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Prospective Candidates For USAID Administrator

“Sources in the development community and on the Hill say they are hearing” that the people being considered for the USAID administrator position are likely to be “safe,” it could be “someone already in place in the administration and possibly confirmed for something else,” Foreign Policy’s blog, “The Cable,” reports. The post lists a few names that “appear to be in the realm of speculation at this point,” the blog writes (Rozen, 8/24).

Zimbabwean Health Experts Skeptical Of Study Finding Drop In HIV Infection Rate

Zimbabwean health experts have raised doubts over a recent study that suggested “the country’s deep economic crisis helped reduce the HIV prevalence rate or the percentage of adults infected with the deadly virus,” VOA News reports. The study of more than 18,000 pregnant women, presented at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, revealed the HIV prevalence rate fell from 23 percent in 2001 to 11 percent in late 2008. However, as VOA News writes, some Zimbabweans feel the findings “understate the severity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, adding that the sample may not have been representative” of the population (Nyaira, 8/24).

Globe And Mail Examines Plumpy’Nut Situation In India

The Globe and Mail examines India’s decision to stop using Plumpy’nut, which is used to treat “severe acute malnutrition” in children. India’s central government “says it never approved UNICEF’s import of Plumpy’nut, is not convinced it works and that UNICEF and others must use Indian-made products rather than imports in order to safeguard the country’s food security,” the newspaper writes. This dispute “is the latest twist in a story of bureaucratic ineptitude and corruption that has kept a nation with a booming economy from making any progress in lowering malnutrition over the past 15 years,” the Globe and Mail writes (Nolen, 8/25).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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During a press conference on Thursday, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that the “global economic crisis and calls to commit funds to other health crises” threatened to undermine recent gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reports. MSF “says money for other health issues should be given in addition to money for [HIV/]AIDS” (11/5).

“After almost a decade of progress in rolling out AIDS treatment we have seen substantial improvements, both for patients and public health,” Tido von Schoen-Angerer, director of MSF’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, said in a press release (11/5).

“The HIV/AIDS emergency is definitely not over,” von Schoen-Angerer added. The news conference coincided with the organization’s release of a report (.pdf) that examines the impact of HIV/AIDS treatment programs worldwide, including an increase in the number of patients on antiretroviral therapy, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (11/5).

“A stronger commitment to other health priorities must happen, but this should be in addition to, not instead of, continued, increased commitment to HIV/AIDS,” von Schoen-Angerer said. According to the release, “The report provides evidence that, particularly in high HIV-prevalence settings, treating AIDS has a positive impact on other important health goals, in particular maternal and child health” (11/5).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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In Chicago, 17.4 percent of gay men are estimated to be HIV-positive, compared with 1.2 percent of the general male population, according to a new report by the Chicago Public Health Department, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The report is based on data collected from 570 Chicago men through the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system, and found that half of the men with HIV were unaware they were infected (Thomas, 7/25). “Health officials said Friday, information in the report on HIV infection mark the first time Chicago health officials have used blood-testing to determine infection rates among men,” the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. In the past, estimates have relied on interviews with gay and bisexual men, according to Christopher Brown, the Public Health Department assistant commissioner. The report also found that “black men who have sex with other men have double the HIV infection rates of white and Hispanic men,” the AP/Tribune reports (7/24).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The new 4th generation rapid HIV diagnostic test - Determine® HIV 1/2 Ag/Ab Combo - from Inverness Medical is capable of detecting HIV infection several days earlier than HIV antibody only tests and is ideal to help diagnose and screen for early HIV infection. The ability of this test to enhance the diagnosis of those with acute HIV infection will provide additional benefits in HIV prevention programs and ultimately contribute to a reduction in the spread of HIV. Inverness Medical will be showcasing the new Determine Combo test at the International AIDS Society Conference 2009 in Capetown, South Africa, 19-22 July on stand #203.

Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo enables simultaneous separate detection of HIV p24 antigen (Ag) and antibodies (Ab) for HIV-1 and HIV-2 in human serum, plasma, or whole blood. The p24 antigen is produced during the first few weeks of HIV infection and is detectable 7-9 days earlier than the appearance of HIV antibodies. As a result, the p24 antigen is an ideal marker in aiding early HIV diagnosis.

By simultaneously detecting for all known sub types of HIV and HIV-1 p24 antigen, as a CE marked test, Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo increases the ability to detect and diagnose primary HIV infection (2-20 days earlier than HIV antibody only tests, with an average mean of 5 days) and can help healthcare workers across the world diagnose primary infection, prevent mother to child transmission, monitor HIV prevalence and screen blood donations. By understanding their HIV status, individuals are able to gain early access to specific treatment, care and counselling, prevent transmission, and plan for the future.

The first test of its kind for acute HIV infection, Determine HIV 1/2 Ag/Ab Combo provides clear visual results during the patient visit in 20 minutes, with excellent sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.23% and 99.66% for HIV antibodies and HIV-1 p24 antigen respectively. The easy to use, robust format of Determine does not require electricity, water, or the use of bulky laboratory equipment and can be performed in point-of-care settings and remote locations in developing countries where laboratory facilities are limited. This gives significant advantages over lab-based EIA and ELISA 4th generation HIV testing.

For more information about Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo, visit Inverness Medical on stand #203 at the IAS Conference 2009.

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Inverness Medical

Health officials announced recently that the number of newly recorded HIV cases among Iowans ages 15 to 24 increased by 45% in 2008 to 16, despite the widespread availability of condoms and other prevention methods, the dll/article?AID=2009905110323″ target=”_new”>Iowa Press-Citizen reports. In 2008, a total of 128 new HIV cases were reported, which is the highest number recorded since reporting began in 1998. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports that people ages 20 to 29 accounted for 25% of new cases in 2008.

According to the Press-Citizen, unsafe sexual practices among the state’s young adult population have contributed to the spread of HIV and the number of sexually transmitted infections. Jeff Meier, associate director of the AIDS Clinical Trial Unit at University Hospitals, said that most of the cases among young people are in the non-student population. “HIV tends to run in circles of poverty, drugs and commercial sex,” he said, adding, “There is obviously much less of that in the student population.” Meier added that promoting condom use is just a part of a necessary comprehensive prevention strategy.

Randy Mayer — chief of the Bureau of HIV, STD and Hepatitis at the department of public health — said that HIV testing at publicly funded sites in the state has decreased since 1992, although HIV prevalence has increased over the same time. For 10 years, about 30% of people in the state have reported ever receiving an HIV test. One reason young people might not be getting tested is a lack of information about cost and availability, the Press-Citizen reports. Tricia Kitzmann, deputy director of the Johnson County health department, said that she hopes to see an increase in testing as the department adheres more closely to state recommendations that encourage frequent HIV testing for the entire population, instead of only populations considered to be high-risk (Carney, Iowa Press-Citizen, 5/11).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.