Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 09:50:57 -0500 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 11/20/96 AIDS Daily Summary November 20, 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 ****************************************************** "U.S.'s Rate of Sexual Diseases Is Highest in Developed World" "Firms Pledge Better Blood Recalls" "Briefcase: Medical Info a la Carte" "Americas-Health: AIDS Cases in Americas Up To [Nearly 700,000]" "Brazil Launches Anti-AIDS Campaign for Indians" "AIDS Rate on Increase in Cities, Study Shows" "Feature--Magic Johnson Sees Change in Attitudes to AIDS" "Combined Technique Improves HIV-1 RNA Detection" "Early Progression of Disease in HIV-Infected Infants With Thymus Dysfunction" "Rural Human Immunodeficiency Virus Health Service Provision: Indications of Rural-Urban Travel for Care" ****************************************************** "U.S.'s Rate of Sexual Diseases Is Highest in Developed World" New York Times (11/20/96) P. D20; Leary, Warren E. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is higher in the United States than in any other developed country, and the diseases cause thousands of deaths and serious health problems each year, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences reported Tuesday. The committee attributed the problem to inadequate resources devoted to prevention and a lack of involvement among private organizations, health providers, and community groups. For every $43 spent by the government on treatment of STDs, only $1 was spent on prevention, the panel found. These diseases cost the United States at least $10 billion a year, excluding the cost of sexually transmitted HIV. The report urged special prevention measures targeted to adolescents, who are more likely to engage in unprotected sex and other high-risk sexual behaviors. "Firms Pledge Better Blood Recalls" Philadelphia Inquirer (11/20/96) P. A17; Shaw, Donna Leaders of the blood products industry and the Food and Drug Administration announced a pact on Tuesday to protect the public better from contaminated blood products. After the meeting at the National Institutes of Health, however, it was unclear how the promise would be kept. A better product recall system was discussed, but industry leaders said it would be difficult because confidentiality concerns would prevent companies from keeping a record of all patients and the treatments they receive. Users of blood products said they would demand a better notification system. The current system for notifying consumers of recalls relies on a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures. "Briefcase: Medical Info a la Carte" Houston Chronicle (11/19/96) P. 1C A web site called Cafe Herpes, developed by the pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beecham, offers medical information about genital herpes in a menu-themed format. The site, located at http://www.cafe.com, is an attempt by the company to reach people with genital herpes and offer them treatment information. "Americas-Health: AIDS Cases in Americas Up To [Nearly 700,000]" IPS Wire (11/18/96) While almost three-fourths of the 700,000 AIDS cases in the Americas since 1979 were reported in the United States, officials from the Pan American Health Organization report that there are now more HIV infections in Latin America than in the United States. More than 411,000 people in the hemisphere have reportedly died of AIDS, but officials say the actual number could be much higher. Among those countries with the highest number of AIDS cases are the United States, with 513,000, Brazil with 83,000, Mexico with almost 30,000, and Canada with 14,000. "Brazil Launches Anti-AIDS Campaign for Indians" Reuters (11/19/96); Christie, Michael Brazil launched a new AIDS education campaign on Tuesday, hoping to prevent the spread of HIV among the country's 320,000 Indians. Anthropologists will be trained to educate the Indians, a population that is thought to be at low risk but highly vulnerable to the spread of HIV. The National Indian Foundation estimates that only 20 Indians are infected, but the Catholic Church's Indigenous Missionary Council says that 11 Indians have died of AIDS since 1989 and four are currently infected. Concerns about AIDS in the Indian community were raised recently when it was reported that a woman belonging to the Tiriyo tribe was infected and could be spreading it to the rest of her tribe, which is a polygamous culture. "AIDS Rate on Increase in Cities, Study Shows" Reuters (11/19/96) Doctors in Britain announced Tuesday that the number of patients with unreported HIV infections has increased. Dr. Mark Poznansky and colleagues at St. Mary's Hospital in London reported that as many as 75 percent of HIV-positive patients coming to the emergency room for treatment did not inform the staff that they were infected. Anonymous HIV tests in 1992 and 1993 revealed that one in 77 were infected, compared to one in 30 in a 1994-1995 study period. "Feature--Magic Johnson Sees Change in Attitudes to AIDS" Reuters (11/20/96); Croft, Adrian After retiring from professional basketball five years ago because he learned he was infected with HIV, Earvin "Magic" Johnson says he is pleased that the public's acceptance of HIV has improved significantly. "It's so much different now because we can hold a conversation about it anywhere now. It used to be ...everybody looking around," Johnson said. Johnson has contributed to the increased public acceptance of AIDS, first by showing that even a rich, admired sports star could become infected, and then by becoming a spokesman and educator about HIV. He has established the Magic Johnson Foundation, which supports HIV/AIDS programs, and wrote an autobiography which tells how he contracted the virus. "Combined Technique Improves HIV-1 RNA Detection" Reuters (11/19/96) Combining an HIV-1 RNA detection method, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, German researchers report, provides a "major improvement of NASBA technology." NASBA provides an alternative to the polymerase chain reaction test and is "an ultrasensitive method for HIV-1 diagnosis in plasma even in the primary HIV infection stage," the researchers said. "Early Progression of Disease in HIV-Infected Infants With Thymus Dysfunction" New England Journal of Medicine (11/07/96) Vol. 335, No. 19, P. 1431; Kourtis, Athena P.; Ibegbu, Christian; Nahmias, Andre J.; et al. Perinatally infected infants generally develop AIDS either very early in life or at a very slow rate. Because disease progression is signified by the depletion of CD4 cells, and CD4 cells develop in the thymus, it has been suggested that more rapid disease progression in infants may be linked to thymus dysfunction. Dr. Andre J. Nahmias and colleagues at Emory University conducted a study to examine the link, comparing disease progression in perinatally infected infants, infants with congenital thymic deficiency, and other infants exposed to HIV but not infected. Among the HIV-infected infants, those with an apparent thymic defect had a 75 percent risk of developing AIDS by 12 months and a 92 percent risk of AIDS by 24 months. Other HIV-infected infants had a 14 percent risk of AIDS at 12 months and a 34 percent risk at 24 months. The authors conclude that infants with thymic deficiency may benefit from early treatment with antivirals and attempts at immune reconstitution. "Rural Human Immunodeficiency Virus Health Service Provision: Indications of Rural-Urban Travel for Care" Journal of the American Medical Association (11/06/96) Vol. 276, No. 17, P. 1364j; Mainous, Arch G. III; Matheny, Samuel C. A survey of HIV-positive adults from rural areas of Kentucky reveals that 21 percent traveled to urban areas for HIV testing and care. Researchers at the University of Kentucky report in the Archives of Family Medicine that, out of 63 survey participants, 74 percent traveled outside their home county for HIV-related ambulatory care, with 64 percent traveling to an urban area. The patients said they sought care in an urban area because of confidentiality concerns, the feeling that their doctor was not knowledgeable enough about HIV, and because they were referred to another doctor. The researchers suggest that rural primary care physicians should receive more HIV training.