Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Mon Feb 2 07:31:04 PST 1998 (207 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update February 2, 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 --------- PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS "Adult T-Cell Leukemia With HTLV-I-Associated Myelopathy After Complete Remission of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia" GENERAL MEDIA "AIDS Vaccine Far Off, Researcher Warns" "Updated Guidelines on Treatment of STDs Released" "Drugmakers Pledge Help If AIDS Vaccine Test Goes Awry" "Researcher Suspended Over AIDS Study" "Trinidad to Hold Conference on Sex" "Health-Bangladesh: Turning Back HIV/AIDS Tide" "Employers Must Comply With AIDS Laws in Office" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Adult T-Cell Leukemia With HTLV-I-Associated Myelopathy After Complete Remission of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia" New England Journal of Medicine (01/29/98) Vol. 338, No. 5, P. 333; Kanno, Masatoshi; Nakamura, Shinobu; Matsuda, Tamotsu In a letter to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, Japanese researchers report the case of a 70-year-old heterosexual man with adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) and human T-Cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy-tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM-TSP) living in a non-endemic area for HTLV-I. HTLV-1 is transmitted through sexual contact, breast feeding, and blood transfusion. The man was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in June 1995 and received several blood transfusions during chemotherapy over the next two years. Three years after the original diagnosis, the man experienced hyperreflexia, muscle weakness, and atrophy of the legs. His cerebrospinal fluid was found to contain anti-HTLV-I antibodies, oligoclonal immunoglobulins, and lymphocytes, meeting the diagnostic criteria for HAM-TSP. Serum samples taken from the patient at the time of his first admission in 1995 showed no sign of anti-HTLV-I antibodies; tests on his wife and children also proved negative. The researchers suggest that HTLV-I was transmitted through blood transfusion, and they recommend nationwide screening for HTLV-I antibodies in donated blood. **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "AIDS Vaccine Far Off, Researcher Warns" Baltimore Sun (02/02/98) P. 2A AIDS expert Dr. David Baltimore said Sunday that the development of an AIDS vaccine is at least a decade away. Baltimore, of the California Institute of Technology, cited a lack of knowledge about immune system mechanisms as the chief obstacle blocking the rapid development of an AIDS vaccine. He also noted that new knowledge concerning previously unknown immune mechanisms may lead to new directions in the creation of a vaccine. "Updated Guidelines on Treatment of STDs Released" Reuters Health Information Services (01/30/98) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released the 1998 Guidelines for Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, which outline the most effective STD treatments. In a press release, the CDC stated that the majority of STD-related illnesses and deaths could be prevented with improved diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Helene D. Gayle, head of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, noted that while "simpler, more effective tools for treating STDs" are now available, "neither the tools nor the guidelines can make a difference ... unless we can first improve the early detection of these diseases." The guidelines will also include advances that may greatly affect the health of women and infants and slow the spread of HIV. "Drugmakers Pledge Help If AIDS Vaccine Test Goes Awry" Reuters (01/31/98); Drawbaugh, Kevin On Saturday, Mabrey Whigham, managing director of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC), announced that all doctors volunteering as test subjects for an experimental AIDS vaccine would receive free medical treatment for any accidental infections resulting from injection. Hundreds of researchers have volunteered to be injected with a weakened strain of HIV developed by Dr. Ronald Desrosiers of Harvard Medical School, although Phase I trials would limit the test group to approximately 15. IAPAC's proposal to test the vaccine on human subjects has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has been criticized by other AIDS researchers as being too dangerous. IAPAC hopes to gain FDA approval to begin testing in the United States, but says it plans to seek other host nations for vaccine trials if the United States does not sanction the tests. "Researcher Suspended Over AIDS Study" United Press International (01/31/98) Dr. Peter Kerndt has been placed on leave by the Los Angeles County Health Department in response to rumors that poor African Americans would be used in AIDS vaccine research under a proposed study by the doctor. Kerndt, the county's chief researcher, had reportedly proposed to study the behavior of "high-risk" African American women; the proposed study would help to later lay the groundwork for an AIDS vaccine test by the National Institutes of Health, according to the Los Angeles Times. Kerndt is also in charge of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that tests people for exposure to HIV. Mike Neely, head of the Homeless Outreach Program, told the Los Angeles Times that he had voiced his concerns to L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke that Kerndt would "sneak people in" to the vaccine study after enrolling them for the CDC research. On Friday, both projects were suspended, amid assertions that Kerndt did not properly request approval for the study and did not disclose that the vaccine could contain components of HIV. "Trinidad to Hold Conference on Sex" Reuters (01/30/98) Trinidad, which has one of the Caribbean's highest HIV infection rates, will hold a conference focusing on developing the sexual counseling skills of nurses and other health care workers. Dr. Everold Hosein, of the University of West Indies' Caribbean Population and Family Health Program, says he does not believe that AIDS will be discussed effectively until nurses and counselors can feel comfortable talking about all aspects of sex. The four-day conference is expected to involve representatives from 19 Caribbean countries and is funded by the European Union under its HIV//AIDS program. "Health-Bangladesh: Turning Back HIV/AIDS Tide" IPS Wire (01/30/98) In Bangladesh, at least six non-governmental organizations have been trying actively to reduce the rate of HIV infection by promoting safer sex and increasing awareness of risk-generating situations. While the country reports only 83 HIV infections, experts warn that the actual number could be far greater, possibly as high as 20,000. Bangladesh was one of the first nations to recognize the danger of HIV and AIDS--establishing a National AIDS committee in 1985--but it did not draft a national strategy plan until last year. The draft policy is designed to help combat the spread of the virus through education and to reduce discrimination against infected individuals. The Center for International Diarrheal Disease Research-Bangladesh (ICDDR-B), which also studies reproductive health issues, reports that only 20 percent of women interviewed in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh have heard of AIDS, while less than 5 percent understand its implications. ICDDR-B officials said that "a comprehensive AIDS education campaign would probably be the most effective approach toward preventing an AIDS epidemic in Bangladesh." "Employers Must Comply With AIDS Laws in Office" Capital District Business Review of Albany Online (01/19/98); Fernandez, Hermes As an increasing number of AIDS patients are able to continue working with fewer health-related problems, businesses are faced with new challenges concerning employees with AIDS. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, employers are prohibited generally from discriminating in their health care policies against specific diseases; AIDS-related cases must be handled like any other illness. The Americans with Disabilities Act and state laws like the New York Human Rights Law say that businesses may not discriminate against employees with AIDS. In New York, employers are required to maintain privacy rights in accordance with the New York AIDS Confidentiality Law, which places strict limitations on the disclosure of HIV-related information. The law states that such data may not be shared with supervisors, managers, or owners without the infected individual's written consent, and it protects the employee's dependents. If, however, an employee voluntarily offers his HIV-related information to co-workers or employers, the information is no longer deemed confidential and none of the statutory requirements or protections under the state law apply. ***************************************************************** The AIDSNews Mailing List is maintained by the CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. Regular postings include the CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update, conference announcements, clinical trials information, current funding opportunities, and selected MMWR articles. To SUBSCRIBE, send the command "subscribe aidsnews firstname lastname" to the address listproc@aspensys.com. To UNSUBSCRIBE, send the command "unsubscribe aidsnews" to the address listproc@aspensys.com. If you need assistance, please contact aidsinfo@cdcnac.org. *****************************************************************