Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1994 09:10:00 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary July 13, 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 ************************************************************ "Across the USA: Connecticut" "Collingdale Won't Test Would-Be Workers for HIV" "Aiding Patients' Pets" "HIV Infection in N.B. High, Blood Inquiry Told" "Officials, Activists Seek Community AIDS Prevention" "Cats Worth the Health Risk" "Neurex Advances in Clinical Trials of Lead Compound, SNX-111, Achieves Milestones; Company Files IND for the Treatment of Severe Pain, Moves Into Phase II in Prevention of Brain Damage Following Ischemia" "Knowledge and Practice Among Injecting-Drug Users of Bleach Use for Equipment Disinfection--New York City, 1993" ************************************************************ "Across the USA: Connecticut" USA Today (07/13/94) P. 6A Rumored to be one of President Clinton's choices for national AIDS policy coordinator, Gov. Weicker of Connecticut says he has not been contacted by the White House about the position. "Collingdale Won't Test Would-Be Workers for HIV" Philadelphia Inquirer (07/13/94) P. B2; McGroarty, Cynthia J. In a move that could protect it from future lawsuits, the Collingdale Borough Council will sign a pact with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission agreeing not to impose HIV tests upon applicants for police or other borough employment. Under the agreement, "the borough admits to no violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act." When officials instituted compulsory HIV testing of applicants for police detective two years ago, they were blasted with criticism and controversy from police and AIDS advocacy groups, who said the requirement would violate state and federal laws. "Aiding Patients' Pets" Philadelphia Inquirer (07/13/94) P. G1; O'Brien, Ellen; Tobia, Peter Philadelphia Pets are Wonderful Support Inc., or PhillyPAWS, is an organization that is helping AIDS patients by overseeing the care of these patients' pets. When the group's clients become too ill or weak to manage their pets' care, PhillyPAWS volunteers arrange visits with the veterinarian, walk dogs, and change cat litters. If a client is hospitalized, or dies, the organization finds the pet a new home. PhillyPAWS is molded after similar groups in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. It was established last June, and operates out of donated space. The organization runs on a shoestring budget consisting of individual donations and the energy of about 100 volunteers. "HIV Infection in N.B. High, Blood Inquiry Told" Toronto Globe and Mail (07/12/94) P. A3 An extraordinary number of hemophiliacs in New Brunswick--seven times more than in neighboring Nova Scotia--contracted HIV through contaminated blood products in the early 1980s, an attorney informed the Krever commission of inquiry into Canada's blood system. Dawna Ring, who is representing individuals infected through tainted blood, said that more than 50 New Brunswick hemophiliacs were infected during the period, while only 8 were infected in nearby Nova Scotia. She also pointed to documentary evidence indicating that, around 1983, about half of the blood products used by New Brunswick hemophiliacs were imported from the United States. The next-door province, however, used only Canadian products, said Ring. Jean-Guy Finn, New Brunswick's deputy minister of health, countered the rate of HIV infection in his province--at about 20 percent--is not so startling, compared to the national rate of 43 percent. "Officials, Activists Seek Community AIDS Prevention" Reuters (07/12/94); Kenen, Joanne AIDS experts and grassroots activists yesterday called for expanded community-based prevention efforts that more precisely target those at risk for the disease. Individuals testifying before the House Health and Environment subcommittee argued that different approaches are needed to deal with AIDS in gay bars, crack houses, rural high schools, and urban high schools. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the subcommittee's chairman, agreed, saying that a genderless stick figure in a pamphlet would be ineffective among prostitutes, as would an explicit film in a church environment. "Cats Worth the Health Risk" United Press International (07/12/94); Wasowicz, Lidia The benefits of pet ownership for AIDS patients outweigh any health risks, including "cat scratch disease," say veterinarians. Nearly half of domestic cats are infected with the bacterial agent Rochalimaea henselae, which causes cat scratch disease, according to Dr. Jane Koehler, assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. Koehler isolated the organism from skin lesions of AIDS and chemotherapy patients who were battling bacillary angiomatosis, an infection that causes red lesions similar to those caused by the life-threatening, AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. "Bacillary angiomatosis is an infectious disease and completely treatable with antibiotics, so it's important for HIV patients to tell their physicians they own a cat," said Koehler. At the same time, Dr. Mark Wallace of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego dismissed as unfounded the common fear that AIDS patients who own cats are at higher risk for toxoplasmosis, which causes swollen lymph nodes. Wallace noted that many HIV patients have been advised to give up their pets to avoid the risk of toxoplasmosis, but said his study found no link between the disease and cat ownership. "Neurex Advances in Clinical Trials of Lead Compound, SNX-111, Achieves Milestones; Company Files IND for the Treatment of Severe Pain, Moves Into Phase II in Prevention of Brain Damage Following Ischemia" Business Wire (07/12/94) Neurex Corporation last month filed an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the use of SNX-111, for the treatment of severe pain. Initial studies of the lead compound will focus on the treatment of patients who are terminally ill with AIDS or cancer. "Knowledge and Practice Among Injecting-Drug Users of Bleach Use for Equipment Disinfection--New York City, 1993" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (06/24/94) Vol. 43, No. 24, P. 439; Marmor, M.; Wolfe, H.; Titus, S. et al. The National Institute on Drug Abuse sponsored a study in New York City to determine intravenous drug users' knowledge about the use of bleach for disinfecting injection equipment. Bleach was recommended to reduce the possibility of HIV infection through shared needles because of its widespread availability, inexpensive cost, and ability to inactivate HIV. Of the one-fifth of active intravenous drug users who reported sharing injection equipment, however, only one fourth used bleach consistently. And among all active IV drug users, only one third knew both recommendations for correct bleach use. NIDA recommendations dictate that, in order for bleach to be a successful disinfectant of injection paraphernalia, it must be used at full strength, and must remain in contact with the equipment for a minimum of 30 seconds. Because of the inconsistent use and incomplete knowledge about bleach as a disinfectant, active IV drug addicts who reuse syringes that have already been used by another IV drug user are at high risk for HIV infection.