Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 10:04:43 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/03/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 3, 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 ****************************************************** "For AIDS Doctors, a Needed Tonic" "Kit Offers Home Blood Test for HIV" "Teen Drug Use: Issue of Epidemic?" "Across the USA: Utah" "Millionaire Wages War on Pimps" "More Women Have Tests for AIDS" "Passing HIV to Babies Through Breastfeeding" "HIV on the Rise Among Greek Women" "The Seroepidemiology of Human Herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus): Distribution of Infection in KS Risk Groups and Evidence for Sexual Transmission" "A Resurgence for Condoms?" ****************************************************** "For AIDS Doctors, a Needed Tonic" New York Times (09/03/96) P. D9; Dunlap, David W. Doctors who specialize in treating people with AIDS say promising new drugs have given them renewed hope for their patients. Dr. Howard A. Grossman of New York says he now has hopes of treating his patients into old age. However, although many doctors are witnessing dramatic improvements in some patients due to the use of protease inhibitors, the drugs do not always work, thus leaving some patients disappointed. Doctors must make sure their patients take the drugs according to a strict regimen to prevent drug-resistant strains from developing. "Kit Offers Home Blood Test for HIV" Richmond Times-Dispatch (09/03/96) P. A1; Kelly, Deborah A home HIV test kit became available in Virginia stores last week, offering customers a convenient and anonymous way to find out if they are infected with HIV. Test users send a dried blood sample to a laboratory and receive their results by calling a toll-free number. An estimated 15,000 Virginians are infected with HIV but do not know it, health officials said. Virginia health workers are generally supportive of the test, because it makes it easier for more people to be tested. Lisa Kaplowitz, director of the HIV/AIDS Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, said there is concern in the community about the lack of face-to-face counseling. "Teen Drug Use: Issue of Epidemic?" Investor's Business Daily (09/03/96) P. A1; Robinson, Matthew Pointing to an increase in teen drug use, the Dole campaign has criticized the Clinton administration for not making the war against drugs a priority. Government studies have found that the use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and other drugs by teens has increased 78 percent since 1992, and 33 percent in the last year. Moreover, data from the Department of Health and Human Services show that many youths are using drugs at an even earlier age than before--16.3 years on the average--while another study indicates that 12-year-olds who use marijuana are nearly 80 times more likely to start using cocaine than others their age who do not use marijuana. Tom Hedrick, vice chairman of Partnership for a Drug-Free America, warned that addiction, drug-related crime, and drug-related AIDS cases will increase if the rise in drug use is not stopped. "Across the USA: Utah" USA Today (09/03/96) P. 8A Utah health officials attribute an increase in tuberculosis (TB) cases to improved screening for the disease. The state has seen 41 TB cases so far this year, compared to 24 during the same period of 1995. "Millionaire Wages War on Pimps" Toronto Globe and Mail (08/31/96) P. A8; Stackhouse, John Bombay's sex industry is declining, due in part to the increased threat of AIDS, fewer blue-collar jobs, and fewer prostitutes. Dr. I.S. Gilada, who operates an AIDS awareness and prevention program for prostitutes and their clients, says the threat of AIDS is the greatest reason for the decrease in the city's sex trade, and he notes that "there are 60 percent less clients now than in 1991." Bombay's sex business is far from stopping completely, however, and many brothel owners have started offering younger girls to attract customers. Retired millionaire Vinod Gupta has committed himself to rescuing young girls from the business, and has saved 5,800 so far. "More Women Have Tests for AIDS" New York Times (08/31/96) P. 10 From 1991 to 1993, the percentage of women between the ages of 18 and 44 who were tested for HIV rose 60 percent, federal health officials reported Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 31.8 percent of 6,267 women surveyed in 1993 said they had been tested for HIV. In 1991, only 18.8 percent of the 13,411 women surveyed said they had been tested. "Passing HIV to Babies Through Breastfeeding" Xinhua News Agency (09/01/96) The risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding may be higher than originally thought, South African researchers have found. The South African Press Association reports that Dr. Glenda Gray determined that breastfeeding increases the risk of transmission from mother to child by 28 percent. Previously, studies have suggested that the risk only increased 14 percent. "HIV on the Rise Among Greek Women" Xinhua News Agency (09/01/96) The total number of Greeks infected with HIV is reported at 1,386, including 37 cases reported between April and June this year. Homosexual transmission accounts for 56 percent of the known cases, while 15 percent of cases--the majority of which are in women--are attributed to heterosexual sex. Greece has seen a slight decline in the number of full-blown AIDS patients each year. The country's Health Ministry is offering AIDS patients a new combination of drugs free of charge. "The Seroepidemiology of Human Herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus): Distribution of Infection in KS Risk Groups and Evidence for Sexual Transmission" Nature Medicine (08/96) Vol. 2, No. 8, P. 918; Kedes, Dean H.; Operskalski, Eva; Busch, Michael; et al. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm among AIDS patients and is 20,000 times more common in this group than in the general population. Incidence of KS varies widely among those infected with HIV, however, and is also found in some HIV-negative groups, suggesting the disease is not caused only by HIV. A sexually transmitted cofactor is thought to be involved in the disease's pathogenicity, but efforts to link KS with recognized sexually transmitted agents have been unsuccessful. Don Ganem, of the University of California San Francisco and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and colleagues, used an immunofluorescence assay they developed to evaluate serum samples from 913 patients for the presence of an antibody for human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), a virus identified in KS tissues. They report that the distribution of HHV8 they found is strongly suggestive of sexual transmission and that within different HIV-infected groups, the distribution of HHV8 seropositivity parallels the relative risk for KS. The authors say their results support the theory that HHV8 is the sexually transmitted cofactor involved in the epidemiology of KS. "A Resurgence for Condoms?" Supermarket Business (08/96) Vol. 52, No. 8, P. 73 Renewed interest in condoms, which is attributed to increased vendor support, improved products, and studies that promote condom use to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, should thus lead to increased sales of the contraceptives in supermarkets. Hisayuki Naito, of Okamoto U.S.A., says supermarket condom sales stand to increase as more women are buying condoms. Women now buy at least 60 percent--and possibly up to 80 percent--of all condoms. Supermarkets command 16 percent of the $270 million condom market. To further their sales, supermarkets are therefore improving their presentation of condoms, as well as increasing the roles of coupons and advertising in condom sales.