Glaxo best-seller, a member of Congress said on Wednesday. California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman said Glaxo s decision could doom the study, aimed at finding t
S.African Defies AIDS Through Diet, Will to Live: Reuters NewMedia - June 29, 2004; Jonah Fisher; ASMARA, Eritrea (Reuters) - David Patient is no ordinary man. Diagnosed HIV-positive 21 years ago, the tanned South African has the confidence of a man who knows that every day he defies medical odds just by being alive. He doesn t take anti-retroviral drugs and attributes his longevity to a tough dietary regime and an
Glaxo grants second African generic ARV license: Reuters NewMedia - June 29, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, June 29 (Reuters) - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has licensed a second South African company to produce generic versions of its anti-retroviral (ARV) AIDS drugs for sale in sub-Saharan Africa, the company said on Tuesday. Thembalami Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Adcock Ingram and India s
FACTBOX-What Was Agreed at EU-U.S. Summit: Reuters NewMedia - June 26, 2004; BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union held a summit at Dromoland Castle in western Ireland on Saturday where they reached common positions on a range of political and economic issues. WHO WAS THERE UNITED STATES - President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Com
China's AIDS Problem Threatens Tiny Hong Kong: Reuters NewMedia - June 25, 2004; Tan Ee Lyn; HONG KONG/YANTIAN, China (Reuters) - The Hong Kong truck driver dipped into a plastic bag standing in a corner of the cafe and retrieved a handful of free condoms. Hopping into his truck, he prepared to cross into mainland China, where he hoped to make his delivery before dusk so he could j
U.S. HHS to extend availablity of new HIV test: Reuters NewMedia - June 25, 2004; CHICAGO, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services on Friday said it had extended the availability of a recently approved rapid saliva HIV test to more than 100,000 laboratories from the current 38,000 sites. Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved OraSure Technologies Inc. s test tha
OraSure gets waiver for OraQuick rapid HIV test: Reuters NewMedia - June 25, 2004; CHICAGO, June 25 (Reuters) - OraSure Technologies Inc. on Friday said U.S. regulators approved a waiver for its rapid HIV saliva test, allowing the test to be used more broadly, including outreach clinics, community-based organizations and doctors offices. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Or
Experts: Cheap Drugs Are the Best Way to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - June 24, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Getting patients cheap drugs to fight the AIDS virus is the best answer to battling the global epidemic, but the window of opportunity is closing, AIDS experts said on Thursday. Countries with emerging epidemics have to admit to the problem and move fast, and the international community has to pi
AIDS Efforts Still Not Nearly Enough, Experts Say: Reuters NewMedia - June 24, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 20 years into the AIDS epidemic, with billions being spent on prevention, research and treatment, the world has not even begun to make a dent on the deadly virus, top experts said on Thursday. Global AIDS leaders said getting patients cheap drugs to fight the AIDS virus was the best ans
UPDATE 1-OraSure shares surge on HIV test approval: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, June 23, 2004; CHICAGO, June 23 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators approved OraSure Technologies Inc. s saliva test for detecting the HIV-2 virus, the company said on Wednesday, sending its shares surging by nearly 30 percent. OraSure had received approval in March for a saliva test of the HIV-1 virus that gives quick results. With the late
Bush Defends Inclusion of Vietnam in AIDS Fund: Reuters NewMedia - June 23, 2004; Adam Entous; PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - President Bush dismissed criticism of his decision to make Vietnam eligible for funds under a global AIDS initiative on Wednesday and said Washington was moving on from an era of bitterness with Hanoi. Some AIDS activists questioned the decision to add the communist state and former U.S. enemy
Thief Takes Sweets After Needle Holdup Fails: Reuters NewMedia - June 22, 2004; MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - A man who tried to hold up a pharmacy with a needle he said was contaminated with AIDS gave up after the nervous clerk struggled to open the cash register, and he fled with just a chocolate bar, police said. A spokesman for the Munich police department said on Tuesday that the thief, aged ab
Bush to Add Vietnam to AIDS Initiative - Sources: Reuters NewMedia - June 22, 2004; Adam Entous; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush plans on Wednesday to designate Vietnam as a new focus for his $15 billion plan to combat AIDS globally, expanding the initiative from Africa to Asia for the first time, congressional sources said. By designating Vietnam a focus country, eligible to share in the $15 billion, the
Global Warming Skeptic Says Kyoto Money a Waste: Reuters NewMedia - June 21, 2004; Georgina Prodhan; MAINZ, Germany (Reuters) - One of the world s leading environmentalists and a renowned skeptic went face-to-face on Monday to put their case on the merits of fighting global warming. On the home territory of Klaus Toepfer, head of the United Nations Environment Program, controversial author Bjorn Lomborg argued money s
Roche says submits new Invirase application to FDA: Reuters NewMedia - June 21, 2004; ZURICH, June 21 (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new formulation of its HIV drug Invirase , the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday. The new formulation is smaller in size than the capsule that is currently available and, if approved, will reduce daily
South African Government Launches Colorful Condoms: Reuters NewMedia - June 15, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - The South African government, criticized for its slow response to the AIDS pandemic, launched a brand of brightly wrapped condoms Monday in a bid to enhance their appeal in the battle against HIV/AIDS. The condoms will be distributed for free in a country where one in nine people
Zimbabwe Holds First National Meeting on AIDS Crisis: Reuters NewMedia - June 15, 2004; Stella Mapenzauswa; HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe opened its first national AIDS conference on Tuesday, spotlighting a health disaster that critics of its government say has been overshadowed by mounting economic and political problems. According to official figures, 24.6 percent of Zimbabwe s adult population is infected with HIV, the viru
Bill Clinton speaks less, writes more: Reuters NewMedia - June 14, 2004; Thomas Ferraro; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton earned almost $4 million for speeches last year, less than half what he got each of the previous two years, as he focused on writing his memoirs, a financial disclosure statement on Monday showed. He (Bill Clinton) is in more demand than ever, but in light of hi
New AIDS Test May Be More Sensitive, U.S. Group Says: Reuters NewMedia - June 14, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new test for the AIDS virus that detects proteins inside the microbe may be more sensitive than existing tests, U.S. researchers said on Monday. The test, which can also be adapted to detect the misshapen prions that cause mad cow disease and related sicknesses, may be useful for screening dona
FDA: Abbott AIDS Drug Price Claims Were Misleading: Reuters NewMedia - June 11, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators told Abbott Laboratories Inc. on Thursday to stop using misleading price claims that were circulated about its AIDS pill NORVIR as the company defended a 400 percent price hike on the drug. Information on a Web site and in other promotional materials wrongly portrayed the drug,
G8 agrees to extend debt relief for poor nations: Reuters NewMedia - June 10, 2004; Michael Christie; SAVANNAH, Ga., June 10 (Reuters) - The Group of Eight industrialized nations on Thursday agreed to extend a debt relief program for poor countries, but fell short of demands for a total write-off of loans owed by African countries to multilateral lending agencies. The leaders of eight of the world s richest nations sai
Fuelled by heroin, AIDS spreads in China's south: Reuters NewMedia - June 10, 2004; Juliana Liu; KUNMING, China (Reuters) - The two-year-old clung to her mother and screamed when a hypodermic needle pierced her ankle, drawing blood. Nurses emptied the sample into a glass vial to test for HIV, the virus that has infected the girl s parents. The father -- a skinny, ashen-faced, 28-year-old businessman -- caught the
World AIDS Campaign Urges G8 to Honor Promises: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday June 9, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - The World AIDS Campaign (WAC) called on G8 governments Thursday to help save millions of lives by honoring commitments they made in signing the United Nations global AIDS compact three years ago. The WAC urged leaders of the Group of Eight nations to provide the practical, financial and political sup
Drug Treatment Effective in HIV Babies - Report: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday June 9, 2004; BOSTON (Reuters) - Combinations of anti-AIDS drugs given to adults infected with HIV can also be effective in newborns, in whom the virus tends to be more aggressive, according to a new report on Wednesday. The finding may help guide HIV treatment in the youngest children as more than 2,000 babies are born each day wit
The church is failing on Aids, warns Ndungane: Reuters NewMedia - June 8, 2004; The church is failing on Aids, warns Ndungane South Africa s top Anglican cleric on Tuesday accused religious leaders of failing to confront the global Aids crisis, saying the church has never been good at dealing sensibly with sex . Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane said too many churches were contributing to
Crystal Meth Drug Sets Back AIDS Fight Among Gays: Reuters NewMedia - June 7, 2004; Christopher Michaud; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tina, crank, chalk and ice may sound like innocuous monikers for a party drug but the substance that is all the rage in New York s hedonistic gay bathhouses is eroding progress made in the fight against AIDS. Use of crystal meth, or methamphetamine -- what used to be known as speed -- has become ri
Americans Support More AIDS Spending -Survey: Reuters NewMedia - June 2, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small majority of Americans believe the United States should spend more to stop the spread of the AIDS virus, according to a survey published on Wednesday. The Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows that 56 percent of those polled believe the country needs to be spending more both domestically a
Drug, doctor shortages slow world AIDS effort -WHO: Reuters NewMedia - June 2, 2004; MAPUTO (Reuters) - Shortages of both key drugs and the doctors to administer them remain serious problems with the global response to the AIDS epidemic, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official said on Wednesday. Jack Chow, WHO assistant director general for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, said overall man
Malawi Coffin Makers Cash in on AIDS Pandemic: Reuters NewMedia - June 2, 2004; Ed Stoddard; BLANTYRE, Malawi (Reuters) - Coffin makers in Malawi are reaping grim profits from the AIDS pandemic that is devastating this poor southern African country. Normally, we make 20 coffins per day ... but when my father started the business (in 1967) it was only around one or two, said Wilfred Chanache of Chanache Coffin
Afghanistan has its first official AIDS deaths: Reuters NewMedia - June 1, 2004; Sayed Salahuddin; KABUL (Reuters) - The deaths of an Afghan man and two of his children marked the first official fatalities from the AIDS virus in deeply conservative Afghanistan , a health ministry official said on Tuesday. A 45-year-old man along with his six-month-old son and two-year-old daughter died recently in a Kabul hospital w
Serono starts final trial for further Serostim use: Reuters NewMedia - June 1, 2004; Nieck Ammerlaan; ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - Serono is beginning final testing of Serostim on patients as it seeks to widen the use of the drug in fighting the effects of HIV/AIDS, Europe s largest biotechnology firm said on Tuesday. Serostim, a growth hormone, is already used in other applications to treat a loss of vital muscle and or
Bono Denies Plans for a 'Live Aid 2' Concert: Reuters NewMedia - June 1, 2004; Gideon Long; DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish rock star Bono played down rumors on Tuesday that he and his friends in the music industry are planning a second Live Aid concert to raise money to fight AIDS. He said a Live Aid 2, nearly 20 years after the first epoch-defining event to help the starving of Ethiopia , would not raise e
Retiring Mandela says "Don't call me, I'll call": Reuters NewMedia - June 1, 2004; John Chiahemen; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s first post-apartheid president Nelson Mandela formally bowed out of public life on Tuesday with a crisp message for those making demands on his time: Don t call me, I ll call you. The Nobel peace prize winner, who turns 86 next month, joked about keeping a punishing schedule desp
S. Africa govt says new drug rules stand: Reuters NewMedia - June 1, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court affirmed new rules forcing manufacturers to cut prices, but pharmacists have another two months before caps on dispensing fees take effect, the government said on Tuesday. The health ministry denied an assertion by hospital group Netcare, which had sought to scrap the rule
Economists rank AIDS, hunger as world's worst worries: Reuters NewMedia - May 29, 2004; Per Bech Thomsen; COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria, eradicating hunger and promoting free trade are the most urgent problems on the planet, much more pressing than global warming, a panel of top economists has decided. Eight economists, including a number of Nobel Prize winners, wrapped up on Saturday the we
Cameras roll again in California porn industry: Reuters NewMedia - May 28, 2004; Charles Feldman; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Holding a video camera, the 38-year-old director stood behind the naked actor and near-naked actress on the wooden staircase and yelled, Rolling and action! Then Mr. Pete, a 20-something with cropped brown hair and lots of tattoos, and Jada Fire, sporting a black bra and panties set and spike-he
China gags Tiananmen dissidents ahead of anniversary: Reuters NewMedia - May 27, 2004; Juliana Liu; BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in China have placed prominent dissidents under house arrest to prevent them from publicly commemorating the 15th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the activists said on Thursday. Police started to surround the residences of known dissidents in the past week, preventing th
Aetna says it drops Abbott lawsuit: Reuters NewMedia - May 27, 2004; NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - Health insurer Aetna Inc. said on Thursday it decided to drop a lawsuit it filed just days earlier against drugmaker Abbott Laboratories Inc , in which it protested a steep price hike in an Abbott AIDS medication. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court for the Northern District of C
Too Many Asian Leaders Ignoring AIDS, Says UN: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday May 27, 2004; Tamora Vidaillet; SHANGHAI (Reuters) - AIDS remains taboo among leaders of too many Asian nations while China has been making strides to catch up with an openness exemplified by Thailand , a U.N. special envoy said on Thursday. Cultural conservatism was rife in the region and had to be addressed if the epidemic was to be contained, sai
WHO to Give 29,000 Ghanaians Free Anti-AIDS Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday May 27, 2004; ACCRA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said Thursday it wanted to put about half of Ghana s AIDS sufferers on free life-prolonging drugs by the end of next year. Napoleon Graham, WHO project officer in Ghana s capital Accra, said the program was part of the WHO s 3 by 5 Initiative, a bid to supply anti-retro
Study: Mouth Bacteria May Defend Against AIDS Virus: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday May 25, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bacteria in the mouth can latch onto the AIDS virus and prevent it from infecting cells -- which could help protect infants from catching the deadly virus from their mothers, researchers reported on Tuesday. Two strains of Lactobacillus bacteria can hook onto HIV and stop it from getting into cel
S.Africa in Fresh Dispute with Global AIDS Fund: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday May 25, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - A new dispute has broken out between South Africa and the world s chief AIDS funding organization, which accuses Pretoria of delaying disbursement of millions of dollars in HIV/AIDS assistance. South Africa has an estimated five million people infected with the AIDS virus -- the
Mozambique Struggles to Rollout AIDS Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - May 24, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; MAPUTO, Mozambique (Reuters) - Mozambique is unable to launch a nationwide distribution of free life-prolonging anti-retroviral AIDS drugs (ARVs) because of serious shortages of staff and equipment, Health Minister Francisco Songane said Monday. About 1.5 million of Mozambique s 18 million people were estimated to be l
FACTBOX-S.Africa's Mbeki unveils steps to boost economy: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, May 21, 2004; CAPE TOWN, May 21 (Reuters) - South Africa s President Thabo Mbeki unveiled detailed measures on Friday aimed at meeting election pledges by his ruling ANC to halve massive unemployment and boost economic growth. Following are brief details of some of the main policies. -- South Africa to ensure administered prices set
Former Shire boss joins UK IPO hopeful Norwood: Reuters NewMedia - Friday, May 21, 2004; LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Rolf Stahel, the man who built Britain s Shire Pharmaceuticals into a FTSE-100 company, is set to return to the stock market with the flotation ofan Australian biotechnology firm. Norwood Immunology, which plans to raise about 15 million pounds ($26.87 million) and float on London s junior Al
Ethiopia Sounds Alarm Over Rising HIV Infections: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday May 20, 2004; ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Ethiopia faces alarming growth in its HIV /AIDS epidemic, with an estimated 1,000 people infected each day and absenteeism increasing as the sick and dying miss work, a government official said Thursday. Teklu Belay of the government s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office said the d
Cerus blood-cleansing system found effective: Reuters NewMedia - May 19, 2004; NEW YORK, (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Cerus Corp. on Wednesday said its experimental Intercept system that is designed to make plasma transfusions safer proved effective in patients with a rare blood disorder. The Intercept blood-cleansing system is meant to make plasma transfusions safer by removing pathogens, o
U.S. States Struggling to Provide AIDS Drugs -Report: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday May 19, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. states struggling to provide AIDS medicines to poor patients have had to create waiting lists and limit the drugs they provide in order to cut costs, a report said on Wednesday. Eleven states have closed enrollment in their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, or ADAPs, which are the last resort f
U.S. lawmakers seek probe of AIDS drug price rise: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday May 19, 2004; Susan Heavey; WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust authorities should investigate the controversial price rise of Abbott Laboratories Inc. s key HIV/AIDS drug, Norvir , a bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged on Wednesday. The company s decision to raise the price of the drug 400 percent is anti-competitive and the U
South Africa Needs More Graveyards to Bury AIDS Dead: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, May 19, 2004; Ben Harding; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African cities are running out of burial space, according to cemetery officials faced with a rocketing death rate in the world s most AIDS-afflicted nation. HIV/AIDS has infected 5.3 million of South Africa s 45 million people, the highest caseload in the world and still rising. Because A
Drug Cuts AIDS-Medicine Risk: Reuters NewMedia - May 18, 2004; WASHINGTON - A diabetes drug could help reduce some of the health-threatening side effects of AIDS medications, U.S. researchers said. GlaxoSmithKline PLC s Avandia can help reduce the redistribution of body fat that can occur when patients take certain cocktails of AIDS drugs and can lessen some of the diabetes-like c
Bono Urges West to Fight for Africa: Reuters NewMedia - Monday May 17, 2004; Jon Hurdle; PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Irish rock star and political activist Bono on Monday urged Western governments to fight poverty, AIDS and debt in Africa because that was cheaper than combating terrorism that may breed in such conditions. In a speech to new graduates of the University of Pennsylvania, the U2 singer said devel
Gilead Says HIV Drug Combo Gets FDA Review Priority: Reuters NewMedia - May 17, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review status for the fixed-dose combination of anti-HIV drugs Viread and Emtriva from biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc., the company said on Monday.
Nigerian State Says Polio Vaccination to Resume: Reuters NewMedia - May 17, 2004; LAGOS (Reuters) - A largely Muslim state in northern Nigeria hopes to import new polio vaccines and resume immunization after an eight-month ban which allowed the disease to spread across Africa, a spokesman said Monday. Kano state stopped immunizing children against the crippling virus after influential Islamic elders
U.S. to Change AIDS Drug Policy: Reuters NewMedia - May 17, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has opened a new front in the battle over getting cheap AIDS drugs to the poorest countries that need them, saying it will consider approving and providing cheap, multiple-dose generics. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said on Sunday the Food and Drug A
New HIV Cases Hit Record High in Singapore: Reuters NewMedia - May 17, 2004; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - New cases of the virus that causes AIDS hit an historic high in Singapore in 2003, led by middle-aged heterosexual men, the government said on Monday New HIV infections in the wealthy city-state totaled 242 in 2003, the highest since records began in 1985, the Health Ministry said. A total of 2,07
Gilead, Merck, Bristol-Myers to Combine HIV Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - May 16, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb , Gilead Sciences Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. on Sunday said they are in talks to develop a combination of three anti-HIV drugs, after U.S. officials urged drug companies to provide better treatment options in developing countries.
U.S. Prepares Plan for Safe AIDS Drugs to the Poor: Reuters NewMedia - May 16, 2004; Lesley Wroughton; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is proposing a fast-track system to provide safe, effective AIDS drugs to poor countries under President Bush s $15 billion AIDS relief plan, U.S. health regulators said on Sunday. Guidelines by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be issued this week and involve a rapid r
No Respite for Anti-Apartheid Satirist Uys: Reuters NewMedia - May 13, 2004; Jeremy Lovell; LONDON (Reuters) - A decade ago South African anti-apartheid satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys was ready to retire, as democracy dawned in his native land and Nelson Mandela led the first black government into power. But these days he is busier than ever, lampooning black and white alike for entrenched attitudes, mistakes and s
U.S. Should Take Over HIV Treatment for Poor-Report: Reuters NewMedia - May 13, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government should pay to treat all low-income Americans infected with the AIDS virus, at a cost of an extra $5.6 billion over the next 10 years, a committee of experts recommended on Thursday. The committee at the Institute of Medicine, which advises the federal government on health issu
HIV Outbreak in Calif. Porn Films Contained: Reuters NewMedia - May 12, 2004; Jill Serjeant; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The lucrative Los Angeles porn film industry, crippled by an HIV outbreak last month, lifted a self-imposed moratorium on Wednesday after half the actors placed under quarantine were given the all-clear. We feel very confident that there will be no more HIV outbreaks. We have contained this outb
Study: 6.7 Percent of S. African Children Have HIV: Reuters NewMedia - May 12, 2004; Gordon Bell; CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) - Nearly 7 percent of South African children aged between 2 and 9 are infected with HIV, a survey said Wednesday, offering grim new data for a country struggling with the world s worst AIDS epidemic. The Human Sciences Research Council said parentless children were at highest risk, wit
California Porn Film Moratorium Lifted Early: Reuters NewMedia - May 12, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A self-imposed moratorium on filming in the Los Angeles porn industry brought in after five actors tested positive for HIV was lifted on Wednesday, a month earlier than expected. Many of the talent who have been quarantined for the last 30 days can safely return to work after several batteries o
AIDS-related skin cancer down sharply, study finds: Reuters NewMedia - May 11, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of HIV patients with Kaposi sarcoma, a once-rare cancer that became a marker for AIDS in the early days of the epidemic, has declined sharply due to the use of antiretroviral drugs, according to a European study released on Monday. The annual incidence of the cancer fell 39 percent betwee
China's Cabinet Orders Urgent Measures to Curb AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - May 11, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned Sunday that AIDS was spreading rapidly in the country and ordered urgent measures including school education and public awareness campaigns to help keep the deadly virus in check. The State Council, or cabinet, in a 12-page circular to all levels of government, also said local officials
U.N.: AIDS Poses 'Unique Threat to Human Society': Reuters NewMedia - May 11, 2004; Robert Evans; GENEVA (Reuters) - The world is not ready for the full social and economic impact of AIDS, which has killed more than 20 million people in the past quarter century, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday. The U.N. agency said unless nations pulled together to defeat it, AIDS would destroy any hope of a better lif
India Faces AIDS Tidal Wave, Health Officials Warn: Reuters NewMedia - May 11, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; GENEVA (Reuters) - India , where an estimated 4.5 million people carry the HIV virus, faces an AIDS tidal wave and may have already overtaken South Africa as the world s most infected country, health experts warned on Tuesday. China , where officials said at the weekend that AIDS was spreading rapi
Mandela, in farewell speech, slams Iraq war: Reuters NewMedia - May 10, 2004; Andrew Quinn; CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Former President Nelson Mandela on Monday hailed South Africa s 10 years of peaceful multi-racial democracy as inspiration for a world he said was saddened and horrified by the U.S.-led war in Iraq . The 85-year-old anti-apartheid icon, in a farewell address to parliament on the 10th anniversary o
INTERVIEW-Botswana AIDS drug pioneer battles bottlenecks: Reuters NewMedia - Monday May 10, 2004; Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent; LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Botswana , the first African country to offer free AIDS drugs, is battling bottlenecks more than two years after the start of the programme, the man running the scheme said on Monday. With close to 40 percent of adults infected, Botswana has the highest HIV/AIDS rate on earth. But the sp
Bulgarian Nurses Fear Prison Murder in Libya: Reuters NewMedia - May 7, 2004; SOFIA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Five Bulgarian nurses condemned to death by firing squad in Libya for spreading AIDS to hundreds of children fear they will be murdered in jail as they wait to appeal the verdict, Bulgarian media reported on Friday. A court in the port city of Benghazi sentenced the five women and a Pales
Libya Orders Death of 6 for HIV Contamination: Reuters NewMedia - May 7, 2004; BENGHAZI, Libya - A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor Thursday to death by firing squad after convicting them of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the virus that causes AIDS. Bulgaria called the verdicts absurd and was joined in protest by the European Union and
Libyan Verdict on Bulgarian Nurses Unacceptable - U.S.: Reuters NewMedia - May 6, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department on Thursday called unacceptable a Libyan court s decision to sentence five Bulgarian nurses to death after convicting them of deliberately infecting Libyan children with the HIV virus. We find the verdict (that was) pronounced in the court to be unacceptable, State Department
Man Accused of Spreading HIV Wins Re-Trial: Reuters NewMedia - May 5, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - An appeal court judge ordered the re-trial of a man convicted of inflicting biological grievous bodily harm by infecting two former lovers with the HIV virus which causes AIDS. Mohammed Dica, 38, last year became the first person in 137 years to be convicted in England and Wales for sexually transmit
UK Pledges to Put Africa Top of G8 Agenda: Reuters NewMedia - May 4, 2004; Madeline Chambers; LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will put Africa s problems at the top of the agenda during its presidency of the G8 group of economic powers next year, Tony Blair said Tuesday after the first meeting of his Commission for Africa. The prime minister, who made it a personal crusade to help Africa nearly three years ago when h
Fourth HIV Case Strikes California Porn Industry: Reuters NewMedia - May 4, 2004; Gina Keating; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A fourth adult film performer has tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS but the case is unrelated to an outbreak that virtually shut down pornography production last month, an industry health care official said on Tuesday. A transsexual actress who goes by the stage name Jennifer tested
'Expressing emotions helps HIV patients': Reuters NewMedia - May 3, 2004; Writing about emotional topics appears to reduce stress in HIV-infected patients and may improve immune responses, according to researchers in New Zealand and the US. Dr. Kevin J. Petrie of the University of Auckland and colleagues note that a review of studies involving such emotional disclosure by patients with disea
HIV Cases Prompt Talk of California Porn Crackdown: Reuters NewMedia - May 3, 2004; SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California must regulate its booming pornographic film industry, including some of its employment terms, if an HIV outbreak is to be contained, a state lawmaker said on Monday. Three cases of the AIDS-causing HIV virus recently found among adult entertainers show the industry s self-regulation
AIDS Group Urges Testing in L.A. Bath Houses: Reuters NewMedia - May 3, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A leading U.S. AIDS health service provider on Monday said hundreds of patrons of gay sex clubs and bathhouses have been exposed to HIV because Los Angeles County officials failed to regulate the venues. County health officials delayed a scheduled vote this month by county supervisors on a propo
Activists Urge Better Prostitutes' Rights Worldwide: Reuters NewMedia - May 2, 2004; Carrie Lee; HONG KONG (Reuters) - The world s oldest profession should be decriminalized and treated like any other business, international activists at a Hong Kong conference on prostitution said Sunday. Prostitutes are abused by policemen who demand free sex and then arrest them for soliciting and they are victimized by politici
Poor and Sick, Malawi Set to Go to the Polls: Reuters NewMedia - May 2, 2004; Ed Stoddard; BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Ravaged by AIDS and parched by drought, Malawi will drag its withered body politic to the polls on May 18 for its third election since the return of democracy in 1994. A decade after the long dictatorship of Hastings Banda ended, this southern African country has little to celebrate. The peopl
Nearly 4 Million Nigerians Have HIV - Ministry: Reuters NewMedia - April 30, 2004; LAGOS (Reuters) - An estimated 3.8 million Nigerians are infected with the virus that causes AIDS, making the West African country one of the hardest hit in the world, Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo said on Friday. I am very unhappy to report that as of today, Nigeria is still one of the countries worst affected by the
U.S. Alarmed by Jump in Drug Resistant Gonorrhea: Reuters NewMedia - April 29, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - A jump in drug-resistant gonorrhea among gay and bisexual men prompted U.S. health officials on Thursday to recommend that the antibiotics usually used to treat the sexual infection be avoided in some cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised doctors to stop prescribing ciproflox
Women with Violent Partners Have Raised HIV Risk: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday April 29, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Women whose partners are violent and domineering have a 50 percent increased risk of being infected with HIV, which causes AIDS, scientists said on Friday. In the first study to assess the impact of gender-based violence as a risk factor for HIV/AIDS in South Africa , researchers found that women
US Sets Hearing on Abbott AIDS Drug License: Reuters NewMedia - April 29, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Institutes of Health will hold a public hearing next month on a request to allow cheaper, generic copies of an Abbott Laboratories Inc. AIDS drug, the U.S. government announced Wednesday. Essential Inventions Inc., a nonprofit firm run by consumer activists, has asked the Department
NEWSMAKER-China PM Takes Pride in Man-Of-The-People Image: Reuters NewMedia - April 28, 2004; Scott Hillis; BEIJING (Reuters) - He has braved SARS wards, commanded relief efforts for a deadly earthquake and publicly shaken hands with AIDS patients. In a little more than one year as China s premier, Wen Jiabao has burnished his man-of-the-people image and has driven that home with pledges to help those left out of the country
S.Africa's Harmony, Netcare in healthcare deal: Reuters NewMedia - April 28, 2004; JOHANNESBURG, April 28 (Reuters) - South African gold producer Harmony Gold and healthcare firm Network Healthcare Holdings said on Wednesday they had formed a new company to provide healthcare services to Harmony. In a joint statement, they said this was the first part of a deal that would eventually see Harmony, the
Farrell, Branch Join India AIDS Fundraiser in L.A.: Reuters NewMedia - April 28, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Perry Farrell, Michelle Branch and Macy Gray are among the acts who will perform at a June 8 charity concert in Los Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS causes in India . The lineup also includes Irish singer Damien Rice, and Asian-influenced multi-instrumentalists Talvin Singh, Nitin Sawhney and
Quincy Jones, Stars to Raise Cash for Children: Reuters NewMedia - April 27, 2004; Howard Breuer; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nearly 20 years after recording the ground-breaking charity album We Are the World, producer Quincy Jones is at it again -- assembling an all-star ensemble concert to raise money for children s centers in war-ravaged cities. We Are the Future will be held in Rome on May 16 at Circus Maximus, sit
South Africa ready to celebrate 10 years of democracy: Reuters NewMedia - April 26, 2004; Jodie Ginsberg; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Perhaps the greatest indication of South Africa s success as a democracy will be the relative normality in which the country celebrates its 10th anniversary with a presidential inauguration on Tuesday. Unlike so many other African countries, the man revered as the father of the nation will be i
Jackie Chan Kicks Off New Role as U.N. Ambassador: Reuters NewMedia - April 26, 2004; Ek Madra; PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) - Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan embarked on a another unusual mission on Monday, dropping in on AIDS and land mine victims in war-scarred Cambodia in his new role as a U.N. goodwill ambassador. The United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) and
Spend Money on Aid, Not Wars, World Bank Head Says: Reuters NewMedia - April 26, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is a ludicrous gap between the billions of dollars of global military spending and the sum spent on trying to reduce world poverty, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said on Sunday. Around $900 billion a year is thrown into defense spending compared to only $60 billion for foreign aid,
Donors Agree to Streamline Global AIDS Work: Reuters NewMedia - April 25, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to clear up the confusing response by the international community to the global AIDS crisis, donors on Sunday agreed to streamline the way they hand out money to fight the disease. Countries receiving funds to tackle AIDS are often overwhelmed by the number of different agencies they have
Canada to Explain Easier AIDS Drugs Sales to Donors: Reuters NewMedia - April 24, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World Bank officials urged Canada s development minister on Saturday to promote Ottawa s AIDS medicines legislation as a blueprint for other countries, including Britain, Germany and the Netherlands . They were very encouraging that Canada promote this, International Cooperation Minister Aileen
World Poverty Falling,But Not in Africa-World Bank: Reuters NewMedia - April 23, 2004; Cyrille Cartier; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World poverty is falling sharply on the back of China s rising prosperity but this masks a growing problem in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a World Bank report released on Friday. The proportion of the developing world s population living in poverty fell by nearly half in the past 20 years --
Expanding EU Border Raises Public Health Concerns: Reuters NewMedia - April 23, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Better systems to control the spread of diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are needed as the European Union extends its borders to the east, public health experts said on Friday. Ten new member states will be welcomed into the EU new month, including countries bordering on Belaru
Cold virus may lurk in body, study finds: Reuters NewMedia - April 23, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A common cold virus that can land babies in the hospital may hide out in the lungs for weeks or months, perhaps explaining how it spreads easily despite the best hygiene efforts, doctors reported on Friday. They found evidence that respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, stays in the lungs of mice l
AIDS Protesters Picket Abbott Shareholder Meeting: Reuters NewMedia - April 23, 2004; Kim Dixon; CHICAGO (Reuters) - Patients and advocates angry over Abbott Laboratories Inc. s decision to raise the price of a key AIDS drug took their case to the drug maker s annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Several dozen protesters, including AIDS advocates, patients and senior citizens upset about the high price of other A
HIV-Positive Gymnast Wins Complaint Against Cirque: Reuters NewMedia - April 22, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A gymnast fired by Cirque du Soleil for being HIV-positive has been awarded $600,000 in an employment discrimination case, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Thursday. Matthew Cusick, 32, who has been HIV-positive for 10 years, lost his job in the internationally ren
New Evidence: HIV Not Linked to Polio Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - April 21, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists reported new research Wednesday which they say is further proof that the AIDS pandemic was not sparked by polio vaccines used in Africa in the 1950s that were contaminated with a chimpanzee virus. The controversial theory on the origins of AIDS has been dismissed by many medical experts wh
AIDS Scare Sparks Call for Calif. Porn Film Probe: Reuters NewMedia - April 21, 2004; Steve Gorman; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - HIV infections of two porn stars has prompted local health authorities to seek unprecedented inspections of California s multibillion-dollar adult film industry and press for mandatory condom use during sex scenes, officials said on Tuesday. Industry representatives, however, say such a crackdow
Government Seeks Easier AIDS Drugs Sales to Africa: Reuters NewMedia - April 20, 2004; OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government introduced legislative amendments on Tuesday to make it easier for makers of generic drugs to sell low-cost AIDS drugs and other medicines to poor countries. The changes would be made to pioneering legislation, not yet passed, which is designed to get drugs to people in the le
AIDS Epidemic Threatens World Peace, UN Says: Reuters NewMedia - Monday April 19, 2004; Inger Sethov; OSLO (Reuters) - The spread of the deadly HIV virus is a threat to world peace like terrorism, the chief the United Nations AIDS agency said Monday. Calling AIDS an earthquake in slow motion, the UNAIDS head also slammed the European Union for failing to cope with the fast-growing epidemic in Eastern Europe as the EU e
AIDS Epidemic Threatens World Peace, UN Says: Reuters New Media - Monday, April 19, 2004; Inger Sethov; OSLO (Reuters) - The spread of the deadly HIV virus is a threat to world peace like terrorism, the chief the United Nations AIDS agency said Monday. Calling AIDS an earthquake in slow motion, the UNAIDS head also slammed the European Union for failing to cope with the fast-growing epidemic in Eastern Europe as the EU e
Abbott AIDS drug price hike hit by suit, protest: Reuters NewMedia - April 19, 2004; CHICAGO, April 19 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc.was hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit on Monday by patients charging the company with illegally jacking up the price of a popular AIDS drug by 400 percent. The pharmaceutical company made a decision last December to raise the price of
World Bank Sees Strong Developing Economies Growth: Reuters NewMedia - April 19, 2004; Lesley Wroughton; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Developing countries should post their strongest growth in two decades in 2004 as the global recovery firms, but a sudden rise in interest rates could harm the outlook, a World Bank report said on Monday. In its 2004 Global Development Finance report, the bank warned that governments should prepa
HIV infection scare hits Los Angeles porn actors: Reuters NewMedia - April 16, 2004; Howard Breuer; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Worried adult film actors crowded into the industry s health clinic in Los Angeles for HIV testing on Friday as word spread that two performers tested positive this week. Despite the outbreak and pleas by advocates for a 60-day moratorium while testing continues on 47 quarantined actors, it appe
ANC hails South Africa win but misses in key province: Reuters NewMedia - April 16, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - The African National Congress celebrated a huge victory in South Africa s elections on Friday but failed to win outright control of KwaZulu-Natal province, one of the poll s biggest prizes. Nationally the former liberation movement was assured a coveted two-thirds majority in parliament
Actor's HIV Infection Strikes Calif. Porn Industry: Reuters NewMedia - April 16, 2004; Gina Keating; LOS ANGELES - California s multi-billion-dollar adult porn industry ground to a virtual halt Thursday after a popular actor tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. Industry advocates immediately called for a 60-day moratorium on filming so that others could be tested. Actor Darren James tested positive for HIV
Glaxo HIV drug gets FDA 'traditional' approval: Reuters NewMedia - April 16, 2004; NEW YORK, (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Friday its 5-year-old drug Ziagen has been granted traditional approval status, giving the company greater ability to promote its long-term effectiveness against HIV. The status is given when an HIV drug has completed 48-week clinical trials establishing its ability
Vietnam, U.S. Hold First Military AIDS Discussions.: Reuters NewMedia - April 15, 2004; HANOI (Reuters) - The U.S. military is back in Vietnam but this time it is helping its old battlefield foe prevent the spread of AIDS through its ranks. The U.S. and Vietnamese militaries held their first-ever discussions on heading off HIV/AIDS in a four-day seminar that ended on Thursday. The unprecedented cooper
South Africa's ANC Heads for Decisive Win: Reuters NewMedia - April 15, 2004; Ed Stoddard; PRETORIA, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa s ruling African National Congress forged toward its biggest election victory on Thursday and said it would use a sweeping mandate to cure chronic national ills a decade after the end of apartheid. With ballots in from 62.5 percent of the country s 17,000 voting stations,
Theratech's phase II trial shows positive results: Reuters NewMedia - April 15, 2004; Rajiv Sekhri; TORONTO, (Reuters) - A small protein made by Theratechnologies Inc. cuts fat levels significantly in HIV patients suffering from lipodystrophy, an unnatural redistribution of body fat, the company said on Thursday. Results from a phase II trial of Theratech s ThGRF compound, which stimulates the secretion of growth hor
Libya Delays Verdict on Bulgarians in HIV Trial: Reuters NewMedia - April 15, 2004; Salah Sarrar; BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A Libyan court postponed a verdict on Thursday on six Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor charged with infecting hundreds of Libyan children with deadly HIV, court officials said. A prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for the five women and two men, who were detained in Tripoli in
ANC Set to Win as South Africans Line Up to Vote: Reuters NewMedia - April 14, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - Enthusiastic South Africans queued for hours to vote in their third post-apartheid election Wednesday, with the African National Congress expected to return to power in a landslide. The ANC looked certain to capitalize on its enduring appeal as the party that ended white rule and
Roche expands U.S. distribution of HIV drug Fuzeon: Reuters NewMedia - April 14, 2004; ZURICH, April 14 (Reuters) - HIV drug Fuzeon will be available through U.S. retail and specialty pharmacies later this month, developers Roche and Trimeris said on Wednesday, expanding distribution for the drug. Fuzeon was previously only available through a special programme provided by U.S. pharmacy services firm Chr
AIDS Stalks Haiti's Children: Reuters NewMedia - April 11, 2004; Simon Gardner; PETIONVILLE, Haiti (Reuters) - As dusk falls over the hills around Haiti s slum-ridden capital, former classmates Widney and Casandra head outside to sit on a street corner, watch the cars go by and dream of finding that perfect job. The giggling young girls also wonder how many men they are going to have sex with that
China offers aid to AIDS-hit Henan orphans: Reuters NewMedia - April 10, 2004; BEIJING (Reuters) - China will increase medical aid and offer free education to hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS in a central province ravaged by the deadly disease, state media said on Saturday. Henan provincial government departments had issued a notice strengthening the relief work and aid for 2,012 orphans and
Merck grants S.Africa generic licence for AIDS drug: Reuters NewMedia - April 7, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc. plans to license a South African firm to make and sell a generic version of efavirenz, a key anti-retroviral AIDS drug, the company said on Wednesday. Under terms of a preliminary offer, Thembalami Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a joint venture between Adcock Ingram and
US AIDS Patients Face Drug Barriers - Activists: Reuters NewMedia - April 7, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tight state budgets and rising drug prices have forced nearly 800 U.S. AIDS patients on to waiting lists for life-saving medication, and the number is likely to grow, physicians and activists said on Tuesday. While the world s attention has focused on bringing AIDS medicines to Africa and other p
HIV Infects One in Four Young S.African Women-Survey: Reuters NewMedia - April 7, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nearly one in four South African women aged between 20 and 24 is infected with the AIDS virus, but broad HIV infection rates among youth appear to be stabilizing, a national survey released on Tuesday said. The study by researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand said women bear the brun
Clinton, UN Announce Cheap Generic AIDS Drug Plan: Reuters NewMedia - April 6, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.N., World Bank, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and former president Bill Clinton said on Tuesday they had set up a joint plan to buy and distribute cheap, generic AIDS drugs in poor countries. In a clear jab at the U.S. government, they said they had negotiated disc
Americans Fail to Protect Against STDs, Study Finds: Reuters NewMedia - April 6, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans may say they know a lot about sexually transmitted diseases but they do not practice what they preach when it comes to defending against them, according to a survey published on Tuesday. While one in four Americans will be infected with an STD -- and up to half of younger adults will be
S.Africa Opposition Maverick Takes HIV Test: Reuters NewMedia - April 5, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A maverick South African opposition politician took a public HIV test Monday and urged President Thabo Mbeki to follow suit to encourage people to know their status in a country where one in nine has the virus. The reason I am taking the test is because we are 10 years behind from the rest of t
Slow Start for S.Africa AIDS Drugs Program: Reuters NewMedia - April 1, 2004; Andrew Quinn; SOWETO, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa s public AIDS treatment program took a step forward on Thursday as patients in the country s richest province began receiving free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. At Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital outside Johannesburg, 20 adults and children suffering with AIDS received the l
US Official Defends Controversial AIDS Drug Policy: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday, March 31, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. official on Wednesday denied charges that the United States supports pharmaceutical giants in a dispute over whether the government should help provide cheaper generic AIDS drugs. What we are looking to do is not to avoid buying generics but to assure the quality, safety and efficacy of th
S.Africa AIDS Drugs Come Too Late for Many: Reuters NewMedia - March 31, 2004; Andrew Quinn; TEMBISA, South Africa (Reuters) - Flora Mahano flips through her AIDS patient book, name after name crossed out in bright green ink. These are all dead, Mahano said on Wednesday as the pages ruffled past, a brutal testament to the toll that AIDS has taken in this sprawling township outside of Johannesburg. We have
S.Africa Makes AIDS Drugs Available Ahead of Polls: Reuters NewMedia - March 30, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The world s biggest AIDS treatment plan gets a boost this week as five pilot hospitals in South Africa s richest province roll out life-saving anti-retroviral medication. Officials say Thursday s launch in Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg, shows the government fulfilling a pledge to make AR
S.Africa's Mbeki Warns on AIDS Drugs Ahead of Roll-Out: Reuters NewMedia - March 30, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s President Thabo Mbeki said on Tuesday the country could not fight AIDS with drugs alone as it prepared to launch the world s biggest medical program for tackling the pandemic. After years of pressure, the government will begin providing life-saving anti-retroviral ARV medication
J&J Donates Anti-HIV Gel to Non-Profit Group: Reuters NewMedia - March 29, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - The hunt for an effective gel to prevent HIV infection took a key step forward on Monday when Johnson & Johnson donated rights to a promising drug to a non-profit group. The International Partnership for Microbicides said it had reached a royalty-free agreement with Tibotec, a Belgian subsidiary
South Korean Red Cross rapped for tainted blood lapses: Reuters NewMedia - March 28, 2004; SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea s Red Cross mishandled donor information and circulated blood donated by hepatitis virus carriers, infecting nine people, government auditors said on Monday. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) called on the Korea National Red Cross to punish officials responsible for shipping blood do
FDA Approves Rapid Saliva Test for AIDS Virus: Reuters NewMedia - March 26, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States approved the first rapid saliva test for the HIV virus that causes AIDS, health officials announced on Friday. The test, made by OraSure Technologies Inc., provides results within 20 minutes. Other approved rapid HIV tests require blood samples. This oral test provides anot
Wrinkle Filler Only for HIV Patients, FDA Panel Says: Reuters NewMedia - March 25, 2004; Susan Heavey; GAITHERSBURG, Md. (Reuters) - A U.S. advisory panel on Thursday backed an injectable treatment that helps restore the disfigured faces of some HIV patients, but warned against its use as a general beauty aid. While the panel unanimously voted to recommend what could become the first U.S. approved treatment for so-calle
Groups Accuse U.S. of Pushing Brand-Name HIV Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - March 26, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AIDS activist groups teamed up with the international relief group Doctors Without Borders on Thursday to accuse the U.S. government of pushing expensive, brand-name HIV drugs in poor countries. The groups accused the United States of supporting the for-profit pharmaceutical giants that make the
Circumcision seen as method to block HIV infection: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, March 25, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - Circumcised men are less likely to be infected with the virus that causes AIDS because of biological reasons and not less risky behaviour, scientists said on Friday. Studies have shown that men whose foreskin has been removed are six to eight times less likely to become HIV positive but there has bee
TB Epidemic Slows in Ukraine, Doctors Hopeful: Reuters NewMedia - March 24, 2004; Olena Horodetska; KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine could be turning the corner in its fight against a 10-year tuberculosis epidemic after the rate of new cases slowed last year, the health ministry said on Wednesday. But officials urged caution, saying the real figures for TB could be higher due to a lack of funds for mass testing and they stil
WHO Says It Gains Ground in TB Fight; MSF Disagrees: Reuters NewMedia - March 24, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said Tuesday it was gaining ground in the fight against tuberculosis, but a leading aid agency said the fight was being lost. In a report marking World Tuberculosis Day Wednesday, the United Nations agency said three million of an estimated 8.8 million TB sufferers world
AIDS Experts Warn Against Growing Complacency: Reuters NewMedia - March 24, 2004; HONG KONG (Reuters) - New medicines are making some people in the West complacent about AIDS, leading to a rise in HIV infection rates, a leading AIDS researcher said on Wednesday. Obviously having therapy that could prevent death in places where such treatment is accessible could result in complacency, said David Ho,
OraSure gets FDA approval on combo HIV blood test: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday March 23, 2004; CHICAGO, March 23 (Reuters) - OraSure Technologies Inc. , a maker of diagnostic test kits, said on Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a rapid blood test that can detect antibodies for two major strains of the HIV virus that cause AIDS. The company said the new test, the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1/2, w
UMass Researchers to Test AIDS Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - March 23, 2004; WORCESTER, Mass. - Researchers for the University of Massachusetts Medical School said they will begin human testing of an AIDS vaccine that attacks aggressively the virus that causes the disease. The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS, constantly changes its outer coating to dodge the immune syste
FDA OKs CytRx HIV Vaccine for Trial: Reuters NewMedia - March 23, 2004; CHICAGO (Reuters) - CytRx Corp. said on Tuesday federal regulators have approved an experimental vaccine for HIV/AIDS for use in early-stage clinical trials, sending shares of the biotechnology firm sharply higher. CytRx owns commercial rights to the DNA and protein technology used in the vaccine, which was developed b
Human Trials of New Anti-HIV Gels Announced: Reuters NewMedia - March 23, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists are planning large-scale human trials of two new gels designed to prevent men and women from being infected with the virus that causes AIDS The gels, or microbicides, act like an invisible condom and could offer added protection against the virus that has infected 40 million people
Drug Access, Asia Threat in Focus at AIDS Summit: Reuters NewMedia - March 22, 2004; Darren Schuettler; BANGKOK (Reuters) - Efforts to rush anti-AIDS drugs to millions of people worldwide and Asia s spotty record in fighting the disease will top the agenda at a global AIDS conference in Thailand in July, organizers said Monday. Despite pledges of billions of dollars to combat the pandemic infecting 40 million people acro
UN begins food aid in AIDS-stricken Myanmar: Reuters NewMedia - March 19, 2004; YANGON (Reuters) - About 400 families stricken by HIV-AIDS began receiving food aid in Myanmar on Friday where infection rates are among the highest in Southeast Asia, the U.N. food agency said. The programme, which will expand later this year, aims to ease the suffering of those living with the disease and slow its sp
Bushmeat Sparks Fears of New AIDS-Type Virus: Reuters NewMedia - March 19, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - People in central Africa who hunt monkeys and apes for food and trade are being infected with animal viruses and researchers fear their transmission could spark a future epidemic similar to AIDS. Scientists who documented the transmission of a monkey virus to humans in Africa, called Friday for measu
Swaziland Alone with World's Worst HIV Rate - UN: Reuters NewMedia - March 19, 2004; MBABANE (Reuters) - Swaziland stands alone with the world s highest rate of HIV infection after nearby Botswana made headway against the deadly pandemic, the United Nations special envoy on AIDS Stephen Lewis said on Friday. Sparsely populated Swaziland and Botswana have long been twinned with the highest rates of HIV
Abbott Sued in Calif. Over AIDS Drug Statements: Reuters NewMedia - March 18, 2004; LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The nation s largest AIDS organization sued Abbott Laboratories Inc. for a second time over a price increase in a key AIDS drug, saying the company made false statements to justify the higher prices, the group said on Thursday. The first lawsuit, filed Feb. 11 in Los Angeles by the AIDS Healthca
Twice as Many Africans Get AIDS Drugs, More Needed: Reuters NewMedia - March 18, 2004; LONDON (Reuters) - The number of Africans getting life-saving AIDS medicines doubled to more than 150,000 in the second half of 2003 but there was still a long way to go, drug firms said on Thursday. John McGoldrick of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, who chairs a partnership of six Western companies offering cut-price AIDS dr
Supplement Companies Agree to End Cure Claims -US: Reuters NewMedia - March 17, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two California companies have agreed to stop claiming their liquid supplement called Seasilver can cure more than 650 diseases including cancer, diabetes and AIDS, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday. The companies, Seasilver USA Inc. and Americaloe Inc., signed a consent decree with regulators, wh
US Treasury's Taylor hails aid grants to Africa: Reuters NewMedia - March 16, 2004; WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Almost halfway through his 10-day trip through Africa, the Treasury Department s senior international official said on Tuesday his experience so far supports the U.S. stance on international aid through grants. I do think that it indicates that there s real value in increasing the amoun
Drug Resistant TB Poses Global Problem - WHO Report: Reuters NewMedia - March 16, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (Reuters) - Cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the former Soviet Union are rising at an alarming rate and pose a global problem, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. Estonia , Kazakhstan , Lat
Study: HIV Patients Face Heart-Disease Risk: Reuters NewMedia - March 15, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Patients infected with the virus that causes AIDS have a sharply higher risk of clogged arteries, and the disease appears to progress especially quickly, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. They said infection with the virus, HIV, should be considered a risk factor for heart disease, especially
China's Blood Donor AIDS Victims Turn to Suicide: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, March 15, 2004; Juliana Liu; SHUANG MIAO, China - Popping two pills a day to stave off AIDS symptoms helps Chinese wheat farmer Tan Zhiyun delay the inevitable -- suicide. Tan was diagnosed HIV positive in 2000 along with hundreds of neighbors in the poverty-stricken village of Shuang Miao in the central province of Henan. Some have already kille
Catholic group to expand Africa AIDS campaign: Reuters NewMedia - March 13, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic lay group said on Saturday that a full complement of anti-retroviral drugs sharply reduced the transmission of AIDS from mother to child and had proved more effective than nevirapine alone. The Community of Sant Egidio set up in Mozambique
NY Artist Snaps Naked, HIV Positive Group: Reuters NewMedia - March 13, 2004; NEW YORK (Reuters) - The artist who made his name taking pictures of hundreds of nude people in public around the world has taken up a new cause. Spencer Tunick, who once battled former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for the right to photograph a crowd of naked people in Times Square, photographed nearly 100 HIV-posit
AIDS casts grim shadow over southern Africa food crisis: Reuters NewMedia - March 12, 2004; Steve Swindells; JOHANNESBURG � The drought-induced food crisis across southern Africa has again highlighted the deadly impact that HIV/AIDS is having on food security in the region. The disease has already killed about seven million farm workers since 1985 in the 25 worst-hit African countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Or
Syphilis Shows Some Resistance to Antibiotic in U.S.: Reuters NewMedia - March 11, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that is on the rise in the United States , may be developing resistance to one of the antibiotics used to treat it, according to a federal study released on Thursday. Health officials in San Francisco documented eight cases in 2002 and 2003 in which single or
Internet blamed in spread of syphilis among gays: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, March 11, 2004; Jon Hurdle; PHILADELPHIA - The Internet has played a significant role in the latest increase in cases of syphilis among gay men by introducing partners more likely to practice high-risk sex, according to a study released on Wednesday. About 22 percent of homosexual men diagnosed with early stage syphilis reported meeting one or mo
Gay Men's Crystal Meth, Viagra Use Increases STDs: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; Jon Hurdle; PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Gay men who combine the drugs crystal meth and Viagra run a greater chance of getting sexually transmitted diseases than nonusers, according to a study released on Wednesday. Figures show men who have sex with other men and use both crystal methamphetamines and the erectile dysfunction drug Via
Latin America Must Do More to Fight AIDS -WHO: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - The World Heath Organization on Wednesday urged Latin American governments to step up their response to AIDS and make treatment more affordable while increasing HIV testing. Some 16 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are affected with HIV/AIDS and the disease is spreading, but the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria, TB Faces Crunch: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; GENEVA (Reuters) - The global AIDS fund could soon face a cash crisis, due in part to the likes of Britain, Germany and Canada failing to contribute their fair share to the U.N.-sponsored program, its chief says. The looming funding gap has been compounded by the Bush administration recently proposing to slash the U.
S.Africans Make AIDS, Graft, Jobs Key Poll Issues: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - South African political parties have made AIDS, corruption and jobs key campaign issues ahead of elections next month that will likely return President Thabo Mbeki to office for a final five-year term. Opposition banners unveiled this week on roads and buildings laid into Mbeki an
Rwanda to Join African Trials for AIDS Vaccine: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; KIGALI, Rwanda (Reuters) - Rwanda, where around one in 10 people are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, will join African medical trials in March for a vaccine, a government minister said Wednesday. Kenya , Uganda , Botswana and
Catholics Seeks Cash to Expand Mozambique AIDS Work: Reuters NewMedia - March 10, 2004; Marta Odallah; MATOLA, Mozambique (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic church group that runs a large anti-AIDS campaign in Mozambique says it has saved hundreds of babies from the disease but needs more cash from Western agencies to expand its work. The Italian-based Community of Sant Egidio runs 13 centers fighting AIDS and drug abuse and
Culture of silence puts Asian women at risk of AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, March 8, 2004; BANGKOK (Reuters) - HIV is hitting married, monogomous women in Southeast Asia because their cultures often prevent them from asking about their husband s infidelities, a senior United Nations official said on Money. In Asia, you have an enormous number of women who are getting infected having no risk factors themselve
Herpes Cases Fall, Syphilis on the Rise: Reuters NewMedia - March 8, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - Fewer U.S. teenagers and adults have the virus that causes genital herpes , but health experts said on Monday they were troubled by the recent resurgence in syphilis, especially among gay and bisexual men. The findings, which were presented at the 2004 National STD Prevention Conference in Philadelp
UN: Women Bearing Brunt of AIDS Epidemic: Reuters NewMedia - March 8, 2004; Evelyn Leopold; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Women are now bearing the brunt of the AIDS epidemic, especially among young adults, in what U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday called a terrifying pattern in the galloping disease. Opening a session to mark International Women s Day, Annan said that women and girls accounted for mor
UN to stop funding some sub-Saharan Aids NGOs: Reuters NewMedia - March 6, 2004; Shapi Shacinda; Livingstone, Zambia - The UN agencies that sponsor Aids programmes say they will no longer direct funds to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in some sub-Saharan states because they lacked accountability. NGOs on Saturday called the move retrogressive, saying it would harm efforts to fight the epidemic in a region
U.S. Expert Downplays Africa's AIDS Statistics Dispute: Reuters NewMedia - March 5, 2004; Helen Nyambura; NAIROBI (Reuters) - AIDS has Africa in its grip, but just how tightly? The exact answer varies according to which survey you consult -- a fact of supreme concern to experts and governments fighting the pandemic on the world s poorest continent. Look at one set of figures and Africa is facing a disaster that threatens t
S.Africa AIDS Plan for Rape Victims Failing: Report: Reuters NewMedia - March 4, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - South Africa , where high rape rates and a raging AIDS epidemic spell death for many victims of sexual assault, is failing its promise to get AIDS drugs to rape victims, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday The New York-based watchdog, in a report on South Africa s two-year-old program to provide antiretr
Benign Virus May Guard Against AIDS Progression: Reuters NewMedia - March 3, 2004; Gene Emery; BOSTON - A harmless virus common in the general population delays the development of AIDS, according to a study released on Wednesday that could help researchers find new treatments for the epidemic. The benign virus can persist in the body for years and appears to interfere with HIV, the AIDS virus which affects 40 mi
Study: AIDS Blamed for Big Jump in S.Africa Deaths: Reuters NewMedia - March 03, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - South Africa s adult death rate has jumped by almost 50 percent over the past six years and the country s devastating AIDS epidemic is probably the primary cause, researchers said Wednesday. There is a distinct rise in deaths in the younger, sexually-active age groups. It is our view that this is mainly
Sexually Active Cameroon Youths Shun Condoms-Study: Reuters NewMedia - March 2, 2004; Tansa Musa; YAOUNDE, Cameroon - Two thirds of teenagers in the central African country of Cameroon have sex by the age of 16 and more than half of them shun condoms, according to a study by German aid agency GTZ. Officials said the figures, which shed new light on sexual behavior in a nation where HIV/AIDS adult infection rates ha
Few in China aware they may have AIDS - U.S. experts: Reuters NewMedia - March 2, 2004; Juliana Liu; BEIJING - Only 10 percent of China s estimated one million HIV sufferers know they carry the deadly virus, exacerbating the difficulty of preventing the spread of the disease, U.S. experts said on Tuesday. China is one of the three countries most at risk from AIDS outside Africa and health agencies say it could have 10
China more forthcoming on infectious diseases - WHO: Reuters NewMedia - Feb 29, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA - China , which was accused of covering up early cases of SARS and paving the way for a global epidemic of the killer virus, is showing a willingness to report outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, a World Health Organization official said on Sunday. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is believed to hav
Report: Mugabe Using Torture in Camps to Win Support: Reuters NewMedia - Feb 29, 2004; LONDON - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe s government has set up camps where young people are brutalized into showing loyalty and trained how to torture and kill, the BBC reported in a documentary on Sunday. The BBC showed what it called undercover film and correspondent Hilary Andersson said the broadcaster and hum
UK's Blair launches commission for Africa: Reuters NewMedia - February 26, 2004; Madeline Chambers; LONDON, Feb 26 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday he was setting up an international commission to propose solutions to Africa s problems, pledging to make the fight against poverty an absolute priority . The move comes roughly three years after Blair sought to draw attention to the continent s proble
Pope Urges Protection of Children on Ash Wednesday: Reuters NewMedia - February 25, 2004; Shasta Darlington; VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul urged Catholics on the first day of Lent to reflect on the protection of children, speaking at a time when the problem of sexual abuse of minors overshadows the church itself in the United States . I wanted to draw particular attention to the difficult conditions that so many children in t
New Protein Blocker of HIV Replication Identified: Reuters NewMedia - February 25, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON - Scientists have identified a protein in monkeys that blocks the replication of the HIV virus that causes AIDS and could provide a new method to stop the deadly infection in humans. Although a similar protein in people is less potent than it is in monkeys, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Bost
AIDS a Threat to E. Europe, Central Asia Economies: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday February 24, 2004; Gideon Long; DUBLIN (Reuters) - An explosion in HIV and AIDS across eastern Europe and central Asia is a threat to economic growth, the United Nations and World Bank said on Tuesday. The fastest-growing AIDS epidemic in the world -- fueled largely by needle-sharing among young drug users -- is expected to raise health spending shar
OraSure-Abbott HIV test dispute resolved: Reuters NewMedia - Monday, February 23, 2004; NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - OraSure Technologies Inc. on Monday said an arbitrator ruled that a distribution agreement with Abbott Laboratories Inc. for OraSure s OraQuick HIV test was not terminated, but OraSure will be able to market the product through additional distributors. OraSure, unhappy with Abbott s perform
Millions of Condoms Seek Optimistic, Busy Owner: Reuters NewMedia - Monday February 23, 2004; JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - It could be the perfect gift for the wildly ambitious Casanova. More than three million condoms -- available in a range of colors, sizes, types and flavors -- will go on sale in South Africa Tuesday after the German-built factory that made them folded. This sale has attracted all types fr
Africa Casts Long Shadow Over EU AIDS Conference: Reuters NewMedia - Monday February 23, 2004; Gideon Long; DUBLIN (Reuters) - Africa s tragic plight cast a long shadow over a major conference on AIDS on Monday, but health experts and activists cautioned against ignoring the disease s wildfire rampage through Asia and Europe. Eastern Europe and central Asia have seen a 50-fold increase in HIV infections in the past eight yea
U.N. Experts Urge EU to Tackle AIDS Crisis: Reuters NewMedia - Sunday February 22, 2004; Kevin Smith; DUBLIN (Reuters) - U.N. experts Sunday urged the European Union to appoint a commissioner to take charge of the fight against AIDS to stem a growing crisis in eastern Europe as the bloc prepares to enlarge in May. Speaking on the eve of a two-day conference in Dublin, Peter Piot, Executive Director of
China to Set Up High-Level Group to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 19, 2004; BEIJING - China plans to set up a special high-level panel to fight the spread of AIDS in a country that experts say is one of the most at risk in the world from the deadly disease, official media said on Friday Health Minister Wu Yi would head the group that will draft policies for AIDS prevention, coordinate related
U.S. Worried by HIV Trends in Heterosexuals: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, February 19, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA (Reuters) - The number of Americans who contract the AIDS virus through heterosexual sex remains stubbornly high and shows no sign of dropping in much of the nation, according to a federal study released on Thursday. It said heterosexuals accounted for about a third of HIV diagnoses and three-quarters of those
Swazi King Declares Disaster Over Drought and AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 19, 2004; MBABANE (Reuters) - Swaziland s King Mswati, under fire for high royal spending, has declared a humanitarian disaster in his impoverished African country ravaged by drought and HIV/AIDS -- a move aimed at bringing in more foreign aid. On behalf of His Majesty s government, I appeal to the international community to ass
Fund Says World Losing Battle Against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 17, 2004; CANBERRA - The world is losing the battle against AIDS and must pour in more funds to combat the scourge, the head of a global fund fighting the disease said on Wednesday. We are beginning to come to terms with the magnitude of this horror, but only beginning, and we have a way to go, said Richard Feachem, executive di
UN Says Russia Must Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 17, 2004; Tom Miles; MOSCOW - AIDS could cost Russia 20 million lives and 14 percent of its economic gross domestic product (GDP) by 2045 if it does not fight the virus, now growing faster in the region than anywhere in the world, a U.N. study published on Tuesday said. The study by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) said about one in 100
Nigeria Orders $4 Mln of AIDS Drugs to End Shortage: Reuters NewMedia - February 17, 2004; LAGOS - Nigeria said on Tuesday it was importing antiretroviral drugs worth nearly $4 million to end a four-month shortage threatening an ambitious anti-AIDS plan. Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo said the first batch had arrived in Africa s most populous country and was being distributed to the 25 HIV/AIDS treatment cent
Nigerian Anti-AIDS Program Hit by Drug Shortage: Reuters NewMedia - February 16, 2004; Tume Ahemba; LAGOS - Nigeria s ambitious anti-AIDS program has been hit by a scarcity of generic drugs, dashing the hopes of a longer lease on life for thousands living with the deadly HIV virus, campaigners and patients said Monday. In 2002 Nigeria launched Africa s biggest AIDS control program aimed at distributing cheap generic
China Sends Officials to Villages to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 16, 2004; BEIJING - China will send government officials to AIDS-stricken villages in central Henan province to help victims and their families in the latest official commitment to fight the disease. China has been criticized for its slow response to a disease that has infected more than 800,000 people. Health agencies say China
Ukraine Appeals to West for Help to Fight AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - Friday February 13, 2004; Elizabeth Piper; KIEV - Ukraine appealed to Western groups on Friday to boost assistance to the impoverished country s fight against Europe s fastest growing AIDS epidemic after a leading group halted financing over poor management. Ukraine, under scrutiny in the West as three of its neighbors join the European Union in May, has seen t
Unsafe Sex Sets UK HIV Infection Rate Soaring: Reuters NewMedia - February 12, 2004; LONDON - Increases in unsafe sex have pushed HIV infection rates in Britain to what are expected to be their highest ever, a government agency said on Thursday. New HIV infections jumped 20 percent between 2002 and 2003 and are expected to rise to over 7,000, the highest-ever yearly total, it reported. The year-on-year
Calif. AIDS Group Sues Abbott Over Drug Price Hike: Reuters NewMedia - February 11, 2004; Gina Keating; LOS ANGELES - The nation s largest AIDS organization has sued Abbott Laboratories Inc. in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claiming the pharmaceutical giant violated federal antitrust laws by hiking the price of a key AIDS cocktail drug by 400 percent in December. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by the AIDS Healthcare
Glaxo Begins Phase 2 Trial of New Type of HIV Drug: Reuters NewMedia - February 11, 2004; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK - GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Wednesday it has begun a mid-stage trial of a promising new type of HIV pill, following positive data from a previous study of the medicine that were described earlier in the day. Pfizer Inc. has already completed Phase II, or mid-stage, trials of a similar medicine and
New HIV Drugs May Add to Arsenal, Meeting Told: Reuters NewMedia - February 11, 2004; Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent; WASHINGTON - New classes of HIV drugs that prevent the virus from infecting cells are showing promise in early trials, researchers reported on Wednesday. Schering-Plough Corp. s new drug that blocks a cellular doorway called CCR5 is safe and works about as well as older classes of drugs called
Doctors Boycott Abbott on AIDS Price Hike: Reuters NewMedia - February 10, 2004; Lisa Richwine and Kim Dixon; WASHINGTON/CHICAGO - AIDS doctors on Tuesday called for a boycott of drugs made by Abbott Laboratories Inc. to protest the company s huge price hike on an important HIV medicine. Abbott s decision in December to raise the price of the drug Norvir , a key component of many AIDS-fighting cocktails,
Mbeki Faces the Real South Africa on Rural Tour: Reuters NewMedia - February 9, 2004; John Chiahemen; INGWAVUMA, South Africa - It s Q&A time during a meet-the-people tour of rural South Africa and President Thabo Mbeki faces a sea of raised hands from an expectant crowd of villagers. A plucky young Zulu woman rises to her feet to deliver what could be the most important statement of her life. Mr. President we
Brazil Hands Out Condoms for Carnival Safe Sex: Reuters NewMedia - February 9, 2004; BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil on Monday began handing out a record 10 million contraceptives to stop the spread of AIDS during Carnival when casual sex rises. With the pre-Lenten festival less than two weeks away, the nothing gets past a condom campaign focuses on the 14 million Brazilians, or 15 percent of those sexually
Mbeki Defends AIDS Record as Campaigning Heats Up: Reuters NewMedia - February 8, 2004; Manoah Esipisu; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - South African President Thabo Mbeki Sunday defended his government s record on fighting AIDS, a day after the main opposition party put the health crisis at the center of its election campaign. South Africa has the world s highest number of HIV/AIDS cases -- an estimated one in nine of its
S.Africa Opposition Campaign Targets AIDS, Crime: Reuters NewMedia - February 7, 2004; Gordon Bell; CAPE TOWN, South Africa - South Africa s main opposition party on Saturday vowed to offer a credible alternative to the ruling African National Congress in coming polls, campaigning on crime, AIDS and jobs. President Thabo Mbeki s ANC is widely tipped to score a fresh victory in a general election expected in late Marc
Permissive African sexual traditions spread AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - February 7, 2004; Helen Nyambura; ISIOLO, Kenya - Men in the arid, remote Kenyan town of Isiolo have long had sex with young virgins to purge themselves of afflictions or curses. Now the age-old custom practised by the nomadic peoples of Kenya s northeastern province is increasingly being used as a cure for HIV/AIDS. Nassir hesitantly admits he sle
Roche's Pegasys Helps HIV, Hepatitis C Patients: Reuters NewMedia - February 7, 2004; ZURICH - A clinical trial has shown Roche Holding AG s Pegasys drug works better than standard therapy in helping patients infected with both hepatitis C and the HIV virus that causes AIDS, Roche said on Saturday. A trial of nearly 900 people found Pegasys combined with Copegus, Roche s brand of standard antiviral drug
Mbeki Says S.Africa Democracy on Right Track: Reuters NewMedia - February 6, 2004; Andrew Quinn; CAPE TOWN - President Thabo Mbeki hailed South Africa s first decade of democracy Friday and pledged to forge ahead with policies to fight poverty and unemployment ahead of polls expected in March or April. Mbeki, whose ruling African National Congress is forecast to secure another solid victory, told the opening of pa
Sex, Not Unsafe Injections, Fuels AIDS in Africa--Study: Reuters NewMedia - February 5, 2004; Stephanie Nebehay; GENEVA - Unsafe sex is a far more common cause of the spread of HIV-AIDS across sub-Saharan Africa than contaminated medical injections, United Nations agencies said on Friday. A team of experts largely from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS , in an article published in The Lancet medical journal, re
Hedonistic Holidays Endanger Sexual Health -Survey: Reuters NewMedia - February 5, 2004; LONDON - Around half the 1,500 people who arrived on Ibiza without a regular sexual partner said when questioned in a poll that they had sex with at least one person during their stay. One in four young men and one in seven women had more than one sexual partner. Eleven percent of males and three percent of females sai
Study: Investing in Sexual Health Pays Benefits: Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday February 3, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON - Investing in women s sexual and reproductive health pays huge returns in medical benefits and could save more than a million lives a year, a leading health policy expert said on Tuesday. Dr Sharon Camp, president of the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) which promotes women s health, said providing services for
Global Coalition on Women and AIDS Launched: Reuters NewMedia - Monday February 2, 2004; Patricia Reaney; LONDON (- Actress Emma Thompson joined health experts and equal rights campaigners Monday to launch a coalition to improve prevention and treatment for young women and girls with HIV/AIDS. Half of the estimated 40 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS are women. In Africa, twice as many young females are infect
Doctors Fear Untreatable Russia Tuberculosis Boom: Reuters NewMedia - Friday January 30, 2004; Oliver Bullough; MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tuberculosis, long ago subdued by Western doctors, is not only rampant in Russia but increasingly mutating into terrifying new forms that even the most powerful new medicines cannot kill. It is spreading among the country s most vulnerable groups: around one in 10 prisoners in Russia s jails has it,
US probe sought on Abbott AIDS drug price hike: Reuters NewMedia - January 29, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. activists on Thursday asked antitrust authorities to investigate whether Abbott Laboratories Inc. raised the price of an AIDS medicine in order to drive market share to another Abbott drug. The nonprofit company Essential Inventions Inc., which is headed by drug pricing activists, filed a c
Lower AIDS Drugs Prices for Poor -Vatican Official: Reuters NewMedia - January 29, 2004; VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A senior Vatican official on Thursday called for public pressure on pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of drugs to fight the spread of AIDS in poor countries. These children are dying because they don t have medicine, Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Vatican s charity arm Cor U
Bush Under Fire Over Global AIDS Funding: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday January 28, 2004; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AIDS advocacy groups said on Wednesday President Bush s proposed budget for next year would cut assistance by almost two-thirds to the U.N.-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, threatening its operations in Africa. In the fiscal 2005 budget he will send to Congress on Monda
U.S. Firm Seeks License for Pfizer, Abbott Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - January 28, 2004; Lisa Richwine; WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nonprofit company will ask the U.S. government on Thursday to grant licenses for production of cheaper, generic versions of an AIDS drug and a blockbuster glaucoma medicine that are still protected by patents. Washington-based Essential Inventions Inc. said the drugs, Abbott Laboratories Inc. s
S.Africa AIDS Group Says Drug Delays Costing Lives: Reuters NewMedia - January 27, 2004; CAPE TOWN - South Africa s most influential AIDS pressure group the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) slammed the government on Tuesday for delays in rolling out a planned anti-retroviral (ARV) drug program. Amid mounting pressure from home and abroad, President Thabo Mbeki s government agreed last November to give suffe
U.S. to Give Zambia $66 Mln to Fight AIDS - Envoy: Reuters NewMedia - Monday January 26, 2004; Shapi Shacinda; LUSAKA, Zambia (Reuters) - The United States will give Zambia $66 million this year to fight HIV/AIDS, including buying anti-retroviral drugs to prolong the lives of thousands of poor sufferers, Washington s top envoy in the country said Monday. The southern African country has one of the world s highest HIV/AIDS
Doctors Fear Untreatable Russia Tuberculosis Boom: Reuters NewMedia - Sunday January 25, 2004; Oliver Bullough; MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tuberculosis, long ago subdued by Western doctors, is not only rampant in Russia but increasingly mutating into terrifying new forms that even the most powerful new medicines cannot kill. It is spreading among the country s most vulnerable groups: around one in 10 prisoners in Russia s jails have it
Fight Against AIDS Needs Much More Money-Aid Groups: Reuters NewMedia - Saturday January 24, 2004; Lucas van Grinsven; DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis may be at risk if billions of dollars needed to fight the killer scourges are not raised quickly, aid organizations said on Saturday. We need $1.6 billion in 2004, and we re close to that. But in 2005 we need $3.6 billion and by 2007 and 2
UN's Annan Urges Refocusing on Poverty, Disease: Reuters NewMedia - January 23, 2004; BADEN-BADEN, Germany - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged world leaders Wednesday to switch their attention away from Iraq and the war on terrorism toward fighting poverty, hunger and disease. In the daily lives of most people in the world today, terrorism and weapons of m
Canadian Hospital Recalls Patients Over HIV Case: Reuters NewMedia - January 22, 2004; MONTREAL - A Canadian children s hospital recalled more than 2,600 patients on Thursday to be tested for the HIV virus because they had been operated on by a doctor who was HIV-positive. Sainte-Justine Hospital, in Montreal, said the doctor told his superior of his condition in 1991 but that top hospital administrators
Schroeder backs S.Africa's economic push: Reuters NewMedia - January 22, 2004; Ben Harding; PRETORIA - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pledged on Thursday to promote South Africa s vision of a new African economic renaissance and fight the AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent. Schroeder, on the third leg of an African tour, also said Germany was squarely behind Pretoria s efforts to accelerate black econo
VaxGen anthrax vaccine to get fast review: Reuters NewMedia - January 21, 2004; NEW YORK - VaxGen Inc. said on Wednesday that U.S. regulators will review its experimental anthrax vaccine on an accelerated basis. The Brisbane, California-based company, whose vaccine for HIV failed to show any protective power in a large trial in humans, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will review its ant
Top brass leave VaxGen to start nonprofit: Reuters NewMedia - January 20, 2004; WASHINGTON - Three top officers at California-based VaxGen , including the vaccine researcher who helped found the company, have left to start a non-profit, the firm said on Tuesday. The company said its president Dr. Donald Francis, and senior vice president for research and development Phillip Berman, would leave as
South African judge in Bombay jail over rape complaint: Reuters NewMedia - January 20, 2004; BOMBAY - A court has remanded in custody a South African judge, who was attending an anti-globalisation meeting in India , after a fellow delegate filed a rape complaint against him in Bombay, police said on Tuesday. The remand statement said the South African woman was raped in a hotel room in downtown Bombay on Monda
Statistics Dispute Inflames S.Africa AIDS Debate: Reuters NewMedia - January 19, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - Is South Africa s AIDS epidemic as bad as advertised? A furious debate over AIDS statistics has broken out, pitting a well-known journalist who claims the AIDS crisis has been grossly inflated against health activists who insist that disaster is at hand. Monday, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South
UN Enlists Broadcasters in Battle Against AIDS: Reuters NewMedia - January 16, 2004; Irwin Arieff; UNITED NATIONS - Top executives from 22 broadcasting giants around the world agreed on Thursday to join a U.N. campaign to educate the public about how to prevent AIDS. If there is one thing we have learned in the two decades of this epidemic, it is that in the world of AIDS, silence is death, U.N. Secretary-General Ko
Brazil Wins Big Cuts in Prices for AIDS Drugs: Reuters NewMedia - January 15, 2004; Axel Bugge; BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil said on Thursday it had won the biggest price reductions in five years for drugs used in its anti-AIDS program, which has been acclaimed as a model for the developing world. The discounts won in talks with big drug firms will save Brazil 299 million reais ($107 million) on AIDS treatment this
S.Africa rules aim to cut drug prices up to 70 pct: Reuters NewMedia - Thursday, January 15, 2004; Andrew Quinn; JOHANNESBURG - South Africa will slash consumer drug prices by up to 70 percent this year under draft regulations aimed at making medicine affordable for millions of poor people, officials said on Thursday. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the rules, expected to come into effect in May, would require manuf
Africa, Caribbean to Get Cheaper AIDS Tests: Reuters NewMedia - January 14, 2004; Larry Fine; NEW YORK - Five leading medical technology companies have agreed to make major cuts in their prices of HIV and AIDS laboratory tests for millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean, former U.S. President Bill Clinton announced on Wednesday. The agreement will lower test costs by as much as 80 percent, said Clinton,
World Health Body Confirms New Polio Cases: Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday January 14, 2004; GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO), battling to eradicate polio worldwide by the end of the year, confirmed Tuesday that the disease had resurfaced in Cameroon and Benin . The U.N. health agency said one case had been identified in each of the West African states, and had spread there from ne
S.African AIDS Activists Attack Healthcare Divide: Reuters NewMedia - January 14, 2004; Ben Harding; JOHANNESBURG - South African AIDS pressure group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) opened a new front in the battle for universal AIDS treatment on Wednesday, calling for an end to inequity between public and private healthcare systems. The move follows TAC s successful campaign last year to persuade the government to be
AIDS Activist Named S. Africa's Newsmaker for 2003: Reuters NewMedia - January 13, 2004; JOHANNESBURG - South African activist Zackie Achmat and the group he set up to press the government to change its controversial AIDS policies were named newsmakers of the year for 2003 by South Africa s National Press Club. Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) had marshalled legal and moral arguments to persu
Merck Researcher Joins HIV Vaccine Group Fulltime: Reuters NewMedia - January 13, 2004; WASHINGTON - Dr. Emilio Emini, who helps head vaccine research at Merck and Co. Inc., announced on Tuesday he is leaving to work fulltime on HIV vaccines at the nonprofit International Aids Vaccine Initiative. Emini, who helped develop drugs to treat HIV while at Merck and who led the company s work on an AIDS vaccine,
Use of Condoms Can Limit AIDS, Belgian Cardinal Says: Reuters NewMedia - January 12, 2004; AMSTERDAM - A leading Belgian cardinal touted as a possible successor to Pope John Paul has said he could reluctantly accept the use of condoms as a means to halt the spread of AIDS. The remark by Brussels Cardinal Godfried Danneels is at odds with official Roman Catholic Church teaching, which bans the use of condoms
Mandela Skips Big ANC Anniversary Party: Reuters NewMedia - January 11, 2004; PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa - South Africa s former president, Nelson Mandela, unexpectedly skipped the launch of the ruling ANC s re-election campaign Sunday, but officials played down his absence. I don t think we should read too much meaning into Mandela s absence, said Malusi Gigaba, president of the ANC s Youth
Drive on Poverty Tops S.Africa ANC Poll Campaign: Reuters NewMedia - January 11, 2004; Andrew Quinn; PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa - South African President Thabo Mbeki s party vowed Sunday to do what it has struggled to do during a decade in power -- defeating poverty and unemployment the way it did apartheid. The ANC, which under anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela led the drive to end white minority rule and bring
Tiny Swaziland Seeks Miracle AIDS Cures: Reuters NewMedia - January 8, 2004; James Hall; MBABANE, Swaziland - Desperate HIV-positive Swazis are lining up in droves to try the latest miracle AIDS cures, falling victim to patchy medical regulation in a country with one of the world s highest HIV infection rates. All the way from Thailand , a new wonder drug marketed as an AIDS vaccine has hit the local
Bush to Boost AIDS Funding, But Not Enough for Some: Reuters NewMedia - January 6, 2004; Adam Entous; WASHINGTON - President Bush plans to propose $2.7 billion in his fiscal 2005 budget for AIDS initiatives, disappointing some activists who had hoped for a bigger commitment, people involved in the deliberations said on Tuesday. White House budget officials declined to comment on the AIDS figure. They said no final deci
Roche, Trimeris deny trying to bury negative news: Reuters NewMedia - January 6, 2004; Ransdell Pierson; NEW YORK - Roche Holding AG and Trimeris Inc. on Tuesday denied accusations by industry analysts that they buried news about the failure of their new HIV drug in a news release that seemed to be about something else. The headline and first two paragraphs of the release late on Monday announced that Swiss drugmaker Roch
Roche Says New Type of HIV Drug Years Away: Reuters NewMedia - January 6, 2004; Jon Cox; ZURICH - Roche s top HIV executive said on Tuesday the Swiss firm was several years away from launching a new type of HIV treatment after it put on hold trials for an experimental drug developed with U.S. firm Trimeris . T-1249, the drug whose clinical trials were halted, and HIV/AIDS drug Fuzeon belong to a new class
New York Data Reveals Worrying HIV Trend in Women: Reuters NewMedia - January 1, 2004; Paul Simao; ATLANTA - Women now account for more than a third of new HIV diagnoses in New York City, according to a study released on Wednesday that appears to confirm a slight gender-based shift in the U.S. AIDS epidemic. Since first being diagnosed in 1981, AIDS has killed nearly half a million Americans, most of them believed t

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