- Japanese Study Confirms Efficacy of the Female Condom (Infectious Disease News) 01/99

- Health--Japan: Still Complacent About HIV/AIDS (IPS Wire) 01/06/99

- Public Health Targets Teens' Private Acts (Journal of the American Medical Association) 01/06/99

- Doctors: Tell Children if They Have HIV Infection (Richmond Times-Dispatch) 01/06/99

- The Deadly Gender Gap (Village Voice Online) 12/30/98-/01/05/99

- Guangxi HIV Cases Jump From One to 700 in 2.5 Years (South China Morning Post Online) 01/05/99

- Over 40 Million People to Be Infected With AIDS by 2000 (Itar Wire Service) 01/01/99

A Japanese study of the Female Health Company's Female Condom indicates that it is highly effective when used properly. The study, conducted by James Trussell of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, found the failure rate over six months time to be 0.8 percent. Family Health International found the failure rate to be 2.6 percent over six months in a United States study. The typical use failure rate in the Japanese study was 3.2 percent, compared to a typical use failure rate of 12.4 percent in the U.S. study. (to top of page)

Health--Japan: Still Complacent About HIV/AIDS (IPS Wire) 01/06/99

According to analysts, Japan has the lowest public awareness of HIV/AIDS among industrialized nations, despite a steadily rising number of HIV and AIDS cases in the country. Over 550 new HIV cases were reported in the first 10 months of 1998, with 38 percent of the overall number HIV infections and full-blown AIDS cases occurring among people in their twenties. However, some awareness campaigns have been implemented, including a popular recent television drama that focused attention on HIV and teenage prostitution and led to an increase in testing. Also, UNICEF Japan is backing an education campaign, along with the Health and Welfare Ministry and other non-governmental organizations, that centers on changing attitudes toward the disease and promoting prevention and education. Some analysts note that attitudes and taboos concerning the open discussion of sex need to change before AIDS education comes to the fore. (to top of page)

Public Health Targets Teens' Private Acts (Journal of the American Medical Association) 01/06/99 Vol. 281, No. 1, P. 21; Mitka, Mike

Scientists presented findings on risky behavior by adolescents at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association late last year. Dr. Bradley Boekeloo, of George Washington University, and associates surveyed over 200 boys aged 12 to 15 years who received general physical examinations. The examining physicians talked with the boys about sex, including condom use and abstinence. The researchers found that discussions can increase condom use, but they were unsure of the effect on abstinence. At three-months follow-up, 8 percent of the surveyed boys said that they felt the physicians thought it was okay for them to engage in intercourse. In another study, Dr. John B. Jemmott III of Princeton University and others analyzed data on peer-led and adult-led risk reduction interventions among 659 African-American teens. Jemmott's group conducted three intervention groups: one on abstinence, one on safe sex, and one on unrelated health issues. They found that teens in the abstinence intervention group were less likely than the others to engage in sex at three-months follow-up, but not at six-months or 12-months time. Safe sex intervention resulted in less unprotected intercourse at three-months, six-months, and 12-months time. Other presentations at the meeting showed that the use of alcohol and drugs results in increased risky behavior. One study found an association between watching violent and sexual television shows and HIV risk-related sexual behavior and teen pregnancy. (to top of page)

Doctors: Tell Children if They Have HIV Infection (Richmond Times-Dispatch) 01/06/99 P. A2

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that teens and children with HIV should be informed of their infection. The academy suggests that children be notified with both doctors and parents present. (to top of page)

The Deadly Gender Gap (Village Voice Online) 12/30/98-/01/05/99

A meeting of the Society of Women Against AIDS in Africa (SWAA) in Senegal recently highlighted HIV control problems as they relate to women. SWAA members spoke out against the characterization of AIDS as a woman's disease. Men comprise 80 percent of all injection drug users, and virtually every sexually transmitted case of HIV entails a male, according to a new book called "AIDS and Men" by the Panos Institute. Additionally, men generally have more sexual partners than women, while the vagina is more susceptible to the virus than the penis. This sets the stage for a wave of infections with men transmitting the disease to various women. A study of women in Uganda found that 60 percent of HIV-positive women were married and monogamous. Martin Foreman, the editor of the book, asserts that prevention efforts towards men should be increased because greater prevention behavior among males may reduce HIV transmission to a large extent. Botswana has introduced a pilot program that convenes men in small groups to discuss their sexuality, hoping to alter conceptions of masculinity that lead to risky behavior. However, efforts to empower women should not be abandoned, particularly in areas where women have little control over their sexual relationships. One such measure, the introduction of the female condom in parts of Africa, has been well received by many women there. (to top of page)

Guangxi HIV Cases Jump From One to 700 in 2.5 Years (South China Morning Post Online) 01/05/99

According to the China Daily newspaper, an HIV testing center in the autonomous Guangxi region reported that the number of infected people rose from one to 700 over a 2.5-year period. Officials blamed the spread of the virus on a marked increase in drug use. They also pledged to provide funds from World Bank loans for AIDS and sexually transmitted disease prevention and control. There were over 11,000 reported cases of HIV in China by year-end, but some experts believe up to 400,000 may be unaware of their infection. The number of HIV infections is expected to reach 1 million by the end of the year. (to top of page)

Over 40 Million People to Be Infected With AIDS by 2000 (Itar Wire Service) 01/01/99

The World Health Organization estimates that over 40 million people will be infected with HIV by year-end 1999. According to the WHO, there are more than 30 million people worldwide infected with HIV, almost 6 million of whom were infected in 1997. The organization also reports that every minute five people aged 10 to 24 are infected with the virus. Most of the HIV cases are in sub-Saharan Africa, where over 21 million people are believed to be infected with the virus. In Russia, almost 3,300 people were reported to have been infected with HIV over the first 11 months of 1998, an 18 percent decline from the previous year. About 90 percent of AIDS cases in the country have been reported among drug users. (to top of page)

This page found at: http://www.japanetwork.org/aidsnews/news99.html