"Our nation has been in the fight against HIV/AIDS
for over 20 years now. The government pours millions of dollars
into care, treatment and prevention. Why are there still so many
Black people becoming infected and dying from this virus? We know
from reports that there are health disparities between communities
of color and the white population. We also know that in communities
of color there is an inherited mistrust of the system. Do these
reasons equate to the disproportionate amount of black people infected
by this disease? Yes, they do play a part, but only a part. African
Americans have other obstacles, which put them on the frontline
of this virus.
Many people in Black communities are under the misguided perception
that AIDS is a disease that only affects the gay population and
those people who misuse drugs. In the 1980s, the gay and lesbian
community did a great job of putting a face on this horrific virus,
and should be commended. They refused to let their brothers die
in silence. Now the time has long passed for the other faces of
AIDS to be brought to the forefront. Black communities around the
country need to rise up and refuse to perish without a fight. We
should not pass silently into the night.
Many of those who lose the battle to AIDS in the Black community
are not counted as those who have fallen to this virus. Cancer,
pneumonia, or heart attacks are causes of death that we tell our
family and friends. Those who are infected still fear letting others
know on the chance they may be ostracized from family, friends,
and the community at large. Many continue to die alone with no one
to hold their hands or wipe their brows. Far too many do not seek
care fearing that family and neighbors will discover the secret.
Still others do not test, wrongly believing that ignorance is bliss.
Shame is robbing our community of its lifeline and its future.
Even our churches, which have been a bastion of support in the
Black community for many worthy causes, have not risen to this fight
in appropriate numbers. Ministers continue to blame those who are
infected for being immoral and sinners. How sad it is that some
of our churches take this view. Some of our politicians are saying
teach abstinence-only in our schools. Abstinence-only has been taught
for many years and we still have a problem in this country with
teen pregnancy. We cannot allow our children to die using antiquated
solutions, which have never proven effective. If we do not become
educated about this disease, if we do not drag AIDS out of the shadows
where it has been able to fester and grow in our communities, then
we will perish. The shame and ignorance surrounding AIDS in Black
America could lead to the demise of us all.
We are in a burning building and only a few are shouting for all
of us to get out." Dying in Silence-African Americans
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HARMLESS VIRUS ASSOCIATED WITH LONGER LIFE FOR SOME HIV-POSITIVE
MEN |
Scientists have
shown that an apparently harmless virus is
associated with longer life for HIV-positive men, but only
when it infects them for many years. |
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HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE OF Southeast Asian American
Elders |
While
Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants have the Vietnam War,
refugee experiences and acculturation issues in common, there is
wide diversity within and across the ethnic groups that comprise
the Southeast Asian population. These include: degree of
Westernization and acculturation, education and literacy in the
home country; migration history; social class and social
backgrounds; English and other linguistic skills; social
supports; age at immigration, and years in the United States. |
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HEALTHCARE WORKERS: PROTECTING THOSE WHO PROTECT OUR HEALTH |
Healthcare-worker protection has lagged behind that afforded
other workers with similarly increased risks. Possible
explanations for the delay in focusing on occupational hazards
faced by healthcare workers are many and likely include the
focus of curative rather than preventive medicine in the
hospital environment; the focus on patient health over worker
health; and the focus within occupational health on
traditionally male occupations and hazards rather than female
workers. |
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Health
Emergency 1999: The Spread of Drug-Related AIDS and Other
Deadly Diseases Among African Americans and Latinos |
This powerful report brings home the severity
of the problem of AIDS spread through dirty needles. It
makes me angry! We have got to be about preventing
disease! We have better drugs, but we still donít have a
vaccine or a cure for this disease. We have watched people
die from this disease; now they must learn how to live
with HIV/AIDS. But why canít we help prevent this disease
by providing clean needles? We do not allow people to get
the clean needles that would reduce the spread of HIV
disease, yet we spend $155,000 or more for each person who
develops AIDS to take care of them, to watch them die.
That makes no sense! We have got to be about preventing
problems, not fixing things after they are broken. |
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Health, Wealth, and Welfare |
New
evidence coupled with a wider perspective suggest
sizable economic returns to better health |
301 kb
pdf |
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Hepatitis B Virus
infection: A comprehensive immunization strategy to eliminate
transmission in the US-Draft (Large
paper-increase download time) |
This document updates the immunization strategy to
eliminate hepatitis B virus transmission in the US, which was
published in 1991 and expanded in 1995. The document also
updates technical information on HBV vaccination of infants,
children, adolescents, and adults. |
2209 kb pdf |
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Hepatitis C and diabetes: two rising epidemics |
An association
between HCV infection and Diabetes Mellitus has been observed
since a 1994 study by Allison and colleagues. In this study of
100 patients with cirrhosis, 50% of those with hepatitis
C-related cirrhosis had diabetes, compared with only 9% of
patients with cirrhosis unrelated to hepatitis C. |
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Hepatitis C-a guide to understanding Hepatitis C |
A history of
the disease progression and current treatments that is
available. |
276 kb pdf |
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Hepatitis C Symptom Emergencies |
The side
effects associated with medications for hepatitis C treatment
can cause a range of side effects, from mild to severe and life
threatening. In this article we review some of the most serious
side effects, those that may require immediate medical
attention. |
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Hepatitis C virus replication seen in patients
with apparent viral clearance |
Hepatitis C
virus (HCV) can persist and replicate in the livers of patients
who have apparently cleared the virus from their blood after
antiviral therapy, according to a report in the November 15th
issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. |
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HIV lessons used in Hepatitis C treatment |
Drug companies
are beginning to test drugs that interfere with enzymes that
hepatitis C virus needs to replicate, like protease and
polymerase;
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HIV/AIDS in China: Transmission via Commercial Plasma Collection |
Power Point
Presentation |
1377 kb |
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Hepatitis C viral load ultrasensitive testing |
The information
below (the TMA study I reported toy you that was presented here
at AASLD) compared a highly sensitive TMA qualitative test to
LabCorp/NGI's highly sensitive quantitative test
(apples/oranges) Our Hepatitis C Virus quantitative test
(Hepatitis C Virus SuperQuant) has a sensitivity of 100 copies /
39 IU's w/ a dynamic range to 5 million copies / 2 million IUs.
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Healthcare workers fair poorly in AIDS quiz |
A quiz among
health care workers at a Durban hospital had exposed
"substantial gaps" in their knowledge of HIV/Aids, delegates to
a conference on the disease heard on Monday. |
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Health spending growing faster than economy |
For the first
time in almost a decade, federal health economists reported
January 8, health expenditures outpaced the growth of the
economy.
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Helping Teens Ward Off STD's |
Screening,
education are key to combatting sexually transmitted diseases,
study says
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Henry E Sigerist Medical Historian & Social Visionary
|
Sigerist now emerged as a major spokesman for "compulsory
health insurance" and was much sought after as a
lecturer, popular author, and radio commentator
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Hepatitis
B booster vaccination for Healthcare workers |
The findings
suggest that booster shots are the best way to keep immunity
stable, especially for the at-risk healthcare workers
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Hepatitis B Vaccine Brand Changed |
The CDC
considers both Engerix-B® and Recombivax HB® to be safe and
effective in the prevention of hepatitis B infections. The
immune response using one or two doses of a vaccine, followed by
one or more subsequent doses from a different manufacturer, has
been demonstrated to be comparable to a full vaccination series
with a single product.
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Her Own STD
Barrier |
"Women deserve
more options than begging their husbands to use a condom," says
Sharon Hillier,
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High-Income Americans Opt Out of High-Cost Health Insurance
|
As health
insurance premiums continue to rise, more and more people are
opting to take their chances and go without. Of the 41 million
Americans currently uninsured, the largest portion is made up of
the working poor, but those with high-incomes are quickly
joining in, as growth in uninsured wealthy and poor rose almost
equally last year.
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HIV Vaccines:
Could Vaccine Alter Course of HIV Disease?
|
The new data
identify stage-independent predictors of disease progression.
Examination of these predictors in AIDS- vaccine recipients with
breakthrough HIV infection should indicate whether the vaccine
can change the course of disease.
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HIV/AIDS:
Epidemic Update 1991-2005 |
The
development of new knowledge from HIV-related research also has
helped to clarify aspects of the human immune response,
behavioral interventions, public health strategies, and social
and ethical approaches that contribute to the understanding and
management of other diseases and health conditions. Healthcare
professionals will continue to play a major and significant role
in preventing the spread of HIV infection and in caring for
those who are infected or affected by HIV |
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HIV/AIDS in Dental Care |
A
case-based self-study module for dental health care
personnel |
533 kb pdf |
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How to Recognize
and Treat Acute HIV Syndrome |
The
diagnosis of acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) syndrome
requires a high index of suspicion and proper laboratory
testing. Patients with the syndrome may have fever, fatigue,
rash, pharyngitis or other symptoms. Primary HIV infection
should be considered in any patient with possible HIV exposure
who presents with fever of unknown cause. |
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HPV Test Used for early Detection of Cervical Cancer |
An abnormal --
and ambiguous -- Pap smear can now be followed by a test for
human papillomavirus (HPV) to better detect cervical cancer,
and avoid unnecessary biopsies, according to new research.
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Ibuprofen Speeds Hepatitis C Into Cirrhosis Of The Liver
|
Patients with
chronic hepatitis C often take the over-the-counter
non-steroidal drug Ibuprofen (otherwise known as Motrin or
Advil) to combat the joint pain that often accompanies the
disease. But even a low dose could lead to unsuspected liver
damage.
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During the last
few years, though, the pace of these inquiries has
quickened perceptibly, as physicians, social workers and
family members have become aware of suspected
oral-systemic links. The request often is accompanied
by a frustrated account of a dentist’s flat refusal
to treat the patient. And all too often, that refusal
appears to be based on nothing stronger than a
general disinclination to deal with "that kind of case."
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Illegal Drug Users Need/Deserve Treatment for Hepatitis C
|
Researchers are
recommending that illicit drug users should be eligible to
receive treatment for the hepatitis C virus
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Incidence and Risk Factors for Acute Hepatitis B in the United
States, 1982-1998: Implications for Vaccination Programs
|
In 1982, a safe
and effective vaccine became available to prevent hepatitis B
virus (HBV) infection and was recommended for persons at
increased risk for infection.
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Independent Study Results Show Need for Improvement of Infection
Control Products
|
In May 2006,
an independent online study was performed by the Atlanta-based
Arketi Group and sponsored by Inviro Medical in order to assess
the opinions of those in the infection control arena regarding
needlestick injuries and the available infection control
products that aim to prevent them. This is an important issue
facing the medical industry; according to a recent article in
Infection Control Today, “healthcare workers sustain between
600,000 and one million injuries from conventional needles and
sharps annually.” |
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Industry is deeply involved in funding US Research |
Industry
supported 62% of biomedical research in the United States in
2000, almost double the proportion in 1980, while government
support declined. About a quarter of academic
investigators have affiliations to industry that
could influence research and publication
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Inequalities in health care use and expenditures: empirical data
from eight developing countries and countries in transition |
The study
measures inequality in the use of and spending on health
services. Richer groups are found to have a higher probability
of obtaining care when sick, to be more likely to be seen by a
doctor, and to have a higher probability of receiving medicines
when they are ill, than the poorer groups |
Pdf 394 kb |
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Influenced by the Drug Companies? |
As all
encompassing the reach of the drug companies is, we as health
care professionals have it within our power to prevent untoward
influence by these companies.
The ability
to say "no" and look at evidence skeptically is one of the most
important things in medicine that has been drilled in during
time at Medical School.
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Informed Consent |
Informed
consent is more than simply getting a patient to sign a written
consent form. It is a process of communication between a patient
and physician that results in the patient's authorization or
agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention.
In the
communications process, you, as the physician providing or
performing the treatment and/or procedure (not a delegated
representative), should disclose and discuss with your patient: |
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Insurance Quotes
|
When faced with
an insidious disease like hepatitis C, paying the medical bills
associated with treatment is something most patients would
rather not worry about. After all, that’s what insurance is for,
right?
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International
Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) |
The Guidelines
relate mainly to ethical justification and scientific
validity of research; ethical review; informed consent;
vulnerability of individuals, groups, communities and
populations; women as research subjects; equity regarding
burdens and benefits; choice of control in clinical trials;
confidentiality; compensation for injury; strengthening of
national or local capacity for ethical review; and obligations
of sponsors to provide health-care services.
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Introduction to Bacteriology
(Large report-increased down-load time) |
Bacteria are
single-celled microorganisms that lack a nuclear membrane, are
metabolically active and divide by binary fission. Medically
they are a major cause of disease. Superficially, bacteria
appear to be relatively simple forms of life; in fact, they are
sophisticated and highly adaptable.
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ISLAMIC MEDICAL ETHICS: The IMANA Perspective |
Islam
considers access to health care as a fundamental right of the
individual. In medicine, there are sometimes difficult
decision-making options for the patient’s care. Thus, a
physician at times has to decide for his /her patient in light
of available knowledge, his/her experience, his/her peers and
consensus of the community. In addition, a Muslim physician
derives his /her conclusion from rules of Islamic laws (Shari`ah)
and Islamic medical ethics. The first main principle of Islamic
Medicine is theemphasis on the sanctity of human life which
derives from al-Qur’an |
Pdf 102 kb |
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Issues in Documenting End-of-Life Wishes |
Medical ethics
in America emphasizes the right of patients to make their own
decisions regarding their healthcare, and the end-of-life
movement promotes honoring patient wishes on accepting or
refusing life-sustaining interventions to allow death with
dignity.
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Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Health care
workers on Needle-stick injuries |
Health
care workers who have occupational exposure to blood are at
increased risk for acquiring blood-borne infections. The
level of risk depends on the number of patients with that
infection in the health care facility and the precautions the
health care workers observe while dealing these patients.
There are more than 20 blood-borne disease, |
27 kb pdf |
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Knowledge of Students regarding Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS of a
Private Medical University in Karachi |
There is a
lack of awareness among the medical students entering into the
profession. It is the need of the hour to emphasize on
practicing universal precautions. In addition, some preventive
measures should be taken by the management of the universities
and medical students to avoid the occurrence of these problems |
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Liver Biopsy - Just Think About It |
Liver Biopsy:
Indications, Contraindications, and Complications
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Liver Blood
Enzymes |
An initial step
in detecting liver damage is a simple blood test to determine
the presence of certain liver enzymes in the blood.
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Liver Cirrhosis |
The liver is
the largest organ (about the size of a football and averaging
about 3.5 pounds) and has more functions than any other human
organ. A person's entire blood supply passes through the liver
several times a day, and at any given time there is about a pint
of blood there.
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Liver enzymes can be normal but Hepatitis be advanced |
When ALT was
normal in study reported below, Normal liver was found in 17% of
the patients; 34% had minimal CH, 44% mild CH, 4%
moderate-severe CH, and 1 % had cirrhosis.
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Male
circumcision |
Male
circumcision for prevention of heterosexual acquisition of HIV
in men—a Cochrane review
|
Pdf 169 kb
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Male circumcision: a role in HIV prevention? |
It has been
suggested that following circumcision, the surface epithelium of
the glans develops a protective keratin layer, a form of natural
condom. Thus, circumcision could reduce the HIV incidence by
directly decreasing the susceptibility of uninfected men to HIV.
Circumcision could also reduce the incidence of HIV by directly
decreasing the infectivity of men with HIV, as suggested by the
studies of tissue samples collected from macaques infected with
the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which showed infected
mononuclear cells in the dermis and epidermis of the penile
foreskin |
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Management of Cirrhotic Ascites |
Treatment of
Cirrhotic Ascites
Treating Reversible Causes of Cirrhosis
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Management of Resistance: Implications for Treatment Choices |
Power Point
Presentation |
1283 kb |
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Managing herpes infections |
Presentation
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Medicaid Program Policy Trends: Financing and Quality of HIV
Care |
Many state
Medicaid programs have adopted managed care as well as a variety
of other measures to ensure that MCOs caring for high-cost
enrollees can continue to provide quality care and are protected
from financial risk. This article describes several strategies
that state programs have implemented to protect quality HIV/AIDS
care.
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Medicaid Watch: State Medicaid and Health Cuts & Expansions |
November 30,
2006 |
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Medical records mashup would span a lifetime |
Project
administrators and promoters anticipate the usual challenges
associated with the move to medical technology. One is a fear of
private medical information being exposed to employers,
advertisers and others. Another is a resistance from insurance
and health care managers who want to retain control over the
current system |
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The art and
science of medicine, through a collaborative effort by the AMA
and HCFA, is to be reduced to the production of voluminous
documents by the new "E&M" "guidelines." Meanwhile, the business
of insurance, which now funds most of American medicine, is
targeted for obliteration by so-called conservatives in Congress
in the Patient Access to Responsible Care Act (PARCA), H.R.
1415. ..The two actions are not unrelated. Both medicine and
insurance were compromised long ago by the practice of assigning
benefits to "providers" and by broad expansions of coverage to
routine, low-cost goods and services. Thus, doctors became the
servants of third parties rather than patients, and insurance
was transformed into third-party prepayment for consumption
rather than a voluntary mechanism for sharing catastrophic risk
and protecting financial assets |
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Michigan Recommendations on HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C
Infected Health Care Workers |
Based upon
current scientific information, the following recommendations
have been adopted by MDCH to provide protection for patients and
HCWs alike. These guidelines should become part of the
infection control guidelines for all health care facilities |
Pdf 203 kb |
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Microbicide research one step nearer to preventing transmission
of HIV |
The scientists
applied a microbicide gel which contained a human antibody in
the vaginas of macaque monkeys. They found that the gel
protected the macaques from infection with the simian HIV virus
for more than seven hours.
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Missed Opportunities for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Human
Immunodeficiency Virus, and Pregnancy Prevention Services During
Adolescent Health Supervision Visits |
More than
half of the US high school students surveyed reported
a preventive health care visit in the 12 months preceding
the survey: 60.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]:
57.2%–63.6%) of female students and 57.5% (95% CI:
53.9%–61.1%) of male students. For female students,
sexual experience was positively associated with a
preventive health care visit (odds ratio [OR]: 1.3;
95% CI: 1.1–1.6), but for male students, sexual experience
had a negative effect (OR: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.7–0.9). Of the
students who reported a preventive health care visit in
the 12 months preceding the survey, 42.8% (95% CI:
38.6%–47.1%) of female students and 26.4% (95% CI:
22.7%–30.2%) of male students reported having
discussed STD, HIV, or pregnancy prevention at those
visits. Sexual experience was associated with a
higher likelihood of engaging in a dialogue about sexual
health once a student entered the health care system:
female students (OR: 3.8; 95% CI: 3.0–4.9) and male
students (OR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.3–2.7). |
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Money helps |
More energy,
money and international attention is now being focused on
HIV/AIDS than on any other global public health issue. A
pandemic that was being quietly forgotten by the global
community only three years ago has hurtled up nation and
international policy agendas
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Pdf 113 kb
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Mounting anomalies in the epidemiology of HIV in Africa: cry the
beloved paradigm |
The mounting
toll of HIV infection in Africa is paralleled by a mounting
number of anomalies in the many studies seeking to account for
it. We propose that existing data can no longer be reconciled
with the exceptional role of sex in the African AIDS epidemic |
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Must-Tell Rules Would Keep Sexually Active Teens Away
|
Almost half of
the adolescent girls who seek prescribed contraception and other
sexual health services would cease doing so if they knew that
their parents were going to be notified -- but most would
continue to have sexual intercourse
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MYCOPLASMA -The Linking Pathogen in Neurosystemic Diseases |
Several
strains of mycoplasma have been "e |
