Tagged: HIV

The reported cure of a baby girl born with HIV in Mississippi has sparked excitement in the medical community. Doctors say the apparent disappearance of her infection is due to very early treatment of the infant with standard drug therapies. They say the case is a proof of concept that HIV infection could potentially be curable in infants.

Half the people who contract HIV in the United States are African-American, according to statistics released last year. Advocates hope  National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which is today, leads to more education about the disease in the black community.  Locally, there will be a push to do just that in Syracuse this weekend.

World AIDS Day was remembered in Syracuse this morning during a service of remembrance. Participants say they are worried that the disease, which has been around for over 30 years now, has become forgotten.

All of New York state is now covered by a needle exchange program sponsored by the state health department.

Syracuse was one of the last communities to join the  program, and so far, it's working well.

The program's big silver van has a small sign that says, “Safety First: Syringe Exchange Program.” This is where IV drug users and others can exchange their dirty needles for  clean ones.