Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 11:56:13 +0500 From: "Vaux, Lenore" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary, 04/01/96 AIDS Daily Summary April 1, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Across the USA: Illinois" "2nd-Grader Stabs 5 Others with Found Medical Tools" "Unwelcome Donations" "Virus Research Drawing International Attention" "Cognitive Impairment Linked to Early Death in HIV-Infected Patients" "No Benefits Seen in AIDS Patients After Fish Oil Supplementation" "EU Wants Back Money Sank into S. African AIDS Play" "The Trials of a Home HIV Test" "Case for Behavioral Studies for AIDS Prevention" ************************************************************ "Across the USA: Illinois" USA Today (04/01/96) P. 12A Florence Schieben, 75, received HIV-infected blood during 1994 hip replacement surgery and is now suing Heartland Blood Centers. The Aurora, Ill., blood bank has rejected her claim that the blood was not tested correctly. "2nd-Grader Stabs 5 Others with Found Medical Tools" Washington Post (03/30/96) P. H3; Kyriakos, Marianne A second-grader at Stanton Elementary School in Washington, D.C., discovered a dozen lancets, needlelike medical devices, in a field near the school and used them to stab five classmates. Some parents are concerned that their children may have been infected with HIV as a result. Lancets, which are not hollow and are not used to inject drugs, are used to prick fingers and ear lobes when blood is drawn. "We know that in the transmission of HIV, hollow needles are much more likely to transmit the virus than solid needles," said Peter Hawley, medical director for the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the area's largest AIDS clinic. The school's principal said several students involved in the incident have been tested for HIV. "Unwelcome Donations" Washington Post (03/30/96) P. A15; Davey, Richard J. In a Washington Post letter to the editor, Richard J. Davey, chief medical officer at the American Red Cross, takes issue with a Washington Post article that suggested that some men donate blood as a way of getting tested for HIV. Davey objects to the article, saying it may have unnecessarily scared people who receive blood transfusions. He argues that the Red Cross opposes the practice of donating blood for the purpose of getting an HIV test, a practice which he says could jeopardize the safety of the blood supply. "Virus Research Drawing International Attention" Xinhua News Service (03/29/96) The Harbin Veterinary Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, which has gained recognition for developing a cure for horse infectious anemia, has now attracted global attention because of similarities between the horse virus and HIV. The institute developed the vaccine for the horse virus in 1982, and it remains the only vaccine to prevent the disease. The virus is similar to HIV in its mechanism and mutability. Researchers from Japan and the United States are seeking to cooperate with the Chinese scientists on research to compare the two viruses. "Cognitive Impairment Linked to Early Death in HIV-Infected Patients" Reuters (03/29/96) New research shows that cognitive impairment is an independent risk factor for early death from AIDS. Ronald Ellis and colleagues at the HNRC Group in San Diego reported the results of a study of 414 HIV-positive patients. During the seven-year study, 106 patients died. Risk of death was 1.2 times greater in the globally impaired group, and 3.9 times higher in those who were found to have cognitive-motor disorder. In a related study, N.C. Sacktor and colleagues in Baltimore and Los Angeles found that a decline in psychomotor performance in HIV patients predicted the onset of dementia, but not AIDS or death. In another study, the incidence of multifocal leukoencephalopathy in AIDS patients was found to be increasing. "No Benefits Seen in AIDS Patients After Fish Oil Supplementation" Reuters (03/29/96) Taking dietary supplements of fish oil for management of advanced AIDS-related weight loss does not seem to have any beneficial clinical effects, new research suggests. Previous studies in normal patients indicated that the supplements reduced the production of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Research also showed that the supplements prevented interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis anorexia in animals. Marc K. Hellerstein and colleagues at the University of California at San Francisco followed 20 patients with weight loss associated with advanced HIV infection. The patients' body weight, percent fat, and fat-free mass stayed the same. Hellerstein concluded that fish oil cannot overcome AIDS-related wasting, but may have an effect in stable AIDS patients. "EU Wants Back Money Sank into S. African AIDS Play" Reuters (03/29/96) The European Union (EU) said on Friday that it wants the South African health ministry to return $3.5 million it wrongly used to fund a lavish but controversial AIDS awareness musical. Erwan Fouere, the EU envoy to South Africa, said the money was not authorized for the production of "Sarafina 2." Furthermore, the EU said the ministry had used too much money for the play and the health ministry did not follow normal procedures before allocating the money. "The Trials of a Home HIV Test" Business Week (03/18/96) No. 3467, P. 56; Freundlich, Naomi; Hamilton, Joan O'C. The first home test for HIV was developed by Elliot Millenson in 1985, but faced opposition from AIDS activists and the American Medical Association, and was refused for consideration by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987. Now the test, which Millenson sold to Johnson & Johnson in 1993, has been submitted to the FDA and could be approved within three months. If approved, the test would be sold without prescription for less than $50. Users would mail a blood sample to a lab for analysis. Test results and counseling would be available over the phone. The change in attitude has come in part from lobbying by J&J, dissatisfaction with current testing, and the belief that home tests will help curb HIV infection. The FDA reviewed the home test in 1990; however, it did not approve it, citing the lack of face-to-face counseling. After buying the test from Millenson, J&J launched an aggressive public relations campaign, which was boosted by evidence that 42 percent of people at risk for HIV would use a home test. Some claimed that J&J paid travel expenses for doctors and AIDS activists to attend a FDA meeting at which they supported the test; however, an investigation found no wrongdoing, though questions about the company's methods were raised. "Case for Behavioral Studies for AIDS Prevention" Lancet (03/16/96) Vol. 347, No. 9002, P. 750; Rowe, Paul M. Studies indicate that cutting rates of risky sexual behavior in half could stop the AIDS epidemic, Thomas J. Coates, director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco said in a lecture at the National Institutes of Health. Coates cited research that shows that behavioral interventions can achieve such reductions. For example, when condom-use rules were implemented at gay sex clubs in San Francisco, rates of unprotected sex dropped to almost zero. In India and Thailand, programs to educate prostitutes to negotiate condom use led to sharp decreases in rates of venereal disease. Behavioral studies help explain risky sexual practices, while scientific studies are needed to influence public policy. Coates acknowledged that political barriers thwart research on sexual behaviors, but noted that "we're talking about things we didn't talk about 15 years ago."