Vitamin A supplements linked to high HIV levels in breast milk Research in Tanzania shows that women with HIV who took vitamin A and beta-carotene (VA/BC) supplements had more HIV in their breast milk than those who did not, while women who took multivitamins were more likely to develop mastitis. Both are major risk factors for HIV transmission during breastfeeding The discovery of an association between vitamin 31 August 2010

Many HIV-positive gay men have post-traumatic stress disorder A third of HIV-positive gay men have post-traumatic stress disorder, UK investigators report in AIDS Patient Care and STDs. Events including starting treatment, HIV-related illness, and witnessing an HIV-related death were all linked to the development of symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Emotional responses to such events - rather than actual physical threat 31 August 2010

Low CD4 cell count associated with poor response to swine flu vaccine for those with HIV Many HIV-positive patients do not develop protective antibody levels after receiving the standard dose of the swine flu vaccine, a study published in the September 10th edition of AIDS shows. A low current CD4 cell count was the only factor associated with a poor response to the vaccine. “The implications of this research 31 August 2010

U.N.-NGO Conference On MDGs Kicks Off In Australia Ahead of next month's U.N. Summit in New York, a joint U.N.-NGO conference tracking the world's progress toward reaching the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) kicked off in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday, ABC News reports (8/30)... 31 August 2010

Also In Global Health News: GM Mosquitoes; Iodine Deficiency In Nepal; South African Health Workers Strike; Novartis To Build Vaccine Plant In Brazil; Malaysia Considers GM Mosquito Release To Control Dengue Fever Malaysia is still "considering releasing" up to 3,000 mosquitoes that are genetically modified to "combat dengue fever, in a landmark field trial that has come in for criticism from environmentalists," Agence France-Presse reports... 31 August 2010