Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 10:07:49 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/24/96 AIDS Daily Summary September 24, 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 ****************************************************** "India Enlists Barbers in the War on AIDS" "Clean-Needle Effort Wins Praise; Bid-Loser Appeals" "He Fights AIDS on Two Fronts" "Sex on Daytime Soaps: Less Talk, More Action" "AIDS Cases in Heterosexuals Equal to Homosexuals in Rhode Island" "HIV Positives Up Among Colombian Heterosexuals" "South Asia to Work Out Strategy Against AIDS" "Geneva Conference to Provide Human Rights Guidelines on HIV/AIDS" "Two Candidates for a Live AIDS Vaccine Emerge" "Law Student Hangs Jury" ****************************************************** "India Enlists Barbers in the War on AIDS" Wall Street Journal (09/24/96) P. A18; Jordan, Miriam In India's state of Tamil Nadu, barbers are being trained to discuss HIV prevention with their customers and to provide free condoms. Indian men are often too embarrassed to buy condoms or to talk about sex with health counselors and family members. However, HIV is rapidly spreading in India, and UNAIDS estimates that up to 5 million of the country's 920 million people are already infected. In many Indian states, officials are still in denial about the threat of AIDS, or they are more concerned with other diseases, like malaria and tuberculosis. Tamil Nadu has introduced AIDS education in high schools, operates an information hotline, and incorporates AIDS education into popular movie screenings. AIDS awareness has reached 95 percent in two years, up from 64 percent before the programs were implemented. "Clean-Needle Effort Wins Praise; Bid-Loser Appeals" Washington Times (09/24/96) P. C4; Mercurio, John Although AIDS activists in Washington, D.C., are applauding the city's decision to create a needle-exchange program, one leading supporter is appealing the city's move. A group led by KOBA Associates, a non-profit drug-treatment organization, was awarded the project two years after the city council voted to fund the program. However, a member of the activist group ACT-UP said the Department of Human Services rejected the bid offered by a consortium his group organized called DC Care, even though it scored higher than KOBA in terms of technical approach, experience, and capability. Steve Michael, president of ACT-UP, said the group will appeal the selection and will lobby the city's financial control board to reject it. "He Fights AIDS on Two Fronts" Los Angeles Time--Washington Edition (09/24/96) P. A1; Fiore, Faye Dr. R. Scott Hitt, a leading AIDS doctor in Los Angeles and chairman of President Clinton's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, is being criticized by activists who say he has not done enough to improve the administration's AIDS policies. Members of the advisory council say that while unimposing, Hitt is committed to his work. In Los Angeles, he has treated more than 1,100 HIV patients and established a fund for gay political candidates and a civil rights group for homosexuals. Hitt became the first openly gay person to lead a presidential advisory council, which faced criticism from activists before it even met. The panel has published eight reports, recommending immediate actions the White House should take on AIDS. Clinton has followed up on all recommendations. "Sex on Daytime Soaps: Less Talk, More Action" Washington Post--Health (09/24/96) P. 5; Verdon, Lexie A study of the sexual content of 10 daytime soap operas found that more sexual situations are depicted than talked about by characters. Katherine E. Heintz-Knowles, a researcher at the University of Washington, led the study, which compared how sex was shown on shows today with a similar study conducted two years ago. Nearly 10 percent of the sexual behaviors evidenced in the five-weeks of research dealt with preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. "AIDS Cases in Heterosexuals Equal to Homosexuals in Rhode Island" Reuters (09/23/96) The number of cases of AIDS among Rhode Island heterosexuals is now equal to the number of AIDS cases in homosexuals living in the state, according to Sex Weekly Plus. The Rhode Island Department of Health reports that half of the 1,385 AIDS cases diagnosed in Rhode Island in 1995 were among heterosexuals, and 38 percent of them were intravenous drug users. Among those who tested positive for HIV in the state last year, 41 percent were drug users, 21 percent contracted the virus via heterosexual sex, and 21 percent were infected via homosexual sex. Moreover, the rates of HIV and AIDS are rising among Hispanic women in the state, especially cases related to heterosexual contact. "HIV Positives Up Among Colombian Heterosexuals" Xinhua News Agency (09/23/96) Colombia's Ministry of Health reports that 16,331 Colombians were infected with HIV by August. Among them, 9,331 had no symptoms, and 6,981 had progressed to AIDS. In addition, HIV was found to spread more among heterosexuals, while the number of infections had decreased among homosexuals and bisexuals. The largest number of new HIV cases was reported in Bogota, the nation's capital. In response to the growing threat, the Colombian government has set up a toll-free AIDS hotline, offering free information on sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. "South Asia to Work Out Strategy Against AIDS" Xinhua News Agency (09/24/96) Doctors from South Asian countries convened in Kathmandu to discuss the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) in the region and to develop a strategy to fight the diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.5 million people in South Asia are infected with HIV and that more than 3 million are infected with TB each year. The co-epidemic is expected to increase, especially because TB is associated with HIV infection. "Geneva Conference to Provide Human Rights Guidelines on HIV/AIDS" Reuters (09/23/96) Government leaders and representatives from academic and research organizations are meeting in Geneva to develop guidelines on the human rights of people with HIV and AIDS. The guidelines, to be developed for state lawmakers and government policy makers, will address areas of law and administrative policy and practice. The conference is sponsored by the United Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS. "Two Candidates for a Live AIDS Vaccine Emerge" Lancet (09/14/96) Vol. 348, No. 9029, P. 742; Rowe, Paul M. Two potential AIDS vaccines, both using attenuated and inactivatable strains of HIV-1, have been developed by two separate research groups. Both groups used the thymidine kinase (tk) gene from herpes simplex virus to replace HIV-1's nef gene. The first report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA in July, while the second appeared in the same journal in September. Researchers have learned that removing the nef gene potentially attenuates HIV-1. Some non-progressors have viruses without nef, and such strains do not replicate well in human cells in culture. Including the tk gene from herpes simplex virus in the attenuated HIV-1 virus, however, makes the cell vulnerable to the drug ganciclovir. Both research teams demonstrated that ganciclovir can eliminate the engineered virus from human cells in vitro, and one team reported that HIV could be eliminated in a small animal model. "Law Student Hangs Jury" National Law Journal (09/16/96) Vol. 19, No. 3, P. A6; Donovan, Karen A $350 million class action lawsuit brought by investors who alleged that a pharmaceutical company made false claims about the efficacy of an AIDS drug ended in a hung jury earlier this summer, and a lawyer for the plaintiffs wants a new trial. Daniel I. Berger was among the lawyers representing investors who alleged that ICN Pharmaceuticals had defrauded them by making false statements about the potential effectiveness of Virazole, an anti-HIV drug. The jury voted eight to one in the investors' favor--the only holdout was a law student whose work at a New York law firm dealt with efforts by biotechnology companies to make initial public offerings. The woman, who was known to have completed due diligence for a biotechnology company's initial public offering at the time of jury selection, argued that the false claims were not material to the investors.