Published: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 3:15 a.m. last Modified: Monday, February 27, 2012 at 3:34 p.m.

African-American babies die more often than white babies. Black people in South Carolina have higher rates of HIV/AIDS, prostate cancer and diabetes than white people.

The list could go on.

As Americans celebrate black history and the civil rights movement during this month, equity in health remains largely a concept rather than a reality in South Carolina, including Spartanburg.

So, why is one race healthier than another? And how does the community provide equitable health care for all of its members?

“If there’s a single reason, we would just target that and fix this,” said Matt Petrofes, director of the local branch of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. “It’s just an overwhelming group of circumstances that put us in the way we are.”

Experts explain health inequities with a combination of factors: income, education, employment, transportation, environment, housing, access to health care services, racism and culture.

Dawn DeLisa, outreach coordinator at the Gibbs Cancer Center at Spartanburg Regional, encounters these inequities every day. It’s her job to erase them.

She often starts with education.

“Education is power, and once people know, it moves them to action,” she said.

In theory at least, knowledge translates into action. but there’s plenty of friction that keeps people from doing what they know is healthy.

While some people may be irresponsible, many others lack the health insurance, money and access to transportation that make it easier to address health concerns.

A woman working at Wal-Mart can’t leave for a few hours to see the doctor during normal business hours, and an insufficient bus system prevents many people from easily seeing a physician, said George Newby, CEO at ReGenesis healthcare, which provides health services on a sliding scale based on a patient’s income.

“Those are the kind of strategic issues that we’re going to be wrestling with to make good affordable primary care available to people,” he said.

Beyond education and barriers, health professionals also wrangle with history, culture and language.

“If you look back to under slavery, slave women typically would have to work almost up until the point of delivering, and they might have a little bit of time off, and then they would have to go back,” said Carmen Harris, a professor of history at USC Upstate, during an interview at an African-American history symposium at the Chapman Cultural Center earlier this month. “So there’s this kind of cultural sensitization that you’re not really sick unless you feel really down.”

DeLisa said that strong, historical ties to religion also keep people from seeking treatment.

“People will see signs and symptoms,” she said. “they will just pray over it and let it go.”

On another level, cultural folk remedies and old wives’ tales filter through generations and persist despite leaps in medicine and medical technology.

Harris said she remembers her great-grandmother, the daughter of slaves, using herbal tea for medicine.

She disavows her family’s folk medicine but, like many African-Americans, won’t register as an organ donor.

“That’s just the culture that I was raised in,” she said. “Many slaves believed that, when they died, their bodies went back to Africa, and if you don’t have all your parts, your people might not know you when you arrive on the other side.”

At the Gibbs Cancer Center at Spartanburg Regional, staff members were concerned that minorities — specifically black men — were dying of prostate cancer at high rates, and they were being diagnosed at late stages.

African-American men have a higher mortality rate from prostate cancer and need examinations earlier in life, said Lucy Gansauer, director of the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program at Gibbs.

Gansauer said the cancer center has been focused on reaching out to black men about this issue.

But it hasn’t been easy.

“they don’t like to have a digital rectal exam,” DeLisa said. “Well, I’m thinking, who does? a lot of guys don’t like the idea of a doctor being that personal with them.”

Gansauer said that their campaign has helped increase the numbers of black men who receive prostate screenings, which help diagnose cancer at an earlier and less lethal stage.

Like these targeted campaigns for prostate cancer screenings, making health equitable for all Americans takes a day-to-day commitment to reducing the historical gap in the types of health care that different groups of Americans receive, Petrofes said.

“The same opportunities were not afforded to everyone in the same way,” he said.

The Subsequent Blog Post is from Associated Content and brought to your family by std testing centers

a new study from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) proves that the sexually transmitted disease HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is even more dangerous than previously thought.

HPV, the deadliest STD besides HIV/AIDS, is already widely known to be connected with more than 90 percent of cervical cancer cases. However, the new CDC report shows that HPV is not only contracted through genital and anal sexual activity, but is also reaching epidemic proportions from oral sex and French kissing.

HPV was originally thought to manifest itself only as warts in the genital area, and sometimes with no early symptoms. a male can unknowingly carry HPV to all his partners, and females may have no symptoms until it is too late and it has exacerbated into cervical cancer.

The CDC has found that within a combined 600,000 annual cases of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), as many as 25 percent may be connected with HPV. These cancers are in the head, neck, nasal and sinus passages, tonsils, larynx and mouth. Tumors in some of these areas may be too tiny and difficult to detect in time to stop the cancer from spreading to cells in other parts of the body.

Contributing factors:

Within the study’s 25 percent of HNSCC and OSCC that were found associated with HPV, the patients were young and did not have the traditional risk factors such as smoking, tobacco chewing or alcohol consumption of the other 75 percent.

The main thing these young cancer victims had in common was multiple sexual partners with whom they’d had oral and/or genital sex. Combine either of these with mouth-to-mouth French kissing and the chances are increased. The survival rate of these cancers is described as “poor” in the study.

There are over 100 forms of HPV. The controversial vaccine for HPV, Gardisil, covers only a few strains of genital HPV and has so far produced negligible proof that vaccinating girls at a very young age will guard them throughout their years of sexual activity (see earlier Associated Content article here). According to part of the new CDC report featured at Yahoo News, the researchers suggested that investigations for new HPV vaccines should be expanded, and also should include giving the current vaccine to boys.

The scandal surrounding President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky produced Clinton’s statement that “oral sex is not sex.” His statement, combined with our public schools’ sex education training that there are other ways to be sexually satisfied beside genital sex, has fooled our young people into thinking that if they haven’t had genital sexual intercourse, they haven’t “had sex.”

What more proof do we need now that oral sex is sex?

“Oropharyngeal Cancer Epidemic and Human Papillomavirus,” Torbjörn Ramqvist and Tina Dalianis, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Emerging Contagious Diseases, Volume 16, no. 11, not being released in print until November 2010.

“Virus that causes genital warts linked to oranl cancer: study,” from Agence France Press (AFP) found at Yahoo News, 10/13/10.

“Clinton’s Crisis: When Sex is not really Having Sex,” Walter Kirn;Jay Branegan, James Carney, J.F.O. McAllister/Washington and Victoria Rainert/New York TIME.com, 2/2/98.

“Study: Young People Don’t Think Having Sex Means Oral Sex,” Catherine Donaldson Evans, AOL Health, 4/12/10.

You will find more info on our main site std testing centers

NORWAY — WMCA well being options will become a member of the continent on Thursday, March 10, to celebrate the nationally recognized females and Girls HIV/AIDS recognition Day. WMCA well being options will provide free of demand HIV and STD screening to all females and girls on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, March 8, 10 and 11, at its 9 Marston St. site.

A grassroots consortium all through the condition has united to provide screening events, outreach endeavours and speaking engagements to highlight HIV/AIDS as well as the result it has on Maine’s females and girls.

WMCA well being Services, along using the Maine HIV, STD and Viral Hepatitis Program, the Maine helps Alliance collectively with other local community businesses have worked collectively to sponsor and coordinate events.

“This is definitely an really extremely important celebration also it must remind us that HIV does not discriminate,” stated Dr. Stephen Sears, acting director from the Maine center of sickness Control. “In fact, females constitute one quarter of all new HIV infections inside the country. acquiring attempted ought getting a element of program well being treatment contemplating that earlier diagnosis and treatment experienced prospects to lengthier and more healthy lives.”

“It is so thrilling when we are able to provide free of demand screening for these infections. screening is easy. the HIV checks are executed by getting a sample away from your within from the mouth as well as the last results are acknowledged in twenty minutes. Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening are regularly with a urine sample or perhaps a swabbing from the vagina executed in the customer herself. no examination is needed,” stated Sara Hayes, a nurse practitioner at WMCA well being Services.

Kathy Coleman, an extra WMCA nurse practitioner, said, “I advise females below 25 get attempted yearly and more mature females get attempted if they or their partner experienced a numerous partner contemplating which they experienced been last attempted or if they have some indications or symptoms they are questioning about. Unfortunately, Chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV frequently do not have symptoms, to be certain that is why program screening ought getting done.”

Same-day appointments are available. phone the center at 743-2066.

1. Center to provide women’s HIV/STD testing
2. Center to provide women’s HIV/STD testing
3. Center to provide women’s HIV/STD testing
4. Center to provide women’s HIV/STD testing
5. Springfield-Greene County Health Department fights spread of STDs with faster testing the process allows testing through an urine test instead of a swab for gonorrhea and chlamydia

I had unprotected oral sex last night…I don't really know the girl and I don't want to go up to her and ask.
I really hope I didn't get herpes as I have no idea if she had or not but how long does it take for it to show any kind of symptoms of oral herpes? And what symptoms should I be looking out for?

Well if you did her you'll have crabs, herpes, hepatitis a and b, Pubic Lice, and mumps. so if you do it'll just show you not to do what you did again you frickin crackhead. God why do people even have unprotected sex. You have crabs, herpes, hepatitis a and be, mumps, pubic lice, STD's, HIV, AIDS and low self – esteem.

Well I hope you learn you lesson from this and the worry it causes you. Chlydimia has no syptoms but the havoc it wreaks is enormous. unless you are in a completely stable relationship and committed relationship it simply to dangerous to have unptotected sex. Herpes may not show up until to late.

Get tested if you are confused if you have herpes.Herpes signs may appear without warning. Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). a sexually transmitted disease is a disease that you get by having sex with someone who already has the disease.

MR. TONER: Thank you and good afternoon. And thanks once again for joining us. As many of you know, this is the third of three briefings that we’ve set up in advance of Wednesday’s one-year anniversary of the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti. This particular briefing will look at strategies and logistics for saving lives, including treatment and prevention of cholera, HIV/AIDS, as well as other health concerns that the U.S. and its partners are addressing on the ground in Haiti.

We’re very fortunate to be joined today by Donald Steinbeg, who is the USAID Deputy Administrator, as well as Ambassador Eric Goosby, who is the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator here at State; Dr. Thomas Frieden, who is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control; and finally, in Port-au-Prince, Carleene Dei, who is the USAID’s Mission Director in Haiti.

Since time is relatively tight, I’ll hand it over to Donald Steinberg to lead us off and we’ll let our speakers talk briefly about the issue and then hand it over to you journalists for Q-and-A. Don, do you want to go ahead?

MR. STEINBERG: Sure. I just wanted to provide sort of a broad overview, which is to say that at the time of the earthquake a year ago, we were involved in strengthening of health systems and working with the Ministry of Health, a variety of other agencies within Haiti, as well as civil society to address the concerns. And then with the earthquake, the dynamics shifted dramatically, obviously, to programs to assist the victims of the disaster.

In addition to the humanitarian relief efforts, however, we have been engaged over the course of the past year in trying to build health systems, in trying to provide assistance to individuals within internally displaced persons sites, and also to extend health systems throughout the rest of the country. that process was actually going fairly well and we were seeing some improvement in access to health services, to extension of services around the country, as well as the strengthening of the Ministry of Health system, when the cholera outbreak occurred.

As you’re aware, we have been responding to that situation. We have already provided some $40 million worth of assistance, primarily through the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster assistance, but also through our regular aid mission and the Office of Transition Initiatives. We do have a situation now where they’ve – we have identified some 157,000 cholera cases. about half of those have involved hospitalization. We have seen about 3,500 deaths.

At the same time, what we have seen is a massive expansion of the cholera treatment facilities in Haiti. As you’re aware, this has been virgin territory for cholera, and so the challenge has been very great. But we have now set up health facilities throughout the country, using in large part the PEPFAR facilities on the ground. We’ve been providing a variety of health commodities – water purification tablets, chlorine for health systems, Ringer’s lactate, which is an IV solution that’s used. And we believe that we’re in a situation where, in terms of commodities and services, we’re at least a bit ahead of the curve, although that changes on a day-to-day basis.

I think the overall point that I wanted to make, however, is that we are still in the wake of the earthquake response that occurred a year ago and that we are continuing to try to strengthen existing health services. We have active programs in water and sanitation. And we’re going to continue those efforts going off into the future.

AMBASSADOR GOOSBY: Okay. This is Ambassador Eric Goosby. Thanks, Don. I – since 2004, the United States has been a strong supporter of Haiti’s fight against HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. In a country with a weak health infrastructure even before the earthquake, really, the PEPFAR investments have not only supported prevention of HIV treatment and care, but they’ve helped build a critical health infrastructure to provide what is much needed medical services.

Following the earthquake, through PEPFAR and our partner organizations such as USAID and CDC, we were able to leverage this health infrastructure to marshal a rapid and robust response. PEPFAR’s immediate mobilization of its sites and making them available for the broader earthquake response was critical to that. A hundred and forty-nine prevention, treatment, and care sites provided earthquake response in the initial weeks, as well as the ongoing HIV/AIDS services being continued.

PEPFAR’s networks of facilities, healthcare workers, community health workers, supply chains, have engaged in a wide variety of response activities. Regional hospitals in the most affected areas provided disaster-related medical care, including surgeries for trauma and other urgent conditions. Other PEPFAR sites made food, water, and shelter available to earthquake victims in displaced populations. Our sites became really the centers for mapping of the tents for shelter in terms of where in relationship to the known PEPFAR sites were the tents and shelters located.

It’s important to note that from day one, our priority was focused on really looking at issues and foundations of sustainability. We knew we had to do this with the Haitian Government, especially post-earthquake. And then there was a shared responsibility to deal with the emergency response and the rebuilding with the convergence of all these external outside-of-country resources.

In the coming year, the U.S. Government will continue to support its longstanding AIDS programs while simultaneously supporting the Haitian Ministry of Health’s efforts to build its primary healthcare system. We’re pleased to report that by may, 2010, the number of patients on AIDS treatment at sites supported by PEPFAR was back up to close to 95 percent of its pre-earthquake levels.

We’ve also been working with the Haitian Government and other international partners to establish a plan to rebuild Haiti’s public healthcare system. As one component of our support, we will partner with the governments of Haiti and France to reconstruct the university hospital in the center of Port-au-Prince, which will provide medical, nursing, pharmacy, and other allied health professional training.

As part of the Global Health Initiative, the United States is also adding services to the PEPFAR platform to provide care for people with disabilities, continued support for child protection and comprehensive health services, including maternal child health and family planning services.

But in light of all this, there’s clearly no doubt that there is still much work to be done. The devastation is still being felt virtually in every community in Haiti. Americans really should be proud of their country’s involvement in trying to add and enhance the help that’s afforded, but the effort is far from over. I think this anniversary, one year post-earthquake, should serve as a reminder that progress can be made and we can achieve real good and clean outcomes that we really, from day one, again, have an eye to really strengthening the larger healthcare delivery system.

So I’ll turn it over to Tom Frieden from Center for Disease Control.

DR. FRIEDEN: Thanks very much, Don and Eric. I wanted to just give a little bit of a perspective from a public health standpoint, because on the one hand, a year later, given the rubble and displaced people and cholera epidemic, it can seem that little or no progress has been made. And in fact, there are enormous obstacles, but there has been real progress in preventing, tracking, and responding to public health threats. Preventing through immunization initiatives, through water and sanitation, through education; tracking through a laboratory in Haiti that’s now much more functional than it ever was; a monitoring system that’s able to track diseases and conditions better and in closer to real time than has ever been available before in Haiti; and to respond through treatment centers for cholera, HIV, and TB; and in all of this, also strengthening Haiti’s ability to do this on their own.

As Ambassador Goosby just noted, PEPFAR has been enormously important in ensuring that Haitians with HIV continue to receive antiviral drug treatment, and for health in general. Close to 95 percent of people who were on antiviral treatment before the earthquake were rapidly resumed in care. And in terms of prevention of maternal-to-child transmission, the coverage has continued to increase. Between Fiscal 2009 and Fiscal 2010, a larger number of women were tested and a larger number of women were found to be HIV-positive and treated. And therefore, an increasing number of infants were born free of HIV, who would certainly have been infected had these programs not been in place. The number of women being counseled and tested continues to increase and, in fact, is now at a higher level than the pre-earthquake baseline.

In terms of tuberculosis care, which is an ongoing and serious problem in Haiti, most of the surviving patients from the pre-earthquake TB registries were rapidly put back on treatment. So there has been real progress. Challenges remain and progress is fragile. Political stability, international assistance, and having the workforce that’s needed within Haiti are all critically important.

Opportunities and hope for the future, I think, are also very strong. We have a ministry of health that’s increasingly able to provide guidance and oversight to programs, we have a laboratory that’s able to document conditions and respond to them, we have efforts that will address longstanding health problems such as filariasis and malaria and rabies, maternal mortality programs that have been longstanding challenges in Haiti, and for which we now have a real possibility of making significant progress in the months and years to come.

So the challenges are enormous but the progress is real and the potential for future progress is, I think, very strong. And now, I’ll turn it over to the USAID Haiti.

MS. DEI: yes, I want to join in with the other three and reiterate that our health program pre-earthquake, in response to the earthquake, in response to the cholera epidemic, has been something that we can be incredibly proud of. As you heard, we’ve been working at health for a while and our most recent projects were – resulted in services accessible to 50 percent of the population. We support services to 50 percent of the population.

This is the infrastructure that permitted us to mount a very, very successful response to the health issues that were posed by the earthquake. This is the system, the base that permitted us to respond to the cholera epidemic in a manner which, frankly, if we had not had surveillance systems, if we had not had partners on the ground, the results would have been much more devastating than they actually were.

And going forward, our intent is to build on this base and make it stronger. We’re using a whole-of-government approach, meaning that CDC and USAID and any other U.S. Government service that provides healthcare, we work in a uniform manner, in a unified manner. what we want to do is to go beyond the 50 percent and broaden the access of the individual living, whether in a town or in a rural area, to services by setting up a ladder of availability starting in the home, moving on to the local health provider, moving up to reference hospitals and then to hospitals. In other words, everybody should know where to go to get help.

And I also want to reiterate that the Ministry of Health has been a superb partner. Imagine a ministry which has lost its offices, lost some of its key personnel, yet pulling itself together, sitting down, working with us to address the – both the earthquake and the cholera epidemic, and to have a very, very clear plan for where it wants to go in terms of basic service delivery.

The only thing that has not been mentioned so far is our program that will – dealing with disabilities. As you know, the earthquake resulted in a lot of people with injuries, with amputations, and they need and require long-term care. And one of the things we’re doing is supporting services that will ensure that this is available, because this is something that was not there in pre-earthquake Haiti.

I would like to give everyone a chance to ask questions, so I’m going to limit my remarks to that. thank you.

MR. TONER: thank you very much, Carleene. just a reminder before we open it up to questions, this is all, of course, on the record. And with that, Erin, we’ll go ahead and turn it over to questions, and just ask that you give your name and media affiliation.

OPERATOR: great, thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. if you would like to ask a question, please press *1 and you will be prompted to record your name. to withdraw your request, please press *2. one moment, please. one moment for our first question.

Our first question comes from Bret Stephens from The Wall Street Journal. Sir, your line is now open.

QUESTION: hi, thank you for taking the time to do this. I’m wondering if there’s any kind of dollar figure that you can attach to the efforts by USAID on the health front to how much has just been spent or allocated and also disbursed for efforts in the last year.

PARTICIPANT: Carleene, you want to try that?

MS. DEI: It’s – yes. In terms of our response to the earthquake, the figure that we use is well over a billion dollars, and that combines with what the Department of Defense spent, what we spent. But in health specifically, we have spent about 115 million, that’s for nutrition health and for non-cholera, plus an additional 40 million for cholera.

QUESTION: I’m sorry. How much for cholera?

MS. DEI: about 40 million to date. This is by OFDA/USAID, but it’s also – we should point out that CDC has also spent 17 million – sorry – 14.6 million – I’m speaking on their behalf – (inaudible) health-related activities.

QUESTION: So that’s 14 – one-four or four-o? I’m just – I can’t quite hear you.

MS. DEI: one four.

QUESTION: okay. All right. So the answer, just to clarify, OFDA of USAID (inaudible).

MS. DEI: All right. This is USAID. 40 million for USAID and 14 million for CDC, plus they have requested and received additional money. This year, through, altogether, for just our ongoing health programs, we have spent $51 million.

QUESTION: thank you.

OPERATOR: Again, if you would like to ask a question, please press *1. one moment please. Our next question comes from Michael Smith from MedPage Today.

QUESTION: Oh, great. thank you. This question is for Dr. Frieden. I was – I took it from what you said that most of the patients and some 95 percent – most of the HIV/AIDS patients were – got back on treatment. But I think you also implied that as a result of sort of an increased medical intervention or increased medical care that more people have been identified with HIV and AIDS, and in particular women. I wonder if you can elaborate on that.

DR. FRIEDEN: Yeah, I wanted to just highlight that despite the enormous challenges, there continues to be progress. And as an example of that, the number of women – tested, pregnant women tested for HIV and the number found positive and therefore started on treatment has continued to increase. So in Fiscal 2009, it was around 132,000. it increased to nearly 156,000 by Fiscal 2010. And the number of women therefore given antivirals to prevent spread of HIV to their infant increased from 1,100 in 2009 up to 1,900 in 2010. So this is having an increasing impact on preventing the spread of HIV to – from mothers to children. it was just as one example that despite all of the real challenges, there continues to be important progress.

QUESTION: It’s just a – the presumably women tested and found to be HIV-positive were given the standard signal dose of Nevirapine, or how – what was the treatment regimen? Do you know?

DR. FRIEDEN: As a general rule within PEPFAR, it depends on both the stage of illness and the country policies. Ambassador Goosby, did you want to say anything further about this with respect to Haiti?

AMBASSADOR GOOSBY: Yeah, it – as Dr. Frieden is saying, we’re in a situation where if you have the benefit of having the woman in a relationship pre – in the prenatal period, you are able to start a combination that includes two drugs at a minimum. For those that have 350 T cells or less, we really strongly urge that that woman be put on three drugs and a full antiretroviral compliment and continue through her delivery and through her breastfeeding period. For those below 350, that should be continued forever; for those with high T cells, that a dialogue be engaged with her to decide if she should continue them or if she should go off of therapy.

For those that just show up at the delivery, you often only have an opportunity to give them the one single dose of Nevirapine for mother and child, which is suboptimal but much better than not giving any antiretroviral. And then that individual is followed and her children that she’s had already delivered so older children are also brought in for testing, as well as partners. that is the Haitian preference, that they be on three drugs, and then their standard is to have women on two drugs if they’re not going to continue on all three.

QUESTION: thank you very much.

OPERATOR: Our next question comes from John Donnelly, freelance writer. your line is open.

QUESTION: hi, thank you for having this call. I have two questions. one is about GHI, and I’m wondering what the impact the earthquake had on the rollout of GHI. it sounds like it may have accelerated the process a bit after the emergency response in the first several months, but I’d like some details, then, if you have some.

The second one is more information from Ambassador Goosby on just this 95 percent figure, which seems amazingly high. could you give some more detail about how you got to that figure, because I would assume that there were a number of sites that were damaged or destroyed from the earthquake? And I would also assume that that figure would include people shifting from one site to another, and I would also assume that there would be a number of patients who died, as well as perhaps some providers who died in the earthquake. So I’m just – if you could give a more fuller picture, I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

AMBASSADOR GOOSBY: sure. We monitor the number of patients that we put on antiretroviral therapy very closely, right down to the site level. We know who and how many are on full antiretroviral therapy as well as those for tuberculosis. it puts us in a situation where knowing the pre-earthquake and post-earthquake number was actually a real calculation, not a modeling exercise. So that’s a real number.

The second component is we were also very fortunate not to have out of the 149 sites any of the PEPFAR treatment sites destroyed in the initial earthquake, even though the ones in Port-au-Prince were affected. Indeed, one of our major sites had the death of a woman who was over the laboratory, a very senior person in the lab. But she died not in the site but at her home because she was off that day. The sites for PEPFAR were remarkably well – not damaged by earthquake and as a result were able to play a role in both the immediate emergency response but also in shifting our human resources from outside Port-au-Prince sites to or near Port-au-Prince sites as they were set up in the immediate post earthquake period as a triage center.

And indeed, some of our sites actually played kind of minor to – for orthopedic injuries, broken bones, compound fractures were triaged; head and neck injuries were triaged as well. But our people were able to play that initial triage evaluation and referral. I think that the human resource broadly in the Haitian broader department region also was undamaged in the specifics of both site and human resources. And as a result, in the cholera response, both USAID, CDC, and the Government ministry of Haiti were able to use our healthcare workers, nurse, nurse providers, as well as the physicians, to pre-train in the use of oral rehydration salts, early diagnosis and pickup of early symptoms of cholera, and general kind of fecal-oral hand washing sanitation concerns around water and fecal material that were able to be rolled out to broad geographic areas that allowed us to actually be in front of the wave of cholera as it moved into more than just the northern department, where it originally rose.

Those early training and having a cadre of healthcare professionals who knew about oral rehydration have always shown that that early training, that a cadre of available, capable people, minimizes morbidity and mortality figures. So we believe we’ve contributed to that. Time will tell as to how much we can quantify that, but we clearly took that – pulled that trigger early to anticipate, really, an informed and responsive healthcare provider cadre.

OPERATOR: Our next question is from Frances Robles of the Miami Herald. your line is now open.

QUESTION: Hi. good afternoon. My (inaudible) question was answered. I’m wondering whether there was – how smooth the transition was from – shifting from quake mode to cholera mode. And also, can you talk a little bit about the partnership with the Cuban doctors? And I’m sorry, and can you introduce yourself before you speak because I don’t know who’s voice is whose.

AMBASSADOR GOOSBY: This is Eric Goosby. I can – Dr. Dei would probably have the most current and immediate kind of reaction to some of those nuances. But from very early on in the earthquake response, and actually before the earthquake, the approach in USG was really to engage in a substantive discussion with the Ministry of Health leadership to really describe – to get them to develop a strategic plan that we fed off of to really look for every opportunity to expand the capacity of the Ministry of Health in their strategic planning, budget preparation, the definition of unmet need across all diseases, and in them informing and/or making allocation decisions with divergent resources such as PEPFAR, Global Fund, or other multilateral resources.

So that orientation was there before earthquake. Post-earthquake, I would only say that it, from my perspective, the willingness on part of the Haitian health leadership to partner was just that much more urgent, even though there was willingness before. And I believe that it positioned us to be maybe more clear in actually moving to discussions around shared responsibility and specifics of implementation – what Haitians do, what we do, what other bilateral or multilateral groups do.

MS. DEI: May I add to that just a little bit? what I’d like to say is that the earthquake puts us (inaudible) in a emergency mode which was immediately applicable to the cholera epidemic. You were talking about how that transition took place. yes, we were absolutely amazed when cholera popped up, but we were able to respond because we were already thinking along those lines, moving resources around and using systems that we already had in place – most spectacularly, I think, the communications systems, to help us respond to what had taken place.

QUESTION: And the Cubans?

OPERATOR: Our next question comes from Michael Smith of MedPage Today. your line is now open.

QUESTION: Hi. I just wanted to follow up again on this number of people who are back on the ARVs. And the reason I’m – the question that arises is I’m looking now at Dr. Frieden’s article which will appear in the – online in The new England Journal. it says 94 percent of patients were back at – back getting their ARVs. on the other hand, it says 67 percent of patients in the TB registries were back and it’s just that as many as 30 percent may have died or moved away. And I’m wondering why, if – it strikes me that there is no particular reason why HIV-AIDS patients should be more likely to survive an earthquake than TB patients, and so I’m trying to get those numbers clear in my mind.

DR. FRIEDEN: Well, remember that you’re talking about a period of several months from January through may. And in that period of time, TB patients may have completed treatment, may have died, or may have moved. The ARV being a lifetime treatment has a more consistent follow-up and also, I think, kind of a more consistent approach throughout Haiti because it’s a more recent program implementation.

I think the big point with both is that despite the earthquake, there were strong systems in country through the Haitian Government and important NGO partners which were able to rapidly track down and return patients to treatment and then move on to try to get to the next level in terms of implementing effective programs.

QUESTION: All right, thank you.

OPERATOR: We have no further questions in queue.

MR. TONER: Okay, well, thanks to all of our participants, and thanks to the journalists for joining us on these calls. I very much appreciate everyone’s participation, and have a great afternoon. thank you.

these are the symptoms of a 13 y/o female.

-bluid has built up in the lungs
-difficulty breathing
-red-brown bump on skin of arm with swelling at edges
-bump blishtered and hardened
-center of bump broke open ane oozed a clear luid yet has now formed a blac scab.

These are the choices:
Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Pneumonia (acute respiratory infections), Botulism (Clostridium botulinum), Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), Influenza, Lyme Disease, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Plague (yersinia pestis), Smallpox, Cholera, Hepatitis B, Polio, or SARS.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!

It sounds like smallpox, I read a book on it once and just to make sure the book had its facts right i read up on the disease, and this sounds alot like smallpox

What about morgellons disease. They are doing some BIG research projects this year on the disease. It starts as almost little "pimples" then they pop, spread and scab over. do you have any "fiber" like stuff on the sores?? They think this related to Lyme Disease. I had this along time ago before I knew I had Lyme Disease. I never knew it hyad a name either, But morgellons disease was very painful I would break out all over my hands. After I got married my mother in law asked me about it and I tole her I didn't know but had tried everything to get rid of it, she suggested pouring staright apple cider vinegar on it. It hurt really bad as you can imagine putting it on open wounds BUT it cleared up after about a week and I have never gotten it back. So it worked! I STILL HAVE THE lYME THOUGH!!

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Announce First-of-Its-Kind Collaboration to Express the Stories of People Impacted by HIV/AIDS Through Dance

– 2011 REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) “Fight HIV your Way” Contest –

– call for Entries Begins on December 1, 2010 –

Princeton, NJ and New York, NY (December 2, 2010) – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater today announced the launch of the 2011 REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) “Fight HIV your Way” contest. the contest aims to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among the general public and inspire people impacted by the disease to continue their fight.

Now in its third year, the 2011 REYATAZ “Fight HIV your Way” contest breaks new ground, incorporating the power of dance to celebrate the inspiring stories of selected individuals across the country who are fighting HIV their way. Beginning December 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011, individuals touched by HIV and AIDS are invited to share their stories – as a photo and essay – through fightHIVyourway.com or mail in their entries*. Bristol-Myers Squibb will announce the ten first place winners in July 2011. These winning entries will be the inspiration for a new dance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, created by a renowned choreographer selected by Artistic Director Designate Robert Battle. the work will have its world premiere during Ailey’s New York City Center season in December 2011 and be performed across the country as part of a 2012 national tour.

Despite HIV/AIDS education efforts, there are still more than one million people with HIV in the U.S. (1) and the most recent data from 2006 indicate that approximately 56,300 new infections occur each year in the U.S. alone. (2) the REYATAZ “Fight HIV your Way” contest leverages the power of words and visual arts as a platform to raise public awareness and lessen the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

“Today, as we open Ailey’s New York season celebrating 50 years of Alvin Ailey’s inspiring Revelations and announce the launch of the Reyataz ‘Fight HIV your Way’ contest, the poignancy of this date couldn’t be stronger: we lost our founder, Alvin Ailey, to the disease 21 years ago on December 1st, 1989,” shared Artistic Director Judith Jamison. “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is proud to be paying homage to the thousands of individuals fighting HIV their way and look forward to unveiling this original collaboration next year.”

“Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater both have longstanding commitments to supporting the fight against HIV and AIDS. We are honored to collaborate with Ms. Jamison and the Ailey Organization, coming together and helping to continue dialogue about this disease,” said Raymond Sacchetti, senior vice president, U.S. Virology, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “The 2011 extension and evolution of the REYATAZ ‘Fight HIV your Way’ contest exemplifies Bristol-Myers Squibb’s ongoing commitment to increasing public awareness for people with HIV/AIDS.”

an expert panel of judges will evaluate the contest entries based on the impact of the photographs’ and essays’ visual and verbal expression of the fight against HIV, creativity, originality and overall artistic quality.

“Dance is a transformational visual art that has the unique power to unite diverse audiences,” said original Broadway Dreamgirl Sheryl Lee Ralph, a spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS Council and creator and producer of the HIV-inspired, awardwinning Broadway shows Divas Simply Singing! and sometimes I Cry. “Bristol-Myers Squibb’s REYATAZ ‘Fight HIV your Way’ contest provides people with a channel to express how they fight HIV their way. this year, with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s involvement, the photos and essays will, literally, move – and continue to provide courage and strength for others with HIV.”

for more information on the 2011 REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) “Fight HIV your Way” contest, including official rules and guidelines, and entry forms please visit fightHIVyourway.com.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION About REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) INDICATION:

REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) is a prescription medicine used in combination with other medicines to treat people who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) has been studied in a 48-week trial in patients who have taken anti-HIV medicines and a 96-week trial in patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines.

REYATAZ does not cure HIV or lower the chance of passing HIV to others.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

REYATAZ should not be taken by patients allergic to REYATAZ or to any of its ingredients.

REYATAZ should not be taken with the following medicines due to potential for serious, life-threatening side effects or death: Versed® (midazolam) when taken by mouth, Halcion® (triazolam), ergot medicines (dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, ergotamine, and methylergonovine such as Cafergot®, Migranal®, D.H.E. 45®, ergotrate maleate, Methergine®, and others), Propulsid® (cisapride), or Orap® (pimozide).

REYATAZ should not be taken with the following medicines due to potential for serious side effects: Camptosar® (irinotecan), Crixivan® (indinavir), Mevacor® (lovastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin), Uroxatral® (alfuzosin), or Revatio® (sildenafil).

REYATAZ should not be taken with the following medicines as they may lower the amount of REYATAZ in your blood, which may lead to increased HIV viral load and resistance to REYATAZ or other anti-HIV medicines: rifampin (also known as Rimactane®, Rifadin®, Rifater®, or Rifamate®), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)- containing products, or Viramune® (nevirapine). Serevent Diskus® (salmeterol) and Advair® (salmeterol with fluticasone) are not recommended with REYATAZ. Vfend® (voriconazole) should not be taken with REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) and Norvir® (ritonavir).

the above lists of medicines are not complete. Taking REYATAZ with some other medicines may require therapy to be monitored more closely or may require a change in dose or dose schedule of REYATAZ or the other medicine. the use of all prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamin and herbal supplements, or other health preparations should be discussed with a healthcare provider.

Patients should tell their healthcare providers if they are pregnant, breast-feeding, planning to become pregnant or breast-feed, or if they have end-stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis or severe liver dysfunction.

Patients should tell their healthcare providers right away if they have any side effects, symptoms, or conditions, including the following:

* Mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs in patients taking REYATAZ, most often in the first few weeks after the medicine is started, and usually goes away within 2 weeks with no change in treatment.

* Severe rash has occurred in a small number of patients taking REYATAZ. this type of rash is associated with other symptoms that could be serious and potentially cause death. if rash develops with any of the following symptoms, the patient should stop using REYATAZ and call a healthcare provider right away:

– Shortness of breath – General ill-feeling or “flu-like” symptoms – Fever – Muscle or joint aches – Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes, like “pink-eye”) – Blisters – Mouth sores – Swelling of your face

* Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes may occur due to increases in bilirubin levels in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver).

* A change in the way the heart beats may occur. Patients may feel dizzy or lightheaded. These could be symptoms of a heart problem.

* Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate). Some patients may need changes in their diabetes medicine.

* in patients with liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, it may get worse when taking anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.

* Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ. Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in the side, blood in the urine, and pain when urinating.

* Some patients with hemophilia have increased bleeding problems with protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.

* Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking anti-HIV medicines. the cause and long-term effects are not known at this time.

* Gallbladder disorders (including gallstones and gallbladder inflammation) have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ.

other common side effects of REYATAZ taken with other anti-HIV medicines include: nausea; headache; stomach pain; vomiting; diarrhea; depression; fever; dizziness; trouble sleeping; numbness, tingling, or burning of hands or feet; and muscle pain. REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) should be taken once daily with food (a meal or snack). the capsules should be swallowed whole; they should not be opened. REYATAZ and other anti-HIV medicines should be taken exactly as instructed by healthcare providers.

available REYATAZ capsule strengths include 200 mg and 300 mg.

Please see accompanying Full Prescribing Information, or visit REYATAZ.com or bms.com.

About the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congressional resolution as a vital American “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” grew from a now fabled 1958 New York performance that changed American dance. Now led by Judith Jamison, joined by artistic director designate Robert Battle, the Company has performed for an estimated 23 million people in 71 countries on 6 continents, including two historic residencies in South Africa, celebrating the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition. the Ailey Organization also includes; Ailey II (1974), a second company of young dancers and choreographers; the Ailey School (1969), extensive dance training programs; Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs, bringing dance into classrooms and communities; and the Ailey Extension, dance and fitness classes for the general public at Ailey’s home – the Joan Weill Center for Dance in New York City – the nation’s largest building for dance. for more information, visit alvinailey.org.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. for more information, please visit bms.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bmsnews.

REYATAZ® is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and not of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

* Entries can be submitted via the form on FightHIVYourWay.com or can be mailed to “2011 HIV Photo Contest,” Dept. 7372, PO Box 5010, Stacy, MN 55079-5010. Entries must be received by February 28, 2011.

(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV in the United States, Fact Sheet. Accessed October 19, 2010. available at: cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/PDF/us.pdf

(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV Incidence. Accessed October 19, 2010. available at cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/incidence.htm.

PRESS CONTACTS: Bristol-Myers Squibb Media: Cristi Barnett, 609-252-6028, cristi.barnett@bms.com Investors: John Elicker, 609-252-4611, john.elicker@bms.com

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Media: Christopher Zunner, (212) 405-9028,

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aids hiv myths – Contraception / Birth Control Must Knows

Having an intercourse if surely a pleasurable thing to do, but are you prepared for it? the chances to get diseases is just as huge as getting pregnant. So be ready to protect yourself. It is important to pay attention on this little detail, in order to enjoy life longer.

Why to Protect Ourselves

First of all, everyone is trying to be safe from getting pregnant. For this problem, you can choose from endless way to protect yourself. but there’s an even more important thing to be protected from: diseases. there are various diseases that can be transmitted while sexual intercourse, infections you can get, caused by germs, bacteria or parasites, even without having any symptoms. the most common diseases are: Chlamydia, genital herpes, Hepatitis A, B, C or D, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, HIV/AIDS, genital warts, and the list goes on.

How to Protect ourselves

There are many ways to protect ourselves, but the most common ones, are male and female condoms. Diseases can be transmitted even by skin to skin contact, this is why female condoms seem to offer a higher protection against diseases, covering a bigger skin area. Other contraceptive methods would be the hormonal ones, which are birth control pills, injectable hormones or contraceptive implants. These all offer the best protection against unwanted pregnancy, but zero protection against diseases.

When to Protect Ourselves

There are myths with all kinds of periods when you don’t need protection. the truth is, you should be protected each time you have intercourse. even if you are on your period, even if you take pills. there are no safe sex positions that protect you and no natural ways to protect yourself. even after giving birth, you can already get pregnant while breastfeeding. Remember that using condoms or abstinence are the single things that will keep you safe from diseases, while all the other contraception methods will protect you from getting pregnant.

Protecting yourself is more than just avoiding to get pregnant. It is also protecting your body from the endless diseases you can easily get. So make sure you’ll have plenty of time enjoying your life in a healthy way. Don’t give any chance to diseases to take your dreams away, and have fun while being protected. It is way more easier to be protected than having a never ending fight for your life.

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