Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 11:44:25 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/27/95 AIDS Daily Summary September 27, 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 ************************************************************ "Fewer HIV-Infected Babies Born in U.S." "Abbott Labs AIDS Drug Gets Good Clinical Results" "Task Force Aide Says AIDS Cash Vanished" "Baltimore Ranks Best of Six Cities in TB Fight" "FDA Targets Bogus AIDS Cures for Sale" "California Law Doesn't Require AIDS Test" "One of Us" "Sex Club Debated in Gay Community" "AIDS-Related Kaposi Sarcoma of the Lung: Radiographic Findings and Staging System with Bronchoscopic Correlation" "Hydroxyurea and ddI: French Study Published" "Summary of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for September 22, 1995" ************************************************************ "Fewer HIV-Infected Babies Born in U.S." Washington Post (09/27/95) P. A2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fewer babies infected with the virus that causes AIDS are being born in the United States. The reasons for the decline are not clear; however, drug treatment could further reduce the number, researchers said. According to the study, which is being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the decline could be related to a reduction in fertility among HIV-infected women of childbearing age, a greater number of abortions in that group, or a stable state of infection among those women. The researchers also predicted that administering AZT to HIV-infected pregnant women could reduce the number of HIV-infected babies by about 66 percent, as long as all infected women could be identified, counseled, and treated. Related Story: New York Times (09/27) P. C9 "Abbott Labs AIDS Drug Gets Good Clinical Results" Wall Street Journal (09/27/95) P. B7 Preliminary testing of Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s experimental AIDS drug Ritonavir indicates that the drug may be one of the most potent protease inhibitors available. Although it is not yet known how effective the drug is in relieving symptoms of AIDS, clinical tests suggest that Ritonavir may boost HIV-damaged immune system cells more than many other members of this new class of drugs. AIDS experts say that Abbott's findings, while very early, are among the most promising thus far. "Task Force Aide Says AIDS Cash Vanished" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/27/95) P. B2; Loyd, Linda During the second day of a preliminary hearing, a witness testified that Francis J. Stoffa Jr.'s fixation with collecting and managing money raised by the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force made him explode in anger when someone other than himself counted the receipts. Stoffa has been charged with stealing more than $200,000 from the agency and using some of it to pay for clothes and vacations. Gail Burwell, who was director of administrative services when Stoffa led the AIDS service agency, said that one day in 1993, when Stoffa was at a meeting, she counted and bundled money raised at a three-day benefit. When Stoffa discovered what she had done, Burwell said, he became "redfaced and very angry," telling her "never to touch the money again." Burwell testified that Stoffa took the money home with him, recounted it, and bundled it. "It looked visibly different; there was substantially less money," Burwell commented. However, Stoffa's attorney said that his client had become upset because Burwell had counted the money in public and had mixed the denominations so the funds were not ready to be deposited. "Baltimore Ranks Best of Six Cities in TB Fight" Baltimore Sun (09/27/95) P. 2B; Bor, Jonathan A comparative study of urban tuberculosis (TB) rates in several U.S. cities reveals that Baltimore has brought the disease under control more effectively than the others. The city's TB rate fell more than 50 percent between 1981 and 1992--a time when poverty, drug abuse, and the susceptibility of AIDS patients to TB caused a nationwide increase in the disease. Dr. C. Patrick Chaulk, an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said Baltimore's regimen of "directly observed therapy" made patients complete treatments that are often stopped when the symptoms disappear. Chaulk studied six cities that had the highest rates of TB in 1981. The cities, in order of disease prevalence, were Miami, Fla.; San Francisco, Calif.; Newark, N.J.; Atlanta, Ga., Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore, Md. Fourteen year later, all cities except Baltimore remained highly ranked. "FDA Targets Bogus AIDS Cures for Sale" Miami Herald (09/26/95) P. 1C; Chandler, Michele The many herbal and alternative AIDS treatments on the market has attracted the attention of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Earlier this month, community activists, FDA officials, AIDS drug buying cooperatives, and health workers from across the country convened in Orlando, Fla., at the third annual National AIDS Fraud Task Force Conference. According to public health specialist Donald Pohl of the FDA's office of AIDS and Special Health Issues, it is not possible to determine the extent of AIDS fraud nationwide. However, Pohl cited one study that estimated that as much as $10 billion is spent each year on unnecessary or ineffective therapies. Many businesses making dubious health claims about their products have avoided regulatory action by changing their names or moving. "It's a moving target," noted Pohl. "California Law Doesn't Require AIDS Test" Los Angeles Times (09/26/95) P. C8; Kawakami, Tim Even if the California athletic commission suspects that a boxer has AIDS, there is nothing the commission could do under state law to keep him from fighting in the state, says Richard DeCuir, the commission's executive director. However, Paul Banke's announcement two years after his last fight that he has AIDS will likely renew the controversy. DeCuir said that he and the commission have been trying unsuccessfully to get the Assembly to approve legislation that would require fighters seeking licenses in California to supply proof that they have recently passed HIV and hepatitis tests. "Existing law prevents the commission from testing, and even if we did test, existing law would prevent us from telling anybody or doing anything about it," he said. "One of Us" Baltimore Sun (09/26/95) P. 1E; Smith, Linell When Johns Hopkins Hospital's obstetrics clinic began HIV testing and counseling five years ago, gynecologist Dr. Jean Anderson found that her patients talked more openly with peer counselors than with any medical professionals. Those who are infected also appear to be more inclined to listen to the advice of peers about how not to spread HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has selected Hopkins as the location of its first study of peer counseling of HIV-infected women. The project, which began two years ago, will attempt to determine the advantages of using peer education and counseling to change high-risk behavior and encourage infected women to obtain regular health care. The results of such programs at Hopkins and elsewhere indicate that these counselors may be more effective in this work than health care workers, who generally educate patients during physical examinations. "Sex Club Debated in Gay Community" Boston Globe (09/25/95) P. 1; Flint, Anthony The Safari Club, located in Boston's South End, is labeled a gay men's health club, though members of the city's homosexual community admit that the focus is on the sexual encounters that take place in the many "private dressing rooms." The presence of the two-year-old club has caused controversy in the gay community itself, with some members arguing that sex clubs promote unsafe promiscuity and others claiming that the clubs provide a controlled environment for safe sex. The debate comes as gay sex clubs, or more mature versions of the 1980s bathhouses, are popping up all over the country. Clubs in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are occasionally closed down due to concerns over unsafe sex and AIDS. Although there have been no problems with the Safari Club specifically, opposition to sex clubs is strong within the national gay community--because many argue that they encourage risky behavior. A recent visit to the Safari Club revealed many posters and notices encouraging safe sex, as well as a plethora of available condoms, but patrons say that the safe-sex focus is not necessarily consistent. "AIDS-Related Kaposi Sarcoma of the Lung: Radiographic Findings and Staging System with Bronchoscopic Correlation" Journal of the American Medical Association (09/20/95) Vol. 274, No. 11, P. 856 Gruden et al. retrospectively reviewed the chest radiographs and medical records of more than 75 men with bronchoscopically proved Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). The researchers compared tumor extent at bronchoscopy to the severity of parenchymal disease to develop a radiographic staging system that allows such comparison and review of the standard temporal progression of KS. Although there was a statistically significant relationship between the extent of tracheobronchial disease and radiographic stage, some patients experienced advanced parenchymal KS without visible endobronchial disease. According to the researchers, the proposed staging system describes the characteristics of early, moderate, and advanced KS. "Hydroxyurea and ddI: French Study Published" AIDS Treatment News (09/01/95) No. 230, P. 6; James, John S. Researchers reported in the August 28 issue of the Journal of AIDS that a combination of hydroxyurea and ddI produced good antiviral activity and CD4 count improvement in 12 patients who began the 90-day trial with high CD4 levels. In the six patients whose plasma HIV RNA levels were detectable, viral load dropped an average 1.71 log, or 98 percent. Meanwhile, all 12 subjects experienced a mean CD4 increase of 120. Although there were some side effects which may have been caused by the hydroxyurea, none were serious enough to stop treatment. Other studies, however, have found that the drug can produce severe side effects. "Summary of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for September 22, 1995" Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (09/22/95) As of December 1994, one third of all AIDS cases were reported among IDUs, their sexual partners, and their children. The primary risk behavior associated with drug-related HIV transmission is multiperson use ("sharing") of syringes used for injection. Survey data in this report demonstrates a dramatic increase in the number of communities that have implemented syringe exchange programs (SEPs) as one strategy to address this problem. SEPS provide new, sterile syringes to IDUs in exchange for used, potentially HIV contaminated ones to reduce transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne pathogens. These findings indicate an 82% increase in the number of SEPs operating in the United States in April 1995 compared with 1993 and a threefold increase in the number of syringes exchanged since 1992 (from 2.4 to 8 million syringes). In addition, nearly all SEPs surveyed provide additional services to address the dual epidemics of drug use and HIV, including referral to drug treatment centers, HIV counseling and testing, and provision of condoms.