Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Mon Mar 2 07:31:31 PST 1998 (224 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update March 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 "The Women's Interagency HIV Study" "HIV Infection and AIDS in China" GENERAL MEDIA "Horan Defends Ban on AIDS Campaign" "Incidences of STD in Sarawak High" "New AIDS Cases Down in France" "CD8 Cells Suppress HIV Independently of Beta-Chemokines" "P. Carinii Persists in HIV-Infected Patients After Successful Treatment" "HIV-Positive Man Guilty of Endangering Lives" "Funding for Nevadans With AIDS to Decline" "AIDS Czarina" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "The Women's Interagency HIV Study" Epidemiology (03/98) Vol. 9, No. 2, P. 117; Barkan, Susan E.; Melnick, Sandra L.; Preston-Martin, Susan; et al. The Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS)--described in the March issue of Epidemiology--is the largest U.S. cohort study of HIV, encompassing 2,058 seropositive and 567 seronegative women enrolled in six clinical consortia across the United States. Over 50 percent of the women lived beneath the 1995 federally defined poverty level, with more than one-quarter self-identified as Latina or Hispanic; over half, African American not of Hispanic origin; and less than 20 percent, white, non-Hispanic origin. Ages ranged from 16 to 73 years. The study found a 34 percent incidence of injection drug use in the seropositive group, compared to a 28 percent rate among HIV-negative women. In addition, 42 percent of the seropositive group reported heterosexual contact, compared to 26 percent rate of seronegative women; and 20 percent of seropositive women claimed to have no identified risk for infection versus 43 percent of seronegative women. Fewer seropositive women than seronegative women were employed; however, more seropositive women reported having some form of health care than did HIV-negative women. As compared to surveillance data from a 1995 study on U.S. women infected with HIV, the WIHS showed decreased injection drug use and greater heterosexual contact. The researchers note that cohort studies for women are "more compelling in light of the increasing burden of HIV infection." They assert that these studies improve understanding of the natural history and progression of the disease and that this cohort offers many opportunities for future research. "HIV Infection and AIDS in China" American Journal of Public Health (02/98) Vol. 88, No. 2, P. 307; Su, Ling; Du, Fang Drs. Ling Su and Fang Du write in a letter to the editor of the American Journal of Public Health that a standardized system of surveillance is needed in China to provide information on the spread of HIV and AIDS. In support of their argument, they cite the rising number of HIV infections reported in China and its massive size in both population and territory. The authors point out that a high rate of HIV infection among injection drug users has been uncovered by the current method of selected testing. However, Su and Du assert that other modes of transmission are becoming increasingly more prevalent, particularly transmission through heterosexual contact, or tainted blood or medical equipment. They state that China's paid blood donation practice attracts high-risk individuals. The researchers also note that social attitudes and fear of discrimination make homosexual classification difficult. The situation is further impaired, they said, by "fear of discrimination toward HIV infection, low awareness of AIDS in the general population, and a lack of efficient education on HIV/AIDS." **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "Horan Defends Ban on AIDS Campaign" Australian Online (03/02/98) The health minister of Queensland, Australia, defended his decision to block a Queensland AIDS Council advertisement directed at married men who occasionally engage in homosexual sex. Mike Horan pulled the ad from a regional newspaper, claiming it contravened Health Department guidelines by encouraging homosexual sex by men who were married or had girlfriends. Wendy Edmond, an opposition spokeswoman, asserts that the ad provided safer sex information. "Incidences of STD in Sarawak High" Star Online (03/01/98) Malaysian Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr. George Chan Hong Nam asserted Friday that measures should be introduced to halt the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in Sarawak. He stated that only 130 cases of HIV/AIDS have been reported in the region, but noted that these numbers were no reason to remain complacent in the fight against STDs. Dr. Chan noted that Sarawak General Hospital has a special AIDS education service that provides support and counseling, and also said that the government supports non-governmental HIV education organizations. The Malaysian AIDS Council estimates that more than 3,000 new cases of HIV infection are diagnosed in the country each month. "New AIDS Cases Down in France" Reuters (02/28/98) The French Health Ministry reported a drop in new AIDS cases last year, in large part due to the increased availability of new antiretroviral therapies. There were 2,548 new AIDS cases reported in 1997, compared with 3,984 in the previous year. The health ministry said there are approximately 19,000 to 21,000 AIDS cases in the country, but noted that 46 percent of HIV-positive persons are unaware of the risk of developing AIDS. "CD8 Cells Suppress HIV Independently of Beta-Chemokines" Reuters Health Information Services (02/27/98) Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, report that CD8 cells from asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals can inhibit human monocyte-derived macrophage (M-phi) infection by HIV. The in vitro studies performed by Dr. Jay Levy and co-investigators indicate that the inhibition appears to be independent of beta-chemokines. The researchers found that primary CD8 cells inhibit the replication of HIV in M-phi via a noncytotoxic mechanism through the production of a soluble antiviral factor that is not affected by the neutralization of beta-chemokines. The scientists concluded that CD8 cell noncytotoxic immune response plays a major role in HIV replication control. "P. Carinii Persists in HIV-Infected Patients After Successful Treatment" Reuters Health Information Services (02/27/98) In the February issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, French investigators from the Hopital de l'Archet in Nice report that most HIV patients who have received successful treatment for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia still show detectable levels of the bacteria following therapy. Dr. P.M. Roger and colleagues examined 53 HIV-positive patients who had been treated previously for PCP and found that P. carinii persisted in 64 percent of the subjects. Secondary prophylaxis was administered to 22 patients; four of these subjects relapsed within a 19-month follow-up period. Still, the researchers concluded that PCP recurrence is most likely due to new infection and that persistence of P. carinii does not indicate ineffective therapy. "HIV-Positive Man Guilty of Endangering Lives" Australian Online (03/02/98) In a precedent-setting decision, an Australian superior court has found an HIV-positive Victorian man guilty of endangering lives. The convicted man, a Latrobe County businessman, passed the virus on to two other men through unprotected sex and never informed them of his medical condition. The jury found the HIV-positive man guilty of 10 counts of reckless endangerment; he will be sentenced on Friday. Last November, the man was sentenced to a 6-month jail term that is under appeal for a similar offense. The man claims that in the 10 years since he was diagnosed with HIV, he received no medical warnings concerning the dangers of sexual activity and HIV infection. Judge Michael McInerney said: "It seems the health message is not getting out to the community." "Funding for Nevadans With AIDS to Decline" MSNBC Online (03/01/98); Sehulster, Heather Daniel Montoya, executive director of President Clinton's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, said Friday that funding for AIDS patients in Nevada cannot continue at its current rate. Last year, Nevada reported the highest rate of AIDS cases in the Western states over a one-year period. An estimated 5,000 people in the state are infected with HIV. "AIDS Czarina" Hospitals and Health Networks (02/20/98) Vol. 72, No. 4, P. 26; Hudson, Terese In an interview with Hospitals & Health Networks, Sandy Thurman, head of the U.S. AIDS policy office, maintains that the office is facing its most difficult time ever because of the exponential growth of the disease and the implementation of discretionary spending. Thurman explains that the AIDS policy office is now dealing with a different population that includes people with drug abuse and other problems on top of their infections. She asserts that new medications have led to a decrease in the AIDS mortality rate, but have also led to a corresponding increase in the number of asymptomatic HIV-positive persons. She also worries that the new drug regimens send the message that the epidemic is over and that a lapse of safety will occur. Thurman asserts that she believes President Clinton and the Secretary of Health and Human Services would advocate needle-exchange programs if scientific data showed their efficacy. She adds, however, that the issue is also one of local control: "Being able to use federal funds for needle-exchange programs simply is not a mandate for implementing these programs. It merely allows communities to decide whether these programs are an appropriate part of a comprehensive HIV strategy." ***************************************************************** The AIDSNews Mailing List is maintained by the CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. 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