Date: Tue, 05 Jul 1994 09:13:59 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary July 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 ************************************************************ "Confusion Marks Rules on Shipping Infectious Items" "NY to Order Docs to Give AIDS Advice" "French Blood Boss Says New Transfusion System Safe" "Cuba Releases AIDS Statistics" "WHO Sees Big Task in Keeping HIV Out of Bloodbanks" "AIDS Cases Up 60 Percent in 12 Months" "AIDS Digest: Drug-Resistant Pneumococcus Is Spreading" "Medical Briefs: Clean and Sober" "The Urgent Need for a Vaginal Microbicide in the Prevention of HIV Transmission" ************************************************************ "Confusion Marks Rules on Shipping Infectious Items" Journal of Commerce (07/05/94) P. 1A; Burgess, Lisa Seven federal agencies regulate the shipment of infectious material, yet any medical professional can ship unlabeled packages of samples containing HIV, Lyme's disease, or other infectious substances. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies more than 90 infectious substances that must be labeled as such, but all are airborne agents. HIV, on the other hand, is a bloodborne pathogen which--according to current CDC regulations--is not considered dangerous enough to warrant special labeling during shipment. While the United Nations bars the shipment of HIV on an international basis, the United States has a different standard governing infectious material for each of the seven regulating agencies. The rules are overlapping, redundant, and--all too often--contradictory. The United Parcel Service says the regulations need to be improved. The CDC is drawing up new regulations to require mandatory labeling of all viable infectious substances, including HIV. "NY to Order Docs to Give AIDS Advice" United Press International (07/03/94); Murnane, Tom Legislators in New York have reached an accord on a bill that would make the state the first to require physicians to provide AIDS counseling to expectant women and new mothers. Under the compromise legislation, health care workers are obliged to inform pregnant women and new mothers about the benefits of testing for HIV, and to offer such testing. The bill effectively scuttles the alternative legislation of Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, whose bill would have required doctors to notify parents of the results of anonymous HIV tests conducted on all newborn babies for the purpose of monitoring the spread of the virus. Mayersohn's proposal was greeted with criticism from AIDS activists, health workers who provide counseling, and others who claimed that her bill would frighten women away from vital prenatal care and compromise the confidentiality and privacy of the parents. Mayersohn called the compromise a "death sentence" for newborns. The new legislation has been sent to the desk of Gov. Mario Cuomo, who is expected to approve it. "French Blood Boss Says New Transfusion System Safe" Reuters (07/04/94); Louth, Nick France's revamped blood transfusion service will prevent a repeat of the 1991 AIDS scandal, according to its president, Jean Marimbert. More than 1,250 hemophiliacs were infected, and some 400 have died, as a result of transfusions in 1984 and 1985. Some officials were aware that the blood products used by hemophiliacs were contaminated, but suppressed this knowledge. As a result, several government officials are either in prison or being sued by an infected hemophiliac. The French government created the French Blood Agency in 1992, and modified the law to integrate and supervise the transfusion service. The department has the authority to inspect blood banks and revoke accreditation if they do not meet standards. "Cuba Releases AIDS Statistics" Boston Globe (07/02/94) P. 68 AIDS has claimed the lives of 177 Cubans since its appearance on the island in the mid-1980s, reported Reynaldo Gil Suarez, director of the national AIDS control and prevention program. Eighty-seven Cubans now have full-blown AIDS, and 1,046 are infected with HIV, he announced. Cuba, with a population of 11 million, has kept the rate of AIDS at bay by testing thoroughly and isolating AIDS patients in special clinics. "WHO Sees Big Task in Keeping HIV Out of Bloodbanks" Reuters (07/03/94); Louth, Nick Fear of contracting AIDS during surgery has subjected blood transfusion services to intense scrutiny, and restoring confidence in the system is a major task, according to WHO Assistant Director-General Fernando Antezana. About 15 percent of all HIV infections came from contaminated blood, he says, but interest in supporting blood safety activities has faded in recent years because resources are being directed toward reducing the risk of HIV infection via sexual contact. Antezana wants governments to spend more money, train staff better, and to impose tight regulation on the international blood trade. "AIDS Cases Up 60 Percent in 12 Months" United Press International (07/01/94) The number of people with AIDS has shot up 60 percent in the past year, from 2.5 million to about 4 million, the World Health Organization reported on Friday. The greatest regional increase occurred in Asia, where the caseload rose from 30,000 to 250,000 in the last 12 months. Heterosexual transmission of HIV has increased in Asia, along with significant levels of infection in female prostitutes in India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma. Significant levels of infection were also detected among intravenous drug users in China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Unless immediate action is taken to establish HIV prevention programs, WHO says the rates of infection in Asia will surpass African levels by the mid to late 1990s. "AIDS Digest: Drug-Resistant Pneumococcus Is Spreading" Washington Blade (06/24/94) Vol. 25, No. 26, P. 30 There appears to be an upswing in the number of cases of pneumococcus that are resistant to treatment with penicillin and other antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A life-threatening bacterial infection, pneumococcus can cause pneumonia and sinus infection in AIDS patients. CDC scientists call for broader use of the pneumococcus vaccine, which the federal health agency recommends to all HIV patients. "Medical Briefs: Clean and Sober" Advocate (06/28/94) No. 658, P. 57 A study at the University of Nevada at Reno found that the use of marijuana and ethanol among HIV patients on ddI monotherapy caused an increase in amylase levels, an indicator of pancreatitis. The researchers suggest that individuals on ddI monotherapy restrict their use of these two substances in order to avoid the risk of pancreatitis. "The Urgent Need for a Vaginal Microbicide in the Prevention of HIV Transmission" American Journal of Public Health (06/94) Vol. 84, No. 6, P. 890; Potts, Malcolm "The risks of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS are cruelly stacked against women," says Dr. Malcolm Potts of the School of Public Health at the University of California, in Berkeley. HIV is more easily passed from men to women than vice versa; women acquire the virus at an earlier mean age than men; women are the frequent targets of sexual assault; and women can transmit disease to their offspring through pregnancy, delivery, or breast feeding. Despite the overwhelming risks presented them, women have the least protection against HIV and other STDs. The biggest problem with AIDS prevention, according to Potts, is the absence of a method that women can use to protect themselves without their partner's consent. Chemical methods that can be distributed quickly and inexpensively, and controlled by women would have a powerful impact on the spread of AIDS. There is, however, some concern that a vaginal microbicide would be less effective than condoms, but so simple to use that couples would stop using condoms and place themselves at an even greater risk.