Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Tue Jan 20 07:31:03 PST 1998 (216 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update January 20, 1998 The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 1998, Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. HEADLINES --------- GENERAL MEDIA "New Maryland Research Lab to Probe Deadliest Organisms" "MedImmune in Deal With SmithKline for HPV Vaccine" "US HHS:3-D Structure of HIV Components May Pave [Way for New Drugs]" "Cuts Anger AIDS Researcher" "H.I.V. Testing May Deter Some From Testing" "Uses of Names in HIV Cases Is Opposed" "Whitman Signs Bill Permitting HIV Tests of Psychiatric Patients" "Pataki Urges $3 Billion For Campuses" "Clinic Supported in Its Infectious Disease Protocol" **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "New Maryland Research Lab to Probe Deadliest Organisms" Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (01/20/98) P. A7; Cimons, Marlene Sometime in the next few months, the National Institutes of Health will open a $4.9 million research lab equipped to handle some of the world's most dangerous organisms. The lab will be labeled biosafety level 4--the designation for scientific research involving the most risk and requiring the highest degree of containment and security. However, unlike its counterparts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the NIH lab will not deal with outbreaks of diseases of unknown origin--at least not at first. The lab's initial focus will be on mutant, multidrug-resistant strains of tuberculosis. Dr. John La Montagne, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained that "most of the experiments that have to be done involve animals, and that will generate aerosols [organisms that are airborne]. You simply cannot do that kind of work on an open counter top." Officials at NIH note that it is unlikely that the new lab will ever study exotic or unknown diseases, considering that the CDC and Army labs already do so. NIH's Joyce Hedetniemi adds that the TB organisms that will be studied at the new facility "are already everywhere. It's not like we'll be dealing with something that could escape and hurt people. It's the worker conducting the research who needs to be protected." "MedImmune in Deal With SmithKline for HPV Vaccine" Baltimore Sun (01/20/98) P. 2D MedImmune announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with SmithKline Beecham for co-development and marketing of a human papillomavirus vaccine. Under the agreement, which could be worth over $85 million to MedImmune if the vaccine is approved for sale, SmithKline obtains global marketing rights to MedImmune's HPV vaccine candidates. "US HHS:3-D Structure of HIV Components May Pave [Way for New Drugs]" M2 Presswire (01/16/98) Researchers--who have received assistance from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences--have determined the three-dimensional molecular structure of the HIV nucleocapsid protein bound in the virus' RNA. This information could provide the basis for new, highly specific anti-HIV drugs. According to a study published in the January 16 issue of Science, the protein allows HIV to inject its genetic material into new viral particles. Previous studies had found that blockage of the nucleocapsid protein cripples the virus' ability to infect other cells. Dr. Michael F. Summers, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, explained: "The structure is significant for two main reasons. First, it provides molecular insights into how the protein recognizes and binds to [a specific site on viral] RNA. Second, it provides a structural basis for the development of drugs that are designed to disrupt this recognition and binding, and thus prevent the spread of the disease." Previously, Summers had shown that nucleocapsid uses zinc-containing structures to grip the package domain on viral RNA, winding the RNA to form the core of the new virus particle which bursts from the infected cell. Clinical tests are already underway for drugs which eject zinc from the nucleocapsid protein; the new information on the protein structure may allow the creation of more effective drugs that block the molecular link between nucleocapsid and RNA. "Cuts Anger AIDS Researcher" London Free Press Online (01/19/98); Lem, Sharon McGill University AIDS researcher Mark Wainberg says he feels "betrayed" by the Canadian government's reduction of research funding. Wainberg, who discovered the AIDS drug 3TC and is head of the AIDS Centre at McGill, is angered that the Medical Research Council of Canada approved just 15 percent of grant applications for new projects and 41 percent of renewed funding grants for continuing studies. "I feel betrayed by the whole system," he said. The Medical Research Council has lost nearly 15 percent of its budget in the past few years, with 1997's funding equaling that for 1992. "H.I.V. Testing May Deter Some From Testing" New York Times (1/20/98) P. A22; Hanssens, Catherine In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Catherine Hanssens, AIDS project director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, notes that--according to surveys by AIDS service providers--mandatory name reporting deters testing, especially among gay and bisexual men and racial minority groups. Hanssens was responding to a Jan. 13 article and a Jan. 15 editorial concerning a proposal to require the registration of all HIV-positive New Yorkers with the State Health Department. She asserts that "legal protections are unreliable," citing a recent case in Virginia in which a federal court held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not protect asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals. In conclusion, Hanssens concludes that "any New York program aimed at increasing surveillance of HIV must allow those tested to guard their privacy while also strengthening protections against HIV-related discrimination." "Uses of Names in HIV Cases Is Opposed" New York Times (01/17/98) P. A12; Richardson, Lynda Following criticism from AIDS advocacy groups, the Gay Men's Health Crisis has clarified its position on HIV reporting in New York. GMHC has issued a statement that the group opposes any system that records the names of infected patients. In a statement released last week, the agency endorsed HIV reporting, but did not explicitly oppose name registration. (Many advocacy groups support information reporting, but favor systems using coded identifiers which do not reveal patient names.) GMHC had adopted this position due to the need for clinical advances and up-to-date data on HIV infections, saying that current, anonymous HIV measuring systems do not provide this information effectively. Doug Wirth, president of the New York AIDS Coalition, said constituents were alarmed by the Gay Men's Health Crisis' failure to oppose mandatory name reporting. Proponents of HIV reporting note that name registration for AIDS patients has been required in New York for nearly 20 years and there has never been a breach of confidentiality. However, Wirth claims that the larger number of HIV cases, compared to AIDS cases, could increase the risk of a confidentiality breach. "Whitman Signs Bill Permitting HIV Tests of Psychiatric Patients" Boston Globe Online (01/19/98) New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman has signed a measure allowing the HIV testing of psychiatric hospital patients. Whitman had rejected legislation that would have required the testing, saying it should be voluntary. However, she said she would accept a law that requires psychiatric hospital staff to counsel family members or guardians of patients about the advisability of HIV testing. Under the new law, prompted by a number of problems at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany-Troy Hills, children are exempt from HIV testing. "Pataki Urges $3 Billion For Campuses" New York Times (01/20/98) P. A17; Perez-Pena, Richard New York Gov. George Pataki has proposed a $3 billion, five-year capital program that would double spending on campus improvements for state and city university systems. In the first year of the program, Queens College of the City University would receive $15 million for an AIDS research center. The center will be headed by Prof. Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV, who moved from the Pasteur Institute in Paris last year. "Clinic Supported in Its Infectious Disease Protocol" American Medical News (01/12/98) Vol. 41, No. 2, P. 24 During the mid-1980s, North Shore University Hospital's dental clinic adhered to an infectious disease protocol that required the staff to follow precautionary measures--protective masks, gloves, and eyewear, as well as draping plastic over equipment and marking an "X" on the door of the examination room--when treating patients with HIV, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and mononucleosis. The disease protocol was also extended to patients who were considered to be at high-risk for certain diseases, including hemophiliacs, homosexuals, prostitutes, and drug users. In October 1985, a man the dentist suspected was homosexual came in for emergency dental treatment and the clinic's protocol was instituted. After his treatment, the man filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights, charging that the clinic denied him equal privileges on the basis of a perceived disability. At the resulting hearing, the human rights division ruled that the clinic had discriminated against the man and that the infectious disease protocol was an illegal discriminatory practice. The hospital eventually filed an appeal, and a state appellate court annulled the human rights division's ruling and dismissed the complaint. Regarding the infectious disease protocol, the court noted that it was a reasonable policy considering the prevailing medical consensus at the time. ***************************************************************** The AIDSNews Mailing List is maintained by the CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. 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