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(From Video Transcript:) The World Health Organization says Cuba has reached one of the greatest public health milestones possible. It has ended the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. At a news conference in Havana, WHO representative Jose Luis di Fabio praised Cuba’s health system. […] UNICEF Representative Anna Lucia d’Emilio says Cuba’s achievement shows that ending the AIDS epidemic is possible. …

<p>TAMPA — Health officials in Hillsborough County are keeping a close watch on the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases in the area.</p> <p>The Florida Department of Health reported 272 new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus in Hillsborough County in 2012. In 2013, that number jumped to 347, and in 2014 it jumped again to 445.</p>

(CNSNews.com) -- The American University Museum in Washington, D.C. will host an art exhibition this fall that protests the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with other men (MSM).The museum says the exhibit, entitled “Blood Mirror", will feature a “powerful sculpture created from the blood of 9 gay men." Viewers of the sculpture will be able to see themselves reflected on the surface of the encased blood.​Gay artist Jordan Eagles said in a press release that he preserved the blood within a seven-foot-tall monolith to show “that this blood could have been used...

Patton Couch shook his head and clenched his teeth, recounting the night four years ago when he plucked a dirty needle from a pile at a flophouse and jabbed it into his scarred arm. He knew the odds; most of the addicts in the room probably had hepatitis C. "All I cared about was how soon and how fast I could get it in," he says. "I hated myself, it was misery. But when you're in the grips of it, the only way I thought I could escape it was one more time." Couch, 25 years old and one month...

Rhode Island health officials are blaming dating apps, such as Tinder and Grindr, for a spike in syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV cases in the state. Syphilis cases have spiked 79%, while gonorrhea has risen 30%, according to data from 2013 and 2014. New cases of HIV increased by 32%. "These data send a clear signal that despite the progress we have made in reducing STDs and HIV over the years, there is more work to do," state health director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said in a statement. Officials say the spike there follows a national trend. "High-risk behaviours include using social...

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind [Homosexuals], Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 (KJV) Laodicean church pastor Rick Warren appeared in Congress with pop icon and outspoken homosexual Elton John on Wednesday to ask for more money for AIDS research. They were clearly having such a good time that they started holding hands as you see in the photo. Did Rick ever...

The number of confirmed and presumed HIV cases stemming from abuse of intravenous prescription drugs has increased to 142 in a rural part of southeastern Indiana and more cases are being identified every day, a state health official said on Friday. The HIV outbreak, the biggest in state history, is centered on Scott County near the Kentucky border and now includes at least five cases in neighboring Jackson County, officials said. "We likely haven't reached the peak of this outbreak, but we hope to soon through the continued comprehensive response made possible by the joint efforts of so many people...

Indiana Governor Mike Pence is extending an executive order allowing a needle exchange program in southern Indiana’s Scott County. So far, there have been 128 confirmed cases of HIV connected to Scott County and intravenous drug use. Last month, Pence signed a 30 day order to suspend state law and allow the needle exchange program. With that order due to expire on April 24, the governor signed Monday a new order extending the exchange program into May. Pence says he got the recommendation to do so from the Indiana State Department of Health, the CDC, and Scott County health officials....

According to the latest report by the Department of Health (DOH) last February, 20 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are diagnosed every day. This is almost 50 percent higher from the number of cases reported daily in 2012.

More than 100 people in southeastern Indiana have tested positive for HIV in an outbreak linked to the sharing of intravenous needles, and officials said Friday they’re trying to combat unfounded fears among drug users that they could be arrested if they take part in a needle-exchange program created to stem the spread of the virus. The state’s Joint Information Center said there had been 95 confirmed HIV cases and 11 preliminary positive cases tied to the outbreak as of Thursday. That’s up from last week’s 84 confirmed HIV cases and five preliminary positive cases. […] Indiana’s largest-ever HIV outbreak...

Study suggests adults infected with the virus can develop age-related diseases a decade earlier than their uninfected peers. People undergoing treatment for HIV-1 have an increased risk for earlier onset of age-related illnesses such as some cancers, renal and kidney disease, frailty, osteoporosis and neurocognitive disease. But is it because of the virus that causes AIDS or the treatment?

There is growing concern among scientists that inflammation caused by HIV and the side effects of some antiretroviral drugs, especially protease inhibitors, are increasing cardiovascular risk among people living with HIV. This was revealed during the fifth annual East African health and scientific conference held in Kampala last week. It was held under the theme; ‘Investing in health through strengthening regional health systems and institutions towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases.’ Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are heart and blood-vessel-related conditions, including hypertension, stroke, heart attacks and heart failure, among others and these account for nine per cent...

In the absence of antiretroviral therapy, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS can begin replicating in the brain as early as four months after initial infection, a new research has found.

The governor of Indiana has declared a “public health disaster emergency” after a spike of HIV cases in southern Indiana has alarmed health officials. Gov. Mike Pence made the declaration for Scott County after 71 confirmed and seven preliminary positive cases of HIV were found in the southeast region of the state. While nationwide HIV is primarily spread through sexual intercourse, this outbreak has been fueled by intravenous drug use, according to the Indiana Health Department. "I am deeply troubled by this outbreak, and stopping it is a top priority for our department," State Health Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams said...

The nation's highest military court has reversed the aggravated assault conviction of a Kansas airman accused of exposing multiple sex partners to HIV. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces unanimously ruled Monday that prosecutors failed to prove that any of (the) acts were likely to transmit HIV to his partners. The court upheld for "offensive touching to which his sexual partners did not provide meaningful informed consent". It also upheld his conviction for adultery, even though his wife participated.

The strain, CRF19, can transform from an infection to full-blown AIDS within just three years. That is considerably faster than the average conversion time of around 10 years - and can be so quick that a person may not even realise they are infected. Scientists were prompted to investigate amid a rising number of patients in Cuba suffering rapid progression to AIDS within three years of infection.

A strain of HIV that could develop into AIDS before patients realize they are infected has been identified in Cuba. This HIV strain if not treated develops into full-blown AIDS within three years, according to a new study.

A new HIV strain in some patients in Cuba appears to be much more aggressive and can develop into AIDS within three years of infection. Researchers said the progression happens so fast that treatment with antiretroviral drugs may come too late. Without treatment, HIV infection usually takes 5 to 10 years to turn into AIDS, according to Anne-Mieke Vandamme, a medical professor at Belgium's University of Leuvan. According to the study, published in the journal EBioMedicine, Vandamme was alerted to the new aggressive strain of HIV by Cuban health officials who wanted to find out what was happening.

A fungus called Cryptococcus gattii can cause life-threatening infections, especially in people with compromised immune systems. One-third of AIDS-related deaths are thought to be caused by the fungus. But though people in Southern California have been getting sick from C. gatti for years, nobody knew how.... C. gattii from three trees, Canary Island pine, New Zealand pohutukawa and American sweet gum, matched almost exactly with C. gattii from infected patients. And the tree samples matched not just those from recent patients but from people who were sick 10 to 12 years ago. Thus this strain of C. gattii has been...

... Currently, the FDA bans men who have had sex with other men “at any time since 1977 (the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States)” from giving blood based on their heightened risk for HIV. Because it still takes about two weeks after exposure to detect HIV—and up to several months in rare cases—the HHS recommends the one-year deferral period to be safe, following in the footsteps of the U.K., Sweden, Australia, and Japan. The new rule would be a step in the right direction from a government that has long clung to outdated conceptions of HIV...