Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 10:44:57 PST (163 lines of text) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary January 18, 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 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 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "New Findings May Speed Trials of AIDS Drugs" "AIDS Transfer Called "Very Rare" in Sperm" "City Clinics Add HIV Test to Routine Prenatal Visits" "Peace Corps Volunteer Sues Over Firing" "When Victims Need to Know" "Can Animal Organs Help Make Up for the Shortage of Human Donors?" "Rural AIDS-HIV Increases" "Health Research, Once Facing a Big Budget Cut, Gets a Raise" "ACTG Clinical Trial Sites: Seven Cut, Two Added" "Prostitutes Spread AIDS in China" ************************************************************ "New Findings May Speed Trials of AIDS Drugs" Los Angeles Times-Washington Edition (01/18/96) P. A5; Cimons, Marlene A series of studies sponsored by Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc. has found that declining levels of HIV in a person's blood is a good indicator of improved health. The preliminary findings, from studies of a new class of AIDS drugs, could make new drugs available sooner by speeding up clinical trials. By looking at a surrogate marker like viral load, rather than a clinical endpoint, researchers will be able to conduct shorter trials. Many patients in the study maintained a drop in the viral load of at least 68 percent, and reduced their chances of rapid progression to full-blown AIDS by half. "AIDS Transfer Called "Very Rare" in Sperm" Washington Times (01/18/96) P. A6; Paulson, Tom The risk of getting HIV through donor sperm in artificial insemination is virtually none, thanks to better screening and blood tests. Only seven such cases are known in the United States. Judith Billings, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced Tuesday that she had gotten HIV through donor sperm in the early 1980s. Of the seven cases, only one occurred after the blood test for the virus that causes AIDS became available in 1985, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Billings had undergone repeated artificial insemination between 1979 and 1986. She learned she was infected 10 months ago. "City Clinics Add HIV Test to Routine Prenatal Visits" Houston Chronicle (01/17/96) P. 13A; Zuniga, Jo Ann The Houston Health and Human Services Department will start voluntary testing of pregnant women for HIV as part of routine prenatal care. The number of women with AIDS in Harris County is rising, and the percentage of women and gay black men with HIV is growing, while the proportion of infected gay white men is decreasing. Currently, HIV testing of pregnant women is done when requested, or during studies, when the results are not revealed to the patient. Women with HIV have told AIDS service workers in the region that they need more support groups for themselves and their children. "Peace Corps Volunteer Sues Over Firing" Washington Times (01/18/96) P. A6 Dr. J. Ricker Polsdorfer, a family practice physician from Averill Park, N.Y., is suing the Peace Corps after he was fired when a supervisor complained that he advocated sexual abstinence to fully protect against AIDS. Polsdorfer claims that his First Amendment rights were violated, and he is seeking damages, back pay, and reinstatement. "When Victims Need to Know" New York Times (01/18/96) P. A23; Bayer, Ronald In a New York Times commentary, Ronald Bayer, a professor at Columbia University's School of Public Health and author of "Private Acts, Social Consequences: AIDS and the Public Health," advocates compromise on the issue of involuntary HIV testing of people charged with certain crimes. Bayer claims that the legislation proposed by New York Gov. George Pataki "seems to broad, and creates many ethical and legal problems." He suggests that there is "room for narrowly focused legislation that would give victims the right to timely information, while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused." Furthermore, Bayer asserts that testing does help a crime victim's mental health, and could be useful in deciding whether to administer AZT and for how long. The author concludes that a court hearing should decide if HIV testing is called for, and that results should be available only to the victim and the accused. "Can Animal Organs Help Make Up for the Shortage of Human Donors?" Washington Post--Health (01/16/96) P. 10; Weiss, Rick Hoping to alleviate the shortage of human organs for transplants, researchers are rushing to develop better procedures for transplanting animal organs into humans. Xenotransplantation, or cross-species transplantation, has received public attention recently with the transplant of baboon bone marrow into an AIDS patient and the implantation of pig nerve cells into Parkinson's patients. Animal organs may even be better than human organs for some people. A patient whose liver has failed because of hepatitis B infection, for instance, would be better off with a baboon liver, which is resistant to the virus. In the past, transplantation of entire animal organs has been very difficult, but doctors may have more success with genetically altered farm animals created to have organs more like humans. By injecting human genes into pig embryos, researchers are hoping to create pig organs that will not be rejected by the human immune system. "Rural AIDS-HIV Increases" Chicago Tribune (01/16/96) P. 7; Borg, Gary The number of HIV and AIDS cases is rising in rural areas of Indiana, reports the Rural Center for the Study and Promotion of HIV/STD Prevention at Indiana University. In 1988, the number of AIDS cases rose by 37 percent in rural areas and only 5 percent in urban areas, according to the National Commission on AIDS. The trend is attributed to inadequate health education and small town pressures. Some rural doctors still do not report all HIV cases, as a favor to family members. "Health Research, Once Facing a Big Budget Cut, Gets a Raise" New York Times (01/16/96) P. A13; Pear, Robert Congress increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 5.8 percent, to $11.94 billion for the current fiscal year, an appropriation $175 million more than that requested by President Clinton. The president signed the funding measure, which received strong bipartisan support, on Jan. 6. In the first half of 1995, Congress' budget plan for NIH called for cutting spending significantly. Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Ill.), chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee for the NIH, insisted on increased funding. Members of the biotechnology and biomedicine community met with Speaker Newt Gingrich in May to emphasize the importance of the industry to the nation's economy. "ACTG Clinical Trial Sites: Seven Cut, Two Added" AIDS Treatment News (12/22/95) No.237, P. 4 AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), operated by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the largest network of AIDS-treatment research centers. It has enrolled over 40,000 people in clinical trials across the country since it was founded in 1987. "Recompetition" for funding, however, will end clinical trials at seven of the 35 sites in the next year, though two new sites will be added. More dramatic funding cuts were discussed originally, and there is concern that other research may be cut to pay for the centers that remain. "Prostitutes Spread AIDS in China" American Medical News (01/08/96) Vol.39, No.2, P. 24 Prostitutes in China are carrying HIV from the poverty-stricken countrysides to the cities, health experts say. A 1993 survey of 267 female prostitutes held by police in Beijing, Dalian, Nanjing and Xian revealed that half came from out of town. The survey also showed that most of the women sold sex to increase their small income, or to make money to survive if they were unemployed. The women usually return home after making some money in the cities. Two-thirds of the women thought the risk of infection was nonexistent or slight. Almost half never used condoms, although they are available, and only 30 percent use them rarely or sometimes. The report, which was conducted by Beijing Union Medical College student Tang Weihong, concluded that "the great majority [of these prostitutes] see AIDS as a foreigners' disease."