Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Thu Mar 12 07:31:04 PST 1998 (237 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 1998, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update March 12, 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 "Evolutionary Pattern of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Replication and Distribution in Lymph Nodes Following Primary Infection: Implications for Antiretroviral Therapy" "Efficient Transduction of Nondividing Human Cells By Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Lentiviral Factors" "Identification as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis of Previously Described M Bovis Multidrug-Resistant Strains" GENERAL MEDIA "AIDS Epidemic Called Threat to South Africa" "Power of Prayer Passes Muster in AIDS Study" "Children: UNICEF Backs Breast Feeding Over AIDS Threat" "Panel Proposes HIV I.D. Legislation" "Experimental HGP-30 AIDS Vaccine Improved" "Across the USA: Illinois" "Age Influences Immunologic Parameters in HIV-Infected Children" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Evolutionary Pattern of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Replication and Distribution in Lymph Nodes Following Primary Infection: Implications for Antiretroviral Therapy" Nature Medicine (03/98) Vol. 4, No. 3, P. 341; Pantelo, Giuseppe; Cohen, Oren J.; Shacker, Timothy; et al. Scientists examined HIV patterns of infection in the lymph nodes in the transition from primary to chronic infection. Lymph node biopsies were excised from 31 HIV-infected patients at different stages in disease progression. The researchers found HIV primarily in individual virus-expressing cells in the lymph nodes, with minimal or no visions in the follicular dendritic cell (FDC) network in patients who experienced acute viral syndrome within three months of the biopsy. Visions within the FDC network appear to be most prevalent in subjects with chronic infections, whether recent--two to four months after primary infection--or long-term. The authors also reported significantly higher plasma viremia in patients during the first three months of acute viral syndrome as compared to those recently infected. Subjects with long-term infections showed decreased virus expressing cells in the lymphoid tissues. The researchers concluded that "the level of HIV replication in lymphoid tissue remains elevated despite the fact that viremia is significantly "downregulated." They suggest that the findings may have strategic implications for treatment of HIV in recently infected individuals and those who are recent seroconvertors. "Efficient Transduction of Nondividing Human Cells By Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Lentiviral Factors" Nature Medicine (03/98) Vol. 4, No. 3, P. 354; Poeschela, Eric M.; Flossie, Wong-Staal; Looney, David J. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego experimented with the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) to determine if the lentivirus could be used as a possible vector in humans. Lentiviral vectors transduce nondividing cells, making them ideal for gene transfer; however, they pose safety hazards. FIV is s safer alternative to HIV or SIV, but the virus' potential for adaptation as replication-defective vectors capable of transducing human cells is uncertain. The scientists successfully transduced dividing, growth-arrested, and postmitotic human targets with env- and ORF2-deleted FIV. The researchers assert that FIV offers the advantage of not possessing the capacity to induce HIV-reactive antibodies in recipients. "Nonprimate lentiviral vectors may offer safety advantages," they noted, "and FIV vectors provide unique experimental opportunities." "Identification as Mycobacterium Tuberculosis of Previously Described M Bovis Multidrug-Resistant Strains" Lancet (03/07/98) Vol. 351, No. 9104, P. 758; Gutierrez, M. C.; Bouvet, E.; Blazquez, J.; et al. In a letter to the editor of The Lancet, scientists from the Pasteur Institute and elsewhere correct a previous report concerning an outbreak of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in Paris in the early 1990s. The researchers analyzed the strain and found a high copy number of IS6110, presence of the mtp40 sequence, and the absence of the M-bovis-specific polymorphism oxyR. On the basis of these tests, M.C. Gutierrez et al. concluded that the strains were actually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They suggest that M. bovis and M. tuberculosis strains be distinguished for public health reasons, including epidemiological case investigation and infection source detection. **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "AIDS Epidemic Called Threat to South Africa" Washington Times (03/12/98) P. A10 South Africa's Health Minister, Nkosazana Zuma, told Parliament this week that the nation has the fastest growing HIV population in the world, with almost 50,000 new infections each month. Zuma noted that 15- to 40-year-olds constitute the most-infected age group in the country and that the epidemic is a threat to the country's social stability, economic prosperity, and "to our very survival as a nation." The African National Government has been criticized over claims that it backs a South African-produced AIDS treatment that was banned by the government from further human testing. "Power of Prayer Passes Muster in AIDS Study" USA Today (03/12/98) P. 1D; Elias, Marilyn New research indicates that AIDS patients who were prayed for were healthier a few months later than those that received no prayer. The study, to be reported by Elisabeth Targ of California Pacific Medical Center at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Florida this week, divided 40 equally ill subjects into two groups; the group receiving prayer did not know that volunteers from 10 religions and healing traditions prayed for them an hour a day for one week. After six months, the patients who were prayed for had spent an average of 10 days in the hospital compared to 68 days for the control group. The prayer-receiving patients also reported a decrease in emotional distress and less-severe AIDS related new diseases. William Jarvis of the National Council Against Fraud asserts that the patients who were not prayed for in the study are "not a true control group," since they were probably prayed for by others. "Children: UNICEF Backs Breast Feeding Over AIDS Threat" IPS Wire (03/11/98) The United Children's Fund announced its continued support of breast feeding despite the possible risk of HIV transmission to babies. UNAIDS, the United Nations' AIDS program, notes that studies indicate that one-quarter to one-third of infants born worldwide to HIV-infected mothers contract the disease; most of those infections occur during late pregnancy and delivery, but preliminary studies indicate that over one-third of the infants who contract HIV do so through breast feeding. UNICEF said it also supports a joint United Nations policy that warns HIV-infected mothers of the dangers of breast feeding and the risks of using breast-milk substitutes. According to David Alnwick, head of UNICEF's health division, "UNICEF believes the breast feeding--one of the fundamentals of good nutrition--is still the best possible way of feeding young children." Studies show that breastfed infants in poor communities have are 14 times less likely to die from diarrheal diseases and four times less likely to die from pneumonia compared to bottle-fed infants. "Panel Proposes HIV I.D. Legislation" Topeka Capital-Journal Online (03/11/98); McLean, Jim Kansas State Rep. Melvin Neufeld (R-Ingalls), chairman of a state House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding on social services, recently proposed legislation for the mandatory reporting of HIV-infected individuals in the state. Neufeld argues that the current system, in which AIDS patients are reported and HIV test results are filed anonymously, does not allow health officials to trace the sexual contacts of people who test positive. Critics claim that the measures may result in a reduction in voluntary testing due to fears about confidentiality. However, Neufeld contends that HIV and AIDS should be treated like any other sexually transmitted disease and not as a "political disease." Dr. Donna Sweet of the University of Kansas agrees that contact tracing is necessary but notes that the stigma attached to the disease often results in housing or employment discrimination. Neufeld also asserts that name reporting would help officials anticipate the demand of state drug assistance program, which is currently in need of about $230,000 in emergency state funding to stay afloat. "Experimental HGP-30 AIDS Vaccine Improved" Reuters Health Information Services (03/11/98) Cel-Sci Corporation's Dr. Prem Sarin reports that the company's HGP-30 AIDS vaccine now recognizes most of the prevalent HIV subtypes and induces a strong cellular immune response. The animal study, presented at the 1998 Palm Springs Symposium on HIV/AIDS, analyzed the blood of mice inoculated with two HGP-30 vaccines that used alum as an adjuvant and suggested recognition of the HIV subtypes A, B, C, and E. Other adjuvants enhanced the induction of cross-subtype recognizing antibodies and improved the levels of the surrogate markers for cellular immune responses. The company says that HGP-30 differs from other vaccines because it is a synthetic replica of a conserved part of the p17 core HIV protein, making it subject to less variability than the envelope portion of HIV. "Across the USA: Illinois" USA Today (03/12/98) P. 9A Screening for tuberculosis will be offered at Southern Illinois University for students, staff, and residents following the diagnosis of the disease in one student. The case is the first TB infection at the school in at least 16 years. "Age Influences Immunologic Parameters in HIV-Infected Children" Reuters Health Information Services (03/10/98) A study published in the March 5th issue of the journal AIDS indicates that clinicians should be aware that age is a critical factor in the interpretation of CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected children. Dr. D. M. Gibb of the MRC HIV Clinical Trials Center in London and members of the Pediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS examined 70 vertically infected children in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial designed to associate age, viral load and CD4 cell count in the untreated subjects. The researchers discovered that high HIV-1 RNA loads declined in a non-linear manner until the age of five in the asymptomatic, untreated children. Gibb et al. noted that sufficient data is not available to provide guidance for antiretroviral treatment strategy in children with slow disease progression. ***************************************************************** 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. *****************************************************************