Mother-to-infant HIV transmission by  breast milk is more common in women who become infected late in their pregnancy or during lactation, according to a policy statement published by the Committee on Pediatric AIDS in Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric’s official journal. One study showed the risk of  HIV transmission from breast milk was only… Read More

Despite one of the highest perinatal HIV exposure rates in the state, no HIV-infected babies were born in Northeast Florida in 2012, according to preliminary data from the Florida Department of Health, HIV Prevention Section. More than 54 babies — 46 of them in Jacksonville — were born to HIV+ mothers last year.  The five-county… Read More

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices published its recommended vaccination schedules for persons aged 0 to 18 and adults 19 years and older for 2013. The ACIP is a federal advisory committee comprised of medical and public health experts which provide advice and guidance on vaccines to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and… Read More

The Washington Post published an article pointing out the United States’ alarmingly high infant mortality rate compared to other similar high-income countries. The comparison shows rates in the U.S. are significantly higher than rates in Spain and Italy, and more than double the rates in Japan and Sweden. The data shows the U.S. had lower… Read More

Dr. Charles Mahan, former state health officer and dean emeritus of the USF College of Public Health, and Dee Jeffers, longtime women’s health advocate, joined the Coalition at its annual meeting and 20th anniversary celebration January 17th. Co-founders of the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center at the University of South Florida, Mahan and Jeffers traced… Read More