Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 09:38:29 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/31/95 AIDS Daily Summary August 31, 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 ************************************************************ "Parents Sue Romania over Child's H.I.V. Infection" "Digest: Glaxo Wellcome" "Across the USA: Indiana" "Survivor's Guilt" "The Family Filmgoer: Kids" "Shelbourne AIDS Housing Still Alive" "A Human Nucleoporin-Like Protein that Specifically Interacts with HIV Rev" "Treatment of Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Patients in Zaire" "FDA Warning on Raw Oysters" ************************************************************ "Parents Sue Romania over Child's H.I.V. Infection" New York Times (08/31/95) P. A3; Perlez, Jane A couple is suing the Romanian Health Ministry for causing the HIV infection of their six-year-old daughter. Unlike the parents of many Romanian children who became infected with HIV during the Communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu, Iasmina Calinciuc's parents are willing to sue on her behalf. "It is the moral responsibility of parents who have a child infected in this way to go to the courts," Violeta Calinciuc explains. She and her husband, Gabriel, claim that Iasmina became infected with HIV after she was given antibiotics with a tainted needle when she was hospitalized for respiratory problems three years ago. Dr. Strat Aurel Lulu--the laboratory chief at the Iasi blood bank who did the tests on Iasmina when she was discovered to be HIV-positive last year--agrees, noting that the girl had never given blood, but had been given injections of antibiotics during her three visits to St. Maria's Pediatric Hospital. Despite the obstacles of the Romanian legal system, including the 10 percent tax on potential awards that plaintiffs must pay if they are seeking damages, the Calinciucs say they are determined to take the case as far as possible. "Digest: Glaxo Wellcome" Washington Post (08/31/95) P. B14 Glaxo Wellcome announced that it will now offer medical and dental benefits to the live-in companions of its homosexual employees. The pharmaceutical giant manufacturers the world's leading AIDS drug, AZT. AIDS activists who were members of a company advisory panel had been calling for the move for several years. "Across the USA: Indiana" USA Today (08/31/95) P. 5A On Sept. 7, Ryan White, the Indiana teenager who advocated AIDS awareness as he fought the disease, will be among the first of five inductees to the Kids Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. White died five years ago at the age of 18. "Survivor's Guilt" Chicago Tribune (08/30/95) P. 2-1; Griffin, Jean Latz The mid-1990s are a confusing time for HIV-negative homosexual men, many of whom say they feel like "second-class gay men," or hide their HIV status even though they are considered fortunate. "Things are difficult enough as it is without the pity element or the resentment element," one man said. "I don't want people to feel uncomfortable because I'm negative." Many HIV-negative gay men experience feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and even guilt that they are still healthy while others have died. Some therapists say they are seeing a mix of emotions similar to that of the "survivor's guilt" seen in those who lived through the Holocaust or who walk away from plane crashes. AIDS educators say that efforts to destigmatize the disease and portray HIV-infected individuals as able to live full lives may have gone awry. "Getting people to make serious behavior changes is hard to do when you are pretending that the alternative is not too bad," says columnist Gabriel Rotello of the Advocate. Two recently published books--Walt Odet's "In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS" and "HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected are Affected by AIDS" by Willam Johnston--focus on the unique experience of being an HIV-negative gay man. The books have been hailed as a validation of these men's turmoil, though some critics say the authors use a skewed sample of men with problems and miss the majority who are coping successfully. "The Family Filmgoer: Kids" Washington Post (08/31/95) P. D7; Horwitz, Jane "Kids," an extraordinarily bleak portrait of New York teenagers caught up in a whirlwind of sex, drugs, and chaos, represents the truth for only a very small percentage of today's youth. The documentary-style film chronicles one day in the lives of a group of friends. It focuses on an obnoxious teen named Telly, a deflowerer of virgins who may be infecting them with HIV. The film's sex scenes are graphic, though there is virtually no nudity involved. However, the unrated film also features much profanity, drinking, drug use, and one brutal beating. Parents should be note that while mature teens can handle the movie, others may miss the message, seeing only the misbehavior. "Shelbourne AIDS Housing Still Alive" Miami Herald (08/30/95) P. 10A; Smoyer, Amy In a letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald, Amy Smoyer--coordinator of the Shelbourne Apartment Building in Miami--commends the newspaper for recognizing Dade County's incredible need to create AIDS housing. Smoyer, however, clarifies a recent editorial by noting that while the Shelbourne was set on fire last June, the historic building was insured and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development--the grantee--did not back out on its award. Smoyer fully expects the building to be ready for its 24 residents with AIDS by May 1996. "A Human Nucleoporin-Like Protein that Specifically Interacts with HIV Rev" Nature (08/10/95) Vol. 376, No. 6540, P. 530; Fritz, Christian C.; Zapp, Maria L.; Green, Michael R. Fritz et al. attempted to identify proteins that would interact in a yeast two-hybrid assay with both human T-lymphotrophic virus-1 Rex and HIV-1 Rev. The Rev protein aids in the nuclear export of unspliced and partially spliced viral RNAs. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute team used the yeast two-hybrid screen to duplicate human Rev interacting protein (hRIP)--which expressly interacts with the Rev effector domain, which is thought to interact with a cellular cofactor needed for the Rev response and, therefore, HIV-1 replication. To determine the functional involvement of hRIP in Rev-mediated RNA export, the authors tried to identify whether overexpression of hRIP could increase the activity of a mutant of the Rev effector domain. The researchers concluded that the interaction between Rev and hRIP is functionally relevant. The properties of hRIP indicate that it plays a direct role in nucleocytoplasmic transport. "Treatment of Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Patients in Zaire" New England Journal of Medicine (08/24/95) Vol. 333, No. 8, P. 519; Perriens, Joseph H.; St. Louis, Michael E.; Prignot, Jacques In response to letters to the editors published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Perriens et al. restate that their recommendation for a six-month limit on the duration of tuberculosis (TB) therapy was made in the context of the TB-control program in Zaire. The authors admit the limitations of their study in detecting small differences in survival among HIV-infected patients who had been treated for six compared to those treated for 12 months. They feel, however, that the deaths of 34 of the 37 HIV-infected participants after successful TB treatment were unrelated to TB. The positive rates of treatment completion in the study, therefore, demonstrate how supervised oral intermittent treatment by local TB clinics could reduce some of the compliance problems experienced by Elliott et al. in Zambia. "FDA Warning on Raw Oysters" AIDS Treatment News (08/18/95) No. 229, P. 6 Persons with HIV, liver disease, or certain other medical conditions should avoid consuming raw oysters because of the risk of Vibrio vulnificus infection. The risk is particularly high from oysters that come from the Gulf of Mexico, particularly between the months of April and October. Although this bacterium is not a danger to most healthy people, 40 percent of infections with Vibrio vulnificus are fatal. The bacterium occurs naturally, not as a result of pollution, so eating oysters from reputable sources does not offer protection. Proper cooking is necessary to completely kill Vibrio vulnificus and eliminate its threat.