Africa: Diseases Threaten to Wipe Out Bananas in Sub-Saharan Region Sep 1, 2009
Dr Lava Kumar of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, who led the survey, said farmers were familiar with the disease as they likened it to "Sida" (Aids) or called it witches' broom. Dr Mischeck Soko from the Bvumbewe Agricultural Research Station in Limbe, Malawi, said by 2003 the Nkhotakota Cavendish banana was wiped out by the viral disease. (allAfrica.com)
HIV origin 'found in wild chimps' Aug 3, 2009
This study, carried out alongside experts from the Project Prevention du Sida au Cameroun (PRESICA) in Cameroon, involved analysing chimpanzee faeces, collected from the forest floor in remote jungle areas. The researchers went into the jungles of Cameroon. (BBC News -- Health)
Victory! Colombian Government Cuts Price of Abbott's Lifesaving AIDS Drug Kaletra 55%, Says AHF May 12, 2009
40 MXN. The new lower price was published for the first time in med-March on the website of CENSIDA, Mexico's National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS.. The Colombian organizations: Mesa de Organizaciones con Trabajo en VIH/SIDA, the Red Colombiana de Personas Viviendo con VIH o con SIDA, Mission Salud, and IFARMA requested a compulsory license for Kaletra from the Ministry of Commerce in 2008 and have been leading the push for the compulsory license and lower prices with... (PR Newswire)
If Started Early, HIV Treatment Reduces Death Rates Toward Background Levels In African Countries May 3, 2009
This study was supported by the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) of the National Institutes of Health, the Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les Hepatites Virales (ANRS), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, grant 1 U01 AI069924-01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. (Science Daily)
