Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 10:37:24 -0400 From: "Sarah Araghi" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 7/23/96 AIDS Daily Summary July 23, 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 ****************************************************** "Liz Taylor on AIDS: Battle Far From Won" "Zimbabwe Lifts Ban on Gay Group at Fair" "Across the USA: Rhode Island" "Number of AIDS Cases Doubles in Russia" "Thai Government Unveils New Anti-AIDS Plan" "Anti-HIV Agent Delavirdine Promising in Phase I/II Study" "Namibia Urged to Widen AIDS Control Program" "President Clinton and the First Lady to Serve as Honorary Co-Chairs for the Display of the Entire AIDS Memorial Quilt This Fall" "HIV as the Cause of AIDS" "Pataki's AIDS Drug Ruse" ****************************************************** "Liz Taylor on AIDS: Battle Far From Won" Washington Post--Health (07/23/96) P. 6; Trafford, Abigail In her speech to the National Press Club Monday, Elizabeth Taylor, a long-time AIDS activist who helped found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), warned against complacency in the fight against AIDS. Like many AIDS researchers, she said that the recent advances in treatment should not be perceived as a cure. The cost of the new drugs is a critical issue for access, Taylor pointed out, saying that "the most promising treatments will be least available to those who need them." Prevention strategies should not be overlooked because therapies are improving. "People don't think it could happen to them," Taylor said, especially teenagers who think of abstinence as a "remote idea." Taylor also criticized President William Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole for their views and actions on AIDS. Specifically, she pointed to the ban against needle exchanges, saying that "misunderstanding, social squeamishness and lack of compassion have prevailed over sensible public health practice." "Zimbabwe Lifts Ban on Gay Group at Fair" New York Times (07/23/96) P. A8 A homosexual group will be allowed to participate in an international book fair, the Zimbabwe government said Monday, reversing a ban it made last year. The organizers of the state-supported Zimbabwe International Book Fair have given the Gays and Lesbians Society of Zimbabwe permission to display literature, mostly on AIDS, at the week-long fair which starts on July 29. "Across the USA: Rhode Island" USA Today (07/23/96) P. 8A The first clinical trials of SPC-3, a drug designed to block HIV infection, will be conducted at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, R.I. "Number of AIDS Cases Doubles in Russia" United Press International (07/22/96) The number of new HIV infections in Russia during the first half of 1996 was twice the number for the same period of 1995, the head of the Russian AIDS Center said Monday. Vadim Pokrovski said the number of AIDS cases in Russia for 1996 would at least double last year's total, and that it could reach 100,000 by 2000. By the end of 1995, 1,269 people were infected with HIV, mostly as a result of intravenous drug use. In the former Soviet Republics, the number of infections is much higher, Pokrovski said. "Thai Government Unveils New Anti-AIDS Plan" Xinhua News Agency (07/23/96) On Monday, the Thai government announced a new five-year plan to combat the spread of AIDS by promoting family values and awareness of self-protection. Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-Archa unveiled the 1997-2001 National AIDS Prevention and Control Plan, which calls for higher social status for women and efforts to educate people about preventing HIV infection. The plan stresses community and family roles to help HIV-positive and AIDS patients. "Anti-HIV Agent Delavirdine Promising in Phase I/II Study" Reuters (07/22/96) Delavirdine mesylate (DLV), a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is apparently safe and well-tolerated even at high doses, government and industry researchers report in the July issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. R.T. Davey, Jr., of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and colleagues at Chiron and Upjohn, reported that DLV was safe and well-tolerated in the phase I/II study. Among the 85 HIV-positive patients participating in the study, those taking DLV, zidovudine, and didanosine benefited most. "Namibia Urged to Widen AIDS Control Program" Xinhua News Agency (07/22/96) The Namibian government needs to expand its national HIV/AIDS control program (NACP) to deal with the growing number of HIV cases in the country, an independent review advised. The review panel included members from national and international organizations and other specialists. They said the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the NACP are no longer able to cope with the growing epidemic, and that individuals and organizations in the government, and non-governmental and private groups must be called on to help. An estimated 21,737 HIV infections have been reported in Namibia since 1986. "HIV as the Cause of AIDS" Lancet (07/06/96) Vol. 348, No. 9019; P. 31; Barre-Sinoussi, Francoise In an essay on the structure and mechanism of HIV compared to other primate lentiviruses, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi of the Pasteur Institute in Paris suggests that the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) may be a valuable model for studying HIV and AIDS. HIV shows extensive genetic diversity, even within patients, and the evolution of virus isolates increases with their ability to infect cells as the clinical disease progresses. This ability allows HIV-1 to quickly develop resistance to antiviral drugs. Genetic analysis has found two distinct groups of HIV-1 isolates--the M group and the O group. The M group, which contains most HIV-1 isolates, is subdivided into at least 10 strains. The discovery of HIV-1 in West Africa and its similarity to SIV has raised the possibility of a link between human and non-human primate lentiviruses. The divergence between HIV-1 group M subtypes and SIV suggests that chimpanzee viruses may have been introduced into the human population 30 to 50 years ago. The origin of HIV-1 group O remains to be explained, however. SIVs, while genetically similar to HIVs, do not cause disease in their natural hosts, though cross-species transmission may result in pathogenic infections. Barre-Sinoussi concludes that non-human lentiviruses from Old World primates can provide useful models for studying the interaction between the human host and viral factors that cause AIDS. "Pataki's AIDS Drug Ruse" Village Voice (07/09/96) Vol. XLI, No. 28; P. 11; Schoofs, Mark Although New York Gov. George Pataki promised that the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program would cover the costly new protease inhibitors, his plan would exclude 129--or 70 percent--of the drugs currently available. Pataki's proposal would remove drugs for diarrhea, parasites, bacterial infections, life-threatening blood disorders, and AIDS-related wasting from the program. Advocates for AIDS patients are lobbying the state to restore coverage for the drugs. The state Assembly has pledged to allocate $15 million, which would cover the drugs, and the Senate has promised $4 million, while the governor has not promised any additional funds.