AIDS News Blog

Health Tip: Having Blood Drawn?

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

(HealthDay News) -- Many doctors ask their patients to provide a blood sample to test for a specific disease or condition, or to help gauge the patient's overall health.

Modern blood tests are very safe procedures, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation says. You are at no risk of catching a disease, such as AIDS or hepatitis, or getting an infection from having your blood drawn. The people who draw your blood should always wear gloves and use one-time, disposable needles.

Side effects from having blood drawn typically are quite minor, and may include:

8.5 percent hike in foreign spending OK'd

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

In the week of June 25, the House will debate fiscal 2008 spending bills and possibly energy legislation, while the Senate will take up bills on union organizing and immigration reform.

Here's how members of Congress from Illinois voted on major roll calls in the week ending June 22.

Foreign operations budget

1st Lady Targets Malaria in Africa Tour

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Fighting malaria as well as AIDS is on First lady Laura Bush's agenda as she tours Africa. While the former doesn't grab the same headlines, it far outstrips AIDS as the continent's biggest child killer, claiming one young life every 30 seconds. The malaria toll is numbing: between 300 million to 500 million cases and 1 million deaths each year. In some African countries, it accounts for up to half of all hospital admissions. Its economic cost is an estimated ...

Brazil Offers Morning-After Pill to Poor

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

(AP) SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazil’s government has added "morning after" pills to its newly expanded birth control program in hopes of helping poor people reduce unwanted pregnancies and dangerous illegal abortions.

Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao announced the addition a month after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the government would provide cheap birth control pills at 10,000 drug stores across Latin America’s biggest country.

Speaking at a round-table discussion Monday sponsored by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, Temporao called the morning-after pill "an important tool for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies that will definitely be part of our strategy" to help Brazil’s poor have the same access to birth control as its rich elite.

Google program aids nonprofits

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

The Google Earth Outreach program represents a formalization of ad-hoc partnerships with organizations using the free software to publicize their works.

Already, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has been using Google Earth to call attention to atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. When users scan over Darfur, they see icons of flames representing destroyed villages and of tents for refugee camps. Clicking on one opens a window with details and links on how to help.

The U.N. Environmental Program, meanwhile, has used the software to show areas of environmental destruction. The Jane Goodall Institute shows locations of its research on chimpanzees and African deforestation. A Brazilian Indian tribe is working on ways to stop loggers and miners from deforesting the jungle and digging for gold.

National HIV Testing Day

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - Today is National HIV Testing Day. The Linda Vista Health Care Center is offering free oral testing without the use of needles from 9am-4:30pm.

Of the 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2003, 25% were undiagnosed or unaware of their HIV infection. There are about 40,000 new cases each year in the U.S. alone.

California has the second-highest number of AIDS cases in the U.S. and San Diego has the third-highest number of cases in California.

Editorial: Budget hypocrisy-- science suffers

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Editorial: Budget hypocrisy-- science suffers

Opinion: The Lebanon (Ind.) Reporter

Hypocrisy over funding scientific research is not limited to President George W. Bush.

HIV cases up more than 30% in area

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Jennifer Parks was 34 when she found out that her husband had infected her with HIV. He never told her he had the virus until she found out she had contracted it.

"Just because somebody says 'I love you, you can trust me,' doesn't mean you're safe," said Parks, 53, of Holt. "I mean, if you can't trust your husband, who can you trust?"

The number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the Lansing area is up more than 30 percent, to 493 from 377 in 2003.

A slew of appointees named to state agencies

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Several area residents were appointed this week to state boards or agencies by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Those appointed to the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board include:

A garden of possibility

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Steve Bolinger came here with the Peace Corps, planted a modest garden of greens in soil mixed with peanut shells, and stayed to feed some of the many people of Senegal afflicted with HIV and AIDS.

"It's been successful," said Bolinger, a slight, quiet man, leading a tour Tuesday of one of the lush gardens growing in planters in a walled sandlot behind Fann Hospital.

At this modest, pastel stucco clinic, people with HIV or AIDS learn to grow and prepare their own food, part of a holistic treatment in which improved nutrition makes anti-retroviral drugs more effective.

AIDS, HIV facility to close

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

A Detroit facility providing transitional housing for people living with HIV and AIDS is slated to close because of funding cuts, program officials say.

Officials say there's enough money to keep the Helping Hands facility at 2755 Taylor open for 30 days, but after that, the facility will close. Eleven people were living at the home Tuesday morning. But by the evening, about half had moved out, one resident said.

Camp Safari teaches children to interact

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

HOBART -- A recent day camp brought together preschoolers with and without disabilities.

The North Carolina-based Bubel-Aiken Foundation helped finance the camp, provided supplies and training and visited the camp that took place earlier this month at the Hobart YMCA.

"One in five has a disability; if you take one point out of the star, it's an incomplete picture," said Aron Hall, director of services at the Bubel-Aiken Foundation."We feel that if people with disabilities are not involved, then it's not really community because it's not representative."

Diet drug: Lose weight, lose your dignity?

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

How badly do you want to be skinny? Is it worth soiling your underwear?

Those questions will likely confront users of the new Alli, the first over-the-counter diet drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Alli (pronounced al-EYE) went on sale for the first time about a week ago — a stronger prescription form, Xenical, has been available since 1999 — and its promotional material alone makes for strong medicine: The drug, which helps people lose small amounts of weight, can cause oily discharges, uncontrolled bowel movements, and gas if you eat too much fat.

BREAKING THE CYCLE

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

Lions Clubs fulfill mission of service

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:32:52 +0000

When Dane La Joye left the U.S. Navy after 23 years of service, his memories of the work of Lions Club members in a Michigan town of 900 residents set him on a new course.

He wanted to work in the non-profit sector after the Navy, and he wanted an international aspect to the work he did. He found both as a division manager for Lions Club International at its headquarters in Oak Brook in August 2001.

Now, he will be among the many members attending their 90th Anniversary celebration at the Lions Clubs International Convention from July 2 to 6 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

First Lady begins Africa tour on AIDS

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

DAKAR, Senegal -- First Lady Laura Bush is in Africa. Her four-nation tour is expected to focus on how the U.S. can help fight AIDS on a continent where many countries struggle to even provide basic health care.

Bush is scheduled to visit areas that have benefited from U.S. AIDS funding: the west African nations of Senegal and Mali, along with Mozambique and Zambia in southern Africa. She's accompanied by her daughter Jenna.

The first lady and her daughter were greeted on the tarmac in Senegal's seaside capital late Monday by a group of about 30 dignitaries, including Senegal's first lady and her daughter. The two first ladies shook hands and posed for photographs, but neither spoke to reporters.

Spoiled celebrities get too much attention

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

To the Editor:When you see the names of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Pacman Jones, what do you think of?

To me, they seem like spoiled children who have always got their way and are constantly seeking attention one way or another.I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing of their foolish escapades and seeing so much coverage in the press.Their antics are much better fodder for The National Enquirer and similar publications. They need to go home and grow up. Maybe if they were ignored more often, they would disappear, at least from the headlines.Barbara Snyder Tullahoma 37388

Intimidating voters is illegal in this country

Edina church helps organize AIDS walk in Bloomington

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

Edina church helps organize AIDS walk in Bloomington

By Mike Schoemer - Sun Newspapers

Exercise without aches and pains

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

Is your exercise hurting you? It doesn't have to. There are some things you can do to bounce back and feel better after a good workout. Check out these tips from the June issue of the Mayo Clinic's Health Letter:

n Cool down: A few minutes of mild activity after an exercise session allows the heart rate and breathing to slow gradually and aids recovery of muscle tissue and the cardiovascular system.

n Stretch: Gently stretching muscles that were particularly active while exercising helps them relax. Stretching helps maintain and improve flexibility.

U of I Extension aids working families

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

Parents working hard in the workplace and at home, struggling with time and competing demands, have a place to go for help — University of Illinois Extension’s “Working Families” Web site.“The Web site is the online version of a newsletter Extension has mailed to families and worksites for several years,” explained its editor, Judy Taylor, U of I Extension youth development educator based in Springfield. “The content is targeted at dual income or single-...

“Data from the American Community Survey indicates as many as 56 percent of all women over age 16 are employed,” said Taylor.“Sixty percent of households with children under 6 years of age and 71 percent with children between the ages of 6 and 17 have both parents in the labor force. In households maintained by the mother, 67 percent have the mother in the labor force.”“Even 60 percent of grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren under the ag...

Wednesday recognized as National HIV Testing Day

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

The Escambia County Health Department and several local organizations are joining efforts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in the area on Wednesday, which is National HIV Testing Day.

The group will gather at the Pensacola Village Complex to perform HIV testing, and screenings for other diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis.

This year's theme is "Take the Test, Take Control", said Lisa Wiggins, office manager of Community Information Network in Pensacola.

Concert for HIV awareness

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

Harmonie Park will be buzzing with music and poetry Wednesday at a free outdoor concert to promote HIV awareness.

It's a message aimed especially at African-American women, who account for most new HIV/AIDS diagnoses among women in metro Detroit.

Court bars suit against faith-based plan

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's faith-based initiatives got a boost Monday from the Supreme Court: a ruling that ordinary taxpayers cannot sue to stop conferences that help religious charities apply for federal grants.

President Bush called the 5-4 decision "a substantial victory for efforts by Americans to more effectively aid our neighbors in need of help."

The court blocked a lawsuit by a group of atheists and agnostics against eight Bush administration officials including the head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Justices bar ordinary taxpayers from suing over White House faith-based program

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

The 5-4 decision blocks a lawsuit by a group of atheists and agnostics against eight Bush administration officials including the head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The taxpayers' group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc., objected to government conferences in which administration officials encourage religious charities to apply for federal grants.

Taxpayers in the case "set out a parade of horribles that they claim could occur" unless the court stopped the Bush administration initiative, wrote Justice Samuel Alito. "Of course, none of these things has happened."

Justices bar taxpayers from suing over faith-based program

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:28:38 +0000

WASHINGTON The Bush administration’s faith-based initiatives got a boost Monday from the Supreme Court: a ruling that ordinary taxpayers cannot sue to stop conferences that help religious charities apply for federal grants.President Bush called the 5-4 decision “a substantial victory for efforts by Americans to more effectively aid our neighbors in need of help.”The court blocked a lawsuit by a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics against eight Bush administration o...