Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 09:37:03 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/13/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 13, 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 ****************************************************** "IRS Freezes Assets of AIDS Clinic Affiliated With Nation of Islam" "Making AIDS Drugs Available to Patients" "Clinton's Medical File Will Stay Shut" "Vertical Transmission of HIV-1 Occurs Late in Pregnancy" "Glasgow Clinic Successful in Preventing HIV in Prostitutes" "Appropriations Subcommittee OKs Labor-HHS Spending Bill" "Is it the Time...?" "Blood and Money" "Canada Notes" ****************************************************** "IRS Freezes Assets of AIDS Clinic Affiliated With Nation of Islam" Washington Post (09/13/96) P. B1; Goldstein, Amy The assets of a Washington, D.C., AIDS clinic have been frozen by the Internal Revenue Service, which is alleging that the clinic failed to pay payroll taxes. The Abundant Life Clinic, which is associated with the Nation of Islam, has become the main source of a controversial AIDS therapy for the city's poor, black residents. The IRS has placed levies of tens of thousands of dollars on the clinic--fines which director Abdul Alim Muhammad called "the wicked machination of those who oppose our work." The clinic is a study site for a government trial of low-dose alpha interferon, or Kemron, a controversial AIDS treatment that is popular among African-Americans. Muhammad accused his opponents of "employing and manipulating the IRS as an attack dog against the clinic and the community." He said the clinic had been hurt by the IRS action, which froze accounts that pay for medical supplies, drugs, rent, and utilities. The trial has not been disrupted, however, and Muhammad said that 19 patients have been enrolled. "Making AIDS Drugs Available to Patients" Wall Street Journal (09/13/96) P. A11; Stratton, James W. Although many states are struggling to provide AIDS drugs to patients, California Gov. Pete Wilson has made this a priority, notes Dr. James W. Stratton, of the California Department of Health Services, in a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal. Stratton refers to a recent Journal article that explained the problems many states are having in meeting the demand for the drugs. Wilson, however, has proposed fully funding the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and making protease inhibitors available, Stratton says. California's 1996-1997 budget includes an increase of $19.5 million for the program, which includes the new drugs. "Clinton's Medical File Will Stay Shut" Washington Times (09/13/96) P. A1; Bedard, Paul In response to questions about why President Clinton's health records are not being released, White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry told reporters that Clinton does not have HIV and has not been treated for any other sexually transmitted disease. Despite Bob Dole's challenge to the White House to release the records, McCurry said the files will not be opened because they are private and embarrassing. McCurry said that had the President been treated for a sexually transmitted disease it would have been reported at the time. Summaries of Clinton's medical records, but not actual test results, have already been released. "Vertical Transmission of HIV-1 Occurs Late in Pregnancy" Reuters (09/12/96) French researchers report that transmission of HIV-1 from mother to fetus usually occurs late in pregnancy. Dr. Laurent Mandelbrot and colleagues studied fetal blood in 28 HIV-positive women prior to pregnancy termination. They report in the current issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that all the blood samples tested negative for HIV. "Glasgow Clinic Successful in Preventing HIV in Prostitutes" Reuters (09/12/96) The rate of HIV infection among prostitutes in Glasgow, Scotland, has declined following the opening of a health center providing HIV prevention services. The center opened in 1988 in Glasgow's "red light district" with the purpose of advocating HIV prevention among the city's prostitutes, most of whom are injection drug users. The center provided needles and condoms, hepatitis B vaccinations, and cervical screening. Susan V. Carr and colleagues from the Family Planning and Sexual Health Center in Glasgow report that, after six years, the prevalence of HIV infection among the women remains under 5 percent, and most of the HIV-positive women were infected before the center opened. "Appropriations Subcommittee OKs Labor-HHS Spending Bill" Reuters (09/12/96) The Senate Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee approved a $65.7 billion spending bill for fiscal 1997 on Sept. 10. The Senate funding for Health and Human Services is $212 million less than that approved by the House due to a disparity in funding for the National Institutes of Health. Under the Senate bill, the Office of AIDS Research would receive a $1.46 billion "direct appropriation," and programs funded by the Ryan White CARE Act would receive a total of $854 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive a funding increase of $30 million for breast and cervical cancer screening, infectious diseases, and HIV/AIDS prevention. "Is it the Time...?" American Medical News (09/02/96) Vol. 39, No. 33, P. 13; Shelton, Deborah L. The issue of mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women and their infants has become increasingly controversial as the rate of HIV infection among females continues to rise. Women now account for 19 percent of all AIDS cases, up from 7 percent in 1985. Moreover, an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 HIV-positive women gave birth in 1993, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A clinical trial by government researchers in 1994 showed that, with early detection, AZT could reduce perinatal transmission by two-thirds, heightening the importance of HIV testing. By a close vote, the American Medical Association agreed to endorse mandatory testing in June. However, other medical groups oppose mandatory testing on the grounds that it could keep the women most at risk from seeking any prenatal care. For its part, Congress has passed legislation to urge the states to reduce the rate of perinatal HIV transmission--by mandatory testing or other means--or risk losing federal funds for AIDS. New York has passed a law to require that all newborns be tested and that results be "unblinded." Advocates of voluntary testing, including the CDC, cite high rates of testing when pregnant women were counseled about HIV as part of prenatal care. "Blood and Money" Vibe (08/96) Vol. 4, No. 6, P. 98; Timmons, Stuart While large AIDS service organizations have become multi-million dollar institutions, smaller community-based groups--created for minority communities--receive a smaller cut of the federal AIDS funding pie. Competition between the two types of groups has created tension in the AIDS community, despite efforts to give all parties a voice. For example, three African-American board members of the Gay Men's Health Crisis resigned earlier this year, claiming the agency was "not attuned to the needs of minority communities." Carl Bean, founder of Los Angeles' Minority AIDS Project, says securing funding is the organization's greatest challenge. The group believes that programs should be from the community and by the community, and hires former prostitutes, gang members, and transgendered persons for outreach projects. Meanwhile, Imani P. Woods, who founded Street Outreach Services for people at risk for HIV in Seattle, resigned from the organization last year in frustration over inadequate funding. She says AIDS cases in minority communities are increasing because politicians are not willing to provide the funding needed for community-based AIDS service organizations. "Canada Notes" Maclean's (09/02/96) Vol. 109, No. 36, P. 19 Monique Begin, former Canadian health minister, complained in a letter to the panel investigating Canada's tainted blood scandal that it was wrong for bureaucrats to be blamed in the investigation while political leaders were not. More than 13,000 Canadians were infected with HIV through contaminated blood products in the 1980s. Three people who worked for Begin from 1976 to 1984 were found blameworthy by the federal inquiry, while she and her deputy minister were not.