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Volume 2, Number 38
23 September 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
Sudan's
Media Laws Frustrate Drives on AIDS and Genital Mutilation
(news article)
A growing clampdown on the press is affecting public
health campaigns in Sudan, just as a breakdown in
peace talks dashed hopes of ending one of the world's
most intractable civil wars.
Bayer
Granted United States Approval for HIV Test (news
article)
Bayer, Germany's largest drug maker, said Tuesday
that it had received Fod and Drug Administration approval
for a test that identifies HIV. The test, called Versant,
can detect the amount of all major types of HIV in
the blood and can help monitor the disease and measure
the effectiveness of therapy, Bayer said.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Efficacy,
Cycle Control, and User Acceptability of a Novel Combined
Contraceptive Vaginal Ring (PubMed abstract)
The vaginal ring was an effective contraceptive with
excellent cycle control that was convenient, well
tolerated, and highly acceptable to users, according
to this one-year multicenter study.
Vaginal Wetness:
An Underestimated Problem Experienced By Progestogen
Injectable Contraceptive Users In South Africa
(research abstract)
Eight hundred and forty-eight women aged 15-49 were
interviewed in a rural district of KwaZulu-Natal in
South Africa and 22.1 percent reported current use
of an injectable contraceptive method. Vaginal wetness
was reported by 18.4 percent of users and was one
of the most common side effects, second only to amenorrhoea
(62.5 percent). It was also what 17.5 percent of the
women liked least about using this method. Since some
South African men may prefer dry sex the perception
that the injectable contraceptive increases vaginal
wetness may be problematic for women who use it.
Induction
to Delivery Time Interval in Patients With and Without
Preeclampsia: A Retrospective Analysis (PubMed
abstract)
It is suggested that patients with preeclampsia have
a shorter induction to delivery interval than patients
without preeclampsia, despite there being no good
objective evidence. Results showed that the women
with preeclampsia had a statistically significant
longer induction to delivery interval than those without
preeclampsia.
Is
Multiple Sclerosis a Sexually Transmitted Infection?
(research abstract)
Related news article: MS
Might Be Sexually Transmitted
Building on a longstanding theory that multiple sclerosis
(MS) is triggered by an as-yet-undiscovered virus,
a British researcher has assembled evidence from dozens
of different studies he claims support his hypothesis
MS might be transmitted primarily by sexual contact.
A number of experts question the validity of the data
used to support the theory, however.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Beyond
the Pill: Four New Devices Aim to Make Contraception
Easier (news article)
The old contraceptive drugs, in new delivery systems
(the ring, a patch, an injection, and an intrauterine
system) are liberating women from the daily routine
of swallowing a pill. When taken perfectly, the new
contraceptives work nearly perfectly, with a less
than 1 percent chance of failure.
Uganda:
Huge Families Shock Visiting Asians (news article)
A visiting delegation from Thailand and Cambodia has
expressed worry about Uganda's "non-existent"
family planning practice. The delegation visiting
under the South to South Initiative on HIV/AIDS said
they were staggered by the number of children in some
homesteads, in a country where HIV is still a big
problem.
Uganda:
Fishermen Ask Government to Provide Larger Condoms
(news article)
Fishermen have expressed dissatisfaction with the
condoms available on the market and asked the Government
to provide larger ones.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Gender
and HIV-Associated Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Presentation
and Outcome at One Year after Beginning Antituberculosis
Treatment in Uganda 
(research article)
Tuberculosis is the leading infectious disease cause
of death in women globally. Reports have suggested
that responses to tuberculosis may differ between
men and women. Researchers investigated gender related
differences in the presentation and one year outcomes
of HIV-infected adults with initial episodes of pulmonary
tuberculosis in Uganda. While differences existed
between males and females at presentation, the outcomes
at one year after the initiation of tuberculosis treatment
were similar in Uganda.
Explosive
Spread and High Prevalence of HIV Infection Among
Injecting Drug Users In Togliatti City, Russia
(PubMed abstract)
The purpose of the study was to establish the prevalence
of antibodies to HIV (anti-HIV) and associated risk
factors among injecting drug users (IDU) in Togliatti
City, Samara Oblast, Russian Federation. Researchers
found anti-HIV prevalence was 56 percent (234/418).
Three-quarters of anti-HIV-positive IDU (74 percent)
were unaware of their positive status.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Chinese AIDS Activist
Freed after Confessing to 'Leaking Secrets' (news
article)
Detained Chinese AIDS activist Wan Yanhai was released
after confessing to "illegally leaking state
secrets," his wife and China's official media
said. Wan, one of China's most prominent AIDS campaigners,
had been held in custody by Chinese authorities since
August 25, sparking a wave of condemnation from international
rights groups.
Eastern European
HIV Epidemic 'Virtually Unchecked' (news article)
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has exploded in Eastern Europe
and the Commonwealth of Independent States, posing
the greatest health threat to youth in the region,
according to the UN.
India:
Giving AIDS the Red Light (news article)
In recent years, public health officials, social workers,
and politicians swarmed Kolkata's red-light areas,
advocating safe sex, offering medical services, and
distributing condoms, resulting in tremendously successful
initiatives like the Sonagachi AIDS Project. Now only
9 percent of about 6,000 sex workers are HIV positive.
Drawing inspiration from the Sonagachi AIDS Project,
a group of doctors, psychologists, and other concerned
citizens opened the City Counseling Center in downtown
Kolkata, providing medical and psychological consultation,
as well as cheap antiretroviral drugs.
Top
Researcher Says AIDS Vaccine Could Arrive in Five
Years (news article)
After years of frustrating near-breakthroughs, a vaccine
could be developed within five years that would provide
complete protection against HIV, an AIDS researcher
from the University of Maryland said.
South
Africa: Children TV Series Introduces HIV Positive
Puppet (news article)
An HIV positive muppet will soon join the cast of
South Africa's Takalani Sesame, a local television
production of children's educational program, Sesame
Street. The muppet was unveiled at a press conference
held in Cape Town, by the Sesame Workshop, the Department
of Education, United States Agency for International
Development, and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
HIV Vaccine Trials
May Be Opposed by AIDS Victims (news article)
The very groups who may most benefit from an AIDS
vaccine may also be the ones who offer the most resistance
to its final testing phase. Researchers said this
week they expect opposition to widespread HIV vaccine
tests from groups comprising gay men, blacks and IV
drug users.
HIV
Rate Down, AIDS Deaths Up in Cambodia (news article)
The percentage of 15- to 49-year-old Cambodians with
HIV infection fell from 3.3 percent in 1998 to 2.6
percent this year. But AIDS deaths rose by about 18,000
in the past 2 years, to 78,600.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Syphilis
in Pregnancy in Tanzania. I. Impact of Maternal Syphilis
on Outcome of Pregnancy (research abstract)
Researchers measured the impact of maternal syphilis
on pregnancy outcome in the Mwanza Region of Tanzania.
Women with high-titer active syphilis were at the
greatest risk of having low-birth-weight or preterm
live births, compared with women with other serological
stages of syphilis. Among unscreened women, 51 percent
of stillbirths, 24 percent of preterm live births,
and 17 percent of all adverse pregnancy outcomes were
attributable to maternal syphilis.
Syphilis
in Pregnancy in Tanzania. II. The Effectiveness of
Antenatal Syphilis Screening and Single-Dose Benzathine
Penicillin Treatment for the Prevention of Adverse
Pregnancy Outcomes (research abstract)
Researchers examined the effectiveness of treating
maternal syphilis with single-dose benzathine penicillin.
There was no increased risk for adverse pregnancy
outcome for women treated for high-titer active syphilis,
compared with seronegative women. Single-dose treatment
is effective in preventing adverse pregnancy outcomes
attributable to maternal syphilis.
Progress
Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication - India, Bangladesh,
and Nepal, January 2001-June 2002 (research report)
This report summarizes progress towards polio eradication
in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal during January 2001to
June 2002 and highlights the remaining challenges
to eradicating polio in these countries.
India:
Polio Epidemic Hits Uttar Pradesh (research article)
A poliomyelitis epidemic has hit India's most populous
state, Uttar Pradesh, seriously derailing efforts
to control the disease. So far this year, 407 cases
of polio have been recorded in India, 347 (85 percent)
of which have been in Uttar Pradesh, which is situated
in northern India.
Effectiveness
of Nurses as Providers of Birth Labor Support in North
American Hospitals (research abstract)
Based on a Cochrane Review that concluded that continuous
caregiver support during labor had many benefits,
including reduced likelihood of cesarean delivery,
researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial
to evaluate the effectiveness of nurses as providers
of labor support in North American hospitals. Patients
were randomly assigned to receive usual care or continuous
labor support by a specially trained nurse during
labor. Continuous labor support by nurses did not
affect the likelihood of cesarean delivery or other
medical or psychosocial outcomes of labor and birth.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Breast-Feeding May
Not Ward Off Allergies, Asthma (news article)
A new long-term study is challenging the notion that
breast-feeding helps protect children from developing
allergies and asthma, one of the widely promoted potential
benefits of breast-feeding. In fact, researchers found
that of the more than 1,000 children they followed
to age 26, those who were breast-fed for at least
4 weeks were more likely to develop asthma or various
types of allergies.
Mozambique:
Focus on Poverty and Maternal Mortality (news
article)
Mozambique's maternal mortality rate stands at an
estimated 1,500 out of 100,000 live births, one of
the highest rates in the world. In this southern African
country, myths, lack of education and trained medical
staff, poorly equipped health facilities with no maternity
wards, unreliable or no communication and transport,
make giving birth a high risk event. "If a woman
has bad habits during her pregnancy, then she will
have a complicated birth," said Elena Feta, an
elderly traditional birth attendant working in Federico's
district. Asked for examples of bad habits, she explained
that, "the woman probably had sex with another
man during the pregnancy."
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Levonorgestrel
Implants (Norplant II) for Male Contraception Clinical
Trials: Combination with Transdermal and Injectable
Testosterone (research abstract)
Related research: Suppression
of Spermatogenesis by Etonogestrel Implants with Depot
Testosterone: Potential for Long-Acting Male Contraception
(research abstract)
Related news article: Hormone Therapy
Shows Promise as Male Contraceptive
In two recent studies on male contraceptives, hormone
combinations effectively suppressed sperm. Whether
the drop in sperm supply can actually prevent pregnancy
remains to be seen, but researchers are encouraged
by the results, saying that the next step is to refine
the combinations to make them more convenient and
long-lasting. In one study, the research team tested
the sperm-suppressing abilities of several combinations
of hormones that included testosterone and levonorgestrel,
the hormone used in the female contraceptive implant
Norplant II. 93 percent of men receiving hormone implants
plus testosterone injections reached azoospermia,
which is a complete lack of sperm in semen. In a second
study, a team in the UK reports that another hormone
combination also resulted in substantial suppression
of sperm production--one or two long-acting implants
of the hormone etonogestrel in addition to testosterone
pellets placed under the skin in the abdomen.
Parasites
May Sap Male Longevity (news article)
Males suffer more parasitic infections than females,
which could help explain why they die earlier, say
Scottish researchers.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Wake
Forest-Johns Hopkins Team Discovers Prostate Cancer
Gene (news article)
Scientists in the Center for Human Genomics at Wake
Forest University School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions have discovered a gene that may
play an important role in prostate cancer susceptibility
in both African-American men and men of European descent.
POPULATION RESEARCH
Populations
of the Industrial World: A Convergent Demographic
Community? (research abstract)
Europe's populations have emerged from a long period
of demographic transition. The end-point of demographic
transition is often assumed to be convergence to a
new stable post-transitional regime. This paper measures
demographic convergence in industrial societies to
see if they are acquiring a common pattern.
Population
Growth and Intensification of Land Use in India
(research abstract)
Linkages between population growth, socioeconomic
development and agricultural intensification are examined
using district-level data for India for 1951, 1961,
1971, 1981 and 1991.
POPULATION NEWS
Gender
Gap Growing in Transition Countries of Europe-Central
Asia (news article)
Gender disparities are growing in the 27 transition
countries of Europe and Central Asia, according to
a new report by the World Bank, but the economic transformation
has affected male and female populations in the region
in different ways.
United
Arab Emirates: Population Growth Set to Slow (news
article)
The UAE's population growth is expected to slow in
the coming years as a possible exodus of foreigners
will offset rapid growth in the native population
and maintain the UAE's status as one of the wealthiest
nations.
Uganda:
Census Officials Call for Patience (news article)
The Uganda Bureau of Standards (UBOS) asked for patience
as their national exercise continued. The deputy executive
director of UBOS said, "The exercise is still
on schedule. People should be patient and co-operate
with the enumerators."
Zimbabwe:
Ndebeles Wary of Census Outcome (news article)
Residents in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo have
challenged the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to
supply accurate figures of the city's population when
it announces its findings. The call comes in the wake
of allegations that the CSO deliberately reduced the
figures of the city's population supplied by enumerators
in the last census which was conducted in 1992.
Russia: Census-Takers
Will Pay Foreigners a Visit (news article)
Foreign nationals visiting or living in Russia will
be covered by the nationwide census next month just
like their Russian neighbors, in part to help the
government design its migration and labor policy,
officials from the State Statistics Committee said.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Hormone
Replacement Therapy and Associated Risk of Stroke
in Postmenopausal Women (research abstract)
Related news article: Hormone Replacement
Stroke Risk Debated
In a conclusion that counters other recent findings,
researchers said postmenopausal women taking hormone
replacement therapy, adjusting for overall cardiovascular
risk, seem to show no increased risk of stroke vs.
women not taking HRT.
Cancer
Incidence in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers (research
abstract)
Related research: Cancer
Risk Estimates for BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Identified
in a Risk Evaluation Program (research abstract)
Related news article: Breast
Cancer Gene May Be Associated With Additional Cancers
Two new studies suggest that people who inherit BRCA1
mutations are at an increased risk of not only breast
and ovarian cancer but a number of other cancers as
well. However, the absolute magnitude of the increase
in risk of these other cancers is small.
Heritability
of Mammographic Density, a Risk Factor for Breast
Cancer (research abstract)
Women with extensive dense breast tissue visible on
a mammogram have a risk of breast cancer that is 1.8
to 6.0 times that of women of the same age with little
or no density. Menopausal status, weight, and parity
account for 20 to 30 percent of the age-adjusted variation
in the percentage of dense tissue. Researchers undertook
two studies of twins (one in Australia and one in
the U.S. and Canada) to determine the proportion of
the residual variation in the percentage of density
measured by mammography that can be explained by unmeasured
additive genetic factors. According to the classic
twin model, the proportion of variants attributable
to additive genetic factors accounted for 63 percent
of the variation in density in all twins studied.
Finding the genes responsible for this phenotype could
be important for understanding the causes of the disease.
Screening
for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Review of the Evidence
for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (research
article)
Related summary of recommendations: Screening
for Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women: Recommendations
and Rationale
Related news article: Early
Osteoporosis Detection Can Prevent Fractures
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends
that women aged 65 and older be routinely screened
for osteoporosis to reduce the risk of fracture and
spinal abnormalities often associated with the disease.
The Task Force also recommends that routine screening
begin at age 60 for those women identified as high
risk because of their weight or estrogen use. The
recommendations mark the first time the Task Force
has called for routine osteoporosis screening.
A
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Testing and Treatment
of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection Among Asymptomatic
Women Infected with Neisseria Gonorrhoeae (Pubmed
Abstract)
The goal of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness
of routine dual treatment of women with infection,
with or without separate testing for, compared with
an alternative of testing for both infections and
restricting treatment for to women testing positive
for. Researchers found that testing for both infections
is more cost-effective than routine presumptive treatment
for. Providing both presumptive treatment and testing
for can also be cost-effective in some settings.
Design
and Methods of the Evaluation of an HPV-Based Cervical
Cancer Screening Strategy in Mexico: The Morelos HPV
Study (PubMed Abstract)
This paper describes the design and methodology of
the Morelos HPV Study. The main objective of this
study is to examine the use of two different methods
for obtaining HPV DNA specimens, self-collected vaginal
and clinician-collected cervical, to detect pre-invasive
cervical lesions and cancer.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Fears
Over Long-term HRT Use (news article)
Women who take hormone replacement therapy long-term
are more likely to develop a serious disease than
be protected against one, researchers suggest. A review,
published in The Lancet, of four major studies into
the effects of HRT found that women who took the treatment
for five years had a higher risk of breast cancer,
stroke and blood clots in the lung but were less likely
to suffer from bowel cancer or hip fractures.
Tamoxifen
Reduces Breast Cancer by a Third in High Risk Women
(news article)
Tamoxifen reduces the risk of breast cancer by a third
over four years in healthy women at high risk of developing
the disease, a major international study has shown.
But the investigators consider that the increased
risk of thromboembolism and endometrial cancers from
the drug means that longer term follow up is needed
before a clear recommendation can be made on its use
in primary breast cancer prevention.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Association
of Adolescents' History of Sexually Transmitted Disease
(STD) and Their Current High-Risk Behavior and STD
Status: A Case for Intensifying Clinic-Based Prevention
Efforts (Pubmed abstract)
The goal was to examine the associations between adolescents'
self-reported history of STD diagnosis and current
sexual risk behaviors, prevention knowledge and attitudes,
and STD infection status. Findings suggest that there
is a need to intensify clinic-based prevention efforts
directed toward adolescents with a history of STDs,
as a strategy for reducing STD-associated risk behaviors
and, consequently, the likelihood of new STD infections.
Sexual
History and Epstein-Barr Virus Infection (research
abstract)
Related news article: Mono Virus
Sometimes Passed Through Sex: Study (news article)
Sexual intercourse may be an important route of transmission
for the "kissing disease" mononucleosis
among teenagers, a study of UK college students suggests.
YOUTH NEWS
HIV
Hits Eastern Europe Youth (news article)
HIV and AIDS are spreading faster in eastern Europe
than anywhere else in the world, posing a major threat
to young people's health, experts warn.
Uganda:
Schools Need Health Education (news article)
Adolescence Reproductive Health Organisations have
asked the government to include Adolescence Sexual
Reproductive Health (ASRH) programmes in the current
schools curriculum to enable the HIV/AIDS message
reach all students.
BOOKS / BOOK REVIEWS
Contraceptive
Sterilization: Global Issues and Trends (book)
This book depicts the current state of contraceptive
sterilization. It is the most comprehensive current
source of information about the worldwide practice
of contraceptive sterilization since the 1985 landmark
publication Voluntary Sterilization: An International
Fact Book. This new resource, Contraceptive Sterilization,
provides the latest in-depth information about female
and male sterilization, quality service delivery,
sterilization incidence and prevalence, characteristics
of sterilization users, laws and policies around the
world, key factors influencing the use and outcomes
of sterilization, research gaps, and future trends
and needs.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Social
Monitor 2002: The MONEE Project, CEE/CIS/Baltics
(report)
HIV/AIDS is spreading at a faster rate in parts of
Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CEE/CIS) than anywhere else in
the world, says UNICEF in this new report. The report,
tracking the well being of children and young people
in the region, warns that HIV/AIDS is the greatest
threat to their health as it moves - virtually unchecked
- into the mainstream population in a number of countries.
Transforming
Health Systems: Gender and Rights in Reproductive
Health
(training manual)
This WHO manual, designed for health managers, discusses
health implications of sex differentials and gender.
The manual addresses the issue of women being more
subject to certain health risks and frequent lack
of services to meet their health needs related to
sexuality and reproduction.
Ignoranance
Only: HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, and Federally Funded
Abstinence-Only Programs in the United States
(research report)
U.S. federally funded abstinence-only programs interfere
with fundamental rights guaranteed by international
law. The failure to provide accurate information about
prevention of HIV transmission needlessly puts children
at risk of contracting this devastating and fatal
disease, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report.
The
European Health Report 2002 (report)
The report provides a broad but concise picture of
the health status and health determinants in the European
Region, and identifies areas for public health action
for the Member States and the European public health
community. While overall levels of health in the Region
are among the highest in the world, the report describes
widening gaps between and within countries.
Indonesia
and HIV/AIDS: A Slow Progress (opinion/interview)
Some 300 participants of the recent ASEAN People's
Assembly in Denpasar, Bali, demanded that the next
summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, scheduled for November, address the
"human security" agenda, urgent issues affecting
the welfare of some 500 million people in the region.
Among these issues is HIV/AIDS, with a more effective
approach by ASEAN called for given the slow progress
some member countries have made in addressing this
pressing issue. An assembly participant who is also
an HIV/AIDS councillor, Danny Irawan Yatim, shared
his views with The Jakarta Post on Indonesia's progress
in this area.
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