Juliana SchatzJune 11, 2012 06:00

WASHINGTON — The couple, both 46 years old, are two of nearly 17,000 HIV positive people living in Washington, DC. They are considered a concordant couple, meaning they are both infected. Head and Thompson’s honest relationship is unique in DC. Unlike places like South Africa where sexuality and status are less taboo, the infected in Washington rarely disclose their status.

Groups fighting HIV/AIDS in DC find lessons in Africa

Juliana Schatz and John DonnellyJune 11, 2012 06:00

WASHINGTON – Washington, DC, which will host the International AIDS Conference next month, is finally getting a handle on how to fight HIV and AIDS effectively. The reason is surprising: It has learned from the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Activists question Obama's AIDS plan

John Donnelly June 10, 2012 17:11

WASHINGTON — In July, Washington DC will host the International AIDS Conference, the first such conference on US soil in 22 years. More than 20,000 AIDS activists from every corner of the world will draw attention to whether America's historic commitment to fight the deadly virus can ramp up sufficiently to beat the disease.

UN chief: HIV/AIDS goals will not be met in 2015

Alexander BesantApril 30, 2012 18:17

HIV/AIDS declines are not meeting United Nations' targets said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday.

Lack of funds hinders promising HIV/AIDS treatment

Priyanka BoghaniMarch 31, 2012 17:12

New evidence about the effectiveness of the treatment as prevention strategy (TasP) has offered hope for treating HIV/AIDS and also preventing transmission to sexual partners, but comes at a time when funding for implementation is running low.

HIV rate drops in injection drug users

Jill LangloisMarch 1, 2012 21:41

More than 10,000 drug users in 20 metropolitan areas were surveyed and tested for HIV in 2009. About 1 in 10 tested positive for the virus. In the 1990s, roughly 1 in 5 tested positive.

Erin Conway-SmithFebruary 25, 2012 19:43

Zimbabwe: HIV-positive maid laces child's porridge with menstrual blood

A 17-year-maid from Zimbabwe was caught lacing the porridge of her employers' four-year-old child with her own HIV-positive menstrual blood, according to a report.

Enlarge

A woman cooks maize porridge at a farm near Harare, Zimbabwe. (ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Are you ready for one of the most disturbing stories you'll ever hear?

Okay. Here we go.

A 17-year-maid from Zimbabwe was caught lacing the porridge of her employers' four-year-old child with her own menstrual blood.

According to NewsDay, Pelagia Mureya, who is HIV-positive, "carried out the disgusting act several times until luck ran out."

South Africa's population would be 4.4 million larger without AIDS

Erin Conway-SmithJanuary 23, 2012 17:59

Without AIDS, by 2040 the population of South Africa would have reached 77.5 million — a whopping 24 million people more than is currently projected.

Erin Conway-SmithDecember 4, 2011 18:24

Antivirus software used in HIV vaccine research (VIDEO)

No longer just for blocking Viagra ads and scam emails, researchers are now using spam-filtering antivirus software in the hunt for an HIV vaccine.

Enlarge

An e-mail inbox full of unsolicited emails known as 'spam' in Hong Kong on March 20, 2009. (MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images)

DURBAN, South Africa — Antivirus software is helping researchers in the hunt for an HIV vaccine, a surprising new use for a filtering system otherwise used to block email lottery scams and spam about erectile dysfunction drugs.

Researchers from Boston and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, along with Microsoft's research division, are using a spam-fighting antivirus software to search for the virus that causes AIDS, which like email spam is constantly mutating and adapting to bypass blocks, Johannesburg's Sunday Times reported.

David Heckerman, who developed the computational biology software called PhyloD, told the Los Angeles Times that he and his team are searching for the "Achilles' heel" of the virus that causes AIDS:

"We have an adversarial situation going on between spam filters trying to block the spam and the spammers changing and mutating ... And in the case of HIV, we have the immune system fighting the virus and HIV mutating to try to get through."

Microsoft is working with researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Center for the Aids Program of Research in South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, and at the Ragon Institute of the Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard.

Economic crisis blamed for Global Fund cuts to AIDS, TB, malaria grants

Erin Conway-SmithNovember 24, 2011 07:14

The group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) called the cancelation "an unprecedented event which will have a direct impact on tens of thousands of people living with HIV.