Date: Fri, 21 Apr 1995 09:51:29 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 04/21/95 AIDS Daily Summary April 21, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Girl, 13, Sentenced in an AIDS Hoax" "China to Let AIDS Patients Attend Women's Summit" "Indonesia Says Many AIDS and HIV Cases Undetected" "William Scott, 46; Led AIDS Groups" "In Love, On to AIDS, Out of Love" "Michigan Teens Will Learn How to Teach AIDS Prevention Skills at Peer Education Conference on April 26" "The Immune Response Corporation Announces First Quarter 1995 Financial Results" "Preventive Therapy for Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Persons; International Recommendations, Research, and Practice" "ICC Trials--Enrollment Problem" "Biotech Patent Derided" ************************************************************ "Girl, 13, Sentenced in an AIDS Hoax" New York Times (04/21/95) P. A16 The 13-year-old girl who called seven former hospital patients and told them they were HIV-positive has been sentenced to five years' probation and therapy. On Wednesday, Tammy Lynn Esckilsen pleaded guilty to taking confidential data from a computer and placing harassing telephone calls. The judge, however, said that all charges will be dropped if Esckilsen successfully completes probation. The girl's mother, an employee at University Medical Center, said she took her daughter to work because she could not find anyone to care for her. She did not want to leave her unsupervised because of her history of drug use, truancy, and shoplifting. Under the probation, Esckilsen must go to school, not leave a residential treatment center without permission, and abide by a 6 p.m. curfew when she returns home. Related Story: Philadelphia Inquirer (04/12) P. A17 "China to Let AIDS Patients Attend Women's Summit" Reuters (04/20/95) Despite laws that bar them from entering the country, China will permit people with AIDS to participate in September's World Conference on Women in Beijing. "Nobody will be denied entry just because he is an AIDS patient or infected with the virus," said Chen Jian, a senior spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. According to Chen, China will establish special quarantine and sanitary requirements for conference participants to ensure wide attendance. By the end of 1994, there were officially 1,774 HIV-infected Chinese, of whom 65 had developed AIDS and 45 had died by the end of the year. Experts, however, say the actual number could be greater than 10,000. Under a 1989 quarantine law, foreigners planning extended visits to China must be tested for HIV, and Chinese who travel abroad can be required to take tests at the border when they return. "Indonesia Says Many AIDS and HIV Cases Undetected" Reuters (04/20/95) Indonesia has estimated that there are approximately 90,000 undetected AIDS and HIV cases in the country, and that as many as 2.5 million people could be affected by the year 2000, the official Antara news agency reported. Antara quoted Health Minister Suyudi, who said that Indonesia had 69 confirmed cases of AIDS and 214 cases of HIV infection. Last year, the World Health Organization estimated that about 50,000 people in the world's fourth-most populous nation were infected. Suyudi estimated that for every case of AIDS and HIV diagnosed, there were 1,000 and 100 undetected cases, respectively. "With the government and the public actively and seriously doing something about it, the number of cases may drop to 30 percent of previous estimates," Suyudi added. Indonesia, which is predominantly Moslem and has a thriving sex industry, has created an inter-ministerial commission to coordinate the fight against AIDS. "William Scott, 46; Led AIDS Groups" New York Times (04/21/95) P. B6 William Arnold Scott, who founded groups aimed at increasing awareness of gay and lesbian concerns in Houston and became a national AIDS figure, died on April 4 of complications from the disease. Scott was a former president of the National Lesbian and Gay Health Foundation. In Houston, he established counseling services and support groups for HIV-infected men and was a co-founder of the AIDS Foundation of Houston. Scott is survived by his companion, Jose Rodriguez; his mother, Stella Martha Scott; and three brothers--Almon, Joseph, and Lawrence. "In Love, On to AIDS, Out of Love" New York Times (04/21/95) P. C3; Canby, Vincent Chay Yew's new play, "A Language of Their Own," is a study of gay love among ethnic outsiders in the age of AIDS. When the play opens, the audience learns that Ming, a young Chinese-American, and Oscar, his somewhat older Chinese-born lover, have broken up after living together for four years. Their split occurs because Oscar, who has tested HIV-positive, is aware that Ming has lost physical interest in him and wants out of the relationship. Ming becomes insulted that Oscar can casually demand that they part. Later, he questions whether his "dream of a perfect relationship is just that: a dream." After the break-up, the play chronicles the subsequent adventures of the two men as each enters a new relationship. "Michigan Teens Will Learn How to Teach AIDS Prevention Skills at Peer Education Conference on April 26" PR Newswire (04/20/95) On April 26, more than 300 teenagers will attend a conference in Michigan to learn effective methods of teaching their peers how to avoid AIDS. The conference, which is sponsored by the Michigan AIDS Fund and organized by the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, will include sessions on basic HIV/AIDS risk reduction, cultural sensitivity, decision making, and outreach strategies. Many of the sessions will be taught by teens who are currently active in peer education programs. Sean Sasser, the Public Policy Coordinator for Health Initiatives for Youth, will give the keynote address. Recently, Sasser and his late partner, Pedro Zamora, were the focus of several episodes of MTV's "The Real World." "The Immune Response Corporation Announces First Quarter 1995 Financial Results" PR Newswire (04/20/95) On Thursday, the Immune Response Corp. announced that during the first quarter of 1995, it lost $4,501,000, compared to a net loss of $4,632,000 one year ago. The difference is mainly because of a decrease in losses allocated from a previous joint venture with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. On March 2, Immune Response acquired all of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer's rights in the endeavor related to an HIV immunotherapeutic. The biopharmaceutical company is involved in the development of proprietary products for the treatment of HIV infection, autoimmune diseases, and products using its gene therapy, antisense, and drug delivery technologies. "Preventive Therapy for Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Persons; International Recommendations, Research, and Practice" Lancet (04/01/95) Vol. 345, No. 8953, P. 833; De Cock, Kevin M.; Grant, Alison; Porter, John D.H. The high rate of tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected persons in developing countries has led to a reconsideration of preventive therapy's role as a public health strategy, write De Cock et al. in the Lancet. Preventive therapy is the treatment of symptomless Mycobacterium TB infections to prevent the development of active disease. Until now, preventive therapy has been recommended only for breastfeeding infants of mothers with pulmonary TB or other children under five years of age living with infectious persons. Preventive therapy with isoniazid in HIV-positive persons is now recommended internationally. The World Health Organization and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, for example, have cautiously advised that 6-12 months of isoniazid therapy be considered for HIV-infected people with a positive tuberculin skin-test. Future preventive therapy research issues may involve efficacy, choice of drug regimen, and length of preventive therapy. The challenge is now to provide voluntary HIV testing and counseling, tuberculin skin testing, and preventive therapy in a way that will benefit as many people as possible without endangering public health through unrestricted use of antituberculosis drugs, the authors conclude. "ICC Trials--Enrollment Problem" AIDS Treatment News (04/07/95) No. 220, P. 2 There is a potential problem with the enrollment process of ICC 001--the first study of the Inter-Company Collaboration for AIDS Drug Development, a consortium of 15 major pharmaceutical firms. Prior to being screened for this trial, patients are required to bring in blood work from within 30 days showing that they will likely pass the screening. This requirement raises two concerns, according to AIDS Treatment News. First, the 30-day limit will delay enrollment by as many as several months. Second, the requirement is a new example of medical cost-shifting. In the trial, $150 per patient has been budgeted for miscellaneous expenses. This can be used if the subject's insurance will not cover the required tests. Generally, the burden of medical treatment and research are shifted onto the person already facing the stress of major illness, notes AIDS Treatment News. In this case, however, the cost of the usual flexibility--taking whatever blood work is available--would probably average well under $100 per patient, which is a small amount compared to the costs of doing clinical research, AIDS Treatment News concludes. "Biotech Patent Derided" National Law Journal (04/10/95) Vol. 7, No. 32, P. A6; Slind-Flor, Victoria Members of the biotechnology bar are concerned that a recently granted patent may discourage further gene therapy research, impeding the development of new treatments for diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Some have suggested that the patent was issued more rapidly than others because of Patent Office favoritism. On March 21, Dr. W. French Anderson et al. at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were issued a patent that covers any method of introducing genetically altered human cells into a patient to fight disease. The patent has been licensed solely to Genetic Therapy Inc., which supported Anderson's research at NIH under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). "Whether it has a chilling effect will depend on how they choose to enforce it," said David E. Brook of Massachusetts' Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds, who says that the patent may be subject to challenges that prior skill for the technology already exists. Marc R. Schneebaum, Genetic Therapy's senior vice president, says that concerns about the patent's scope are overblown. Under the CRADA, his company must develop the technology and will try "to partner with other companies in developing this technology."