Rapper Keith Murray travels to Mozambique for World Aids Day

MOZAMBIQUE -- Legendary hip hop artist Keith Murray is in Mozambique on a global mission to draw more awareness to children suffering from HIV/AIDS as part of World AIDS day -- Dec.1.

Murray’s trip includes a number of concerts, public appearances and charity work in Mozambique through Dec. 7. Part of the trip includes visiting the orphans in the village of Maputo, the country’s capital, as well as the ABC organization in Mozambique.

The trip has a very personal connection for the 37-year-old Murray. The native New York rapper lost his mother who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion when he was 20 and then his sister to the deadly disease when he was 23.

“The impact that HIV and AIDS can have on a person and a family is something that I know on a very personal level, which is why I was so determined to make this trip,” says Murray. “The most painful part is watching people close to you go through it and feeling that there’s nothing you can do to help.”

It’s estimated that roughly 1.8 million of Mozambique’s nearly 20 million residents or 16 percent are infected with AIDS. Orphans reportedly account for 510,000 of the country’s AIDS cases.

The first AIDS case in Mozambique was diagnosed in 1986. Mozambique is where one of the first organizations was formed to spearhead the fight against AIDS, the National AIDS Commission.

Murray's outreach efforts in Mozambique begin with a concert in Maputo at the Maxaquene Pavilion Dec. 2. His visit will also include a December 3, visit at a children’s orphanage and work-shop with young students to openly discuss issues around HIV/AIDS.

“I think talking about it helps,” says Murray.

Tobias Bradford, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, said they are thrilled to have Murray in Mozambique for the World AIDS Day concerts and events.

“We believe that his combination of a compelling personal history, and his ability to reach youth through his music and messages will help tens of thousands of young Mozambicans make more positive choices.,” says Bradford. “At the same time, his visit will generate donations that provide food and other necessities to hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children. This project has the potential for enormous impact across the country.”

Murray’s outreach visit to the area also includes a December 4, concert in Beira center of Mozambique and several other guest appearances wrapping up with an autograph signing Dec. 7.

“Seeing the impact that HIV/AIDS has had in Mozambique has made that much more focused on bringing more attention to the disease,” says Murray. “It puts a lot of things in perspective on how much more we need to be doing on a global level to deal with this disease.”

Keith Murray’s rap career began as a member of the rap trio "Def Squad, which included rapper "Redman and Erick Sermon.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest MCs of all time, Murray shot to national stardom with his first album The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World, released in 1994 on Jive Records. Murray, who has recorded 7 albums, is currently working on his 8th LP due out some time next year.

THERE IS A SURGE IF STD CASES IN THE US AND WE ARE NOT JUST TALKING HIV!!!

(Atlanta) Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, government health officials said Monday. This year there were 1.2 million new cases of chlamydia, a sometimes symptomless infection that can lead to infertility in women. It was the most ever reported, up from the old record of 1.1 million cases in 2007.

Better screening is the most likely reason, said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr. of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Syphilis, on the verge of being eliminated in the United States about 10 years ago, also has been increasing lately. About 13,500 cases of the most contagious form of the disease were reported in 2008, up from about 11,500 the year before.
Unlike chlamydia, health officials think syphilis cases actually are increasing. Syphilis rates are up among both gay men and heterosexuals, said Douglas, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. Syphilis can kill if untreated, but chlamydia is not life-threatening. Neither is gonorrhea, which seams to have plateaued in recent years. Gonorrhea cases dropped to about 337,000 cases in 2008, down from about 356,000 cases. Girls, ages 15 through 19, had the largest reported number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases, accounting for more than one in four of those cases. But they’re often screened more than other people, since 1993 federal recommendations that emphasize testing for sexually active women age 25 and under.
The government estimates there are roughly 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted disease annually. Experts say the most common is HPV, human papillomavirus, which can cause genital warts, cervical cancer and other cancers. The government doesn’t ask doctors to report every HPV case, but estimates the virus causes 6.2 million new cases each year. That is an old estimate, based on data from 2000, before a vaccine against some types of HPV came on the market in 2006. The CDC estimates there are 1.6 million new cases of genital herpes each year, but that too is an old estimate for a non-reportable disease. The agency also estimates there about 56,000 new cases of HIV each year.

(associatedpress)

ELTON JOHN CHILD ADOPTION DENIED!!!

Elton John has been denied the opportunity to able to adopt a 14-month-old HIV-positive child from Ukraine because the pop star is too old and isn't married. John met the young boy named "Lev" while touring the orphanage during a charity AIDS event. John and his partner expressed interest in adopting the young child after the encounter.

Ukrainian law requires a parent to be no more than 45 years older than an adopted child and a couple must be married. John and his partner married in Britain in 2005 but Ukraine does not recognize gay unions as marriage. Ukraine is very supportive and appreciative of John's work and hopes that his interest in adoption will cause more people to take interest.

"Ukrainians are still reluctant to adopt ill, psychologically challenged children or those older than 10. Pavlenko said that only about 30 HIV-positive children have been adopted since 2007. About 32,000 Ukrainian orphans are waiting to be adopted this year, but only 2,000 Ukrainian families are lined to adopt them".

(associatepress)

NEW CONTRACEPTIVE TO PREVENT HIV AND PREGNANCY!!!!

Ok, scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York have created a device that prevents pregnancy and HIV.

Here are excerpts from the release:

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have published results showing that a new contraceptive device may also effectively block the transmission of the HIV virus. Findings show that the device prevents infection by the HIV virus in laboratory testing. The promising results are published in the most recent issue of the journal AIDS.

The new device is a vaginal ring that releases multiple types of non-hormonal agents and microbicides, which would prevent conception as well as sexually transmitted HIV infection…The vaginally inserted ring is incorporated with multiple antiviral drugs that prevent HIV infection and are time-released over a period up to 28 days. The compounds tested were a newly developed anti-HIV agent, Boc-lysinated betulonic acid, TMC120 (dapivirine), PMPA, and 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT or zidovudine), which, when combined, were found to block infection in human cells exposed to the virus in a laboratory setting.

(mediatakeout)

HIV increase in those 50yrs Old and Up!

A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) have found that there is an increase of 11% of new HIV cases in the elderly. The WHO has stated in their study that with the increase in erectile dysfunction drugs people over the age of 50 and up are more likely to have unprotected sex than younger people. With so many illnesses that effect those progressing into their twilight years HIV screening is rare. "Since 1998, erectile dysfunction drugs have been extending the sex life of many older individuals and, at the same time, may be extending the HIV epidemic into older age groups," the study said.

(uk.reuters.com)