Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 11:05:20 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/06/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 6, 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 ****************************************************** "Across the USA: Georgia" "Pfizer's English Site Is Research Boon" "AIDS Attacks More Cells Than Thought, Study Finds" "U.S. Study Says Most Schools Teach About AIDS" "U.S. Grant for Population Control to Nepal" "Thousands Biking to NYC for AIDS Funds" "Serono Planning Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for AIDS Product" "Ebola Is Just A Dumb Macho Virus, Expert Says" "Candidate AIDS Vaccine Inspires Hope" "Fill/Flush/Seal: Cups Protect Contraceptives" "School-Based HIV-Prevention Education--United States, 1994" ****************************************************** "Across the USA: Georgia" USA Today (09/06/96) P. 8A Georgia's school superintendent, Lina Schrenko, is being criticized by conservatives for hiring an official who has been accused of improperly helping students get birth control pills, condoms, and HIV tests without parental permission. "Pfizer's English Site Is Research Boon" Wall Street Journal (09/06/96) P. B5A; Moore, Stephen D. Researchers developing new drugs for the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer at the company's Sandwich, England, facility are responsible for medicines that accounted for at least 40 percent of Pfizer's total prescription drug sales in 1995. Sales of Diflucan--the world's most popular anti-fungal drug, one that is used by both AIDS patients and organ transplant recipients--and the heart medicines Cardura and Norvasc totaled $2.6 billion last year. Pfizer's researchers have provided the company with a promising new drug pipeline, allowing it to stay out of the merger frenzy in which many pharmaceutical companies are currently involved. Morgan Stanley analyst Paul Brooke notes that "Pfizer has had the best record of new product launches over the past five years of any major drug company," but the question now is whether the company can maintain the momentum of its currently bulging new drug pipeline. "AIDS Attacks More Cells Than Thought, Study Finds" Reuters (09/06/96); Fox, Maggie English researchers have found evidence that HIV infects CD8 cells, which doctors had previously thought were immune to the virus. In the journal Lancet, Peter Simmonds and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh medical school report the infection with HIV of CD8 cells taken from blood samples of 16 HIV-positive volunteers--half of whom had advanced AIDS. In five of the AIDS patients, infection of CD8 cells accounted for between 66 percent and 97 percent of total viral load. Simmonds said that research will now turn to finding out if the virus actively destroys the cells or only lurks there latently. "U.S. Study Says Most Schools Teach About AIDS" Reuters (09/05/96); Cooper, Mike HIV prevention education is prevalent in U.S. schools, but few teachers explain how to use a condom correctly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. More than 80 percent of U.S. schools teach HIV prevention to middle and high school students. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia required HIV prevention education in 1994, up from only 13 in 1987. "In just a short amount of time, we have been able to really widely implement HIV prevention education in this country," said Dr. Nancy Brener, of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health. The agency reported that only 37.1 percent of teachers in health education classes taught the "correct use of condoms," though most programs did detail the basic facts about AIDS. "U.S. Grant for Population Control to Nepal" Xinhua News Agency (09/06/96) A $30 million grant will be provided to Nepal by the U.S. government for reducing population and improving maternal and child health. The goal of the program is to increase the use of family planning services and reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. STD/HIV prevention and control activities will include expanding the sale of condoms and treating STDs in certain areas. "Thousands Biking to NYC for AIDS Funds" United Press International (09/05/96) The Boston-to-New York AIDS Ride began Thursday, as 3,600 bicyclists left Boston on the 300-mile, 4-day trip to raise funds for AIDS service organizations. About 50 of the riders are HIV-positive. The goal for the second annual event is to raise $6 million for Boston's Fenway Community Health Center, and New York's Community Health Project and Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center. "Serono Planning Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for AIDS Product" Reuters (09/05/96) Serono is planning an advertising campaign for its injectable growth hormone product Serostim, a treatment for AIDS wasting and cachexia. Ads for the product will appear in consumer magazines, and medical journals will also carry the traditional product promotions. The price of Serostim will be limited to $36,000 per patient annually, significantly lower than the price of other somatropin hormone products now available. "Ebola Is Just A Dumb Macho Virus, Expert Says" Reuters (09/05/96); Lauwers, Bert Wile Ebola's impact is far less than HIV's, media attention on the virus has generated global cooperation to fight infectious disease, an expert said Thursday. Guido van der Groen, of the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, told Reuters at the colloquium on Ebola virus research that "Ebola is a lot less smart than HIV," but that its effects have inspired researchers from Europe and the United States to work together to track infectious diseases. Van der Groen gave up his study of Ebola in 1984 to pursue AIDS research with fellow Belgian Peter Piot, now executive director of the United Nation's global AIDS agency. "Candidate AIDS Vaccine Inspires Hope" Lancet (08/31/96) Vol. 348, No. 9027, P. 603; Rowe, Paul M. Researchers have determined, in a trial involving 49 low-risk volunteers not infected with HIV-1, that a recombinant HIV vaccine containing an HIV-1 envelope protein is safe and immunogenic. The scientists report in the Annals of Internal Medicine that most of the participants developed type-specific neutralizing antibodies and at least one acquired CD8 cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity. While the type-specific neutralization titers were among the best obtained with any similar vaccine so far, they were still five to 10 times lower than the titers in a random sample of HIV-1-positive volunteers. The vaccine is being studied in other trials, including a phase II trial for high-risk individuals. "Fill/Flush/Seal: Cups Protect Contraceptives" Packaging Digest (08/96) Vol. 33, No. 11, P. 54 The debut of Axcan Pharma's Protectaid female contraceptive sponges in November 1995 was moved up from February 1996 to fill the void left by the Today sponge, for which sales were halted in May 1995. The Canadian company is now increasing production of the sponges with an automated machine that fills preformed aluminum cups with gel, then picks-and-places polyurethane sponges into the cups before they are flushed with nitrogen gas and heat-sealed. Protectaid is already cleared for retail sales in Canada, and Axcan will be seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of the sponge, which is considered a drug rather than a medical device in the United States. The Protectaid sponge is estimated to be 90 percent effective. Canadian pharmacies have been enthusiastic about the product, as have the target consumers, women aged 25 to 40. Researchers have said Protectaid has also shown promise against the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. "School-Based HIV-Prevention Education--United States, 1994" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (09/06/96) Vol. 45, No. 35, P. 1 To assess the level of HIV education in U.S. schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data on health education that was collected as part of the agency's 1994 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS). In 1994, 78.7 percent of the states required HIV prevention education. HIV prevention was taught in a required course in 85 percent of all middle schools and high schools. Among the school districts that required education in HIV prevention--83 percent in the United States--some 61 percent provided in-service training for teachers. About one-third of all teachers said they had been trained for HIV prevention in the two years before the survey. Among health education teachers, at least 54 percent said they taught "basic facts about HIV/AIDS," and 37.1 percent said they taught the "correct use of condoms." The survey results suggest that HIV prevention programs in U.S. schools need to be improved, despite widespread HIV prevention education in the schools. One key objective is to raise the percentage of teachers who both teach HIV prevention in a health education setting and who receive in-service training on the subject. To meet the national health objective of increasing "to at least 95 percent the proportion of schools that provide age-appropriate HIV and other sexually transmitted disease curricula for students in fourth through 12th grade," an 11 percent increase in the percentage of middle and senior high schools that implement HIV- and STD-prevention programs is needed.