Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 10:05:27 +0500 From: gharaghs{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/gharaghs}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 01/29/96 AIDS Daily Summary January 29, 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 ************************************************************ "Ethiopian Jews in Israeli Melee over AIDS Fear" "AIDS Discharge Clause Under Fire From Critics" "Lottery Emphasizes Dicey Nature of AIDS Treatment" "AIDS Spreading Among Aboriginals" "Blood Scandal Without End" "AIDS Pioneer Says Vaccine Still a Long Way Off" "Gilead Sciences Announces Further Results Indicating Vistide Delays Time to Disease Progression in Patients With Relapsing CMV Retinitis" "Saliva Diagnostic Systems Signs China Distributor for HIV Tests" "The Emerging Genetic Diversity of HIV" "Book Review: Coming to Terms with HIV" ************************************************************ "Ethiopian Jews in Israeli Melee over AIDS Fear" New York Times (01/29/96) P. A1; Schmemann, Serge About 10,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel demonstrated outside the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday, protesting the recently-reported finding that blood they donated was discarded out of fear that it was contaminated with HIV. Police used water cannon and tear gas on the protesters, which further infuriated the crowd, spurring a riot. Several police officers were seriously injured. The news of the blood-dumping came last week and angered the Ethiopians who say the policy is racist. "Obviously this matter with the blood gets to the root of race, and whether Ethiopian Jews feel truly accepted here in Israel," said Micha Odenheimer, an American-born Israeli who directs the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews. Related Stories: Washington Post (01/29/96) P.A10; Wall Street Journal (01/29/96) P.A1 "AIDS Discharge Clause Under Fire From Critics" USA Today (01/29/96) P. 4A AIDS advocacy groups are criticizing a recently-passed bill which calls for military service members with HIV to be discharged. Aides to President Clinton said he would sign the 1996 Defense authorization bill, which was passed by Congress on Friday, because it includes provisions he supports. White House spokesperson Mike McCurry said the administration will work closely with legislators who oppose the provision "to pursue legislation that would reverse this policy" before it takes effect in six months. "Lottery Emphasizes Dicey Nature of AIDS Treatment" Philadelphia Inquirer (01/29/96) P. A4; Otto, Mary Abbott Laboratories is currently holding a lottery, a computer-run drawing, to choose 2,000 AIDS patients to take a promising new drug for free before it is on the market. Although clinical trials for the protease inhibitor ritonavir have been completed, the company is still awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval to market the drug. The agency allows the company to offer the limited amount of the drug in the lottery because of the urgent need for AIDS treatment. "AIDS Spreading Among Aboriginals" Toronto Globe and Mail (01/25/96) P. A4 AIDS cases among Canadian aboriginal people have increased six times over since 1990, climbing to 153 in 1995 from 24, a new study shows. Health officials say testing in remote communities is uncommon, and note that the actual numbers are probably much higher. In Canada overall, there are about 3,000 cases of HIV infection each year. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples says that ignorance among aboriginals about AIDS will probably remain because there is no organized campaign by Ottawa and aboriginal organizations. "Blood Scandal Without End" Toronto Globe and Mail (01/25/96) P. A18 In the Toronto Globe and Mail, the editors observe that recent court claims are slowing the inquiry by the Canadian government into the tainted blood tragedy and that the answers should be found quickly so problems can be corrected. The inquiry has been stalled by court claims from the Red Cross and others, who claim that the judge, Justice Horace Krever, went beyond his authority in finding misconduct. The editors state that the Krever inquiry should follow the directive of the Canadian Supreme Court, which said that the governments "should be given ample room within their constitutional competence to establish public inquiries aimed at investigating, studying and recommending charges for the better government of citizens." "AIDS Pioneer Says Vaccine Still a Long Way Off" Reuters (01/27/96); Grant, Laurens According to Luc Montagnier, the French doctor credited with isolating the virus that causes AIDS, treatment for AIDS patients will improve in the next several years, but the development of a safe vaccine against HIV is still a long way off. Montagnier predicts advanced AIDS treatments by about the turn of the century, but warns that many drug companies are foregoing research on AIDS vaccines since "it would take a lot of money and time to design" and not everyone is convinced the cure will be a vaccine. Montagnier also notes that many experts believe treatment in the early stages of the infection with drugs such as AZT is the best way of combating AIDS. Furthermore, he warns that not enough is being done to promote safe-sex education. "Gilead Sciences Announces Further Results Indicating Vistide Delays Time to Disease Progression in Patients With Relapsing CMV Retinitis" Business Wire (01/28/96) Gilead Sciences Inc. announced on Sunday that interim data from an ongoing clinical trial suggests that Vistide (cidofovir intravenous) is effective in delaying the progression of CMV retinitis in AIDS patients. Patients participating in the trial had previously received a median of four courses of other treatments approved for CMV retinitis and had either proved intolerant to the previous therapies or had experienced disease progression despite treatment. The administration of Vistide was associated with median times to progression of 115 days in the group receiving a 5mg/kg dose and 49 days for those patients receiving a 3mg/kg dose. The data were presented by Jacob Lalezari--co-director of HIV Clinical Research at the Mt. Zion Medical Center, University of California at San Francisco--at the Critical Issues in Research Symposia sponsored by the American Foundation for [AIDS] Research. "Saliva Diagnostic Systems Signs China Distributor for HIV Tests" Business Wire (01/26/96) Saliva Diagnostic Systems Inc. has signed a contract with China's largest importer of HIV tests. Beijing Huayi Biotechnology Co. Ltd. will assemble and distribute the test, called Sero-Strip HIV 1/2, to government agencies and the private sector in China, after regulatory approval is obtained there. The contract includes an order for at least 1 million units, beginning in February. "The Emerging Genetic Diversity of HIV" Journal of the American Medical Association (01/17/96) Vol.275, No.3, P. 210; Hu, Dale J.; Dondero, Timothy J.; Rayfield, Mark A.; et. al. Hu et al. studied the implications of the rapid mutation and genetic diversity of HIV and emphasize the need to expand systematic surveillance, along with laboratory science and applied research to detect these variants. The recent discovery that some divergent HIV-1 strains are not reliably detected by current tests has focused the need for effective monitoring of HIV variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently studying large collections of blood samples from the United States for subtypes other than the well-known HIV-1 subtype B. HIV-2 and other HIV-1 subtypes are present, indicating that multiple introductions of HIV to North America have occurred. Organizations around the world are involved in collaborations to monitor the virus. The authors say that "the potential for difficult-to-detect divergent HIV strains to have entered and to continue to enter human populations remains a major public health concern." They advocate evaluating the sensitivity of current tests to divergent strains and subtypes, and say that routine screening tests "remain an essential first step in surveillance." A monitoring network, they say, is important to identifying research needs and serves as a base for research. "Book Review: Coming to Terms with HIV" Focus (12/95) Vol.11, No.1, P. 6; Benson, J.D. Book reviewer J.D. Benson says "People with HIV and Those Who Help Them," by Dennis Shelby presents an "intriguing schema of HIV-related psychological responses, adjustments, and resolutions." But, he says, it is not a satisfying book to read because it "reads too much like a choppy doctoral dissertation." The book traces the psychological stages of development that gay men pass through after diagnosis. The reviewer says the author's perceived audience is too broad, encompassing HIV patients, their friends and family, and care-givers. He suggests that the book would be helpful to a mental health provider new to HIV.