Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 09:52:14 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/04/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 4, 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 ****************************************************** "N.J. Will Offer 3 New AIDS Drugs Free to Uninsured Patients" "Revolutionizing Contraception" "Biotech Research Praised at Groundbreaking for SUNY Lab" "The Morality of Testing" "A Local Group Pulls Out of Next Year's AIDS Ride" "HIV Patient to Plead Guilty to Rapes" "Vietnam Launches Anti-AIDS Campaign" "Female Condoms: An Alternative AIDS Prevention Strategy" "The Politics of Drugs: Back to War" "New HIV Drugs Cast in Supporting Roles" ****************************************************** "N.J. Will Offer 3 New AIDS Drugs Free to Uninsured Patients" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/04/96) P. B3; Collins, Huntly AIDS patients in New Jersey who are uninsured or underinsured will have free access to three new anti-AIDS drugs beginning Oct. 1, state health officials said Tuesday. The drugs will be made available to AIDS patients who earn less than $30,000 a year. If demand for the costly new drugs is too great, however, the state may restrict distribution or require patients to pay a small fee. The drugs--protease inhibitors Invirase (saquinavir), Crixivan (indinavir), and Epivir (3TC)--will be offered through the AIDS Drug Distribution Program. Norvir, or ritonavir, another protease inhibitor, was not added because of concerns about complications and lack of patient demand. About 400 of the 1,700 people now enrolled in the program will request the new combination therapy, state officials estimate. "Revolutionizing Contraception" Journal of Commerce (09/04/96) P. 7A; Rosenfield, Allan; Harrison, Polly New methods of contraception should be developed to prevent unwanted pregnancies and curb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, urge two members of the National Research Council's Committee on Contraceptive Research and Development in a Journal of Commerce commentary. Allan Rosenfield, who chaired the committee, and Polly Harrison, the panel's study director, claim that research on new contraceptives has been stalled by social, legal, political, and financial factors. Moreover, they cite advances in molecular and cellular biology that could be applied to develop chemical or physical barriers to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and provide new contraception options. "Biotech Research Praised at Groundbreaking for SUNY Lab" New York Times (09/04/96) P. B2; McQuiston, John T. At a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, New York Gov. George E. Pataki heralded the future biotechnology center at New York's State University at Stony Brook as the place "where the battle against the health threats of cancer, AIDS, Lyme disease and other diseases will be fought and won." The $40 million Center for Molecular Medicine and Biology Learning Laboratories is to be finished by 1999. The center is expected to bridge the university's life sciences department and the School of Medicine at Stony Brook. Among other projects, the center will focus on the university's current work with AIDS patients. "The Morality of Testing" Washington Times (09/04/96) P. A2; Koch, Ed In the July 19 edition of Newsday, quoted today by the Washington Times, former New York Mayor Ed Koch wrote in support of HIV testing for pregnant women. He cited reports that giving AZT to pregnant women with HIV could reduce transmission of the virus by half in the United States. "Not to use an effective treatment against HIV/AIDS infection of the fetus is an immoral act on the part of government," he said, urging the federal government to impose testing and treatment requirements on the states. "A Local Group Pulls Out of Next Year's AIDS Ride" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/04/96) P. B2 A Philadelphia-based non-profit group that operates one of the city's largest HIV testing sites will announce today that it will not participate in next year's Philadelphia-to-Washington, D.C., AIDS bicycle ride fundraiser. The group, the Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives, was one of the three original groups to benefit from the first AIDS ride, held in June. "HIV Patient to Plead Guilty to Rapes" United Press International (09/03/96) A Texas man who said he used a condom when he raped two teenage girls because he is HIV-positive agreed to plead guilty Friday. David Ballard, 36, consented to a plea agreement for two counts each of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping. He admitted to police on Aug. 18 that he had sex with the girls, aged 15 and 17. The girls have thus far tested negative for HIV. "Vietnam Launches Anti-AIDS Campaign" Xinhua News Agency (09/03/96) Vietnam has launched a number of AIDS awareness campaigns and community projects to deal with its growing AIDS epidemic, the local press reported Tuesday. The country has more than 4,200 reported HIV cases, including 353 people with AIDS and 184 deaths from AIDS. In Ho Chi Minh city, 1,550 people are infected with HIV and 200 have AIDS. The government has broadcast information on safer sex and HIV/AIDS prevention through the media, movies, art performances, cultural activities, and family-planning services. In addition, blood test kits have been provided for hospitals, at a cost of $2.7 million. Community projects to care for patients with HIV and AIDS have also been supported by the government. "Female Condoms: An Alternative AIDS Prevention Strategy" Reuters (09/03/96) A study in Zambia of inner-city patients who sought treatment for sexually transmitted diseases indicates that the female condom should be added to HIV/AIDS prevention programs for women and heterosexual couples. Nabila El-Bassel and colleagues from Columbia University reported that, among 45 men and women surveyed, most had a positive attitude about the female condom. "The Politics of Drugs: Back to War" Newsweek (08/26/96) Vol. 128, No. 9, P. 57; Klaidman, Daniel; Barry, John; Rosenstiel, Thomas; et al. President Clinton has not made the war on drugs a priority during his administration, a fact which Bob Dole and the Republican party will repeatedly remind voters about as the election nears, according to Daniel Klaidman in Newsweek. A federal survey recently revealed that drug use by 12- to 17-year-olds has increased 33 percent since 1994, and 80 percent since Clinton took office. William Bennett, former drug czar of the United States, told Newsweek that he blames Clinton for not pursuing the war on drugs. The drug issue comes in third after the economy and crime in the list of voters' priorities. Those voters who say they are concerned about drugs also currently prefer Clinton over Dole, but the issue could sway them. The Dole campaign will likely emphasize the rise in drug use and the fact that Clinton dramatically reduced the budget for the drug czar's office in 1993-1994. FBI Director Louis Freeh has also criticized Clinton for his lack of leadership in curbing the flow of heroin and cocaine. Clinton has restored the drug czar's budget and appointed retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey to Bennett's former position. "New HIV Drugs Cast in Supporting Roles" Journal of the American Medical Association (08/28/96) Vol. 276, No. 8, P. 585; Voelker, Rebecca AIDS researchers are predicting that non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors may have various uses, ranging from combination therapy to preventing HIV infection after exposure. Like nucleoside analogs, the drugs change the function of the HIV replication enzyme reverse transcriptase. Nevirapine, the first of the non-nucleoside drugs to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, has shown promise when combined with AZT and ddI. Among patients taking the three-drug regimen, 80 percent attained undetectable viral load levels after 52 weeks, and three-fourths of them maintained the reduction. Studies with pediatric patients have yielded similar results. Studies to test nevirapine's ability to prevent perinatal transmission will begin next year. Giving the mother a dose of the drug during labor may prevent infection in the infant, who would also receive the drug. Non-nucleosides may also be used for short-term therapy, possibly for post-exposure prophylaxis is the workplace. Other uses could include a pre-exposure pill and a vaginal microbicide.