Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 11/22/96

From: "Flynn Mclean" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 12:12:46 -0500

AIDS Daily Summary 
                     November 22, 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

****************************************************** 
"AIDS Among Children--United States, 1996"
"AIDS-Free in 1991, Cambodia Tops HIV Rate" 
"Across the USA: Kentucky"
"World AIDS Day--December 1, 1996"
"111 Kenyans Died of AIDS Daily"
"Access to New AIDS Drug Demanded; Not Yet Approved" 
"Many HIV-Positive Patients Use Alternative Therapies" 
"AIDS--Confidentiality in AIDS Cases"
"Quantitative Image Analysis of HIV-1 Infection in Lymphoid 
Tissue"
"Ribozymes Enter Clinical Trials for HIV-1 Treatment" 
******************************************************
     
"AIDS Among Children--United States, 1996"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (11/22/96) Vol. 45, No. 46
     Of the total number of AIDS cases reported by Sept. 30,
1996, 7,472, or 1 percent, were among children aged less than 13 
years.  Most children with HIV contracted the virus from their 
mothers.  The number of children infected perinatally from 1986 
to 1996 peaked in 1992.  In 1994, research showed that treating 
HIV-infected pregnant women with zidovudine (ZDV) could reduce 
such transmissions by two-thirds.  Recommendations were issued by 
the Public Health Service in 1994 and 1995 for HIV counseling of 
pregnant women and voluntary testing and treatment.  The number 
of annual perinatal infections decreased 27 percent from 1992 
through 1995.  In addition, confidential reporting of HIV 
infection in children is required in 28 states.  An editorial 
note suggests that the rate of perinatal transmissions may have 
declined, in part, due to the recommended use of ZDV therapy.
     
"AIDS-Free in 1991, Cambodia Tops HIV Rate" 
Washington Times (11/22/96) P. A16
     Although Cambodia had virtually no AIDS cases five years
ago, the country now has the highest HIV infection rate in Asia. 
Health officials estimate that 1 percent of the population, 
including 2.5 percent of pregnant women, is infected with HIV. 
The spread of the virus is attributed to prostitution and a lack 
of condom use.
     
"Across the USA: Kentucky"
USA Today (11/22/96) P. 8A
     About 50 residents of Kentucky will be subjects in a study
of a vaccine designed to prevent HIV-infected individuals from 
developing AIDS.
     
"World AIDS Day--December 1, 1996"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (11/22/96) Vol. 45, No. 46,
     This year's World AIDS Day, with the theme "One World, One
Hope," will be observed on December 1 in 190 countries.  AIDS has 
claimed the lives of 5.8 million people worldwide, including 1.3 
million children.  In the United States, World AIDS Day 
activities are coordinated by the American Association for World 
Health, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, the Pan 
American Health Organization, and the Department of Health and 
Human Services.  The National AIDS Hotline, operated by the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can provide more 
information about HIV and AIDS, and World AIDS Day.  Telephone 
numbers are 1-800-342-2437, 1-919-361-8400, 1-800-344-7432 
(Spanish), and 1-800-243-7889 (TTY).  Additional information is 
available at the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse, 1-800-458-5231 
or 1-301-217-0023, and the CDC Home Page, located at 
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/hiv aids/worldaid/worldaid.htm.
     
"111 Kenyans Died of AIDS Daily"
Xinhua News Agency (11/22/96)
     An average of 111 Kenyans died from AIDS each day between
January 1995 and June 1996, the Daily Nation reports.  Assistant 
Minister for Health Basil Criticos said the figure represents 
only a third of the actual number of people suspected of having 
AIDS.  AIDS officials have estimated that more than 1.7 million 
people in Kenya may be infected with HIV by the end of the year.
     
"Access to New AIDS Drug Demanded; Not Yet Approved" 
U.S. Newswire (11/21/96)
     Clinical trials are needed to test the safety and efficacy
of new AIDS drugs for children and pregnant women, claims Bonita 
Judon, of the AIDS Policy Center for Children, Youth and 
Families.  Judon will testify to a committee of the Food and Drug 
Administration today to urge their consideration of such trials. 
"There is such a feeling of hope for adults living with AIDS.  We 
must do everything possible to safely offer these new drugs to 
children and pregnant women who need them now," noted David C. 
Harvey, director of the center.
     
"Many HIV-Positive Patients Use Alternative Therapies" 
Reuters (11/21/96)
     Physicians of AIDS patients should be aware that many 
HIV-infected people use alternative therapies, and do not always 
inform their doctors.  A University of Nevada in Las Vegas survey 
of 127 HIV-positive patients found that 100 percent were using 
alternative therapies.  Moreover, previous research published in 
the New England Journal of Medicine found that 70 percent of 
patients who use such therapies did not tell their doctors.  
Doctors should, therefore, be careful not to misconstrue side 
effects or drug interactions that may be caused by therapies they 
have not prescribed.
     
"AIDS--Confidentiality in AIDS Cases"
PANA Wire Service (11/21/96); Mulenga, Mildred
     The issue of AIDS confidentiality, and the potential
problems it causes, was discussed at a conference of experts in 
Zimbabwe Thursday.  "If we stick to confidentiality, what about 
the wife at home who doesn't know that her husband has AIDS," 
asked a physician who treated several AIDS patients.  The 
potential threat of spreading HIV to children was also discussed, 
as was the expense of an HIV test that deters many people.  One 
participant suggested that the government provide voluntary 
testing to help stem the spread of the disease.
     
"Quantitative Image Analysis of HIV-1 Infection in Lymphoid 
Tissue"
Science (11/08/96) Vol. 274, No. 5287, P. 985; Haase, Ashley T.; 
Henry, Keith; Zupancic, Mary; et al.
     The amount of HIV-1 in the body is considered a reliable
measure of the progress of the infection, but little is known 
about the virus' ability to replicate and reside in lymphoid 
tissue.  Ashley T. Haase, of the University of Minnesota Medical 
School, and colleagues, developed a method of determining viral 
load in the immune system's mononuclear cells (MNCs) and the 
follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) of the lymphoid tissue.  They 
report that, before symptoms of HIV infection develop, a large, 
relatively stable viral load is maintained on the FDCs while a 
smaller viral burden infects the MNCs.  Estimates of the numbers 
of infected cells in the lymphoid tissues and the amount of virus 
they could produce, the authors say, are consistent with the 
amount of virus detected in the bloodstream.  Haase et al. say 
their findings will facilitate the study of virus production and 
storage in the lymphoid tissues over the course of infection and 
treatment.
     
"Ribozymes Enter Clinical Trials for HIV-1 Treatment"
Lancet (11/09/96) Vol. 348, No. 9032, P. 1302; Rowe, Paul M.
     Diseases caused by RNA viruses may be treated by destroying 
specific RNA sequences with ribozymes.  This strategy has proven 
successful in cell-culture experiments and in preclinical 
studies, and the first phase I trial of a ribozyme is being 
conducted now in patients infected with HIV-1.  Previous studies 
have shown that, in vitro, a retroviral vector could protect CD4 
T-cells from HIV-1 infection by encoding two ribozymes that 
cleave two critical HIV-1 sequences.  In the phase I trial, led 
by Flossie Wong-Staal of the University of California at San 
Diego, blood is taken from the patient, the vector is added, and 
the T-cells with added ribozyme genes are returned to the 
patient.  To evaluate the trial, the survival time of cells 
carrying the ribozyme will be compared to those without the 
ribozyme.  The first patient in the small trial was injected with 
the treated cells in September.  Depending on the results, phase 
II trials will advance with the same vector, or another vector 
will be tested in a phase I trial.