Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 09:47:05 +0500 From: ghfostel{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghfostel}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/20/95 AIDS Daily Summary September 20, 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 ************************************************************ "Report Backs Funding for Needle Exchanges" "Researcher Kills Myth of Shared Syringes" "Across the USA: Illinois" "One Last Visit with Channon" "A Sense of the Future" "British Broadcast Watchdog Punishes 'Smutty' MTV" "Halt to Brazil AIDS Campaign's Talking Penis" "New US Head of HIV/AIDS Policy Appointed" "HIV-Infected Women, Children Focus of Grants" "Malegrams: Live and Learn" ************************************************************ "Report Backs Funding for Needle Exchanges" Washington Post (09/20/95) P. A3; Schwartz, John Needle exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without promoting illicit drug use, according to a new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine. In "Preventing HIV Transmission: The Role of Sterile Needles and Bleach," a panel from the two congressionally chartered private research groups reaffirmed the findings of several other bodies--including the American Medical Association, the General Accounting Office, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--which have all urged the government to lift the ban on federal funding for programs that provide drug addicts with sterile injection equipment and bleach for sterilizing needles. However, according to legislation passed in 1992, the prohibition on federal support must continue "unless the Surgeon General of the United States determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs." The Surgeon General's position has been vacant since last December when Joycelyn Elders was fired, and officials at the Department of Health and Human Services say it is unclear whether the specific wording of the legislation can be satisfied by any other public official's judgment. Related Stories: New York Times (09/20) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (09/20) P. A4 "Researcher Kills Myth of Shared Syringes" New York Times (09/20/95) P. B10; Goleman, Daniel The field work of Dr. Steven Koester, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, was cited as one reason for an expert panel's recommendation on Tuesday that clean syringes be made available to heroin users to stop the sharing of needles. Koester studied Denver's heroin addicts and determined that they "were sharing because they had to--not because of some ritual for bonding," as had been previously suggested. According to Koester, the laws against possessing syringes make it too dangerous to carry them when trying to get heroin, so after buying the drug, users "go to the closest place where they can have privacy and get a syringe." These needles, however, are generally contaminated from prior use, which may also result in blunting or clogging of the needles. "Across the USA: Illinois" USA Today (09/20/95) P. 6A The state of Illinois has increased from 16 to 110 the number of free drugs doctors can prescribe to HIV and AIDS patients who are either underinsured or cannot be covered under Medicaid. "One Last Visit with Channon" Los Angeles Times (09/18/95) P. E1; Wride, Nancy Channon Phipps, the first California student known to be barred from school because of infected HIV infection, died last week at age 20. In 1985, Channon--a hemophiliac who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products--was asked to stay at home until his school district could create a formal AIDS admissions policy. District workers brought a computer and school supplies to his home wearing surgical gloves and masks. In an interview, the then 10-year-old compared the event to a scene in the movie "E.T.," where the alien was captured by researchers and quarantined. After the incident, Channon filed suit, and was quickly returned to class. Since then, however, Channon withdrew from the public school system and was tutored at home--tired of the problems and name-calling by some on campus. Despite his young age, he had a matter-of-fact attitude about his mortality, noting, "If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen." "A Sense of the Future" Financial Times (09/19/95) P. 15; Cole, George Although sensors are traditionally considered to be mechanical devices like those used in some washing machines, the most recent sensors are semiconductors that convert physical phenomena such as humidity or temperature into an electrical signal, which is processed by a microprocessor. A second growth area is bio-sensors. For example, researchers are currently developing electronic sensors that detect HIV, although they are not expected to reach the market for another decade. In this case, the sensor would be coated with an HIV antibody that reacts to the virus antigen. "British Broadcast Watchdog Punishes 'Smutty' MTV" Reuters (09/19/95) British broadcast regulators have fined MTV Europe almost $93,000 for broadcasting smut, an explicit show on safe sex, and a commercial that was said to condone destructive behavior. MTV, however, claims the Independent Television Commission (ITC) is trying to make an example of the music-video station. Peter Einstein, Business Director for MTV Networks Europe, defended a program called "Safe 'n Sexy," which the ITC ruled was "clearly aimed at sexually active viewers and included sections...unsuited to young viewers." But according to Einstein, "this is a carefully produced program which provides essential information on the risks of HIV and AIDS for MTV Europe's young adult audience." "Halt to Brazil AIDS Campaign's Talking Penis" Reuters (09/18/95) On Monday, Brazil's Health Minister Adib Jatene said he would ban anti-AIDS television commercials that feature a talking penis named Braulio because people with that name have complained. "I believe that the use of a name for the sexual organ has made many people uncomfortable," he said. The commercials show an actor talking with his penis about wearing a condom. The campaign--which has also been criticized by the Catholic Church--has brought with it a flood of complaints and threats of lawsuits from people named Braulio, a fairly common name in the South American country. "New US Head of HIV/AIDS Policy Appointed" Lancet (09/09/95) Vol. 346, No. 8976, P. 692; McCarthy, Michael According to Eric P. Goosby, the newly appointed head of the U.S. Public Health Service's Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, the HIV epidemic can be controlled by providing adequate medical and social services to the infected persons in the often impoverished minority communities which the virus affects. It is possible, Goosby said in an interview, to get HIV-infected individuals to practice behaviors that will prevent HIV's spread. "We are working on the assumption that we can build a perimeter of care and services around the already HIV-infected populations of our country," he said. To stem the spread of HIV in minority populations, public health groups will have to alter the strategies they have used for the last 15 years because the disease is affecting more women, more children, and more people who do not have the financial or social resources to fight it, said Goosby. In addition, public health programs need to establish stronger relationships with minority community-based organizations in order to win the trust of the specific population. "HIV-Infected Women, Children Focus of Grants" Nation's Health (09/95) Vol. 25, No. 8, P. 4 The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has granted $1.1 million to programs in six states which offer prenatal medical care and discuss the value of HIV counseling, testing, and treatment in women of child-bearing age. "This program will support efforts in key communities to provide women with the resources to deal with HIV and its effects," explained HRSA Administrator Ciro V. Sumaya. The agency also announced awards totaling $23.3 million for improved access to HIV comprehensive care and clinical research trials for women and children with HIV and for their families. The recipients of the grants--which are part of the Ryan White CARE Act--include the Family Planning Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the Washington University School of Medicine, and the Institute for Family-Centered Care located in Bethesda, Md. "Malegrams: Live and Learn" Men's Health (10/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 48 Research into why some HIV-positive persons continue to thrive after 10 or more years of infection could one day lead to more effective treatments. There are three likely reasons to explain why about 8 percent of the HIV-infected population do not develop AIDS, according to Dr. Susan Buchbinder, chief of the research branch of San Francisco's AIDS Office. The first is immune response. Nonprogressors' immune systems generally put up a more aggressive fight against HIV than do the immune systems of progressors. Finding out how to increase this response with drugs or other methods could help manage the infection. A second explanation is a person's genetic makeup, which could also offer additional protection. Finally, some researchers have proposed that some individuals are infected with a weaker strain of HIV, which if isolated, could become a model for a vaccine. In the mean time, "HIV is not an automatic death sentence," Dr. Buchbinder maintains. "People need to try to keep themselves healthy after infection."