Date: Fri, 12 Apr 1996 11:14:50 +0500 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 04/12/96 AIDS Daily Summary April 12, 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 ************************************************************ "AIDS Virus Delivers a Gene Therapy to Rats" "AIDS Conference Will Focus on Hope" "Insurers Told to Cover AIDS Drugs" "HIV Screening Recommended for TB Patients" "Moroccan Pharmacist Jailed Over Blood Imports" "Malaysia to Give HIV Tests to Students in Drug Abuse" "AIDS Intervention Programs for Young African-Americans: Short-Term Efficacy Reported" "Denver Needle Exchange Proposal Dropped" "Acceptance of Isoniazid Preventive Therapy by Health Care Workers After Tuberculin Skin Test Conversion" "The AIDS Ribbon Stamp" ************************************************************ "AIDS Virus Delivers a Gene Therapy to Rats" New York Times (04/12/96) P. A28 A modified, harmless version of HIV has been used as a "vector," or delivery system, for gene therapy in laboratory experiments with rats, scientists reported Thursday. Gene therapy requires such a vector to deliver the therapeutic gene to its target. An appropriate virus has been hard to find, but researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., report in today's issue of Science that they were able to use a disabled version of HIV as the vector. Supporters of gene therapy say the finding could be used to treat genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy as well as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Unlike previous vectors, the HIV-derived vector works on nondividing cells, which means that researchers can treat cells in the body which otherwise had to be removed, treated, and re-implanted into the body. Related Story: Washington Post (04/12) P. A3 "AIDS Conference Will Focus on Hope" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/11/96) P. A12; Immen, Wallace An optimistic attitude about maintaining health with HIV, managing infection better, and trials of new vaccines will pervade the International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver this summer, organizers said Wednesday. After reviewing more than 5,000 scheduled presentations, they released a statement which noted there is "a rich body of evidence that shows we're beginning to wage a relentless and increasingly successful rebellion against the pandemic." About 15,000 people are expected to attend the conference, to be held from July 7 to 12. The Vancouver meeting will be the largest AIDS conference ever, covering four themes: basic science, clinical science, epidemiology, and social policy. "Insurers Told to Cover AIDS Drugs" United Press International (04/11/96) Health insurers in Massachusetts are now required to pay for the "off-label" use of a dozen HIV and AIDS drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for other uses. The ruling, issued Thursday by the state Insurance Commissioner, is the first in the nation and also requires all commercial insurers and health maintenance organizations regulated by the state to pay for "any medically necessary services" in administering the drugs. An advisory panel of state health officials, medical specialists, and AIDS advocates recommended the order. The drugs covered include Alpha Interferon, Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, Dronabinol, Fluconazole, Foscarnet, Ganciclovir, and Itraconazole. "HIV Screening Recommended for TB Patients" Reuters (04/12/96) All tuberculosis (TB) patients should be screened for HIV, clinicians at the University of California at Los Angeles say. Peter F. Barnes and colleagues found that of 183 patients hospitalized for TB, 33 were infected with HIV. Thirty of the 33 had "significant risk factors" for HIV infection, and 124 of the 183 TB patients had one or more risk factors for the virus. Heterosexual transmission was the most common mode of HIV infection, and common risk factors included sex with prostitutes or other multiple partners and a history of sexually transmitted disease. The study was confined to Los Angeles, an area with a high prevalence of HIV infection, but Barnes says the findings are applicable to other urban areas. "Moroccan Pharmacist Jailed Over Blood Imports" Reuters (04/11/96) A Moroccan pharmacist was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison and fined $3,500 on charges of importing tainted blood products. Mohamed Benabderrazik, who pleaded innocent, testified that he was certain the two samples of gamma globulin imported from Spain were not contaminated and that he was prepared to have himself and his family injected with them. The government claimed that the imported blood products contained antibodies against hepatitis C and HIV; however, two leading hematologists testified for the defense that the products were not contaminated. "Malaysia to Give HIV Tests to Students in Drug Abuse" Xinhua News Service (04/12/96) Malaysian students who are known to be drug addicts will be tested for HIV, Deputy Education Minister Fong Chan Onn said today. Onn said that all students would not be tested because drug addiction has been established as the main cause of HIV infection in the country. Some social groups wanted all students to be tested after the health ministry found 13 infected students. Students suspected of being drug addicts will have to take a urine test and then an HIV test if they are found to use drugs. Onn said that HIV-infected students would be allowed to continue their education but would be monitored by teachers and school officials. "AIDS Intervention Programs for Young African-Americans: Short-Term Efficacy Reported" Reuters (04/11/96) A community-based HIV prevention program in Maryland successfully increased condom use, but that result was found to be short-lived. An eight-week study, led by Bonita F. Stanton of the University of Maryland, divided 383 African-Americans between the ages of 9 and 15 into two groups. The group that received AIDS intervention reported reductions in high-risk behavior after six months but not after one year. Stanton concluded that stronger AIDS intervention programs are needed and should be targeted to young African-Americans. "Denver Needle Exchange Proposal Dropped" United Press International (04/08/96) A needle exchange program was recently removed from a list of suggestions by the Denver Human Services Planning Committee to the Colorado Legislature. The proposal was dropped after news that it angered some lawmakers. PEERS, a Denver-based HIV prevention group, hopes to work with the committee to restore the needle exchange, because other such programs have been slow to reduce the spread of HIV. "Acceptance of Isoniazid Preventive Therapy by Health Care Workers After Tuberculin Skin Test Conversion" Journal of the American Medical Association (04/03/96) Vol. 275, No. 13, P. 1013; Camins, Bernard C.; Bock, Naomi; Watkins, Dan L.; et al. While tuberculosis (TB) infection has long been a risk for health care workers, the resurgence of the disease in the last decade has increased that danger. A comprehensive, mandatory tuberculin skin test for health care workers is recommended as part of TB infection control measures. Workers who test positive to the skin test should be offered preventive therapy, which greatly reduces the risk of developing active TB. Previous studies have found very poor physician compliance with preventive therapy. Bernard C. Camins of Emory University School of Medicine and colleagues studied the acceptance of and adherence to preventive therapy of 125 health care workers at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. who tested positive to a tuberculin skin test between July 1992 and January 1994. All 125 workers had a chest x-ray, 98.4 percent saw a physician, and 84 percent began preventive therapy. Of those who started therapy, 66 percent completed at least six months of treatment. In addition, more of the physicians than the workers completed therapy, and the rate of completion in the physician group was significantly higher than previously reported. "The AIDS Ribbon Stamp" Advocate (04/02/96) No. 704, P. 12 The AIDS ribbon stamp was introduced in 1993 but was in circulation less than two years. Now some activists want to bring it back and keep it available for as long as AIDS is a problem. On March 1, Brent Nicholson Earle, president of the American Run for the End of AIDS, submitted 5,000 signatures to the U.S. Postal Service in support of the stamp. "At the very least, the government can provide a stamp to keep awareness alive," Earle said. The postal service considers public service stamps a single-time occurrence.