Despite San Francisco’s Efforts To End HIV, Infection Rates Among African-Americans Rise
“We’ve made tremendous strides. The problem is that we’re not doing better for everyone,” says Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of HIV research for the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
San Francisco Chronicle:
HIV Infections In SF Hit Low, But Drive Misses African Americans
New HIV infections dropped to historic lows in San Francisco last year as the city amped up an aggressive campaign to essentially end the AIDS epidemic by 2020, but those efforts are not reaching everyone in equal measure, according to an annual report set to be released Thursday. The city recorded 255 new infections in 2015, according to the Department of Public Health report. That was a 17 percent drop from the previous year — and roughly a 10th of the total new infections reported at the peak of the epidemic in the early 1990s. However, infections increased among black men and women. And other indicators of progress toward ending the epidemic — such as getting people diagnosed early and into care quickly — also aren’t as robust among minority men and women as white men. (Allday, 9/1)
In other public health news —
KPCC:
As More Parents Refuse Vaccines, More Doctors Cut Ties With Families
School is back in session, and for the first time, all California kindergarteners, seventh graders and new students must be vaccinated unless they have a medical exemption. A new state law bans vaccine exemptions based on personal or religious beliefs. We've got the latest on this law and other developments in this Impatient vaccination news roundup. (Plevin, 8/31)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Stem Cells Tapped For Schizophrenia, Bipolar Treatments
To find new treatments for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, scientists and drug companies are turning to stem cells. Under a $15.4 million contract from the National Institute of Mental Health, Rusty Gage of the Salk Institute and Hongjun Song of Johns Hopkins University will lead a program to grow cells from patient volunteers for screening potential drugs. Skin cells from the patients will be converted into stem cells and then into brain cells, providing a "disease in a dish" model of abnormal functioning. Potential drugs will be tested on the brain cells to examine their effectiveness in restoring normal function. (Filkes, 8/31)