Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 11:11:31 PST (180 lines of text) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary January 22, 1997 The CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC. 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 ****************************************************** "French Group Appeals to H.I.V.-Positive Doctors to Halt Surgery" "Personal Health: There Is Bad News and Good About a Hidden Viral Epidemic: Hepatitis C" "Across the USA: Maine, North Dakota" "Stronger Pneumonia on Rise Across U.S." "Dangerous Epidemic Hidden From View" "New Drug Mixture for AIDS Tested" "BioChem Pharma's Bellini: CEO's Tenacity Pays Off With Top-Selling AIDS Drug" "Life-Prolonging Strategies for AIDS Patients Can Be Cost Effective" "AIDS Update" "Propagation of a Human Herpesvirus From AIDS-Associated Kaposi's Sarcoma" ****************************************************** "French Group Appeals to H.I.V.-Positive Doctors to Halt Surgery" New York Times (01/22/97) P. A5; Simons, Marlise A physicians' group in France plans to ask HIV-positive doctors to stop performing surgery, following last week's announcement by the French Health Ministry that a surgeon had infected a patient with HIV during an operation. The French Order of Doctors, with 210,000 members, sets standards for the medical profession in France. "We believe that it is the moral duty of a doctor infected by HIV to stop operating in the interest of his patients," said Dr. John Langlois, a representative of the group. Langlois noted that although a law would be required to prevent an infected doctor from performing surgery, the organization would issue "a very firm recommendation" against the practice. "Personal Health: There Is Bad News and Good About a Hidden Viral Epidemic: Hepatitis C" New York Times (01/22/97) P. C9; Brody, Jane E. Like HIV, hepatitis C can infect a person without causing immediate symptoms and it cannot be eradicated from the body. Even with drug treatment soon after infection, hepatitis C infection is likely to cause chronic liver infection, causing cirrhosis, organ failure, and cancer in some cases. Almost 1.5 percent of the population is infected with hepatitis C, which is mostly transmitted through blood. Blood-screening has dramatically reduced the risk of infection from transfusions, but intravenous drug use has become the most frequent route of transmission. Needle exchange programs could possibly reduce this risk while also reducing HIV transmission among drug users. Sexual transmission is thought to be responsible for about one case in 20. "Across the USA: Maine, North Dakota" USA Today (01/22/97) P. 6A A poll of Maine residents revealed that 64 percent support physician-assisted suicide and 52 percent favor the legalization of medical marijuana. Under a bill being considered in North Dakota, meanwhile, the state would cover the insurance costs for HIV-infected people who lose their group insurance if they become too ill to work. "Stronger Pneumonia on Rise Across U.S." Washington Times (01/22/97) P. A1; Price, Joyce Pneumonia has become the most deadly infectious disease in the United States, due to an increase in the micro-organisms that cause the disease and a rise in the population most susceptible to it, according to a new study in the journal Infectious Disease in Clinical Practice. Deaths from pneumonia among those most at risk--children, the elderly, and the seriously ill or immunocompromised--peak during the flu season. Dr. John G. Bartlett, of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, describes the current season "worse than most in recent years." Bartlett also noted that community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP, which is caused by common bacterial agents, is the leading cause of death in AIDS patients. "Dangerous Epidemic Hidden From View" Washington Times (01/22/97) P. A13; Irvine, Reed; Goulden, Joseph The serious threat of sexually transmitted diseases among U.S. teenagers, reported recently by the Institute of Medicine, did not receive proper coverage in the media, contend Reed Irvine and Joseph Goulden of Accuracy in Media in a Washington Times commentary. The authors point out that, although the report said that "STDs represent a growing threat to the nation's health, and national action is urgently needed," and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the report was a "call to arms," the news did not seem to merit much media attention. The authors note that the New York Times printed the story on the obituary page, while the Washington Post put it in its weekly health section and the Washington Times did not print anything. The major television networks did not cover the story either, Irvine and Goulden add. "New Drug Mixture for AIDS Tested" Boston Globe (01/21/97) P. A6 A combination of two AIDS drugs may provide better treatment than the three-drug cocktail previously recommended, AIDS researchers report. The two drug treatment consists of two protease inhibitors, while the triple combination uses three different kinds of drugs. "BioChem Pharma's Bellini: CEO's Tenacity Pays Off With Top-Selling AIDS Drug" Investor's Business Daily (01/21/97) P. A1; Benko, Laura B. Francesco Bellini--co-founder, president, and CEO of the Quebec-based drug-maker BioChem Pharma--attributes his success to persistence. The company's AIDS drug 3TC, which is licensed to Glaxo Wellcome, became the top-selling AIDS drug last year, earning more than $300 million in first-year sales. BioChem Pharma was founded in 1986 by Bellini and four other scientists, selling mostly diagnostic test kits. Now, however, the company's emphasis has shifted more to therapeutics and its pipeline includes the hepatitis B drug Lamivudine, as well as potential vaccines for bacterial meningitis, pneumonia, and the flu. "Life-Prolonging Strategies for AIDS Patients Can Be Cost Effective" Reuters (01/21/97) Aggressive treatment for AIDS patients can be cost-effective by prolonging life, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Dr. Jonathan E. Kaplan, of the agency's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, reported that HIV infection is often not detected early enough to treat properly. He suggested that all primary healthcare facilities offer AIDS counseling and testing to patients with tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and all pregnant women. Kaplan also recommended that certain measures be taken for patients suspected of having AIDS, including assessment of HIV risk behavior, a chest x-ray, and tuberculin skin test, as well as tests for sexually transmitted diseases. "AIDS Update" Insight (01/20/97) Vol. 13, No. 2, P. 43; Berardelli, Phil Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, in an attempt to learn more about the body's relationship to HIV, are focusing on the VH3 family of antibodies which bind easily to the virus. A study conducted in 250 high-risk homosexuals revealed a link between VH3 levels and susceptibility to HIV. Individuals with low levels of VH3 were more likely to be infected with HIV, while those with high levels of the protein were more likely to resist infection, explained researcher Lee Goodglick. If VH3 does provide HIV resistance, more research will be needed to determine whether levels of the natural protein can be manipulated enough to offer protection from the virus, Goodglick said. "Propagation of a Human Herpesvirus From AIDS-Associated Kaposi's Sarcoma" New England Journal of Medicine (01/16/97) Vol. 336, No. 3, P. 163; Foreman, Kimberly E.; Friborg, Jacques, Jr.; Kong, Wing-Pui; et al. Data suggests that Kaposi's sarcoma, the most common cancer in AIDS patients, may be transmitted sexually, but an infectious agent has not been confirmed. A virus, named Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), or human herpesvirus 8, has been found in patients with four types of Kaposi's sarcoma. It is unknown, though, if the virus can be replicated or propagated in the lab. Researchers now report, however, that they were able to propagate a herpes-like virus with DNA sequences identical to KSHV from skin lesions of patients with AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. The authors note that the possible causal role of KSHV in Kaposi's sarcoma has not been confirmed by their work. They say that the findings should advance the development of diagnostic reagents for the disease, as well as allow more detailed study of the link between the virus and Kaposi's sarcoma. Correction: On January 21, the AIDS Daily Summary incorrectly reported that the OraSure Oral HIV-1 Antibody Testing System is a saliva test. The OraSure sample is extracted from the oral mucosal transudate (OMT) of the mouth. OMT has a higher concentration of HIV antibodies and is free of most contaminants found in saliva. Also, Dr. John H. Fitchen is Chief Operating Officer of Medical Products at Epitope, Inc., not Epitome.