STDs

(Newser) - At least one in four teen girls in the US—that's over three million people—has a sexually transmitted disease, a new CDC study shows. By far the most common infection is the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer, the AP reports. An STD expert calls the new figures "clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk." More »

(Newser) - Six people with serious cases of hepatitis are just the beginning of what's expected to be a major health problem after a Las Vegas clinic gambled with the lives of tens of thousands of patients by reusing syringes, reports AP. The practice may have exposed patients to HIV and could be responsible for an outbreak of hepatitis C. The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada is now the focus of the biggest public health notification operation in US history with nearly 40,000 patients contacted. More »

(Newser) - President Bush urged Congress today to “stop squabbling” and renew his global AIDS program, which provides medication and treatment for millions and earmarks funds for abstinence efforts. In Tanzania, his African tour’s second stop, Bush signed a $700 million aid package, saying, “We don’t want people guessing on the continent of Africa whether the generosity of the American people will continue.” More »

(Newser) - An eagerly anticipated HIV study returned disappointing results yesterday, crushing scientists' hopes that targeting the genital herpes virus could help reduce the transmission of HIV. Although the reasoning seemed sound—having herpes boosts a person's contraction risk nearly threefold, so targeting herpes should combat HIV infection—the study found no benefit at all, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. More »

(Newser) - New genetic evidence gives Christopher Columbus credit for bringing back a different sort of bounty from the New World—the scourge of syphilis. Columbus and his crew returned home with a sexually transmitted form of a disease native to South America, say Emory University researchers. Soon after, the first known syphilis epidemic ravaged Europe, LiveScience reports. More »

(Newser) - Revolutionary drug cocktails mean AIDS sufferers are living much longer, but as they age they're suffering from medical problems that significantly lower the quality of those extended lives, the New York Times writes. AIDS survivors are struggling with illnesses usually associated with much older people, including cancers, kidney failure, lung problems and depression, doctors are finding. More »

(Newser) - A little known, $19-billion program has provided medicine to 1.4 million AIDS-stricken Africans and may be President Bush's most enduring success story, the New York Times reports.  “I’m amazed at how little (Americans) know about Pepfar,” said one Ugandan doctor of the program. Africans are terrified that “the Bush funds” will leave office when a new president is sworn in next year. More »

(Newser) - Global action to fight HIV/AIDS is imperative, but wealthy countries should reconsider committing most of their assistance to just one disease, Harvard expert Daniel Halperin writes in today's New York Times. Cheaply preventable illnesses like diarrhea claim many more lives in the poorest African countries than HIV yet receive scant attention, Halperin writes, calling attention to the "discrepancy between Western donors’ priorities and the real needs of Africans." More »

(Newser) - Doctors in New Jersey will soon test all expecting mothers for HIV under a new law signed today. The test will become a routine part of prenatal care unl