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Condoms Can Be Fun, Too |
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Campaigns promoting
condoms should emphasize how they can raise the "fun factor" of sex,
according to a recent "Viewpoint" piece in The Lancet.
"Since pursuit of pleasure is one of the main reasons people have sex,
this factor must be addressed when motivating people to use condoms and
participate in safer sexual behavior," according to authors Anne
Philpott, Wendy Knerr and Dermot Maher.
"Although enjoyment, and even sex itself, has been noticeably absent
from much of the dialogue surrounding [STDs]
and the spread of
HIV, increasing evidence shows the
importance of condom promotion that includes a combination of
pleasure-based and safer sex messages," the authors wrote.
Some experts feel
such messages might resonate especially well with teens. Despite
concerns that this might inadvertently encourage teens to have sex, "In
fact, when teens are taught responsible sex - along with any other kind
of responsibility, like wearing a seat belt or using directional signals
when driving a car - they tend to become safer, happier, more confident
beings," said Eli Coleman, professor and director of the Program in
Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School in
Minneapolis. "For those that are sexually active - and most of them are
- they are looking for ways to enhance pleasure, develop relationships,
and enhance their self esteem," Coleman said.
"It blows my mind that the condom companies themselves are so lacking in
unique designs and interesting advertising plans," said Suzie Heumann,
president of Tantra.com Inc. and author of "The Everything Great Sex
Box." "Condoms could actually be the new sex toys of the future - and
without batteries - with design changes, additions, and a new
[advertising] campaign."
The article,
"Promoting Protection and Pleasure: Amplifying the Effectiveness of
Barriers Against Sexually Transmitted Infections and Pregnancy," was
published in The Lancet (2006;368(9551):2028-2031).
New Jersey
Lawmakers Approve Needle Exchanges for Drug Users"
Associated Press (12.12.06):: Beth DeFalco
ABC News
(12.01.06):: Dan Childs |
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| We are providing the above information as a public
service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay
media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases
does not constitute endorsement. The above summaries were prepared
without conducting any additional research or investigation into the
facts and statements made in the articles being summarized, and
therefore readers are expressly cautioned against relying on the
validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summaries. This
CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News
Update also includes information from CDC and
other government agencies, such as background on MMWR articles, fact
sheets and announcements. |
| HIV1 - ELISA
Antibodies |
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Most people
infected with HIV carry the virus for years before manifesting AIDS.
During that period, infected people will have few, if any, symptoms yet
they can transmit the virus.
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The
percentage of women with AIDS has increased steadily, and the percentage
of people infected heterosexually has also increased, surpassing the percentage
infected through injecting drug use.
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During 2001, there were 35575 newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates
now
that 40,000 new cases of HIV transmission occur every year.
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Of
the people infected with the virus of AIDS in the USA in the year 2001, 42%
were whites, 37% blacks, 20% Hispanics and <1% Asians and Pacific
Islanders and <1% American Indians and Alaska Natives.
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During the 1990s, the HIV epidemic shifted steadily toward a growing
proportion of AIDS cases in blacks and Hispanics and in women.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) is the cause of AIDS (Acquired
Immuno
Deficiency Syndrome).
The presence of HIV in the body can be detected in several ways. The
most common is the HIV-ELISA Antibodies test.
The
HIV-ELISA
looks for the body
response to the virus
manifested by the
presence in your blood of
Antibodies
to HIV proteins. Antibodies are special proteins that our Immune System
produce in response to the presence of HIV.
The test performed on your
sample actually consists
of two tests: a Screening test and a Confirmatory test. The
screening test procedure is called an
ELISA—Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay
or an EIA (Enzyme Immunosorbent Assay). The
confirmatory test is used in the event your HIV-ELISA is positive and/or
equivocal and is the procedure used is the Western
Blot Assay (WB)
The screening and
confirmatory tests are usually done using small samples of blood. If a
sample of blood tests positive repeatedly in the screening test, it will be
confirmed through the Western Blot test. People will be informed that they are infected
with HIV only after both the screening and confirmatory tests
have shown a positive (reactive) result.
Positive HIV antibody tests results
are over 99% accurate when confirmed. Negative HIV antibody tests are over
99% accurate if it has been at least six months after a contact with a
potentially HIV-infected partner. False negatives or false positives occur
rarely.
Antibodies to HIV can be
detected in the blood, in the urine or in the saliva. People produce
antibodies with different speeds and therefore the time interval between
infection and the development of antibodies to HIV can go from four weeks
to six months from the exposure date or SDC (
Suspected
Date
of
Contact).
The appearance of antibodies in a blood or urine sample of a person which
was known to be negative to HIV is called
Seroconversion.
The HIV Elisa results are usually available in one or two business days.
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