Bali tattoo and HIV transmission scare

Tourists who have gotten themselves tattooed or pierced whilst in Bali are being warned to seek medical advice after a Western Australian man reportedly contracted HIV during a recent holiday trip.

Australian health officials are urging travelers to be careful about getting tattoos or piercings in developing countries as the regulations and codes of practice don't necessarily comply with Australia's. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that to avoid infections from HIV and viral hepatitis, individuals should not share needles for tattoos, body piercings, or other injections.

The WA Health notified Commonwealth authorities last week after the WA resident undertook a blood test when he returned from Indonesia. The victim's age and sex and details of where the tattoo was obtained in Bali have not been released.

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New drug hope for HIV and hepatitis C

New drugs to treat HIV and hepatitis C could be developed after a finding by Melbourne scientists.

The breakthrough means researchers now have a better understanding of how the deadly viruses spread. The University of Melbourne led teams from around the world, and for the first time was able to map the structure of an enzyme in the body, which helps infection replicate and spread.

Associate Professor Spencer Williams said the findings significantly advanced understanding of how the viruses reproduce.

"We think it has got broad significance and we think it's an important achievement in the area," he said.

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Hep C Vaccine Shows Promise In First Trial

An experimental vaccine against the chronic liver disease hepatitis C has shown promising results in its first clinical trial in humans, say researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, who write about their findings in the 4 January online issue of Science Translational Medicine. However, they caution there is still a long way to go before we have an effective vaccine ready for clinical use.

There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major pathogen transmitted through the blood that infects some 170 million people around the world. The infection can remain hidden without showing symptoms for years, and many people don't know they are infected.

The disease is now the main reason people in Western countries have liver transplants.

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Hepatitis C Psychological Support Study Information

The School of Psychology (University of Adelaide) and the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Royal Adelaide Hospital) have commenced a research study exploring the desire for psychological support in people living with chronic hepatitis C.

The psychological burden of chronic hepatitis C is considerable and particularly evident in high rates of depression and anxiety in those suffering from this disease. This psychiatric morbidity diminishes quality of life, aggravates perceived physical symptomatology and reduces rates of antiviral treatment commencement, adherence and clearance.

The survey takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete and includes sections on demographic information, desire for psychological support, history of psychological support, disease and treatment characteristics, psychological symptomatology and access to social support.

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Reinstating The Federal Ban on Syringe Exchange Funding is Murderous

This was a life or death decision, and the cry of 'blood on their hands' is appropriate, for both the Republicans who insisted on this and the Democrats who let it happen.

Most Tuesday evenings, I stand in an alley behind the grocery store with a Buddhist monk and a few other volunteers, handing sterile syringes to people as they drop their old syringes into the bright red biohazard bucket. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, almost as long as Congress insisted that federal taxpayer dollars couldn’t be used to purchase the syringes we exchange.

Two years ago, determined policy advocates convinced the Democratic leadership that they had the votes to undo this costly decision. People across the country met with their representatives, having sometimes difficult conversations, educating them about the research, the weight of the evidence, and the impact of HIV and hepatitis in their communities.

And science carried the day, with Congress voting to lift the ban. Since then, federal funding has been used to create new programs and expand existing ones, reaching communities that never had sterile syringe access. It’s gone to substance misuse treatment programs and health clinics and HIV organizations, giving people who inject drugs better tools to protect their health.

Now that all comes to an end, as Congress just voted to reinstate the absurd ban on federal funding for syringe access programs. I hope that those programs will find ways to raise the funds to keep going.

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