Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 05/05/95

From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/[email-masked]
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 09:51:00 +0500

AIDS Daily Summary
                        May 5, 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

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"Gay Club Promises to Bar Sex"
"Research Hints of Immunization by Fruits"
"Law Keeps D.C. from Paying Bills"
"HIV Trial Told of Strange Thigh Bruise"
"Study Finds Oral Cytovene an Effective..."
"CDC Says Reptiles Are Transmitting Form of Salmonella"
"In the Presence of Death"
"Safety and Activity of Saquinavir in HIV Infection"
"Newswatch: Privacy Panic"
"HIV Test Eliminates Wait, but Physicians Not Using It"
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"Gay Club Promises to Bar Sex"
Washington Post (05/05/95) P. D6;  Goldstein, Amy
     Under an agreement signed on Thursday with the D.C. Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, a Washington social club for gay
men will be allowed to remain open as long as every patron signs
an a pledge not to engage in sex during his visit.  The Crew Club
has been criticized as a new variation of the bathhouses that
predate the AIDS epidemic.  The club's owner, D.C. Allen, claims
the club offers a safe, clean space where gay men can find a
sense of community and obtain advice on practicing safe sex.  He
has asked the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the region's largest AIDS
organization, to provide condoms, safe-sex information, and
lessons on how to avoid HIV.  Critics, however, argue that the
club, with its low lights and its policy that permits the men to
wear only towels, is a public health threat.  Although the Crew
Club is not the only place in the area where some gay men
continue to meet for casual sex, it is the first new club of its
kind to appear since the AIDS epidemic began in the early 1980s.

"Research Hints of Immunization by Fruits"
New York Times (05/05/95) P. A18;  Leary, Warrren E.
     Preliminary studies indicate that vaccines made from genetically
altered plants, including potatoes and bananas, could eventually
replace those given by needle for diseases such as hepatitis,
cholera, or traveler's diarrhea.  In the journal Science,
researchers report that experimental animals fed such a vaccine
produced antibodies against an infectious organism.  The plants
were genetically modified to include proteins from a disease
organism that stimulates the immune system, said lead researcher
Dr. Charles J. Arntzen of Texas A&M University.  The findings
build on recent work by researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer
Institute who put genes from the hepatitis B virus into tobacco
plants and injected extracts from the leaves into mice.  The
extract caused an immune response equivalent to that provided by
a standard hepatitis B vaccine.  In another paper in Science,
researchers report that they used genetically engineered tobacco
plants and cross-breeding to produce plants that make a complex
antibody to a common bacteria that causes tooth decay.  Related
Story: Wall Street Journal (05/05) P. B6

"Law Keeps D.C. from Paying Bills"
Washington Post (05/05/95) P. A1;  Schneider, Howard;  Goldstein,
Amy
     Agencies in the District of Columbia have accumulated more than
$33 million in bills for services without required contracts,
provoking a political battle over whether to pay them even though
it would violate city law.  This week, Mayor Marion Barry's
administration asked that procurement rules be eased so he could
determine what the city owes and begin to pay the debts.
District law forbids payments to vendors without contracts.  D.C.
Council members argue that Barry should obey city spending rules,
rather than trying to solve problems after the fact.  But
administration officials, are concerned that unless payments
begin soon, some important social service providers will be
forced to shut down.  Even relatively well-off nonprofit groups
are debating how long to continue providing services without
written assurances they will be paid.  For example, the
Whitman-Walker Clinic, the area's largest AIDS organization, has
had no contract for a $75,000-a-year program to prevent the
spread of AIDS among Latino youths since Dec. 31.  The clinic has
spent $102,000 of its own money to keep that and another program
alive, said director Jim Graham.

"HIV Trial Told of Strange Thigh Bruise"
Toronto Globe and Mail (05/04/95) P. A11
     On Wednesday, society photographer Con Boland said he awoke after
a night of sadomasochistic sex in California to find an unusual
bruise on his left thigh.  Boland is testifying in the trial of
former model Marilyn Tan, who is charged with injecting him with
HIV-infected blood in 1992.  Boland has since tested
HIV-positive.  Prior to their vacation to California, Tan asked
questions about how someone would get HIV, Boland said.  After
the trip, she told him she was positive he had HIV.  Boland also
said he became suspicious when they stopped having sex after the
California trip.  Tan told him she had a serious infection and
was not supposed to have sex for three months.

"Study Finds Oral Cytovene an Effective..."
PR Newswire (05/04/95)
     A study published in the May issue of the journal AIDS indicates
that Cytovene is a safe and effective alternative to intravenous
ganciclovir for maintenance treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV)
retinitis.  The study, conducted by the Oral Ganciclovir European
and Australian Cooperative Study Group, also demonstrates the
drug's efficacy against sepsis and other catheter-related events.
Cytovene slows the progression of CMV retinitis by blocking the
virus' ability to reproduce.  Cytovene's developer, Syntex, says
it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application for
marketing clearance of the drug as a preventive treatment in
HIV-positive individuals at risk for CMV retinitis.

"CDC Says Reptiles Are Transmitting Form of Salmonella"
Wall Street Journal (05/05/95) P. B4B;  De Lisser, Eleena
     According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), reptiles are the cause of a rare form of
salmonella that has appeared in 13 states during the past 15
months.  In some instances, the infection resulted in serious
illnesses, including meningitis.  The CDC also said the infection
was transmitted even when exposure was through an indirect
contact.  The CDC estimates that 5 percent of the 2 million cases
of salmonella reported in the United States each year could be
linked to reptiles.  Those most at risk of developing severe
complications are infants, young children, and adults with
immunocompromised systems--such as people with AIDS.

"In the Presence of Death"
New York Times (05/05/95) P. C5;  Brantley, Ben
     Inspired by the final days of Paul Walker--a theater director,
performer, and instructor who died of AIDS in 1993--Eve Ensler's
"Extraordinary Measures" presents death as the ultimate class in
life study.  The play is set in Walker's hospital room, where he
lies unconscious, kept alive only by the "extraordinary measures"
of the medical support systems.  The room becomes a forum for
Walker's friends and family to address the man who can no longer
answer or question their feelings.  The play adroitly examines
the self-centeredness and competitiveness that frequently surface
in the face of death.

"Safety and Activity of Saquinavir in HIV Infection"
Lancet (04/15/95) Vol. 345, No. 8955, P. 952;  Kitchen, Valerie
S.;  Skinner, Celia;  Ariyoshi, Koya et al.
     Kitchen and her colleagues assessed the antiviral activity and
tolerability of saquinavir--an orally active, selective HIV
proteinase inhibitor--in HIV-positive males with few or no
symptoms and CD4 counts of 500 or fewer.  The participants were
randomized to receive 25, 75, 200, or 600 mg of saquinavir three
times a day for four months.  CD4 cell counts reflected a trend
indicative of a dose response in favor of the 600 mg dosage; the
greatest increase was seen around the fourth week.  None of the
cultures of the eight patients with viremia at baseline became
negative after treatment.  Also, peripheral blood mononuclear
cell and plasma-viral load by culture and DNA and RNA polymerase
chain reaction all demonstrated a reduction of viral load with
higher doses of saquinavir.  Overall, the drug was well tolerated
by this group of previously untreated patients.  This study
provides evidence for the treatment of HIV infection by the
inhibition of virally-encoded proteinase enzyme, Kitchen et al.
conclude.

"Newswatch: Privacy Panic"
U.S. News & World Report (05/08/95) Vol. 118, No. 18, P. 66;
Rubin, Rita;  Newman, Richard J.;  Sherrid, Pamela
     A viatical settlement company--one that buys life insurance
policies from patients with AIDS or other terminal diseases--is
provoking unnecessary fears about confidentiality.  Now Life
Partners, one of the largest viatical firms, has put ads in 21
gay newspapers across the country alleging that the seven states
that require licensing for such settlements are likely to reveal
confidential health information.  Experts, however, say such
information held by states is closely protected by law.
Individuals considering selling a life insurance policy can get
advice from AIDS Project Los Angeles, by calling (213) 993-1473.

"HIV Test Eliminates Wait, but Physicians Not Using It"
AIDS Alert (05/95) Vol. 10, No. 5, P. 66
     Although an HIV test that provides results in 10 minutes is being
used in many hospitals, it has not caught on in primary care
settings, says the test's manufacturer.  Murex Corp.'s SUDS HIV-1
test received Food and Drug Administration approval in 1992.
Epidemiologist Dr. William Kassler of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) says that one significant barrier to
the adoption of the test is cost.  Most primary care physicians
do not have the requisite laboratory to conduct the test.  An
advantage of the SUDS test, however, is that by offering the test
and its results in the same session, patients are more likely to
learn their HIV status, says Loretta Goodwin, a Murex product
manager.  The CDC estimates that as many as 40 percent of
patients tested in public sites never return for their results.
Another possible advantage is that the same counselor can perform
both pre- and post-test counseling, offering more continuity to
the patient.  The SUDS test has a sensitivity rate close to 100
percent, and less than three out of 1,000 tests are false
positives.  Accuracy, however, is adversely affected by
inadequate specimen preparation and temperature, the CDC notes.