Morning HIV/AIDS Updates

Just a couple of quick ones for your morning..

• Unlike what is taught in most HIV classes, that it becomes easier for a woman (or a man) to become infected with HIV with the help of an open sore, it appears that normal vaginal tissue is just as susceptible to infection as broken skin, causing concern about the difficulty to fight the spread in women and explain a lot of reasons why some prevention methods have proven faulty.
• The FDA has approved the FC2 -- the Female Condom 2 -- a new version of an old product that is inserted into the vagina during intercourse rather than worn on the penis. The product is being hailed for one major reason: it's much much cheaper, giving more access and more availability for use.
• Canada is going through a bit of a debate over HIV and criminal law, as the first charges against a man are being brought that include murder where he infected two women during consensual sex. (There's also news on the international front about HIV and criminal law -- from Kenya, actually.)
• Science has discovered just how and at what rate HIV mutates in the body, giving some vital clues as to how the body's reaction to an invading microorganism actually facilitates the mutation.
• Two bits of great news: Indonesia is dropping plans to implant microchips into HIV+ folks to track them, and the government of India is banning company's abilities to test people for HIV as a condition of employment -- even the US doesn't have that ban.
• Apparently circumcision does reduce the risk of contracting HIV for heterosexual men in the US by 51%-- still no word on whether the government will yet encourage condom use, which decreases risk by 99%. Silly government.

That's all folks, for this morning at least!