Blind spots in the epidemiology of HIV in black Americans.

In the USA, annual rates of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS diagnoses are seven and 21 times higher in black men and women, respectively, than in whites. Epidemiological inquiry on this disparity has chiefly focused on contextual factors; such emphasis has eclipsed study of direct HIV vectors. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced its intention to curb HIV propagation in black communities, recommending culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS strategies.

Partner referral tools and techniques for the clinician diagnosing a sexually transmitted infection.

Public health agencies have insufficient resources to trace and refer to medical evaluation the sexual partners of patients with sexually transmitted infections (STI). Only a minority of such patients receives formal sex partner referral services. Hence this responsibility rests, by default, with the diagnosing clinician or with the infected patient.

Male and female circumcision associated with prevalent HIV infection in virgins and adolescents in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania.

Purpose: Remarkable proportions of self-reported virgins and adolescents in eastern and southern Africa are infected with HIV, yet non-sexual routes of transmission have not been systematically investigated in such persons. Many observers in this region have recognized the potential for HIV transmission through unhygienic circumcision procedures. We assessed the relation between male and female circumcision (genital cutting) and prevalent HIV infection in Kenyan, Lesothoan, and Tanzanian virgins and adolescents.

A large specific deterrent effect of arrest for patronizing a prostitute.

Background: Prior research suggests that arrest, compared with no police detection, of some types of offenders does not decrease the chances they will reoffend.

Methodology/principal Findings: We assessed the specific deterrent effect of arrest for patronizing a street prostitute in Colorado Springs by comparing the incidence of arrest for clients of prostitutes first detected through public health surveillance with the incidence of rearrest for clients first detected by police arrest. Although these sets of clients were demographically and behaviorally similar, arrest reduced the likelihood of a subsequent arrest by approximately 70%.

A passage to India's HIV epidemics: sending out an SOS.

The official view is that India's epidemics are driven, directly and indirectly, by heterosexual prostitution. Review of available evidence by researchers in India undermines this weakly supported orthodoxy and suggests that correcting weaknesses in its AIDS surveillance system can lead to a more reliable picture of HIV propagation and hence to evidence-based interventions. Contenders for leading roles in HIV transmission are under-suspected and unmeasured skin-puncturing exposures.

Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States.

Prostitute women have the highest homicide victimization rate of any set of women ever studied. We analyzed nine diverse homicide data sets to examine the extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States. Most data sources substantially under-ascertained prostitute homicides.