HIV could
spread if birth control injections increase, warn scientists
Researchers
call for new guidelines for women using family planning services in Aids-hit
areas.
The
Guardian, Tuesday 4 October 2011
Article
history
Campaigns to
increase the number of women opting for long-lasting birth control injections
in Aids-hit parts of the developing world could be helping to spread the
epidemic, scientists are warning.
New research
shows that women who use hormonal contraceptives may double their risk of
contracting HIV and of passing it to their male partner, throwing up a new
dilemma for global development.
The authors
of the large-scale study, published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases,
call for urgent guidance to be drawn up and given to women using family
planning services in HIV-endemic areas. The study showed particularly that the
risk of HIV transmission was raised by the long-lasting injections that are
most widely used and most popular in the sub-Saharan regions worst hit by the
Aids epidemic.
The results
present a significant problem for global health and development. Unwanted
pregnancy is a threat to a woman's life and can lead to greater poverty and
deprivation for her family. The more children she has, the harder it will be to
feed and educate them.
While family
planning is still resisted in parts of the developing world, campaigns to
promote injectable contraception have met with some success. Many women have
sought out the injections that last for months and that they can sometimes get
without their husband's knowledge if he refuses permission.
But the
study of 3,800 couples shows that there is a risk which has previously been
suspected but unconfirmed. The risk was present for those who took the pill
too, but it was not statistically significant because most women in the study
had opted for injections.
"Recommendations
regarding contraceptive use, particularly emphasising the importance of dual
protection with condoms and the use of non-hormonal and low-dose hormonal
methods for women with or at risk for HIV-1, are urgently needed," said
lead study author Renee Heffron, also from the University of Washington.
More than
140 million women worldwide use some form of hormonal contraception.
The study
group comprised 3,790 couples where one partner had HIV (usually the woman)
although the other did not. They were drawn from two existing studies of HIV
incidence in seven African countries – Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The
researchers found that women who did not have HIV were twice as likely to be
infected by their partner if they were using hormonal contraception. Those who
had HIV themselves were twice as likely to give it to their partner. Tests
showed that women with HIV using injectable contraception had raised
concentrations of virus inside the cervix. Researchers are unclear why and a
larger study specifically designed to look at this issue should be carried out,
they say.
Meanwhile
women should be told there may be an increased risk of HIV infection if they
use hormonal contraception and should be counselled that condoms will give them
dual protection.
In a comment
published by the journal, Charles Morrison from Clinical Sciences, Durham, USA,
said: "Active promotion of DMPA [injectable contraception] in areas with
high HIV incidence could be contributing to the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan
Africa, which would be tragic. Conversely, limiting one of the most highly used
effective methods of contraception in sub-Saharan Africa would probably
contribute to increased maternal mortality and morbidity and more low birth
weight babies and orphans—an equally tragic result. The time to provide a more
definitive answer to this critical public health question is now; the donor
community should support a randomised trial of hormonal contraception and HIV
acquisition."
Birth control pills recalled due to 'packaging error'
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 16, 2011 -- Updated 2237 GMT (0637 HKT)
A spokesman for Qualitest Pharmaceuticals said that
"there are no immediate health issues currently" because of the
packaging problems. Rather, he said, the chief concern is that women may
unintentionally become pregnant after taking the oral contraceptive.
"The unintended consequence of pregnancy is really the
issue," spokesman Kevin Wiggins said. "That's why the company took a
drastic action."
Wiggins said the recall involves 1.4 million packages that
have been distributed to pharmacists and customers since last year.
According to a statement for the Huntsville-based company,
"select blisters (found inside the pill box) were rotated 180 degrees
within the card, reversing the weekly tablet orientation." This helped to
leave the pills' lot number, as well as the expiration date, "no longer
visible."
"As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen
for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without
adequate contraception, and at risk for unwanted pregnancy," the company
said.
A pharmacist noticed the issue and contacted the company by
phone, Wiggins explained.
Qualitest urged those with such products to begin using a
"non-hormonal" form of birth control and consult a health care
provider or pharmacist. Pharmacies have been told to contact those who have
gotten the faultily packaged pills.
The recall affects these products: Cyclafem 7/7/7, Cyclafem
1/35, Emoquette, Gildess FE 1.5/30, Gildess FE 1/20, Orsythia, Previfem and
Tri-Previfem.
Customers can call 1-877-300-6153 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
CT to get their questions answered, arrange to return their pills or report
problems. Information is also available at
http://www.qualitestrx.com/pdf/OCRecall.pdf.
Wiggins said Qualitest is working with authorities "at
a very high level," as well as with the product's manufacturers, to
determine what happened.
"We're dedicated to ensuring the safe use of our
products, (and) this recall reaffirms our high standards," he said.
"It's an error, nonetheless, and we put patients at the center of what we
do."
CNN's Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Religious groups object to covering birth control
Sun, 07/08/2011 - 5:24pm | by priyodesk
They defied the bishops to support President Barack Obama's
health care overhaul. Now Catholic hospitals are dismayed the law may force
them to cover birth control free of charge to their employees.
"I call this the parish housekeeper exemption — that's
about all it covers," said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the
600-member umbrella group for Catholic hospitals. "What we are trying to
do is make workable the conscience protection the administration says it is
willing to give."
Most Catholic hospitals do not cover birth control for their
employees, Keehan said, but in some cases they are required to by state law.
Doctors caring for patients at the hospitals are not restricted from
prescribing birth control.
The Health and Human Services Department is asking for
public comment on its proposed conscience clause before making a final
decision, expected later this year.
Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly support greater
access to birth control, which medical experts say promotes well-being by
allowing women to adequately space their pregnancies.
Women's rights groups are opposed to any conscience
exemption, pointing out that it's not specifically authorized by the health
care law.
"All women do use contraception at some point in their
lives, and we think it should be available to them as a preventive health
service," said Judy Waxman, vice president for health and reproductive
rights at the National Women's Law Center. That includes women who work for
Catholic hospitals and for the church itself, Waxman added.
Conscience exemptions are a common component of legislation
that creates tension with religious mores. In this case, the Health and Human
Services Department says the administration picked language used by states that
require health insurers to cover contraception as a prescription benefit.
Hong Kong officials now administering birth control to wild
monkeys
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
NaturalNews) The population of macaque monkeys in and around
Hong Kong has become so extreme and pervasive that officials there have begun
administering birth control to the animals. Recent reports explain that
conservation department officials are now trapping female macaques in baited
cages, and performing sterilization surgeries on them -- and the efforts are a
response to the growing number of complaints alleging that the monkeys are
aggressively targeting humans for food.
Hong Kong is located directly adjacent to wildlife areas
where macaque monkeys thrive. A Yahoo News report explains that there are now
more than 2,000 monkeys living near the city, and many of them have grown
accustomed to humans, having lost their natural fear of them. As a result, the
monkeys allegedly chase tourists in search of food, and even pickpocket random
people in urban areas.
"I think we still have plenty of space for wildlife.
But the countryside and the city are adjacent to each other and sometimes there
is conflict," said Chung-tong Shek of the Hong Kong government's
conservation department. "There is plenty of food inside the city in the
garbage. Some of them get lost in the city from time to time."
Earlier monkey population control efforts involved capturing
monkeys in order to perform vasectomies on the males, and to administer drug
injections to the females. But now officials have decided to perform
twice-monthly sterilization procedures on just the female monkeys instead,
which is said to have reduced their population to roughly 1,500.
Conservation officials stress that the efforts are not
designed to eliminate the macaque population, but rather to reduce and control
it. Since the new sterilization protocol has been enacted, the number of
complaint calls being made about out-of-control monkey incidents has dropped 86
percent. Experts hail the efforts as an example of successful, non-lethal
population control among nuisance animals.
