This one's a winner!!!!!!!!
Hilarious ...
Global Warming Set To Fan The HIV Fire
April 29, 2008
http://news.theage.com.au/global-warming-set-to-fan-the-hiv-fire/20080430-29eh.html
Climate change is the latest threat to the world's growing HIV epidemic,
say Australian experts who warn of the "grim" outlook in the fight
against the infectious disease.
A leading professor of health and human rights, Daniel Tarantola, has
cautioned that global warming will indirectly make citizens of
developing countries even more vulnerable to death and severe ill health
from HIV/AIDS.
"It was clear soon after the emergence of the HIV epidemic that
discrimination, gender inequality and lack of access to essential
services have made some populations more vulnerable than others," said
Prof Tarantola, of the University of NSW.
Those problems had not gone away, he said, and extra threats were
lurking on the horizon "as the global economic situation deteriorates,
food scarcity worsens and climate change begins to affect those who were
already dependent on survival economies".
"Climate change will trigger a chain of events which is likely to
increase the stress on society and result in higher vulnerability to
diseases including HIV," said Prof Tarantola, due to address an HIV
forum in Sydney.
Prominent HIV scientist Professor David Cooper, director of the National
Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, agreed environmental
change would have a negative impact on HIV sufferers.
"Climate change will lead to food scarcity and poorer nutrition, putting
people with perilous immune systems at more risk of dying of HIV, as
well as contracting and transmitting new and unusual infections," Prof
Cooper said.
"And this would effect Australia too, because these infections could
potentially spread. Just look at the horror that SARS and avian flu have
caused."
The specialist said the HIV landscape was grim, with 16,000 new
infections worldwide each day and the failure of research to produce a
much-needed cure or vaccine.
He echoed the deep pessimism of 35 top British and US scientists who
predicted this week that a vaccine would be at least 10 years and maybe
even 20 years away.
"It's a pretty grim situation," Prof Cooper said.
"I don't think we have any idea of how to harness a vaccine for this and
we need a strong basic science breakthrough to get anywhere with it."
He said it was im****tant to strengthen preventative measures proven to
work, like condoms and cir***cision, and continue to investigate other
more hopeful avenues, like microbicide *** gels and anti-viral drugs to
block infection.
© 2008 AAP
--
Warmest Regards
Bonzo
"If scientists say they are 100% sure, or that they are absolutely
certain about the cause and effect and ignore variables which might show
that they could be wrong, they are practicing junk science. Junk science
happens when scientists believe something based on just some of what
they see."
|
