Study traces AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago

Oct. 1, 2008

The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests. Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908....

Mbeki blamed for thousands of AIDS deaths

PRETORIA, South Africa, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths by blocking anti-AIDS drugs, an activist says.

Bone-marrow transplant promising for AIDS

BERLIN, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A German doctor expressed surprise that an AIDS patient shows no sign of the fatal virus after receiving a bone-marrow transplant for leukemia.

Episodic HIV-AIDS therapy hikes death risk

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A U.S. study has determined why episodic treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus and AIDS with anti-retroviral drugs increases the overall risk of death.

Meek immune response helps AIDS survival

ATLANTA, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a paradoxical discovery might help explain why some species can live with immunodeficiency viruses that never progress to AIDS.

Swazi women protest royal shopping trip

LOBAMBA, Swaziland, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Hundreds of women marched on the streets of Lobamba, Swaziland, in protest of a shopping trip taken by nine of the king's wives, participants said.

OTC hearing aids may disappoint

EAST LANSING, Mich., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Consumers with hearing loss who think they are saving significantly by purchasing over- the-counter hearing aids may be disappointed, U.S. researchers say.

Anti-AIDS vaccines hold promise

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- AIDS experts meeting in Mexico City said anti-retroviral drugs being tested for HIV prevention are among the most promising AIDS interventions in development.

Claim: AIDS cure less than 10 years off

BONN, Germany, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A German researcher says he is optimistic a cure for AIDS will be found within 10 years.

CDC: New U.S. HIV cases undercounted

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A study released Saturday suggests estimates of the number of new U.S. cases of human immunodeficiency virus every year have been low for at least a decade.

Study: Cocaine found on Spanish euros

VALENCIA, Spain, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Euros found in Spain had the largest cocaine traces among similar currency used in other European countries, a study has found.

Tijuana AIDS crisis threatens U.S.

TIJUANA, Mexico, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Tijuana is a chaotic Mexican border city of 1.5 million people and seen as a direct threat to the United States through its AIDS crisis, officials say.

AIDS rates among U.S. blacks rival Africa

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- The AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in some parts of the United States rivals that in some parts of Africa, researchers say.

U.N. secretary-general to address AIDS

NEW YORK, July 23 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says combating AIDS will be a top priority on his first official visit to Mexico, scheduled to begin Aug. 3.

Viral recombination of HIV fools immunity

BOSTON, July 22 (UPI) -- How and where viral strains of HIV swap DNA may be determined by the immune response against the original infecting strain, U.S. researchers said.

Scientist study genetic variants and HIV

SAN ANTONIO, July 16 (UPI) -- A genetic variation that once may have protected people of African descent from HIV now may increase their susceptibility to the virus, U.S. scientists said.