Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 17:04:11 -0400 From: "Vaux, Lenore" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary, 10/09/96 AIDS Daily Summary Wednesday, October 9, 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 Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "Japan AIDS Scandal Raises Fear That Safety Came Second to Trade" "Morrison Receives Offers to Fight" "Prisoner's Cry of 'Rape' Is Heard" "No Stone Turns Up" "Seven Office-Mates at a Dying Bank Ask: Who Will Survive?" "Digest: Digene and Cytyc" "Blood Banks Look at New Draws as Donations Dry Up" "Health: World Health Group Details Progress on 10 [Killer Diseases]" "Genetic Restriction of HIV-1 Infection and Progression to AIDS by a Deletion Allele of the CKR5 Structural Gene" "Pharmaceutical Industry Sues to Stop Discount Pricing to Clinics" ****************************************************** "Japan AIDS Scandal Raises Fear That Safety Came Second to Trade" Wall Street Journal (10/09/96) P. A1; Hamilton, David P. Although U.S. drug companies had safe, heat-treated blood products available between 1983 and 1985, the Japanese government did not allow them to be imported in order to protect domestic companies. During that time, more than 1,800 Japanese hemophiliacs contracted HIV. Some 400 have already died. Many Japanese see the scandal as an example of the conflicts-of-interest that link bureaucrats and industry executives, and often put business interests before public safety. A former government official, two former drug industry executives, and one leading hemophilia researcher have been arrested on charges related to the tainted-blood scandal. Earlier this year, current Health Minister Naoto Kan forced the government to both investigate the scandal and to reveal incriminating internal documents. "Morrison Receives Offers to Fight" New York Times (10/09/96) P. B10 George Foreman has said he will fight heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who announced that he wants to return to the ring despite the fact that he has HIV. Foreman is scheduled to fight Crawford Grimsley this November and has invited Morrison to fight on that undercard and reiterated his offer to fight Morrison next year. Morrison's manager Tony Holden said a Morrison may meet Foreman, but not in November. "Prisoner's Cry of 'Rape' Is Heard" New York Times (10/09/96) P. B1; Lorch, Donatella Maurice J. Mathie was awaiting trial in a Suffolk County jail in New York when he claims he was raped by the chief of security. While serving 10 to 15 years in a state prison on manslaughter charges, Mathie told his story to legislators, judges, and prisoners rights groups through hundreds of letters. In August, he was awarded $750,000 by a federal judge. The security guard, Sgt. Roy Fries, is now retired with a full pension, and he is appealing the decision. While rape is widely known to be part of prison life, there are no national statistics on sexual assault in prisons, and most inmates do not speak publicly about it. AIDS is a serious threat in prisons, where condoms are not available and the rate of HIV infection is high. One activist, Stephen Donaldson, a former president of Stop Prisoner Rape, said he was gang-raped while incarcerated and contracted HIV as a result. Donaldson recently died of AIDS. "No Stone Turns Up" Washington Post (10/09/96) P. C3; Gerhart, Ann; Groer, Annie Despite publicity that Sharon Stone would appear in Washington, D.C., this weekend for events related to the displaying of the AIDS memorial quilt, she will not be involved. Fellow AIDS activist and AmFAR founder Elizabeth Taylor will be present and will lead a candlelight march on Saturday night. Taylor founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research, which Stone serves as fund-raising chairman. "Seven Office-Mates at a Dying Bank Ask: Who Will Survive?" Wall Street Journal (10/09/96) P. A1; King, Ralph T., Jr. With Wells Fargo's recent takeover of First Interstate Bank, seven people at the bank's Los Angeles headquarters' Corporate Insurance Department were left wondering if their jobs would survive the expected layoffs. The office consisted of three vice presidents, three administrative assistants, and their boss. One of the administrative assistants, Mark Clotfelter, is infected with HIV and was worried about retaining his health benefits. Although his position was terminated, Clotfelter later was employed at Wells Fargo's capital-markets operation. "Digest: Digene and Cytyc" Washington Post (10/09/96) P. B12 Biotechnology companies Digene, based in Maryland, and Cytyc, of Massachusetts, have agreed to cooperate on the development and sale of tests to detect and monitor cervical cancer and certain sexually transmitted diseases. "Blood Banks Look at New Draws as Donations Dry Up" USA Today (10/09/96) P. 4A; Norman-Culp, Sheila Blood donations in the United States have been dwindling for more than the past decade, due to the fear of AIDS, the aging of reliable donors, and the rise in body-piercing, tattooing, and other short-term factors that prevent willing donors to give blood. In 1982, a Montclair, N.J. blood bank collected 1,816 pints of blood a year. By 1989, donations had declined to 1,447 pints. Last year, only 831 pints were collected at that site. People with new tattoos or body piercings, and those who have spent more than 72 hours in jail, cannot give blood for a year. People who have had surgery, dental work, or any immunization, been diagnosed with gonorrhea, or been exposed to hepatitis, measles, mumps, or chicken pox must also wait. Members of the American Association of Blood Banks will discuss new ways to attract donors at the group's annual meeting this weekend in Orlando, Fla. "Health: World Health Group Details Progress on 10 [Killer Diseases]" IPS Wire (10/07/96) The World Health Organization notes in its latest report on the State of the World's Vaccines and Immunization that significant progress is being made in the development of vaccines against 10 major deadly diseases, comprising HIV/AIDS, malaria, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal meningitis, rotavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, dysentery, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, schistosomiasis, and dengue. According to the WHO, the drive for profit in the developed world's pharmaceutical industries is behind the improvement, even if those companies have Western tourists and soldiers in mind rather than residents of developing countries when pursuing their research. "Ironically," said the report, "a vaccine against pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis--diseases which kill over a million children a year in developing countries--was developed largely to prevent the incidences of inner ear infections among children in the United States." The report noted, however, that some drug makers have halted vaccine research vital to developing countries--into the virus that causes AIDS for instance--because the need for such products has declined in the industrialized world. "Genetic Restriction of HIV-1 Infection and Progression to AIDS by a Deletion Allele of the CKR5 Structural Gene" Science (09/27/96) Vol. 273, No. 5283, P. 1856; Dean, Michael; Carrington, Mary; Winkler, Cheryl; et al. Recent research has shown that the chemokine receptor CKR5 serves as a critical co-receptor for certain strains of HIV-1. Further studies have suggested that a defect in co-receptors may protect some individuals from HIV-1 infection. Stephen J. O'Brien, of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues, mapped the location of the CKR5 structural gene and determined the frequency of the defect in the population. From a total of 1,955 patients at high risk for HIV, who were involved in large AIDS studies, 17 people, who had all been exposed to HIV-1 but tested negative for viral antibodies, were found to have two copies of the defective gene. In individuals who had survived with HIV for more than 10 years, the presence of one copy of the defective gene was much more common. An analysis of the frequency of the defect and survival time showed that disease progression is slower in people with one copy of the defective gene than in individuals without the defect. "Pharmaceutical Industry Sues to Stop Discount Pricing to Clinics" AIDS Treatment News (10/04/96) No. 256, P. 4; James, John S. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), an organization representing drug companies, filed a lawsuit in July to protest a federal law that requires pharmaceutical companies to offer discounts to certain government-supported medical programs for the poor. Most public medical clinics and AIDS-drug assistance programs are eligible for the discount, while Medicaid and other programs large enough to have their own pharmacies are not. The PhMRA lawsuit is an attempt to stop the government-funded programs from contracting with outside pharmacies. This would limit the discount program, and increase the financial hardship of many poor and uninsured patients. Only about 12 of the state ADAP programs currently use the discount, but many are eligible for the program. If successful, the PhRMA lawsuit would prevent most ADAP's from getting the discounted rates. Several AIDS organizations are sponsoring a demonstration on October 11 to protest PhRMA's action.