Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 03:36:28 -0400 From: mvkolk@aspensys.com (Martha Vander Kolk x5314) AIDS Daily Summary May 16, 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 ************************************************************ "Study Pinpoints Where AIDS Virus Is Spreading" "FDA Approves Home HIV Test Kits for Texans" "Abortion, AIDS Proposals Survive" "AIDS Settlement Offer in Jeopardy" "The Teen Age of AIDS" "Progress Reported in Talks Involving AIDS Bike-A-Thon" "HIV-Positive Pregnant Women: Success of Detection and Intervention Varies Regionally" "Vaginal Microbicide Study Announced by UNAIDS" "Effect of Immunization With a Common Recall Antigen on Viral Expression in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1" "Politicians, AIDS Experts Wage Budget Debate" ************************************************************ "Study Pinpoints Where AIDS Virus Is Spreading" Wall Street Journal (05/16/96) P. B2; Bennett, Amanda A new study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researcher Scott Holmberg provides comprehensive information about where HIV is most prevalent. The study, published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Public Health, is the result of Holmberg's analysis of hundreds of documents on how many people have HIV or are likely to become HIV-infected in 96 U.S. cities. The details are important because decisions about public education and funding for AIDS depend on knowledge about which areas are hardest hit. The report offers the first information on the epidemic in some local areas. Holmberg estimates that injection drug users account for almost half of all new HIV infections, a finding that could direct more money to needle exchange programs. The study also supports the widespread belief among scientists that HIV's spread into the heterosexual community is mostly confined to partners of injection drug users and bisexual men. Related Story: USA Today (05/16) P. D1 "FDA Approves Home HIV Test Kits for Texans" Houston Chronicle (05/15/96) P. 1A; SoRelle, Ruth Residents of Texas and Florida will be the first to be able to buy a home HIV test that was approved on Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The company making the test, Direct Access Diagnostics, said it will be available in June in Texas drug stores, clinics, and student health centers. Texas and Florida residents will also be able to purchase the test by calling a toll-free number. The company said the test may be available in the rest of the country by 1997. Users of the test will get their results over the phone and will be connected to a counselor if the test is positive. Related Story: Los Angeles Times (05/15) P. A10; Chicago Tribune (05/15) P. 1-3 "Abortion, AIDS Proposals Survive" Boston Globe (05/15/96) P. 11 In a House vote on the $266.7 billion defense bill, conservatives preserved--at least temporarily--a proposal requiring the military to discharge service members with HIV. The provision was offered by Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Calif.). Related Story: Chicago Tribune (05/15) P. 1-4 "AIDS Settlement Offer in Jeopardy" Chicago Tribune (05/15/96) P. 3-1; Hutchcraft, Chuck Lawyers for a group of HIV-infected hemophiliacs met on Monday with representatives of the four drug companies they are suing for selling tainted blood products to try to negotiate a settlement. The hemophiliacs had rejected the companies' offer of $640 million, taking issue with the amount--$100,000 for each of the 6,000 hemophiliacs, plus $40 million in legal fees--and the provision that no more than 100 plaintiffs could opt out of the agreement and file their own suits. Lawyers for the plaintiffs made suggestions for a settlement they could agree to, but their proposals were undisclosed. The companies agreed to lift the May 20 deadline for the plaintiffs to make a decision about the settlement. "The Teen Age of AIDS" Washington Post--District Weekly (05/16/96) P. 1; Hull, Dana Metro TeenAIDS, a Washington, D.C., center for AIDS education and prevention, brings together teenagers from various high schools in the city. One program offered at the center provides training for teens on teaching HIV prevention, allowing them to take their message to their peers. Other services the center provides include street outreach and a program for African-American girls living in public housing. The D.C. Agency for HIV/AIDS reported that 17 percent of all AIDS cases in the city were among 20- to 29-year-olds, meaning that many people are infected with HIV as teenagers since full-blown AIDS generally takes several years to develop. "Progress Reported in Talks Involving AIDS Bike-A-Thon" Philadelphia Inquirer (05/16/96) P. B2 Progress has been made in resolving the dispute between minority-led Philadelphia AIDS groups and the AIDS organization sponsoring a Philadelphia-to-Washington, D.C. bike ride fundraiser. City Commissioner Estelle Richman reported Wednesday that the differing parties were considering a proposal to settle the dispute. The Minority AIDS Coalition had threatened to disrupt the event, claiming it was being unfairly cut out of the proceeds. "HIV-Positive Pregnant Women: Success of Detection and Intervention Varies Regionally" Reuters (05/15/96) The success of programs that offer HIV-positive pregnant women zidovudine vary by geographic region, according to two studies published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Susan A. Fiscus of the University of North Carolina and colleagues found that fewer women were tested in urban areas compared with rural areas. The percentage of HIV-exposed children in rural North Carolina who were identified and tested increased from 60 percent to 82 percent for 1994. By contrast, a study of HIV-positive women seen at an urban hospital in New York found lower rates of both detection and zidovudine treatment. Only 52 percent of the women in the study chose and successfully used the treatment. Drug use was found to be a factor in some women's refusal of the drug. "Vaginal Microbicide Study Announced by UNAIDS" Reuters (05/15/96) The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS announced Tuesday that a vaginal microbicide has been shown to prevent the heterosexual spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. The product, Advantage 24, was developed by Columbia Laboratories of Miami, Fla. It contains the spermicide nonoxynol-9 and a bioadhesive gel and has limited toxicity. The product has already been tested in 600 women in Europe and Thailand and will be used in a larger trial in several locations, including South Africa. "Effect of Immunization With a Common Recall Antigen on Viral Expression in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1" New England Journal of Medicine (05/09/96) Vol. 334, No. 19, P. 1222; Stanley, Sharilyn K.; Ostrowski, Mario A.; Justement, Jesse S.; et al. To determine the effect of immunization on viral expression in patients with HIV-1, Sharilyn K. Stanley, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and colleagues compared the effect of tetanus shots on 23 people, 13 of whom were infected with HIV. Previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between activation of the immune system and altered regulation of HIV-1 in infected patients. The 13 HIV-infected patients in the study all showed a temporary viral increase--two to 36 times the original level, reaching peak levels about 13 days after immunization and returning to normal within six weeks. The peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of seven of the 10 uninfected participants were more easily infected with HIV-1 in the lab after immunization than before immunization. The authors conclude that the benefit of immunization outweighs the potential risk of temporarily increased viral level. They say that their results may be useful in understanding HIV-1's pathogenicity. "Politicians, AIDS Experts Wage Budget Debate" Journal of the American Medical Association (05/08/96) Vol. 275, No. 18, P. 1390; Voelker, Rebecca The budgetary role of the National Institutes of Health's Office of AIDS Research (OAR) was defended by three AIDS experts at a recent news conference in Chicago, Ill., as the debate over who should allocate funds for federal AIDS research continues. Mathilde Krim, chair of the American Foundation for AIDS Research; Mark Harrington, policy director of the Treatment Action Group in New York; and Steven Wolinsky of the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago spoke in support of OAR's management and priority-setting roles. Harrington and Wolinsky participated in the recently completed review of NIH's AIDS research effort, which concluded that OAR's role should be preserved, especially because budget constraints are anticipated in coming years. The NIH budget through 1996 calls for NIH Director Harold Varmus to control AIDS research spending. Rep. John Porter (R-Ill.) led the effort to keep spending authority out of OAR's hands, arguing that spending has never been allocated for a specific disease and that giving the OAR such authority would lead to competition between scientists working on different diseases.