AIDS Tips for Teens

Research has shown that while most teen-agers understand how HIV is transmitted and how they can avoid infection, they need to understand that it can happen to them. According to recent CDC studies conducted every two years in high schools (grades nine to 12), many teen-agers are engaging in high-risk behaviors which not only make them vulnerable to acquiring HIV/AIDS, but also to acquiring other sexually transmitted diseases associated with drug use.

How Can You Prevent Getting HIV/AIDS?

• Educate yourself. Know the facts. Act smart.
• Do not use alcohol or any kind of drugs.
• Do not use any needles that have been used by other people for tattooing or piercing or for injecting drugs or other substances such as steroids, vitamins, hormones or insulin.
• Know that it is OK not to have sex. But if you do, protect yourself and use a latex condom.
• Avoid contact with a person's blood, semen or vaginal fluid.

Sex and Drug Use Are Linked Among Teen-agers
Like driving under the influence, sex under the influence can be deadly. Because alcohol and other drugs negatively affect good judgment in regard to sexual behavior, people under the influence are more likely to have sex, practice unprotected sex or engage in "risky" sexual acts.

• Many students report using alcohol or drugs when they have sex.
• One in 62 high school students reports having injected an illegal drug.
• HIV transmission is occurring among people who trade sex for non-injected drugs such as crack.
• Peer pressure can lead to sex, drugs and AIDS.
• People infected with HIV may look and feel healthy for a long time.

Facts for Girls/Women
Young women are the fastest growing group contracting HIV/AIDS through unprotected sex.

1. As of December 1994, 58,428 adolescent and young adult women have been diagnosed with AIDS. The cumulative number of reported cases of HIV infected women for the same period was 15,241.
2. About 75 percent of the AIDS cases in women were associated with the use of injected drugs, either through direct use or through sexual contact with a man who injected drugs.
3. African American and Hispanic women make up 21 percent of all U.S. women, yet they represent more than 75 percent of all the AIDS cases reported among women.
4. AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death among women between the ages of 25 and 44 in the United States. It is the number one cause of death among African American women in the same age group. Many of these women were infected while still in their teens.
5. While HIV can be transmitted during vaginal, oral or anal sex, the transmission occurs most often during vaginal intercourse.

6. A pregnant woman infected with HIV/AIDS can transmit the virus to her unborn baby.

Source : aids.hallym.ac.kr

Tips for Staying Active With Kids and Family

During American Heart Month, it’s important that we think not only of our own cardiovascular health but also that of future generations. A study last year found that obese children and teens have as much plaque in their arteries as a 45-year-old adult, setting them up for heart disease and other serious health conditions much earlier than their parents.

If you’ve got kids, of course you want to make sure they grow up fit and healthy. But you also know it’s hard to juggle work, family, and physical activity—for you alone, never mind for you and your kids. Setting a healthy example is a good start; research shows that parents who are physically active increase the likelihood that their kids will be active as well. But if you’re looking for ways to get your kids involved, check out these tips.

1. Plan outdoor activities
Set aside one day a weekend to do something active as a family: swimming in the summer, sledding or hiking in the winter, or biking in the spring and fall. Taking along a picnic lunch—and splurging on some healthy snacks after a good workout—will help the day go by without a complaint.

2. Take classes together
Ask around at fitness clubs and community centers in your area about yoga or aerobics classes offered to parents and kids together. If your little one is too young to participate, look for classes that help you burn calories with your baby by incorporating them into your yoga moves or pushing them along during stroller workouts. No kids? Check out partner yoga or even “doga”—yup, yoga for you and your dog.

3. Redo your family room
Too often, family rooms are the center of laziness in a home: a comfy couch, a video-game console, a shelf full of DVDs, and nothing to encourage fitness or physical activity. There are ways to add in subtle reminders, however, without overhauling your entire room or dragging in a giant piece of workout equipment. Set a time limit on weekly television and incorporate these Skinny House essentials to keep your whole family moving.

4. Make chores fun
Instead of relegating each member of the family to doing separate chores by themselves, turn chores into a game you can all do together. Race to see how fast you can get the house cleaned, and then try to beat your old time the next week. Play music while you’re doing laundry, and enlist the kids to sing and dance while helping to fold and put clothes away. Take the dog for walks together, and squeeze in some running, roller-skating, or jump rope while you’re at it.

5. Make over your meal plan
This isn’t necessarily a fitness tip, but it’s also worth mentioning: Families that eat healthier also tend to have other healthy habits, such as regular physical activity. If you want to slim down after having a baby or just want to eat better overall, get your entire family involved and you’re more likely to succeed. Take kids to the farmers market, let them pick their own fruits and vegetables, and involve them in the food preparation. They’re much more likely to enjoy their meals—and to clean their plates.

Source : living.health.com By Amanda MacMillan

The Influenza Virus Tracking System

The World Health Organization (WHO) is developing an electronic system to track influenza A(H5) viruses that have been shared by Member States with WHO through the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN). This is in response to issues raised by Member States and discussed at IGM (put in links to relevant documents).

The tracking system, currently available as an interim version, indicates:

• What H5N1 viruses/specimens have been shared with WHO
• Where these viruses/specimens are located
• What progeny materials have been generated
• Analyses that have been conducted on the viruses/specimens progeny materials
• Development of reassortant viruses as potential vaccine candidates
• Distribution (recipients) of viruses/specimens, progeny materials and vaccine candidates

The analyses performed by the WHO laboratories are used to make assessments of risk to human health for all H5N1 viruses/specimens received.

Improvement of the interim system is ongoing and it is anticipated that this system will be upgraded in the future.

The interim system contains data for the majority of viruses and clinical specimens that have been shared with WHO since 24 November 2007, as well as all H5N1 viruses that have been developed into reassortant viruses as potential vaccine candidates.

Data entry of the remaining viruses and clinical specimens (from 24 November 2007 onwards) is ongoing.

Currently, data entry is conducted by WHO Collaborating Centers, WHO H5 Reference Laboratories, and regulatory laboratories which are involved in the WHO H5N1 vaccine virus selection and development process. These are designated WHO laboratories (put in link to list of the twelve labs designated currently).(www.who.int)