Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 10:31:47 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 01/16/96 AIDS Daily Summary January 16, 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 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 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Needle Attack Muddies Issue of H.I.V. Tests" "Do Xenotransplants Pose a Public Health Risk?" "Managed Care Has Trouble Treating AIDS, Patients Say" "Jury to Decide if Man with HIV Misled Insurer" "Legislation Would Allow Judges to Order HIV Tests for Suspects" "Across the USA: Indiana" "Innovir Reports Positive Research Results in Anti-Hepatitis B Drug Program" "Obituary:Jonathan Lax, Leading AIDS Activist" "FDA Approves Rapid Test for Smear-Positive Tuberculosis" "Lymphoma: MGBG New Studies, Compassionate Use in Earlier Disease" ************************************************************ "Needle Attack Muddies Issue of H.I.V. Tests" New York Times (01/16/96) P. B1; Haberman, Clyde Columnist Clyde Haberman reports in the New York Times that Colete Lopez, the 6-year-old girl who was attacked with a needle attack on a New York subway train, is healthy, but scared and confused. She has been inoculated twice against hepatitis B and has tested negatively for HIV. The family's lawyer has asked the State Supreme Court to order the attacker, Angel Coro, to take a blood test while the family waits for future test results. New York Gov. George Pataki has proposed a law that would allow judges to order HIV tests for criminal suspects if the victims requested it. Currently, the law only allows testing in sexual offense cases, and then only after conviction. AIDS experts, however, say such a policy would invade a person's civil liberties and could keep people from getting involuntary tests. They also say that testing Coro could be inconclusive. "Do Xenotransplants Pose a Public Health Risk?" Washington Post--Health (01/16/96) P. 13 The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are set to issue voluntary guidelines within the next week or so that are designed to help minimize the risk of disease transmission from xenotransplants, or transplants between species. The guidelines will include the testing of animal donors for known viruses, the maintaining of a registry of all organ recipients and the use of follow-up medical visits to watch for the symptoms of unusual diseases in recipients. Concerns over disease transmission are great as many viruses and other pathogens that infect animals can infect people too, sometimes with disastrous results. The AIDS epidemic, for instance, is believed to have resulted from a monkey virus that entered the human population. "Managed Care Has Trouble Treating AIDS, Patients Say" New York Times (01/15/96) P. A1; Rosenthal, Elisabeth A large number of people with HIV are in managed care programs, as a result of more companies placing employees in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and government efforts to move Medicaid patients in such programs. HMOs, however, are not experienced in providing care to people with HIV and other chronic conditions. HIV patients report problems in finding doctors experienced in treating AIDS, getting coverage for drugs, and obtaining appointments quickly. The Federal Department of Health and Human Services said that AIDS patients should be exempt from the New York City plan to place Medicaid patients in HMOs because those AIDS services were thought to be inadequate. Gov. George Pataki recently proposed a plan to give health care companies $2 million in grants to develop plans specifically for HIV patients. "Jury to Decide if Man with HIV Misled Insurer" Baltimore Sun (01/13/96) P. 5A A jury will decide if Ricard Owens, who knew he was infected with HIV, was honest when he told the Berkshire Life Insurance Co. that he was healthy. The company wants to void his coverage, claiming Owens was misleading about his health when he applied for coverage in 1992. He had been diagnosed with HIV a year earlier. Berkshire wanted to void his policy when he applied for disability benefits in 1993. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan did not decide in favor of either side, and said that the company asked Owens for an opinion, not a statement of fact. "Legislation Would Allow Judges to Order HIV Tests for Suspects" New York Times (01/12/96) P. B1; Levy, Clifford New York Gov. George Pataki said he would propose a law to allow judges to order HIV tests for people charged with certain offenses, from violent felonies to disorderly conduct, if victims request the tests. AIDS experts say the proposal would be the most sweeping example of such a policy in the country. Democrats in the state assembly have disagreed on a similar bill. Opponents argue that such a policy would be an invasion of privacy, would further stigmatize people with AIDS, and would not help people find out if they were infected. They also say the law would violate the Constitution because officials would be able to draw blood for HIV tests before an innocent or guilty verdict was made. "Across the USA: Indiana" USA Today (01/16/96) P. 10A Inadequate health education in Indiana is blamed for the rising number of HIV and AIDS cases in the state's rural areas. "Innovir Reports Positive Research Results in Anti-Hepatitis B Drug Program" Business Wire (01/15/96) Innovir Laboratories, Inc. reported that, in preclinical research, several of its oligonucleotide-based drugs have anti-viral activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). The company says that a number of drugs are comparable or nearly comparable to the anti-HBV activity of 3TC, the nucleoside analog that recently received FDA approval for treating AIDS. "Obituary:Jonathan Lax, Leading AIDS Activist" Philadelphia Inquirer (01/12/96) P. B7; Collins, Huntly Jonathan Lax, who advocated more attention to AIDS research and drug treatment, died on Thursday at the age of 46. Lax was known for pushing the government and drug manufacturers to increase their research into AIDS drugs, including novel treatments. He was a founder and board president of Philadelphia FIGHT, as well as a founding member of the Philadelphia chapter of ACT UP. Lax is survived by his mother and three brothers. "FDA Approves Rapid Test for Smear-Positive Tuberculosis" Lancet (01/06/96) Vol.347, No.8993, P. 48; Frankel, David H. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new test to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in untreated patients who test positive to a tuberculosis smear test. Gen-Probe of San Diego, Calif. will manufacture the test, which is based on "transcription-mediated amplification (TMA)," under the name Amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct Test. The FDA approved the test based on evidence from 6079 sputum samples, of which 198 stained positive for acid-fast bacilli. TMA detects bacterial ribosomal RNA before amplification begins. RNA is a better target than DNA because it is more abundant. The test's estimated cost is $15-$25. The FDA has stated that the test be used only with traditional sputum examination and culture. "Lymphoma: MGBG New Studies, Compassionate Use in Earlier Disease" AIDS Treatment News (12/22/95) No.237, P. 4; Mascolini, Mark Researchers completing two early trials of mitoguazone (MGBG) for advanced cases of AIDS lymphoma report that the results are good enough to study the drug in people with newly diagnosed lymphoma. ILEX, the drug's developer, says it can pay travel expenses for people who qualify for the current studies but cannot afford to get to a trial center. Those who do not qualify for the trials may be able to get the drug on a compassionate use basis. The company hopes to submit MGBG for approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in mid-1996. The new results, from trials at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, found that MGBG worked for more than 1 in 5 people who had failed therapy with one or more other lymphoma treatments. Patients had complete responses to the drug for about 6.6 months. The researchers believe that MGBG will be more effective in newly-diagnosed patients, especially if it is used with other antilymphoma drugs.