Screening migrants for tuberculosis: where next?

интересная статья в (скомпрометировавшемся:) Ланцете

про мигрантов и туберкулёз

я могу читать, как зарегистрированный бесплатный юзер

usdata

US underestimated country's HIV epidemic

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US health authorities acknowledged that they had substantially underestimated the number of new HIV infections in the country, in a study showing that the epidemic is worse than previously thought.

About 56,300 people were infected with the virus that causes AIDS in 2006, a figure 40 percent higher than the previous estimate of 40,000 new infections a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Saturday.

"This new picture reveals that the HIV epidemic is -- and has been -- worse than previously known and underscores the challenges in confronting this disease," Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.

The revised assessment came on the eve of a six-day international AIDS conference in Mexico City, which is expected to be attended by some 22,000 scientists, policymakers and grassroots workers.

The CDC said new technology allowed it to establish a more precise estimate of the epidemic.(I would like to have a look)

"These data, which are based on new laboratory technology developed by CDC, provide the clearest picture to date of the US HIV epidemic, and unfortunately we are far from winning the battle against this preventable disease," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding.

"We as a nation have to come together to focus our efforts on expanding the prevention programs we know are effective," she said.

The study found that the annual number of new infections was never as low as 40,000. While new infections increased in the last 1990s, they have been roughly stable since then.

"While the level of HIV incidence is alarming, stability in recent years suggests that prevention efforts are having an impact," said Richard Wolitski, acting director of the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.

The study also found that gay and bisexual men as well as and African American men and women are the groups most affected by HIV.

The new estimate found that 53 percent of new infections occurred in gay and bisexual men, while heterosexuals accounted for 31 percent of them and injection drug users for 12 percent.

African Americans, who make up 13 percent of the US population, accounted for 45 percent of the new infections in 2006. The infection rate among blacks was seven times higher than among whites -- 83.7 out of 100,000 people compared to 11.5 out of 100,000.

The study found some encouraging signs of progress as new infections have dropped among both injecting drug users and heterosexuals.

The CDC said the new estimate will be published in a special HIV/AIDS issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that was to be released in Mexico City on Sunday. The agency released them Saturday because news organizations broke the embargo.

Anti-AIDS groups said the revised estimate showed that the HIV infection rate was not dropping and may be increasing significantly, and that it highlighted the need for a comprehensive national strategy to combat AIDS.

"HIV/AIDS continues to be a public health emergency that has not received adequate nor appropriate attention as a nationwide priority," said Julie Davids, Executive Director of the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP).

"To make measurable progress against HIV, we need to know whether infection rates are going up, which groups are becoming infected, and which prevention activities reduce new infections," said Mark Cloutier, chief executive officer of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

"We need a comprehensive National AIDS Strategy with measurable outcome targets, a timeline for action, increased funding and a particular focus on those most at risk, including racial and ethnic minorities."

Joseph Interrante, chairman of the AIDS Action Council's board of directors said the revised figures represented "an unacceptable level of new HIV infections for a preventable disease."

"The revised estimate underlines the need for a national AIDS strategy with measurable outcomes, reliance on evidence-based programs, and sufficient funding," Interrante said in a statement.

Source: AFP, 3 August 2008.

usdata

США: данные о числе людей с ВИЧ занижены

Число ВИЧ-инфицированных в США значительно выше, чем предполагалось, заявили американские медики.

По данным Центра по контролю и предотвращению заболеваний, только в 2006 году вирусом иммунодефицита человека в США заразились более 56 тысяч человек.

Это на 40% больше, чем показывали предыдущие исследования.

Такой существенный рост показателя, отмечают медики, - скорее результат использования усовершенствованных методов диагностики, а не роста числа случаев заражения.

Благодаря новым методикам анализа крови ученые впервые могут определить, когда - с точностью до года - ВИЧ попал в организм человека. (у нас есть ?)

Предполагается, что новые данные появились и благодаря пересмотру статистических методов. (интересно: что оне пересмотрели?)

Ученые отмечают, что ежегодный рост числа зараженных в США с 1990-х годов остается относительно стабильным и всегда превышает 40 тысяч человек.

Медики назвали результаты исследования "тревожным сигналом, который показывает, что эпидемия ВИЧ/СПИДа в США далека от завершения".

Специалисты центра подтвердили результаты предыдущих исследований о группах риска, согласно которым ВИЧ быстрее всего распространяется среди мужчин гомо- и бисексуальной ориентации и афро-американцев обоих полов.

Конференция в Мехико

Вместе с тем, в одном из последних исследований, посвященных СПИДу, ученые заявили, что ожидаемая продолжительность жизни для людей с ВИЧ увеличилась в среднем на 13 лет с конца 1990-х годов. (похоже на х.свист)

Как отмечают эксперты в статье, опубликованной в медицинском журнале Lancet (надо см.), благодаря современным методам лечения вирус иммунодефицита человека сегодня можно считать скорее хроническим недугом, нежели смертельной болезнью.

В субботу несколько тысяч активистов прошли маршем по улицам столицы Мексики в знак протеста против дискриминации людей, инфицированных ВИЧ.

Акция прошла накануне открытия в Мехико шестидневной международной конференции по проблемам СПИДа, в которой примут участие тысячи ученых, политиков и активистов.

Новые данные американских ученых и методика диагностики ВИЧ-инфицированных будут представлены в день открытия конференции в воскресенье.

Адрес статьи на bbcrussian.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/hi/russian/international/newsid_7539000/7539350.stm

compatibility

Comparability of contraceptive prevalence estimates for women from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
http://www.publichealthreports.org/archives/issuecontents.cfm?Volume=123&Issue=2
Public Health Reports. 2008 Mar-Apr;123(2):147-154.
Santelli J | Lindberg LD | Finer LB | Rickert VI | Bensyl D | Posner S | Makleff S | Kost K | Singh S

This article assesses the comparability of contraceptive use estimates for adult women obtained from the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) as a benchmark. The 2002 BRFSS uses data collection methods that are considerably different from the NSFG. We compared demographic differences and national estimates of current contraceptive methods being used and reasons for nonuse. Variables were recoded in the BRFSS and NSFG systems to make the two samples comparable. Women in the NSFG and BRFSS were similar in age and race/ethnicity. Compared with the NSFG, the BRFSS sample was more educated and of higher income, less likely to be cohabiting, and more likely to be married. After adjusting for differences in the coding of hysterectomy, many BRFSS estimates for current contraceptive use were statistically similar to those
from the NSFG. Small but statistically significant differences were found for vasectomy (7.7% and 6.3%), the pill (21.9% and 19.6%), rhythm (1.5% and 1.0%), the diaphragm (0.5% and 0.2%), and withdrawal (0.3% and 2.7%) for the BRFSS and NSFG, respectively. Major reasons for nonuse were similar: seeking pregnancy and currently pregnant. The percentage of women who were not currently sexually active was higher in the BRFSS (16.0%) compared with the NSFG (12.5%). The BRFSS is a useful source of population-based data on contraceptive use for reproductive health program planning; however, planners should be cognizant that lower-income women are not fully represented in telephone surveys.

new_approach

More Americans Infected with HIV Each Year Than Previously Thought

CDC estimates of the number of Americans infected with HIV annually are likely to increase from the current figure of 40,000, according to news reports.The CDC has been working to develop a more accurate estimate, using technology that distinguishes new from long-standing infections. According to the New York Times, several newspapers have reported that the new estimate will approximate 60,000 infected during the most recent 12-month period.In a statement released Sunday, a CDC AIDS official said the new estimate has been "submitted for further analysis and rigorous scientific review" and is not yet final, Reuters reports.

Link(s):New York Times story (One-time registration required) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/health/02aids.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=sloginReuters story (Free) http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0232907520071202