Search

Reports the Clinton Foundation, created by former United States President Bill Clinton, plans to announce deals with several of the world's leading medical companies to cut prices of two HIV diagnostic tests in developing nations. Comments from Jim Kim, adviser to the Director General of the World Health Organization, regarding the importance of diagnostic pricing; Concern among activists related to the test's ease of use in impoverished countries; Discussion of diagnostic pricing; View of doctors regarding the benefits of the tests on the drug treatment regimen given to patients; What the companies are including along with the test kits, including training and the machines necessary to run the tests; Companies that have signed the deal with the Clinton Foundation; Cost to the countries for the CD4 tests.

Presents news briefs on the economy and public finance as of October 17, 2003.

Reports that South African President Thabo Mbeki has ordered the health department to develop an operational plan for the delivery of antiretroviral AIDS drugs in the country's public hospitals and clinics as of August 11, 2003.

Reports on the outcome of protests and worker strikes held in Zimbabwe opposing the economic stewardship of President Robert Mugabe, as of June 2003.

Reports on the protests organized by the Movement for Democratic Change against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

Focuses on a cost study conducted by South Africa's health and finance ministries which investigated the affordability of anti-AIDS drugs and the feasibility of a nationwide rollout.

Looks at the findings of AIDS researcher David Ho and associate Linqi Zhang on the genome of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus.

Reports on the agreement of AIDS researcher David Ho to conduct work on potential therapy and vaccine approaches for severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Reports on the plan of AIDS activist group, Treatment Action Campaign, to launch mass civil disobedience, aimed at urging the South African government to provide AIDS drugs in public hospitals and clinics.

Reports that independent scientists contested a suggestion by VaxGen Inc. that its experimental AIDS vaccine protected some people against HIV infection.

Deals with the plan of Merck & Co. to reduce the price of its AIDS pill called Stocrin in October 2002.

Highlights the acknowledgement of former U.S. President Bill Clinton that his refusal to lift the ban on federal funding of needle-exchange programs during his presidency was wrong.

Details the results of a study conducted by researchers from the federal AIDS center in Moscow, Russia which focuses on the possible surge of sexually transmitted AIDS in the country.

Reports on the interruption of a speech by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, when protesters appeared at the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain in July 2002.

Discusses evidence that developing a preventative AIDS vaccine may be more difficult than previously thought, according to a study presented at the XIV International AIDS Conference. Case of an HIV-positive man whose immune system was suppressing the AIDS virus without drugs, until he became infected with a second strain by having unprotected sex; Mutability of the virus, which means that a vaccine might only work against one strain; Implications for vaccine development.

Reports on issues about AIDS and approaches empowering women economically through microcredit lending programs and education to prevent the spread of the epidemic as of July 9, 2002.

Reports on the 2002 International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Focuses on a debate among various AIDS advocacy factions over how much money should be spent on treatment and prevention. Planned proceedings of the 2002 World AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, at which the disbursement of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria will be debated; Projections about incidence of AIDS globally; Size of the fund.

Discusses the growth of the AIDS epidemic in Russia. Fact that Russia has the world's fastest-growing rate of HIV infections; Prevalence of illicit drug use in Russia; How strict laws have filled the prisons with drug addicts, who spread HIV through shared needles and sexual contact; Concern that the infected prison and drug-using populations could lead to an epidemic within the general population; Description of prison conditions.

Focuses on the decision of Anglo American PLC not to implement an in-house feasibility study to provide AIDS drugs to its African work force in 2002.

Reports on the re-evaluation of anthrax information by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Reveals that the officials at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland are retrofitting a room with special security and freezers to keep anthrax separate from other work as of March 20, 2002.

Reports on the results of a study linking genetic patterns to the susceptibility to the side effects of the AIDS drug Ziagen.

Reports on experimental treatments for HIV and AIDS. How certain drugs work; Details on the drugs which were revealed at the Ninth Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; Drugs from companies such as Merck & Co., Tibotec-Virco, Pfizer, and others.

Highlights the presentation made by Merck & Co. on how its experimental AIDS vaccine acts in humans.

Reports on the genetic differences among samples of the Ames strain of anthrax discovered by scientists at the Institute for Genomic Research and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Reports on the hearings to be conducted by the United States Senate in February 2002 to discuss how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria plans to enforce it standards.

Reports on investigations into the source of anthrax sent via mail in the United States. Investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into laboratories capable of producing the bacteria; How investigations into the specific strain of the anthrax bacteria could lead to a source.

Reports that the humanitarian group, Doctors Without Borders had defied South African patent law by importing inexpensive generic AIDS drugs manufactured in Brazil for use in a township clinic outside of Capetown.

Reports on the e-mail sent by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to microbiologists to ask tips for its anthrax terrorism investigation.

Discusses research on a vaccine to prevent the AIDS virus from causing infected persons to become ill. Dan Barouch, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, and his work testing vaccines on monkeys; How the AIDS virus eventually evaded the vaccinated monkey's immune system; The dangers of creating a partial-protection vaccine to treat AIDS and HIV.

Reports on the plan of Merck & Co. to run a monkey trials of an experimental AIDS vaccine developed by researchers at the Institute of Human Virology at the Baltimore campus of the University of Maryland.

Reports on investigations into anthrax mailed in letters in the United States. Efforts to solve the mystery of where the anthrax came from that killed an elderly woman in Connecticut who had no apparent connection to a post office or media business; Investigation methods, including interviews, analysis of immigrant records, and laboratory work; Details on clues found by investigators.

Profiles Richard Holbrooke, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations who is working to encourage multinational companies that do business in areas with high incidence of AIDS and HIV to deal with diseased employees. His leadership of the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS; Methods by which he hopes to improve conditions for workers with HIV or AIDS.

Reports that laboratory contamination appears responsible for the positive anthrax test of a letter sent to a Chilean pediatrician according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Discusses the investigation of the anthrax-contaminated letters sent to pediatrician Antonio Banfi in Chile, to the Senate and media offices in the United States.

Reports on a sign of cultural differences hampering the investigation into the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Reports on the investigation carried out by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation on Mohammad Aslam Pervez for funding terrorist activities.

Reports on the manhunt launched by the United State Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with the anthrax incidents in several states.

Reports the reaction of the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City to the United States-led retaliation against Afghanistan.

Reports on examination of steel remains of the collapsed World Trade Center in New York City by Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, who also examined the collapsed section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Reports on use of the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York for dumping wreckage of the World Trade Center following terrorist attacks on the United States. How the landfill was closed due to fears of toxicity; Hopes to find the 'black boxes' of the commercial jets that struck the towers by sifting through the rubble at Fresh Kills; How people have come to Fresh Kills to search for belongings.

Reports on Sharon Schultz, a Manhattan, New York resident whose husband is missing following terrorist attacks on New York City that destroyed the World Trade Center. Her searches at New York hospitals; Support from her sister, Gail; Background information on Schultz and her Muslim husband Karamo Trerra; Her husband's job in technical support at ASAP NetSource, located in the World Trade Center.

Reports on efforts of forensic dentists to identify the bodies of victims pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York City following terrorist attacks which destroyed buildings. How forensic dentists identify bodies from dental records; Comments from forensic dentist Jeffrey Burkes; Difficulties including extensive incineration or fragmentation of bodies.

Focuses on the experimental AIDS vaccine developed by husband-and-wife team Nina and John Rose that has protected monkeys from getting sick.

Reports on the growth in the number of AIDS patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa as of August 16, 2001.

Discusses the investigation by Tanzania Department of Health on whether a human trial of an experimental AIDS drug, Virodene PO58, was conducted without gaining proper regulatory approval.

Reports on the plan of Nigeria to use cheap generic AIDS drugs starting September 2001.

Reports on human testing of the controversial AIDS drub Virodene in countries in Africa. Criticism that the drug is not effective; How the drug's creator Michelle Olga Patricia Visser has been testing the drug in countries by either going around public-health regulations or operating where regulatory approval was not required; Lack of evidence that the drug works.

Reports on the efforts of AngloGold Ltd. to fight against HIV and AIDS in South Africa. Percentages of South African adults infected with HIV; Social and economic conditions that promote the spread of AIDS in South Africa; AngloGold's plans to conduct a clinical study to determine the percentage of its employees who are invected with HIV; Plans of other companies with South African employees including DaimlerChrysler AG and Coco-Cola Co. to supply workers with AIDS treatments.