Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1996 10:16:31 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 06/21/96 AIDS Daily Summary June 21, 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 ****************************************************** "Slovenian Man Said to Get HIV From Human Bite" "Protesters Block Entrance to Rally" "Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Roche Sign Agreement to Develop Cancer Drugs" "Baltimorean Lives With HIV, Strives to Save Others From It" "Key Molecule That Lets HIV Enter Cells Found" "South Carolina Will Permit Anonymous HIV Home Testing" "Court Rules That Lawsuit Against Baxter May Proceed" "Immunosuppression: Major Predictor of Mortality in AIDS Patients With TB" "Perinatal Intervention Trial in Africa: Effect of a Birth Canal Cleansing Intervention to Prevent HIV Transmission" "Catalog Targets AIDS-Sensitive Consumers" ****************************************************** "Slovenian Man Said to Get HIV From Human Bite" Baltimore Sun (06/21/96) P. 13A In the first such documented case, a Slovenian man became infected with HIV after his neighbor bit him, doctors said Thursday. Ludvik Vidmar and colleagues at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Ljubljana report that the incident occurred when a 47-year-old HIV-infected homosexual sought help from his neighbor when he had a seizure. The 53-year-old neighbor, who did not know the man had HIV, became infected when he put his hand in the man's mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue. "Protesters Block Entrance to Rally" Washington Times (06/21/96) P. C8 Jeff Getty, who received a baboon bone marrow transplant last year as an experimental treatment for AIDS, was arrested with eight other demonstrators for blocking traffic at an animal rights rally on Thursday. About 25 demonstrators from the AIDS activist group ACT-UP had been blocking the entrance to the USAir Arena, but they were all released after paying a $15 fine. The AIDS activists, who argued that animal research is critical for medical progress, were protesting the animal rights groups' annual attempts to lobby Congress for stronger laws protecting animals used in scientific research. "Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Roche Sign Agreement to Develop Cancer Drugs" Wall Street Journal (06/21/96) P. B7; Rundle, Rhonda L. Agouron Pharmaceuticals said that it had entered a deal with Roche Holding in which Roche would pay Agouron between $150 million and $250 million over the next several years in exchange for a share of profits from anticancer drugs developed by Agouron. The two drugs covered in the pact, Thymitaq and AG3340, have combined sales potential of more than $500 million, said Jim McCamant, editor of the Medical Technology Stock Newsletter. McCamant said he was surprised that Roche was selected over Bristol-Myers Squibb, the world leader in cancer drugs and a developer of AIDS drugs. Agouron is pushing its own AIDS drug through human trials and is testing it in combination with a Bristol-Myers drug. "Baltimorean Lives With HIV, Strives to Save Others From It" Baltimore Sun (06/21/96) P. 1E; Thompson, M. Dion Laurie Purdy, a 31-year-old woman from Baltimore, Md., said she surprises people when she shows up to speak about AIDS. She has been HIV-positive for six years, and for the past four years she has spread the message of HIV awareness to high school and college students and professional and amateur athletes. Tonight she will be featured with five other HIV-positive women on Lifetime television's "Late Date with Sari." The show, part of the fourth annual "Day of Compassion" effort to increase AIDS awareness, airs from 11 p.m. to midnight. The women discuss their experiences regarding their HIV diagnosis, discrimination, and the virus has changed their lives. They also stress the need for education. "Key Molecule That Lets HIV Enter Cells Found" Los Angeles Times (06/20/96) P. A1; Maugh, Thomas H. II Researchers have identified a co-factor essential to HIV's ability to invade the body, opening new avenues for treatment and helping to explain why some individuals are more resistant to the virus. The co-factor, CKR5, seems to be more important than fusin, a co-factor identified last month, because it plays a part in the majority of HIV infections. Researchers discovered last year that certain chemicals called chemokines could block HIV's entry into the human white blood cells. This led to the search for the chemokine receptors, one of which is CKR5. Researchers believe the different chemokine receptors may be specific to the various strains of HIV. CKR5 is thought to be the receptor for the kind of HIV that is most prevalent in the United States. Increasing a person's level of the chemical could help protect them from an HIV infection, or drugs could be designed to bind with the chemical, possibly preventing the virus' entry. "South Carolina Will Permit Anonymous HIV Home Testing" Reuters (06/20/96) The governor of South Carolina has signed a law to allow the anonymous use of a home HIV-antibody test, bypassing the state policy that all positive HIV tests be reported. Besides South Carolina, 29 other states have a mandatory reporting law. Laboratories that perform the tests will still be required to report the results to the state but may not provide any identifying information. "Court Rules That Lawsuit Against Baxter May Proceed" United Press International (06/20/96) A lawsuit filed by Zurich Insurance Co. against Baxter International may proceed, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The case involves a Baxter drug that allegedly transmitted HIV to more than 8,000 hemophiliacs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Zurich Insurance, which provided coverage for the drug maker, says it should not be responsible for covering Baxter's costs for defending, or settling, claims made by the hemophiliacs and their families who have sued the firm. The cost of settling claims in the case has been estimated to be about $128 million for Baxter. "Immunosuppression: Major Predictor of Mortality in AIDS Patients With TB" Reuters (06/20/96) While HIV-infected patients who are co-infected with tuberculosis (TB) respond well to antituberculosis therapy, their overall survival is poor, researchers at Case Western Reserve University report. Survival seems to be determined largely by the degree of immunosuppression, resulting from either HIV or the impact of TB on HIV, Christopher Whalen and colleagues reported. The results are based on data from 191 HIV-positive adults treated at a TB treatment center in Kampala, Uganda. During the six-month follow-up, 43 percent of the patients died. Whalen said that preventing active disease and aggressively treating HIV infection during TB treatment may improve survival for HIV-infected patients with TB. "Perinatal Intervention Trial in Africa: Effect of a Birth Canal Cleansing Intervention to Prevent HIV Transmission" Lancet (06/15/96) Vol. 347, No. 9016, P. 1647; Biggar, Robert J.; Miotti, Paolo G.; Taha, Taha E.; et al. The prevalence of HIV infection in African women and the rate of transmission from mother to infant requires a safe, low-cost mode of HIV transmission prevention. Treating pregnant women and newborns with zidovudine can reduce the rate of transmission, but drug therapy is impractical in most of the world. Many experts believe the virus is transmitted during delivery, through birth canal exposure. Antiseptic cleansing of the birth canal was considered as a method to reduce transmission. The National Cancer Institute's Robert J. Biggar and other researchers conducted a clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of this method. The trial, held at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi, involved 3,327 infants of mothers who did not receive the intervention and 3,637 who did. The researchers report that, while the intervention had no adverse affect, it also had no significant impact on HIV infection rates. They conclude that if birth canal exposure is a risk factor, other methods for reducing risk should be tested. "Catalog Targets AIDS-Sensitive Consumers" DM News (06/10/96) Vol. 18, No. 22; P. 4; Emerson, Jim The National Catalog Foundation (NCF) is using mailing lists provided by nonprofit groups to reach potential customers for its National AIDS Awareness Catalog. In return, the groups receive a portion of the sales generated by the catalog. The products include clothing, books, and general merchandise with and without rainbows, the symbol of gay unity, and red ribbons, the symbol of support of AIDS research. NCF President Jeffrey Zeidman says the products are attractive to customers because the proceeds benefit AIDS organizations. The catalog, issued three times a year, is two years old, and Zeidman plans to more than double circulation to at least 750,000. Over the last two years, about $60,000 was donated to AIDS organizations, including the Research Initiative on AIDS and the Gay Men's Health Crisis.