Health officials tackling the global AIDS epidemic will meet in the U.S. for the first time in 22 years after President Barack Obama lifted the ban on travel by people infected with HIV.
The International AIDS Society will hold its biennial conference of scientists, policy makers and patients in Washington from July 22-July 27, 2012, Robin Gorna, the society’s executive director, said today. The Geneva-based group is the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals, with more than 14,000 members from 190 countries.
An estimated 33.4 million people around the world have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and 2.7 million new infections and 2 million deaths occurred last year, according to the United Nations. The AIDS Society aims to highlight U.S. research and help end discrimination caused by the travel ban by returning the conference to the country for the first time since 1990.
“This is a real moment in history to put an end to the AIDS crisis and we can only do that if we learn from each other,” Gorna said in a phone interview today, the eve of World AIDS Day, an international observance established by the World Health Organization in 1988.
End Travel Ban
Obama said on Oct. 30 that he would let HIV patients enter the U.S. in an effort to remove the stigma from the disease and encourage more testing. The AIDS Society had already settled on Washington as the 2012 conference site in anticipation of the White House repealing the travel ban, Gorna said.
The conference is expected to draw 25,000 people, she said. It was last held in Washington in 1987, two years after the inaugural event in Atlanta. The 1990 meeting was held in San Francisco.
Twelve nations ban travel by people infected with HIV including China, which is reconsidering its policies as a result of the U.S. decision, Gorna said. Others include Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.
The ban “tore apart families” and “didn’t reflect America’s leadership in fighting this disease around the world,” Health and Human Services Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today in Washington. –Bloomberg
By Catherine Larkin
(California) - Lawyers for two gay couples told a federal appeals court Tuesday that they need access to internal communications from last year's Proposition 8 campaign to show that the measure banning same-sex marriage was designed to sow "discriminatory animus" toward gays and lesbians.
Supporters of the measure that ended a five-month period when gay marriage was legal in California argued before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that their 1st Amendment rights would be infringed and future political discussions "chilled" if they were forced to reveal the thousands of e-mails sent out to campaign associates.
The battle over access to the sponsors' internal strategy is part of a broader national debate over what is private and what is public in the world of politics, especially on hot-button issues such as gay rights and abortion. –For complete story see LA Times
(China) - Two dogs were reported yesterday to be infected with the H1N1 influenza virus, according to the China Daily news. The dogs were both located in Beijing, China.
H1N1 influenza virus likely passed from person to pet
While not confirmed, it is likely that the dogs became infected with the H1N1 influenza virus through contact with infected people.
Dogs are susceptible to their own form of influenza virus, called canine influenza. However, these are the first documented cases of the H1N1 virus strain infecting the canine species. The canine influenza virus is not known to be transmissible to people but can be passed easily from dog to dog. It appears that the H1N1 virus can be passed from people to dogs and likely from dogs to people as well.
Health officials in China assure that infected dogs are "no risk to humans"
Chinese health officials are trying to reassure people that their dogs are not a threat to them. They say that because the virus has been found in so many species (pigs, ferrets, cats and people), it is not surprising that that it has been found in dogs as well.
Officials stated that the virus isolated from the infected dogs was 99% identical to that isolated from infected people, indicating that the virus has not mutated significantly at this point. They stress that the virus will become a new threat to people only if the virus does mutate.
What pet owners can do to protect against H1N1 viral infection
This information will likely cause alarm for pet owners. However, there are a few things that can be done to protect pets from the H1N1 virus. –For complete story see Examiner.com
(New York) - HIV prevention efforts - and the promise of antiretroviral therapy as prevention - are being undermined by punitive laws targeting those infected with and at risk of HIV, Human Rights Watch said today on the eve of World AIDS Day.
In early November, Human Rights Watch released a 10-page critique of a proposed Ugandan HIV/AIDS law, which includes mandatory HIV testing, forced disclosure, and criminal penalties for the "attempted transmission" of HIV to another person. The Ugandan Parliament is also considering a bill that allows for a seven year prison term for any person or organization who supports or promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people's rights. It would jail for up to three years anyone who fails to report a person they suspect of being lesbian or gay. A person living with HIV who has consensual homosexual sex would face the death penalty, regardless of risk of HIV transmission and even if their partner is also HIV-positive. –For complete story see Human Rights Watch
The International AIDS Society will hold its biennial conference of scientists, policy makers and patients in Washington from July 22-July 27, 2012, Robin Gorna, the society’s executive director, said today. The Geneva-based group is the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals, with more than 14,000 members from 190 countries.
An estimated 33.4 million people around the world have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and 2.7 million new infections and 2 million deaths occurred last year, according to the United Nations. The AIDS Society aims to highlight U.S. research and help end discrimination caused by the travel ban by returning the conference to the country for the first time since 1990.
“This is a real moment in history to put an end to the AIDS crisis and we can only do that if we learn from each other,” Gorna said in a phone interview today, the eve of World AIDS Day, an international observance established by the World Health Organization in 1988.
End Travel Ban
Obama said on Oct. 30 that he would let HIV patients enter the U.S. in an effort to remove the stigma from the disease and encourage more testing. The AIDS Society had already settled on Washington as the 2012 conference site in anticipation of the White House repealing the travel ban, Gorna said.
The conference is expected to draw 25,000 people, she said. It was last held in Washington in 1987, two years after the inaugural event in Atlanta. The 1990 meeting was held in San Francisco.
Twelve nations ban travel by people infected with HIV including China, which is reconsidering its policies as a result of the U.S. decision, Gorna said. Others include Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.
The ban “tore apart families” and “didn’t reflect America’s leadership in fighting this disease around the world,” Health and Human Services Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today in Washington. –Bloomberg
By Catherine Larkin
<><><>*<><><>
(California) - Lawyers for two gay couples told a federal appeals court Tuesday that they need access to internal communications from last year's Proposition 8 campaign to show that the measure banning same-sex marriage was designed to sow "discriminatory animus" toward gays and lesbians.
Supporters of the measure that ended a five-month period when gay marriage was legal in California argued before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that their 1st Amendment rights would be infringed and future political discussions "chilled" if they were forced to reveal the thousands of e-mails sent out to campaign associates.
The battle over access to the sponsors' internal strategy is part of a broader national debate over what is private and what is public in the world of politics, especially on hot-button issues such as gay rights and abortion. –For complete story see LA Times
<><><>*<><><>
(China) - Two dogs were reported yesterday to be infected with the H1N1 influenza virus, according to the China Daily news. The dogs were both located in Beijing, China.
H1N1 influenza virus likely passed from person to pet
While not confirmed, it is likely that the dogs became infected with the H1N1 influenza virus through contact with infected people.
Dogs are susceptible to their own form of influenza virus, called canine influenza. However, these are the first documented cases of the H1N1 virus strain infecting the canine species. The canine influenza virus is not known to be transmissible to people but can be passed easily from dog to dog. It appears that the H1N1 virus can be passed from people to dogs and likely from dogs to people as well.
Health officials in China assure that infected dogs are "no risk to humans"
Chinese health officials are trying to reassure people that their dogs are not a threat to them. They say that because the virus has been found in so many species (pigs, ferrets, cats and people), it is not surprising that that it has been found in dogs as well.
Officials stated that the virus isolated from the infected dogs was 99% identical to that isolated from infected people, indicating that the virus has not mutated significantly at this point. They stress that the virus will become a new threat to people only if the virus does mutate.
What pet owners can do to protect against H1N1 viral infection
This information will likely cause alarm for pet owners. However, there are a few things that can be done to protect pets from the H1N1 virus. –For complete story see Examiner.com
<><><>*<><><>
(New York) - HIV prevention efforts - and the promise of antiretroviral therapy as prevention - are being undermined by punitive laws targeting those infected with and at risk of HIV, Human Rights Watch said today on the eve of World AIDS Day.
In early November, Human Rights Watch released a 10-page critique of a proposed Ugandan HIV/AIDS law, which includes mandatory HIV testing, forced disclosure, and criminal penalties for the "attempted transmission" of HIV to another person. The Ugandan Parliament is also considering a bill that allows for a seven year prison term for any person or organization who supports or promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people's rights. It would jail for up to three years anyone who fails to report a person they suspect of being lesbian or gay. A person living with HIV who has consensual homosexual sex would face the death penalty, regardless of risk of HIV transmission and even if their partner is also HIV-positive. –For complete story see Human Rights Watch
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