Focusing on Neglected Diseases Might Help Tackle HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, Article Says; Article on At-Home HIV Tests

• "Incorporating a Rapid-Impact Package for Neglected Tropical Diseases with Programs for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria," PLoS Medicine: In the report, Peter Hotez, a professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University; David Molyneux, professor of tropical health sciences and director of the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; and colleagues examine the potential connection between the fight against the "three most devastating diseases" -- HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- and a group of "neglected tropical diseases." According to the report, the three diseases and the neglected tropical diseases share "substantial geographical overlap," and there are "emerging data" that suggest controlling the neglected tropical diseases "could actually become a powerful tool for combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria" (Hotez et al., PLoS Medicine, 1/31).
  


• "Home Testing for HIV," New England Journal of Medicine: The report, by Alexi Wright and Ingrid Katz, residents in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, examines the issues surrounding at-home HIV test kits (New England Journal of Medicine, 2/1).