PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Jack Mackenroth, a fashion designer from the hit reality television series "Project Runway," who has been living with HIV for more than 20 years, launched a new "Living Positive By Design: Creating Positive Conversations" online video as part of his national HIV and AIDS education initiative. Each video in the series follows Jack interviewing prominent politicians, advocates, celebrities and HIV doctors, including most recently the mayor of Philadelphia, about their important work to help the HIV and AIDS community. The Living Positive By Design campaign, supported by Merck & Co., Inc., and videos aim to confront HIV stigma and motivate HIV-positive people to have a positive outlook on life while effectively managing their disease.

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"I am excited to continue my tour of cities with high HIV and AIDS prevalence in the United States for the 'Living Positive By Design: Creating Positive Conversations' video series," said Mackenroth. "While in Philadelphia, a city where more than 20,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS, I spoke with some amazing people who are dedicated to HIV education and service. I hope that their stories will educate and inspire others nationwide."

The new Philadelphia "Living Positive By Design: Creating Positive Conversations" video is now available online. The video features Jack interviewing Mayor Michael Nutter; Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, the co-founder and manager of AIDS Thrift, a local thrift shop that raises money for local HIV and AIDS organizations; and local HIV specialist Dr. William Short of Thomas Jefferson University.

The "Living Positive By Design: Creating Positive Conversations" video series featuring Philadelphia interviews can be posted to any social networking profile, emailed to a friend or embedded to a blog. For more information, please visit www.LivingPositiveByDesign.com.

Prevalence of HIV and AIDS

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2006 there were more than one million Americans living with HIV and AIDS. In the same year, an estimated 56,000 new cases were diagnosed in the U.S. Forty-nine percent of new diagnoses were among African Americans and 50 percent were among men who have sex with men (MSM).

About Merck

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck currently discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service. For more information, visit www.merck.com.

Forward-looking statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Merck's business, particularly those mentioned in the risk factors and cautionary statements in Item 1A of Merck's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, and in any risk factors or cautionary statements contained in the Company's periodic reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K, which the Company incorporates by reference.

SOURCE Merck & Co., Inc.