Date: Wed, 09 Mar 1994 09:08:51 -0500 (EST) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 03/09/94 AIDS Daily Summary March 09, 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 "Bill Offered on Requiring AIDS Report" New York Times (03/09/94) P. B6 (Dao, James) A group of legislators in New York state, rejecting a report opposing the idea, have proposed a measure that would require mothers to be notified if their newborns test positive for HIV. Currently, all babies born in the state are tested anonymously for the virus and identified only by number. The data is used solely to track progression of the disease. When babies do test positive, it means that the mother is infected. Critics, therefore, contend that to identify HIV-positive newborns is to test mothers without consent--a practice that is currently prohibited by state law. Opponents also warn that mandatory notification will jeopardize treatment of infected children by frightening away their mothers and causing them to avoid hospitals and doctors. Bill advocates, however, argue that advances in medical treatment make it possible to significantly prolong the lives of HIV-positive children if they are identified and their mothers and doctors are informed. "Children are the silent, most vulnerable victims of AIDS," said Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, a primary sponsor of the bill. "This is not violating confidentiality. It is providing information a mother ought to have." Nevertheless, the bill is expected to encounter tough opposition in the Democratic-controlled Assembly, where several prominent black and Hispanic lawmakers are expected to reject it. "New Drug Touted for Ability to Kill AIDS-Infected Cells" Toronto Globe and Mail (Canada) (03/08/94) P. A6 (Taylor, Paul) A Canadian and British research team says it has developed a new drug that can selectively kill cells infected with HIV without harming healthy ones. The drug, EF 13, has been tested only in a laboratory environment, and director of research Dr. Michael Winther concedes that it is uncertain what will happen when the drug is actually administered to an AIDS patient. EF 13 is made from naturally occurring compounds in the body--gamma linolenic acid and lithium salt of polyunsaturated fatty acid. When introduced into a test tube containing both healthy and HIV-infected cells, EF 13 entered both types but appeared to have a negative effect only on the infected cells. The compound distorted the cell membrane, hindering the ability of the cell to eliminate its normal waste products. Eventually, the build-up caused the cell to die. "When the cells are killed, the important thing is that any of the viruses inside the cells die as well," says Winther. The drug was initially developed in Nova Scotia by Efamol Research, the Canadian subsidiary of the British-based firm Scotia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Winther, who is laboratory director of Efamol, says researchers at the Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London produced similar results in recent tests of EF 13. "HIV Test Sought in Spitting Case" Boston Globe (03/08/94) P. 24 A motion has been filed in a Massachusetts court to force a man accused of spitting blood at an emergency technician to undergo HIV testing. Thirty-three-year-old James Cassidy, of Easton, spit blood at David Betzer on Jan. 1 as the technician was carrying Cassidy on a stretcher after a car accident. Betzer became concerned when he learned that Cassidy had informed police that he was infected with HIV. Cassidy later said he was HIV-negative. In court yesterday, Cassidy pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault and battery--spitting blood into Betzer's mouth and eyes. "Zimbabwean Chief Says "Kill AIDS Sufferers"" Reuters (03/08/94) Harare--Pregnant women with AIDS should be killed, argued Zimbabwean member of parliament Chief Nathaniel Mutoko at a parliamentary debate on Tuesday. "If a pregnant woman is found to have AIDS she should be killed so that the AIDS ends there with her," said Mutoko, as quoted by the state news agency ZIANA. "You should not only terminate the pregnancy, because the woman would still continue to spread the AIDS." Between 400,000 and 600,000 Zimbabweans are thought to be infected with HIV, while official estimates of AIDS cases are placed at between 16,000 and 20,000 people. "Women's Day" Associated Press (03/08/94) (Allen, Arthur) Bonn, Germany--Tuesday marked International Women's Day, and some AIDS activists commemorated the occasion by focusing attention on women infected with the disease. In Paris, for example, about 50 members of the advocacy group ACT-UP draped a banner from the Eiffel Tower reading "AIDS: Women Also Are Dying." And in Congo, the director of the national AIDS program reported that six percent of the pregnant women in his country are HIV-positive. "Free AIDS Test Offered on Brandeis Campus" Boston Globe (03/08/94) P. 68 (Stevenson, Marshall) Free, anonymous HIV testing was initiated at Brandeis University yesterday, but on a much smaller scale than originally planned. The program was proposed by senior Audrey Latman, who said free, anonymous testing would provide students with valuable information about AIDS. She had hoped that the state would help pay for the tests. Following discussions, however, the state's department of health agreed to fund tests for only about 20 people, far fewer than organizers had hoped. Latman said it was her understanding that unlimited testing was not feasible, and that the state could not fund more tests in part because the money was not budgeted. Under the program, three counselors from Cambridge Hospital will visit the campus, offer about 20 tests, and return two weeks later to discuss test results and offer counseling. Brandeis offers its own confidential testing for about $40, but it is not anonymous. Supporters of anonymous testing say some students do not want to be tested out of fear that a positive result on their health record might jeopardize job opportunities or health insurance benefits. Officials at Cambridge Hospital urged students not tested at the campus to contact the hospital, which offers free, anonymous HIV testing. "Gilead Sciences Begins Human Clinical Trials of Oral GS 840 for Human Immunodeficiency Virus" Business Wire (03/04/94) Foster City, Calif.--Gilead Sciences Inc. has begun Phase I human clinical testing to determine the safety, tolerance, and pharmacokinetics of its prodrug GS 840 in HIV patients. A prodrug is a modified version of a parent compound, designed to enhance the compound's delivery properties and convert to the parent compound once inside the body. GS 840 is a prodrug of Gilead's GS 393 compound, which is currently in ongoing Phase I/II clinical studies for HIV treatment. Preliminary findings from these trials indicate that administration of GS 393 is associated with reduced p24 antigenemia and transient increases in CD4 counts in selected AIDS patients. In addition, Gilead has two other products in human clinical trials. GS 504 is in Phase II/III pivotal trials for the potential treatment of peripheral retinitis caused by cytomegalovirus, a disease that can lead to loss of vision in AIDS patients. A topical formulation of GS 504 is being evaluated in Phase I/II studies as a potential treatment for herpes simplex virus infection. "HIV-Linked Mental Loss Takes Job Toll" Science News (02/26/94) Vol. 145, No. 9, P. 132 (Bower, Bruce) Previous studies suggest that one in three HIV-positive individuals who show no medical indications of disease nonetheless experiences mild neuropsychological impairment, such as loss of attention and memory, and reaction times on laboratory tests. New data implies, for the first time, that sometimes this slight impairment can hinder daily functioning in the workplace. Robert K. Heaton, a psychologist at the University of California at San Diego, and colleagues studied 378 men at various stages of HIV infection, including a control group of uninfected men. They found that asymptomatic HIV-positive men more often report either unemployment or a recent decline in job performance if they also exhibit mild neuropsychological problems. Most of the men were relatively young and still in the early stages of infection--both of which reduce the likelihood of job difficulties. Alex Martin, a psychologist at the National Institute of Mental health, stresses that the findings are not grounds to institute mandatory HIV testing to identify employees whose performance might drop. Instead, he says clinicians should carefully check into complaints about attention loss or other thinking problems expressed by HIV-positive individuals who, otherwise, appear healthy. Martin also notes that researchers do not know if mild neuropsychological problems in symptom-free cases of HIV are a marker of widespread loss of thinking abilities later. "HIV Among Homosexuals in the Netherlands" Lancet (Great Britain) (02/26/94) P. 536 (Spanjer, Marjanke) One in 20 gay men in the Netherlands is infected with HIV, according to a survey conducted by the State Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) and the Department of Homosexual Studies at the University of Utrecht. The latest figures raise the tally of HIV-positive homosexual men to between 6,500 and 15,000, whereas previous statistics placed the total at 6,500 to 8,500. Dr. Hans Houweling of RIVM believes that the 5 percent seropositivity rate may still be an underestimate, since the participants in the survey were subscribers of "Gay Journal" magazine and probably represented a better educated sample of gay men who knew how to avoid risk behavior. Three hundred and eight survey respondents agreed to undergo HIV testing. The results implied that not only were gay men at high risk for HIV infection, but that risky behavior did not significantly decrease after HIV testing. The researchers say this finding means that preventive efforts need to focus on those who are not yet infected. "And the Band Stopped Playing" Newsweek (02/28/94) Vol. 123, No. 9, P. 36 (Adler, Jerry and Monserrate, Carey) When journalist Randy Shilts was cut down by AIDS at age 42, he became one of a projected 50,000 Americans who will die in 1994 in what doctors are now referring to as a "mature" epidemic--one that infects about as many new individual as it kills. Shilts kept his condition secret as long as possible. "Every gay writer who tests positive ends up being an AIDS activist," he once explained. "I wanted to keep on being a reporter." As a full-time reporter covering AIDS for the San Francisco Chronicle, Shilts did publicize the epidemic. He assured heterosexual Americans that they could not contract AIDS from mosquitoes. To his own community, he issued warnings that anonymous bathhouse sex and promiscuity were killing gay men--a statement that was contrary to the commercial interests of bathhouse owners and the broader issues of gay identity. "A lot of those people are still angry at Randy for wanting the bathhouses closed, but a lot of them are dead," says Shilts' friend, activist Larry Kramer.