Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996 10:03:07 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/05/96 AIDS Daily Summary August 5, 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 ****************************************************** "Groups Unite on New AIDS Drug Therapies" "Progress on AIDS Intensifies the Battle to Make Insurers Reveal Medical Data" "States Run Low on AIDS Funds" "Breakthrough for HIV-Positive Babies" "In Search of A Cure--and A New Image" "Agents Crack Down on Marijuana Buying Club" "TB Returns With A Vengeance" "AIDS Ride Fund-Raisers Shift Into High Gear in Third Year" "Foreign HIV Surfaces in the Bronx" "Difficulties and Strategies of HIV Diagnosis" ****************************************************** "Groups Unite on New AIDS Drug Therapies" Wall Street Journal (08/05/96) P. B3; Waldholz, Michael A group of representatives from 40 organizations, including the White House, government health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, research centers, private and government health insurers, and patient-advocacy groups, have formed a coalition to organize research to help clear the confusion surrounding the use of new AIDS drugs. Linda Distlerath, an official at Merck, said the group will try to "facilitate and coordinate" several clinical trials in the next few years. The group's goal is to determine which drug combinations are most effective, at what point therapy should begin, and what can be done to avoid the development of drug resistance. The group, to be called the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, has met five times and announced the partnership on Friday after a meeting with Vice President Gore. "Progress on AIDS Intensifies the Battle to Make Insurers Reveal Medical Data" Wall Street Journal (08/05/96) P. A7A; Scism, Leslie Some large life and health insurance companies do not reveal the results of tests to applicants, a practice that takes on special significance for HIV tests. Jody Deramus of Vienna, Va., has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Jackson National Life Insurance Co., a unit of Prudential, charging that the company failed to notify her husband that he had tested positive for HIV. Mr. Deramus had applied to increase his life insurance coverage in 1988 and was refused additional coverage but not told why. Moreover, when he became ill, HIV was not suspected, and the couple only learned that Deramus was infected in October 1989. Jackson National revealed its test results days before Deramus died in June 1991. In addition to her other claims, Mrs. Deramus charges that the company exposed her to harm by not warning her of her husband's condition. She has not tested positive for the virus. The company holds that it acted within the law and that informing the patient would not have prolonged his life. "States Run Low on AIDS Funds" Washington Times (08/05/96) P. A8 As states are already facing shortages in funds that provide AIDS drugs to their poor residents, many are cutting the share of drugs they can afford to offer each patient. Still more cuts are pending as more patients seek treatment because of promising new drugs. Washington has become the latest state to cut its AIDS drug assistance program to avoid bankruptcy. The program was shut down temporarily after a 76 percent increase in AIDS patients between January and June. The programs, which supply drugs for patients who are uninsured or who do not qualify for Medicaid, are in danger largely because of costly new protease inhibitors that are powerful, but must be taken on a strict regimen. "Breakthrough for HIV-Positive Babies" Washington Post (08/05/96) P. A19; Hentoff, Nat In a Washington Post commentary, Nat Hentoff applauds the New York law passed in June that requires the HIV testing of all newborns and the disclosure of the results to the mothers. Hentoff points out that while some mothers in New York complained for years that they should have been informed that their children were infected with HIV, the state's confidentiality law prevented such disclosure. Nettie Mayersohn, a New York state assemblywoman, sponsored the bill and fought for three years to get it passed. Hentoff notes that she was opposed by the National Organization of Women, gay groups, AIDS activists, some medical organizations, and the American Civil Liberties Union. The groups argued that mandatory testing is a violation of privacy, and that counseling and voluntary testing is a better method. After the New York law passed, Hentoff further notes, the American Medical Association announced their support for mandatory testing of all newborns and pregnant women. "In Search of A Cure--and A New Image" Washington Post--Washington Business (08/05/96) P. 5; Day, Kathleen While early tests of an AIDS vaccine being developed by Cel-Sci, a small biotechnology company in Alexandria, Va., are promising, Wall Street analysts have raised doubts about the company. Jim McCamant, associate editor of Medical Technology Stock Letter, says Cel-Sci's promotion of the vaccine has been very positive, even though their research has been slow and inconclusive. In addition, Angus MacDonald, a biotech analyst with Fahnestock & Co., criticized the company for conducting research on the vaccine without approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Cel-Sci CEO Geert Kersten admits that while the company has some problems, it will ultimately win the confidence of investors. "Agents Crack Down on Marijuana Buying Club" New York Times (08/05/96) P. A8; Golden, Tim California drug agents raided the largest above-board marijuana provider in the country Sunday, after tolerating the operation for more than two years. Activists say the Cannabis Buyers' Club of San Francisco provides marijuana to thousands of people seeking relief from illnesses like AIDS and cancer. The operation was not closed down immediately, but more than 40 pounds of marijuana was seized and will probably be used to arrest people, officials said. Organizers of the club objected to the crackdown, arguing that it would hurt AIDS and cancer patients. "TB Returns With A Vengeance" Washington Post (08/03/96) P. A18 Last year, almost 3 million people died of tuberculosis, a figure greater than that reported during the worst years of the epidemic around 1900, the World Health Organization said. Nearly 15 million people have the disease today, and 50 million are expected to be afflicted worldwide during the last decade of this century. WHO predicts that 17.9 million cases will occur in South and Southeast Asia, 10.4 million in East Asia, and 9.2 million in sub-Saharan Africa. "AIDS Ride Fund-Raisers Shift Into High Gear in Third Year" Los Angeles Times (08/04/96) P. B1; Sancetta, Amy Dan Pallotta, the creator and producer of the American AIDS Rides, says the five rides this year will raise $23 million. The rides, which will involve 11,000 riders and thousands of volunteers, will benefit 28 AIDS organizations across the country. Moreover, the riders bond on the challenging courses and share the commitment to helping AIDS patients. Pallotta has helped raise $27.8 million since the first ride in 1994. "Foreign HIV Surfaces in the Bronx" Science News (07/20/96) Vol. 150, No. 3, P. 40; Sternberg, Steve In a surprising and disturbing find, AIDS researchers have identified rare strains of HIV in long-time Bronx, N.Y., residents. At Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, 828 people who visited the facility participated in voluntary HIV testing and counseling. Of the 43 people found to be HIV-positive, 35 were infected with subtype B, the most common strain in North America. Eight had geno types of HIV-1, including subtypes A, C, and a Thai strain of type B, never before found in people living in the United States. Kathleen Irwin, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the diversity of the strains was "far greater" than researchers had expected to find in the United States. The Bronx is a common destination for immigrants from countries where HIV is more common. Intravenous drug use and high-risk heterosexual sex are also common in the area. The discovery could have implications for vaccine development, because although researchers are now focusing on a vaccine for the B strain of HIV, the newly identified cases could spur research for a vaccine to protect against strains previously thought to exist only in developing countries. "Difficulties and Strategies of HIV Diagnosis" Lancet (07/20/96) Vol. 348, No. 9021, P. 176; Gurtler, Lutz In a review of current HIV testing methods, Lutz Gurtler, of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on AIDS, describes the strengths and weaknesses of existing testing technologies. Antibodies to HIV are diagnosed initially by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and agglutination assays and confirmed by either Western Blot or more specific tests like competitive ELISA. Nucleic-acid-based tests and p24-antigen tests, meanwhile, detect the virus itself. Such tests are used for HIV detection in newborn infants, characterization of individual strains for subtyping and forensic identification, and therapeutic monitoring. Moreover, nucleic-acid-based assays can detect HIV in a shorter time period after infection than tests for antibodies, which are not detectable until six to eight weeks after infection. When quantified, nucleic acid tests can also indicate clinical status. The limits of existing HIV tests are recognized when new strains are identified. New assays are needed to detect all HIV strains, Gurtler concludes, to reduce the risk of transmission and to make diagnosis more reliable.