Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 22:41:30 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 05/02/96 AIDS Daily Summary May 2, 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 ************************************************************ "Reaching Out to the Community" "AIDS Testing Compromise Is Reached" "HHS to Assume D.C. Purse Strings" "Pioneering AIDS Agency Making Comeback" "Moving Forward, With Hope" "Bill Requiring HIV Test for Boxers Clears House" "Bill Could OK Court-Ordered Testing" "PCR Analysis of Limited Value for Diagnosis of HIV Infection" "AIDS Advisers Disagree Over Events in HIV Blood Scandal" "Protease Inhibitors: Ritonavir and Saquinavir Combination Trial Recruiting--Seven U.S., Canada Sites Including San Francisco" ************************************************************ "Reaching Out to the Community" CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse (05/02/96) The CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse announces the opening of its Community Outreach and Training Center (COTC) in Washington, DC. The COTC provides a setting for people and organizations working in prevention, health care, research and support to access a variety of HIV/AIDS information resources and receive training in accessing information. An open house is being held today at the COTC from 3:00 until 6:00 p.m. The COTC is located at 1931 13th St. NW in Washington, DC, in the National Minority AIDS Council building. The phone number is (202) 884-0164. "AIDS Testing Compromise Is Reached" Washington Post (05/02/96) P. A9; Dewar, Helen House and Senate leaders agreed Wednesday to a plan to encourage pregnant women to be tested for HIV and to require testing of newborns if the voluntary effort fails. Tests of newborns would be required by 2000 for states that have not successfully implemented testing of pregnant women or succeeded in cutting down the number of children born with HIV. The agreement broke a stalemate over a House-approved plan to require testing of newborns that delayed the five-year reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE program, which provides AIDS treatment and support funding. Senators supported voluntary testing of mothers, which can prevent transmission of HIV to the children, rather than mandatory testing of infants. Under the new agreement, which still must be approved by both houses, $10 million will be provided annually to help states implement Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines related to voluntary HIV testing, counseling, and treatment of pregnant women. The House overwhelmingly approved the compromise measure late on Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to act on it soon. Related Stories: New York Times (05/02) P. B9; Washington Times (05/02) P. A10 "HHS to Assume D.C. Purse Strings" Washington Times (05/02/96) P. C3; Nevans, Lisa The federal government will take over paying providers of AIDS care in Washington, D.C., rather than giving the money to the city for the services. Although Mayor Marion Barry opposes the plan, it is supported by the city's independent Chief Financial Officer Anthony Williams, who said the plan will allow the providers to be paid more quickly, thereby facilitating urgent care. Williams added that the plan is not a threat to the city's independence. "Pioneering AIDS Agency Making Comeback" Philadelphia Inquirer (05/02/96) P. B2; Collins, Huntly The first AIDS agency in the nation to work in the African American community, known as BEBASHI, for Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues, is paying off its debts and has hired a new executive director, three years after going bankrupt. The Philadelphia Health Department showed its confidence in the agency by contributing $710,969 for the fiscal year. BEBASHI's goal of preventing the spread of AIDS in the African American population is seen as especially important in Philadelphia, where the majority of AIDS cases are among blacks. "Moving Forward, With Hope" New York Times (05/02/96) P. C1; Weinraub, Bernard Cookie Johnson had just found out she was pregnant when her husband, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, told her he was infected with HIV. Both she and the baby, now three-year-old Earvin III, are HIV-negative, and the couple has adopted a one-year-old daughter, Elisa. Cookie now works on AIDS education out of her husband's Beverly Hills business office, speaking to elementary and high school students and making a video to educate black women about AIDS. Since finding out that Magic was HIV-positive, Cookie says she has become more religious and that she has learned to appreciate every moment. She and her husband learned everything they could about HIV and how to sustain the immune system through exercise and a proper diet. She notes that before returning to the NBA, Magic was very focused on building up his body, sometimes doing 700 situps a day. "Bill Requiring HIV Test for Boxers Clears House" Philadelphia Inquirer (05/01/96) P. B2; Eshleman, Russell E. The Pennsylvania House passed a bill Tuesday to make HIV testing mandatory for anyone who boxes professionally in the state. The bill, a response to heavyweight fighter Tommy Morrison's disclosure that he has HIV, would also ban anyone found to have HIV from boxing in Pennsylvania. The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. John A. Lawless, said it would not only curb the possibility of HIV transmission in the ring, but would also cut down on fight promoters recruiting boxers at the last minute because the provision calls for a test at least 30 days before a fight. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission has proposed that boxers be tested annually at least 60 days before applying for a boxing license. The law being considered would take precedence over the commission regulation. "Bill Could OK Court-Ordered Testing" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (05/01/96) P. 2B The St. Louis House of Delegates passed a bill to allow anyone to ask for court-ordered HIV testing of a person they have had contact with--if medical experts say the contact can transmit the virus. Missouri state law currently calls for testing if the defendant in a sex crime case is convicted. Opponents of the measure said the law could be improperly used out of vengeance, and lack of confidentiality is an issue. "PCR Analysis of Limited Value for Diagnosis of HIV Infection" Reuters (05/01/96) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay has been shown by meta-analysis to be of limited usefulness for diagnosing HIV infection. One analysis, published in the May 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that PCR assay for HIV diagnosis in adults should only be used when HIV antibody tests are insufficient. The second analysis, published in the May 1 Journal of the American Medical Association, found that while PCR is among the best tests for HIV diagnosis in neonates, it is not definite. Test errors can be reduced by either delaying testing until after the neonatal period or by repeating testing at 30 and 60 days of age. "AIDS Advisers Disagree Over Events in HIV Blood Scandal" Nature (04/25/96) Vol. 380, No. 6575, P. 660; Swinbanks, David Three scientists involved in the Japanese government's study group on AIDS provided additional information about the group's role in the tainted-blood scandal when they testified recently before the Japanese Diet. The group recommended in 1983 that hemophiliacs continue to use blood products that had not been heat-treated and reportedly rejected a proposal to have heat-treated products imported. Takeshi Abe, who headed the group, testified that its purpose was to determine if anyone in Japan had AIDS, not to influence policy. Atsuaki Gunji, who headed the government's biologics and antibiotics division and set up the group, argued that the purpose was to evaluate how hemophiliacs were being treated and to decide if changes were merited because of AIDS. He noted that the group became an important decision-making body, even though it was not intended to be. Meanwhile, Juzo Matsuda, the third member of the study group, apologized for the group's actions, admitting that its decisions resulted in the wider spread of HIV. Abe refused to take any responsibility and dismissed suggestions that he delayed clinical trials of heat-treated blood products in exchange for donations from Japanese drug companies. "Protease Inhibitors: Ritonavir and Saquinavir Combination Trial Recruiting--Seven U.S., Canada Sites Including San Francisco" AIDS Treatment News (04/19/96) No. 245, P. 1 For the first time, two protease inhibitors will be combined in a study, to be conducted by Abbott Laboratories in the United States and Canada. Volunteers are now being recruited for the seven-city trial of ritonavir and saquinavir. The combination of the two drugs poses potential benefits along with serious safety concerns. Saquinavir is not well absorbed by the body, but when ritonavir is added, it can produce increased and sustained levels of saquinavir. The drugs also have different patterns of resistance, which may work together well to slow the development of resistance to the combination. The combination must be tested very carefully, however, with special consideration given to dosing.