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HIV Transmission In Europe Occurs Primarily In Vacation Destinations, Study Finds
HIV in Europe is transmitted primarily in vacation destinations, according to a study published recently in the journal Retrovirology, the PA/Google.com reports. For the study, researchers led by Dimitrios Paraskevis of the University of Athens analyzed samples of HIV-1 subtype B virus, the most prevalent form of HIV in Europe, from 16 European countries and Israel (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The researchers created a family tree of the virus and examined its genetic characteristics to determine how it has evolved.The study found that tourists are more likely to contract HIV in Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain, which are popular vacation destinations. Meanwhile, HIV-positive people in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg are more likely to have contracted the virus outside of these countries. The study also found that HIV-positive people in Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contract the virus both within these countries and in other countries. In addition, the study found that in Poland the virus spread mainly among residents through injection drug use. "Viruses move around with travelers -- thus health programs within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travelers and tourists -- who are both major s and targets of HIV," Paraskevis said (BBC News, 5/20). Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that the findings are not a "surprise," adding, "We"ve known for some time with high levels of mobility in the world these days that it"s very easy for viruses to move around. What it tells us is that you can"t limit HIV prevention and support just to permanent residents" (PA/Google.com, 5/20).
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Healthcare Reform Gets Boost From Hospital Groups
"In the face of mounting Republican opposition to its healthcare agenda, the Obama administration received a boost Wednesday, winning a preliminary agreement with leading hospital groups to cut federal payments to the industry over the next decade," The Los Angeles Times reports. "Under the plan, negotiated primarily by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), hospitals would accept $155 billion in cuts if the administration and its congressional allies succeeded in extending health insurance to tens of millions of people who are now without coverage. None of the hospital groups has signed a written agreement backing the cuts, nor is there any guarantee that the cuts will be included in versions of the healthcare legislation being developed by lawmakers other than Baucus" (Levey, 7/9).
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Study Shows Consistent Use Of Insulin Pump Therapy, Augmented With Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Results In Significant A1C Reductions
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced results of a randomized, controlled trial to demonstrate the benefits of an insulin pump therapy augmented with real-time continuous glucose monitoring (Personal CGM) versus a conventional pump and self-monitoring of blood glucose in type 1 diabetes patients with poor metabolic control. Study findings showed that patients who used Personal CGM more than 70 percent of the time achieved nearly a full percentage point reduction in A1C (average blood glucose levels). The results were presented at the 69th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in New Orleans.
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Nursing Shortage Leads To More Students, New Training Programs

"Long second shrift to other medical training, nursing education has taken on new relevance as the country faces a drastic shortage of nurses and a thin job market overall," The Dallas Morning News reports. "Colleges are quickly expanding their programs to encompass lengthy waiting lists. And (Texas) Gov. Rick Perry has just approved $5 million to establish a regional nursing education center at the University of Texas at Arlington, a crucial re facility for the area"s 14 nursing schools. But right now demand exceeds space." Mounting interest creates a challenge in "finding enough training venues and equipment necessary for teaching this specialized profession. "Everyone has the same problem," said Robert Rosseter, associate executive director for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Washington, D.C. "There are more students but not enough faculty and clinical sites." Texas alone had to send away 8,000 qualified applicants from nursing programs last year, according to the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council" (Meyers, 7/8). Also, high school students are playing an increasing role also as they look for a career with stability, The Tacoma (Wash.) Weekly reports. "As part of MultiCare Health System"s sixth year of Nurse Camp, about 100 students were able to get exposed to all aspects of health careers within the hospital setting during a four-day interactive tour July 7-10." "Many of the students at this year"s camp knew they wanted to work in the health care field, but they were not sure exactly what that meant for them. Attendees used Nurse Camp as an exploratory tool to sharpen their ambitions in health care. In recent years the country has faced a nursing shortage, which was one prompt for Nurse Camp to start six years ago. Organizers hoped that getting more people exposed to health care, especially nursing careers, at younger ages could increase and diversify the nursing workforce" (Jensen, 7/9). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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