Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 09:48:57 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/22/96 AIDS Daily Summary August 22, 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 ****************************************************** "States Move to Ration Promising AIDS Drugs" "Blame Me for Blood Scandal, Begin Says" "Across the USA: Louisiana" "AIDS-Tainted Blood Probe in Japan" "Clinton Signs Bill to Give Portability in Insurance" "Neal Dickerson Dies at 38; AIDS Activist, TV Producer" "Am. Issues-Glance: Marijuana Use Debated" "Employee Can Sue Hospital for Disclosing He Had an AIDS Test" "A Randomized Trial of Clarithromycin as Prophylaxis Against Disseminated Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection in Patients With Advanced Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome" "Device Detects AIDS Virus Quickly" ****************************************************** "States Move to Ration Promising AIDS Drugs" Wall Street Journal (08/22/96) P. B1; McGinley, Laurie In response to the increased demand for protease inhibitors, state programs that provide AIDS drugs are being forced to limit the drugs they can provide, or reject new patients, to avoid running out of funds. The programs provide drugs at no charge to lower-income AIDS patients who are not privately insured, but are not poor enough for Medicaid. Two-thirds of the funding comes from the federal government, with the remaining third supplied by the states. Some states are dealing with the increased enrollment and demand for protease inhibitors by limiting the eligibility of new patients, or eliminating other AIDS drugs, while a few are charging small co-payments. Currently, 17 states do not provide protease inhibitors, angering AIDS patients who became hopeful about the much-heralded drugs. However, other states, Maryland and New York among them, are increasing their contributions to cover the deficit. Congress has approved an additional $52 million for the programs this year, and President Clinton has requested $65 million more for 1997. "Blame Me for Blood Scandal, Begin Says" Toronto Globe and Mail (08/21/96) P. A1; Picard, Andre Former Canadian health minister Monique Begin says her willingness to take the blame for the country's tainted-blood scandal is a matter of "personal morality and integrity" as well as a demonstration of "ministerial responsibility." Begin, who served as the minister of health and welfare from 1976 to 1984, accepted the blame in a letter to the Commission on Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada, writing that "politicians must definitely be accountable, and I am therefore prepared to join the 'named' people to answer the inquiries of your commission." The inquiry was awarded the legal right to make findings of wrongdoing against 17 people, including Red Cross employees and federal government officials, some of whom worked under Begin. The panel, however, was also prohibited from making allegations against 47 others, including former ministers of health and senior bureaucrats--Begin and her deputy ministers among them. "Across the USA: Louisiana" USA Today (08/22/96) P. 8A Most HIV services provided by Louisiana charity hospitals would be eliminated, along with emergency rooms in two hospitals and a cancer treatment center in another, under a plan to cut $31 million from the state's charity hospital budgets. "AIDS-Tainted Blood Probe in Japan" Washington Post (08/22/96) P. A28 The Japanese drug firm Green Cross has been raided by prosecutors, increasing the likelihood that the company's former president will face criminal charges over the sale of HIV-tainted blood products. Renzo Matsushita is charged with allowing tainted products to be sold even after U.S. researchers warned that unheated blood products could carry HIV and other infectious agents. The raid of Green Cross' headquarters marked the beginning of the first criminal investigation into why major drug companies continued to sell the dangerous products even after a safe alternative was made available in late 1985. "Clinton Signs Bill to Give Portability in Insurance" New York Times (08/22/96) P. B12; Purdum, Todd S. President Clinton signed the health insurance reform bill Wednesday, calling the legislation "a long step toward the kind of health care reform our nation needs." The bill allows workers to keep their health care coverage if they change or lose their jobs and prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage to people who have pre-existing conditions. Other provisions offer tax breaks for long-term care and for insurance paid for by self-employed workers. Clinton said he would like to see more changes, including more coverage for the unemployed and for mental health care. "Neal Dickerson Dies at 38; AIDS Activist, TV Producer" Washington Post (08/22/96) P. B4 Neal Dickerson, an AIDS activist and former television news producer who had AIDS, died Aug. 19 of complications related to cancer treatment. Dickerson served as editor of the AIDS Policy Newsletter and had also written a manual, "Pushing Public Policy," now used by the National Association of People with AIDS and other organizations. He also authored a series of books titled "The Politics of AIDS," which covered such issues as HIV testing, research, drug approval, long-term survival, and managed health care. "Am. Issues-Glance: Marijuana Use Debated" United Press International (08/21/96) Following the recent closing of a San Francisco club that provided marijuana for medicinal purposes to AIDS patients and others, the debate of legalization for such uses has resurged. In California, a ballot initiative to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana will be voted on in November, but law enforcement agencies and California Gov. Pete Wilson oppose the measure. "Employee Can Sue Hospital for Disclosing He Had an AIDS Test" Reuters (08/21/96) An Illinois hospital employee has won the right to sue his employer for disclosing the fact that he took an HIV test after possible on-the-job exposure to the virus. A state Appellate Court ruled that, because the hospital decided to treat the employee after he was exposed to contaminated blood, the employee should have been considered a patient. Consequently, that man had a right to confidentiality regarding his HIV test. "A Randomized Trial of Clarithromycin as Prophylaxis Against Disseminated Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection in Patients With Advanced Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome" New England Journal of Medicine (08/08/96) Vol. 335, No. 6, P. 384; Pierce, Mark; Crampton, Sheri; Henry, David; et al. Infection with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), the most common opportunistic infection in advanced AIDS patients, causes night sweats, fever, weight loss, and diarrhea, and can shorten survival. The only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating the infection is clarithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic. Dr. J. Carl Craft of Abbott Laboratories, and colleagues, tested the safety and efficacy of clarithromycin as a prophylactic treatment for MAC infection in 667 patients in the United States and Europe. The study was stopped after the first interim analysis revealed that only 6 percent of the patients taking the drug developed the infection, compared to 16 percent of those taking a placebo. During the 10-month follow-up period, 32 percent of the patients in the treatment group died, compared to 41 percent of those in the placebo group. The authors conclude that, in patients with advanced AIDS, prophylactic use of clarithromycin prevents MAC infection, reduces mortality, and is well tolerated. "Device Detects AIDS Virus Quickly" Nikkei Weekly (08/05/96) Vol. 34, No. 1734; P. 10 A new HIV testing device, developed by Nippon Roche KK, Olympus Optical, and Tosoh Corp., can detect the virus that causes AIDS more quickly than traditional antibody tests. The new test detects HIV's genetic material, rather than the antibodies produced in response to the infection which can take six to eight weeks to appear. The test is being studied for effectiveness at hospital and blood-supply centers associated with the Japanese Red Cross Society. The Ministry of Health and Welfare commissioned the $7.4 million project.