Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 11:07:53 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 10/01/96 AIDS Daily Summary October 1, 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 ****************************************************** "Hormone May Raise HIV Risk in Women" "Nationline: AIDS Controversy" "Congress Finishes Major Legislation: The Budget" "Day-Care Center Must Struggle in Controversy Over AIDS Funds" "Inmates Are Vulnerable to Food-Borne Illnesses" "D.C. Enlists Tenants to Keep an Eye on Neighbors' Health" "HHS Announces Awards for Community AIDS Programs" "Algeria Sets up Border Task-Force Against Diseases" "TB Deaths Reach All-Time High" "Less Cash From French AIDS Event" ****************************************************** "Hormone May Raise HIV Risk in Women" Washington Times (10/01/96) P. A9; Price, Joyce Progesterone, a hormone commonly used in oral contraceptives, has been found to increase vaginal transmission of an AIDS-like virus in monkeys and boost concentrations of the virus in their blood. Preston A. Marx of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and colleagues report their findings in today's issue of the journal Nature Medicine. The study suggests that the more than 2.5 million U.S. women using progesterone contraceptives may be at increased risk for HIV infection through vaginal intercourse. The findings are not conclusive enough for the authors to recommend that women change their contraceptive, however. More research is needed to determine if the increased risk in monkeys is also present for women. "Nationline: AIDS Controversy" USA Today (10/01/96) P. 3A Health officials in South Florida are warning residents to discount reports broadcast on a local radio station claiming that AIDS is a myth. Medical professionals and radio hosts on a WLQY-AM radio talk show popular among the area's Haitian population have been telling listeners to stop taking their medication and refuse treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that there have been 342,000 AIDS deaths in the United States. "Congress Finishes Major Legislation: The Budget" Washington Post (10/01/96) P. A1; Pianin, Eric President Clinton signed the budget bill Monday night after it was approved by the Senate, avoiding another government shutdown. The measure included many concessions from the Republican-controlled Congress, but met the midnight deadline, allowing members to adjourn and campaign back home. The House ended its session Saturday with passage of immigration and spending bills. The vote tallied 370 to 37, after Republican leaders were forced to drop a provision that would have denied immigrants federal funds for legal treatment of HIV and AIDS. "Day-Care Center Must Struggle in Controversy Over AIDS Funds" Houston Chronicle (09/30/96) P. 14A; Zuniga, Jo Ann Loving Arms Day Care Center, one of the few facilities in Houston that accepts children with HIV, was cut off from federal funding by the Ryan White Planning Council this summer. The center had been awarded about $184,000 from the council, nearly half of its annual operating budget, but did not receive funding July 31 because it submitted an insufficient 1995 audit. Last year, the center served about 130 children, half of whom are HIV-positive and some of whose parents are infected. Audrey Gassama, director of Loving Arms, claims that the funding cut came as a result of her public comments about the lack of Ryan White funding to minority organizations. The center has hired an accountant to provide a complete audit for 1995. "Inmates Are Vulnerable to Food-Borne Illnesses" Washington Post--Health (10/01/96) P. 5; Boodman, Sandra G. Food poisoning is a serious problem in jails and prisons, largely because it occurs in confined populations that include inmates with comprised immunity weakened by HIV, federal researchers report. Paul R. Cieslak and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from 88 outbreaks including more than 14,000 cases of illness between January 1974 and January 1992 in 31 states and territories. The researchers note that salmonella poisoning can be fatal to people with immune systems compromised by HIV. "As this population continues to grow," they conclude, "more diligent attention to food safety measures will be needed to prevent needless illness and inevitable death among incarcerated persons." "D.C. Enlists Tenants to Keep an Eye on Neighbors' Health" Washington Post (10/01/96) P. B1; Goldstein, Amy Residents of Washington, D.C., public housing developments are being trained to help their neighbors decrease their health risks. City health administrators are teaching 25 men and women about giving blood pressure tests, nutritional advice, and reassurance to neighbors who do not trust doctors. The workers will be paid $7 an hour to work weekday afternoons in health centers in the public housing complexes. Among their varied tasks, these assistants will take temperature readings, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and give advice about how to avoid infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Washington, D.C., has among the highest rates in the country for HIV infection, cancer deaths, and kidney disease, and health problems tend to be concentrated in areas where the new community health workers live. These areas are also physician-poor, with only one doctor for every 3,700 residents. "HHS Announces Awards for Community AIDS Programs" Reuters (09/28/96) The Department of Health and Human Services will provide $7.1 million in awards to 19 innovative community-based AIDS service programs, HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala announced. The awards are funded through the Special Projects of National Significance Program, a part of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Act. The programs will help homeless people, the mentally ill, substance abusers, and others with HIV or AIDS. "Algeria Sets up Border Task-Force Against Diseases" Reuters (09/30/96) In an effort to prevent the spread of diseases like AIDS and meningitis into Algeria from African countries to the south, the government is setting up border task forces. Health Minister Yahia Guidoum announced Monday that a committee had been charged with setting up the border patrol as well as an information network to monitor diseases in the southern countries bordering Algeria. "TB Deaths Reach All-Time High" Journal of the American Medical Association (09/25/96) Vol. 276, No. 12, P. 936 A record number of people died from tuberculosis (TB) in 1995, according to a new report from the World Health Organization. The number of cases in the United States dropped for the third year in a row, however. Worldwide, nearly 3 million people died from TB last year, compared to the previous record of 2.1 million deaths a year at the beginning of the century. More than 30 million people could die of TB during the next decade if current trends continue, WHO said. The group also reported that more than 1 million women and 170,000 children die of TB each year. Additionally, it noted that half of the world's more than 23 million refugees are infected with TB and that about one third of people with HIV die from TB. WHO reported that only about 10 percent of the world's TB patients receive the necessary treatment, directly observed therapy. "Less Cash From French AIDS Event" Nature (09/19/96) Vol. 383, No. 6597, P. 210 An annual fund-raising event held in Paris to benefit AIDS services and research raised only 65 million French francs ($13 million) this year, compared to 300 million French francs in 1994. One reason for the decline is that the televised event, which involves all national television channels, was disrupted this year by activists from ACT UP. The poor returns are also attributed to the fact that the event emphasized the need for donations, rather than information about AIDS; as well as declining interest in AIDS among the public in France.