Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 10:36:31 +0500 From: awilson@smtpinet.aspensys.com (Wilson, Anne) AIDS Daily Summary December 1, 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 ************************************************************ "Most New Cases of AIDS in D.C. Hit Drug Users" "Human Tests Near on Oral AIDS Vaccine" "Extended Survival, New Drugs Give Hope on World AIDS Day" "Caremark Settles an AIDS Suit" "World AIDS Day to Focus on Disease's Toll on Family" "Around the Nation: Addenda" "For Artists Struck Down by AIDS, a Day to Help" "Between Death and Hope" "Intersecting Epidemics--Crack Cocaine Use and HIV Infection among Inner-City Young Adults" "Searle Abandons Its Protease Inhibitor" *********************************************************** "Most New Cases of AIDS in D.C. Hit Drug Users" Washington Post (12/01/94) P. A1; Goldstein, Amy In Washington, D.C., AIDS is now appearing most often in heterosexual men and women, especially those who use intravenous drugs. A total of 226 heterosexual drug users who became infected by sharing contaminated needles were diagnosed with AIDS during the first nine months of the year, compared with 199 men who were infected through homosexual intercourse. Although gay and bisexual men compose the largest group living with AIDS in the District and nationally, new infections since the late 1980s have been occurring less frequently among the group. Between 1988 and 1993--when new cases of AIDS among gay and bisexual men increased by 30 percent--new cases of AIDS in intravenous drug users increased by almost 400 percent. AIDS activists claim that the shift reflects a failure of AIDS-prevention programs started by the city government in the late 1980s. They also say that the increase of AIDS among drug users reflects the District's reluctance to provide clean hypodermic needles to drug addicts. The city has, however, announced the beginning of a long-delayed media campaign focusing on African-Americans and AIDS in the District. The $200,000 campaign will be run by a non-profit group called Koba Associates. Related Story: USA Today (12/1) P. 6A "Human Tests Near on Oral AIDS Vaccine" New York Times (12/01/94) P. A18 Patients were enrolled at San Francisco General Hospital this week for the first human test of an oral AIDS vaccine. An oral vaccine, said Dr. James Kahn, was easier to administer than an injected medicine and stimulated the body to fight HIV at it first line of defense--the fluids of the membranes that line the digestive and respiratory systems. Kahn reported in November that his study of the injected version of the drug found it to be safe. The virus was fought off by antibodies from approximately 80 percent of the patients in test-tube studies. Kahn said he would evaluate the safety of the oral vaccine for potential use in producing antibodies in sperm, vaginal fluid, and saliva. "Extended Survival, New Drugs Give Hope on World AIDS Day" Washington Times (12/01/94) P. A6; Price, Joyce On World AIDS Day, research pioneer Robert Gallo has found some reasons for hope after 14 years of the AIDS epidemic. He points to the increase in long-term survival and how more people are remaining symptom-free for longer periods of time. The "variations in the rate of progression" of HIV could be caused either by "variations in people's genetics" or by milder strains of HIV-1, said Gallo. In honor of World AIDS Day, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and National AIDS Policy Director Patsy Fleming are in Paris for the 42-nation World AIDS summit. Also today, President Clinton will meet with six HIV-positive individuals in Washington, D.C., and Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders will address the United Nations on AIDS. While the World Bank recently announced that "the global AIDS problem is getting worse, not better," a report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America notes that five AIDS medications were approved during the last 12 months--more than in any previous year. The report also says that there are now 26 approved drugs for the treatment of AIDS and related conditions, whereas 10 years ago there were none. Related Story: Baltimore Sun (12/1) P. 1A "Caremark Settles an AIDS Suit" New York Times (12/01/94) P. D8 Caremark International Inc. has settled a lawsuit in which an AIDS patient accused the company of paying kickbacks to doctors. Caremark said only that while the settlement provided no money to the plaintiff, the company will pay the Atlanta man's legal costs. The suit accused Caremark of participating in a nationwide kickback scheme in which as much as 33 percent of revenue from patients was passed on to doctors who agreed to recommend the company to people in need of home health care services. The plaintiff said that, as a result, the price of patient care was inflated. The settlement, which had sought about $3 million in actual and punitive damages, has no significance on a similar criminal case in which a Federal grand jury in Minneapolis has charged that Caremark gave kickbacks to a pediatrician. "World AIDS Day to Focus on Disease's Toll on Family" Baltimore Sun (12/01/94) P. 1A; Selby, Holly The focus of the seventh annual World AIDS Day, an observance begun by the United Nations to bring attention to the estimated 14 million people who are living with AIDS or HIV, is on the disease's effects on families. In Maryland, where 5,637 people have died of AIDS, Gov. William Donald Schaefer is urging people who know someone affected by the disease to drive with their headlights on during daylight hours today, in honor of World AIDS Day. "AIDS is a problem for all of us. We all have families and as the epidemic continues, those people who don't know anyone with AIDS or HIV will be rarer and rarer," says Dr. Joseph Horman, acting director of the Maryland AIDS Administration. Other World AIDS Day events in Maryland and around the world include the distribution of more than $50,000 to local AIDS service providers by Baltimore's Health Education Resource Organization (HERO), competitions about preventing AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases held by government-run newspapers in China, and an international AIDS conference in Saudi Arabia--where AIDS cases are rarely reported. "Around the Nation: Addenda" Washington Post (11/26/94) P. A16 A 90-year-old man has tested HIV-positive after being bitten to the bone during an attack by an HIV-infected woman. The man may be the first person ever to have contracted HIV through a bite, said West Palm Beach, Fla., authorities. "For Artists Struck Down by AIDS, a Day to Help" Philadelphia Inquirer (11/30/94) P. E1; Klein, Julia M. After just three years, Day Without Art--a period of mourning and an expression of support for persons with HIV or AIDS--has become a tradition. Day Without Art, the focus of World AIDS Day in the Philadelphia area, highlights the extent to which the arts have been hit by AIDS-related deaths. Observance in Philadelphia will focus on a four-part procession to JFK Plaza. Marchers will carry black umbrellas as a symbol of grief and solidarity. The Working Fund for Philadelphia Area Artists Living With AIDS/HIV, a program that provides financial assistance to artists with HIV or AIDS, uses Day Without Art as an opportunity to solicit contributions. Black umbrellas with the Day Without Art logo imprinted on them are being sold through museum shops and bookstores. Many art exhibits, video collections, performances, and readings are also being held in honor of Day Without Art. "Between Death and Hope" Philadelphia Inquirer (11/30/94) P. E1; Klein, Julia M. Award-winning poet Mark Doty often deals with AIDS indirectly, through metaphor. Two of his works, "My Alexandria" and the upcoming "Atlantis," explore possibilities of redemption and transcendence even in loss, instead of railing against cruel fate or an indifferent society. "One of the things that illness, that mortality in general, forces us to do is to really look at the world and to try to refine...our stance towards what's here and ..what we stand to lose," said Doty. To commemorate Day Without Art, Doty will read at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sunday. He will also be featured on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" on Thursday. "Intersecting Epidemics--Crack Cocaine Use and HIV Infection among Inner-City Young Adults" New England Journal of Medicine (11/24/94) Vol. 331, No. 21, P. 1422; Edlin, Brian R.; Irwin, Kathleen L.; Faruque, Sairus et al Edlin et al studied 1967 people between the ages of 18 and 29 from inner-city communities in Miami, New York City, and San Francisco who had never smoked crack to determine the relationship between smoking crack cocaine and HIV infection. Smoking crack is thought to be associated with high-risk sexual practices that accelerate the spread of HIV. The prevalence of HIV infection was 2.4 times higher among crack smokers that among the nonsmokers. Crack-smoking women in New York City and Miami had the highest prevalence of HIV positivity at 29.6 percent and 23 percent, respectively. A total of 30.4 percent of the 283 women in the two cities who had sex in exchange for drugs or money were infected with HIV, compared to 9.1 percent of the 286 other women. Almost 43 percent of the 91 men who had anal sex with other men were HIV-infected, but only 9.3 of the 582 men who did not have anal sex were infected with HIV. The higher prevalence of HIV infection among crack smokers seems to be because of the high-risk sexual practices of this group. The researchers concluded that in inner-city communities, young smokers of crack cocaine-- especially women who exchange sex for money or drugs--are at high risk for infection with HIV. If effective measures are not taken, they reasoned, crack use is likely to result in continued heterosexual HIV transmission. "Searle Abandons Its Protease Inhibitor" AIDS Treatment News (11/04/94) No. 210, P. 1 Searle announced on Nov. 4 that it was halting development of its protease inhibitor SC-52151 because although there have been promising laboratory results, two clinical trials have shown no indication of antiviral activity in people. Laboratory tests show that the addition of the AAG protein causes SC-52151 to lose viral inactivity. A comparable test with the Merck compound did not indicate loss of activity. While other protease inhibitors have shown a significant temporary reduction of viral load in people, SC-52151 has not produced such an effect.