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Media Looks At County-Level HIV, AIDS Map Data
Major population centers such as those in New York and California have the highest numbers of HIV cases, however, many of the areas that have the highest rates of people with HIV are in the South, according to data from an online mapping tool launched by the National Minority Quality Forum yesterday, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The map, which is the first tool of its kind to look at HIV and AIDS cases on a county level, is based on 2006 data collected from states and cross-checked with CDC data. According to the mapping tool, of the 48 counties with the highest HIV prevalence rates, 25 are in Georgia. In addition, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia have the highest prevalence rates for HIV cases that have progressed to AIDS (Stobbe, AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/22). In Virginia, Richmond, Petersburg and Norfolk were among the nation"s urban areas hardest hit by HIV/AIDS (Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/23). Three metro counties in Kansas City, Mo., have HIV and AIDS rates that are higher than about 80 percent of counties nationwide, according to the data, NBC Action News reports (Ptacek, NBC Action News, 6/22).

Smoking, High Blood Pressure And Diabetes In Mid-life Can Lead To Dementia
Middle aged people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes are far more likely to develop dementia in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
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Rapid Methods To Detect Microorganisms In Food: K-State To Host Workshop
Kansas State University once again is host to a noted microbiology workshop that helps the scientists who test food and other samples for microorganisms. K-State"s 29th annual Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology workshop will be June 19-26.
Public Health

Confirmed Link Between Chronic Infection And Immune-System Protein

The reason deadly infections like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C never go away is because these viruses disarm the body"s defense system. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that a key immunity protein must be present for this defense system to have a chance against chronic infection. Research up to now has tried but failed to decipher the cross-talk between "killer T-cells" and "helper T-cells" in the fight against viruses. The new UAB study finds this cross-talk can only happen in the presence of interleukin-21, a powerful immune system protein. If interleukin-21 is missing for whatever reason, then the immune system"s anti-viral efforts fail, said Allan Zajac, Ph.D., an associate professor in UAB"s Department of Microbiology and lead author on the study. The findings are published in the journal Science through its Science Express service. "Adding interleukin-21 back in stimulates the immune response and controls the infection," Zajac said. "We demonstrate that the loss of this protein prevents the control of the infection and diminishes the function of the killer T-cells, specifically CD8 T-cells." The study mice were treated for lymphocytic choriomeningitis, a viral infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Measurements were taken for two types of T-cells, CD4 and CD8 T-cells, before and after the mice were treated with interleukin-21. "Interleukin-21 served as the key messenger between the T-cells, whereas before we didn"t know exactly how the two types of cells communicated with each other," Zajac said. The CD4 T-cells help the immune system do its job by boosting CD8 T-cells" ability to fight and kill viruses. Co-authors on the study include John Yi and Ming Du, Ph.D., both of UAB"s Department of Microbiology. Research funds came from the National Institutes of Health. Troy Goodman University of Alabama at Birmingham


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