The CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update

UNITED STATES: "Bill Clinton, Bill Gates Unite in Foreign Aid Plea"

SOUTH AFRICA: "Britain Sends 42 Million Condoms as HIV Prevention Campaign Is Stepped Up Before World Cup"

UNITED STATES: "Misclassification Bias: Diversity in Conceptualizations About Having 'Had Sex'"

NEW YORK: "AIDS Service Cuts Decried"

GEORGIA: "Teens Urged to Make Wise Choices During Annual Health Forum"

FLORIDA: "Prayer and AIDS: Sending a Message"

TENNESSEE: "State Encourages HIV Tests Today"

SOUTH AFRICA: "South Africa Aims for 15 Million HIV Tests by 2011"

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UNITED STATES:
"Bill Clinton, Bill Gates Unite in Foreign Aid Plea"   back to top
Agence France Presse , (03.10.2010)   

In Washington on Wednesday, former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates called on lawmakers to support a budget bill that would direct funds to the Global Health Initiative. GHI was launched by the Davos Forum in 2002 to improve health worldwide and combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and malnutrition.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Clinton called the bill “the next logical step” in US efforts to boost global health. If approved, the bill would provide $63 billion over six years toward the initiative. Clinton said the proposed contribution was carefully designed for maximum impact. “I think the bill is well-conceived. It focuses on developing systems in the 28-plus [GHI] countries,” he said.

“The thing I love best about the [GHI] proposal that the administration has made is that it is designed to work us all out of jobs,” Clinton told lawmakers. Both the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. “It is designed to break the cycle of AIDS. It is designed to increase the capacity of local government.”

Both Clinton and Gates acknowledged the current harsh economic climate. The proposed US contribution “reflects the budget constraints under which Congress labors,” said Clinton.

Gates emphasized the amount requested is a tiny percentage of the US budget. “Our [global] health budget would be 1 percent of our military budget,” he noted. “I would argue for an even higher percentage, because this is America at its best. Really helping people and putting them on a road to self-sufficiency.”

SOUTH AFRICA:
"Britain Sends 42 Million Condoms as HIV Prevention Campaign Is Stepped Up Before World Cup"   back to top
The Guardian (London) , (03.09.2010)   Sarah Boseley

On Tuesday, Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) announced £1 million (US $1.5 million) in aid to provide South Africa 42 million condoms. South African officials recently requested help in distributing additional condoms during World Cup, which the nation will host in three months.

About 500,000 fans are expected to visit South Africa during the month-long event. In addition, 40,000 sex workers are expected to arrive, according to South Africa’s Central Drug Authority. With the massive influx of visitors and high HIV prevalence in South Africa and neighboring countries, officials are concerned over the potential for new infections.

“Obviously, there’s a big focus on the World Cup coming up and a huge increase in the number of people coming to South Africa,” said Gareth Thomas, DfID’s minister. “The South Africans have identified themselves the need to get more condoms in place. South Africa specifically asked for British assistance and we are responding to that request.”

The number of condoms distributed annually in South Africa - about 450 million - is inadequate, given that the nation is home to 16 million sexually active males and has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS caseload.

UNITED STATES:
"Misclassification Bias: Diversity in Conceptualizations About Having 'Had Sex'"   back to top
Sexual Health Vol. 7; No. 1: P. 31-34, (02..2010)   Stephanie A. Sanders; Brandon J. Hill; William L. Yarber; Cynthia A. Graham; Richard A. Crosby; Robin R. Milhausen

The researchers introduced the current report by stating their belief that it is the first study of a representative sample to assess attitudes about which behaviors constitute having “had sex” and to examine possible mediating factors (gender, age, giving/receiving stimulation; male ejaculation, female orgasm, condom use or brevity).

In Indiana, random-digit dialing was used to contact a final sample of 486 English-speaking residents (men=204; women=282). Respondents’ ages ranged from 18 to 96. The survey’s questions assessed participants’ attitudes about manual-genital (MG), oral-genital (OG), penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI), and penile-anal intercourse (PAI) behaviors.

“There was no universal consensus on which behaviors constituted having ‘had sex,’” the authors wrote. One in five did not consider PAI as having had sex; three in 10 said OG did not constitute sex; and about half rated MG as sex. PVI with no male ejaculation was considered sex by 89.1 percent; PVI with no qualifier was judged to be sex by 94.8 percent (P less than 0.001). MG was endorsed more often when received (48.1 percent) than given (44.9 percent, P less than 0.001). Among male respondents, the youngest and oldest age groups were significantly less likely to believe certain acts constituted having “had sex.”

“These findings highlight the need to use behavior-specific terminology in sexual history taking, sex research, sexual health promotion, and sex education,” the authors concluded. “Researchers, educators, and medical practitioners should exercise caution and not assume that their own definitions of having ‘had sex’ are shared by their research participants or patients.”

NEW YORK:
"AIDS Service Cuts Decried"   back to top
Gay City News (New York City) , (03.10.2010)   Duncan Osborne

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget proposal includes eliminating 248 of the 850 case managers at the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), a suggestion that could set the stage for a showdown with AIDS groups. HASA case managers enroll AIDS patients in food stamp, Medicaid, housing, and other programs.

The cut would save $4.2 million and is just one of many measures proposed to help close a $4.9 billion deficit in New York City’s $64 billion budget. Fiscal 2011 begins on July 1.

A potential complication is a 2001 federal court order enforcing a 1997 City Council law that declared the HASA case manager-to-client ratio cannot be more than 1:34.

“If [Bloomberg] cuts hundreds of case managers, people will not get their food stamps, their Medicaid, their housing, they will suffer, and they will die,” Armen H. Merjian, senior staff attorney at Housing Works, said during a March 8 protest at City Hall. That day, City Council was told the 1:34 ratio should include case managers at private agencies.

“It was our feeling that the caseload ratio should take into account all of the services that are available to those clients,” Robert Doar, commissioner for the Human Resources Administration (HRA) that oversees HASA, told council members. That formula would work out to 1:29-33, he said in response to councilors’ questions.

“I don’t share your level of optimism,” said Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents East Harlem and part of the Bronx. “My concern is that it seems to me HASA is taking a disproportionate hit,” said Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents Astoria, Long Island City, and other Queens neighborhoods.

“It will be a combination of attrition and redeployment within HRA,” HRA Deputy Commissioner Matthew Brune said after the hearing. “It’s a long-term implementation. It will not happen all on July 1.”

Of the half dozen council members who queried Doar, none expressed support for the cut.

GEORGIA:
"Teens Urged to Make Wise Choices During Annual Health Forum"   back to top
Macon Telegraph , (03.10.2010)   Angela Woolen

More than 2,400 area eighth-graders attended the recent teen health forum at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry. Now in its 20th year, the all-day event covers topics like STDs, peer pressure, tobacco and alcohol use, and gangs, but its main focus is the choices students make and their consequences.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll take every road. Those roads could be drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, gangs or violence,” Chris Musgrove, a former pastor and president of Future Now, told the students, who came from Houston and Crawford county schools and from Fullington Academy in Dooly County. “People that aren’t going anywhere [in life] don’t want you to go anywhere,” he told them.

Dr. Harold Katner, a professor at Mercer University and medical director of the clinic at Macon’s Hope Center, showed the teens slides of diseased sex organs - the result of untreated STDs. Though the slides were graphic, “it’s not some abstract thing now,” he said. “They need to know the reality of the disease in order to make an informed decision.”

Eighth grade is a transitional year and the perfect time to provide direction for students, noted Beth Jones, director of community service for Houston Healthcare.

FLORIDA:
"Prayer and AIDS: Sending a Message"   back to top
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) , (03.11.2010)   

“It’s no doubt that awareness and prevention are the surest weapons in preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS. But those weapons are even more effective when fortified with compassion and prayer.

“It seems that a number of churches throughout the nation have figured this out. That’s why this week is the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. People in churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and homes will pause for a moment during worship services and pray for the healing of AIDS.

“According to the Duval County Health Department, local houses of worship will also sponsor awareness activities and events such as free HIV testing and counseling, educational presentations, and prayer vigils.

“The week of prayer is part of a campaign led by The Balm in Gilead Inc., a Richmond, Va.-based organization that focuses on involving the faith community in eliminating health disparities.

“And when it comes to HIV and AIDS, the disparity in Jacksonville is staggering. Blacks make up 70 percent of the HIV cases here and 63 percent of the AIDS cases, according to the health department. Those are the highest rates of any ethnic group.

“Yet, one of the reasons for that disparity is denial, especially among blacks who believe they’ll be shunned, and not supported, by the church if they admit to carrying the virus.

“That's why this week is important, because houses of worship can play a powerful role in preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS. They can play that role by reassuring those who either have the virus or are at risk of contracting it that they are there to pray for them; to comfort and counsel them.”

For information on observances around Jacksonville, telephone Tabitha Robinson, regional minority AIDS coordinator, at 904-253-2983. For information on the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, visit http://www.balmingilead.org/.

TENNESSEE:
"State Encourages HIV Tests Today"   back to top
The Tennessean (Nashville) , (03.10.2010)   Christina E. Sanchez

The Tennessee Department of Health marked Wednesday’s National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by stressing the importance of HIV testing. “By knowing their status, women can take steps to protect themselves from HIV, to receive treatment, or prevent passing it on to others, including their children,” said Dr. Veronica Gunn, the department’s chief medical officer. The agency reported that black women accounted for 75 percent of the 285 HIV diagnoses in females in 2008, when a total of 1,071 new HIV cases were logged in Tennessee. For information on HIV testing in county health departments, visit http://health.state.tn.us/localdepartments.htm, or www.HIVtest.org. Cell phone users can text their ZIP code to 566948 (“KNOWIT”) to learn the location of the nearest testing site.

SOUTH AFRICA:
"South Africa Aims for 15 Million HIV Tests by 2011"   back to top
Agence France Presse , (03.11.2010)   

South Africa’s government on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to test 15 million residents for HIV by June 2011. “All public health facilities, fixed and mobile, will be equipped to offer HIV testing and to provide [antiretroviral therapy],” said Themba Maseko, a spokesperson for the cabinet. Toward the goal of halving the rate of HIV infection by 2011, the cabinet will lead the voluntary public testing campaign. On April 15, South Africa will launch a new effort aimed at providing AIDS drugs to 80 percent of those needing treatment.