>From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" >Date: Wed, 08 Jun 1994 09:07:47 -0400 (EDT) AIDS Daily Summary June 08, 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 ************************************************************ "AIDS Vaccine Research Misleading, Group Alleges" "City Adds an AIDS Specialist" "AIDS Activist Enters D.C. Mayor's Race" "The Reliable Source" "Obituaries: Cindy Gibson, Frederick Co. Student Whose Mission Was to Speak on AIDS" "German Institute Under Fire Over HIV-Blood Reports" "Court Crackdown on HIV" "Albuquerque Forbids Bigotry" "HIV Screening in Pregnancy: UK Lags" "AIDS Drug From Merck" ************************************************************ "AIDS Vaccine Research Misleading, Group Alleges" Washington Post (06/08/94) P. A11; Schwartz, John Public Citizen's Health Research, a consumer health group, yesterday accused a key military researcher of manipulating data to give his research on the controversial gp160 experimental AIDS vaccine a favorable twist. After receiving a letter from Sidney M. Wolfe, the organization's director, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said he would reopen an investigation on the researchers, the vaccine, and its manufacturer, Connecticut-based MicroGeneSys. Robert Redfield, chief of the department of retroviral research at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, previously admitted that his analysis of the gp160 data was flawed, but was cleared of scientific misconduct charges. "City Adds an AIDS Specialist" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/08/94) P. B3; Collins, Huntly In July, 38-year-old Erica Gollub will assume Philadelphia's long-vacant title of AIDS epidemiologist, a position viewed as crucial in tracking the epidemic there. Gollub, a New York epidemiologist affiliated with Columbia University and an expert on women and AIDS, will be responsible for collecting and analyzing statistics about AIDS cases in the Philadelphia area. Accurate statistical data is key in pinpointing high-risk groups for AIDS prevention programs, assessing the effectiveness of the programs, and determining whether the city receives a just portion of federal AIDS funding. Gollub will bring with her a $200,000 federal grant through which she will compare different prevention strategies to reach women at high risk for HIV infection. "AIDS Activist Enters D.C. Mayor's Race" Washington Post (06/08/94) P. D7; Henderson, Nell Luke Sissyfag, a Washington, D.C., AIDS activist known for his consistent public heckling of President Clinton, announced yesterday that he will run as a political independent for mayor of the nation's capital. Sissyfag, who has criticized Clinton, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, and the federal government for not doing enough to prevent the spread of AIDS and find a cure for the disease, says his goal is to force the other candidates and the voters to focus attention on the epidemic. Kelly, he asserts, has failed in her condom distribution programs for high schools and prisons, as well as in her needle exchange program. "The Reliable Source" Washington Post (06/08/94) P. C3; Romano, Lois Jonathan Demme and Edward Saxon, who produced the film "Philadelphia," and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will receive National Leadership Awards next week from the AIDS Action Foundation for their commitment to fighting AIDS. "Obituaries: Cindy Gibson, Frederick Co. Student Whose Mission Was to Speak on AIDS" Baltimore Sun (06/08/94) P. 5B; Tasker, Greg Cindy M. Gibson, an HIV-infected teenager in Frederick County, Md., who had embarked on a crusade to warn other young people about AIDS, died Saturday of related complications. Gibson became infected in 1984 during a blood transfusion, and began talking publicly about AIDS-related illnesses in 1991. As a youth speaker for the National Association of People with AIDS, she spoke about the disease before dozens of high school and community groups in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Two days after Gibson's death, her name was called during graduation ceremonies at Brunswick High School. Classmates and audience members gave a standing ovation, and her brother accepted the diploma. Related Story: Washington Times (06/08) P. C4 "German Institute Under Fire Over HIV-Blood Reports" Nature (05/05/94) Vol. 369, No. 6475, P. 7; Abbott, Alison Reinhard Kurth, head of the Paul Ehrlich Institute for Sera and Vaccines in Langen, Germany, was blasted for accepting "six figure sums" from pharmaceutical firms for preparing reports on techniques to inactivate HIV in blood products. In the early 1980s, the institute was the only one in Germany with wide experience with retroviruses, and was approached by blood product manufacturers concerned about HIV infection for advice. Between 1984 and 1985, Kurth and his colleagues--with the approval of the health ministry--prepared reports about the inactivation of HIV in blood products for Behring, Armour Pharma, Immuno, DRK Institute Springe, and the Red Cross Blood Bank. Kurth and German health minister Horst Seehofer said that DM90,000 had been received for the work--one-fifth of which went to the ministry and the remainder of which was divided among Kurth and his five co-workers. But, according to Horst Schmidbauer, health spokesman for the Social Democratic Party, more money was involved. Furthermore, he argues, the ministry should not have allowed researchers paid from public funds to work for private companies. Kurth denies all accusations and has filed a libel lawsuit against Schmidbauer. In the meanwhile, Seehofer has announced that he will shut down the Bundesgesundheitamt (BGA), six health institutes directly responsible to the health ministry. "Court Crackdown on HIV" Advocate (05/17/94) No. 655, P. 21 In early February, a Miami jury cited HIV as a deadly weapon in the court conviction of an infected rapist for attempted murder. Since that ruling, other jurisdictions have followed the decision. Prosecutors in Spokane, Wash., said they upgraded charges against 26-year-old Jeffrey D. Walker from first-degree assault to first-degree murder. Walker, who is accused of intentionally exposing a woman to HIV through unprotected sex, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. And in Jacksonville, Fla., 23-year-old Shawn Boswell pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder for having unsafe sex with a woman after learning that he was infected with HIV. Boswell received a 4 1/2-year sentence. "Albuquerque Forbids Bigotry" Advocate (05/17/94) No. 655, P. 22 An executive order issued March 30 by Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez prohibited anti-gay and AIDS-based discrimination in municipal employment or by city contractors. "The problems we have as a community are too great to exclude anyone," Chavez remarked. "HIV Screening in Pregnancy: UK Lags" Lancet (05/07/94) Vol. 343, No. 8906, P. 1113; Banatvala, J.E.; Chrystie, I.L. The results of 1991 HIV testing among pregnant women in London revealed that 1 in 500 women attending certain antenatal clinics were infected, and 75 percent of them did not know or did not inform health care providers that they were infected. It was also becoming increasingly clear that the advantages of knowing the HIV status of a mother and her baby outweighed the potential disadvantages. In light of this information, the Department of Health issued guidelines advising that HIV testing be made available to pregnant women in areas of "known or suspected higher prevalance of HIV infection." In 1991, only 8 of 296 hospital-based antenatal clinics--3 in Scotland and 5 in London--offered HIV tests to all pregnant women. By 1993, one year after the guidelines were released, that number had sunk to 4, although more centers were considering offering the test. The lack of antenatal HIV screening in the U.K. contrasts with other countries. Although testing is available on request in most antenatal clinics in Britain, various factors contribute to the poor response to the Department of Health's recommendations, the first of which is cost. The department took into account money for lab testing, training programs, and counseling, but failed to include the expenses for manpower and space requirements. Another reason is the fact that many staff still believe that HIV testing is not worthwhile. They should be reassured by the results of a multi-center trial of HIV-infected mothers who cut the risk of transmitting the virus to their babies by two-thirds by taking AZT. Nonetheless, the HIV program requires considerably more resources and stands little chance of implementation unless additional funds are forthcoming. "AIDS Drug From Merck" Chemical & Engineering News (05/16/94) Vol. 72, No. 20, P. 6; Stinson, Stephen If Merck & Co.'s drug for AIDS proves successful, the company may have to design a manufacturing program where the cost of production would relate to marketing the remedy. Paul J. Reider, executive director of process research, contends that Merck chemists have created a low-cost, high-yield process to make the drug, a blocker of a key enzyme in HIV. Right now, Merck has the drug in Phase II/III clinical trials of many AIDS patients. Manufacturers need a dependable, high-yield process to prevent interruption of drug supplies. Pharmaceutical shortages could lead to relapses in AIDS patients and drug-resistant strains of HIV. According to Paul van Eikeren, vice president for research and development at Sepracor, AIDS drugs such as Merck's require the patient to ingest a maximum of 3 grams daily, or about 1 kilogram per person annually. Merck could need to produce thousands of metric tons each year to provide enough of the drug to treat the estimated 13 million cases of HIV in the world. Other blockbuster drugs only require 50 to 150 metric tons annually. Therefore, Merck's production costs could prove paramount while the price of the drug must remain low.