Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 10:04:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Buzza AIDS Daily Summary August 08, 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. ************************************************************ "Japan Opens AIDS Forum; Note of Gloom" "Hemophiliacs With AIDS May Reject Settlement" "Lifeline: Women and AIDS" "Lone Japanese Crusader Lifts Conference" "HIV Cases Up 1 Million in Asia" "Thai Prison System Overwhelmed by AIDS Crisis" "Experimental Vaccine for AIDS Is Safe, Study Says" "Success With AIDS Drug Combinations" "AZT Drug Delays Progression of AIDS, But No Cure" ************************************************************ "Japan Opens AIDS Forum; Note of Gloom" New York Times (08/08/94) P. A2 The 10th International Conference on AIDS opened yesterday in Yokohama, Japan, with a warning from a top health official that the disease "will be an integral part of the human condition for a very long time." Dr. Peter Piot, president of the International AIDS society, pointed out that attempts to develop preventative drugs and vaccines have failed and that society must now accept that rapid breakthroughs are unlikely. Currently, there are about 17 million people worldwide who are HIV carriers. The World Health Organization predicts that if the disease continues to spread at its present rate, total cases will reach 30 to 40 million by the end of the decade. The Yokohama conference is the first major AIDS summit to be held in Asia, where the epidemic is has reached crisis levels. Related Stories: Washington Times (08/08) P. A1; Wall Street Journal (08/08) P. B6 "Hemophiliacs With AIDS May Reject Settlement" Wall Street Journal (08/08/94) P. B6 A Chicago judge's decision on Friday allows hemophiliacs who contracted HIV through blood-clotting medications during the 1980s to opt out of a $160 million settlement offered by Baxter International and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., two manufacturers of the products. Judge John F. Grady ruled that the question of negligence in the AIDS litigation may be tried as a class action suit in federal court. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say their clients could receive greater compensation through a trial in federal court. The hemophiliacs, who contend that manufacturers of Factor VIII and Factor IX should have recognized HIV as a blood-borne virus and begun treating the materials with heat immediately, will decide this week whether or not to accept the deal. Related Story: Chicago Tribune (08/06) P. 2-1 "Lifeline: Women and AIDS" USA Today (08/08/94) P. 1D; Vigoda, Arlene Despite sluggish research, women can still protect themselves against AIDS, said Columbia University researcher Zena Stein, speaking at the International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, Japan. Stein said that the Reality female condom, as well as cervical caps and diaphragms used with the widely available spermicide Nonoxynol-9, can help reduce HIV transmission. "Lone Japanese Crusader Lifts Conference" Philadelphia Inquirer (08/08/94) P. A3; Collins, Huntly In Japan, host of the 10th International Conference on AIDS, so much shame and stigma is attached to the disease that there is only one man in the country who will publicly admit that he is infected. That man, 25-year-old Toshihiro Oishi, drew thunderous applause as he spoke yesterday at the opening of the conference. Oishi first announced his infection last summer, but so far has been unable to persuade others to come forward. Yesterday, however, he convinced hundreds of conference participants at his speech to stand and acknowledge their condition. "We are all humans," said Oishi. "We must continue to live together." Japanese officials said the government had made progress in educating the country about AIDS, and vowed to help lead the fight against the disease. Related Story: Financial Times (08/08) P. 4 "HIV Cases Up 1 Million in Asia" USA Today (08/08/94) P. 1A; Levy, Doug AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate in Asia and, in some countries, has advanced from intravenous drug users and commercial sex workers to the general population. Health experts informed the 10th International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, Japan, that quick action on the part of Asian governments could halt the surge in HIV infections. "The real question for Asia is whether the response will be enough, soon enough," speculated Dr. Michael Merson of the World Health Organization Global AIDS Program. The actual number of AIDS cases remains relatively low in Japan and China, but new cases in the region overall have skyrocketed--40 percent among women. According to WHO, more than 2.5 million people in Asia are infected--about 1 million more than last year. The countries most affected are Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and India. "Thai Prison System Overwhelmed by AIDS Crisis" Reuters (08/08/94) On average, one person per day dies within Thai prisons as the system is flooded with AIDS cases. According to Chon Lerwitvorapong, a physician at the Klong Prem facility in Bangkok, official estimates citing about 400 HIV-infected inmates in the prison are much lower than the actual number, since authorities cannot force inmates to undergo testing for the virus. Most of the HIV-positive prisoners are believed to have acquired the virus before being incarcerated. Lerwitvorapong said other Thai prisons face AIDS crises similar to the one at his facility. "Experimental Vaccine for AIDS Is Safe, Study Says" Baltimore Sun (08/06/94) P. 7A MN rgp 120, an experimental AIDS vaccine, elicits a strong antibody response against HIV in uninfected persons and is safe to use, report researchers at the St. Louis University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Many of the 57 participants in the study developed HIV antibodies after receiving two doses of the vaccine, and none experienced adverse reactions. "Success With AIDS Drug Combinations" United Press International (08/07/94); Kelly, Janice On Sunday, the opening day of the 10th International Conference on AIDS, Dr. Neil Graham of Johns Hopkins University reported his findings that AIDS patients who were treated with more than one drug had a 34 percent higher chance of survival during the 2.7 years of the study than those who took one drug at a time. The study is especially important because AZT, the first AIDS treatment available, is only effective for about a year, after which the virus develops a resistance to the drug. In response to activists' requests for joint trials of drug combinations, 16 large pharmaceutical companies are now cooperating with each other to test eight anti-AIDS drugs from seven companies. Although Dr. David Barry of the Wellcome Foundations, a figure closely identified with the development of AZT, is optimistic about the new approach, Dr. Takuma Shirasaka from the U.S. National Cancer Institute is scheduled to report later in the conference that the HIV virus can develop resistance to a third drug even if it has only been treated by two. "AZT Drug Delays Progression of AIDS, But No Cure" Reuters (08/05/94) Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco released findings on Friday, showing that AZT delays but does not halt the onset of AIDS in HIV-infected patients. The findings were based on data compiled from 1,565 HIV-infected subjects who had not yet developed symptoms of full-blown AIDS. Paul Volberding, the author of the study, wrote that "the current results from the extended follow-up of [AIDS] ... trials clearly indicate that there are benefits as well as limitations to prolonged zidovudine monotherapy and that there is an urgent need to continue to explore new agents and secondary treatment strategies." The study was presented at an AIDS conference in Japan on Saturday, during an American Medical Association briefing.