Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 10:24:16 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 06/17/96 AIDS Daily Summary June 17, 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 ****************************************************** "Firm Nears Agreement on AIDS Care Facility" "'Eradication' of HIV Seen as Possible" "Across the USA: Tennessee" "Cause Celebre Conflict" "On Fringes of Health Care, Untested Therapies Thrive" "Anti-HIV IgA Test: High False-Positive Rate" "Endocrine Problems Found in AIDS Patients" "Youngest AIDS Patients Hospitalized Most Frequently" "AIDS Researchers, Activists Wary of Newspaper Article's Message" "Florida Doctors Slow on HIV Testing for Pregnant Women" ****************************************************** "Firm Nears Agreement on AIDS Care Facility" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/17/96) P. B1; Collins, Huntly Mercy Health is set to take over Betak, Philadelphia's only nursing home for AIDS patients, on July 1. The deal would save the struggling facility, on which low-income AIDS patients rely, by converting it into a personal-care boarding home for patients who cannot care for themselves but do not need skilled nursing care. Those who do need the nursing care would be admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital, where North Philadelphia Health Systems would provide 29 skilled nursing beds for AIDS patients. The state would pay Betak a fee for each patient, marking the first time the state would provide money for a personal care home for AIDS patients. AIDS patient advocates said the plan would provide a much-needed safety net for the city's most desperate AIDS patients. "'Eradication' of HIV Seen as Possible" Washington Post (06/16/96) P. A12 AIDS experts reported last week that it may be possible, using combinations of HIV drugs, to "eradicate" HIV from an infected person's body. The promising news was reported last week from a meeting convened by the medical journal Antiviral Therapy and the University of Amsterdam. AIDS experts reviewed unpublished data from trials taking place in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia which tested various drug combinations, and showed that, in some patients, the amount of HIV can be reduced to undetectable levels for up to two years. Thus far, no patients have taken the drug combinations for more than two years, so researchers say more time is needed to determine how effective the therapies are. Researchers also noted that getting treatment soon after infection was important in reducing the viral level. "Across the USA: Tennessee" USA Today (06/17/96) P. 12 Inmates of Tennessee state prisons are seven times more likely than the general population to contract the virus that causes AIDS, officials report. Of the 13,494 prisoners there, 120 are infected with HIV. "Cause Celebre Conflict" Washington Post (06/15/96) P. A1; Weiss, Rick In a twist on World Animal Awareness Week, a five-day event to take place in Washington, D.C., this week, AIDS activists, scientists, and other patient advocates will be confronting animal rights supporters with a choice between animal rights and finding a cure for AIDS. Thousands of animal rights supporters will participate in the event, at which AIDS advocates will argue that opposing the use of animals in medical research threatens progress toward curing AIDS and other diseases. Animal rights supporters who also support AIDS research, including Hollywood celebrities who will participate in the event, are a particular target of the AIDS groups. Each World Awareness Week event will be countered by demonstrations and messages from AIDS groups, including ACT-UP, the AIDS Action Council, and the National Association of People With AIDS. Some Awareness Week participants said they would not be distracted from their goal to protect animals, arguing that animal research is not necessary to advance medicine. "On Fringes of Health Care, Untested Therapies Thrive" New York Times (06/17/96) P. A1; Kolata, Gina Alternative medical treatments--including naturopathy, acupuncture, and the use of vitamins or dietary supplements to cure disease--have been gaining in popularity and are even covered by some insurance policies, but many physicians, scientists, and government officials are critical. According to Richard A. Friedman, director of psychopharmacology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, untested treatments "range from harmless placebos to deadly poisons, and the consumer has no way of knowing which is which." People who use untested alternative therapies may not pursue standard therapies that have been proven to be effective. Moreover, patients may suffer actual harm from the supplements they consume, despite a widely held belief that so-called "natural" remedies are free from side-effects. "Anti-HIV IgA Test: High False-Positive Rate" Reuters (06/14/96) The anti-HIV-directed IgA antibody test is being tested for the early detection of vertically transmitted HIV infection. The test's efficacy has been variable, but now researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report that it has moderate sensitivity and high specificity for detecting HIV infection at 6 months of age in children of infected mothers. Kenneth McIntosh et al. based their results on anti-HIV Iga tests of 156 infants of HIV-infected mothers, compared to blood tests of the infants. When peripheral or cord blood samples were tested at birth, the test had a high false-positive rate. The research was published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. "Endocrine Problems Found in AIDS Patients" United Press International (06/14/96); Wanchek, Natasha Curable endocrine problems occur with more frequency in HIV-infected people than in the general population, Georgetown University scientists said Friday. At the International Congress of Endocrinology in San Francisco, Terry Taylor and colleagues presented results which showed that HIV-positive patients were much more likely to develop adrenal insufficiency, hypogonadism, and thyroid dysfunction. These conditions often are undiagnosed in HIV patients because the symptoms--including nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and abdominal complaints--are common. Taylor said, however, that doctors should be able to identify the endocrine disorders when symptoms occur in the context of other signs, like a low blood-glucose level. "Youngest AIDS Patients Hospitalized Most Frequently" Reuters (06/14/96) Infants with AIDS are hospitalized more frequently than older children or adults, researchers at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia report in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. The study found that infants and children with AIDS who receive specialty care have a 40 percent lower risk of death following an AIDS diagnosis. Older children were found to rely on emergency care more than adults and had longer overall survival rates following an AIDS diagnosis. "AIDS Researchers, Activists Wary of Newspaper Article's Message" Scientist (06/10/96) Vol. 10, No. 12; P. 1; Benowitz, Steven An article appearing in the Wall Street Journal on May 1, titled "AIDS Fight Is Skewed by Federal Campaign Exaggerating Risks," has stirred concerns among AIDS activists and scientists. The article presented the case that a campaign launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1987 gave the public the alarming misperception that anyone was at risk for HIV. While the article acknowledged that the message was technically correct, it held that the campaign ignored the higher risk of certain groups, including gay men and intravenous drug users. Most scientists and activists dispute the article's claims that the CDC exaggerated risks or misdirected prevention efforts to secure federal funds. They also say combined prevention and awareness efforts are needed for both those at especially high risk for AIDS and the general population. Ronald O. Valdiserri, deputy director of CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention in Atlanta, says the article "embodied a simplistic view of HIV prevention." Many scientists say the CDC's campaign was fair in light of the lack of HIV/AIDS information available at the time. But, they add, now that more is known about the virus and the disease, the government's AIDS budget needs to be reallocated to target specific groups. "Florida Doctors Slow on HIV Testing for Pregnant Women" American Medical News (06/10/96) Vol. 39, No. 22; P. 27 Some private doctors in Florida are not complying with recommendations to treat pregnant HIV-positive women with AZT, even though doing so can cut the risk of perinatal transmission by two-thirds. Florida health officials advised doctors in 1994 to offer pregnant women HIV testing and counseling, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a similar recommendation in 1995. The Florida Medical Association notes that while public health clinics are doing well at counseling women about AZT and offering HIV testing and treatment, many private doctors are not. The University of Florida's Dr. Joseph W. Shands suggests that private doctors in upscale practices are uncomfortable talking about HIV testing with their patients. Of the 1,114 cases of HIV in children in Florida reported through 1995, 95 percent were caused by perinatal transmission. Gov. Lawton Chiles is considering a bill that would require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV counseling.