Date: Fri, 29 Apr 1994 09:23:58 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary April 29, 1994 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Report Sees Rise in AIDS Children" New York Times (04/29/94) P. A11; Holmes, Steven A. Increasing infant and child mortality from AIDS is beginning to counter years of improvement in childhood survival rates in developing nations, according to a report released today by the Census Bureau. The report, which studies Brazil, Thailand, Haiti, and 13 sub-Saharan African countries, warns that childhood mortality in these countries could triple by the year 2010 unless there is a sharp decline in the rate of infection. Until the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s, third world nations had seen marked improvement in the survival rates of children from birth to age 5. Compiled by Census Bureau's Center for International Research, the report also predicted that AIDS would double the overall death rate that would naturally occur from 1985 to 2010 in all of the countries studied except for Thailand, where the epidemic would triple the expected mortality rate. Because of the large number of adults in their 30s and 40s who will die from AIDS, combined with the large number of babies who will be infected perinatally, life expectancy rates have started to drop. While the epidemic will not cause a decline in the population in most developing countries, it is expected to slow population growth, according to the report. Related Story: Wall Street Journal (04/29) P. B3C; Washington Times (04/29) P. A6 "For Pioneering AIDS Activists, It's Time to Regroup" Philadelphia Inquirer (04/29/94) P. B1; Collins, Huntly Seven years after the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power emerged in America with its single-focus politics and intense lobbying, the AIDS activist group is struggling to revitalize and regroup itself. Many of the most passionate members of ACT-UP have died; others have simply burned out. Another part of the problem is that because of its tremendous success, many ACT-UP members have become part of the mainstream. "They have become more bureaucratic than the bureaucrats," says Larry Kramer, ACT-UP's founder. Starting tomorrow, more than 200 AIDS activists from across the country are expected to convene in Philadelphia for a two-day meeting to discuss the future of AIDS activism in general and, specifically, ACT-UP. Topics to be discussed include AIDS clinical trials, national health care, confidentiality in AIDS testing, needle-exchange programs, and federal lobbying efforts. The larger issues will ask: How can AIDS activism be kept alive in the 1990s; what form should it take, and for what goal will it strive? "John Preston, 48, Author, Editor and Advocate in AIDS Causes" New York Times (04/29/94) P. B8; Saxon, Wolfgang Writer and editor John Preston, a leading advocate of gay rights and AIDS treatments, died yesterday at age 48 from causes related to the disease. Preston, who acted as editor of the gay- and lesbian-oriented publication The Advocate in the 1970s, became active in several AIDS organizations in Maine. Most recently, he served as board president of the AIDS Project of Southern Maine. His books include "Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS," and "The Big Gay Book: A Man's Survival Guide for the Nineties." Preston is survived by his parents, two sisters, and two brothers. "AIDS Ban" Associated Press (04/28/94) A lawsuit has been filed against Campbell University in Raleigh, N.C., by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a physical education teacher who was barred from campus after contracting AIDS. The teacher, identified only as "John Doe," says the university violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and is seeking compensation for lost wages, punitive damages, and reinstatement to his old job. The EEOC is requesting an injunction to prevent Campbell University from discriminating against other infected employees. Because the teacher had direct physical contact with students, the university thought it was in the best interest of the students to replace him, and offered to pay off his contract. According to court documents, the instructor had direct contact with students as he taught them tennis, weight training, and dance. Campbell officials discovered the teacher's illness after he missed five weeks of work while recovering from an AIDS-related pneumonia last spring. When the self-insured university received bills amounting to $20,000, it checked his medical records and discovered his diagnosis. "Pasteur Institute Set to Begin AIDS Vaccine Test" Reuters (04/28/94) Researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris will soon begin a major human trial of an AIDS vaccine cocktail that demonstrated great promise in tests on chimpanzees, according to Dr. Marc Girard, director of molecular virology at the institute. Girard said that 25 volunteers would participate in the one-year study. The vaccine is a combination of a protein from a virus affecting canaries that strengthens the body's own immune system, and a specially altered amino-acid compound that boosts the ability to protect against numerous HIV strains. Up until now, researchers have not been able to induce antibodies that would be active against numerous wild strains of HIV, Girard said. He cautioned that while the new compound may be able to induce serum antibodies to stave off HIV in the bloodstream, little has been discovered to block infection in mucous secretions during sexual activity, which is how most HIV infections are transmitted. "SLU Team Starts Test of AIDS Vaccine" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (04/28/94) P. 13A; Signor, Roger Researchers at St. Louis University's School of Medicine have initiated testing of an experimental HIV vaccine that is a combination of old and new approaches: a live smallpox vaccine that has been given new life through genetic engineering. The experimental vaccine splices HIV genes into smallpox viruses. When injected into humans, the altered viruses produce proteins found in the coat of HIV, which researchers hope will trigger two immune responses. The study aims to determine if white blood cells attack the virus, according to Dr. Robert B. Belshe, director of the school's Center for Vaccine Development. Initial results should be available in seven months, and the study will take about 1-1/2 years to complete. However, says Belshe, a suitable vaccine will not be ready for several years. "Armed With Facts" Chicago Tribune (04/28/94) P. 2-1; Van Matre, Lynn The Sex Police, a multiracial troupe of eight members in their 20s and 30s, are determined to arrest young people's attention long enough to warn them about AIDS. Through presentations that include songs, hip hop dancing, skits, speeches, and demonstrations, the Sex Police tell their young audiences that if they are sexually active, they can get AIDS and, if they have sex, they must use a condom. Since making AIDS their business in 1991, the team has performed more than 70 shows for city and suburban schools and community groups, reaching some 28,000 teenagers and young adults. "We're telling kids the facts and the risks," says Angel Abcede, the group's co-founder and program coordinator. "We're not saying that premarital sex or homosexuality is good or bad. We're saying, 'This is what you can do to keep from getting AIDS.'" "Brazilian Mafia Paid for AIDS Campaign" Washington Blade (04/22/94) Vol. 25, No. 16, P. 13 Files and documents seized during a police raid on an illegal casino revealed that Brazil's gambling Mafia donated large sums of money to the country's AIDS prevention campaign, according to reports by United Press International. The AIDS prevention campaign received $40,000 from the Mafia, admitted campaign coordinator Betinho de Souza. Attorney General Aristides Junquiera said that de Souza had not violated any laws by accepting the contributions from illegal gambling. "I don't know if the end justifies the means," he said, "but however bad the means, it is understandable to accept them if the interest is public." Others, however, criticized de Souza for the country's public ethics. Said one writer, Armanda Freitas, money "from an unhealthy source will end up contaminating the initiatives it is applied to." "CDC Meeting Takes Closer Look at HIV Prevention Initiatives" Nation's Health (04/94) Vol. 24, No. 4, P. 5; Anderson, Margaret In early March, more than 150 representatives from government, national organizations, and community-based groups convened in the nation's capital to discuss the next step in the Center for Disease Control's new HIV Prevention Marketing Initiative. The goal of the effort is to use social marketing principles to deliver HIV and STD prevention messages to America's young adults under age 25. The January release of the CDC's public service announcements promoting condom use as a means of avoiding HIV infection kicked off the initiative, and attendees at last month's conference were there to decide what the next step will be. Representatives were divided into five workgroups: Research and Evaluation; National and Local Coalition Building; Community Implementation Issues; Linkages and Integration; and Health Communications. "We're trying to build a more consistent process for engaging young people," commented William Parra, assistant director of the CDC's Office of HIV/AIDS. Towards that end, a group of about 20 young people also attended the meeting, acting as reporters for the breakout sessions. After two days of discussion, participants agreed that HIV prevention efforts should be targeted at the local level, and should include both infected and affected members of the community. According to CDC officials, the meeting summary should be available by summer, and the agency is developing guidelines and strategies for local community implementation.