Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 10:34:37 -0400 From: "Sarah Araghi" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 4/26/96 AIDS Daily Summary April 26, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Reversal on Military HIV Issue Is Rare Hill Victory for Gay Rights Activists" "Historic Budget Battle Ends With a Whimper, As Congress Approves Funding Deal for 1996" "House Panel Backs Discharge of Military Personnel With HIV" "Blood-Supply Issue Tops Agenda" "Merck's AIDS Drug Is Discounted" "Women Policy Center Urges Focus on Women With..." "New Virulent Tuberculosis Strain Hits Denmark" "Kenyan Government Supports Controversy..." "AZT, ddI, and ddC Combinations at FDA Advisory Hearing" "Quebec Challenges Blood Inquiry" ************************************************************ "Reversal on Military HIV Issue Is Rare Hill Victory for Gay Rights Activists" Washington Post (04/26/96) P. A9; Mintz, John Wednesday's agreement between the White House and congressional leaders to reverse a ban on HIV-infected people serving in the military was a victory for gay rights activists. Ultimately, Senate and House leaders decided to reverse the policy because the entire command structure of the U.S. military opposed it. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.) added the provision to the 1996 defense spending bill, which President Clinton signed though he noted that the amendment was unconstitutional and ordered government lawyers to support legal challenges to it. On Thursday, Dornan accused his GOP colleagues of "caving in" to gay rights lobbyists. Related Story: Miami Herald (04/25) P. 13A "Historic Budget Battle Ends With a Whimper, As Congress Approves Funding Deal for 1996" Wall Street Journal (04/26/96) P. A14; Calmes, Jackie; Rogers, David The House and Senate agreed on Thursday on a spending bill, which was presented by White House and congressional leaders, to finance the remaining five months of 1996. Nondefense government programs funded by annual appropriations were cut by $20 million, or about 9 percent from last year's level. Programs that were not touched included Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, and veterans benefits. The National Institutes of Health received an almost 6 percent, or $654 million, increase in spending for medical research. The Ryan White AIDS program received an estimated $105 million increase over last year's level of funding. "House Panel Backs Discharge of Military Personnel With HIV" Washington Times (04/26/96) P. A8 On the same day that Congress voted to repeal a provision to ban HIV-positive service members, the House National Security personnel subcommittee voted to support it and to reestablish the ban on gays serving in the military. Both proposals in the subcommittee were introduced by chairman Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.), who had added the original ban on HIV-positive service personnel to the 1996 defense spending bill. The subcommittee voted to add the proposals to the personnel part of the 1997 defense budget. Dornan held that the ban on HIV-positive soldiers was not an attack on gays but rather on those who contract HIV in brothels. The revised measure includes a provision allowing HIV-positive service members to keep their jobs "if the service secretary deems their retention necessary." Dornan's earlier attempt to institute the ban was widely opposed by homosexual rights activists, President Clinton, the military, and veterans groups. "Blood-Supply Issue Tops Agenda" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/25/96) P. A4 As health ministers from Canada's provinces and territories met on Wednesday, restoring public confidence in the country's blood system was a central topic. The ministers agreed that the public's confidence must be restored immediately, however they did not reveal details of how that might be accomplished. The officials were preparing for a meeting with federal health minister David Dingell, and were expected to ask for his approval for a study of directed donations, in which blood is donated exclusively for a family member to use. Only a few provinces now allow such donations. "Merck's AIDS Drug Is Discounted" Knight-Ridder (04/26/96) The retail cost of Merck & Co.'s new AIDS drug Crixivan was cut by 19.5 percent after the activist group ACT-UP threatened to boycott the product. Stadtlanders, the Pittsburgh based mail-order company that distributes the drug, said Crixivan would be sold to buyer's club members for $398 a month and to non-members for $495 a month. "Women Policy Center Urges Focus on Women With..." U.S. Newswire (04/25/96) The Center for Women Policy Studies released two reports on Thursday to advocate AIDS prevention programs, policies, messages that are appropriate for women's diverse needs, and new Medicaid managed care systems that can provide comprehensive services to women with HIV and AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women make up 19 percent of all reported AIDS cases, more than triple the amount in 1985. The AIDS epidemic among women has received little attention, however. The "Medicaid Managed Care" report notes that as Medicaid programs shift to managed care, "the needs of women with HIV/AIDS are rarely considered as policy makers mandate changes on the state and local level." In the second report, titled "Ten Principles," the researchers suggest women-centered AIDS prevention, including research on woman-controlled prevention methods, gender-based behavioral research, and increased funding for HIV prevention outreach. Copies of the reports are available from the Center for Women Policy Studies, 2000 P Street N.W., Suite 508, Washington, D.C. 20036. "New Virulent Tuberculosis Strain Hits Denmark" Reuters (04/25/96); Follett, Christopher A new virulent strain of drug-resistant tuberculosis has invaded Denmark, a Danish hospital announced Thursday. The disease requires long, complex treatment and the isolation of patients for months. Although the strain accounts for less than 1 percent of all TB cases in the country, health experts have imposed strict precautions to keep the disease from spreading. The World Health Organization has urged governments and the pharmaceutical industry to spend $500 million a year to stop the current resurgence of TB. Most of the nine people infected with the new strain in Denmark were either foreigners or Danes who had been to developing countries. "Kenyan Government Supports Controversy..." Xinhua News Service (04/25/96) Although the Kenyan government claims the controversial AIDS drug Pearl Omega works, it also said that more clinical trials are needed before the protease inhibitor can be widely used. The government said that it supported the trials being conducted in accordance with World Health Organization standards. The creator of the drug, Prof. Arthur Obel, claims that he has cured about 500 HIV-infected individuals with Pearl Omega. Obel was earlier condemned, but is now supported by Kenya's government. "AZT, ddI, and ddC Combinations at FDA Advisory Hearing" AIDS Treatment News (04/05/96) No. 244, P. 6; James, John S. A recent meeting of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee focused on whether new results from ACTG 175, the Delta trials, CPCRA 007, and an overview of several studies of AZT and ddI should change the standard use of AZT, ddI, and ddC, especially in combination. Overall, the combinations of AZT with ddI and AZT with ddC were found to be better than AZT alone in reducing the risk of death. AZT with ddI was also found to be better at reducing the risk of death than AZT with ddC. The benefits of AZT and ddI were similar overall in patients who had not taken antiretrovirals before. In sum, the committee voted to recommend approval of ddI for initial treatment of HIV infection, as well as to recommend approval of the combination of AZT with ddC for antiretroviral-naive patients. The FDA panel, however, voted against approval of the therapy for patients with antiretroviral experience. Moreover, the committee agreed that although there was no proof that ddI and AZT are better than ddI alone, it was uncomfortable with the decision, because while the evidence did not show that the combination was necessarily better than the single drug, combination therapy is generally thought to be better than monotherapy. "Quebec Challenges Blood Inquiry" Nature (04/18/96) Vol. 380, No. 6575, P. 572; Spurgeon, David Quebec's government has taken legal action against the Canadian government, claiming that the federal inquiry into the sale of tainted blood products to hemophiliacs in the mid-1980s is unconstitutional. A lawyer representing the province said that the federal commission of inquiry, led by Justice Horace Krever, did not have the authority to issue more than 300 preliminary notices of wrongdoing. Robert Martin, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Western Ontario, disagrees, adding that the Canadian constitution divides only law-making authority between the federal government and the provinces, so the federal government can investigate conflicts at any level. Quebec's action is more far-reaching than previous efforts to thwart the inquiry, in that it could limit the federal government's broad involvement in setting standards in such areas as health care. The head of the Quebec branch of the Canadian Hemophilia Association responded to the province's action by noting that those infected by the contaminated blood are beginning to lose hope that the truth behind the tragedy will ever be revealed.