Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
30 August 2007
Across The Nation
California Senate Approves Bill That Would Allow HIV-Positive Men To Have Sperm Washed, Used for Fertility Treatments
[Aug 30, 2007]
The California Senate recently voted 35-1 to approve a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments, the MediaNews/Oakland Tribune reports (Geissinger, MediaNews/Oakland Tribune, 8/29). The bill would allow the washed sperm to be used in treatments such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization under certain guidelines.
The state in 1989 began prohibiting HIV-positive people from donating sperm, blood or tissue in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. The law has prevented HIV-positive men from using reproductive technologies that lower the risk of transmitting HIV to their partners. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Carole Migden (D), would allow couples that include HIV-positive men to use reproductive technology under the following guidelines: the HIV-positive donor's sperm is processed to minimize the risk of HIV transmission; informed mutual consent has occurred; and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recognizes the sperm processing procedures. California is one of two states where couples with an HIV-positive man cannot undergo fertility treatments with his donated sperm, Deborah Cohan, medical director of the Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center, said. She added that many of those couples try to conceive through intercourse, which increases the risk of HIV transmission to the woman and, potentially, to the infant. Of the 3,800 reported cases outside California in which couples with an HIV-positive man have used reproductive technology, not one case of HIV transmission has been reported, according to Cohan (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/30).
The bill concurred in Assembly amendments and was sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R). Migden said that California law "needs to catch up with technology" (MediaNews/Oakland Tribune, 8/29).
Link to this story.
Global Challenges
WHO Regional Office for Africa Releases Strategy To Curb HIV/TB Coinfection
[Aug 30, 2007]
The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa on Tuesday launched a strategy aimed at controlling the spread of HIV/tuberculosis coinfection on the continent, Panapress/Afriquenligne reports. The strategy was launched by WHO AFRO Director Luis Sambo at the 57th session of the organization's regional committee for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo. The strategy includes methods of maximizing collaboration between TB and HIV/AIDS control programs and proposes ways to reduce the number of TB cases among people living with HIV/AIDS, according to Panapress/Afriquenligne. The strategy's seven focus areas are:
Africa represents 10% of the world's population but records approximately 25% of TB cases worldwide, according to WHO. Sambo said that 35% of people who have TB also have HIV and that TB causes about 40% of deaths among HIV-positive people (Panapress/Afriquenligne, 8/29).
Link to this story.
Saudi Arabia To Require Mandatory HIV Testing for Couples Before Marriage
[Aug 30, 2007]
Saudi Arabia starting next year plans to require couples wishing to be married to be screened for HIV, Khaled al-Zahrani, the Ministry of Health's assistant undersecretary for preventive medicine, said on Wednesday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Couples will be required to receive tests for both HIV and hepatitis at one of more than 20 centers to be established nationwide, according to al-Zahrani. If either partner tests HIV-positive and the couple still wishes to marry, the case will be considered in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, al-Zahrani said. About 11,000 HIV/AIDS cases were reported in the country between 1984, when the first case was recorded, and the end of 2005, according to a health ministry official (AFP/Yahoo! News, 8/29).
Link to this story.
UNICEF Launches $500,000 Program in Zimbabwe To Train Teachers To Provide HIV Education
[Aug 30, 2007]
UNICEF on Monday launched a weeklong, $500,000 program in Zimbabwe aimed at training 1,500 primary and secondary teachers on how to provide HIV prevention education, UN News Service reports. About 500,000 children will participate in the program, which will focus on teaching life skills for HIV prevention, addressing gender dimensions of HIV, fighting sexual gender-based violence and providing counseling.
The program also will help teachers to understand and handle their vulnerability to HIV and will examine prevention, care, support and treatment, UN News Service reports. The program will be held at seven teaching colleges in Bulawayo, Harare, Masvingo, Mutare and Mutoko. A similar program last year trained 1,200 teachers from 18 districts. The training will be provided by UNICEF; the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture; the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education; and VVOB-ZimPATH, a Flemish HIV/AIDS education project.
About 20% of Zimbabwe's adult population is HIV-positive. A 2005 decrease in HIV prevalence in the country was attributed to delayed sexual activity among young people, faithfulness and increased condom use, according to UNAIDS (UN News Service, 8/28).
Link to this story.
Public Health & Education
HIV Self-Test Kits Ineffective Among High-Risk Populations, Study Says
[Aug 30, 2007]
Some HIV self-test kits are used improperly by high-risk groups, and such groups can interpret test results inaccurately, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Reuters Health reports. Vernon Lee of the Tan Took Seng hospital in Singapore and colleagues conducted the study at two major HIV/AIDS centers among 350 participants, 88 of whom were known to be HIV-positive, using Abbott Laboratories' Determine HIV 1/2 self-test. Ninety percent of the study participants before using the test said that the steps were easy to understand and that the instructions were easy to read and follow. However, the researchers found that 85% of the participants did not perform all of the test steps correctly or were unable to perform the test at all. They also found that as a result, invalid test results occurred in 56% of the cases, according to Reuters Health.
The researchers also found that 12% of study participants were not able to interpret the test results correctly, including 2% who incorrectly interpreted positive results and 7% who incorrectly interpreted negative results. The Determine self-test when properly used had accuracy rates similar to Abbott's claims, according to the study. The researchers said that "blood sampling via finger prick and collection via capillary tube was difficult for participants." Lee added that the biggest issue for participants was collecting an adequate blood sample.
According to the researchers, the participants known to be HIV-positive correctly performed the test and interpreted the results more often, which could indicate their "exposure to and experience with blood tests." They concluded that the "implementation of self-testing should be reconsidered until kit design and downstream issues have been adequately addressed." According to the study, 18% of participants cited inconvenience and long wait times as deterrents to receiving an HIV test at health care facilities (Reuters Health, 8/28).
The study abstract is available online.
Link to this story.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Kaisernetwork.org. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
