Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Fri Feb 13 07:31:03 PST 1998 (197 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update February 13, 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. NOTICE: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update will not publish on Monday, February 16, 1998, in observance of the President's Day holiday. Publication will resume on Tuesday, February 17. HEADLINES --------- GENERAL MEDIA "New Evidence Spurs Blood Probe" "Chinese Scientists to Test Traditional Medicine in AIDS Treatment" "State to Require Health Care Providers to Name HIV Victims" "Health Notes: AIDS Drug Approved in Europe" "Oral Solution of Itraconazole Suppresses Oral Thrush in HIV Cases" "Low Linoleic Acid Levels Signal Advanced Disease in HIV-Infected Children" "Drug Company Can't Screen 'Unforeseeable' HIV" "Doctors Asked to Be More Aggressive in Herpes Screening" **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "New Evidence Spurs Blood Probe" London Free Press Online (02/13/98); Dawson, Anne Following the discovery of new evidence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched a full-scale criminal probe into Canada's 1980s tainted blood scandal, in which approximately 2,000 Canadians were infected with HIV and 60,000 were infected with the hepatitis C virus. RCMP officials explained that the new information came from some of the 20 witnesses involved in the investigation, which began 45 days ago. RCMP Inspector Rod Knecht said: "We had people come forward to us that had specific information within the blood supply system in Canada ... during the crucial years of 1983 to 1987." To that end, the RCMP have established a hotline for people who may have more information on the blood distribution system and the decision-making process in Canada during those years. The Canadian Red Cross issued a brief news release saying it will comply with any requirements of the law. "We have no information on who or what has been or may be investigated and we will not speculate about what may result," the statement said. "Chinese Scientists to Test Traditional Medicine in AIDS Treatment" Nando Times Online (02/13/98) Chinese scientists will begin clinical tests to determine the efficacy of a traditional herbal compound--which includes Chinese angelica, bupleurum, milkvetch, and licorice--for the treatment of AIDS. The test group will be compared with a control group receiving AZT. According to researcher Guan Chongfen--who said the Tanzanian government had agreed to let scientists tests herbal therapies on 10,000 Tanzanian AIDS patients--traditional herbal medicine is up to 50 percent effective in treating such AIDS symptoms as asthenia, diarrhea, fever, and skin rash. Guan said: "When compared with Western medical treatment which focuses more on attacking HIV, [Chinese medicine] emphasizes improving the patient's immunity in order to block the virus." "State to Require Health Care Providers to Name HIV Victims" Postnet Online (02/11/98) Illinois Department of Health head John Lumpkin announced Wednesday that the state will institute mandatory name reporting for patients diagnosed with HIV. The state already requires name reporting for 60 other infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea. Although critics argue that mandatory name reporting could discourage people from getting tested for HIV, Lumpkin said that "we have carefully studied the issue of name reporting for two years and believe the time has come to treat HIV like other sexually transmitted diseases." The new requirement, which will take effect in 90 to 120 days, will also link HIV-positive individuals with health care services to ensure follow-up treatment. Illinois is the 31st U.S. state to require name reporting of HIV-infected individuals. "Health Notes: AIDS Drug Approved in Europe" United Press International (02/13/98); Wasowicz, Lidia The European Union has approved the anti-HIV drug Viramune for use in combination-drug therapy. Viramune, manufactured by Roxane Laboratories, has been proven in clinical trials to reduce the amount of virus in the body and increase CD4 cell counts when used in combination with protease inhibitors and/or nucleoside analogs. The drug has been available in the United States since 1996. "Oral Solution of Itraconazole Suppresses Oral Thrush in HIV Cases" Reuters Health Information Services (02/12/98) New research indicates that an oral solution of itraconazole is safe and effective in the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis in HIV-infected patients. The study, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Medicine, randomly assigned 60 patients to a seven-day, 200 mg/day regimen of itraconazole oral solution and 59 patients to the same dosage over a two-week period, while 60 patients received the current treatment of fluconazole tablets for two weeks. The researchers, led by Dr. John R. Graybill of the Audie Murphy VA Hospital in San Antonio, TX, found that both the 14-day and the 7-day treatments with the oral solution were equivalent in efficacy to the existing fluconazole regimen. However, the researchers noted, about half of the patients experienced a regrowth of Candida within 30 days of the cessation of the treatment, and the need for repeated treatments raises the risk of possible drug resistance. "Low Linoleic Acid Levels Signal Advanced Disease in HIV-Infected Children" Reuters Health Information Services (02/12/98) In the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Dr. Carlo Agostoni of Sao Paulo Hospital in Milan, Italy, and colleagues report that HIV-positive children have changes in their plasma fatty acid profile compared with uninfected children. The findings suggest that the infected children have increased turnover rates of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The researchers tested 14 well-nourished HIV-infected children in various stages of infection against 30 healthy controls, measuring the subjects' polyunsaturated fatty acid status and total plasma CD4 cell counts. Although the team found no differences in overall concentrations of plasma fatty acids, it did detect lower levels of two essential 18-C polyunsaturated fatty acids and higher levels of 20-C derivatives and decosahexonoic acid in plasma total lipids in the HIV-positive children, with the lowest plasma linoleic acid levels observed in patients in the more advanced stages of HIV infection. "Drug Company Can't Screen 'Unforeseeable' HIV" National Law Journal (02/02/98) Vol. 20, No. 23, P. A9 A St. Louis jury recently ruled in favor of Alpha Therapeutic in a case brought by three hemophiliacs who charged that the company had failed to screen blood donors for HIV or institute heat-treating procedures to kill the virus. Defense attorney Adam L. Hoeflich said: "Alpha did everything that even the plaintiffs' experts said it should have done and ... no one could blame Alpha for failing to prevent an unforeseeable disease." The plaintiffs, who had opted out of a $650 million 1996 settlement to HIV-positive hemophiliacs, are seeking to have the verdict set aside. "Doctors Asked to Be More Aggressive in Herpes Screening" American Medical News (02/09/98) Vol. 41, No. 6, P. 10; Shelton, Deborah L. Experts are calling for increased screening of herpes following the release last year of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showing that one in five Americans over the age of 12 has genital herpes, and that many are unaware of their infection. Participants at a recent teleconference sponsored by the American Social Health Association (ASHA) noted that infection is lifelong and has many clinical and public health implications. ASHA, a nonprofit group devoted to stemming the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, estimated that the annual cost of diagnosing and treating herpes is more than $75 million. The growing epidemic has been blamed, in part, on attitudes toward sex in the United States. ASHA head Linda L. Alexander noted: "It's ironic that we live in a very sexually explicit society, and yet in our society, we don't talk about personal protection, and we don't talk about the realities of infections that can be transmitted through sexual intercourse." Other factors that keep STDs from being addressed openly include the shame and stigma attached to the diseases, as well as the fact that STD screening is not routine. ***************************************************************** 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. 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