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MANILA, Philippines --- The Pasay City government, alarmed by the report of the Department of Health (DOH) that the city is one of six cities in the country most risk for the spread of the Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Virus (AIDS), is conducting study to amend its existing ordinance on the fight against the "killer disease."

Pasay Mayor Antonino Calixto said that after the announcement made by DOH, the city needs to do more to strengthen its anti-AIDS campaign. He said there is a need to amend city ordinance of 2002 to strengthen the monitoring and implementation of the law as well as to allocate funds for its effective monitoring and implementation.

He said that at present, the city government is strictly requiring entertainers and others with similar occupations to attend AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infection Awareness Seminar before they are issued a mayor's work permit/License or Occupational Health Permit, as required by the city ordinance of 1993.

The mayor said the ordinance also requires regular STI examination on entertainers and others with similar nature of occupation every two weeks by the Social Hygiene Clinic.

Calixto explained that operators and managers of entertainment establishments are also required to develop a set of their own health care policies and that prior to issuance of working permits, all applicants for employment in establishments are required to present an original copy of their birth certificates and other documents duly authenticated by City Health Office.

"We have to increase monitoring to effectively implement the ordinance. For this we need additional funding, thus we hope that the City Council will revisit the ordinance in light of the report of the DOH," Calixto said.

However, even if the city government has its own ordinance to be followed for the fight against the "killer disease," the effort is not enough and that more has to be done.

Calixto said the best tools in prevention and control of HIV/AIDS are education, information and communication.

"AIDS is a serious problem. The DOH said that in the Philippines nine persons are infected with HIV every day. That means every two to three hours one Filipino gets infected. Thus, we need to do more," Calixto stressed.

He already gave the assurance that the city government is reaching out to the people at the grassroots level to educate them on prevention as well as in addressing the spread of the virus through information campaign and proper coordination with the concerned government and NGOs.

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Pasay Intensifies Anti-AIDS Drive

Andy Bell from Erasure publicly announced he had HIV in 2004 (Reuters)

The number of gay men with HIV has reached a record high, with one in 20 men who have sex with men (MSM) living with the disease.

The figures, from the Health Protection Agency (HPA), were released in conjunction with national HIV testing week, which runs until 30 November.

According to the findings, the number of new diagnoses among MSM reached an all-time high of 3,010 in 2011.

London has most sufferers per head of population - one in 12 MSM have HIV in the capital. That equals 47 per 1,000.

The HPA also warns that the number of people living with HIV could be significantly higher than the 96,000 it can confirm, as a quarter of people with the disease are unaware of their status.

Findings showed that the black African community is at greater risk, with 37 per 1,000 living with the disease. Overall, HIV prevalence in the UK is 1.5 per 1,000.

The research also found that 2,990 heterosexual men and women were diagnosed with the disease last year.

Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "Thirty years on from the start of the epidemic, public understanding of HIV has dropped to a worrying level. As a result, we are starting to see a significant increase in the number of heterosexuals acquiring the virus in the UK.

"It is important that everyone, no matter their age or background, understands that nobody is immune from infection. We all have a responsibility to get our understanding of the virus up to a basic level, and know how to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe."

Originally posted here:
Gay Men HIV Levels at All-Time High with 1 in 20 Infected

By Denise Mann HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 26 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. task force suggests that people at high risk for the hepatitis C virus should be screened, which includes those with a history of intravenous drug use and those who received blood transfusions before 1992.

But, the guidelines also address another, lower-risk group -- the baby boomer generation.

The new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, released Monday and updated from 2004, take a somewhat softer stance than those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which say that all baby boomers should get screened for hepatitis C. By contrast, the task force suggests that clinicians "consider" screening for this age group, which includes those born between 1946 and 1964.

Screening for hepatitis C involves a simple, inexpensive blood test. Unlike other types of hepatitis, there is no vaccine available for hepatitis C. Treatment typically involves a course of antiviral medication.

Hepatitis C is considered a silent killer because it is often symptomless. Undiagnosed and untreated, hepatitis C can result in liver cancer, liver failure and liver transplants.

Risk factors for hepatitis C infection include a history of blood transfusions before widespread adoption of screening and infection control measures, long-term dialysis treatment, exposure to hepatitis C in health care settings, having HIV/AIDS, tattooing in unregulated or unsafe parlors and IV drug use.

"Our recommendations are that people who are known to be at high risk -- such as people with a history of IV drug [use] and those who had blood transfusions prior to 1992 -- should be screened," said task force member Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an associate professor of medicine and of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

People at highest risk have about a 50 percent chance of being infected with hepatitis C; whereas people born between 1946 and 1964 have a 3 percent to 4 percent chance of being infected, she said.

Bibbins-Domingo said the task force took less a stringent stance on testing for all baby boomers because many people with hepatitis C will live for a long time without progressive disease, and current treatments don't help everyone. "We have effective treatments, but not everybody who has hepatitis C will go on to develop liver failure or liver cancer," she said. "We are in an era where treatments are rapidly evolving, and recommendations may change as treatments get better."

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U.S. Task Force: Baby Boomers Should Be Tested for Hepatitis C

When you think your PC has been infected by malware, but your antivirus package hasnt raised an alert, then its often possible to locate and remove the threat manually. But generally youll need a whole library of tools to get the job done: one to view your startup programs, another to check running processes, a file unlocker maybe, and the list goes on.

If you prefer the simple life, though, you could just download a copy ofUltra Virus Killer(UVK), which provides all the malware detection, removal and cleanup tools you need, in a single, free package.

There are modules to view running processes and the files theyre using, for instance. You can list and control Windows startup programs, services, drivers and more. An alternate streams manager looks for suspect NTFS streams; you get a program to help you delete files or folders, even if theyre in use; and there are modules to clean and repair your PC, even protect your Registry from modification, so maybe helping you to avoid infection in the first place.

If youve tried similar tools before then much of this will sound very familiar, but UVK offers far more than most of the competition. The Process Manager isnt some pale imitation of Task Manager, for example -- its specifically designed for malware hunting, with tools to search Google, run checks at Virustotal/ ThreatExpert/ Runscanner, verify a file signature, pause and resume a process, delete multiple processes at the same time, and more.

Theres much the same depth and power elsewhere. So you can use the Modules Manager to list loaded DLLs, for instance; submit them to VirusTotal and similar services until youve identified a threat; and then try to rename the module now, after killing a process, or on reboot: perfect for those stubborn programs which just wont die.

And if youve managed to kill some malware, then turning to the System Repair module will provide a host of functions to help clean up after any problems it might have caused, with tools to reset your host file and DNS to their default state; restore your PCs default group policies; reset your Registry and NTFS security settings; get Windows Update working again; install or update various key components (DirectX/ Java/ Flash/ .NET); clear all your temporary folders, re-register all Windows DLLs, and the list goes on.

There are, of course, lots of dangers here. The ability to delete a running process can help you remove malware, for instance, but it also allows you to kill critical Windows files. And UVK has plenty of similar low-level options which are generally very useful, but could cripple your PC if theyre misused (or just go wrong for some reason).

Ultra Virus Killerisnt a program to use unless you know what youre doing, then, and have a full system backup to hand.

But if that sounds like you, then theres no doubt that UVK has a great deal to offer, as the program is absolutely packed with powerful malware hunting, maintenance and repair options.

Photo Credits:maraga/Shutterstock

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Got malware? Try Ultra Virus Killer

The bizarre events that have unfolded in recent days almost beggar belief: John McAfee, the tech entrepreneur who pioneered anti-virus software, has gone into hiding. He is a wanted man in Belize, the tiny Central American nation to which he retired in 2008.

McAfee, 67, had reportedly been tangling with Belizean authorities for months when his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Gregory Faull, was found murdered at home, shot once in the back of the head. Police immediately deemed McAfee a prime suspect and launched a manhunt for the eccentric fugitive.

A brief history of McAfee's unique life and career follows.

Related:The Most Bizarre and Dramatic Executive Blog You Might Ever Read

1987: McAfee, a former NASA programmer and private-sector software designer, founds McAfee Associates, a company designed to fix computer bugs. He decides to create the company after his computer is infected with the Pakistani Brain virus.

1989: McAfee leaves Lockheed, where he had been working, to focus full-time on his company.

He offers his VirusScan anti-virus program as shareware -- individuals and companies can download a free trial of the software, but must pay for licenses and continued use.

McAfee publishes a book, Computer Viruses, Worms, Data Diddlers, Killer Programs, and Other Threats to Your System.

August 1992: McAfee incorporates his company in Delaware, forming McAfee Associates Inc. At this time the company has 26 employees.

October 1992: The company goes public, selling 2.6 million shares and raising more than $40 million.

Originally posted here:
John McAfee, From Tech Pioneer to Murder Suspect