Health
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13 November 2007Failed AIDS drug trials could harm future studies + Executives at Merck and AIDS researchers worldwide are still reeling from the recent announcement that a cold germ might be to blame for the once promising AIDS vaccine that was withdrawn from trial last month after research showed it may well increase risk of infection.The vaccine, being tested across North America, South Africa and in several other locations across the world, was shown to cause more of the some 3,000 test subject who were given the vaccine to develop HIV than those who were given a placebo. -
12 November 2007More sex please – the British on holiday + One in five Britons has sex with someone new when abroad, according to research published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.The conclusions are based on interviews with 12,000 men and women aged between 16 and 44 as part of the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (NATSAL).14% of men and 7% of women admitted to having sex with a new partner while overseas. -
12 November 2007EU governments urged to remove tax on condoms + An online petition launched today urges EU governments to cut VAT on condoms to tackle the growth of AIDS in Europe.The European Parliament Socialist Group will present the petition to government ministers ahead of World AIDS Day on 1st December.Hundreds of Facebook users have already joined a group on the social networking site to support the campaign under the slogan "Cut AIDS, Cut VAT on Condoms." -
12 November 2007China urged to fight HIV not positive people + China should focus its efforts on stopping HIV transmission, not on limiting the freedom of movement, expression and speech of people living with HIV, leaders from New York City-based Human Rights Watch said Friday at a global meeting of AIDS activists in Abuja, Nigeria.Human Rights Watch was commenting in advance of the November 11th to 13th board meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Kuming, China. -
9 November 2007Bi and gay Africans with HIV face double stigma says report + The first study into the lives of gay and bisexual African men living with HIV in London describes the challenges they face in dealing with the complex and sometimes contradictory realities of life.The report, entitled I count myself as being in a different world: African gay and bisexual men living with HIV in London, has just been released by the Centre of Sexual Health and HIV at Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.It highlights that the additional stigma of being gay or bisexual and HIV positive is difficult for African men. -
7 November 2007Cold germ may have upset AIDS vaccine trials + A cold germ is seemingly to blame for the once promising AIDS vaccine that was yanked from trial in South Africa last month after a sister vaccine being tested on humans throughout North America showed it may well increase risk of infection.Researchers said at a conference in Seattle today that the germ appears to weaken immunity, causing more of the some 3,000 test subject who were given the vaccine to develop HIV than those who were given a placebo.
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31 October 2007HIV may have come to US in 1960s + The HIV virus arrived the United States in 1969 from Haiti, carried most likely by a single infected immigrant who set the stage for a world epidemic, scientists said on Monday.According to Reuters, Michael Worobey, a University of Arizona evolutionary biologist, said the 1969 U.S.
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29 October 2007AIDS “vaccine” may increase infection risk 1 Trials of a promising AIDS vaccine in South Africa were halted earlier this week after a sister vaccine being tested on humans throughout North America showed it did nothing to prevent HIV infection.In fact, according to the Seattle Times, the vaccine may well increase risk of infection.Following the abandonment of the trials, South African AIDS researchers have begun contacting the hundreds of volunteers who took part in the trials over recent months.
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25 September 2007Transsexuals are happy with gender reassignment surgery in Britain + Most post operative transsexuals are happy with their surgery, according to a recent report in the British Journal of Urology (BJU).The survey, which studied the experiences of 222 gender reassignment patients revealed that 88 per cent of them said that they were happy with the results at their first post-op appointments.The report surveyed 70 participants with an average age of 43, that had been gender reassignment patients at the hospital between 1994 and 2004.
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18 September 2007Gay blood donor activists arrested in Russia + Activists in Moscow have been arrested for protesting against Russia's ban on gay men donating blood.Seven of the ten protesters were detained by police last Friday following a reportedly peaceful protest outside the Russian Health Ministry.Although all donations are screened, Russian law prevents gay men from donating much needed blood as they are considered to be most at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, listing them alongside prostitutes and drug dealers. -
17 September 2007LGBT History Month’s reminder on teen suicide + The organisers of next year's LGBT History Month have written to local councils urging them to celebrate the festival.Co-chair Sue Sanders reminded local authorities that homophobic and transphobic bullying still leads to suicide.She also cited new research that shows the prejudices can be particularly rife in rural areas.Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans History Month, held every February, is now in its fourth year. -
13 September 2007Surge in AIDS cases among gay New Yorkers + New York City health officials have released a report saying HIV infection rates have risen substantially among young gay men over the last six years.According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene report, new HIV diagnoses among gay men under 30 have increased by 33 percent in that time, with the majority of new cases showing up in black and Latino gay men.Unfortunately, the report didn't offer any explanations for why rates of HIV infection have risen among gay youth.
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12 September 2007AIDS charity backs HIV home testing kits + Terrence Higgins Trust is urging the Government to change the law to let people buy and use home test kits for HIV.Changing the HIV Testing Kits and Services Regulations 1992 is one of '25 Things' that THT is asking the Government to do in its 25th anniversary year.Approximately a third of people with HIV in the UK are currently undiagnosed and some people fail to test for HIV because they don't want to go to a clinic, either because of stigma, long waiting times or restricted opening hours. -
7 September 2007Gay couples unhappy with Canadian census question 2 A row has broken out between Statistics Canada and gay activists over the wording of a question on the country's census.The results of the census, which was held in May 2006, will be released next Wednesday.For the first time the official count will measure the number of gay and lesbian married couples in the country. -
7 September 2007Gay athlete’s million dollar donation to gay centre 1 University of Washington alumnus David Kopay, widely regarded as the first American professional team athlete to come out of the closet, has pledged $1 million (£500,000) to the university's Q Centre, whose mission is to create an inclusive and celebratory environment for people of all sexual orientations."The greatest gift we can give one another is the vision and beauty of life," Kopay said in a statement."I continually hear from people all over the world that my act of coming out especially when I did in 1975 has empowered them." -
21 August 2007Unsafe sex now number one cause of HIV cases in China 57 Unprotected sex has for the first time overtaken intravenous drug use as the main cause of new HIV infections in China, according to the latest report released by the Chinese Ministry of Health.The findings suggest the virus is spreading from high-risk groups to the general public.Of the 70,000 new HIV infections recorded in 2005, 49.8 percent were through sexual contact, according to the report which was released jointly by the MOH and the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. -
16 August 2007Comment: My journey from scared teen to gay activist + The first time I came to the UK, I was amazed by its history, architecture and bustling cities.Now, over ten years later, I have come back to experience this amazing place once again.As a third year student from the University of California Santa Cruz, I am currently doing a full time internship with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) History Month and Schools OUT. -
8 August 2007AIDS charity and magazine close 1 UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS (UKC) has ceased operations.The charity was founded in 1993 as a national patient group charity run by and for people living with HIV.UKC's magazine, Positive Nation, has ceased publication in May after 133 issues.The coalition and the magazine were praised for the meaningful way in which they engaged with people with HIV. -
8 August 2007More gay events banned in Singapore 3 While Pride celebrations are supported by government and police from Belfast to Vancouver, the LGBT community in the island nation of Singapore are having a more difficult time.Following the bans on a gay photo exhibition and a gay poetry reading during Pride celebrations, the National Parks Board has banned a picnic and fun run from the Singapore Botanic Gardens.Gay rights group People Like Us had planned a 5km fun-run and a picnic tomorrow in the Gardens, a popular attraction for tourists and residents alike. -
6 August 2007Activists try to stop Nigeria’s bid for Commonwealth glory + Gay activists in Nigeria have questioned whether that country should be allowed to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games because of its "systematic persecution of lesbian and gay Nigerians."A delegation led by Davis Mac-Iyalla, founder and leader of the gay Christian group, Changing Attitude Nigeria, met with the chief executive of the Games Federation (CGF) in London last week to put their case.They presented the CGF with an 11-page report setting out why it should reject the bid by the Nigerian city of Abuja.
