Subject: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update Date: Fri May 26 09:21:04 PST 2000 (160 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 2000, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update Friday, May 26, 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 "Hepatitis B Vaccine Is Not Associated With Liver Problems in U.S. Children Less Than 6 Years Old" GENERAL MEDIA "School Sex and Drug Survey Angers 6th Graders' Parents" "Fred Hutch Named Global Headquarters for AIDS Project" "[Massachusetts] Senate OKs Budget Without Duplicating Wild House Session" "U.S. Senators Decry Sex on TV in Letter to FCC" "Early Access to HAART Affected by Gender, Race, Age and Education Level" "Cambodia Opens Subregional Seminar on AIDS" "USDA Donates 35,078 Tons Food Aid for Russia" *************************************************************** PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS *************************************************************** "Hepatitis B Vaccine Is Not Associated With Liver Problems in U.S. Children Less Than 6 Years Old" Epidemiology (www.epidem.com) (05/00) Vol. 11, No. 3, P. 365; Fiore, Anthony; Armstrong, Greg; Mast, Eric; et al. In response to a recent report by Fisher and Eklund that claimed that hepatitis B vaccination is not necessary for infants, researchers from the Hepatitis Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contest the findings. Fiore and colleagues write in a letter to the editor that the Fisher study misunderstands or misrepresents hepatitis B epidemiology, and makes unwarranted conclusions. The authors of the original report draw many results from unsubstantiated data and do not correctly identify liver problems in children. In conclusion, the CDC researchers assert that the "hepatitis B vaccine has been repeatedly proven to be safe and effective in clinical studies, and post-marketing surveillance has found no evidence of an increase in serious adverse events among vaccinated infants." While Fisher and Eklund write to say they stand by their original findings, scientists the WHO Collaborating Center for Prevention and Control of Viral Hepatitis also question the research and suggest that "a prospective cohort study would have been more appropriate to the task." **************************************************************** GENERAL MEDIA **************************************************************** "School Sex and Drug Survey Angers 6th Graders' Parents" New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (05/26/00) P. A19; Herszenhorn, David M. School officials in New Milford, Connecticut, have apologized to parents for a health survey that questioned children about specific sexual behaviors, drugs, and alcohol use. The survey, given to children as young as 11, asked if children were gay, bisexual, used cocaine, or had ever performed oral sex. One parent has called for resignations of all the people involved with the survey. The assistant school superintendent, Thomas Mulvihill, said the 95-question survey aimed to see if the district's health curriculum was effective and well-understood. The survey--given to 400 sixth graders, 400 eighth graders, and 1,200 high school students--also asked students if they had AIDS or had ever brought a weapon to school. The questions were answered anonymously, but middle school parents complained they were too intrusive. "Fred Hutch Named Global Headquarters for AIDS Project" Seattle-Post Intelligencer Online (www.seattle-pi.com) (05/25/00) The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has been officially named the headquarters for an international effort to coordinate AIDS vaccine research being conducted under the National Institutes of Health. The center will manage an effort to expedite new vaccines to patient trials, with over $29 million set aside for the first year. Led by Dr. Larry Corey, head of the infectious disease program at Fred Hutchinson, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network will coordinate the work of 10 medical facilities around the world. "[Massachusetts] Senate OKs Budget Without Duplicating Wild House Session" Boston Herald Online (www.bostonherald.com) (05/26/00); Silberman, Ellen J. The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously approved a $21.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2001, with none of the controversy surrounding the House's wild all-night debates. Among other things, the state Senate voted to permit Massachusetts officials to establish needle exchange programs in areas where the commissioner of public health deems they are needed. The state's budget now moves to a House-Senate conference to resolve any differences. "U.S. Senators Decry Sex on TV in Letter to FCC" Reuters (www.reuters.com) (05/26/00) Four U.S. senators, including John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), have written to Federal Communications Chairman William Kennard regarding the graphic sexual depictions on television. The letter expressed concern over sex on television, as well as the vulgar dialogue frequently heard. The senators linked the nature of such sexual programming to what they called an epidemic of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. "Early Access to HAART Affected by Gender, Race, Age and Education Level" Reuters Health Information Services (www.reutershealth.com) (05/25/00) Dr. Ronald Andersen and colleagues at the University of California at Los Angeles have found that vulnerable populations were less likely to receive early treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996, compared to nonvulnerable groups. Using data from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization study, the researchers concluded that 1,086 patients received early HAART, while the other 1,778 participants did not. The authors report in the June issue of Health Services Research (2000;2:389-416) that female drug users were one-third as likely as gay men to receive early treatment, while individuals with less than a high school education were one-third less likely to receive early HAART compared to those who had completed college. The researchers concluded that there are significant barriers among HIV-infected patients in terms of early access to effective drug treatments. "Cambodia Opens Subregional Seminar on AIDS" Kyodo News Service (home.kyodo.co.jp) (05/26/00) A five-day seminar in Phnom Penh for Buddhist monks is focusing on HIV prevention and care. The meeting, which was organized by Cambodia's National AIDS Authority and funded by UNICEF, is part of an effort to enlist religious leaders in the fight against the disease. "This is the first time we have organized a workshop for the monks in their roles relating to HIV-AIDS prevention and care," noted Tea Phalia, secretary-general of the National AIDS Authority. "USDA Donates 35,078 Tonnes of Food Aid for Russia" Reuters (www.reuters.com) (05/25/00) The U.S. Agriculture Department will donate over 35,000 tonnes of vegetable oil and other products for sale in Russia. A single donation of 13,500 tonnes will be given to the Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation, which will sell the oil to raise money for tuberculosis and hepatitis vaccines. Notice: The CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update will not be published on Monday, May 29, 2000, in observance of Memorial Day. Publication will resume on Tuesday, May 30.