Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 09:38:19 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary June 23, 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ******************************************************** "New In-Home AIDS Blood Test Needs Further Study, Say Majority on FDA Panel" "Oldham Resigns as AIDS Chief" "Rain Forest Tree May Help AIDS Sufferers" "Athletes With AIDS Virus Conquering the Challenges" "The Reliable Source" "Woman Allegedly Cites AIDS as Threat in Needle Stabbing" "French Court Opens Door to AIDS Poisoning Trial" "FDA Clears Pill That Combines Three TB Drugs" "Census Bureau Study" ************************************************************ "New In-Home AIDS Blood Test Needs Further Study, Say Majority on FDA Panel" Baltimore Sun (06/23/94) P. 3A A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee was split over whether home HIV tests would work, but most panel members recognized the need for national testing to address their questions. While scientists and AIDS activists alike have agreed that the FDA should approve a saliva-based AIDS test, proposed home blood-testing kits have enjoyed only a lukewarm reception. Critics have expressed concern that children could play with the test, employers could misuse it, telephone counseling might not effectively prevent suicide, and testing dried blood samples could yield inaccurate results. Others say the kits, at about $30 each, would be too expensive for the poor and mostly minority population they are supposed to target. Still, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop showed his support for the products, saying, "Home access testing is the single most important weapon we could employ to fight AIDS." Related Stories: Washington Post (06/23) P. B1; Washington Times (06/23) P. A5; New York Times (06/23) P. A18; Philadelphia Inquirer (06/23) P. A2. "Oldham Resigns as AIDS Chief" Washington Times (06/23/94) P. C5; Seigle, Greg Frank Oldham Jr., who in January reluctantly accepted an appointment to direct the D.C. Agency for HIV/AIDS, will resign from that position on July 26 and return to his former position in New York City as executive director of the HIV Health and Human Services Council. He will be replaced by the D.C. agency's deputy administrator, M. Valerie Mills. Oldham, 45, said he was satisfied with his efforts during his tenure in the District, and praised Mayor Sharon Pratt-Kelly for her commitment to fighting the spread of AIDS. Related Story: Washington Post (06/23) P. A1. "Rain Forest Tree May Help AIDS Sufferers" Reuters (06/23/94) The National Cancer Institute this week signed a pact with the government of Sarawak, a Malaysian state on Borneo island, to conduct research into a species of tree found in Malaysian rain forests that may be able to prevent the spread of HIV. Dr. Gordon Cragg, chief of the NCI's natural products branch, said that two anti-AIDS compounds, Costatolide and Calanolide, were identified in samples of the Bintangor tree during tests at an institute lab. "Athletes With AIDS Virus Conquering the Challenges" New York Times (06/23/94) P. B12; McKinley Jr., James C. Although it is not known how many of the 10,400 athletes participating in New York City's Gay Games this week are HIV-positive or have full-blown AIDS symptoms, at least 300 have voluntarily informed organizers that they are infected. Some of the infected athletes came to fulfill a competitive desire before their bodies collapsed. Some came to prove that they still could, and some to eradicate the stereotypical image of emaciated, scarred AIDS patients. Also, they came because they did not know if they would be alive for the next competition in 1998. Motivated by these reasons, the athletes are spurred to achieve their personal bests. HIV-positive swimmer James T. Ballard, for example, swam a world record for his age group in the 100-meter backstroke on Tuesday. "The Reliable Source" Washington Post (06/23/94) P. C3; Romano, Lois Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders yesterday confronted the religious right for its opposition to AIDS and sex education programs. "We've got to be strong to take on those people who are selling our children out in the name of religion," Elders said during a speech to the Lesbian and Gay Health Conference in New York. "We've got to be as aggressive as they've been." "Woman Allegedly Cites AIDS as Threat in Needle Stabbing" Boston Globe (06/22/94) P. 17; Buote, Brenda J. A Dorchester woman being escorted to jail on Saturday allegedly jabbed a Boston police officer with a hypodermic needle that may have been filled with HIV-contaminated blood. After the incident, 27-year-old Julie Harris shouted, "I'll stab any police officer I want with needles and I'll make sure they have blood in them so you'll get AIDS." According to police, Harris was handcuffed, but somehow managed to retrieve the syringe from her underwear and attempted to stab Officer Stephen J. Ridge through a crack in the police cruiser's partition. Ridge pulled over and called for help. Sgt. Trent Holland responded and was allegedly stabbed in his middle left finger with the needle as he tried to restrain Harris. "French Court Opens Door to AIDS Poisoning Trial" Reuters (06/22/94); Prevost, Nathalie The French Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Dr. Jean-Pierre Allain, France's former director of blood transfusion research, to throw out his fraud conviction, but did not rule on whether he and other public health officials should face a jury on more serious charges of poisoning. Civil plaintiffs and AIDS activists have argued that the officials who in 1985 allowed the distribution of blood supplies known to be tainted with HIV were guilty of poisoning the several hundred hemophiliacs who died as a result. Allain was convicted and sentenced to four years in jail--a ruling that was at first interpreted as closing the door to further prosecution. The ensuing outrage prompted Supreme Court President Christian Le Gunehec to clarify that the decision "leaves the issue of poisoning open." The poisoning charge is a much more serious one, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. "FDA Clears Pill That Combines Three TB Drugs" Washington Blade (06/10/94) Vol. 25, No. 24, P. 31; van Hertum, Aras The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of Rifater, a combination of three drugs, for the treatment of tuberculosis. Standard regimens for TB require patients to take up to 13 pills daily, prompting some patients to quit taking the medication once their condition improves. Rifater, a cocktail of rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide, requires only about six daily doses. Marion Merrill Dow Inc. plans to begin selling the pill this summer. "Census Bureau Study" Advocate (06/14/94) P. 12 By the year 2020, AIDS will force average life expectancy to be nine to 25 years less than it would normally be in the nations most affected by the epidemic.