Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 09:37:53 +0500 From: gharaghs{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/gharaghs}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 01/24/96 AIDS Daily Summary January 24, 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Some Donors Have a Cause in Mind" "Red Cross Takes Aim at Inquiry Lawyers" "Gilead Sciences Announces Completion of European..." "Bio Fluorescent Technologies Expands Peruvian Trials for its Rapid Assay Tests for the Detection of the HIV 1/2 Viruses" "NeXstar Pharmaceuticals' AmBisome Receives First..." "Risk Factors for HIV-1 Seroconversion Among Young Men in Northern Thailand" "Texas, Mexico Health Officials Join Forces to Fight TB" "Indian Supreme Court Demands Cleaner Blood Supply" "Bob Gallo's New Weapon Against AIDS" "Book Review: Understanding HIV-Negative Gay Men" ************************************************************ "Some Donors Have a Cause in Mind" New York Times (01/24/96) P. B2; Jay, Sarah Many donors to the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund specify that their donation be used to help fight AIDS. Leslie Lane and Alan Vorchheimer said they wanted their $250 to be used for AIDS patients because they have had friends who died of AIDS, and hope to see more done to fight the disease. The Klein family of Manhattan wanted their $650 to go to homeless children and children with AIDS. The fund's total, currently $3.7 million, goes to help New Yorkers in a variety of ways. "Red Cross Takes Aim at Inquiry Lawyers" Toronto Globe and Mail (01/23/96) P. A1; Picard, Andre The Canadian Red Cross Society brought action last week against the judge and lawyers who led the public inquiry into the Canadian tainted blood tragedy. More than 1,200 hemophiliacs and transfusion recipients were infected with the AIDS virus as a result of the tainted blood. The group claimed in federal court that Justice Horace Krever did not have the authority to say that some individuals and groups could be singled out for blame. The Red Cross asserts that the notices of misconduct issued by the judge should be quashed, that the council that participated in the public hearings not be allowed to help Krever prepare his final report or make any findings of misconduct public. They also say the lawyers at the inquiry took a "prosecutorial and adversarial stance." If the judge is allowed to issue notices of misconduct, they say, they will "suffer injury and damage, including harm to their reputations." A lawyer for the group Canadian Hemophiliacs Infected with HIV-AIDS said the legal action was "appalling" and an attempt to "ensure that the public never knows the facts of this horrible scandal." "Gilead Sciences Announces Completion of European..." Healthwire (01/23/96) Gilead Sciences, Inc. reported on Tuesday that their application for authorization to market Vistide for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in AIDS patients has been accepted by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency. CMV retinitis is the most common viral opportunistic infection in AIDS patients, affecting about 95 percent of people with AIDS. The agency, which will coordinate review of the application, authorizes human therapeutic products for marketing in all member states of the European community. The application includes safety data from Phase I/II studies and an ongoing study of the drug in previously untreated patients with CMV retinitis that is being conducted by the Studies of the Ocular Complications of AIDS research group. These data were also used for a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing of Vistide for CMV retinitis in the U.S. The drug is now available in the U.S. and Canada free of charge through a treatment IND expanded access program for patients with relapsing CMV retinitis. "Bio Fluorescent Technologies Expands Peruvian Trials for its Rapid Assay Tests for the Detection of the HIV 1/2 Viruses" Business Wire (01/23/96) Bio Fluorescent Technologies Inc. announced on Tuesday that it is expanding the Peruvian trials of its seven-minute rapid assay test for HIV 1/2. The trials, originally set up to include the Peruvian navy department, will include the army and police departments. The current trials will fulfill the country's administrative requirements and qualify the product for purchase by the Armed Services of Peru. The company expects sales to double to 1.5 million units during 1996. These projections do not include over the counter sales or private sector sales. "NeXstar Pharmaceuticals' AmBisome Receives First..." Business Wire (01/23/96) NeXstar Pharmaceuticals announced on Tuesday that AmBisome has been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration as a primary therapy for systemic fungal infections with candida, aspergillus and cryptococcus, and for visceral leishmaniasis. This is the first time the drug has been approved as a primary therapy for treating life-threatening fungal infections. The company says it will seek similar approvals worldwide for the drug. "Risk Factors for HIV-1 Seroconversion Among Young Men in Northern Thailand" Journal of the American Medical Association (01/10/96) Vol.275, No.2, P. 122; Celentano, David D.; Nelson, Kenrad E.; Suprasert, Somboon; et. al. Celentano et al. conducted a study to determine the incidence of HIV-1 infection in northern Thailand and to identify behavioral and sociodemographic risk factors for seroconversion among young men. A total of 2,413 men aged 19 to 23 from northern Thailand, inducted into the Royal Thai Army and Air Force, were followed for two years, and evaluated by interview and serology every six months. Of the 1,932 participants that were seronegative at enrollment, 85 men seroconverted to HIV-1 over the observation period. Factors associated with seroconversion were frequency of visits to female prostitutes, sex with men, and incident sexually transmitted diseases. Condom use provided some protection against HIV, although not in multivariate analysis. The authors concluded that, to decrease HIV-infection in Thailand, programs to increase condom use by prostitutes are necessary, as are efforts to extend condom use to other partners. "Texas, Mexico Health Officials Join Forces to Fight TB" Nation's Health (01/96) Vol.26, No.1, P. 8 Texas and Mexico health officials signed an agreement in November to join forces to fight tuberculosis on both sides of the border. The agreement recognizes the problems of cross-border travel and controlling disease. The pact provides for training for health care workers, improving data collection and analysis and sharing laboratory services. Those who are found to have tuberculosis will be treated and tracked to confirm that they completed the treatment. "Indian Supreme Court Demands Cleaner Blood Supply" Lancet (01/13/96) Vol.347, No.8994, P. 114; Kumar, Sanjay In an attempt to ensure a safer blood supply in India, and lessen malpractice, malfunctioning and corruption in the nation's blood banking system, the Indian Supreme Court has told the government to create a National Council for Blood Transfusion. Justices advised the government to enact separate legislation for regulating the collection, processing, storage, distribution, and transportation of blood and the operation of blood banks. The order also called for all of India's blood banks to be licensed within a year. A quarter of them are currently unlicensed. Other provisions include ending the professional sale of blood within 2 years, verifying that trained drug inspectors check the banks, and allowing 100 percent exemption on income tax to people donating money to the banks. The court's directive came in response to a petition filed by Common Cause, a non-governmental organization, against the government agencies that deal with blood safety. Their petition was based on a Health Ministry report that revealed the poor condition of the nation's blood bank system. Among other things, most blood banks were not testing for transmissible infections. About 15 percent of the people known to have HIV in India are either blood donors or blood-product recipients. "Bob Gallo's New Weapon Against AIDS" Business Week (01/15/96) No.3458, P. 87; Carey, John Dr. Robert C. Gallo, who was being investigated for possible misconduct by the National Institutes of Health and the House Energy and Commerce Committee a few years ago, is now back on track--he will head a new Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, and his lab has recently identified natural HIV-fighting chemicals. This discovery will "open up a whole new avenue for thinking about how to control HIV," he says. Gallo's encouraging discovery is one of many during the past year, adding new information about the virus and drugs to be used against it. Gallo feels so confident about the developments that he predicts, "AIDS will be a clinically curable disease in the next 10 years." Last year, scientists proved that HIV starts attacking the body immediately, wearing down the immune system gradually, instead of remaining dormant for years, as was previously thought. This discovery led some researchers to begin thinking that bolstering the immune system might be more effective than anti-HIV drugs, to which the virus becomes resistant. Gallo's identification of chemokines, natural chemicals that suppress the virus, is a major step toward strengthening immunity. Now the race is on to learn how the chemicals work and to develop drugs to recreate their anti-HIV action in the body. "Book Review: Understanding HIV-Negative Gay Men" Focus (12/95) Vol.11, No.1, P. 3; Schochet, Rachel In a review of two books that examine the issues uninfected gay men face--"HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected are Affected by AIDS" and "In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS"--reviewer Rachel Schochet says the books "break the silence on seronegatives," finally giving some attention to this "vulnerable population." "HIV-Negative: How Uninfected Men are Affected by AIDS" is written by William Johnston, former member and leader of the Boston HIV-Negative Support Group. He inter-weaves the stories of 45 men he interviewed, addressing their concerns about HIV and their reactions to being HIV-negative. "In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS," by clinical psychologist Walt Odets, addresses the issues from a clinical perspective and examines the psychology of being HIV-negative. The book includes descriptions and interpretations of psychological symptoms in seronegative gay and bisexual men, including depression, mania, anxiety, hypochondriasis, and sexual dysfunction.