Date: Mon, 9 Oct 1995 13:14:18 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 10/09/95 AIDS Daily Summary October 9, 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 ************************************************************ "Proposed Insurance Rules on H.I.V. Set Off Uproar" "Personal Briefing: AIDS Reversal?" "In the Loop: Clinton to Host HIV Conference" "Not a Pill" "Delay Fails to Weaken Dr. Gallo's Optimism" "Marrow from Baboon Set for AIDS Project" "Japan Courts Set Large Award in HIV Case" "Magic Johnson Tour of Manila Hits Snag" "A Gathering Storm" "Truth in Advertising" ************************************************************ "Proposed Insurance Rules on H.I.V. Set Off Uproar" New York Times (10/09/95) P. B4; Peterson, Iver A proposal from the New Jersey Insurance Department that would allow health insurers to test new applicants for HIV and reject those persons who either test positive or refuse to be tested has sparked debate among medical experts and civil libertarians. The State Medical Society and civil rights advocates claim the policy could allow insurers to sidestep federal and state regulations which prohibit insurers from denying HIV-infected persons coverage. The Insurance Department acknowledged that New Jersey law bars HIV testing for individual health insurance applicants and members of company plans covering as many as 49 people, but it noted that the plan would affect only new applicants to group health programs--the type offered by large companies. Although Gov. Christine Todd Whitman declined to comment, a senior member of her administration said the attitude behind the plan came close to forcing individuals to face the effects of behavior that puts them at risk for HIV. "Personal Briefing: AIDS Reversal?" Philadelphia Inquirer (10/09/95) P. D3; Schogol, Marc An article published in the British medical journal the Lancet reveals that a child born with HIV has survived for nine years and appears to have eliminated the virus from his body. There have been a number of reports of children being born infected with HIV who have survived without developing AIDS. However, due to the fact that AIDS can have an extended incubation period, doctors are not yet certain whether the children will avoid the disease. "In the Loop: Clinton to Host HIV Conference" Washington Post (10/09/95) P. A25; Kamen, Al President Clinton is set to host a one-day White House conference on HIV and AIDS in December. The conference--which will feature about 175 authorities in research, prevention, treatment, and discrimination--will focus attention on the epidemic, which has leveled off with approximately 40,000 new cases annually. "Not a Pill" Investor's Business Daily (10/09/95) P. A6; Lau, Gloria Miami-based Columbia Laboratories Inc. sells a natural progesterone product that is geared toward women receiving hormone replacement therapy. Crinone--which is not available in the United States--may help relieve the headaches, fatigue, and depression related to the treatment because it is delivered directly through the mucous membranes, and little enters the blood stream. Additionally, Columbia filed an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month to start testing its AIDS drug SPC3, or Synthetic Polymeric Construction No. 3. The drug is currently in phase II/III clinical trials at London's Charing Cross AIDS Center. "Delay Fails to Weaken Dr. Gallo's Optimism" Baltimore Sun (10/07/95) P. 1A; Bor, Jonathan Despite the fact that construction of Dr. Robert Gallo's new AIDS research labs has been stalled for several weeks, Gallo says he is "certainly happy with the total university environment." Gallo and two of his colleagues, Dr. William Blattner and Dr. Robert Redfield, are all leaving government service, lured to the University of Maryland in Baltimore to head a Center on Human Virology which will focus on finding new treatments for AIDS and cancer. Both state and university officials hope the center, which is now scheduled to be finished in January, will help the University of Maryland and its affiliated hospital become leaders in AIDS research and produce new biotechnology firms that will help bolster a flat economy in Maryland. "Marrow from Baboon Set for AIDS Project" Toronto Globe and Mail (10/06/95) P. A12 Medical committees at the University of California at San Francisco have approved the safety and ethics of a controversial experiment in which baboon bone marrow will be injected into an AIDS patient in an attempt to boost his ravaged immune system. Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh started their quest for approval 18 months ago. The experiment was scheduled to take place in April; however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration intervened after concerns were voiced that such transplants could infect humans with unknown baboon viruses. "Japan Courts Set Large Award in HIV Case" Reuters (10/06/95) Two Japanese courts proposed the largest compensation ever in a Japanese drug-related lawsuit on Friday to hemophiliacs who contracted HIV from imported blood products. The civil suits, filed in 1989, charged the state and five pharmaceutical companies with neglect in issuing no warnings about the possibility of HIV-contamination in blood products. The proposed settlement orders the state to pay 40 percent of a $450,000 settlement and the companies to pay the remainder. The pharmaceutical firms involved are Nippon Zoki Pharmaceutical Co., Green Cross, Chemo Sera Therapeutic Research Institute, Baxter Ltd., and Bayer Yakuhin Ltd. "Magic Johnson Tour of Manila Hits Snag" Reuters (10/07/95) Immigration officials in the Philippines say that Magic Johnson must obtain a permit before entering the country for an exhibition series that would pit him against former teammate Kareem Abdul Jabbar. According to the officials, Johnson must obtain a permit because he has a "contagious disease," referring to his HIV infection. Taiwan recently barred the former Los Angeles Lakers player because he has HIV. "A Gathering Storm" Far Eastern Economic Review (09/21/95) Vol. 158, No. 38, P. 26; Fairclough, Gordon In Thailand, the first Asian nation to be affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV is taking its toll on those populations least able to afford it--poor families who lose their primary wage-earners and must then pay for their care. The country's five-year-old AIDS education campaign has stemmed the spread of HIV, but the effort came too late for the many who are already infected. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3.5 million Asians are infected with HIV--about 750,000 of whom are in Thailand. The disease is also spreading rapidly through Burma and Cambodia, though public health specialists say the worst case could be in India, where an estimated 1.5 million people are HIV-positive. Meanwhile, Thailand is already dealing with a labor shortage, and AIDS-related deaths could increase the problem. According to one study, the number of Thai workers was initially expected to increase 7.8 percent between 1993 and 2000, but will now rise just 6.7 percent. This will not only make the Thai economy less competitive, but it will also obstruct efforts to increase the education and skills of the working population. Still, the Thai government has been relatively lucky in that its prevention efforts have been facilitated by a fairly efficient and extensive government bureaucracy, a powerful media, and an educated and literate society. "Truth in Advertising" Advocate (10/03/95) No. 691, P. 51; Bain, Christian Arthur Six months after the selection of drag queen RuPaul as the M.A.C. celebrity spokesperson, sales for the company's cosmetics have increased substantially. Frank Toskan, M.A.C. cofounder and creative director, says that the choice emphasizes "the message that people should be themselves." However, another reason for the success of the new campaign could be its connection to M.A.C.'s AIDS fundraising efforts. RuPaul is known as "the M.A.C. girl," but his official position is honorary chairperson of the M.A.C. AIDS Fund--a more formal title that may have helped dispel any objections by retailers or consumers. RuPaul is "the spokesperson for our Viva Glam lipstick, which has already raised more than $3 million for AIDS research and care," explains Toskan. The $13 cost of the lipstick, which is sold with a condom, is donated in its entirety to AIDS charities in the cities where the sales are made. M.A.C. covers all production costs, retailers abandon their traditional markups, and Toskan and cofounder Frank Angelo pay for any advertising that has not already been donated by the magazines themselves.