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Drug-resistant TB now at record levels, says WHO

Keith Alcorn — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Although some regions within the former Soviet Union are beginning to stem epidemics of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, 440,000 cases of MDR TB are estimated to have emerged worldwide in 2008, the World Health Organization said this week.

Weight gain after starting ART predicts survival

Carole Leach-Lemens — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Weight gain within six months of starting antiretroviral therapy resulted in better survival and improved clinical outcomes, in particular among the most severely malnourished, at district clinics in Lusaka, Zambia, John R. Koethe and colleagues reported in a study published in the April 1 online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Aciclovir shows lower efficacy outside US in global trial

Michael Carter — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Aciclovir’s efficacy in preventing genital ulcers and lowering herpes simplex virus-2 load varied significantly between the US and resource poor countries, investigators from a large international clinical trial report in the April 15^th edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

`Test and treat` prevention approach may not require universal treatment to succeed

Keith Alcorn — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Treating everyone to halt the HIV epidemic in thye worst-affected countries may not be the most cost-effective use of antiretroviral drugs as a prevention tool, according to mathematical modelling by London’s Imperial College Infectious Disease Epidemiology group. Nor would universal treatment and annual testing always be necessary to achieve profound reductions in new infections, they find.

Over a third of TB cases in UK prisons are drug-resistant

Michael Carter — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Many UK prisoners with tuberculosis have a drug-resistant form of the disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

High prevalence of drug-resistant TB amongst HIV patients in South Africa

Michael Carter — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

There is a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis amongst patients with HIV in South Africa, investigators report in the April 1^st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Genital ulcers frequently associated with HIV shedding in men

Michael Carter — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

HIV was detected in the lesions of almost 50% of HIV-positive men with genital ulcer disease, investigators report in the April 1^st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

HIV biggest cause of adolescent death, hospitalisation in Zimbabwe

Carole Leach-Lemens — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Among adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe, HIV is now the single most common cause of acute admission and in-hospital death, Rashida A. Ferrand and colleagues reported in a study published in the February online edition of PLoS Medicine.

Visa refusal shines spotlight on China's HIV travel ban

Michael Carter — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

A spotlight has fallen on China’s continued entry ban for HIV-positive foreigners after HIV-positive Australian novelist Robert Dessaix was refused entry to the country.

Rates of new HIV diagnoses amongst US gay men 44 times greater than those in other populations

Michael Carter — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

HIV has a hugely disproportionate impact on gay and other men who have sex with men in the US, according to new figures released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Surveillance (CDC).