Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 09:28:00 -0500 (EST) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 02/15/94 AIDS Daily Summary February 15, 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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Consummate Politician on the AIDS Front" New York Times (02/15/94) P. C1 (Angier, Natalie) As director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci is a central figure in AIDS research. His agency controls about 40 percent of the federal budget allocated for AIDS, and he runs a laboratory where he conducts AIDS research. For the first eight years of his directorship, Fauci fought to get the Republican administrations for which he worked to focus on AIDS. Ironically, while he is often called a hero and comrade by AIDS activists, he has just as often been blasted by them. They praise him for speaking out against mandatory HIV testing of health care workers and for opposing a ban on HIV-positive immigrants. They appreciate that he has been willing to listen to members of the AIDS community. But the accolades fade when some activists recall how he defended what they viewed as inadequate research budgets during the Reagan and Bush years. Some say he is a great scientist, but lacks essential administrative skills. Fauci is called a "hero" one day and a "murderer" the next, but he takes it in stride. He admits to being "obsessed" with the AIDS problem, and determined to find a solution. Currently, he and colleagues are studying the immune systems of a group of HIV patients who have lived longer than expected. Fauci thinks the key to the AIDS puzzle lies with this handful of people. "Disinfectant Claims to Kill AIDS Virus" United Press International (02/14/94) Macao--A Chinese chemical firm claims that its new disinfectant spray kills the virus that causes AIDS, although authorities in Macao, where the product is widely available, remain skeptical. "Used widely in disinfecting and sterilizing hotels, toilets, families, and all skin surfaces," reads the label. "Kills germs and virus such as AIDS." A disinfectant that could destroy HIV would not be remarkable, since many common disinfectants--like bleach--have killed the virus in laboratory settings. However, the manufacturer may be seeking to capitalize on the widespread paranoia and ignorance surrounding HIV/AIDS. The product is soon to be exported to Taiwan, Portugal, and European Union nations, according to a spokesperson for the southern Chinese company that makes the spray. A spokesperson for the Macao Health Department contends the disinfectant is just that, and says the product's advertising is misleading. The manufacturer has already been asked to change its package label, and the case has been referred to the health department. "AIDS on the Decline" United Press International (02/14/94) San Francisco--The number of AIDS cases in San Francisco has peaked and should decline sharply over the next four years, according to a study released by health officials on Monday. Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the San Francisco Health Department's AIDS Office, attributes the decline to safe sex campaigns initiated a decade ago. Katz says that, because the average incubation period for the virus is 10 years, the new AIDS cases are just now reflecting the impact of the campaigns. AIDS peaked in San Francisco in 1992 with 3,326 new cases. That number is expected to plummet to 1,204 by 1997, according to the study. The report also reveals that 4 percent of the city's population, or 28,000 people, are already HIV-positive. Researchers warned that if safe sex guidelines were not heeded, there could be a resurgence in new cases once again. "Survey Finds Women Oblivious to Sexual Health Risks" United Press International (02/14/94) Washington--The vast majority of American women surveyed believe that they are safe from sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, reports a poll of 1,000 women between the ages of 18 and 60. The survey, conducted by the American Medical Women's Association and the Campaign for Women's Health, concluded that two-thirds of American women know "almost nothing" about sexually transmitted diseases other than AIDS, and one-third know "almost nothing" about all sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. In addition, about 50 percent of women believe monogamy is effective protection against disease; fewer than one-third of women use condoms during sex; and two-thirds of women under age 25 use condoms or abstain from sex. "This survey confirms that women are uninformed, unconcerned and not taking action in the face of rising risk," says Joan Kuriansky, organizer of the Campaign for Women's Health. "High HIV Rates Found Among Inner-City Alcoholics" United Press International (02/14/94) (Wasowicz, Lidia) San Francisco--Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco reported an unanticipated high rate of HIV infection among inner-city heterosexual alcoholics whose main risk factor is risky sexual intercourse. The study looked at 888 subjects taken from five public alcohol treatment centers in 1990 and 1991. Results showed that 3 percent of men and 4 percent of women with no history of intravenous drug abuse were infected with HIV. "When one considers the HIV prevalence among heterosexual men and women in general in San Francisco is only a small fraction of 1 percent, these are disturbing figures," said Dr. Andrew Avins, lead author of the study. The researchers discovered that those interviewed commonly practiced unsafe sex. More than half had multiple sex partners. Of those, 97 percent did not consistently use condoms. Only 21 percent inquired about previous partners, and just 14 percent asked about HIV status. "Alcohol abuse may be a marker for individuals who tend to have risk-taking personalities rather than a direct cause of high-risk behavior," said Avins. "Interventions to prevent HIV spread should become a standard part of alcohol treatment programs." "Canada Starts Inquiry Into Tainted Blood Scandal" Reuters (02/14/94) (Willmer, Tanya) Toronto--An inquiry into a contaminated blood scandal that infected more than 1,000 Canadians with HIV was launched on Monday, but the head of the inquiry commission said his findings probably would not be complete for almost two years. More than 1,000 hemophiliacs and blood transfusion patients contracted HIV--400 of which have died--after receiving tainted blood between 1978 and the mid-1980s. The scandal broke following claims that the government and the Canadian Red Cross Society were aware that blood supplies were contaminated, but still waited a year before revamping the system to allow only heat-treated, AIDS-free blood products. Justice Horace Crever's Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada will hold public hearings across Canada over the next eight months, hearing testimony from victims, donors, the government, and the Red Cross. Crever said his report will not be ready until December 1995, more than a year past the government's deadline of September 1994. "I do not intend to do a less than satisfactory job in order to meet a deadline," he said. "Britons Faithful, But Complacent About AIDS" Reuters (02/14/94) London--A new survey suggests that, while most Britons are sexually faithful, more and more people are displaying an alarming complacency toward the possibility of contracting AIDS. The survey of 12,600 Britons found that more than a third of Britons are not worried about becoming infected--more than double the number who held the same view in 1991. The number of Britons who believe that it is primarily homosexuals and drug users who are most at risk has increased three-fold from 7 to 22 percent. "This is worrying as more than 75 percent of new cases of HIV infection are as a result of heterosexual contact," said Jean Smith, marketing director of Durex--the brand name of the condom manufactured by the London Rubber Company, which published the survey. "Russia--AIDS" Associated Press (02/14/94) Moscow--Although being homosexual is no longer a crime in Russia, it may be more dangerous than ever because of AIDS. Julie Stachowiak, president of the AIDS Infoshare program in Russia, says the transition has been accompanied by an increase in prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases, and travel--which can all expose people to the deadly virus. And with Russia's health care system collapsing, the country has few tools for AIDS prevention and education. "There is a sexual revolution. Homosexuality is becoming more open," Stachowiak notes. "Everything is ripe for an epidemic to explode." Before the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Russia was largely distanced from AIDS. Officially, 715 people in Russia have been diagnosed with HIV. One-third were babies infected in hospitals in a 1988-1989 outbreak caused by a blood donor who was infected in Africa. But many activists believe the official statistics are deceiving. Dmitri Lychov, editor of a Moscow newspapers for gays, estimates that at least 35,000 Russians are actually infected. "There is virtually no public education," Stachowiak testifies. "The public knows nothing about AIDS except to avoid foreigners or prostitutes." The decriminalization of homosexuality may help change that. New gay advocacy groups are working to educate people about AIDS. "AIDSLine: Bacillary Angiomatosis" Advocate (02/08/94) No. 648, P. 23 Some lesions found on the skin and internal organs of HIV patients that previously have been thought to be caused by AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma may, in fact, be the result of a rare bacterial disease. Caused by a bacterium known as Rochalimaea, bacillary angiomatosis is observed almost exclusively in HIV-positive patients. Diagnosis is difficult; it requires lesion biopsy, sample examination with an electron microscope, and a blood test to detect antibodies to the organism. Once a diagnosis has been made, however, lesions can often be treated with antibiotics, and disappear. "Relation of the Course of HIV Infection in Children to the Severity of the Disease in Their Mothers at Delivery" New England Journal of Medicine (02/03/94) Vol. 330, No. 5, P. 308 (Blanche, Stephanie et al.) For infants who are maternally infected with HIV, there are two paths of disease progression. For the majority, disease progresses slowly, but for about a fifth of these babies, there is rapid progression to profound immunodeficiency. French researchers conducted a study of the clinical and biological traits of the mothers of 162 HIV-positive babies. Infection was confirmed by serological tests at 18 months old or by death from AIDS at an earlier age. Blanche et al. found that the risk of death correlated inversely with the mother's CD4+ cell count and directly with her HIV-1 p24 antigen level at delivery. In newborns who acquire HIV from their mothers, the rate of disease progression varies directly with the severity of the disease in the mother at the time in which she gave birth, Blanche et al. conclude.