Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Fri Feb 7 07:31:03 PST 1997 (177 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary February 7, 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 ****************************************************** "Glaxo, U.S. Firm Go on Research Blitz to Unravel Riddle of HIV's Resistance" "FY 1998: Winners and Losers: HHS" "Fear of Disease Has Consumers Resorting to Germ Warfare" "Pot as Medicine" "Across the USA: Illinois" "Mississippi Widow Urges AIDS Disclosure Law" "Digest: Medimmune" "Brazil Records 50,000 AIDS Cases" "No Will, No Way" "New Weapons Against AIDS--At a Price" ****************************************************** "Glaxo, U.S. Firm Go on Research Blitz to Unravel Riddle of HIV's Resistance" Wall Street Journal (02/07/97) P. B2A; Moore, Stephen D. Glaxo Wellcome, the maker of the world's top-selling AIDS drugs--AZT, marketed as Retrovir, and 3TC, marketed as Epivir--entered a research venture with San Diego company Affymetrix last week aimed at helping doctors to offer better treatments to patients with HIV. Hoping to gain a better understanding of HIV's ability to develop drug resistance, the project will involve collecting and analyzing the DNA of mutated HIV strains from thousands of patients and trying to link the efficacy of current drugs to the variations of the virus. The results would be entered in a database, which physicians could use to plan antiviral treatment for their patients. Glaxo's leading position in the AIDS market is threatened by Merck, which makes the protease inhibitor Crixivan, as well as Roche Holding and Abbott Laboratories, which market packages of protease inhibitors and diagnostic tests to monitor treatment progress. "FY 1998: Winners and Losers: HHS" Washington Post (02/07/97) P. A21; Rich, Spencer Under the President's proposed budget for fiscal 1998, funding for the Department of Health and Human Services would increase 7 percent from $351 billion in fiscal 1997 to $376 billion. Medicare funding would increase about 8 percent to $207.7 billion, while Medicaid would rise 7.4 percent to $105.8 billion. The budget for the National Institutes of Health, moreover, would increase 2.6 percent to $13.1 billion. Funding for the Ryan White AIDS assistance program, credited with helping lower AIDS-related deaths in New York, would increase $40 million to more than $1 billion. "Fear of Disease Has Consumers Resorting to Germ Warfare" Wall Street Journal (02/07/97) P. A1; Parker-Pope, Tara To ease society's rising anxiety about disease, a plethora of new products claiming to offer protection from bacteria and germs is being developed. Antibacterial toys, soaps, cleaning products, and cat litter are finding a receptive market in fearful consumers. "The soap kills bacteria, things that cause flu, maybe AIDS," says Manhattan resident Rozalia Racek of Palmolive Ultra antibacterial dish soap. Health officials note, however, that antibacterial products are only effective against bacteria and do not protect against HIV. News of outbreaks of tuberculosis, cholera, and E. coli have increased consumer awareness and fear. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in Science magazine in April 1994 that the country was not properly prepared to detect and monitor infectious diseases. The popularity of "antibacterial" products has some experts concerned that the use of such products could result in a strain of resistant bacteria. "Pot as Medicine" Washington Post (02/07/97) P. A23; Krauthammer, Charles The California initiative to legalize marijuana for medical uses was promoted as an effort to help the terminally ill, but it is being used by others to allow the recreational use of the drug, contends Charles Krauthammer in a Washington Post commentary. He cites clients at cannabis buyers' clubs who are not terminally ill but say they have been diagnosed with other less serious ailments, including migraines, insomnia, and stress. Krauthammer also casts doubt on the medical benefits of the drug, even for the terminally ill, suggesting that the high provided by marijuana is its only unique effect. He argues that better and safer drugs are available for patients with glaucoma, AIDS, and cancer, but he concedes that terminally ill patients should be able to use any drug they wish, but in supervised medical settings only. "Across the USA: Illinois" USA Today (02/07/97) P. 10A The number of AIDS cases in Illinois increased slightly in 1996, after decreasing for two consecutive years, health officials report. Last year, 2,212 people were diagnosed with AIDS in the state. "Mississippi Widow Urges AIDS Disclosure Law" Journal of Commerce (02/07/97) P. 8A The widow of a man who had HIV but was not told why a Mississippi life insurance company denied him coverage urged lawmakers on Wednesday to pass a bill requiring such disclosures. Although tests ordered by Jackson National Life Insurance showed that Frank Deramus was infected with HIV in 1988, the company did not disclose the result until nine days before his death in 1991, Judy Deramus said. However, according to a federal judge's ruling, the company was not legally bound to reveal why it found him medically unsuitable for coverage. The proposed legislation would require companies to reveal certain results to the "applicant, client, or other such person who the insurance company knows to have the disease." "Digest: Medimmune" Washington Post (02/07/97) P. G2 Medimmune, a Gaithersburg, MD, company that develops and markets treatments for infectious diseases, reported a $10.7 million loss for the fourth quarter compared to a $8.6 million loss a year earlier. The loss was attributed to increased sales costs and increased spending on research and development. "Brazil Records 50,000 AIDS Cases" Xinhua News Agency (02/06/97) As of December 1996, Brazil had recorded 50,000 AIDS cases, a much higher figure than expected, the Health Ministry said Thursday. Not included in the number were patients seeking care from private doctors who did not report all cases to health officials. The Health Ministry pledged to spend $240 million this year in the fight against AIDS. "No Will, No Way" POZ (02/97) P. 25 Donna Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has been criticized by leading AIDS researchers for misrepresenting the results of six studies which revealed that needle exchange programs are effective. The ban on such programs remains, Shalala explains, due to the high standard set by Congress for lifting it. The requirements say that needle exchanges must reduce both HIV transmission and drug abuse. Needle-exchange researcher Peter Lurie of the University of California points out that the two restrictions are made in two different laws and that Shalala could release the funds governed by the less restrictive language--the 1992 Labor/Health and Human Services Act, which requires needle exchanges to be shown only to "not increase" the amount of drug use. Lurie suggests that Shalala could "fund needle exchanges through the community mental-health block grants or any other program governed by the less restrictive appropriations act language." He claims, however, that "she does not have the will." "New Weapons Against AIDS--At a Price" Kiplinger's Personal Finance (02/97) Vol. 51, No. 2, P. 102; Clark, Jane Bennett Jacques Chambers, a benefits advisor to AIDS patients at AIDS Project Los Angeles, reports that an increasing number of patients are seeking information about going off disability and returning to work--a movement attributed to the benefits of protease inhibitors. Although the new drugs are not effective for everyone and are also very costly, their dramatic results for many are creating a sense of optimism in the AIDS community. The best insurance coverage for the drugs is provided by fee-for-service plans or preferred-provider plans with a prescription plan, according to John Fortin of Foster Higgins, a benefits consulting firm in New York City. Medicaid and state drug-assistance programs provide alternatives, but they also impose income and other restrictions. Meanwhile, although returning to work may offer the best way for AIDS patients to secure affordable health insurance coverage, concerns about losing benefits and having outdated job skills still plague many people making this decision. These worries, however, are still considered a vast improvement over their outlook before taking the drugs.