Contagious and Infectious Diseases

African-Americans Need to Use Condoms

African-Americans Need to Prevent STDs and Pregnancy

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke talks about the importance of safe sex. When New York-based prophylactics company b Condoms approached me about doing a safe-se ... More >>

Jeffrey at Miami Beach Stage Door Through May 5

Stroll for Survivors

Positively Funny

Miami Man Contracts Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Nearly Dies After Getting Flu Shot

Three months ago, Michael Stec could bench-press 275 pounds. Now the 56-year-old struggles to walk, gripping tightly to the parallel bars at Mercy Hospital, his legs buckling underneath him like broken stilts.Most people never know how they get sick. But Stec says he can pinpoint the exact moment. H ... More >>

David France on the Plague Years: The History and Survival of ACT UP

Elton John Slams Rick Scott and His Surgeon General in New Memoir

It's not Saturday night, but apparently the time is right for fighting between Elton John and Gov. Rick Scott. In his upcoming memoir, Sir Elton criticizes the unpopular pol for attempting to cut funds to Florida's AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Elton even wrote a letter to the governor, and the ... More >>

Can Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Keep Dengue Fever Away From Key West?

Red Flags

Taco Bell Salmonella Alert

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, but it should be renamed the "Year of the Salmon--ella outbreak and consequent civil suits."Too long?Two lawsuits due to salmonella poisoning have been filed against Taco Bell this year. The second lawsuit, also filed by Marler Clark, ... More >>

Chicken Pox Lollipop: Spreading Germs Via Candy

Lollipops laced with chicken pox are being shared by moms.​Some Nashville moms have been offering to sell lollipops that have been licked by children with chicken pox, according to WSMV in Nashville. The thought process is that healthy children who lick these pops will contract the disease and the ... More >>

HIV Porn Scandal: Brazzers' Parent Company Responds

​The American porn industry has voluntarily shut itself down after a male performer working in Florida tested positive for HIV. Yesterday, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which fights for the use of condoms in adult movies, issued a press release claiming the performer worked for Brazzers.com ... More >>

With Thousands of Lives On the Line, Florida Considers Stricter Restrictions On HIV Drug Assistance

​As the HIV/AIDS epidemic enters its fourth decade, powerful antiretroviral drugs give patients hope at living long and relatively normal lives, but those drugs come with a hefty price tag and many patients rely on government assistance programs to obtain them. Florida's AIDS Drugs Assistance Prog ... More >>

Human Rights Watch Slams Florida, Southern States in New Report on HIV

Anti-retrivorals are particularly hard to get in Florida, says Human Rights Watch​In a report on HIV released this morning, Human Rights Watch criticizes Florida and other southern states for neglecting the epidemic and, in some cases, fueling the deadly disease.The report, "Southern Exposure: Hum ... More >>

First Recent Case of Cholera Suspected in Miami-Dade

​Miami-Dade already has cases of hookworm and dengue fever, and now health officials are investigating the possibility that a man with cholera might have entered the county. According to the Miami Herald, a doctor traveling from Haiti arrived at Miami International Airport around 6 p.m. ... More >>

Top 10 Worst Food Recalls of 2010

image via portorikan on flickr.Food poisoning.​Blech! We used to think food recalls were a rare phenomenon. Turns out American factory culture may not have changed enough since Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle," to stop bacterium-infected food products from hitting store shelves.The last year has ... More >>

AIDS Drug Wait-list Could Be Deadly for Miami-Dade Minorities

Florida budget cuts are putting AIDS pills out of reach​A new statewide waiting list for antiretroviral drugs is putting thousands of Florida's poorest AIDS patients in serious danger, according to a top doctor at the University of Miami.The list is particularly devastating for Miami-Dade minoriti ... More >>

Out of the Closet Marks World AIDS Day With 12-Hour HIV-Testing Marathon

More than 90,000 Floridians are living with HIV/AIDS, especially here in Miami-Dade, where one in every 98 Hispanic men, one in every 60 non-Hispanic white men, and one in every 29 African-American men are living with the disease. Luckily, HIV isn't necessarily an automatic deat ... More >>

HIV Rate Increases in Florida as AIDS-Related Deaths Decline

The Herald has done a pretty good job of outlining the results of Man Up: The Crisis of HIV/AIDS Among Florida's Men, by the Florida Department of Health, but the numbers are pretty shocking and worth repeating. And yeah, if you haven't been tested lately, maybe you make an appointment.1 out of ... More >>

Florida Lab Makes Potential HIV Breakthrough

A leading research lab in Port St. Lucie thinks it might have made a potential breakthrough in the treatment and eradication of HIV. Current medications suppress the virus to undetectable levels in patients' bodies, allowing them to live relatively normal, long lives. However, the crafty little ... More >>

CNN Profiles Miami's "Kool-Aid Kids," Children Born with HIV

Every week at Jackson Memorial Hospital, teens and young adults who were either born with HIV or infected at a young age meet. They call themselves the Kool-Aid Kids. They've defied the odds and lived to a time when HIV is a manageable, albeit chronic, disease. CNN recently profiled them, and today ... More >>

Swine Flu Claims First Miami-Dade Death

The H1N1 virus has claimed its first death in Florida and Miami-Dade County, killing a 9-year-old, according to the Miami-Dade County Health Department.  The total number of confirmed swine flu cases in the county now tops 143. The state's count is up to 417.  Nationally, the virus is said to be ... More >>

On Day 99, Obama Hires HIV Czar

A quick followup of sorts to our post Monday highlighting the Obama administration's inaction on HIV/AIDS during his first 100 days in office. Yesterday it was announced the president has chosen Dr. Eric Goosby to head PEPFAR. Goosby served in the Clinton administration as deputy director of the Nat ... More >>

Obama's First 100 Days and Barely Any Action on HIV/AIDS

Wednesday will mark the culmination of President Obama's first 100 days in office, and he's done a lot: passed a massive stimulus package, ordered the closure of Gitmo, made a momentous change in travel policy to Cuba, had some pirates shot, and got a dog named Bo. Though, one area where he's moved ... More >>

The Sex Doll Diaries

Artist brings her silicone twin to town for one last romp.

Here’s to Your Health

When Magic Johnson speaks, we all should listen

Homestead Teacher on Staph-Infected Student: Too Little, Too Late

Looking for Mr. Positive

Urban legend or reality, The Bugchasers seeks a spotlight

Dancing From the Heart

MCDC brings real issues to the stage

Seeing Red

Buy More Art

Walk On, Walk Proud

Patient at Risk

The medical association examines the county's jail system and finds trouble behind bars

Positive Living

An Ounce of Prevention -- At Last

County jail officials finally decide to get serious about a highly contagious disease

The Unwanted Test

It wasn't part of the school curriculum, and for one girl who is HIV-positive, it was a bad idea

Contagious Outbreak Untreated

A rash of grotesque and dangerous staph infections among inmates gets no action from jail officials

Sex and Consequences

The new South Beach lifestyle: Same as the old South Beach lifestyle

At the Viral Front

The continuing war on HIV/AIDS

Notes from the Dead Zone

The politics of AIDS funding in black Miami

Deca-D

Even if this anabolic steroid is only a support drug in the war on HIV, why take it off the market?

BEST CURE FOR AIDS ISOLATION

The Center for Positive Connections

Don't Tell, Don't Ask

A teenager born with HIV was never told of her status until it was too late. How this happened, and why, is now a matter of national debate.

Too Close for Comfort?

Cattle-ist for reform

It's a Mad Mad Mad Cow World

Scary brain food

Dish

Saying Grace over Life's Food

Closing Time

Size Matters

That's the motto among gay men in Miami Beach who have fueled a rage for illegal steroids -- health considerations be damned

Fall from Grace

Health Crisis Network's stunning financial meltdown has spurred an outpouring of concern and a raft of rumors