Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 11:11:31 PST (190 lines of text) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1997, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD AIDS Daily Summary February 12, 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 ****************************************************** "Family Planning and Foreign Policy Are Linked, Albright Tells House Panel" "Nationline: Fla. AIDS Patient Loses Right to Assisted Suicide" "Spread of HIV Hits Young" "Providing Access to Research Focus for Relocated AIDS Center" "Health Ministers' Inaction May Delay New Blood System" "UPI Science News: [Safe-Sex Strategies Studied at Meeting]" "Zimbabwe Takes Measures Against AIDS" "HIV Home Test Kits: Heavy Use By At-Risk Groups" "Preventing STDs and Pregnancy" "Sex Trading and Psychological Distress Among Women Recruited ****************************************************** "Family Planning and Foreign Policy Are Linked, Albright Tells House Panel" Washington Post (02/12/97) P. A20; Seelye, Katharine Q. Family planning is an important part of the United States' foreign policy, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright told a House committee Tuesday, urging members to support the Clinton Administration's plan and prompt the release of foreign family planning funds. The House is slated to vote on the measure on Thursday, as well as on an alternative that would prevent U.S. aid from supporting groups that perform abortions even if they use private money for that purpose. Anti-abortion groups have criticized the family planning programs, saying that they help support abortions worldwide. The administration's plan would release $215 million starting March 1, but the amount would be reduced to $92 million if delayed until July. Dr. Inga I. Grebshva, director general of the Russian Association of Family Planning in Moscow, said Russia hoped family planning would help rebuild the population by preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reducing the need for abortions. "Nationline: Fla. AIDS Patient Loses Right to Assisted Suicide" USA Today (02/12/97) P. 3A Charles Hall, the Florida AIDS patient who had won the right to physician-assisted suicide in a Jan. 31 ruling, lost that right when the state Supreme Court reinstated a stay in his legal case on Tuesday. The state had obtained a stay of the original ruling, which was then lifted. The Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on May 9. Hall's lawyer notes that while his client was not planning to commit suicide immediately, he is experiencing persistent pain and is in a "pretty bleak" condition. "Spread of HIV Hits Young" Toronto Globe and Mail (02/11/97) P. A1; Immen, Wallace Health officials in Canada report that HIV seems to be spreading at an increasing rate in the country, especially among drug users and young people, who officials say are ignoring warnings about risky behaviors. When the epidemic first hit Canada in the early 1980s, the median age at infection was 32. It has now dropped to 23, reflecting the large number of people who were infected as teenagers and are now testing HIV positive. Among older Canadians, the rate of new infections has decreased dramatically, apparently because they are taking proper precautions, reported Dr. Donald Sutherland, of Health Canada's Laboratory Center of Disease Control. Young people are more willing to take risks because they are not as aware of the consequences involved, Sutherland said. "If we are going to prevent new infections, we will have to aim at a much younger population," he noted. "Providing Access to Research Focus for Relocated AIDS Center" Houston Chronicle (02/11/97) P. 18A; Zuniga, Jo Ann Houston's Center for AIDS, aiming to provide AIDS patients and caregivers with the most recent research and treatment information, will reopen Friday at its new, larger location. Michael Peranteau, who is HIV-positive and one of the center's three founders, said the center will help patients take control of their treatment. The Center for AIDS was established in 1995 because, "at the time there were lots of different prevention information available, but not much on treatment. And because so much of it is fast-breaking, not many people have the time or resources to read, clip, and collect," Peranteau said. The center will publish a weekly newsletter which will be sent to doctors, researchers, AIDS patients, and caregivers. "Health Ministers' Inaction May Delay New Blood System" Toronto Globe and Mail (02/11/97) P. A6; McIlroy, Anne Canada's health ministers announced Monday that they are delaying their decision about the Canadian Red Cross' role in a new blood system until after the final report on the tainted blood tragedy is released. The report is due on April 30, leading to speculation that the September deadline for the new blood system will not be met. "This is a serious delay in the implementation of the new system. I think it shows a lack of political will. There was nothing to stop them from making the hard decisions now," said Durhane Wong-Rieger, president of the Canadian Hemophilia Society. "UPI Science News: [Safe-Sex Strategies Studied at Meeting]" United Press International (02/11/97) Researchers attending a meeting sponsored by the National Institutes of Health are evaluating safer sex programs and HIV prevention efforts, aiming to reach a consensus of the most effective strategies. Participants at the three-day meeting in Maryland will debate the best methods of intervention to reduce risky behavior. The group, hoping to develop a course of action to implement the most effective strategies, will report its conclusions Thursday afternoon. "Zimbabwe Takes Measures Against AIDS" Xinhua News Agency (02/11/97) In an effort to increase HIV prevention, Zimbabwe will import 5 million male condoms and 420,000 female condoms for public distribution this year, the National AIDS Coordination Program Coordinator announced. The Zimbabwean government approved the female condom last year, in response to pressure from women's groups. The World Health Organization recently reported that the female condom had no side effects. "HIV Home Test Kits: Heavy Use by At-Risk Groups" Reuters (02/11/97) Home HIV test kits are being used by those at high risk for HIV infection, according to an article in the February issue of AIDS Alert. "We have had great response among African Americans, Hispanics, and gay men ... a mirror of the groups hit hardest by the epidemic," said Arisa Cunningham, director of marketing at Direct Access Diagnostics, maker of Confide. Dr. Bernard Branson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the counselors employed by the test makers get "good marks." He also said that about 1 to 1.5 percent of the blood samples that have been tested are positive, a rate somewhat higher than was expected. "Preventing STDs and Pregnancy" American Medical News (02/03/97) Vol. 40, No. 5, P. 12 Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are causing a "hidden epidemic," a recent Institute of Medicine report concluded, both because people are reluctant to discuss them and because many STDs are asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose. Most of the 12 million Americans infected with an STD are not aware of it. Moreover, the IOM panel said, most STD prevention efforts are inadequate and have been poorly funded. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that over 10 percent of American adults cannot name one STD, one in five think all STDs are incurable, and more than half are unaware that having an STD increases the risk of contracting HIV. The IOM report also said that many heterosexually transmitted HIV infections could be prevented by reducing other STDs. To combat the spread of STD, health officials are calling for more behavioral and community-based interventions, said Dr. Helene Gayle, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB. The agency, she explained, is "strengthening [its] partnerships at all levels of the public sector and developing greater collaboration with academia, community-based organizations, and other members of the private sector." Use of effective contraceptives plays a key role in disease prevention. Although correct and consistent use of latex condoms is the most effective method -- excluding abstinence -- condom use requires male cooperation and consent, which can be difficult to obtain. There is, therefore, a great need for female-controlled prevention methods, particularly those that offer protection against both unwanted pregnancy and STDs. "Sex Trading and Psychological Distress Among Women Recruited American Journal of Public Health (01/97) Vol. 87, No. 1, P. 66; El-Bassel, Nabila; Schilling, Robert F.; Irwin, Kathleen L.; et al. Studies have suggested that the relationship between sex trading and psychological distress could have implications for effective HIV prevention. To better understand this link, Columbia University's Nabila El-Bassel and colleagues interviewed 346 young, drug-using women from the streets of Harlem, 176 of whom were categorized as "sex traders." The women identified as sex traders, those who reported having exchanged sex for money or drugs in the previous 30 days, scored significantly higher on the General Severity Index -- a weighted measurement of distress that combines the number of symptoms and the intensity of perceived distress -- than non sex-traders. They also scored higher on eight of the nine subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory, another test for psychological distress. The researchers concluded that poor mental health and drug dependence may weaken the motivation and the ability of sex traders to practice safe sex. They suggest that disease prevention programs should be integrated with mental health services and drug treatment to reduce risk behavior in this population.