Date: Fri, 02 Sep 1994 10:02:54 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 09/02/94. AIDS Daily Summary September 2, 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 ************************************************************ "$25 Million Committed by U.S. for Alternatives to AIDS Drug Therapy" "AIDS Vaccine Doubted" "Female Condom to Get Disease Trials in City" "CDC Says AIDS Case Remains Unsolved" "Sites Awarded, Renewed for Community-Based AIDS Trials" "Gladstone Institute Researchers Create Multi-Purpose Vaccine Capable of Generating Immune Response to HIV" "Turks Say AIDS Not For Them, Doctors See Problem" "Iraq Testing All Travelers for AIDS at Jordan Border" "Study Adds to Fears of Blood Recipients" ************************************************************ "$25 Million Committed by U.S. for Alternatives to AIDS Drug Therapy" Washington Post (09/02/94) P. A19 The federal government has promised $25 million for the investigation of alternatives to drug therapy for the treatment of AIDS, to be split among the New England Medical Center, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Stanford University, and the University of California at San Diego. National Institutes of Health officials said on Friday that more money is expected to be approved for the studies next year. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony S. Fauci, said, "This effort is crucial because currently available anti-HIV drugs only partially and temporarily suppress replication of the virus, and their use is hampered by toxicity and drug resistance." "AIDS Vaccine Doubted" Washington Post (09/02/94) P. A10 A study conducted by Sally M. Blower and Angela R. McLean of Oxford University and published in Friday's Science magazine showed it to be nearly impossible for a vaccine alone to conquer AIDS. Using the gay community in San Francisco as a model, Blower and McLean found that the number of HIV cases in that community could double every two to seven years. They further concluded that a vaccine might even contribute to the disease by creating a false sense of security and preventing changes in dangerous behavior. Several HIV vaccines are currently in development but none have been approved for widespread testing in the United States. Related Story: Philadelphia Inquirer (09/02) P. A17 "Female Condom to Get Disease Trials in City" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/02/94) P. A1; Belluck, Pam; Collins, Huntly On Tuesday a health department committee approved two tests on the female condom, to start in the fall, involving patients at the department's sexually transmitted disease clinic. The first study, funded by the condom's manufacturer, Female Health Co., would attempt to ascertain whether the female condom would protect women from sexually transmitted diseases. The second study, funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Protection, would try to determine what sort of contraceptive women will use if given a choice. The female condom gained FDA approval as a contraceptive last year and clinical trials have found it to be as effective in preventing pregnancy as the diaphragm, the sponge, and the cervical cap. "CDC Says AIDS Case Remains Unsolved" United Press International (09/01/94) Dr. Harold Jaffe, director of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's division on HIV/AIDS, says the agency has no direct evidence of criminal intent concerning the dental practice of Florida Dr. David Acer. Officials linked six cases of HIV infection to Acer in 1990. According to investigators, transmission of the virus could have occurred in one of three ways. Dr. Acer could have accidentally cut himself and exposed patients to his blood, he could have used unsterilized equipment and unsterile procedures, or he could have intentionally transmitted the virus. A behavioral scientist has stated that results of a three-year study into the case show the late dentist's personality matches the profiles of 36 serial killers studied by the FBI. "Sites Awarded, Renewed for Community-Based AIDS Trials" PR Newswire (09/01/94) The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded funding to four new sites and 12 incumbent sites to study promising HIV therapies as part of the community-based clinical trials network. The first-year funding for the 16 five-year awards is approximately $12 million. Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of NIAID, says the awards "strengthen our capability and commitment to offer HIV-infected patients clinical trials of HIV therapies in community settings such as private practices and clinics as well as in health centers." The awards stem from the recompetition of NIAID's Terry Beim Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS. "Gladstone Institute Researchers Create Multi-Purpose Vaccine Capable of Generating Immune Response to HIV" Business Wire (09/01/94) Researchers from UC San Francisco have inserted two HIV genes into the poliovirus vaccine to create a new vaccine capable of generating in an immune response in animals to HIV. The decades-old Sabin polio vaccine was used as a vehicle to deliver key proteins to specific targets in the body, where they could generate an immune response to guard against infection. The proteins packed into the poliovirus included two important HIV proteins, Nef and Gag, a protein from influenza type A virus, and the highly toxic cholera toxin. "Turks Say AIDS Not For Them, Doctors See Problem" Reuters (09/01/94); Marcus, Aliza Although many Turks believe conservative values protect them from AIDS, doctors say tourism, prostitution, and a changing world distort that view. But doctors say the only conservative aspect about Turkey is its unwillingness to candidly discuss the disease. Studies over the past two years show that Turks are uninformed about AIDS and how it's acquired. The relatively low number of Turks with AIDS is currently under 400, which is often cited as proof that the disease is not spreading in Turkey. Dr. Enver Tali Cetin, head of the private AIDS Prevention Association, believes that the number of Turks infected with AIDS is "closer to 15,000 or 20,000." Doctors say there are indications the virus is spreading, such as an increase in other sexually transmitted diseases--a sign that people are not using condoms. AIDS workers say that Turkey has the ability to stop the spread of AIDS. Ilkay Demir of the AIDS Prevention Society says when workers go out and talk to people, "they react positively, even those from the religious community, but the problem is that we don't have the means to reach everyone." "Iraq Testing All Travelers for AIDS at Jordan Border" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/01/94) P. A9 In an effort to prevent AIDS from reaching Iraq, the Iraqi Embassy in Amman, Jordan, reports that Iraq officials have started testing travelers for the AIDS virus at its border crossing with Jordan. United Nations officials say the number of AIDS cases among Iraq's 18 million people is small, but increasing. "Study Adds to Fears of Blood Recipients" Toronto Globe and Mail (08/31/94) P. A3; Picard, Andre The Laboratory Centre for Disease Control in Canada estimates that 940 to 1,440 people may have been infected with HIV through transfusions between 1978 to 1985--two to three times the number of people originally thought to be infected. In addition, as many as 245 people may still be "unaware of their HIV-positive status." Although public officials in almost every province have urged transfusion recipients to be tested for the virus, hospitals have resisted demands that they locate each person who received blood because of the cost of such research and the poor condition of records. Scientists say that the risk of being infected by bad blood was nearly 25 times higher in 1985 than in 1978. They also estimate that the risk of HIV to surgery patients receiving between 30 and 50 units of blood had risen to 9.4 out of every 1,000 by the time mandatory blood screening for the virus was started in 1985. Public officials are concerned that those who didn't realize they were affected could have spread the disease through sexual encounters. The Canadian Red Cross Society reports that the risk of receiving contaminated blood during surgery in Canada today is estimated at one in 250,000.