Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 15:34:06 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 02/20/96 AIDS Daily Summary February 20, 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 Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Jury Rejects Man's Claim that Dentist Gave Him HIV" "Combination Strategy Reinvigorates Search for AIDS Vaccine" "Global Warming Plague Looming? Wrong" "Lab Chimpanzee With AIDS Is Euthanized" "Model Soldier With HIV Assails Congress for Forcing Her Out" "Across the USA: Iowa/Nebraska" "Killing Not About AIDS, Police Say" "PM Target of Postcard Protest" "Overhauling AIDS Research: Views from the Community" "Beating the Odds" ************************************************************ "Jury Rejects Man's Claim that Dentist Gave Him HIV" Baltimore Sun (02/17/96) P. 2A In Northampton, Mass., a jury rejected a man's claim that he got HIV from his dentist. The jury found that the dentist, Anthony E. Breglio, was negligent in his treatment of the dental tools he used on the patient. They decided, though, that the negligence did not cause the patient's infection. Related Story: Los Angeles Times (02/18/96) P.A25 "Combination Strategy Reinvigorates Search for AIDS Vaccine" New York Times (02/20/96) P. C5; Altman, Lawrence K. Developing an AIDS vaccine has proven a particularly difficult task. About 20 experimental vaccines have been studied since 1987, but none have reached the third stage of testing. However, a new vaccine--a combination of two genetically engineered vaccines--has the potential to make it to the third stage. One of those two vaccines contains proteins from the surface of HIV, while the other contains a weakened form of the canarypox virus, which has also been used to develop an experimental rabies vaccine. A 1994 study of the canarypox vaccine was not allowed because a panel said additional data was needed. Now researchers have found that preliminary tests of the two vaccines tested in 1994 may have been flawed. At issue is a test to detect neutralizing antibodies, which are produced as a protective immunological reaction to a vaccine. The canarypox vaccine would be the first to be tested--perhaps as early as late 1997--under the new plan for greater cooperation between government and industry. "Global Warming Plague Looming? Wrong" USA Today (02/19/96) P. 11A; Snow, Tony In USA Today, columnist Tony Snow discusses Vice President Gore's recent warning that global warming will cause an increase in infectious diseases. Snow notes that the data Gore bases his opinion on--a series of papers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association--do not take into account certain factors that might lead to a perceived increase in the infectious disease rate. The measurement of AIDS cases, for instance, inflates the rate because such cases were not even measured prior in 1982. Snow contends that the real problem is not global warming, but slow action on the part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in approving new drugs, especially biotech-based drugs. "Lab Chimpanzee With AIDS Is Euthanized" New York Times (02/19/96) P. A12 The laboratory chimpanzee that developed AIDS was euthanized after researchers found that it could not be treated for the disease. Researchers at the Yerkes Primate Research Center announced just two weeks ago that the chimp was the first to develop AIDS. The center's director said the animal was terminally ill and that no new information would be gained by keeping it alive. In Defense of Animals, an animal rights group, agreed with the decision to euthanize, but criticized the use of chimpanzees in AIDS research. "Model Soldier With HIV Assails Congress for Forcing Her Out" Baltimore Sun (02/19/96) P. 6A Under the new defense appropriations bill, a 24-year old soldier who has been recognized for her excellent service and leadership potential will be forced out of the army in six months because of her HIV-positive status. "Jasmine" says she was infected through unprotected sex with a man with whom she no longer has contact. The woman is angry with Congress for forcing her discharge, because she says, she is still able to work and is not sick. She claims that the ban "is more crippling than the disease itself." The new law will provide HIV-infected service members with medical benefits but such personnel will lose any retirement benefits they have accumulated. President Clinton has said he will try to repeal the ban and has told the Justice Department not to defend the policy in court. "Across the USA: Iowa/Nebraska" USA Today (02/19/96) P. 8A In Iowa, state health officials have decided to end anonymous HIV testing, a move which AIDS activists say will keep people from getting tested. In Nebraska, meanwhile, the state Supreme Court has decided that a juvenile court judge had to return a boy to his foster mother, who has AIDS, and father, or tell the court why she will not. State officials want the foster child to be placed in another home. "Killing Not About AIDS, Police Say" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (02/15/96) P. A1; Bryan, Bill St. Louis police say a man accused of infecting others with HIV was killed for a drug-related motive rather than revenge for the infections. Robert Warren III had been accused of infecting three women with the virus, and was waiting for his trial when he was shot and killed Feb. 8 behind a known drug house. A suspect in the killing has been arrested. "PM Target of Postcard Protest" Toronto Globe and Mail (02/16/96) P. A4 In Canada, advocacy groups and people who were infected by tainted blood have targeted Prime Minister Jean Chretien for a postcard protest. They are calling for the Prime Minister to stop the legal challenges that are slowing the government's inquiry into the tragedy. The Canadian Hemophilia Society will launch a similar protest next month. The Canadian Red Cross, pharmaceutical companies, and others requested a judicial review of the inquiry after they were notified of potential findings of misconduct that could be levied against them in the final report. "Overhauling AIDS Research: Views from the Community" Science (02/02/96) Vol.271, No.5249, P. 590; Cohen, Jon An intensive review of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) $1.4 billion AIDS budget, which is being conducted by more than 100 scientists and AIDS activists, is expected to be released in March. Drafts of reports by the group's subpanels reveal that the evaluation will recommend more critical evaluation of whether clinical trials for new drugs and vaccines should be started; efforts to attract better scientists to AIDS research; and the elimination of spending out of the AIDS budget for research that is not directly related to AIDS. A panel which examined the NIH's studies on the cause of AIDS and the mechanism of HIV found that much of the research supported was "of dubious quality and relevance." The panel also found that some researchers did not cooperate with their colleagues on the use of resources. A panel reviewing vaccine research reported that more incentive was needed to interest the private sector and that too much money was going for irrelevant research. In addition, a panel reviewing AIDS clinical trials recommended the incorporation of all four current clinical trial networks into the AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Members of the review groups say they hope to issue a tough final report, which could influence the 1997 budget request. "Beating the Odds" U.S. News & World Report (02/12/96) Vol.120, No.6, P. 60; Brink, Susan The public's perception of HIV has changed dramatically since 1991, when Earvin "Magic" Johnson retired from professional basketball after learning he had HIV. Fear of AIDS was widespread, and in 1992 when Johnson tried to return to the sport he was criticized and rejected. Now he has been welcomed back to the sport and applauded by the American public for returning. Increased medical knowledge and public education of HIV and AIDS have improved the public's acceptance of people with the virus. People with the virus are living longer, thanks to new drugs, and society has learned that the virus cannot be transmitted through casual contact, dispelling fears about interacting with people with HIV. AIDS has also increasingly infiltrated class, race and gender barriers, thereby dissolving stereotypes about the disease. The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act protects those with HIV from discrimination. Doctors and researchers have learned that most people with the virus develop symptoms of AIDS after seven to nine years, but that some do not for 10 years or more. Scientists have also found that the amount of virus in a patient's blood is a good predictor of their future health. Overall, the public's attitude toward people with HIV and AIDS has improved, something that is evident from polls, trends in the media, and politics.