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The Pop Reporter®

Volume 4, Number 28
12 July 2004

"The Pop Reporter" (R) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs INFO Project. When you click on any link below, your Internet browser will access a Web site not connected to "The Pop Reporter." Information accessed through these links and contained in this issue of "The Pop Reporter" does not necessarily state or reflect the views of the INFO Project, Johns Hopkins University, or the US Agency for International Development. All links were verified at the date of mailing. Your computer and/or network configuration regarding Java script, cookies, and other security issues may not allow you to view certain Web sites. Consult your computer technician if you are having problems.

FAMILY PLANNING/REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH

Macrolide Resistance in Treponema Pallidum in the United States and Ireland (research abstract)
Related news article: Mutant Syphilis Strain Resists Common Cure
Related news article: Antibiotic-Resistant Syphilis Spreading
A fast-spreading mutant strain of syphilis has proved resistant to the antibiotic pills that are offered to some patients as an alternative to painful penicillin shots. Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have found at least 10 percent of syphilis samples from patients at sexually transmitted disease clinics in four cities had a strain resistant to azithromycin. Experts say doctors should switch to penicillin or other antibiotics if azithromycin does not work. Findings also show that syphilis patients treated with azithromycin must have follow-up tests to be sure they are cured.

Inhibition of Papilloma Progression by Antisense Oligonucleotides Targeted to HPV11 E6/E7 RNA (research abstract)
Related news article: Study Suggests First Molecular Target to Halt Spread of HPV
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually-transmitted infection in the world. Types of HPV can cause fast-growing lesions such as genital and planter warts, and a number of HPV types are considered to be "high-risk" for development of cervical dysplasia, a known precursor to cervical cancer. Penn State College of Medicine researchers have discovered the first molecular therapy to target cancer-causing components and thereby destroy HPV infection.

Cervical Cancer Screening in Low-Resource Settings Using Visual Inspection With Acetic Acid (PubMed abstract)
Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death for middle-aged women in the developing world, yet it is almost completely preventable if precancerous lesions are identified and treated in a timely manner. Cervical cancer screening based on cytologic examination is largely unavailable in developing countries. Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) can be used to screen women. Although still under investigation, research results show that VIA is simple, accurate, cost-effective, and acceptable to most women.

Why Consider Vaginal Drug Administration? (PubMed abstract)
This study reviews the anatomy and physiology of the vagina, the merits of vaginal drug administration, and the currently available vaginal drug-administration systems. Although clinicians commonly use topically administered drugs in the vagina, this route for systemic drug administration is somewhat novel. Experience with a variety of products demonstrates that the vagina is a highly effective site for drug delivery, particularly in women's health. The vagina is often an ideal route for drug administration because it allows for the administration of lower doses, steady drug levels, and less frequent administration than the oral route. The safety and efficacy of vaginal administration have been well established. The vaginal route of drug delivery is acceptable and may even be a preferable route of administration for many drugs, particularly hormones, whether for contraception or postmenopausal estrogen therapy.

Reproductive Tract Infections in Rural Women from the Highlands, Jungle and Costal Regions of Peru (research article)
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This study defines the prevalences and manifestations of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) in rural Peruvian women. Of the 754 participants in the study, 77% were found to have symptoms indicative of RTIs and 70% had objective evidence of one or more RTIs. This study recommends that women with selected symptoms and signs of vaginal infection could benefit from standard metronidazole therapy.

FAMILY PLANNING/REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS

Investing in People: National Progress in Implementing the ICPD Programme of Action 1994-2004 (report)
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Related news article: New UN Survey Shows Progress in Meeting Global Reproductive Health Goals
Related press release: Countries Committed to Population Issues and Reproductive Health, New Global Survey Shows
This survey tracks the progress since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994. It was compiled based on responses from 169 countries on the steps they have taken to implement the Cairo Programme of Action, including measures related to population and development, gender equality, women’s empowerment, reproductive rights and health and HIV/AIDS. The report also presents actions these countries still need to take to achieve the ICPD goals.

Get a Bead on Family Planning (news article)
Victoria Jennings, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., created a natural way for women to either avoid or achieve pregnancy by using a string of colored beads. CycleBeads can help more than 80 percent of women determine the 12 days when they're most likely to get pregnant. Each day, the woman moves a black rubber band to the next bead. When the marker is on a red or dark bead, chances of conception are low. When the marker is on a white bead, chances of conception are high.

Vietnam Gives Top Priority to Population and Reproductive Health, Says UN Official (news article)
Vietnam has given top priority to population and reproductive health activities. It has shifted the focus of its population program population from quantity to quality and from limited family planning to reproductive health.

Vietnam Gets Its First Ever Condom-Vending Machine (news article)
Vietnam unveiled its first ever condom-vending machine as part of a campaign to cut unwanted pregnancies and prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Organizers of the campaign to encourage greater use of condoms said more prophylactic dispensers would be set up in bars, cafes and public toilets across the Vietnamese capital throughout the year.

FAMILY PLANNING/REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY

WHO to Propose International Drug Trial Registry (news article)
The World Health Organization is calling for the creation of an international drug registry to help inform the public about the effectiveness of different medications. The registry would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose details of all clinical trials, not just those that support the use of their drugs.

Iran: Fall in Population Growth Could Bring Economic Benefits (news article)
According to the United Nations Population Fund, Iran's population growth rate has declined by more than half over the past 10 years. The major challenge for Iran is to address the needs of Iran's 13-24 year-olds, who account for a third of the country's total population. Their needs for jobs, housing, reproductive health care and other social services will shape the human development outlook of Iran. If their needs are met and the replacement level fertility rates persist, then young people will form an invigorating labour force resulting in greater productivity savings and investments with significant prospects for development.

HIV/AIDS RESEARCH

Scaling Up Treatment for the Global AIDS Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities (report)
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Related news article: Report urges Peace Corps-like effort to fight AIDS worldwide
The Institute of Medicine has issued a new report calling on international aid organizations and governments to take prompt action to help developing nations deal with the epidemic of AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes it. The IOM report says that with cuts in the price of AIDS drugs and promises of billions of dollars in donations, the greatest obstacle now facing these large-scale initiatives is a shortage of qualified health care workers in the poor countries where the epidemic is at its worst. To overcome this, the IOM calls for a Peace Corps-like "HIV/AIDS corps" of technical specialists.

UNAIDS 2004 Report On the Global AIDS Epidemic (report)
Related news article: U.N.: AIDS Could Cost Asia $17.5B a Year
UNAIDS warns that the number of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has risen in every region of the world, and that last year five million people became newly infected with HIV--more people than any previous year. These findings are contained in the 2004 UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic, released in advance of the XV International AIDS Conference, to be held in Bangkok from 11-16 July 2004. The new report represents the most accurate picture of AIDS to date due to more comprehensive country surveillance data and improved methods for estimating HIV rates.

TREAT Asia Special Report: Expanded Availability of HIV/AIDS Drugs in Asia Creates Urgent Need for Trained Doctors (report)
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Related news article: Three Out of 27 Asian Antiretroviral Drug Manufacturers Meet WHO Quality Standards
Only three of the estimated 27 pharmaceutical companies in Asia producing generic antiretroviral drugs meet World Health Organization quality standards, leading to concerns that widespread use of possibly substandard drugs could result in drug resistant strains of HIV. In addition, most Asian nations have far too few doctors trained to administer complicated ARV regimens. The discrepancy in physician preparedness ranges from one doctor per 24 people infected with HIV in Japan to one doctor per nearly 11,250 infected people in Vietnam.

Analysis of Aid in Support of HIV/AIDS Control, 2000-2002 (report)
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A new study by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee(DAC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) demonstrates a clear trend toward rising aid donations to fight HIV/AIDS. The latest definitive figures, combining the aid efforts of major bilateral and multilateral donors, show an allocation of US$2.2 billion in 2002 to control and combat the pandemic in the developing world.

Palliative Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Appraisal (report)
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This report assesses the current provision of palliative care across sub-Saharan Africa and makes recommendations for scaling up its delivery to reach more of the people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-limiting disease.

Scaling Up Access to Antiretroviral Treatment in Southern Africa: Who Will Do the Job? (PubMed abstract)
Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa have some of the highest HIV/AIDS burdens in the world. All four countries have ambitious plans for scaling-up antiretroviral treatment for the millions of HIV-positive people in the region. Following a visit in January 2004, the authors found that financial resources are not regarded as the main immediate constraint anymore, but that the lack of human resources for health is seen as the single most serious obstacle for implementing the national treatment plans. However, none of the countries has developed an comprehensive human resource strategy.

Rapid HIV-1 Testing During Labor: A Multicenter Study (research abstract)
Related news article: Rapid Test During Labor May Cut HIV Transmission
The Mother-Infant Rapid Intervention At Delivery (MIRIAD) study examines the feasibility and acceptance of rapid HIV testing among women in labor. Of the 4849 women who consented to the test, HIV-1 test results were positive for 34 women. The study concludes that rapid HIV testing is feasible and delivers accurate and timely test results for women in labor. It provides HIV-positive women prompt access to intrapartum and neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis, proven to reduce perinatal HIV transmission, and may be particularly applicable to higher-risk populations.

HIV/AIDS NEWS

Expert: AIDS Could Breed Africa Terrorism (news article)
If African nations lose the war against AIDS, the continent risks becoming the next breeding ground for international terrorists such as al-Qaeda operatives, according to American diplomat, Dan Mozena. Mr. Mozena recently finished a three-year tour as deputy chief of mission in Zambia and becomes director of the office of Southern African Affairs at the U.S. State Department in mid-August.

HIV/AIDS Body Says WTO Drug Deal Not Being Implemented (news article)
A World Trade Organization deal allowing poor nations to import generic copies of patented drugs is not being implemented, depriving countries of a cheap source of supply, according to UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot. The pact, finalized last September, is supposed to allow developing countries with meagre or no drug industries to buy generic drugs from countries such as India or Brazil to combat HIV/AIDS and other health crises.

Hong Kong Braces for HIV/AIDS Explosion (news article)
Hong Kong is preparing to deal with the effects of an expected explosion in HIV/AIDS infections in China to 10 million cases by 2010, according to the Department of Health. The territory's reported HIV/AIDS cases would likely more than double, possibly to around 5,000 from 2,300 cases now, because people infected with it could infect others before they were diagnosed, a local HIV/AIDS support group, AIDS Concern, said.

Device Could Help Global AIDS Treatment: Researchers Develop Device to Help in AIDS Diagnosis and Treatment Worldwide (news article)
Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a device that allows doctors in remote areas to quickly and cheaply conduct a key diagnostic test for the AIDS virus. Devices that measure AIDS patients' cells, called CD4 lymphocytes, now cost about $75,000. Researchers hope to get the cost of the new device down to $1,000, with each test costing $5.

Health-Senegal: Cardinals And Khalifs Unite Against HIV/AIDS (news article)
A successful partnership between religion and public health has been one of the pillars of Senegal's anti-AIDS strategy. HIV prevalence in Senegal remains low, at 1.4 percent of the 10-million-strong population. This amounts to some 80,000 HIV-positive people. Although Senegal shares some of the problems common to West Africa such as poverty, it has managed to pull off what other nations in sub-Saharan Africa have not: implementation of rapid response and prevention programmes for AIDS.

Thailand's 'Condom King' Aims at Renewed AIDS Threat (news article)
Armed with the shiny packets of rubber that made him famous years ago, Thailand's "Condom King" Mechai Viravaidya is taking aim at a new generation of Thais threatened by the deadly AIDS disease. Mechai, whose safe sex gospel was hailed for helping to stop the rampant spread of the disease in Thailand a decade ago, now finds himself in the thick of a renewed fight against HIV/AIDS. A new generation of young Thais are flirting with danger, shunning condoms and raising fears that infection rates will climb again.

Top U.S. AIDS Official Discusses New Vietnam Funding (news article)
Vietnam is expected to receive about $10 million in HIV/AIDS funds under a $15 billion U.S. program, with prevention and treatment as the main strategies, according to the head of the U.S. AIDS project. The communist nation was last month designated as one of 15 countries eligible to share in the U.S. plan to combat AIDS, surprising some experts who had expected harder-hit India and China to be picked. The other 14 designated countries are in Africa and the Caribbean.

AIDS Patients to Receive Free Drugs for First Time in Egypt (news article)
Egyptian HIV/AIDS patients will start receiving free antiretroviral drugs for the first time, the semi-official al-Ahram daily reported. The announcement by Health Minister Mohammed Awad Tag Eddin coincided with the launching of a national campaign to raise awareness about the disease.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH

Antenatal Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression: A Synthesis of Recent Literature (PubMed abstract)
Postpartum nonpsychotic depression is the most common complication of childbearing, affecting approximately 10-15 percent of women and, as such, represents a considerable health problem affecting women and their families. This systematic review provides a synthesis of the recent literature pertaining to antenatal risk factors associated with developing this condition. Critical appraisal of the literature revealed a number of methodological and knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in future research. These include examining specific risk factors in women of lower socioeconomic status, risk factors pertaining to teenage mothers, and the use of appropriate instruments assessing postpartum depression for use within different cultural groups.

Use of Volunteer Medical Brigades to Assess Child Growth in Honduras (research abstract)
This cross-sectional study found that a visiting volunteer group can sucessfully collect quality child growth data that may assist in nutritional surveillance, identify predictors of poor growth, and provide information useful for local public health initiatives.

Outcomes of Pregnancy in Women with Tetralogy of Fallot (research abstract)
Related news article: Pregnancy Risky for Women with Heart Defect
This study examines how Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a congenital heart defect in which major arteries are misconnected to the wrong chambers of the heart, influences pregnency outcomes. It was found that women with TOF have an increased risk for miscarriage and their offspring are at increased risk for birth defects.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS

Cases of Rotavirus Higher than Previously Thought (news article)
Related press release: Global Deaths from Rotavirus Higher than Estimated, CDC Says
Worldwide cases of rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children, are significantly higher than originally estimated. According to Umesh Parashar, a researcher from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease kills 608,000 children annually, compared to standing estimates of 440,000. No vaccine for rotavirus is currently available, but testing is under way. Mexico is believed to be close to introducing the first vaccine.

First Large Scale Clinical Trial on a Fortified Milk Shows Significant Prevention of Childhood Diseases (news article)
The world's first-ever large-scale clinical study of the effect of fortified milk on child health has found that leading childhood diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia can be prevented by feeding children a milk fortified with a specific combination of nutrients. These groundbreaking results come from the world's first rigorously designed, large-scale clinical trial investigating the health effects of a milk powder in young children aged one to four years.

Maternal and Child Mortality Among the Indigenous People of the Americas (report)
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Related press release: Maternal Mortality is Higher for Indigenous Groups
Rates of infant and maternal mortality in indigenous communities are among the highest in the Americas. To address such problems, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is working with municipal organizations to carry out community programs that involve midwives and community leaders in efforts to improve sanitary conditions during childbirth and to identify high-risk cases and assure they are properly referred.

Sudan: UN Agencies Vaccinate 2 Million Children Against Measles in Darfur (news article)
Two million children in Sudan's troubled Darfur region have been immunized against measles, but as many as 500,000 others are without vaccinations because it is too dangerous for health workers to reach them. More than 2,000 teams from the Sudanese health ministry and from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have spent the past month vaccinating children across Darfur--an impoverished region similar in size to France.

Nigerian State of Kano Resumes Polio Vaccination (news article)
Polio has been spreading fast across Nigeria since Kano, the largest of the northern Islamic states, suspended vaccination last August, claiming that the oral vaccine caused infertility and led to the spread of HIV. The state has agreed to resume polio vaccination early this month, reviving hopes of the World Health Organization that transmission of the disease may be permanently halted by the end of the year.

Health Groups Reinstate Recommendation for Third Dose of Pediatric Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (Prevnar®) (news article)
Related news article: Current Vaccine Delays and Shortages
Public health and physician groups today recommended that healthcare providers increase the number of doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7, trade name Prevnar) administered to healthy children from two to three. The vaccine can help prevent serious pneumococcal diseases, such as meningitis and blood infections. The vaccine is normally recommended for young children in a four-dose schedule: one dose each at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months of age, and one dose between 12 and 15 months of age.

Ministry of Zimbabwe Gets Ox-Drawn Ambulances (news article)
The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare received nine ox-drawn ambulances and three regular ambulances worth about $550 million from the United Nations Children’s Fund. Studies conducted in Zimbabwe demonstrated that a significant proportion of maternal deaths were caused by avoidable factors, which included delays in making a decision to seek assistance, lack of transport to the nearest health facility and failure to get immediate attention after arrival. The carts are expected to make a great impact in reducing avoidable maternal deaths.

MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH

Trends in Primary and Secondary Syphilis and HIV Infections in Men Who Have Sex with Men--San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, 1998-2002 (research article)
Related news article: CDC: HIV Didn't Follow Syphilis Outbreak
Because syphilis infection facilitates acquisition and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), recent outbreaks of syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in major U.S. cities and reported increases in sexual risk behavior have raised concerns about potential increases in HIV transmission. This report indicates that among MSM, syphilis outbreaks did not have a substantial impact on incidence of HIV.

Preoperative PSA Velocity and the Risk of Death from Prostate Cancer after Radical Prostatectomy (news article)
Related news article: Antigen May Play Role In Prostate Cancer
This study evaluated whether men at risk of death from prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy can be identified using information available at diagnosis. Up to now, doctors have focused largely on the PSA level itself, and not on how it changes over time. The study found that prostate cancer is much more likely to kill if a man's PSA level rises rapidly before the cancer is even diagnosed, rather than looking solely at the PSA level.

MEN'S HEALTH NEWS

Companies Study, Develop Vasectomy Alternatives: Vasclip Device Offers an Outpatient Option to Standard Procedure (news article)
Related news article: Vasclip is Variant on Permanent Vasectomies
Two companies have developed, or are in the process of developing , alternatives to conventional vasectomy for men. VMBC LLC of Minnesota, has been selling its Vasclip device for more than a year, and the device is gaining interest among consumers. The Vasclip is a tiny plastic device the size of a grain of rice that clips shut the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm out of the testes. The procedure, performed on an outpatient basis, takes less than 15 minutes. The company markets the Vasclip as permanent, but hopes to conduct more studies to determine whether it can be easily reversed.

Reversing vasectomies (news article)
Every year about half a million men have a vasectomy. New research shows that up to 10 percent of those men eventually have a change of heart and want more children. Even after a long-term vasectomy, reversal can still lead to pregnancy. A study of vasectomy reversals published in the journal Urology found a 40 percent pregnancy rate for partners of men who’d had their vasectomy for at least 10 years and 27 percent pregnancy rates for partners of men having a vasectomy for 20 or more years.

Government of Pakistan Offers Rs 10,000 to Opt for Vasectomy (news article)
In an effort to control population explosion, the Punjab government in Pakistan will offer up to Rs 10,000 to married couples who voluntarily opt for vasectomy after giving birth to a maximum of two or three children. The offer is pending approval from the Pakistani government.

Pioneering Men's Health Project in Central Scotland Very Effective (news article)
A pioneering men's health project, run by the Camelon Centre for Men’s Health in central Scotland, has proven so effective that it has been adopted as the model for a £4m pilot to be rolled out across the country. The project's clinics were first established in 2001 and have provided men with consistent access to health professionals, with a significant number of them attending the center for their first health check-up in many years.

POPULATION RESEARCH

Fertility Behaviour of Recent Immigrants to Israel: A Comparative Analysis of Immigrants From Ethiopia and the Former Soviet Union (research article)
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This paper describes and compares the fertility behaviour of two large groups of immigrants, from the former Soviet Union (FSU) and from Ethiopia, to Israel in the last 20 years. The findings reveal that the fertility behaviour of immigrants is changing. The fertility of FSU immigrants is increasing and that of the Ethiopian immigrants decreasing, with accompanying changes in the proximate determinants of fertility. Although the fertility of immigrants is becoming more similar to that of the receiving society, the methods employed to achieve the fertility change are not necessarily similar, and, in some cases, diverge from the norms of the receiving society.

BubR1 Insufficiency Causes Early Onset of Aging-Associated Phenotypes and Infertility in Mice (news article)
Related news article: Researchers Identify Gene Regulating Aging and Fertility
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a gene responsible for the onset of aging, including age-related disorders such as infertility, reproductive problems and cataracts. This research, conducted in genetically modified mice, is promising in helping physicians understand and treat the same disorders in humans.

Hepatitis E Vaccines: Progress and Prospects (PubMed abstract)
Hepatitis E accounts for the major part of enterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis worldwide. In developing countries with poor sanitary conditions and high population density, hepatitis E causes water-borne epidemics with substantial mortality rates in pregnant women. Several recombinant protein-based vaccines elicited neutralising antibodies and protective immunity in vaccinated non-human primates. One such vaccine has passed phase I trial and is currently under further evaluation in field trials.

POPULATION NEWS

Nepal's Population Reaches 23.8 Million (news article)
With a growth rate of 2.25 percent, Nepal's population in 2004 has reached an estimated 23.8 million. Nepal's population growth rate is one of the highest among developing countries. Average life span for men has increased to 60.1 years from 55.9, and for women to 60.7 from 53.4, while child and infant mortality rates have decreased significantly in the past 10 years. The fertility rate in Nepal, however, has decreased to 4.1 percent from 5.1 percent. The use of contraceptives has invreased from 25.1 percent to 39.3 percent.

East Timor Census Gauges Population Rates (news article)
In the next few weeks, statisticians in East Timor could have a clearer idea of how the bloodshed in 1999 affected the size of the population. The first national census begins in East Timor soon, with thousands of people employed to survey every single household, right down to the last bamboo hut in the most far-flung corner of the country.

Malawi is Fastest Urbanizing Country in the World, UN Says (news article)
Related news article: Malawi: Rapid Urbanization Places Burden on Already Strained Resources
Malawi's rate of urbanization is the fastest in the world, and the landlocked southern African country will need heavy investment in its harsh rural areas to stop the rapid migration to towns, according to the United Nations settlements agency. Even though the country is agriculture-dependent, by 2015 about 44 per cent of the projected 11 million population will live in urban centers.

WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH

Facing the Future Together: Report of the United Nations Secretary-General's Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa (report)
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Related news article: SOUTHERN AFRICA: Responding to the challenge of "feminisation" of AIDS
The findings of the United Nations Secretary General’s Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa show that gender inequality fuels HIV infection because many women and girls cannot negotiate safer sex or turn down unwanted sex. The findings also demonstrate that HIV/AIDS deepens and exacerbates women’s poverty and inequality because it requires them to do more domestic labour as they care for the sick, the dying and the orphaned. The report of the Task Force identifies key actions that can make an immediate difference.

Effects of Social Status and Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Mammary Gland and Endometrium of Surgically Postmenopausal Monkeys (research article)
Related news article: Stress May Increase Risk of Uterine Cancer
Research in monkeys suggests the possibility that stress may increase risk for the most common type of uterine cancer, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The study results also suggest that two drinks a day won't increase breast or endometrial cancer risk for postmenopausal women who don't take estrogen.

Gynecologic and Obstetric Findings Related to Nutritional Status and Adherence to a Gluten-Free Diet in Brazilian Patients With Celiac Disease (PubMed abstract)
This study shows a broad analysis of gynecological and obstetrical disturbances in patients with celiac disease in relation to their nutritional status and adherence to a gluten-free diet. Seventy-six adult celiac patients were analyzed according to nutritional status and 18 children/adolescents to gluten-free diet adherence. The significant findings were observed as follows: adult celiac patients, irrespective of the nutritional status, were younger than controls, presented delayed menarche, secondary amenorrhea, a higher percentage of spontaneous abortions, anemia and hypoalbuminemia. No differences were observed regarding the number of pregnancies, age at menopause and duration of the reproductive period.

WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS

African Union Leaders Commit to Gender Equality (news article)
Related news article: Empowerment of Women Part of Indigenous History, Cultures ­Says Mogae
Some of Africa's most powerful men spoke out against gender discrimination and pledged themselves and their countries to strive for gender equality at a meeting of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Empowering Women For Rapid Progress (news article)
Experts met recently in Yaounde to strengthen efforts in solving population-related problems. They focused on extreme poverty among citizens, particularly women, lack of real choices, opportunities and basic services to improve on inequality, and discrimination, all of which have greatly affected development worldwide.

Sierra Leonean Women 5 Times More Likely to Be Infected With HIV/AIDS (news article)
The National AIDS Secretariat has revealed that women in Sierra Leone are five times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than men. The Secretariat says 8 out of every 10 HIV/AIDS infections are due to sexual intercourse.

YOUTH HEALTH RESEARCH

HIV/AIDS: What About Very Young Children? (report)
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The situation of very young children in HIV/AIDS-affected communities is often overlooked. Fifteen percent of orphans in Africa are age 0-4 and 35 percent are age 5-9. Around one-third are orphaned due to AIDS. Initiatives to prevent mother-to-child transmission are showing some success. Without intervention, the rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV can vary from 15 to 30 percent without breastfeeding and can reach 30 to 40 percent with prolonged breastfeeding. Advocacy to get very young children on local, national and global agendas will be critical to include very young children in national AIDS plans and programs and to promote access to antiretroviral drugs.

Hepatitis A Outbreaks: Methods of Intervention in South-East Asian Countries (PubMed abstract)
In many Asian countries, improved hygiene standards and socio-economic conditions have led to a reduction in exposure to the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) in childhood. However, the persistence of circulating HAV may lead to Hepatitis A outbreaks, particularly in adolescents and adults. Outbreak control requires the formation of an outbreak management team, plus a task force to implement intervention and educate the public. The vaccination of family members and close contacts is a central element of the programme.

YOUTH HEALTH NEWS

Batswana Youth Become Millennium Development Goals' Advocates (news article)
Two young Batswana returned recently from the first Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit held in Dakar, Senegal. The representatives, Phenyo Mogae and Motshidisi Makgalemele, said they were coming back as the Millenium Development Goals' youth advocates. The eight Millenium Development Goals that are to be attained by the year 2015 are: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and women empowerment; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; achieve environmental sustainability; and form a global partnership for development.

'Care For Girls' Gaining Momentum in China (news article)
Related news article: China encouraging parents of girls
A new governmental campaign in rural China offers parents of daughters tax breaks and money for a home or education if they stop trying to have a son. The program, called "Caring for Girls," allows village officials to pay for girls' schooling, exempt rural parents from paying taxes and even help build new homes for parents with two girls--as long as they stop having children.

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