Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary for Date: Wed Oct 24 11:31:01 PDT 2001 (322 lines) From: National AIDS Info Clearinghouse Copyright 2001, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD 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 NATIONAL NEWS "HIV Testing of State Prisoners Not Mandatory" "Week of Work Targets AIDS Awareness" INTERNATIONAL NEWS "Nigeria Walks Against HIV/AIDS" "Free Condoms for Workers" "HIV Baby Sues Pretoria for Not Protecting Her" MEDICAL NEWS "HIV Infection May Trigger Neurologic Disorder" LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS "Scandal-Stricken Nonprofit Faces More Scrutiny" NEWS BRIEFS "US Grants 10 Million Dollars to Vietnam for HIV Prevention" "AIDS Threatens Thailand's Workforce" "More Benefit from Busy Elton" ************************************************************ NATIONAL NEWS ************************************************************ "HIV Testing of State Prisoners Not Mandatory" Indianapolis Star (10.21.01)::Mike Ellis Indiana Department of Correction officials say there are 126 known cases of HIV in the state's prisons. While they estimate that 1 percent of inmates -roughly 215 people -are HIV- positive, the actual number is not known. The reason for the uncertainty is that Indiana, like most states, does not have a state law that requires testing of inmates for HIV. A bill that would have required mandatory testing for HIV and hepatitis C of all people entering Indiana prisons passed the legislature this year. However, Gov. Frank O'Bannon vetoed it because of growing concern about the state's finances. A Legislative Services Agency report estimated the testing would cost $173,285 a year. Indiana prisoners may receive HIV testing upon request. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that only seven states have laws that mandate testing of inmates. About 13 more require testing under state health regulations. Hugh Potter, a public health advisor for the CDC said, "What we would recommend is you really want to improve your counseling and testing approaches to try to get as many people voluntarily tested as possible." Dr. Anne DeGroot, an expert on HIV in prisons, agrees with that approach. "With appropriate education, people who are potentially HIV-infected will see the reason why they should be tested," said DeGroot, editor of Brown University's HIV and Hepatitis Education Prison Project. Many legislators also believe testing is necessary. Sen. Pat Miller (R-Indianapolis) said testing would help stop the spread of the disease and would be more cost-effective in the long run. "It's much more costly to treat someone with AIDS than it is to test someone and prevent the spread," said Miller, one of the sponsors of the mandatory-testing bill. "Week of Work Targets AIDS Awareness" Sunday Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.) (10.21.01)::Amy Wold Baton Rouge's colleges have joined with local HIV/AIDS service organizations to raise awareness about the disease. The action coincides with a proclamation from the Louisiana governor's office declaring Oct. 22-26 as "Know AIDS Mobilization Week." The public is encouraged to attend the week's activities, such as forums and informational fairs taking place at Southern University, Louisiana State University (LSU) and Baton Rouge Community College, and the public is encouraged to attend. "Our aim was never just to focus on the student population," Southern University Chancellor Edward Jackson said, but rather to enlist support from two of the state's largest universities to help bring a greater awareness to AIDS. Jackson and LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert are honorary co- chairs of the week's finale event, the Friends of Life AIDS Resource Center's "Dinner of a Lifetime." "I would beg the public not to underestimate this horrible disease. Even though treatments have improved, no cure has been found," Jackson said. The Dinner of a Lifetime on Oct. 29 will raise money to help cover costs not addressed by local, state or federal HIV/AIDS funding, said Ric Smith, executive director of Friends of Life. One of the biggest uses of the money is burial costs, although it can also be used for food, housing, utilities or other emergency needs. The money is shared with other HIV/AIDS service agencies, including Volunteers of America, St. Anthony's and Family Service of Greater Baton Rouge, Smith said. This is the second year for the fundraising dinner and sponsors hope to raise more than the $22,000 raised last year, said Smith. The Dinner of a Lifetime will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Camelot Club, 41 Florida Blvd., 21st floor. Tickets are $75 for individuals and $700 per table. ************************************************************ INTERNATIONAL NEWS ************************************************************ "Nigeria Walks Against HIV/AIDS" Deutsche Presse-Agentur (10.22.01) Nigeria will leave no stone unturned to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, President Olusegun Obasanjo declared in Abuja Monday as he kicked off a rally and a nationwide walk against the scourge. The rally was organized by the National Act Museum. "We have played a vanguard role in raising awareness against HIV/AIDS," Obasanjo said. More than one million Nigerians are estimated to have HIV, while several thousand have died of AIDS, he said. Several thousand children have also been orphaned by the disease, according to Obasanjo. "We have to raise awareness and make sure that those who have not caught the virus do not catch it. That is the responsibility we have as a government," the president said. "And for those who have caught the virus, we should love and care for them because it is not a contagious disease. I do not know if there is anything worthwhile to tell our brother and sisters living with HIV/AIDS than that we love them and that we care for them," he said. Obasanjo called on Nigerians to assist the government to take the campaign against HIV/AIDS "to places where we should take it. To homes, schools, places of worship and workplaces," he said. His cabinet rose from a weekly meeting on Oct. 3 with a decision to set up an agency to deal specifically with HIV/AIDS. "Free Condoms for Workers" Bangkok Post (10.15.01) Bangkok Deputy Governor Praphan Kittisin said last week that 1 million condoms will be handed out free to sex workers and laborers as part of the "100 Percent Condom Campaign" against HIV/AIDS planned for 2002-2007. There are approximately 136,000 people in Bangkok infected with HIV -10 percent of the national HIV infection total. The condoms will be distributed through sex establishments, entertainment venues and district offices, Kittisin said. The economic crisis was blamed for an increase in HIV/AIDS over the past two years because the Public Health Ministry stopped handing out free condoms, and owners of some sex outlets stopped providing condoms to their workers. Dr. Krit Hiranrat, chief of the Health Department, said sex was the main cause of HIV/AIDS transmission in the city. "About 75 percent of HIV-infected people got the disease through sex and 11 percent through drug use. About 5 percent were children infected by their mothers," he said. Transmission through blood transfusions was nominal because of the strict rules regarding blood donations. In addition to the condom campaign, health volunteers will teach HIV/AIDS awareness in city communities and health centers will be equipped to allow them to better handle HIV/AIDS patients. A sex education handbook will also be distributed to primary school teachers. "HIV Baby Sues Pretoria for Not Protecting Her" Guardian (United Kingdom) (10.20.01)::Chris McGreal A six-month-old baby who contracted HIV at birth is suing the South African government for failing to supply her mother with antiretroviral drugs that might have prevented the virus from being passed to the child. The baby, identified only as Tinashe, is claiming 700,000 rand from a provincial health authority because it failed to tell the child's 19-year-old mother, Sibongile, that she was HIV-positive, or that there were drugs that could prevent her passing the virus on to her child. A single tablet of the drug Nevirapine given during labor and a dose of syrup given to the newborn baby cuts the likelihood of HIV transmission by half. The case stems from President Thabo Mbeki's stated skepticism over the value of such medicines, and Pretoria's repeated stalling in making available a drug that doctors and campaigners say would save 35,000 babies a year. The government refused for years to make Nevirapine available in public hospitals, initially claiming that it was too expensive and untested. It later said the health department lacked the necessary infrastructure to distribute the drugs. Baby Tinashe is suing Mpumalanga Health Minister Sibongile Manana, who had direct responsibility for policy at Rob Ferreira hospital in Nelspruit where the infected child was born. Manana is also the subject of another lawsuit by a rape support group that was expelled from the same hospital for using doctors to distribute AIDS drugs to women victims of rape. She alleged that the group was trying to bring down the government. ************************************************************ MEDICAL NEWS ************************************************************ "HIV Infection May Trigger Neurologic Disorder" Internal Medicine News (10.15.01) Vol 44; No 39: P 28::Norra Macready A disorder similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been associated with HIV-1 infection, prompting the suggestion that viral infection might precipitate the disorder in some people. In a retrospective study of 1,700 patients with HIV infection and neurological symptoms seen between 1987 and 2000, Dr. Antoine Moulignier of the Foundation Adolphe de Rothschild in Paris and his colleagues identified six patients who met international criteria for definite, probable or possible ALS. The incidence of the disorder was 3.5 per 1,000, well above the expected incidence in the general population of 0.4 to 1.76 per 100,000 (Neurology 57 [6]:995-1001, 2001). The ALS-like syndrome was the first manifestation of HIV-1 in all of the patients. Presenting symptoms included tongue fasciculations and distal motor weakness in one or more limbs and initially were reminiscent of those of monomelic amyotrophy. However, the rapid progression of symptoms and the young age of the patients indicated that the disorder was a variant of ALS, rather than the classic disease. In an accompanying case report, Dr. D.J.L. MacGowan and associates at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York described a 32-year old woman who presented with a rapidly progressing ALS- like syndrome and was found to be HIV-positive (Neurology 57 [6]:1094-97, 2001). Multidrug cocktails and improved control of HIV-1 viral load have made the disorder less common, Moulignier and his associates said. All seven patients improved or stabilized transiently following treatment with zidovudine, another nucleoside analogue, or active antiretroviral therapy. In an editorial, Dr. Burk Jubelt and Dr. Joeseph R. Berger said that viral causes should be considered in patients presenting with the classic clinical signs of ALS "because HIV-ALS syndromes are treatable" (Neurology 57 [6]:945-46, 2001). ************************************************************ LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS ************************************************************ "Scandal-Stricken Nonprofit Faces More Scrutiny" Tampa Tribune (10.24.01)::Laura Kinsler State and county officials are investigating how the nonprofit Tampa-Hillsborough Action Plan (THAP) spent $2.3 million in grants for AIDS patients. The two audits come as local officials are voicing their reluctance to renew THAP's contracts as long as Executive Director Chet Luney oversees its day-to-day operations. The Tampa City Council's vote on awarding a $522,227 grant to THAP, which had been scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed. "I have reservations about moving forward at this point until the investigation is complete," said Councilmember Bob Buckhorn. But Warren Hope Dawson, THAP's lawyer and spokesperson, said the organization, which had a $450,000 city contract last year for AIDS-related services, has done a good job. Luney and THAP were drawn into the state and federal criminal investigations of Steve LaBrake, who is on leave as director of the city's Business and Community Services Department, and Lynne McCarter, who is LaBrake's assistant and girlfriend. Luney told the Tampa Tribune he was ordered to give more construction contracts to the couple's personal home builder, Dean Ryan, and to pay Ryan more than THAP paid other builders. He also admitted using THAP money to move a house for the couple; to buy McCarter's car; and to pay her more than $31,000 for providing gift bags to new homeowners. THAP collects more than $2 million a year in state, federal and private grants for its AIDS services. The Florida Department of Health last week sent auditors from its Bureau of HIV/AIDS to inspect THAP's records, and Hillsborough County's Health and Social Services Department is conducting a follow-up to its annual audit. THAP and Luney are also being investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for Veterans Affairs. Luney has been a full-time VA employee since 1974, but he abruptly resigned that $80,000-a-year job this month. He still earns $78,000 as executive director of THAP's 14 corporations. The VA pays THAP hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to provide housing for homeless veterans in Tampa and at least three other Florida cities. Retired registered nurse practitioner Barbara Kroll, who worked for 27 years at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, said it was common knowledge that Luney, who is a clinical psychologist, was also working somewhere else. "I had to cover for him all the time. We all did," she said. Luney could not be reached for comment. Dawson said there had been no change in Luney's status at THAP. ************************************************************ NEWS BRIEFS ************************************************************ "US Grants 10 Million Dollars to Vietnam for HIV Prevention" Deutsche Presse-Agentur (10.23.01) The United States yesterday awarded Vietnam the first stage of a $10 million grant to expand HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi. US Charge d'Affaires Robert C. Porter, Jr. announced the first year's award of $2 million to Vietnam's Ministry of Health. The funds will allow work in the Global AIDS Program, sponsored by the CDC, to continue for five years. "AIDS Threatens Thailand's Workforce" Deutsche Presse-Agentur (10.23.01) Thai citizens in their most productive working years are expected to die of AIDS at the fastest rate over the next four years, according to information supplied to the Nation newspaper by officials of the Communicable Disease Department. About 50,000 of the country's 700,000 citizens living with HIV/AIDS are expected to die between 2002 and 2006. "We estimate 90 percent of those people who are expected to die will be aged between 20 and 44, considered the productive working age group," said Dr. Anuphong Chitvirakorn, director of the department's AIDS Division. "More Benefit from Busy Elton" Atlanta Constitution (10.24.01)::Richard L Eldredge Although Elton John participated in last weekend's benefit concert for New York City, he is also continuing his work on behalf of AIDS. The part-time Atlantan's Elton John AIDS Foundation is partnering with AIDS Project Los Angeles for an all-star concert scheduled Dec. 12 at the Universal Amphitheater. The show will be billed as "The Concert: 20 Years with AIDS" and will commemorate the discovery of the AIDS virus. Also scheduled to appear are Alicia Keys, Craig David, Pete Yorn, Rufus Wainwright, Sting, LeAnn Rimes, Bon Jovi and Matchbox Twenty. Tickets range in price from $103.50 to $1,003.50 and are available by calling 310-201-5033.