The HIV virus has jumped from primates to people on at least seven separate occasions in recent history, not twice as is commonly thought. And people in Cameroon are showing up with symptoms of HIV, but are testing negative for both the virus and its primate equivalent SIV, the virus from which HIV is thought to have evolved. That suggests that new strains of an HIV-like virus are circulating in
wild animals and infecting people who eat them, sparking fears that such strains could fuel an already disastrous
global HIV pandemic.
posted by dejah420
on Aug 6, 2004 -
15 comments
The
CDC recently issued new HIV prevention guidelines that would mandate all organizations that get any federal funding to submit all surveys, curricula, web materials, posters, ads, brochures, etc. to new community-based Policy Review Panels. Politically appointed censors rather than health officials will now decide what's acceptable in terms of HIV prevention and education. Materials must promote abstinence and include a message about the ineffectiveness of condom use in preventing the spread of HIV and STDs. There is a period of public comment on the new regulations until August 16.
- more inside -
posted by madamjujujive
on Jul 1, 2004 -
39 comments
Two HIV Cases Put a Scare Into P9rn (LATimes) Several major adult movie companies — including the industry's largest, Vivid — have decided to stop filming for 60 days after two stars tested positive for HIV. But other companies dismissed the plea for a moratorium, calling it "paranoid" and "knee-jerk," and vowed to keep their cameras rolling. The industry, they said, was perfectly safe."I'm against any stop in production," said a producer "It will put a lot of people out of business. You'll have people who will start losing their apartments. It's just not fair."
When do adult movies (a hugely profitable business where unprotected sex is often performed) end being sexy and start being "Russian Roulette on dvd" scary?
The two actors who have tested positive for the HIV virus are identified as Darren James and Lara Roxx. Roxx (who's 18 or 19)
had only been in the adult industry for three months. 45 actors and actresses who subsequently either worked with James or the women he had sex with after contracting the virus, which is believed to have occurred in Brazil (where, incidentally, star and director
John Stagliano -- not completely work-safe link -- says he caught AIDS in 1997), have been identified, too. warning: except the Stagliano link, all the others are work-safe.
(more inside)
posted by matteo
on Apr 16, 2004 -
72 comments
The value of disobedience. [note: nytimes] "Ignoring the reactionary policies of the Vatican, some local priests and nuns quietly do what they can to save parishioners from AIDS." So: when and why do people choose to quietly disobey, rather than leave and promote change from outside their social institutions...or vice versa? Should dissenters just leave, or stay and fight? Anecdotes from Republicans and NRA members are especially welcome ;-)
posted by stonerose
on Nov 26, 2003 -
15 comments
First Documented Case of HIV hybridization in a human being was presented at the International AIDS Society conference in Paris. In this case, genetic tests on a superinfected woman showed that the two strains she was infected with swapped genetic material, creating a new hybrid strain of HIV. The actual effects are not yet clear, but this could pose a serious problem for researchers trying to create a vaccine.
posted by Irontom
on Jul 16, 2003 -
8 comments
Cellular politics. It seems that merely "reacting" is always a step behind of a fast evolving hostile force, and some pre-emptive strategy is a must.
posted by semmi
on Mar 19, 2003 -
2 comments
Some numbers. 3.1 million in 2002 comes out to some 8,500 a day, 354 an hour, and almost 6 a minute. Each minute. Each hour. Each day. Deaths. Of AIDS.
posted by mattpfeff
on Dec 1, 2002 -
0 comments
CHAIN: Oklahoma's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Information Network. A prototype web portal, designed to provide one-stop access to AIDS information for a state with a lower HIV infection rate. Funded by the National Library of Medicine. The concept is that people in small towns or rural areas can access information and contacts without leaving home. Web designers and MetaFiltrans - does the concept work? Seen anything similar in your community?
posted by sheauga
on Dec 1, 2002 -
0 comments
The Access to Essential Medicines Campaign is an initiative by
Medecins Sans Frontieres that seeks to "
lower the prices of existing medicines in developing countries, to bring abandoned drugs back into production, to stimulate research and development for neglected diseases that primarily affect the poor, and to overcome other barriers to access."
HIV is one target disease. The Campaign's
press releases,
press clips and
reports on HIV give a good picture of recent developments. In light of this evidence, does anyone care to step up and defend "
big pharma" and the governments of the wealthy North? Have we/they "done enough"? What would "doing enough" look like, given the scope of the crisis?
posted by stonerose
on Dec 1, 2002 -
5 comments
"China's catastrophic mismanagement of its AIDS crisis has come to this: Xie Yan is trying to give away her son. Ms. Xie's husband died last year of AIDS, and she has the virus as well. They are the victims of government-backed blood-selling schemes that have left about one million people infected here in Henan Province in central China. Multiply Ms. Xie's heartache a millionfold, and you understand the cost of the Chinese government's cover-up of its AIDS crisis. If China continues to be more concerned with hiding the tragedy than confronting it, then today's Chinese leaders could kill millions of people over the next two decades. We in the West must exert strong pressure on China to act quickly to address the AIDS challenge."
posted by homunculus
on Dec 1, 2002 -
1 comment
To celebrate
World AIDS Day, MetaFilter is going to focus solely on HIV and AIDS related posts for the next 24 hours. Like last year's
observation on MetaFilter, this year's
Link and Think project asks everyone to think about the issues surrounding this disease, how it has affected you, others, and the world. Feel free to share information on prevention, research, or anything else related to the topic at hand.
posted by mathowie
on Dec 1, 2002 -
7 comments
White House Wages Stealth War on Condoms The government is waging a covert war on condoms. Fact sheets on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the transmission of the AIDS virus have disappeared from government sites. Right wing activists have been appointed to the the presidential AIDS panel. Government audits of AIDS activist groups who protest these policies have begun. So, apparently only evil-doers have sex outside of marriage, and they deserve to die horrible deaths.
posted by dejah420
on Nov 20, 2002 -
166 comments
You're the king of a small african nation. You have an annual health budget of $15 million. Two-thirds of the people in your nation are HIV positive, and two-thirds are living below the poverty line. What do you do? Why, you
buy a $31 million private jet, of course!
posted by Reggie452
on Jul 8, 2002 -
27 comments
Chlamydia seems to be on the rise. Working in a hospital lab I've seen an increase in tests for
HPV,
Herpes and
Gonorrhea. It's enough to make one wonder if sex is worth the risk.
posted by Apoch
on Mar 20, 2002 -
13 comments
AIDS Programs: An Epidemic of Waste. Interesting article about AIDS funding in the USA... and these people want more taxpayer money! Heres a quote:
The Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco, which received $698,000 (39 percent of its budget) in CDC grants in fiscal 200139, has sponsored several "prevention" events, including a gay prom in April. Last August it held "Booty Call," a seminar about dildos, plugs, fisting, and rimming. The advertisement read, "After a little basic science, share tales of intercourse and orgasm. Find out why so many of us find ass play a major turn on."
posted by Keen
on Mar 4, 2002 -
47 comments
Nineta's story: Video of a AIDS infected Rumanian kid fighting the medical bureacracy for therapy. Rumania has the highest no of pediatric AIDs cases - a legacy of the Ceausescu days when tainted blood and dirty needes were used regularly for blood transfusions (from WP)
posted by justlooking
on Jan 30, 2002 -
1 comment
Norfolk Island wants to ban anyone with HIV or hepatitis from visiting or living on the island. I can't see how they can get away with this.
posted by spinifex
on Jan 17, 2002 -
14 comments
AIDS Timeline:1926-Present with comprehensive links, thanks to Sister Mary Elizabeth of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and
AEGIS (AIDS Education Global Information System), "...a service the Centers for Disease Control calls 'the best of its kind'..." (See How Aegis Began) People making a difference.
posted by Voyageman
on Dec 1, 2001 -
1 comment
AIDS cases in US Prisons are being diagnosed at 5 times the rate of the rest of the population. Prisoners with AIDS face discrimination, abuse and are denied access to health care and medication, on top of all the other abuses prisoners in the US face every day.
From
HIV+ Magazine:
"African-American women, incarcerated faster than any other group, also have the highest HIV infection rate among women, both in and out of prison. Women make up a greater percentage of the HIV-positive prison population than men do, an overlooked issue. Yet prisons continue to be built at an alarming rate, although not fast enough to alleviate the miserable conditions of prison overcrowding. In California all federal prisons operate at more than 200 percent capacity."
Thanks California Prison Focus and Act UP NY's for links and info.
posted by djacobs
on Dec 1, 2001 -
1 comment
CCR5 This gene encodes for a protein on T cells that allows HIV to enter and replicate. It's also another reason why AIDS has less of an effect on European populations - 10-15% of Northern Europeans carry a defect that doesn't allow the attachment, so 1% or so is homozygous for the 'faulty' gene and appears to be completely resistant to HIV/AIDS.
posted by phoenix enflamed
on Dec 1, 2001 -
1 comment
The Origins of AIDS AIDS has become such a commonplace thing, hence the need for days like today. When is the last time you thought of how HIV/AIDS came about? Have you ever? Such interesting tidbits as the fact that it's been documented to 1959 can be found here.
posted by ashbury
on Dec 1, 2001 -
5 comments
You're Never Too Old to Get HIV!! People over 50 account for 13.4% of 1999 newly diagnosed AIDS cases. But because seniors, who don't think they're at risk to begin with, don't get tested -- the problem may be much bigger than number suggest.
Misconceptions about STDs, multiple partners, and the belief that condoms aren't necessary since pregnancy isn't possible, (and perhaps Viagra?) are contributing to the escalating rate.
posted by jennak
on Jul 17, 2001 -
3 comments
Catholic Church offered solution to AIDS crisis? Though I certainly lean more left than right, I have The National Review in print an online for many years to get some balance in my media intake. I must say, they have run numerous articles online of late that I felt were well-reasoned, fair and insighful.
This, however, is crap.
"Many have tut-tutted the Church for opposing condoms even as an AIDS prevention tool. Some have even called the Church complicit in AIDS deaths. But, as it has turned out,
condoms aren't a very good AIDS-prevention tool after all. [emphasis mine] "
So now condoms are not useful for preventing AIDS. Did we miss something?
posted by 4midori
on Jun 15, 2001 -
27 comments
Vaccine Prevents AIDS in Monkeys and could lead to human medicine. Exciting huh? Anyway, if that should happen, how much do you think they'll charge for treatment, considering the conspiracy theories and all that?
posted by tiaka
on Mar 9, 2001 -
11 comments
AIDS Project Los Angeles can help you observe World AIDS Day
and get a start on those pesky holiday cards. For $5 each, APLA will personalize and send your choice of holiday cards to friends, family or clients! Cards are also available in sets of ten for $25 to be mailed by you.
posted by CrazyUncleJoe
on Dec 1, 2000 -
0 comments
