Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 10:19:55 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 10/08/96 AIDS Daily Summary October 8, 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 ****************************************************** "2 Get Nobel for Work on Immune Response" "A Fusion of Love, Logistics" "Rare AIDS Strains Stir Concerns" "South Africa Scandal Over 'Sarafina' Spotlights Corruption in the A.N.C." "AIDS Tests Join At-Home Diagnostics" "Red Cross Urges Compensation" "Elders Says Record as Surgeon General Requires No Regrets" "Across the USA: California" "Japan's HIV Blood Scandal Broadens Out" "Editorial: AIDS Clinic Deserves Support" ****************************************************** "2 Get Nobel for Work on Immune Response" New York Times (10/08/96) P. C6; Kolata, Gina Two scientists have been awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of how the immune system recognizes cells that are infected with viruses. Peter C. Doherty, of St. Jude's Medical Center in Memphis, and Rolf M. Zinkernagel, of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, discovered that the immune system's white blood cells must recognize two signals before attacking an infected cell. Their discovery could help scientists develop therapies for viral diseases, including AIDS; as well as autoimmune diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. "A Fusion of Love, Logistics" Washington Post (10/08/96) P. C1; Wheeler, Linda The three-day display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, D.C, to start on Friday, will employ 10,000 volunteers and cost $1 million. The Names Project, the San Francisco group that maintains and displays the quilt, is preparing for the event from a downtown office. The quilt has 37,856 panels, representing about 70,000 people who have died of AIDS. It first appeared in Washington in 1988, and covered the space of a city block. This year it will cover the entire Mall as well as some bordering areas. "Rare AIDS Strains Stir Concerns" Richmond Times-Dispatch (10/08/96) P. A14 The discovery of rare strains of HIV in the United States has led scientists to search globally for strains so that tests may be developed to detect every type. The first U.S. case of the rare Group O was found in July, and a second case was discovered this month. Additionally, another type of HIV new to the United States was found in a small group of New Yorkers. The HIV test usually used in this country does not detect Group O once in every five cases. Abbott Laboratories, however, has submitted a test to the Food and Drug Administration that is designed to better detect Group O infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the patients infected with Group O contracted the virus in their native country of West Africa. The agency is now trying to determine whether the New Yorkers were infected here or abroad. "South Africa Scandal Over 'Sarafina' Spotlights Corruption in the A.N.C." New York Times (10/08/96) P. A6; Daley, Suzanne The scandal surrounding the musical "Sarafina 2," sponsored by South Africa's national health department to bring an anti-AIDS message to the illiterate, is said by some to exemplify the corruption within the African National Congress (ANC). When the musical opened last spring, AIDS experts criticized its message as unclear, and its high cost was also brought into question. Although the play closed quickly, it led many South Africans to doubt the ANC's practices and Health Commissioner Dr. Nkosazana Zuma's position. Zuma has been accused of lying to Parliament about the procedure used to fund the musical, but she has been defended by the ANC. "AIDS Tests Join At-Home Diagnostics" Chicago Tribune (10/07/96) P. 4-1; Hutchcraft, Chuck The two home AIDS tests now available, Johnson & Johnson's Confide and Home Access Health's Home Access, may soon be joined by a test that uses a person's saliva rather than a blood sample to test for HIV antibodies. SmithKline Beecham's OraSure, now only available through doctors' offices and clinics, may later be introduced in the home-testing market. The home AIDS test is the most controversial home test available, and has been opposed by the American Medical Association since 1989. The organization will likely reconsider its position this year, however, an official said. "Red Cross Urges Compensation" Toronto Globe and Mail (10/07/96) P. A1; McIlroy, Anne The leader of the Canadian Red Cross has urged federal and provincial health ministers to offer financial compensation to the 12,000 Canadians who contracted hepatitis C through tainted blood products in the 1980s. Secretary-General Douglas Lindores said the Red Cross would contribute to the compensation fund, which he says is necessary for the reform of the blood system. Hepatitis C, which causes liver damage, is fatal in one of five cases. Canadians infected with HIV through the blood system have already been offered financial assistance. "Elders Says Record as Surgeon General Requires No Regrets" Washington Times (10/08/96) P. A6; Price, Joyce Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders says she does not regret any of her actions during her tenure, and that she is not disturbed that she has become a campaign issue. She confirmed a report that the Clinton administration was prepared to lift a ban on federal funding for needle-exchange programs in 1994 but reversed the decision when the Congress became dominated by Republicans. The proposed lifting of the ban was in response to five studies that showed needle exchanges reduced the spread of HIV but did not result in increased drug use. "Across the USA: California" USA Today (10/08/96) P. 7A Police in California confiscated brownies from a booth set up by the activist group ACT UP to promote Proposition 215, which would legalize medical uses of marijuana. The police say they will return the brownies if no drugs are found in them. "Japan's HIV Blood Scandal Broadens Out" Nature (09/26/96) Vol. 383, No. 6598, P. 291; Swinbanks, David Three arrests were made recently in Japan's tainted blood scandal, and others are expected as more attention is given to non-hemophiliacs who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products. The president and two former presidents of Green Cross Corp. were arrested in a case involving the death of a non-hemophiliac who was treated with blood products supplied by the company. A memo confiscated from the company, reportedly written by then-president Renzo Matsushita and sent to employees, claimed that the company's non-heat-treated products were safer than heat-treated products because they were made from domestic blood plasma, rather than plasma imported from the U.S. In fact, however, nearly all of the firm's blood products were made from plasma imported from the United States. The executives are suspected of overlooking the risk of HIV in their promotion of non-heat-treated products in 1986. The company did not stop distributing its non-heat-treated products until 1988, two years after it reported to the government that the withdrawal had been completed. Just this year, it has become known that thousands of non-hemophiliacs had been treated with the non-heat-treated products, and that most of the patients cannot be located. "Editorial: AIDS Clinic Deserves Support" Crain's Chicago Business (09/23/96) Vol. 19, No. 39, P. 12 Businesses in the Chicago area are urged, in an editorial in Crain's Chicago Business, to contribute to a proposed $25 million project that will provide outpatient care for people with HIV and AIDS-related health problems. The joint project by Cook County Hospital and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center would provide less costly care in a more effective manner than a hospital setting would. The project has received $15.8 million from state and federal sources, and $5 million from a corporate fundraising campaign led by Playboy Enterprises, Inc. The hospitals, which in any one night provide inpatient care to nearly 100 HIV-positive people, agree that an outpatient center could reduce inpatient days for HIV-related illnesses by 30 percent.