Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary for Date: Fri May 5 08:31:00 PDT 2000 (167 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 2000, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update Friday, May 5, 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 "Under Surveillance" GENERAL MEDIA "TB Tests of Immigrants Urged" "Novel Quinoxaline Inhibits HIV-1 Replication in Vitro" "Cesarean Delivery Cost-Effective in Preventing Vertical Transmission of HIV-1" "South Africa: AIDS Meeting" "M-CSF Antagonists May Break Cycle of HIV-1 Replication in Macrophages" "Subtype B gp160 HIV Vaccine Induces T-Cell Responses Against Other Subtypes" "Deadly Silence" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Under Surveillance" New Scientist (www.newscientist.com) (04/08/00) Vol. 166, No. 2233, P. 16; MacKenzie, Debora The emergence of a deadly new disease could result in several different scenarios, including one in which an outbreak results in a death toll that prompts rumors about American germ warfare. To prevent this, the World Health Organization (WHO) wants better surveillance of diseases and infections, to keep governments from suspecting the worst. The new Alliance Against Infectious Diseases (AllAID) includes the WHO, the international center for Genetic Engineering in Trieste, Italy, and other public health groups. AllAID hopes to create 11 labs in several developing countries that have a high risk for disease emergence and who lack monitoring ability. While Africa has participated little in the talks regarding the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which entered its final stage of talks earlier this year, the WHO's David Heymann notes that most of the major disease outbreaks in recent years have been located on the continent--an indication of Africa's need for further investment in disease monitoring. As negotiations continue, members want to make sure there are safeguards that money spent actually improves public health. If the program is successful, millions of lives could be saved every year from infectious disease outbreaks. **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "TB Tests of Immigrants Urged" Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (05/05/00) P. A2; Okie, Susan A panel of tuberculosis (TB) experts have proposed a new plan for eradicating the disease in the United States. The plan would require immigrants to receive TB skin tests to enter and for those infected be treated before receiving a visa. A report by the Institute of Medicine recommends tripling the annual budget for TB research and improving American aid to countries fighting TB outbreaks. Morton Swartz of Harvard Medical School warns that failure to act now could lead to another TB resurgence. He emphasized the need to identify latent infections, which can become active cases. The number of TB cases is highest among foreign-born people in the United States. The new proposal for skin tests for green cards would regulate the number of immigrants entering with TB infection. Countries such as Angola, Burundi, Vietnam, China and Thailand have high infection rates. The estimated cost of the tests and treatment is $23 million a year. Congress must approve the suggested changes. "Novel Quinoxaline Inhibits HIV-1 Replication in Vitro" Reuters Health Information Services (05/04/00) Scientists in Belgium and the United Kingdom have found that quinoxaline is a potential treatment for HIV infection, and works well with lamivudine, abacavir, and efavirenz. Dr. Jan Balzarini of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and colleagues found the anti-viral effects of GW420867X when combined with other AIDS drugs could delay the virus from infecting cells. A report is found in the April 10th issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. "Cesarean Delivery Cost-Effective in Preventing Vertical Transmission of HIV-1" Reuters Health Information Services (05/04/00) The choice of cesarean section for pregnant women with HIV is cost-effective in preventing transmission of HIV to the infant, if the mother does not breast-feed. An analysis by Dr. Jennifer Read of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reported that cesarean section saves the most money for medical care for the baby, and if zidovudine is given to the child, even more money per year of life is saved. The report, printed in the journal AIDS, also notes that the ratios of cost-effectiveness are similar to those for voluntary HIV testing, anti-retroviral treatment, and blood screening. "South Africa: AIDS Meeting" New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (05/05/00) P. A6 South African President Thabo Mbeki will hold several meetings with 33 international AIDS researchers over the next two months. The panel of researchers will advise the government on AIDS treatment, and is split between supporters of the believ that HIV causes AIDS and its opponents. Many fear that the advice of those who oppose HIV theory could hinder progress in treatment. "M-CSF Antagonists May Break Cycle of HIV-1 Replication in Macrophages" Reuters Health Information Services (05/04/00) A study by Dr. Joseph Kutza of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows that giving macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) antagonists could be a therapy to stop HIV infection in macrophages. Several tests by Kutza helped show that AZT inhibited virus reproduction and stopped M-CSF. The researchers suggest the M-CSF antagonists can prevent virus replication, as reported in the Journal of Immunology. "Subtype B gp160 HIV Vaccine Induces T-Cell Responses Against Other Subtypes" Reuters Health Information Services (05/04/00) A recombinant subtype B gp160 vaccine can protect asymptomatic HIV-infected patients from infection against subtypes B through G, according to study by Dr. Ann-Charlotte Leandersson. The Swedish researcher and colleagues report in the Journal of Virology that the vaccine was given to 29 patients, who reported steady CD4 cell counts after receiving the vaccine every two months. Seven of 10 vaccinated subjects responded to the gp120 from one subtype other than B. "Deadly Silence" Economist (www.economist.com) (04/22/00) Vol. 355, No. 8167, P. 34 HIV is hitting the Caribbean hard, affecting 2 percent of the countries' populations. In Haiti, 12 percent of urban dwellers are infected; and tests of pregnant women and blood donors in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and the Bahamas reveal a prevalence of over 3 percent. AIDS is the leading cause of death for young men in English-speaking Caribbean nations, and that number is expected to soar within the next two decades. The World Bank estimates that the AIDS epidemic has already cost the region 6 percent of its potential earnings, as a result of lost workers, greater dependency on people who do work, increased medical expenses, and lower savings. Health campaigns among these islands have been slow to arrive, as AIDS patients were at first treated like the plague, some sent to die in the streets. Improved drugs and education have helped some, but UNAIDS' Peggy McEvoy notes that young people remain vulnerable. Cuba is one of the few places that has kept HIV rates low, at about 0.02 percent, as the Castro government has established an effective HIV screening and reporting process.