Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 12:56:18 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary April 28,1995 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 *********************************************************** "Biogen Inc." "Mother's Privacy vs. Baby's Health" "Campaign Targets HIV-Negative Gays for the First Time" "Vertex Pharmaceuticals Reports 1995 First Quarter Results" "Selena's Murder Spurs Album Sales..." "The Right Not to Know HIV-Test Results" "HIV Seroprevalence in Injection Drug Users" "Private Doctors Less Likely to Offer HIV Counseling" "Community-Based HIV Case Management: Challenges and Opportunities" "AIDS Rides through Cyberspace for Donations" ************************************************************ "Biogen Inc." Wall Street Journal (04/28/95) P. B5 Citing lower Japanese sales of Intron A, Biogen Inc. reported that first-quarter profits fell about 75 percent on a 19 percent revenue drop. Biogen also said that sales of its hepatitis B vaccines were higher. Sales of Intron A, which is licensed to Schering-Plough Corp., have decreased in Japan because of a price cut and reports linking the drug to suicides. The drug is used to treat viral and other diseases "Mother's Privacy vs. Baby's Health" Washington Times (04/27/95) P. A21; Leo, John One reason that Jim Dwyer of New York Newsday won the Pulitzer Prize last week was because of his attacks on the "fundamentalists" of "the religious left" who are causing the early and painful deaths of HIV-infected babies, writes John Leo in the Washington Times. The Village Voice's Nat Hentoff has also done much to call attention to plight of these children. Hentoff, a prominent civil libertarian for more than 30 years, recently resigned from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) because "it is repellent to see people who call themselves civil libertarians become accomplices in the deaths of children." He says that nothing has provoked more outrage than the story of how all babies born in New York and 44 other states are routinely tested for HIV, but the mothers are not informed of the results because it is considered an invasion of the mother's privacy. Recent advances in medicine, however, make it possible to prolong and improve the lives of HIV-infected children. The New York State Senate has finally passed a bill to "unblind" the tests. In Washington, New York Rep. Gary Ackerman's House bill to mandate identification of HIV-positive infants has attracted more than 221 sponsors. This bill, and the Senate version, should be passed quickly, Leo concludes. "Campaign Targets HIV-Negative Gays for the First Time" Reuters (04/27/95) On Thursday, the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) announced its first campaign geared toward getting HIV-negative gay men to wear condoms. The slogan of the campaign, "Staying negative--it's not automatic," will be displayed in New York City bars, clubs, and gyms frequented by gay men. The campaign's objective is to encourage homosexual males to talk about when they have unsafe sex and why, instead of focusing on an ideal of using a condom during each sexual encounter, said Richard Elovich, GMHC's director of substance abuse counseling and education. The organization also released a report that calls for closer studies of the spread of AIDS, and of programs that successfully convince men to use condoms. "Vertex Pharmaceuticals Reports 1995 First Quarter Results" PR Newswire (04/27/95) Revenues for Vertex Pharmaceutical's first quarter were $6,333,000, compared to $5,632,000 for the first quarter of 1994. The company's net loss for the quarter was $4,703,000. "During the quarter, Burroughs Wellcome began clinical trials of VX-478, our protease inhibitor for HIV infection and AIDS, and we expanded the clinical programs for our compounds to treat cancer multidrug resistance and hemoglobin disorders," explained Dr. Joshua Boger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex. "Selena's Murder Spurs Album Sales..." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (04/27/95) P. 1G; Harrington, Richard The death of a music superstar generally provokes both emotional and commercial reactions. Since Tejano star Selena's murder on March 31, sales of her albums have skyrocketed. This has not, however, been the case with rapper Eazy-E (Eric Wright), who died of AIDS-related complications on March 26. Wright's most recent release, "It's on Killa," re-entered the Billboards R&B chart this month at No. 76, but fell to No. 96 last week. The double-platinum album went to No. 1 when it was first released in 1993. However, two other albums, "Eazy-Duz-It" and "Straight Outta Compton," did appear on Billboard's Top Pop Catalogue chart. "The Right Not to Know HIV-Test Results" Lancet (04/15/95) Vol. 345, No. 8955, P. 969; Temmerman, Marleen; Ndinya-Achola, Jackoniah; Ambani, Joan et al. Although numerous pregnant women in Africa have participated in studies of perinatal HIV transmission, little is known about the effectiveness of counseling pregnant women. Temmerman et al. report the effects on women in perinatal transmission studies in Kenya who are told that they are infected with HIV. During the first two years of the study, 5,274 women were tested for HIV and given an appointment to return for their results. More than 90 percent returned to learn their HIV status. A total of 324 tested positive and were invited to participate in a study of HIV infection and pregnancy outcome. Over 25 percent, however, dropped out immediately before counseling could be given. Violence against women who tested HIV-positive was common. For the last year of the study, the researchers did not make appointments for the collection of blood results. Patients were told they could come in any time to ask for their results. Only 35 percent of the women with a positive test during the third year ever asked for their results. It is therefore necessary to have carefully designed protocols weighing the benefits against the potential dangers for women participating in a study. Even after agreeing to be tested, potential subjects should be given the option not to be informed of the test results and should have the right not to know, the authors conclude. "HIV Seroprevalence in Injection Drug Users" Journal of the American Medical Association (04/19/95) Vol. 273, No. 15, P. 1178; Watters, John K.; Bluthenthal, Ricky N.; Kral, Alex H. In a letter to the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Watters et al. of the University of California at San Francisco warn that unless substantial HIV prevention programs targeting intravenous drug users (IDUs) are introduced in communities outside of major cities, HIV infection rates will continue to increase. As part of the Urban Health Study, the authors studied HIV prevalence among street-recruited IDUs in Northern California communities. They found higher rates of HIV infection in East Palo Alto, Richmond, and West Oakland than among a similar group in San Francisco. Although substantial HIV prevention program efforts targeting IDUs have been focused in the major cities, neighboring communities have not benefited from these efforts. They have often lacked the financial and human resources to implement programs of their own. Watters et al. conclude that lower availability of AIDS prevention programs, drug abuse treatment, and other health services may explain higher rates of infectious diseases--such as AIDS and tuberculosis--found in these communities. "Private Doctors Less Likely to Offer HIV Counseling" American Medical News (04/24/95) Vol. 38, No. 16, P. 10 According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of the Americans who are tested for HIV go to private physicians--who are much less likely to provide the counseling offered at public health centers. The CDC found that only one-third of individuals tested for HIV went to a publicly funded clinic. An average of 60.7 percent of those tested at public clinics received counseling, compared to 28.2 percent at private sites. Dr. Robert Brackbill, a CDC scientific information specialist, noted that many public clinics are required to provide counseling as a condition for federal funding. "Community-Based HIV Case Management: Challenges and Opportunities" Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (03/95-04/95) Vol. 6, No. 2, P. 33; Sowell, Richard L. During the past decade, the increasing incidence of HIV and AIDS has tested the adequacy of the healthcare delivery system, writes Richard Sowell in the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Case management has become a popular strategy for the organization and delivery of health service. In many settings, however, case management is not well defined. In its most general sense, case management has been described as a client-focused process that enhances and coordinates current care systems. One aspect of community-based HIV/AIDS case management, however, has been the need to go beyond this definition and provide direct service. Such case management efforts often have to fill gaps in care with linkages to existing services, as well as develop HIV-specific services. To clarify the system, Sowell recommends that professional organizations actively seek opportunities to work with federal policy makers and community-based AIDS service groups to create consistent standards of service for HIV/AIDS case management. Research-based evaluations of alternative community models of care coordination should be a priority of federal agencies supporting research, Sowell concludes. "AIDS Rides through Cyberspace for Donations" DM News (04/24/95) Vol. 17, No. 16, P. 25; Negus, Beth California AIDS Ride 2, a 530-mile bicycle ride scheduled to begin May 14, has received almost 12,000 pledges for donations. The charity hopes to raise more than $4 million for AIDS service, according to a spokesperson for the group. Almost 1,000 people have visited the World Wide Web forum of the online magazine, HotWired, said Jonathan Nelson, president and CEO of Organic Online, a development and production company which donated its time to build the site. The AIDS Ride forum includes information about the May ride in California, the September Boston-to-New York ride, and links to other AIDS-related Web sites. Users can also download registration forms to be a rider, volunteer, or donor for the event.