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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Shots - Health News

HIV Testing Goes Mobile In Rural South Africa

A Doctors Without Borders counselor tests a South African woman for HIV.

July 24, 2012 Nearly 1 in 5 South Africans is infected with HIV. But many of them don't know it. The lack of information hinders treatment and also enables the spread of HIV. To close the gap, some groups are taking HIV testing door to door.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Shots - Health News

U.S. AIDS Cases Come Into View

Almost half of new AIDS cases in the U.S. each year are seen in the South.

July 23, 2012 The first reports of AIDS were from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco among gay and bisexual men. Even now, you can see the lingering geographic contours of how the epidemic unfolded with AIDSVu, an interactive map developed by Emory University's school of public health.

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Shots - Health News

AIDS Returns To The U.S. Spotlight

Sir Elton John speaks Monday at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington.

July 23, 2012 The leading international AIDS conference returns to the U.S. after a 22-year hiatus. A lot has happened in the years since the conference was last here. Treatments have turned a disease with a near-certain death sentence into a disease that people can live with for decades. And there is evidence that the epidemic could be greatly slowed or even stopped.

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Shots - Health News

San Francisco Thwarts HIV With Wide Testing, Universal Treatment

HIV patient Darnell Hollie, 47, talks to her doctor Monica Gandhi (right) at San Francisco General Hospital. Her path from drug addict to model patient was "a lot of work, but if you want it, it's there for you," Hollie says.

July 23, 2012 A new approach in San Francisco provides HIV testing and treatment for patients with the virus who didn't know they were at risk. "Test and treat" requires long-term vigilance by doctors and patients, but early evidence suggests that it is reducing HIV in the city.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Testing, Treatment Key Weapons In AIDS Fight

Visitors view the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the International AIDS Conference is being held this week.

July 22, 2012 The International AIDS Conference is being held this week in Washington, D.C. HIV infection in the host city is the highest in the nation. Though treatments have come a long way in the past 30 years, those high infection rates — especially among the black community — show there is still much work to be done.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

After Years Lost, South Africa Rejuvenates HIV Plan

Anti-AIDS posters hang in the Eshowe public health clinic in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal province. Clinicians there are hoping to slow the spread of HIV by getting more people treatment.

July 22, 2012 The country has the largest HIV epidemic in the world, and it's also had one of the most conflicted responses to the virus. For years, the government questioned the link between HIV and AIDS and offered little by way of treatment. Now, South Africa is trying to make up for lost time.

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On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Know Your HIV Status? D.C.'s Asking

HIV counselor Natrussa Williams explains the results of the oral HIV test to Katherine Tapp at the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles in southeast Washington. There have been no babies born with HIV in the city since 2009, in part because of increased testing at locations including some high schools and the DMV.

July 21, 2012 WAMUWashington, D.C., has the highest rate of HIV infection in the nation. A key initiative in the battle to contain the epidemic is encouraging people to get tested. From the grocery store to the nightclub, community health workers are pushing the conversation with on-the-spot test results.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

Timeline: Key Moments In The Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Kim Gerlach of Vancouver waves the flag designed by Affirmative Aids Action for the XI International Conference on AIDS, July 1996.

July 21, 2012 In the 1980s, HIV/AIDS swept across the globe. It soon reached pandemic proportions. In the three decades since, advances in drug therapies have transformed the disease from a death sentence to a chronic illness. In recent years, public health officials have embraced the idea of "test and treat" – that everyone who has HIV should know it and get into treatment right away. With new drug regimens that can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels, researchers now believe they can halt the spread of HIV and end the pandemic.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

Shots - Health News

Activists Fear Brazil's Triumph Over HIV Has Fizzled

Drag queens at an outdoor restaurant in Copacabana incorporate safe sex messages into a show of lip-synced songs and risque jokes.

July 20, 2012 When other countries were struggling to deal with the HIV epidemic, Brazil openly acknowledged the problem and launched aggressive campaigns to raise awareness and treat the disease. But activists now say say there are no longer organized HIV prevention efforts.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Shots - Health News

South African Doctors Uneasy About HIV Prevention Pill

Longtime AIDS activist Dr. Ashraf Grimwood says South Africa has made huge strides in confronting HIV. But he worries that giving anti-retroviral drugs to healthy people could have negative consequences in the long term.

July 19, 2012 Each year hundreds of thousands South Africans become infected with HIV, so it might seem that a drug to slow transmission would be welcome. But there's concern about unintended consequences if Truvada is used widely for prevention.

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Shots - Health News

How HIV Treatment Can Curb The Spread Of AIDS

July 19, 2012 Clinicians on the front lines say HIV treatment could help end the AIDS pandemic by curbing infections. Studies have found that HIV drugs make a person less likely to transmit the virus to others because they decrease the level of virus in the body.

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Shots - Health News

How HIV Hijacks The Immune System

A 3-D model of HIV peeled back to show its layers. HIV's genetic material sits inside a spherical shell (gray matrix) studded with spikes (dark gray and orange). The sphere pops open when a T cell tugs on a spike.

July 19, 2012 HIV is like a jack-in-the-box. When the viruses bump into particular cells in the immune system, the viruses' shells pop open and their genes enter the cells. Experimental therapies for HIV could stop the virus from getting in.

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