Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 16:47:12 -0400 From: "Martha Vander Kolk" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 05/30/96 AIDS Daily Summary May 30, 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 ************************************************************ "Drug Companies Take Step Toward Settling Hemophiliacs' AIDS Lawsuits" "Poz Magazine Sponsors Trade Fair Aimed at Consumers With HIV" "A Racial Dispute Over 'AIDS Ride' Funds Is Resolved" "Elizabeth Dole: Her Power as Leader of Red Cross" "A Patchwork of Compassion" "Warning on Condoms" "Revisiting the Issue of Crime, Dole Offers List of Remedies" "NIH Institute Limits Scope of 'AIDS Research'" "Swallowing Shigella: Can Bacteria That Cause Food Poisoning Deliver Oral DNA Vaccines?" ************************************************************ "Drug Companies Take Step Toward Settling Hemophiliacs' AIDS Lawsuits" New York Times (05/30/96) P. D21; Johnston, David Cay Four drug companies on Wednesday revised their settlement offer to the estimated 6,000 Americans who were infected with HIV through contaminated blood products. The plaintiffs rejected the companies' previous offer because it restricted the number of people who could pursue separate lawsuits to 100. Now, the companies say they will not limit the number of plaintiffs who reject their settlement, a move that a lawyer for the plaintiffs said was big step toward an agreement. A lawyer for the four companies--Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Baxter International, Bayer A.G., and Alpha Therapeutic--said they would pay each plaintiff $100,000 and that legal and administrative costs would total about $40 million. "Poz Magazine Sponsors Trade Fair Aimed at Consumers With HIV" Wall Street Journal (05/30/96) P. B10; Kirkpatrick, David D. The first-ever trade fair targeting HIV-positive consumers is planned for this weekend at New York's Javits Convention Center. The fair, sponsored by Poz magazine, a bi-monthly publication for people with HIV or AIDS, will include exhibits by more than 100 companies, including HIV-drug manufacturers Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Glaxo Wellcome. Marketing to the HIV-positive population has grown in recent years, and Sean Strub, the fair's organizer, says the event indicates the power of the HIV market. James Learned, of New York's People With AIDS Health Group, claims he is offended by the event, saying it is exploitive rather than supportive. "A Racial Dispute Over 'AIDS Ride' Funds Is Resolved" Philadelphia Inquirer (05/30/96) P. B3; Collins, Huntly An agreement between Philadelphia AIDS groups has been reached, settling a racial dispute that threatened to disrupt a Philadelphia-to-Washington, D.C. AIDS fundraiser. The agreement gives 25 percent of the total bike riding-event proceeds, which could reach $5 million, to the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. The coalition will distribute this portion to AIDS organizations that serve minorities. James Roberts, of the Minority AIDS Project, said he is pleased with the agreement, which he claims puts minority groups "on a level playing field with other AIDS organizations." "Elizabeth Dole: Her Power as Leader of Red Cross" New York Times (05/30/96) P. A1; Frantz, Douglas Elizabeth Dole, wife of Republican presidential candidate Robert Dole, has gained influence in federal politics in her role as president of the American Red Cross. If Bob Dole is elected, however, his wife's position would raise potential conflicts of interest because the Red Cross is closely regulated by the federal government. The Red Cross has been under careful scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration since 1993 as a result of safety violations and shipments of blood infected with the hepatitis B virus and HIV. Just before Elizabeth Dole took her leave of absence to campaign for her husband, she was involved in a controversy concerning an AIDS education program, which some Red Cross officials said she had toned down to please conservative groups important to her husband's campaign. "A Patchwork of Compassion" Baltimore Sun (05/30/96) P. 1E; Smith, Linell A quilt panel made for the late Howard "Buddy" Gaguski, a nurse and counselor for AIDS patients who died of AIDS last year, will become part of the national AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, D.C. this weekend. Gaguski worked at Chase-Brexton Health Services in Baltimore and was an organist at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He suggested the quilt panel be added to the national quilt when he died. The entire AIDS quilt, consisting of some 45,000 panels, will be displayed in Washington on Oct. 11. "Warning on Condoms" New York Times (05/30/96) P. A28 Certain brands of condoms from Malaysia, all made by Dongkuk Techno Rubber Industries, should not be used because they might not adequately protect against disease and pregnancy, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. The condoms, which are sold under the brand names Pamitex, Magic, Black Jack, Maxi, and Ginza, were shipped to New York, California, Florida, Michigan, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. "Revisiting the Issue of Crime, Dole Offers List of Remedies" New York Times (05/29/96) P. A1; Seelye, Katharine Q. During a speech outside of Denver, Colo., on Tuesday, presidential Republican hopeful Bob Dole outlined several proposals that he believes will bring crime rates back under control. Some of the highlights included ending parole for all violent offenders, building more prisons, administering periodic drug tests for prisoners, and having all persons charged with sexual assault tested for HIV. Dole also stressed the importance of toughening child pornography laws, suggesting that minimum sentences be imposed: 10 years for a first offense, 15 years for the second offense, and life for a third. "NIH Institute Limits Scope of 'AIDS Research'" Nature (05/16/96) Vol. 381, No. 6579, P. 179; Wadman, Meredith In an attempt to refocus its AIDS research program, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has increased the proportion of AIDS funding directed to extramural scientists and has limited its definition of AIDS-related research. This year's funding for external researchers increased from $37 million to $104 million, while funding for intramural research was cut from $102 million to $66 million. The changes are in response to a report issued a year ago, calling for a more focused AIDS research agenda. Under the new system, the only projects to be completely funded by NCI AIDS funds must involve HIV or HIV-infected patients. Research otherwise related to AIDS, such as studies on Kaposi's sarcoma, will receive smaller proportions of the AIDS-allocated funds and be judged on an individual basis. Other changes include a new AIDS Malignancies Working Group and a Center for AIDS Research. The changes are expected to make the institute less vulnerable to congressional Republicans who oppose setting aside money specifically for AIDS. "Swallowing Shigella: Can Bacteria That Cause Food Poisoning Deliver Oral DNA Vaccines?" Science News (05/11/96) Vol. 149, No. 19, P. 302; Travis, John Several groups of researchers are seeking to develop oral DNA vaccines against a variety of diseases, including tuberculosis, cancer, and AIDS. Scientists earlier demonstrated that injecting genes that encode antigens into the body can stimulate an immune response which may be more protective than the response obtained by injecting the antigen directly. Vaccines based on this approach, known as naked DNA vaccines, are being tested in clinical trials against AIDS and cancer. One team, led by Jerald C. Sadoff, a bacteriologist at Merck Research Laboratories, is now working with the idea of using a bacterium known as Shigella flexneri to infect cells in the body as a way of delivering DNA. "The bacteria don't mind delivering the DNA, and you get around the problem of forcing an artificial system," notes Sadoff. To render the bacteria harmless, however, Sadoff and other teams working with S. flexneri have deleted specific genes necessary for replication.