As a quote from U Thant is at the bottom of each and every [him] email, the moderator was disappointed with himself when he saw that he had forgotten to note U Thant's birthday a couple of weeks ago. “in times of war and of hostilities the first casualty is truth” Here is something from one of his family …

One of Myanmar's religions is Islam. There was a fascinating international conference on Islam and HIV last month. Check out the website.

It is unclear if the fairs will take place in December or January …

The [him] moderator hopes that the participants were happy with their exercise books, pens, and plastic bags.

Do any readers have comments on this article in Xinhua about the Three Diseases Fund?

Small local organisations will be eligible …

This article resembles the one on migrant workers posted as [him] 540 on 15 November.

Here is research done in Burma to show that cytomegalovirus retinitis is a neglected problem. This is not surprising since most people who present for care already have severe immunosuppression.

UNAIDS and US CDC officials fall over themselves to praise China's efforts in response to HIV. Yet in many ways the Sinic response is way behind Burma / Myanmar … China says it will stop using carrying condoms as evidence to put women in detention centres but will now undertake mandatory immigration testing … This isn't a Great Leap Forward. It is more like one step forward, two back.

The [him] moderator received comments on the razor myth so he spent more time on the internet looking for case reports. He was unable to find a single scientifically documented case of HIV transmission through sharing of razors. It is a myth.