National News  | Minnesota Supreme Court: HIV-Positive Man Wrongly Convicted of Passing Disease MINNESOTA :: HIV/AIDS
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (08.21.2013) :: By Abby Simons | | | The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously decided this week that an HIV-positive man found guilty for having sex with a man who later developed the infection was convicted wrongly and sided with an appeals court to overturn the original decision. The defendant was convicted more than two years ago under an obscure law that discussed transfer of sperm, blood, or tissue, but did not refer to sexual intercourse.
AIDS activists and the American Civil Liberties Union had followed the case closely. The man maintained he informed his sexual partner that he was HIV-positive. The original jury believed that assertion and found him not guilty by reason of sexual penetration; the jury did find him guilty of attempted assault under the second part of the law. “If this conviction had been upheld, it would have been saying that sex is a lethal weapon,” said Dr. Michael Horberg, chair of the HIV Medicine Association. “Obviously, the original intent of the law was specifically for organ and tissue donation, including sperm. That is a vastly different situation than what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home.”
The Supreme Court agreed the wording was ambiguous. The 16-page opinion also stated that the term “transfer” in the second section of the law did not include sexual conduct. “While sperm might be characterized as an asset of property in a medical context, such as with respect to fertility, that characterization is not applicable to sperm transmitted to another through sexual conduct,” Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that in spite of his displeasure with the final ruling, he encouraged Minnesota lawmakers to clarify the law. “We need clear tools to prosecute folks who have serious communicable diseases not necessarily limited to HIV and AIDS, but others that can cause serious harm,” he said. |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | Zambia Introduces Rationing System for Drugs to Treat HIV ZAMBIA :: HIV/AIDS
Thomson Reuters Foundation (08.21.2013) :: By Edwin Mbulo | | | A Zambian government antiretroviral (ARV) drug rationing system has alarmed HIV-infected residents who fear treatment interruptions. Although First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata acknowledged an ARV shortage in Zambia, Dr. Kamoto Mbewe, spokesperson for the Zambian Ministry of Health, asserted that Matero and Chingwere clinics in Lusaka did have a one-month supply of Atripla, the single-dose ARV, and would receive another shipment “soon.”
Mbewe urged HIV-infected people not to panic, as existing ARV supplies were sufficient to last until expected shipments arrived in August and September. Pending shipments would include 55,260 bottles of Abacavir and 491,000 bottles of Truvada. Since January, the Zambian government has spent more than $16 million on “essential drugs,” including ARVs. Zambian Ministry of Health plans called for all HIV-infected Zambians to transition eventually to the single-dose Atripla regimen.
Lloyd Nkumbula Bwalya, district coordinator for the Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/AIDS, feared that difficulties imposed by the rationing system—daily queuing for drugs and delays in service—would result in HIV patients missing scheduled ARV doses. Zambia’s Minister of Health affirmed in a mid-year media briefing that maintaining an uninterrupted ARV supply for every HIV-infected Zambian was a priority. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | Medical News | Local and Community News  | City Report: STD Cases Increase in 2013 TEXAS :: HIV/AIDS,STDs
Amarillo Globe-News (08.21.2013) :: By Mollie Bryant | | | The Amarillo, Texas, Department of Public Health Clinic reported increased incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis during 2013 in comparison with the same time period in 2012. During the first six months of 2013, the clinic diagnosed 182 chlamydia infections (approximately 60 more than the first six months of 2012), 92 gonorrhea infections (double the number diagnosed during the first six months of 2012), and 15 syphilis cases (compared with one during the first six months of 2012). The clinic also diagnosed one HIV infection in 2013 (the clinic made no diagnoses during the first six months of 2012). Randall and Potter counties previously recorded a decline in chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence and steady syphilis incidence during 2010 and 2011.
Amarillo Director of Public Health Matt Richardson praised the clinic’s testing and counseling services, but urged the adoption of “better solutions” to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Current public health clinic services included counseling patients on high-risk activities such as unprotected sex and multiple partners. Department of Health partners included the Panhandle AIDS Support Organization (PASO) and Haven Health Clinic. PASO provided free HIV and STI testing and distributed free male and female condoms, and Haven Health Clinic provided tests for chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV, and herpes.
PASO and Haven Health Clinic spokespersons advised that STI-infected people often were unaware they were infected and that every population group was at risk for HIV and other STIs, not only gay or bisexual men, drug users, and sex workers. STIs such as chlamydia or gonorrhea eventually could result in chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility, according to CDC. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | |
8/22/2013
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