News 2011
Panel of American Doctors Urge for HIV Testing to Start at 16
When should teens get tested for HIV?
In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged doctors to test all patients between the ages of 13 and 64 in all health care settings. But that universal testing approach has not quite caught on.
Read more: Panel of American Doctors Urge for HIV Testing to Start at 16
Getting Ready for USCA 2011, November 10–13: Send Us Your Thoughts
The U.S. Conference on AIDS (USCA) 2011 is less than two weeks away. As Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council noted in his recent blog post, this year’s conference is pivotal. With the conference theme, “Make Change Real,” over 3,000 federal, national, and community-level HIV partners will gather in Chicago to share effective strategies to respond to the HIV epidemic.
Read more: Getting Ready for USCA 2011, November 10–13: Send Us Your Thoughts
HIV & the Law
Another having-sex-with-HIV conviction shows how unreasonably, and probably unconstitutionally, HIV-specific criminal laws are being applied. A Minneapolis man was convicted October 7 of criminal assault for transmitting HIV to a sex partner, after he had told him he had HIV and the partner chose to proceed with unprotected anal intercourse anyway.
Saving Lives Through Treatment and Knowledge of Science
While HIV-treatment advances have led to a drop of more than 70 percent in the rate of AIDS deaths nationwide, Black Americans are still more likely than Whites to die from the disease. One reason for the disparity: a lack of knowledge among African Americans about the science behind HIV and the latest treatment options that can fight and prevent it. "HIV isn't the death sentence it used to be if people know how to adhere to treatment," says Raniyah Abdus-Samad, training and capacity-building manager at the Black AIDS Institute.
Read more: Saving Lives Through Treatment and Knowledge of Science
Key Updates from the Fall 2011 PACHA Meeting
The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) convened for a meeting on September 29 and 30, 2011, in Washington, DC. The Council heard from both members of PACHA subcommittees and external presenters. Highlights of some of those sessions include: