Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 09:40:54 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/18/95 AIDS Daily Summary September 18, 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 ************************************************************ "As TB Surges, Drug Producers Face Criticism" "Roche Holding Ltd." "AIDS Research Supporters Set the Wheels in Motion" "Victim's Girlfriend Says She's Infected" "Across the USA: Connecticut" "The Reliable Source" "City Presses Its Efforts to Curb TB" "Controlling AIDS with Clean Needles" "Thailand Trial for AIDS Therapeutic Vaccine?" "Prevention Conference Highlights AIDS Advances, Setbacks" ************************************************************ "As TB Surges, Drug Producers Face Criticism" New York Times (09/18/95) P. A1; Altman, Lawrence K. Despite the fact that the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide continues to increase and that new drugs are waiting to be tested, many pharmaceutical makers are unwilling to spend the money it would take to bring them to the market, said experts at an international meeting sponsored by the British medical journal The Lancet. In addition, participants criticized the World Health Organization for not spending more on TB after proclaiming it a "global health emergency." Some participants also reported that pharmaceutical company officials said that in the United States, there are too few TB cases to justify large investments in treatment. The increasing TB problem represents, in part, a lack of political leadership in fighting the disease, a growing world population living in crowded conditions, and the disease's occurrence in relation to AIDS, the experts said. "Roche Holding Ltd." Wall Street Journal (09/18/95) P. B9 Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., a division of the Swiss drug maker Roche Holding Ltd., has announced the expansion of a program in which its protease inhibitor Invirase is distributed to a certain number of patients. The company will hold a lottery in November to select 2,000 additional patients to receive the experimental AIDS drug. The 2,280 individuals selected in a previous lottery are receiving Invirase free through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "compassionate use" program. "AIDS Research Supporters Set the Wheels in Motion" USA Today (09/18/95) P. 11A Some 3,000 bicyclists rode into New York City on Sunday after riding three days from Boston to raise money for AIDS research and medical services. The fundraising event received pledges of approximately $6.5 million. The first Boston-to-New York AIDS Ride was based on a similar week-long event in California. Of the pledges, 60 percent will go to New York's Lesbian and Gay Community Center and Community Health Project and Boston's Fenway Community Health Center, while the rest will be used to cover expenses related to the ride. Related Story: Chicago Tribune (09/16) P. 1-8 "Victim's Girlfriend Says She's Infected" Washington Times (09/18/95) P. A12; Randall, Colin The girlfriend of a man who claims to have been HIV-infected by a vengeful woman with AIDS announced last week that she too is infected with HIV. She threatened to disclose the woman's name if Father Michael Kennedy did not. Kennedy is the Irish curate who reported that as a result of one woman's AIDS revenge campaign, five men have tested HIV-positive and as many as 80 more are at risk of infection. According to Kennedy, the woman behind the infections is near death at an AIDS clinic in London. When describing a confrontation with the woman about sleeping with her boyfriend, the girlfriend said the woman was arrogant and told her to mind her own business. "In the end, she said: 'I hate men, I hate all men,'" the girlfriend explained. "Across the USA: Connecticut" USA Today (09/18/95) P. 11A Connecticut officials claim that AIDS disproportionately affects minorities in the state more than in the rest of the country. Statistics show that AIDS is the leading cause of death for black Connecticut residents--both male and female--who are between the ages of 25 and 44. "The Reliable Source" Washington Post (09/18/95) P. B3; Groer, Annie; Gerhart, Ann Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, and singer Cyndi Lauper will both participate in AIDSWalk Washington. The event, which will take place this Saturday on the Mall, will benefit the Whitman-Walker Clinic. "City Presses Its Efforts to Curb TB" Chicago Tribune (09/16/95) P. 1-5; Kates, Joan Giangrasse Chicago health authorities announced on Friday that due to an explosion of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (TB), they are increasing their disease-control efforts. "We want to remind everyone that TB is still with us and to encourage everyone to be more aware and take action to prevent the spread of the disease," said Sheila Lyne, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. During the past year, 17 cases of multidrug resistant TB have been detected--primarily among those with weakened immune systems or pre-existing medical conditions. As part of the new effort, the department will soon offer TB prevention, early detection, and treatment services at its West Town Neighborhood Health Center. "Controlling AIDS with Clean Needles" Chicago Tribune (09/16/95) P. 1-16 The state of Connecticut has discovered that one of the best weapons against AIDS costs nothing to taxpayers, write the editors of the Chicago Tribune. By legalizing the over-the-counter sale of syringes by pharmacies, needle-sharing has dropped 40 percent among drug users in the state, according to two recent reports in the Journal of AIDS. In some ways, the editors note, the findings correspond to the effects of needle-exchanges in reducing the kind of behavior that spreads HIV; however, unlike many exchanges, Connecticut's project requires no public funds. Now that we have found such a useful tool in preventing the spread of the disease, the editors conclude, we must decide whether to use it. "Thailand Trial for AIDS Therapeutic Vaccine?" Science (09/01/95) Vol. 269, No. 5228, P. 1207; Kaiser, Jocelyn San Diego-based Immune Response Corp. (IRC) and Thai officials have almost completed an arrangement in which IRC will test its therapeutic AIDS vaccine in thousands of HIV-infected Thais, sources say. If approved, this could be the largest test ever of such a vaccine, and could determine the validity of boosting the immune systems of people already infected with HIV. Small-scale trials of the IRC vaccine--which was originally developed by the late Jonas Salk--have been watched with suspicion, although it appears to be safe and potentially useful. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved large U.S. trials last January to determine whether the vaccine delays AIDS progression and death. "Prevention Conference Highlights AIDS Advances, Setbacks" Nation's Health (09/95) Vol. 25, No. 8, P. 1 At the third international HIV/AIDS Prevention Conference, 1,000 people from around the world divided into workgroups, focusing on the theme of "Evolving Responses to an Evolving Epidemic." Several government officials commended their own organizations for progress in the war against AIDS, while others involved in the fight criticized the government for not taking a stronger position. Jacob Gayle--chief of the HIV/AIDS Division at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which sponsored the event along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services--said that the groups' recommendations would be incorporated into the agency's future policies. In addition, representatives from some of the nations most affected by AIDS asked for increased communication with other countries and more compassion for people with the disease.