>From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" >Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 09:16:42 -0400 (EDT) AIDS Daily Summary August 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 ************************************************************ "In San Francisco, Grim AIDS Cycle Poised for Encore" "Across the USA: Maryland" "Ashe Event: Many Stars, One Cause" "FBI Probing Alleged AIDS Treatment Scam--Newspaper" "Wellcome Group Opens China Offices" "...As Japanese Taunt Comes Under Attack" "Under Surveillance: The AIDS Awareness Day" "HIV Therapy: An Pharmacist's Guide to Understanding" "Firms Add Domestic Partner Benefits for Competitive Edge" ************************************************************ "In San Francisco, Grim AIDS Cycle Poised for Encore" Washington Post (08/29/94) P. A1; Hamilton, William The community mobilization effort described in Randy Shilts' book "And the Band Played On" was largely successful in combating the AIDS epidemic that ravaged San Francisco, which counted 8,000 HIV-positive men in 1982 and 8,851 AIDS cases in 1992. However, recent studies show the disease on the rise again, infecting 18 percent of gay men under the age of 26 in San Francisco. Dennis H. Osmond, an epidemiologist at the University of California at San Francisco, identifies young men as the primary group of victims, saying, "While older gay men have changed their behavior, a high proportion of young gay men are practicing unsafe sex." Once again, the community is making an effort at AIDS education, but its endeavors are undermined by the relative youth of the people most at risk, who don't remember the horrors of the epidemic's beginnings and are often reluctant to admit to their homosexuality. "Across the USA: Maryland" -- USA Today (08/29/94) P. 6A The Maryland Health Department is conducting an audit of Baltimore's AIDS surveillance methods because the statewide tally of AIDS cases appears to be higher than the reported 4,000 cases. The failure of doctors and others to report new cases is being blamed for the low report, which could cause the state and city to lose federal money for treatment programs. "Ashe Event: Many Stars, One Cause" -- New York Times (08/29/94) P. C7 Family, friends, and admirers of Arthur Ashe convened Sunday at the third annual Arthur Ashe AIDS Tennis Challenge at the National Tennis Center. The Challenge is hosted by the United States Tennis Association and benefits the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS. Established by Ashe in September 1992, the Foundation has raised more than $4 million for AIDS organizations around the world. His widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, said, "He would have been honored that people were supporting the foundation and that players were still very active in the fight to defeat AIDS." "FBI Probing Alleged AIDS Treatment Scam--Newspaper" -- Reuters (08/29/94) According to an article in Saturday's edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the FBI confirmed its investigation of several area physicians affiliated with a home health-care company that has been accused of inflating the medical bills of critically ill people, including AIDS patients. Michael Alan Booth filed suit last April against two physicians and Northbrook, Ill.-based Caremark International Inc., which allegedly inflated fees and services by 300 to 500 percent of fair market value, exhausting Booth's $1 million health insurance policy. According to the lawsuit, the physicians and a local pharmacy received kickbacks of up to 33 percent of their billings to patients. Caremark told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that no illegal payments or inflated charges were made. "Wellcome Group Opens China Offices" -- Journal of Commerce (08/29/94) P. 8B Officials announced on Friday that Wellcome has opened representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, to pave the way for investments in China. Wellcome will donate 1.5 million yuan to a three-year AIDS education program in China. "...As Japanese Taunt Comes Under Attack" Nature (08/18/94) Vol. 370, No. 6490, P. 494 Yuichi Shiokawa, head of the organizing committee of the 10th International Conference on AIDS, found himself in hot water after blaming the "Americanization" of Japanese sexual mores for the spread of AIDS in his country. Shiokawa originally made the comment last month at a press conference, and was later asked to clarify the statement. The "sexual behavior of the Japanese has become more open and free than the traditional one-to-one relationship," he responded. The statement outraged participants at the conference--because it linked the disease to sexual morality and because it is questionable whether Japanese sexual behavior has ever been traditionally one-to-one, but primarily because most AIDS cases in Japan stemmed from use of contaminated blood products. Shiokawa himself sat on a government AIDS committee in 1983 that stalled introduction of heat-treated blood products. The delay resulted in the infection of thousands of Japanese hemophiliacs, who today still account for the majority of the country's AIDS cases. "Under Surveillance: The AIDS Awareness Day" Advocate (09/06/94) No. 633, P. 18 An AIDS Awareness Day sponsored by the San Francisco Giants on July 31 generated more than $50,000 for AIDS organizations. "HIV Therapy: An Pharmacist's Guide to Understanding" American Druggist (08/94) Vol. 210, No. 4, P. 53; Tejani, Shamim As the rate of HIV infection continues to increase, it is becoming more important for pharmacists to contribute to public HIV/AIDS education. Pharmacists should inform patients about HIV transmission routes, safety precautions, disease progression, and therapies. One of the pharmacist's most important roles is to counsel HIV patients on proper use and monitoring of medications. Presently, there are four FDA-approved antiretroviral agents: zidovudine from Burroughs Wellcome, didanosine and stavudine from Bristol-Myers Squibb, and zalcitabine from Roche. Zidovudine, or AZT, appears to increase average survival after AIDS diagnosis from less than nine months to more than two years. It is, however, associated with a number of side effects including anemia, nausea, vomiting, headache, and fatigue. AZT may also increase the toxicity of drugs that are nephrotoxic, cytotoxic, myelosuppressive, or metabolized by glucuronidation. Didanosine (ddl) is recommended for use in patients over 6 months old who have advanced HIV infection, cannot tolerate AZT, or have clinically deteriorated while on AZT. This drug can cause peripheral neuropathy, potentially fatal acute pancreatitis, and hepatic failure, as well as GI disturbances, insomnia, rash, CNS depression, arthritis, dizziness, and seizures. Zalcitabine, which is associated with peripheral neuropathy and pancreatitis, is indicated only in conjunction with AZT for patients who continue to decline while receiving AZT alone. For patients who do not respond to, or are intolerant of other antiretrovirals, stavudine received FDA approval on July 4, 1994. Finally, immunomodulators such as Wellcome's interferon alfa stimulate the immune system's ability to fight HIV and, therefore, may help to stave off opportunistic infections. "Firms Add Domestic Partner Benefits for Competitive Edge" Corporate Cashflow (08/94) Vol. 15, No. 9, P. 6 In quest of a better image and better talent, companies are increasingly seeking domestic partner benefits for their employees. Blue Cross/Blue Shield MA-Inc. is currently the largest U.S. health insurer to provide domestic partner coverage to customers and employees. Blue Cross's Susan Leahy explains that, "In a vastly competitive market for health services, companies are looking for ways to attract candidates and maintain a workforce." Many companies hesitate to insure same-sex couples as Blue Cross does, worrying that it will increase AIDS claims. However, Andrew Sherman, vice president of the Segal Co. and one of the forces behind the Blue Cross and Lotus domestic partners coverage, says that gay couples may actually be less expensive to cover because they are often younger and usually don't have children. Sherman explains that domestic partners coverage is "a recognition of human capital, wanting to have the best employees possible. A lot of companies have already put non-discrimination policies in place and see this as a continuation."