Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:50:23 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/26/96 AIDS Daily Summary August 26, 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 ****************************************************** "Morrison's Cavalier Attitude Worries Doctors" "Prostituted Children" "HUD Gives 9 States Housing Grants for AIDS Patients" "Health Journal" "Let's Give Animals Respect They Deserve" "Cure for AIDS and Cancer Hunted for in [Central American Jungle]" "UPI Science News: [Serostim Wins Approval]" "Resistance-Related HIV Mutations Seen With Long-Term Ritonavir" "Baltimore Tries Needle Drop Box" "America's Best Hospitals: AIDS" ****************************************************** "Morrison's Cavalier Attitude Worries Doctors" USA Today (08/26/96) P. 16C While former heavyweight fighter Tommy Morrison's positive attitude about living with HIV may be reassuring, HIV experts are concerned that he may be promoting carelessness. In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Morrison said he was not taking his prescribed medications and said the infection "doesn't seem like that big of a deal." Experts warn that, although progress has been made in treating the infection, HIV remains a lethal infection for most people. Morrison, who announced that he is HIV-positive in February, was married in May. He has received 18 movie scripts since his retirement, and has also found work as a boxing commentator. "Prostituted Children" New York Times (08/26/96) P. A14 The world's first international conference on the sexual exploitation of children, opening Tuesday in Stockholm, will help to raise awareness and to protect children, according to a New York Times editorial. Child prostitution continues to grow, in part due to the spread of HIV. Younger, healthier children are in higher demand, but are more susceptible to infection because their flesh tears more easily. The editors note that in Thailand and India, children are sold into the sex trade to help their families survive. Several countries are starting to crack down on child prostitution, especially as AIDS is making the cost of the sex industry more visible to governments. The editors suggest that child prostitution can be prevented by creating jobs in rural areas, keeping girls in school, and educating women about their rights. "HUD Gives 9 States Housing Grants for AIDS Patients" Washington Post (08/24/96) P. C1; Evans, Judith The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Friday that it will award grants totaling $7.84 million to agencies in nine states that offer housing aid to low-income people with AIDS. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will receive $976,800 under the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS Program (HOPWA). Other recipients include programs in West Hollywood, CA; Savannah, GA; Santa Fe, NM; Tucson, AZ; Burlington, VT; New York; Philadelphia; and Seattle. The HUD program was established in 1992 to help local and state governments, and nonprofit organizations provide housing aid and other support services to people with HIV or AIDS. "Health Journal" Wall Street Journal (08/26/96) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn The resurgence of heroin use among executives, stockbrokers, and doctors is not startling to David E. Smith, founder of the Haight-Asbury Free Medical Clinic. He says the trend is to be expected following the popular use of cocaine in the 1980s. Experts warn that although a myth persists that heroin is not as harmful as other addictive substances, skin abscesses, hepatitis B and C, HIV infection, and bacterial endocarditis can all result from heroin use. "Let's Give Animals Respect They Deserve" New York Times (08/26/96) P. A14; Rowe, Martin; MacDonald, Mia Animals should be treated with the same respect that we treat other humans, contend Martin Rowe and Mia MacDonald in a letter to the editor of the New York Times. In response to an Aug. 22 Op-ed piece that suggested that animals can suffer, think, plan, deceive, and cherish, the authors say that humans should consider how animals respond when people take their young, infect them with HIV, humiliate them for our entertainment, or otherwise treat them badly. Although science has not proved that animals have these feelings, the writers say, it has not disproven the theory either. "Cure for AIDS and Cancer Hunted for in [Central American Jungle]" Reuters (08/26/96); Majendie, Paul Herbologist Rosita Arvigo spent nine years in a Central American jungle hunting for plants that might provide a cure for AIDS and cancer. Supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute, Arvigo collected 3,000 plants, which are now being analyzed by U.S. scientists in Washington. "About 1,000 have been tested and 10 to 15 are showing hopeful promise in the early laboratory stages," Arvigo notes. She adds that less than 1 percent of the planet's 250,000 plants have been examined, yet they have already produced one-fourth of all prescription drugs. "UPI Science News: [Serostim Wins Approval]" United Press International (08/23/96) Serono Laboratories' Serostim (somatotropin), a human-growth hormone for the treatment of AIDS-wasting, was approved by the FDA on Friday. In clinical testing, the hormone bulked up patients by an average of 3.5 pounds. Nevertheless, under the terms of the accelerated approval, Serono must conduct additional trials to receive full market approval. The further testing will evaluate whether Serostim improves physical performance and whether further use confirms the positive results obtained thus far. "Resistance-Related HIV Mutations Seen With Long-Term Ritonavir" Reuters (08/23/96) Genetic mutations of HIV-1 that are linked to drug resistance appear to develop after a year of ritonavir therapy, researchers at the Rega Institute for Medical Research in Leuven, Belgium report. Jean-Claude Schmit and colleagues found that, in a study of seven HIV-infected patients treated with ritonavir for one year, almost all seven developed drug-resistant mutations in the HIV-1 protease gene. The researchers also found that genotypic and phenotypic data suggest the potential of cross-resistance to other protease inhibitors. "Baltimore Tries Needle Drop Box" American Medical News (08/12/96) Vol. 39, No. 30m, P. 32 New mailboxes in Baltimore designated as syringe depositories have proven beneficial to keeping used needles off the city's streets, officials report. The mailboxes appeared on four Baltimore street corners in July as an experimental way to deal with the problem of children and others getting stuck by discarded needles. People who use the boxes are protected from prosecution under the city's needle-exchange program exemption. About 600 needles, which are being analyzed for traces of HIV, have been collected so far. The $40,000, year-long research project is being evaluated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "America's Best Hospitals: AIDS" U.S. News & World Report (08/12/96) Vol. 121, No. 6, P. 67 U.S. News & World Report ranked America's hospitals in terms of AIDS care and concluded that San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center is the best. The hospital rated 100 points out of 100 on the U.S. News Index. In the No. 2 position is Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, with a 71.8 index. The list of the top five AIDS hospitals is rounded out by Massachusetts General Hospital, with a 59.4 rating; the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, with a 53.6 rating; and the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, which scored 51. The ratings take into account reputation, hospital-wide mortality, Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH) membership, available technology for AIDS, number of postdischarge services, and ratio of full-time registered nurses to beds. San Francisco General was the only hospital on the list that was not a member of COTH.