Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary for Date: Wed Mar 22 07:01:00 PST 2000 (180 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 2000, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update Wednesday, March 22, 2000 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 HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles. HEADLINES PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS "Follow-Up of Unsatisfactory Papanicolaou Test Results" GENERAL MEDIA "Decline Cited in New Tuberculosis Cases [in DC]" "Errors Found in Patent for AIDS Gene, Scientists Say; Biotech: News Comes Amid Concerns that Genomics Race Could Lead to Shoddy Science and Profiteering" "Clinton Pledges Support for India's Anti-AIDS Drive" "Tuberculosis Kills Over 60,000 Bangladeshis a Year" "Development Aid Must Be Linked to AIDS Fight: UN Official" "Aid Agency Tells EU to Pay Up for Anti-TB Drugs" "Needle Plan Proponent Reroutes Legislation; Shapiro Wants Whole Council to Hear Experts" "Kaiser Looks to MTV for Safer Sexual Behavior" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Follow-Up of Unsatisfactory Papanicolaou Test Results" Journal of the American Medical Association (www.jama.com) (03/08/00) Vol. 283, No. 10, P. 1290; McGaraghan, Amy; Smith-McCune, Karen Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) discuss in a letter the introduction of The Bethesda System (TBS) to help screen for cervical cancer in place of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test. TBS evaluates the specimen for adequacy and should decrease false-negative reports, but it is not widely used. A brief review of patients who had Pap tests at UCSF that were considered "unsatisfactory for evaluation" found that 20 percent of the patients had a history of abnormal Pap test results. An analysis showed that none of the 65 patients who had unsatisfactory Pap test results received another Pap test, even after attempts were made to contact them and nearly half were subsequently seen in a clinic within the university setting. The authors suggest that physicians may not be responding to reports of unacceptable Pap results, although TBS has been available for years. The researchers note that while there are no standards for how to deal with an unsatisfactory Pap test, "a repeat Pap test at a reasonable interval seems prudent in the majority of cases." **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "Decline Cited in New Tuberculosis Cases [in DC]" Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (03/22/00) P. B3 New cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the District of Columbia decreased 36 percent in 1999. A total of 70 new TB cases were recorded last year, down from 110 in 1998. Homelessness, drug-resistant strains, and HIV have changed the nature of the cases, officials noted, and have made TB treatment more expensive. Free TB testing is available to D.C. residents through health clinics and private physicians' offices. "Errors Found in Patent for AIDS Gene, Scientists Say; Biotech: News Comes Amid Concerns that Genomics Race Could Lead to Shoddy Science and Profiteering" Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) (03/21/00) P. A1; Jacobs, Paul; Gosselin, Peter G. Controversy surrounding a patent issued to Human Genome Sciences (HGS) for a human gene that plays a key role in AIDS continues as scientists claim to have found major errors in the patent. The idea of patenting human genes has many scientists worried that scientific value is being compromised for profits. Research scientists claim HGS' description of the makeup of the CCR5 gene has four key errors. According to Christopher C. Broder of the Uniform Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, four of the 352 amino acids in the CCR5 protein were incorrectly identified in the patent. As a result, Broder says, the protein described in the patent would not fold the same as the CCR5 identified by academic researchers. But HGS claims that because it isolated the gene first, any errors in the description will not matter and will not keep it from receiving royalties from anyone using the gene to create new treatments. Because the sequence of the patented gene is being questioned, any major errors in the series of letters could cause the company some legal problems, according to patent experts. "Clinton Pledges Support for India's Anti-AIDS Drive" Agence France Presse (03/22/00) President Clinton has pledged support for HIV prevention efforts in India. According to the World Bank, India is home to 60 percent of all HIV cases in Asia. Clinton said India could rely on American help in developing vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS. "No one should ever speak of AIDS as someone else's problem," Clinton told a meeting of the joint houses of parliament in New Delhi. "Tuberculosis Kills Over 60,000 Bangladeshis a Year" Reuters (03/22/00) A new report from UNICEF indicates that tuberculosis (TB) kills over 60,000 people in Bangladesh every year. According to the report, there are 300,000 new TB cases reported in the country every year, and in 1997 Bangladesh accounted for 3.6 percent of all TB cases worldwide. While the majority of the TB patients in Bangladesh are male, three-quarters of the female TB patients are between the ages of 15 and 44, the report said. A UNICEF official said the organization is helping the country's government start a TB eradication program. "Development Aid Must Be Linked to AIDS Fight: UN Official" Agence France Presse (03/21/00) UNAIDS director Peter Piot said Tuesday that development aid for poor nations is useless unless something is done to help fight AIDS. There is no point in investing in development when the labor force is dying from AIDS, Piot noted at a news conference in Oslo. The official estimated that an AIDS vaccine is still at least 10 years away, in the best-case scenario. "Aid Agency Tells EU to Pay Up for Anti-TB Drugs" Reuters (03/21/00); Osborn, Andrew Dr. James Orbinski of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) asserted Tuesday that European Union (EU) governments should increase funding of anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Orbinski called on the EU and national governments to intervene and force pharmaceutical firms to produce new TB drugs and to improve public health systems to accelerate the delivery of TB therapy. MSF noted that many TB patients are also infected with HIV and that at least 35 nations have reported drug-resistant strains of the disease. "Needle Plan Proponent Reroutes Legislation; Shapiro Wants Whole Council to Hear Experts" Washington Post--PG Extra (www.washingtonpost.com) (03/22/00) P. M4; Schwartzman, Paul Council members in Prince George's County, Maryland, are wrestling with legislation that would create a needle exchange program. Two of the nine council members support the proposal and two oppose it; the other five members have not taken a formal position on the issue. Although the council's health committee was slated to begin hearings on the measure on Thursday, the difference in opinions has spurred council vice chairman Peter A. Shapiro (D-Brentwood)--who supports the legislation--to order the whole council to review the bill and hear expert testimony. Opponents claim that approving the proposal would send a message that Prince George's County approves of drug use; however, health experts note that needle exchanges have been shown to reduce the spread of infectious disease. "Kaiser Looks to MTV for Safer Sexual Behavior" San Jose Mercury News (www.mercurycenter.com) (03/22/00); Antonucci, Mike MTV has become a key supporter of a Kaiser Family Foundation educational campaign that highlights safe sex and issues like sexually transmitted diseases and HIV testing. The foundation is working with MTV and another cable network, BET, to help educate teenagers and young adults about the risks involved with sex. Thus far, MTV has spent about $9 million for public service ads that show Kaiser's toll-free counseling hotline, while BET has spent about $6 million. Kaiser has contributed $2 million to production costs for specials on the two networks and is now working with MTV on a program about government policies regarding sexual issues. While some have questioned Kaiser's choice of partners, the foundation has received more than 700,000 phone calls as a result of television programming. ****************************************************************