Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 10:00:38 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary April 26, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Merck's Chairman Stresses Developing Prescription Drugs" "G.M. To Sponsor AIDS Supplement" "Pacific Breaks Down Sexual Taboos to Fight AIDS" "Across the USA: Illinois/Nebraska" "LIDAK Pharmaceuticals Announces That N-Docosanol..." "T II NAC Board Urges Speedy Approval of S.641" "Predictors of Failure of Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia Prophylaxis" "Tort Law" "Outport Outrage" "A Conversation with Kristine Gebbie: the First National AIDS Policy Coordinator" ************************************************************ "Merck's Chairman Stresses Developing Prescription Drugs" Wall Street Journal (04/26/95) P. B6; Tanouye, Elyse At the Merck & Co. annual meeting, Chairman Raymond V. Gilmartin stated that the company will keep trying to develop new prescription drugs to boost corporate growth. Gilmartin highlighted the company's new drug prospects, including a potential new treatment for AIDS and an osteoporosis drug. Merck plans to apply for accelerated Food and Drug Administration approval of its AIDS compound, MK-639 in 1996. The drug is already being tested in 3,000 HIV patients in seven countries. Gilmartin noted that the drug is not a cure, because HIV develops a resistance to it; however, he added, the drug does "produce sustained and meaningful increases in the number of CD4 cells." Merck will also spend $1.3 billion on internal research programs in 1995, and $300 million in research through strategic alliances, Gilmartin added. Related Story: Investor's Business Daily (04/26) P. A7 "G.M. To Sponsor AIDS Supplement" New York Times (04/26/95) P. D9 For the first time, the General Motors Corporation will be the sole sponsor of a special magazine advertising supplement promoting the yearly "Seventh on Sale" AIDS benefit. The company will spend about $150,000 on the 48-page supplement, which will accompany copies of the May issue of Vogue magazine to be distributed in the New York metropolitan area. General Motors will also contribute a 1995 Cadillac to be auctioned at the benefit, which will be held May 18-21, according to a spokesman for the Conde Nast Publications unit of Advance Publications, which publishes Vogue. In addition, Vogue will donate $500,000 to the benefit's sponsors. "Pacific Breaks Down Sexual Taboos to Fight AIDS" Reuters (04/26/95); Gillies, Fiona Last year, the number of AIDS cases reported in the South Pacific was slightly greater than that of the United States. The number of cases increased 35.3 percent, compared to 31.7 percent in the United States, according to the New Caledonia-based South Pacific Commission (SPC). The SPC estimated, however, that the region's true rate of infection for last year could be as many as 50 times higher than reported. The highest incidence of AIDS was in Papua, New Guinea, where 87 AIDS and 236 HIV cases were reported. "All the danger signs are there. There's a lot of casual sex, alcohol abuse, multiple partners, bisexual sex," said Fiji AIDS Task Force coordinator Jane Tyler. Because the South Pacific's rate of AIDS is projected to increase significantly in the future, educators and health workers are trying to break down the cultural barriers which prevent open discussion of sex. For example, the Fiji AIDS Task Force recently held its first rural education workshop in a small village. The participants were asked to identify body parts and sexual acts using a diagram of the human body. "It's up to them to give us a word they feel comfortable with," said volunteer Temo Sasau. "Across the USA: Illinois/Nebraska" USA Today (04/26/95) P. 7A In Rockford, Ill., 25-year-old prisoner Michael Blucker--who says he contracted HIV after being repeatedly raped in jail--filed a suit claiming violation of his civil rights. In other AIDS-related news, women, minorities, and young people will be the focus of an AIDS education and prevention campaign, which is being conducted by the Nebraska AIDS Project. "LIDAK Pharmaceuticals Announces That N-Docosanol..." PR Newswire (04/25/95) LIDAK Pharmaceuticals and researchers at the University of California at Davis told the Eighth International Conference for Antiviral Research on Tuesday that n-docosanol prevents vaginal transmission of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) to rhesus monkeys. SIV is the primate equivalent of HIV. Lidak's president and chief executive, David H. Katz, said, "Developing barrier methods to protect females against HIV infection has become a significant priority for both the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization." N-docosanol is known by the brand name LIDAKOL. "T II NAC Board Urges Speedy Approval of S.641" PR Newswire (04/25/95) This past weekend, the Board of Directors of the Ryan White CARE Act National AIDS Coalition (T II NAC) cited as a top priority rapid Senate approval of the Ryan White CARE Act (S.641). The Title II National AIDS Coalition initiates and supports actions that guarantee a comprehensive continuum of care for people with and affected by HIV and AIDS. Funds from the Ryan White CARE Act Title II are distributed in all 50 states and three territories of the United States to support HIV/AIDS-related services. "Predictors of Failure of Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia Prophylaxis" Journal of the American Medical Association (04/19/95) Vol. 273, No. 15, P. 1197; Saah, Alfred J.; Hoover, Donald R.; Peng, Yun et al. In order to identify clinical and epidemiological elements associated with the failure of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) prophylaxis, Saah et al. studied 476 participants receiving primary and secondary prophylaxis. The patients took at least one of the following regimens: trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), dapsone, and/or aerosolized pentamidine. Despite prophylaxis, 20 percent developed PCP. The failure rate per person-year of follow-up averaged 16 percent for those receiving primary prophylaxis, and 12.1 percent for those receiving secondary prophylaxis. The main indication of PCP prophylaxis failure was profound T-helper lymphocytopenia. A total of 86 percent of the failures took place after CD4 counts fell below 75, and more than three-quarters occurred at levels below 50. Although TMP-SMX was protective, use of the regimen did not eliminate failure. It is therefore necessary, Saah et al. conclude, to identify methods of preventing PCP once T-helper cell levels decrease to less than 75 or 100. "Tort Law" National Law Journal (04/10/95) Vol. 7, No. 32, P. B5; Chapman, Floyd Brantley; Rochefort, Lawrence P. Fear of AIDS has caused many people to sue for emotional distress damages after having been exposed, or believing they have been exposed, to HIV. Courts, however, disagree as to the standards for adjudication and scope of recovery for emotional distress damages. Some require the plaintiff to prove "actual exposure," while others require proof only of potential exposure. Fear-of-AIDS lawsuits usually involve three approaches--general negligence, with damages for emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In Doe v. Doe, for example, a woman sought damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress based on her husband's failure to disclose a previous homosexual relationship. The woman claimed she had experienced pain, suffering, and severe traumatic neurosis. She refused to be tested even though her husband tested HIV-negative. A New York court ruled that the woman's psychological distress was unreasonable since there was no allegation of HIV exposure. The only claim was deemed "attenuated and speculative." "Outport Outrage" Maclean's (04/17/95) Vol.108, No. 16, P. 16; Bergman, Brian; Welbourn, Kathryn Residents of Conception Bay North, a string of communities along Newfoundland's southeastern coast, fear their efforts to reinvent themselves as tourist attractions may be undermined by the unusually high rate of HIV infection in the region. The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) recently announced that it was closing its local clinics because it could no longer guarantee the safety of blood collected there. Although Newfoundland has a relatively low incidence of AIDS, 41 of the 156 HIV-infected people came from Conception Bay North. Public health officials believe some of the infections may stem from the high-profile case of Raymond Mercer, a Conception Bay area man who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for knowingly infecting two women by having unprotected sex with them. The problem has likely been made worse by the failure of some residents, particularly teenagers, to take precautions to avoid infection, they add. Conception Bay civic leaders resent the social stigma that has been placed on the region. "Everybody knows us as that AIDS place," says community activist and former Red Cross volunteer Agnes Butler. Residents worry that the CRC's move will add to the stigma. CRC officials, however, say they had little choice. "A Conversation with Kristine Gebbie: the First National AIDS Policy Coordinator" Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (03/95-04/95) Vol. 6, No. 2, P. 47; Gaskins, Susan In an interview with nurse Susan Gaskins, Kristine Gebbie reflects on her year as the United States' first AIDS "czar." According to Gebbie, who was named National AIDS Policy Coordinator in June 1993, the federal government's role is to provide leadership and financial support in response to the AIDS epidemic. Her "role was partly to articulate all of that so that people would understand what the federal government could or couldn't do." Gebbie, however, described her position as "undefined." The Policy Coordinator worked for the White House, not the Department of Health and Human Services, but she recalls that "Nobody at the White House accepted ownership for the mechanics of getting this office up and running." Still, she cited as her successes the Federal Employees AIDS Education Initiative and making sure that AIDS programs in the USAID budget for the year did not get cut. Her failures included not spending enough time with Congress, spending too much time traveling, and not insisting on the right to hire people by political appointments to quickly hire "some people with sort of insider status."