Subject: CDC Summary Date: 01/3/94 (195 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary January 03, 1994 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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Medicine: Plant Shows Promise as AIDS Drug" Washington Post (01/03/94) P. A2 (Rensberger, Boyce) A previously unknown species of West African vine has become the first plant to demonstrate anti-HIV properties by protecting human cells in the lab from being killed by the AIDS virus. Named michellamine B, the substance has not yet been tested in humans, but is being tested on animals for toxicity--something that has yet to be achieved by other plants. Since 1986, botanists have tested specimens from 30,000 different leaves, flowers, and stems. Although three have shown initial promise as AIDS drugs, none have yet reached the level of testing for toxicity. "It has risen above the mass of other substances and that's significant," said Gordon Craig, head of the natural products branch of the National Cancer Institute, of the new compound. If michellamine B proves safe enough, it will advance to testing on AIDS patients. The vine, Ancistrocladus korupensis, was first collected in 1987 and has been found only in Cameroon. Because the vine grows in small numbers and additional testing requires large quantities of leaves, Cameroon is establishing plantations where the vine can be grown in quantity. "Prudish Hanoi Urges Safe Sex in Campaign Against AIDS" Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (01/03/94) P. A3 (Wallace, Charles P.) Faced with a climbing rate of HIV disease that could infect as many as 500,000 adult Vietnamese in the next five years, the Hanoi government is drafting plans to curb the virus--including a campaign to promote safe sex. Drawn up by Vietnam's National AIDS Committee, the draft says "the government of Vietnam has decided that now is the time to act, because there is still a possibility to curb the rapid spread of HIV, thereby preventing many thousands of young women, men, and children from becoming infected." As recently as December of 1992, there were only 11 reported cases of HIV throughout Vietnam. In the last month, however, that number has increased by 1,000, according to the draft report. Although drug use is the primary mode of HIV transmission in Vietnam, experts predict that the disease will soon be spread mainly by heterosexual intercourse. If the draft is approved, non-governmental groups will be urged to meet with commercial sex workers to lecture them about condom use and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Factory workers will also receive visits from representatives of the Public Health and Labor ministries, who will provide safe-sex training. In addition, there will be a mass-media campaign against AIDS. Candid discussion about sex is still taboo among Vietnam's polite society, however, and approval for the program will require a fundamental break in the country's traditions. "AIDS Benefit Battle" Associated Press (01/02/94) (Price, Niko) Los Angeles--For the second consecutive year, two major AIDS fundraisers are scheduled on the same evening, prompting criticism from one of the hosting groups over competition for the spotlight. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation will hold its fifth annual event on March 21, the same night the Elton John AIDS Foundation will hold its second. Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, penned a letter voicing these criticisms, which was signed by seven other AIDS organizations. "The Elton John Foundation has ... designed an event to steal the thunder of an agency providing desperately needed health care to thousands of Californians," charged Weinstein. "I am so disappointed when local AIDS organizations who work in the trenches every day are disregarded by people who seem more interested in their own image enhancement than in advancing the effort." Weinstein's group, which operates three clinics and two hospices, began sponsoring a black-tie Academy Awards dinner in 1990. John has long been an AIDS activist, and formed his organization in 1992. "Condom Handouts Voided in Schools" New York Times (12/31/93) P. A1 (Barbanel, Josh) New York City's pioneering condom distribution program for public high school students, established as a means of curbing the spread of AIDS, has been thrown out by a state appellate court on the grounds that such programs require parental consent. The five-judge appellate panel ruled that the program violated the constitutional right of parents as well as state health laws requiring parental permission for health service of dependent minors. Under the program, specially trained teachers situated in health resource rooms provided condoms to students, as well as information about their use, information about AIDS, counseling, and referral services. Since its implementation, the program has been widely imitated across the country and viewed by public-health advocates as a model effort to combat AIDS. Donna Lieberman, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, notes that 8 percent of American students have access to condoms in school, but adds that many schools give parents the right to opt out of the program. Calling the appellate ruling a "public health disaster," she says, "At a time when HIV infection among adolescents is increasing at alarming rates, the court is stripping schools of an important weapon in the fight to save our children from AIDS." Schools Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines said he is already drafting a new condom policy that will give parents the right to forbid their children to receive condoms, although he maintains that parental option is not "the answer by itself." "Briton Bitten Tackling Robber With HIV" Reuters (01/01/94) London--A British man who tackled a holdup man at a gas station has been informed that the robber, who bit him, is infected with the AIDS virus. Ken Spinks, 51, confronted the robber and held him down until police arrived, although the man bit him on the hand. Spinks has been tested for HIV, but will have to wait three months to find out if he is infected. "It was worrying, but there is nothing we can do until we get the results of the tests," said Spinks' wife, Josephine. The police said there is little chance that her husband contracted HIV, because the virus is not easily spread through saliva. "HIV Carriers in Indonesia Jumps Five-Fold" United Press International (12/31/93) Jakarta--Prompted into action by an alarming rise in the number of AIDS-infected people, the Indonesian government has earmarked more than $2 million for programs designed to halt the spread of the virus, reported the official news agency Antara. According to Health Minister Suyudi, the number of Indonesians with HIV rose five-fold in 1993 to 193 people. Of those, 49 people have progressed to full-blown AIDS and 34 have died. Officials have warned that without the implementation of prevention programs, the number of infected Indonesians could climb as high as 500,000 by 1995. In response, the government has urged the nation's religious figures to become active in dispensing information about the perils of AIDS, and has enlisted the help of pimps in educating prostitutes about prevention and encouraging customers to use condoms. Plans are also underway to create a national body that would coordinated various agencies in the fight against the disease. "Upstate N.Y. Bombing Suspect Had Clashed With Girlfriend's Family" United Press International (12/30/93) Rochester, N.Y.--A man suspected of mailing bombs to members of his girlfriend's family held a grudge against the woman's family because they refused to pledge to care for her children should she die from AIDS. Michael Stevens, 53, and a friend are charged with sending the explosives to members of the Lazore family in upstate New York. Five people were killed, two were injured, and two who were intended to be hurt escaped. Ron Lanza, whose estranged wife Pamela was killed in the blasts, said Stevens was involved with his sister-in-law, Brenda Lazore Chevere, but hated her entire family. "Brenda's got AIDS and she wanted Pam to bring up her kids and Pam didn't want nothing to do with them," said Lanza. "Brenda's got AIDS and nobody wanted her and nobody wanted her kids." Stevens also clashed with Chevere's family over money and over failure to attend a Christmas party planned by he and Chevere. "Innovative AIDS Programs" Futurist (01/94-02/94) Vol. 28, No. 1, P. 48 As the AIDS epidemic continues to rage across the globe, efforts to curb the disease are turning to innovative--and sometimes controversial--programs, according to the World Health Organization. One program in the Philippines features an actor who, dressed as a larger-than-life blue condom, roves the streets talking to kids about safe sex. Financially burdened nations have been limited in their AIDS-education programs. But a creative program called "Swaps Against AIDS" allows a commercial bank, fearful that a developing country cannot repay its loans, to sell the debt to a development organization at a loss. The debtor then repays the organization less than it owed the bank, and the organization uses the repaid money to fund projects in the debtor country. The program has generated more than $400,000 in extra resources for AIDS programs in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia; swaps are now being planned for Brazil, India, Jamaica, and Uganda, among others. In the Central African Republic, one campaign promotes condom use by accepting bottle caps in exchange for free condoms. The program has helped increase condom sales and make their use the social norm in the nation. In Nepal, a theatrical troupe called Sarabanam aims to heighten AIDS awareness and prevention through street drama. The actors stage a play that involves direct audience participation with the topics of HIV transmission and the importance of shielding AIDS patients from stigma. WHO estimates that more than 50,000 people have seen the production.