Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 11:21:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Buzza AIDS Daily Summary August 05, 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 ************************************************************ "World Wire: Trial in German AIDS Case Opens" "Aids Under Review" "Suit by Fired Lawyer With HIV Survives a Challenge" "EU Funds China AIDS Project" "AIDS Patient Battling Adams Bank Dies" "Patient Suing Doctor for Running Unauthorized Test for AIDS Virus" "HIV Infection Rises Among London's Pregnant Women" "More on the Declining Age at HIV Infection" "Expanding the AIDS Arsenal" ************************************************************ "World Wire: Trial in German AIDS Case Opens" Wall Street Journal (08/05/94) P. A6 Proceedings began yesterday in the trial of five former officials of UB Plasma, the now-defunct German blood-products firm, for their role in the sale of contaminated plasma from 1987 to 1993. The prosecution contends that at least three people contracted AIDS after using products supplied by UB Plasma, which authorities shut down in October. The company and its executives are accused of supplying thousands of blood units that were not properly screened for HIV. They are charged with fraud and causing bodily harm. Related Stories: New York Times (08/05) P. A7; Baltimore Sun (08/05) P. 4A "Aids Under Review" Financial Times (08/05/94) P. 8; Abrahams, Paul The market for HIV/AIDS treatments in the six biggest industrialized nations--the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK--should increase more than five-fold over the next decade, according to a report by Pharma Strategy Group. The value of these markets is currently $264 million, and accounts for about three-quarters of the global market for anti-viral HIV/AIDS drugs. Market growth would be propelled by an increase in duration of treatment, which could double from three years in 1993 to six years by 2003. The proportion of asymptomatic HIV patients who are taking treatment should climb from 20 percent to 60 percent, which will also influence market growth. The report predicted that the market, which is at present dominated by Wellcome's AZT and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Videx, should fragment due to drug resistance and the emergence of new products. The market could collapse, the report concedes, should HIV vaccines ever become a reality--but it argues that this is not likely to happen within the next 10 years. "Suit by Fired Lawyer With HIV Survives a Challenge" Philadelphia Inquirer (08/05/94) P. B2; Slobodzian, Joseph A. HIV patients not exhibiting disease symptoms can still be considered disabled under the Americans With Disabilities Act, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Gawthrop 3d ruled yesterday. In doing so, Gawthrop refused to dismiss a suit against the Philadelphia law firm of Kohn, Nast & Graf by an attorney who claims he was terminated because he was infected with the virus. The suit will now go to trial in September. Barbara A. O'Connell, the firm's attorney, had argued that the ADA defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly restricts one's "major life activities." She said the plaintiff's only affected life activity was procreation, and that he was able to practice law. Gawthrop disagreed, writing in his decision that "...being HIV-positive places one within the protection of the act." "EU Funds China AIDS Project" United Press International (08/05/94) The European Union today granted China $2 million to train doctors and technicians how to treat AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Although the incidence of AIDS in China is still relatively low, with 1,174 documented cases out of a population of 1.18 billion, the country's record level of STD cases is almost certainly reflective of the onset of an epidemic. The EU funding, to be distributed over a three-year period, will be supplemented by an unspecified amount from the Chinese government. "AIDS Patient Battling Adams Bank Dies" Washington Times (08/05/94) P. B8; Munroe, Tony James Michael Layne Hall, an AIDS patient entangled in a two-year legal battle with Adams National Bank, died yesterday of complications of the disease before the case could be settled. Hall, 30, sued the Washington, D.C., bank, claiming that his 1991 dismissal was an illegal attempt to reduce health insurance costs. An agreement was reached in June, but the terms were not to be disclosed. The bank sought to void the pact, however, after a local newspaper reported that Hall had received a settlement of $267,000. The paper said it obtained the information from court records, but attorneys for Adams Bank argued that Hall breached the confidentiality clause by agreeing to interviews with local newspapers. Although the plaintiff has died, a contempt ruling must still be made to determine whether the money will be returned to Adams National Bank. "Patient Suing Doctor for Running Unauthorized Test for AIDS Virus" Chicago Tribune (08/04/94) P. 1-7; Fegelman, Andrew Dr. Nadira Alikhan, a physician who ordered an HIV test despite the objections of her patient, did not violate an Illinois state law requiring patient consent for testing and disclosure of results, ruled Cook County Circuit Judge Sidney Jones III on Wednesday. Jones also said he doubted that Alikhan breached confidentiality laws when she informed the patient's longtime partner that he was HIV-positive. The case--the first major test of the confidentiality statute--goes to trial next month in a legal battle that will essentially pit privacy rights and the right to refuse treatment against a doctor's obligation to treat someone who is sick. The trial will determine whether the patient, identified only as John Doe, is entitled to $10,000 that the statute says may be imposed for intentional violation of the law. "HIV Infection Rises Among London's Pregnant Women" Reuters (08/04/94) Laboratory figures, published in the British medical journal Lancet, demonstrate that the rate of HIV infection among pregnant women in London has spiked upward from one in 560 in January 1990 to one in 380 in June 1993. The researchers concluded, however, that "The prevalence of HIV-1 infection among pregnant women is not expected to continue to rise indefinitely and will probably level off as it has done in other countries." Another study published in the journal found that more drug addicts in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh die from AIDS than from overdoses. Researchers of the 10-year study attributed the situation to more users injecting tranquilizers and more users infected with Hepatitis C. "More on the Declining Age at HIV Infection" New England Journal of Medicine (07/14/94) Vol. 331, No. 2, P. 134; Hughes-Davis, T.H. A new physician in 1983 would have likely waited longer before documenting his or her first case of AIDS than would have a new doctor in 1993, deducts T.H. Hughes-Davies, F.R.C.P. In the same vein, today's patient is apt to contract HIV after fewer exposures now than 15 years ago, Hugh-Davies adds. Therefore, the decline in the age at infection with HIV described by Rosenberg et al. in the March 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine was not unexpected. "Expanding the AIDS Arsenal" U.S. News & World Report (07/11/94) Vol. 117, No. 2, P. 67 The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a fourth drug to fight HIV infection. AIDS patients who cannot tolerate or no longer benefit from AZT, ddI, or ddC will now be able to take Stavudine, or D4T, which belongs to the same class of drugs as the other three. Stavudine does not cause anemia--one of the most serious side effects of AZT use--but it does have its disadvantages. Some patients experienced peripheral neuropathy, or pain, tingling, or numbness of the hands and feet. Stavudine, which will be sold under the name Zerit by Bristol-Myers Squibb, should be available by prescription sometime this month. The daily wholesale cost will be $6.22, roughly the same as that of AZT, and the manufacturer will help financially strapped patients find funding, or receive the drug free of charge.