Health Buzz: HIV's Origin and Other Health News
New Study Puts Origin of HIV Decades Earlier Than Previously Thought
A new study suggests that HIV has been spreading for about 100 years, with an estimated origin dating between 1884 and 1924, according to the Associated Press. A previous estimate put the virus's origin decades later at 1930. The new genetic analysis, published in the journal Nature, suggests that the virus's circulation may have been boosted by the development of cities in Africa at that time, which put many people in denser settlements and encouraged prostitution, the AP reports. HIV is a descendant of a chimpanzee virus that moved to humans in Africa. People were most likely infected at first during the butchering of chimps. U.S. public health officials first officially recognized HIV/AIDS in 1981.
U.S. News recently described the epidemic of HIV among black women and told how one young woman battles the virus. Earlier this year, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended HIV testing for most adult women.
What You Need to Know About Your Kids' Breakfast Cereal
A bowl of cereal can be less healthful than a doughnut, according to a new ranking of kids' breakfast cereals published by Consumer Reports. Eleven cereals ranked by the group had more sugar than a glazed Dunkin' Donut. The culprits include Kellogg's Honey Smacks (nee Sugar Smacks) and Post Golden Crisp, both of which get almost 60 percent of their calories from sugar.
U.S. News's Nancy Shute lists nine great breakfast cereals for kids of all ages. Previously, Katherine Hobson explained the science of breakfast.
No-Scar Surgery Undergoes Testing
"Natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery," or NOTES for short, is a new surgical approach being performed at a handful of medical centers. It involves snaking flexible instruments through the body's natural openings and making internal incisions—through the stomach wall, say—to get to and remove diseased organs. The University of California San Diego Medical Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Ore., are among the centers already doing NOTES surgery; more are expected to begin trials—and start recruiting patients—by next year.
In May, U.S. News's Avery Comarow described how to save money on surgery by going abroad.
What Some Interracial Couples Face in Pregnancy
In medicine, your ethnic background can play a crucial role in determining certain health risks, Deborah Kotz reports. A new study suggests that Asian women married to white men had a 30 percent higher rate of cesarean sections compared with Asian or white couples and white women married to Asian men. The researchers gave a plausible reason why: Previous studies have shown that the average Asian woman's pelvis is smaller than the average white woman's and thus less able to accommodate babies of a certain size. "We're certainly not concluding that these women always need C-sections," says study coauthor Yasser El-Sayed, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Stanford University Medical Center. But he would be less likely to allow a prolonged labor to continue for hours in such women because a vaginal delivery would be very unlikely.
In March, Kotz explored whether doctors are performing too many C-sections.
—January W. Payne
Reader Comments
ORIGIN OF HIV/AIDS
I support the previous writter, united we stand, divided we fall.
Origin of HIV/AIDS
ok, ok, guys, let's stop pointing fingers at each other and coming up with our own unfounded conspiracy theories about this matter. Why don't we sit down and look at ways and means to combat this highly infectious disease?Like campaigning against it , supporting those living with it, teaching and encouraging them to change their lifestyle{ sex life}And most importantly, fight against stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS and those associated with them.And you know what my learned friends, THE WORLD WILL BE A MUCH BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN.
More myths on Aids bit of history on pandemics
1. HIV spreads like wildfire, only 8% heterosexual carryHIV become infected
2. Sex work is the problem, no few men with multiple partners pay for sex. In Africa women in financial agreements do not view self as prostitute.
3. Men are the problem, wrong women just as likely first infected as men. Women infection rates are soaring faster than men. In US poor minority women most likely affected more.
Teens are the problem, most diagnosis is late 20s and above and recently on rise senior population,
5. Poverty Discrimination problem, in developing countries infection more likely affluent
6. Condoms are answer, yes plays major part in prevention but where HIV widespread people have multiple partners at once and condom use intermintent.
7. HIV testing answer, wrong those whom know infected dont curb risky behavior, those most infectious test negative because not enough viralmaterial for diagnosis
8. Treatment answer, Antiviral medications help but people feel better resume sexual behavior and see HIV as not death threat.
9. New technology answer, technology still far in future no basis now, have false sense of hope
10. Sex behavior not change, having mutiple partners at once raises risk than those whom monogamous and one partner at a time,
TRUTH-FIDELITY
one partner long term lower risk but remember still practice safe sex get educated and know whom you sleep is all those whom slept with partner and thier partners multipled numerous times.
So also look at historical pandemics and there will be evidence transmute from animal virus to humans and then human to human contact bypassing original host.
Make sure you educate self and know that new outbreaks are not always caught in time and then only once outbreak happens and then cause of suspect found then treatments and avoidance of that situation can be done and minimize exposure to larger population. More and more mutations are happening now because of population culture proximity to live stock or host animal territory not really invaded till today for expansion of population and the ability to mutate rapi9dly so host is more hospitalble to infection.
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