Subject: CDC Summary 2/9/93 Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1993 07:31:00 PST (268 lines) Archive-Number: 152 From: Billi Goldberg Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed. sold. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary February 9, 1993 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. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ====================================================================== "Clinton to Lift Ban on H.I.V.-Infected Aliens" New York Times (02/09/93), P. A17 (Hilts, Philip J.) The Clinton administration announced yesterday that it would soon eliminate HIV-infection as one of the conditions prohibiting people from entering the United States. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services said they are reducing the number of diseases on the list of conditions to one--infectious tuberculosis. The others, including AIDS, syphilis, and leprosy, will be removed because they are not spread casually and people who have them are not a threat to public health. The administration said Sunday night that President Clinton had already told the Department to remove the restriction, which would fulfill a campaign promise, but that no date was set for the action. HHS officials said yesterday that they are prepared to change the rule soon by publishing it in the Federal Register. Since 1987, when the restriction was imposed, AIDS activists have opposed it, saying the policy is discriminatory, a violation of visitors' privacy, an affront to their dignity, and an international embarrassment. The policy also prompted outrage among public health officials, who claimed there was little reason to fear allowing HIV-positive people into the country. Aside from South Africa, no industrialized nations restrict the entry of HIV-positive people, although about 50 countries, including China and some Arab nations, restrict or prohibit entry. Since the policy was implemented, about 600 people a year have been denied entry into the U.S., some of whom did not previously realize they were infected. Related Story: USA Today (02/09) P. 9A ====================================================================== "New York State Overturns Rule on AIDS Study" New York Times (02/09/93), P. A1 (Dao, James) New York State's leading education official has decided that the New York City Board of Education overstepped its authority and violated teachers' rights by mandating that all AIDS education emphasize abstinence as the best means to prevent HIV infection. Thomas Sobol, the State Commissioner of Education, said yesterday that he overturned a board resolution that he claimed instituted a "stopwatch approach to education" by prescribing how and when teachers should instruct about AIDS. Sobol wrote that the resolution "reaches beyond the city board's legitimate interest in setting policy and approving curriculum and intrudes impermissibly upon the teacher's latitude to teach the curriculum in the most effective manner." He added that his ruling would be issued today. In May, the resolution was passed by a 4-to-3 vote and was opposed strongly by Schools Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez. The vote signified the first time the board publicly rejected Fernandez and prompted a quarrel between the Chancellor and the board majority that has left his future employment in question. The Chancellor's supporters sought to portray the ruling as a significant demonstration of support for Fernandez on the eve of a crucial board vote on whether to negotiate with him for a new contract. However, it was undetermined whether the action would pressure the board majority to reconsider its opposition to Fernandez. Yesterday a group of civil libertarians, teachers, elected officials, and AIDS educators who requested that Sobol overturn the resolution considered his ruling a victory for free speech and what they called "balanced AIDS education." ====================================================================== "Life Sciences: AIDS Vaccine Test Begins in Sweden" Baltimore Sun (02/09/93), P. 12C (Bowie, Liz) The first large-scale test of an AIDS vaccine began on HIV- positive patients in Sweden late last week. The experimental vaccine, gp-160, has been through initial tests on 100 volunteers at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The vaccine, made by MicroGeneSys Inc. of Meriden, Conn., has been at the center of the debate over which AIDS vaccines the U.S. federal government should test. It is expected that gp-160 will be the first vaccine to be tested by the U.S.--at a cost to the government of $20 million. The vaccine was chosen after an aggressive lobbying effort by the MicroGeneSys, which convinced Congress to divert the money from the Department of Defense budget. The vaccine is a genetically-engineered version of a piece of the outer shell of HIV, and is intended to inhibit the disease's progression. It would not be initially used to protect the general public from the virus. The MicroGeneSys vaccine will be tested on 1,000 patients, first in Sweden and subsequently in Denmark, Norway, and Finland. Preliminary tests over the last five years have shown that the vaccine has the ability to boost the immune system in some patients. Separately, Viral Technologies, Inc. of Bethesda, Md., has been given a European patent for its AIDS vaccine, which is a copy of part of the core of the virus. ====================================================================== "AIDS Research Funding Changes Proposed in Bill" Los Angeles Times-- Washington Edition (02/09/93), P. A6 (Cimons, Marlene) The federal AIDS research program would undergo significant changes under a bill pending in Congress, which pleases AIDS activists. The provision is part of the Senate version of the National Institutes of Health reauthorization bill. The legislation would drastically reorganize the federal AIDS program by establishing a single office with the power to determine how AIDS research funds are spent. The bill would set up a new office of AIDS research whose director would report directly to the secretary of health and human services, instead of to the director of the NIH. The new AIDS office would have sole budgetary authority over the entire AIDS federal research program. The new AIDS research budget would be given to Congress for its approval as one complete package, instead of part of the NIH's overall budget, which includes research funding for various diseases. The NIH officials would still have input in determining which research projects would be funded, but the process would be under the jurisdiction of the new office and part of an overall plan, instead of the province of the individual institutes. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is often the government's spokesman for AIDS research, and has considerable influence. But advocates of the change contend that his dual role poses a conflict of interest. He oversees the total AIDS research program and competes for research funding of his own programs. The NIH officials object to allowing all budgetary authority to rest within this single new office, and warn that a slowdown in the execution of research projects could result. ====================================================================== "Study Finds Latinos' Risk for AIDS Higher Than That of Others in Mass." Boston Globe (02/08/93), P. 22 (Kong, Dolores) Although Latinos comprise only 5 percent of Massachusett's population, they account for 12 percent of AIDS cases and 28 percent of IV-drug-related cases, according to a new report by the Latino AIDS Consortium of Massachusetts. Nicholas Parkhurst Carballeira, one of the authors of the report, says reasons for the discrepancy include poverty, too few anti-AIDS programs that consider cultural and linguistic differences, and too little state AIDS funding targeted for the Latino community. The situation for Latinos in Massachusetts appears to be worse than that for Latinos nationwide. Latinos and Hispanics account for 17 percent of all reported AIDS cases across the nation, but constitute only 09 percent of the population. The proportion of Latino AIDS cases in Massachusetts is 2.4 times the proportion of Latinos in the population. Carballeira said, "I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the Latino community in Massachusetts is the poorest in the nation," referring to 1990 Census data that was issued last year. He mentioned a lack of political clout for Latinos in Massachusetts as another factor for the disparity, resulting in less influence in funding for public health and other programs. Late last week, representatives of the Latino AIDS Consortium met with state public health officials to discuss the draft report. Carballeira said the officials "agreed in principle" to possibly direct AIDS funding to the Latino community, increase Latino representation at the AIDS bureau, and add a position to provide technical assistance to some Latino social agencies. ====================================================================== "Recent Advances Combat Two Deadly Infections" Washington Post (Health) (02/09/93), P. 13 (Boodman, Sandra G.) Arthur Ashe, the former tennis champion who died of AIDS on Saturday, experienced pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and toxoplasmosis at various times during his last 4.5 years. These two infections are among the most common causes of death in AIDS patients. AIDS experts and Ashe's personal physician attribute both his longevity and the quality of his life to recent advances in preventing and treating these opportunistic infections. What was surprising is that Ashe, who had lived with toxoplasmosis for an abnormally long time, died soon after developing PCP. Few people live longer than three years after developing toxoplasmosis--several sufferers are dead a year after diagnosis. Ashe first was diagnosed with the infection in 1988. Toxoplasmosis is a common parasite that lies dormant in the bodies of healthy people. However, in HIV-positive patients, the organism is activated because of the depleted immune system. Peter Hawley, medical director of Washington, D.C.'s Whitman-Walker Clinic, said, "A lot of people with toxo are dead within six months. A year is a long time; 4.5 years is extraordinary." He added that once a person has it, that person must be treated for life. Henry W. Murray, Ashe's doctor at New York Hospital, said regarding Ashe, "... I'm 99 percent certain he lived longer than almost anyone in the world with toxo." Ashe's death was a result of overwhelming respiratory insufficiency that may have been caused by PCP. Once a person develops PCP, the disease is difficult to treat. Although Ashe recovered from PCP in January, the disease recurred two weeks later and resulted in his death. ====================================================================== "Selling Condom Sense" Baltimore Sun (02/09/93), P. D1 (Shapiro, Stephanie) Although condoms are more readily available, they are not being used to completely protect against sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection, according to a statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics. In 1986, after former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said that condom use was essential to prevent HIV infection, sales rose sharply. But more recently, the condom market has been "pretty flat," says Sharyn Sullivan, sales-administration manager for Ansell Inc., a New Jersey-based condom manufacturer. Health statistics show that condoms are not used nearly as often as they should be. The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health reported in 1990 that about 6 million condoms are being used each year worldwide. However, it said that "more than twice as many--13 million condoms--should be used to protect the health and lives of men and women." A study on American sexual behavior demonstrated that about 66 percent of heterosexuals with more than one partner do not use condoms regularly. The same report discovered that 70 percent of heterosexuals with partners in high-risk groups never use condoms. Dr. Michael Johnson, assistant professor of international health at Hopkins' School of Hygiene, said that for condoms to have a major effect on society, there must be behavioral change as well. He said, "Integrated, comprehensive intervention is a time-consuming and expensive thing to do; but in the long run ... HIV is much more expensive than the cost of giving the education." ====================================================================== "Official's Ruling Backs Insurance for AIDS Patients" Wall Street Journal (02/08/93), P. B5 (Salwen, Kevin G.) Spencer Lewis Jr., the New York district director of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, ruled that a union's denial of benefits for people with AIDS or HIV "appears, on its face, to violate" the Americans With Disabilities Act and that the union "has no viable defense to the charge of discrimination." In July 1991, the Mason Tenders District Council of New York revised its health benefits plan to exclude payments for patients with AIDS or related diseases. In November, Terrence Donaghey filed a complaint with the EEOC. His lawyer says Donaghey "wants the policy to be changed for himself and for others who may be affected. He also wants to be compensated for the loss that he's experienced." The union has not commented on the ruling but it can appeal Lewis' decision in front of the whole commission as well as the court. ====================================================================== "The Nation: As AIDS Money is Parceled Out, Political Questions" New York Times (02/07/93), P. 3 (Pear, Robert) Although President Clinton promised to increase spending on AIDS research, members of Congress who write appropriations bills do not expect much of an increase in the near future. But scientists will hold Clinton to his word, and claim that more money would drastically increase the likelihood of producing a vaccine to prevent HIV infection or drugs to inhibit the virus from spreading. AIDS experts say the $1.3 billion the government spent on AIDS research last year is far less than could profitably be spent on the problem. AIDS-related research comprises almost 10 percent of the National Institutes of Health budget: $858 million of $9.2 billion this year. The Public Health Service, of which the NIH is a part, spent more on AIDS-related research than on any other disease except cancer last year. However, it should be emphasized that there was no such thing as AIDS research before 1982. In addition, it should be noted that the proportion of AIDS research proposals that get NIH funding--26 percent--is about the same as the proportion of all NIH applications that succeed. The rate of AIDS cases is increasing by more than 50,000 a year. However, the NIH budget for work on AIDS increased by only one-third, from $627 million in 1989 to $838 million in 1992. The budget this year increased just 2.4 percent to $858 million, which is $15 million less than President Bush requested. Although Congress is considering instituting a powerful Office of AIDS Research, some scientists and congressional Republicans express concern. "Decision-making authority would be taken away from scientists and put in the hands of a new all- powerful bureaucracy," said Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr. (R-Va.). ====================================================================== "It's a Family Affair, Again" Newsweek (02/08/93) Vol. 121, No. 6, P. 61 (Seligmann, Jean) A concert benefiting the Pediatric AIDS Foundation is scheduled for simultaneous debut on Feb. 16 through CD, audio and video cassette, and The Disney Channel. "For Our Children: The Concert" is Disney's follow-up to the highly successful "For Our Children," released in 1991. That studio album featured Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Barbra Streisand, and James Taylor. With a total of 900,000 copies sold so far, the first "For Our Children," has raised $3 million for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The new album and video features celebrities Paula Abdul, Salt-N-Pepa, Kriss Kross, Michael Bolton and Bobby McFerrin. The newer version is targeted at younger children as well as their older siblings. All of the artists and executive producers donated their time to "For Our Children: The Concert." Elizabeth Glaser, the HIV-positive mother of two infected children who co-founded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and conceived the first album, said, "As a creative endeavor, this concert should stand alone. We hope it will bring a lot of people joy and raise a lot of money for AIDS." While the success of the earlier Disney production will be hard to follow, stores across the country have already ordered half a million copies of the new one.