Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 14:40:56 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary April 26, 1994 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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Scientists Find Compounds That May Block AIDS Virus" Philadelphia Inquirer (04/26/94) P. A3; Collins, Huntly Scientists at the French laboratory of pharmaceutical giant Rhone-Poulenc Rorer have discovered a new class of compounds that appears to prevent HIV from invading human immune system cells in test tubes. The synthetic compounds, which are derived from betulinic acid found in the bark of the European plane tree, interrupt the viral life cycle at a very early stage and prevent HIV-infected cells from spreading to other cells. Although the mechanism is not fully understood, researchers say the compounds block the outer protein coat of HIV from bonding with the outer membrane of the host cell. Without this fusion, the virus cannot reproduce. According to the French team, the new compounds were effective against the most common strains of HIV-1, but were unable to inhibit so-called Zairean strains of HIV-1 found in sub-Saharan Africa, or HIV-2, which is prevalent in West Africa. This suggests that the virus may be able to build a resistance to the compounds. Jean-Francois Mayaux, head of the French team, warned that the finding was based on lab experiments and would have to be confirmed in clinical trials of humans. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer hopes to test the new agents in people sometime next year. "Australia Gives Indonesia $US13 Million for AIDS" Reuters (04/26/94) Australia will allocate more than $13 million to help Indonesia battle the spread of AIDS, announced Development Cooperation Minister Gordon Bilney. "The Australia-Indonesia project will play an important role in preventing the spread of the disease in the Asia-Pacific region," he said in a statement on Tuesday. The effort will develop community-level activities in conjunction with non-government organizations, according to a spokesperson for the Australian government. The focus will be on eastern Indonesian provinces, and success would provide models for similar projects throughout the rest of the country. Indonesia has only slightly more than 200 officially reported cases of AIDS, but expects an explosion of disease within the next few years unless action is taken to prevent an epidemic. Officials say Indonesia has as many as 20,000 cases of HIV infection, and predict that the figure could climb to 500,000 by 1995. "Across the USA: Illinois" USA Today (04/26/94) P. 6A The names of AIDS patients should be disclosed to public health departments, argues the House of Delegates of the Illinois State Medical Society. While the House contends that such a system would facilitate notification of others who may be infected, opponents are concerned that disclosure could result in lost employment or insurance. "Playboy Pitches Condoms in Taiwan" United Press International (04/26/94); Lewis, Mark A. Playboy, in conjunction with one of the world's largest condom manufacturers, on Tuesday introduced a colorful line of prophylactics in Taiwan. The North American branch of Malaysia Borneo Finance Corp. markets and distributes the condom line under a license agreement with Playboy. According to a product brochure, the condoms include lubricated blue, ultra sensitive red, ribbed green, and studded purple. A sales campaign includes a series of commercials that deliver the message, "If you love her, use a condom." Playboy Senior Vice President Bob Beleson says the commercials emphasize positive attitudes instead of fear. "The strong educational and philanthropic components of our program also will distinguish the brand and create public support," he adds. Playboy and MBF have established a joint foundation to support AIDS prevention, safe sex, and family planning organizations. "Group Admits Role in Scandal" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/22/94) P. A2; Mickleburgh, Rod The Canadian Hemophilia Society has for the first time clearly conceded its own contribution to the country's tainted-blood tragedy. The group, which was pivotal in providing hemophiliacs with medical information, was wrong to reassure hemophiliacs in the mid-1980s that there was little risk of contracting HIV through blood products, admitted CHS vice president Durhane Wong-Rieger. The society's reassurances were based on information provided by its medical and scientific advisers, as well as the Canadian Red Cross, she said. "We should have challenged them," Wong-Rieger said. "We, as a society, were much too trusting. In hindsight, we should have put on the brakes and said, 'let's reassess this.'" She said the society has learned from its mistake, and now challenges the blood establishments "every step of the way." Wong-Rieger noted that the decision to publicly address the hemophilia society's role in the HIV infection of Canadian hemophiliacs was reinforced by the testimonies of three hemophiliacs who ignored the society's reassurances that there was little risk of infection from blood products. Today, all three are HIV-free. "AIDS Conference Fuels Government Debate" Knight-Ridder Financial News (04/25/94) Members of Canada's Reform Party have demanded that plans for a federally funded conference on AIDS be dismissed. Party members oppose the summit because it will bring 500 HIV-infected attendees into Canada. "AIDS Activist Says Data Was Stolen" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/22/94) P. A3 The AIDS Network of Edmonton, a group trying to educate homosexuals in the mid-1980s, resorted to stealing and furtively reproducing information because the group could not get any outside support, the former chairman told the inquiry into Canada's contaminated-blood scandal. "We didn't have any of our own information so we'd steal it from other sources, photocopy it and put our name at the bottom," admitted Michael Phair. "There were a lot of contributions people didn't know they were making." Phair told the Krever inquiry that inventive schemes such as this were necessary because the AIDS Network was repeatedly rejected by Red Cross, government, municipal, and university officials for funding. Phair said government insiders confided that money was available, but that the group was being discriminated against and not taken seriously. Records indicate that as much as $12,000 could have been available earlier than when the AIDS Network actually received money, according to Douglas Elliott, an attorney for the Canadian AIDS Society. Phair agreed that the money could have saved lives had it been granted at the time. "People: Just Fiddling Around" United Press International (04/23/94); Kuklenski, Valerie An organizing committee that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, Anjelica Huston, Patrick Swazye, and Phylicia and Ahmad Rashad is pleased to present a special concert performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" to raise funds for an AIDS charity. Theodore Bikel will play Tevye, Estelle Getty will portray Yente, and Carl Reiner will narrate in the April 30 Beverly Hills event. Proceeds will benefit Tuesday's Child, an organization that provides for the basic needs of children and families affected by AIDS. "Not Only a Gay Disease" Advocate (04/19/94) No. 653, P. 31; Gallagher, John For the first time, HIV is spreading most rapidly through heterosexual sex instead of gay sex or intravenous drug use--a trend that raises concerns that precious AIDS funding could be diverted from infected gay men. "There is always a danger that statistics like these will result in a shift in resources rather than in an expansion of resources," says Jeff Levi, director of policy development for the AIDS Action Council in Washington, D.C. "The epidemic is not over in the gay community, and the need for prevention there continues." According to a CDC report, the rate of increase for AIDS cases attributed to homosexual or bisexual sex was 87 percent last year, while cases attributed to heterosexual transmission soared 130 percent. This shift is reflected in the diverse clientele seeking treatment at organizations previously accustomed mainly to male patients. "More and more women come through our doors with new needs that distinguish them from our male clients," says Jeff Richardson, executive director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis of New York. "We have to look at how best to address these issues in a sensitive and provocative way so the women feel welcome." Financial straits, however, make this difficult, and with no increase in federal AIDS prevention sought by President Clinton, more tensions are likely to arise as AIDS groups compete for limited funding.