Washington Blade - July 11, 2003

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - The state's nearly 40 percent cut in AIDS spending over the last few years could lead to a rise in the infection rate and a spike in the death rate in a few years, service providers say. The state spent $51.1 million on HIV/AIDS programs during the 2001 fiscal year. That was reduced to $41.4 million in 2002 and $35.8 million in 2003. Last month, a legislative conference committee cut Gov. Mitt Romney's request for AIDS funding by nearly $4 million to $31.9 million for fiscal 2004, which began on Tuesday. "We're still working on assessing the impact and the areas we will need to make reductions in," Roseanne Pawelec, a spokesperson for the state Public Health Department, told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester. The department is prioritizing counseling and testing services over some of the client support services that cover child care for people with AIDS, as well as respite care for family members who are caregivers.

Viagra becoming 'party drug' for gay men, researcher says

SAN FRANCISCO - A recent survey found that nearly a third of gay and bisexual men in San Francisco have taken Viagra at least once, according to a PlanetOut.com report. Researchers also learned that HIV-positive men are especially likely to use the anti-impotency drug. The survey did not ask the 837 men specifics on why they take the drug. "But I think it would be safe to say that a large percentage of the people we spoke to are using it recreationally," said Jed Herman, associate program director at Stop AIDS, which helped produce the survey. "I don't think anybody would challenge the notion that it's become a party drug." Researchers believe that the reason HIV-positive men use the drug more may be because of side effects of their medication to treat HIV. "We also think that some of the common side effects of some of the [AIDS cocktail] drugs are sexual dysfunction and lack of libido," Herman said. Nearly 44 percent of the men in the survey said they got Viagra from friends, and 10 percent said they got it off the Internet. The remainder said they get it from their doctor.

$2.8 million grant to fund study of HIV in women

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A $2.8-million federal grant will enable a Miriam Hospital researcher to examine how HIV acts in the female genital tract. Dr. Susan Cu-Uvin, director of the Samuel & Esther Chester Immunology Center at the hospital, is studying where the virus concentrates, where it hides, how it replicates and how resistant it is to antiviral drugs. The grant finances five years of research by Cu-Uvin. Her findings may lead to the development of medications to prevent sexual and mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the Providence Journal reported. The money was awarded to the hospital's center for AIDS research, a collaboration among Tufts University and Brown University. It is one of 19 such federally funded centers located at academic medical centers throughout the U.S. This year, the center received $43 million in federal funding.

Chiron settles European antitrust complaints over HIV, hepatitis tests

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Chiron Corp. Monday said it settled antitrust complaints by European blood banks over the pricing of its hepatitis and HIV tests. Chiron, the Emeryville-based biotechnology company, said the Commission of the European Communities had accepted a joint settlement proposal made by Chiron and its European licensee, F. Hoffmann-La Roche. In October 2001, the German Red Cross Donation Service & Working Society of Physicians filed a complaint with the commission alleging that Roche's prices for its blood-screening kits were unreasonable and should be prohibited. The complaint was eventually joined by groups from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland and Luxembourg. Chiron said it resolved the complaints by modifying licensing agreements that allow Hoffman-La Roche to use Chiron's technology in hepatitis C and HIV-1 blood-testing kits.

Caribbean leaders say AIDS threatens area's development

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (AP) - Caribbean leaders called AIDS the single biggest threat to the region's development and said July 5 that finding cheaper drugs is the key to halting the spread of the disease. About 500,000 people in the Caribbean have the deadly disease, threatening to cripple the labor force as it prepares for free-trade and increased competition, St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas told reporters on the final day of a Caribbean summit. The number does not include Cuba, where infection rates are low. "HIV/AIDS continues to be the main threat to the development of the region," said Douglas, who oversees health matters in the 15-member Caribbean Community. Officials are conducting a study to determine the economic impact of the disease in the Caribbean, which has the world's highest infection rate after sub-Saharan Africa, he said. AIDS is the leading cause of death in several Caribbean countries, including Haiti and the Bahamas.

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