Table of Contents: AIDS Daily Summary

1997

December

Needle Exchange Programs Hold Promise of Curbing Infection: Detroit News (12/28/97); Tobin, James; Intravenous drug use is the second leading cause of HIV infection in men and women in the United States. To help reduce this mode of transmission, needle-exchange programs have been instituted across the nation, offering drug users free syringes for every used one they turn in.
Gay Men May Be Neglecting Safe Sex: Detroit News (12/29/97); Hodges, Michael H.; Officals from Detroit's Midwest AIDS Prevention Project (MAPP) report that a number of recent statistics indicate that gonorrhea rates among gay men have risen 74 percent nationwide from 1993 to 1996, suggesting that some gay men are not engaging in safe sex.
Thailand: HIV Tests for Medical Students: IPS Wire (12/30/97); Thailand's public universities have recently come under fire for agreeing to test medical students for HIV, as proposed by the country's Mahidol University. Supporters of the HIV testing requirement say the effort would help prevent the transmission of HIV from doctors, dentists, and health care workers to patients.
Sri Lanka: AIDS Victims Fight Discrimination: IPS Wire (12/30/97); Following a series of discriminatory incidents against people with HIV in 1987, a number of non-governmental agencies in Sri Lanka joined together to form the Coalition to Protect the Rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS.
Johns Hopkins AIDS Program for Medicaid Patients Efficacious and Cost-Effective: Reuters Health Information Services (12/30/97); An article in the December 25th issue of Disease Management News indicates that a new AIDS program for medicaid patients has both saved money and increased patient survival.
Across the USA: Michigan: USA Today (12/31/97) P. 9A; Michigan Governor Engler announced that state agencies would share about $2.6 million of HIV preventionfunds.
Capital Report: More AIDS Spending: USA Today (12/31/97) P. 5A; On Tuesday, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart confirmed a New York Times article that reported President Clinton would seek a 35 percent boost in spending for AIDS drug assistance programs.
Global Strategies for the Prevention of Vertical HIV Transmission: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (12/97) Vol. 3, No. 12, P. 19; MacDougall, David S.; Although developed nations have enjoyed considerable success in their efforts to reduce the incidence of vertical HIV transmission, developing nations have had relatively little success.
Serum MRP Level Correlates With Severity of HIV Infection: Reuters Health Information Services (12/29/97); Swiss researchers have concluded that advanced HIV infection is associated with increases in the level of macrophage inhibitory factor-related protein (MRP) 8/14 and with declines in MRP 8 serum levels.
Spreading Epidemic: AIDS Rate Rising for Blacks, Women: Detroit News (12/28/97); Tobin, James; The truth about Detroit's HIV/AIDS epidemic now, is that infection rates are higher among African Americans in both sexes rather than among whites.
Women--The Neglected Victims: Detroit News (12/28/97); Tobin, James; Although women represent the fastest growing subgroup of people with AIDS, the majority of disease prevention and research on the virus has been conducted on males.
Man in Court for Alleged AIDS Spreading: United Press International (12/30/97); Two preliminary hearings will be held in Michigan on Tuesday to determine whether James Wallace Jones, a 33-year-old drifter with AIDS, will go to trial for failing to inform a partner about his HIV status and for third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
US Needs to Increase HIV-1 Subtype Surveillance: Reuters Health Information Services (12/29/97); In the December issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers report the first documented case of HIV-1 subtype A infection in a United States-born individual who has not traveled outside of the country.
China Outlaws Selling of Blood: Washington Times (12/30/97) P. A11; China passed a law on Monday to halt the selling of blood and to rely entirely on voluntary donations in an effort to make its blood supply safer.
Clinton to Seek More Money to Help Pay for AIDS Drugs: New York Times (12/30/97) P. A14; Pear, Robert; White House officials announced that President Clinton has decided to seek significant increase in federal spending for HIV treatments, including a 35 percent increase in spending for AIDS drug-assistance programs.
Assessing Harm Reduction Strategies: The Dilemma of Observational Studies: American Journal of Epidemiology (12/15/97) Vol. 146, No. 12, P. 1007; Bruneau, Julie; Franco, Eduardo; Lamothe, Francois; To determine the individual characteristics and behaviors that increase the risk of HIV infection, Julie Bruneau and colleagues from the University of Montreal and elsewhere followed a cohort of subjects attending needle exchange programs (NEPs).
Invited Commentary: Le Mystere de Montreal: American Journal of Epidemiology (12/15/97) Vol. 146, No. 12, P. 1003; Lurie, Peter; Dr. Peter Lurie of the University of Michigan writes that the Montreal study--in which Canadian observational researchers found that the needle exchange program (NEP) participation was strongly correlated with higher incidence and prevalence rates of HIV infection--has long been a focus of debate regarding NEPs.
Manila Legislator Urges Coconut Oil Research for AIDS: Reuters (12/27/97); Philippine congressman Ramon Bagatsing is urging his government to investigate the use of coconut oil as a possible treatment for AIDS.
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Underestimated in AIDS Registries: Reuters Health Information Services (12/26/97); A report by Dr. William A. Blattner of the National Cancer Institute and members of the AIDS/Cancer Study Group indicates that AIDS patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) have a higher rate of brain lesions and high-grade lymphomas than NHL patients without AIDS.
Cesarean Delivery Can Reduce Vertical HIV-1 Transmission: Reuters Health Information Services (12/25/97); According to a report in the December issue of AIDS, Spanish researchers from the Hospital Universitari 'Germans Trias i Pujol' and the Working Group on HIV-1 Vertical Transmission evaluated the risk factors of vertical HIV-1 transmission among 599 infants born to 520 HIV-infected mothers.
AIDS Drugs Help Cut Mass. Prison Deaths: Boston Globe (12/26/97) P. A1; Dowdy, Zachary R.; Thanks to a Massachusetts state program that offers expensive medications and drug therapies to inmates with AIDS, the number of AIDS-related deaths in prison has fallen from 29 in 1990 to just one so far this year.
New Law Ends Most Humanitarian Help for Illegal Immigrants With AIDS: New York Times (12/29/97) P. A19; Sengupta, Somini; Under widespread changes to federal immigration and welfare laws enacted last year, illegal immigrants with AIDS living in New York City--who have long been able to secure Medicaid, disability benefits, and state-financed housing vouchers--are now facing the possibility of deportation.
Naval Hospital Shuts Down Its Blood Bank: New York Times (12/29/97) P. A13; Following a negative report from the Food and Drug Administration, officials from the National Naval Medical Center have voluntarily suspended blood bank operations until at least February.
Brazilian Man Sues Firm, Hospital Over Secret HIV Test: Kyodo News Service (12/24/97); A Brazilian man sued his employer and the head of a Japanese hospital on Wednesday for violating his privacy by conducting an HIV test without his consent.
Old HIV Laws: Washington Post (12/25/97) P. A26; Raver, Deirdre; In response to a Washington Post article about a convicted sex offender infected with HIV who knowingly exposed dozens of women in Maryland, Deidre Raver writes that archaic HIV notification laws grant special rights to rapists and deny women legal recourse in the event they are sexually assaulted and exposed to HIV.
Science Feature: Africa--Migration: PANA Wire Service (12/24/97); Masebu, Peter; According to a new report from the Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic network, migration may be one of the reasons for the high prevalence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
'Crippled' HIV Strain Could Yield AIDS Vaccine: Australian Associated Press (12/26/97); Cusworth, Fran; The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in New York has awarded John Mills of Melbourne, Australia's Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research, $415,500 to continue his research into an AIDS vaccine.
AIDS Patients at Risk From Germs in Cats and Lice: Washington Times (12/25/97) P. A7; According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the bacteria responsible for cat-scratch fever and trench fever are serious health threats to people whose immune systems are weakened by AIDS.
Renaissance for Italian AIDS Program: Science (12/19/97) Vol. 278, No. 5346, P. 2061; The Italian government has overhauled its AIDS research program, now making grant applications anonymous in response to charges that the National Program for AIDS Research played favorites.
Animal Models of HIV-1 Disease: Science (12/19/97) Vol. 278, No. 5346, P. 2141; McCune, Joseph M.; For years, animal models have been employed in the research of HIV-1, the pre-clinical testing of antiviral compounds, and the evaluation of vaccines, writes Joseph M. McCune of San Francisco General Hospital in the journal Science.
Pioneer Herpesvirus Experiment on the Way: Nature (12/18/97-12/25/97) Vol. 390, No. 6661, P. 655; University of Chicago researcher Bernard Roizman is planning what could be the first gene therapy test using a herpesvirus vector.
Another HIV-1 Trial Loses Placebo Control: Lancet (12/20/97-12/27/97) Vol. 350, No.9094, P. 1831; Kigotho, Anderson Wachira; Leaders of a three-group study of 900 HIV-1-infected women in Ethiopia have dropped the placebo control and will proceed with just two AZT-treated groups.
FDA Approves Phase I Trial for HIV-1 Protease Inhibitor DMP- 450: Reuters Health Information Services (12/23/97); The Food and Drug Administration has given Triangle Pharmaceuticals permission to launch Phase I trials of its DMP -450 HIV-1 protease inhibitor.
CCR-5 Delta 32 Heterozygosity May Slow Progression of HIV Disease: Reuters Health Information Services (12/23/97); Dr. Graeme Stewart of Westmead Hospital in New South Wales and colleagues compared the presence of CCR-5 delta 32 mutations, CD4 and CD8 counts, plasma HIV-1 RNA, p24 antigen, and beta-2- microglobulin levels in HIV-positive long-term nonprogressors (LTNP) with that of HIV-positive patients who progressed rapidly and HIV-positive patients with less than 500 CD4 cells per mL.
New Hungary Law Ends Anonymity for AIDS Sufferers: Reuters (12/23/97); Shiels, Duncan; Hungary has passed a new law that includes an AIDS clause stipulating that those who take HIV tests will still be entitled to anonymity, but must provide health insurance or identification information if they test positive.
Health--Latin America: Health Outlook Not the Best: IPS Wire (12/23/97); Despite the many medical advances over the past few decades, a number of illnesses believed to have been beaten are returning.
HIV-Positive Children Have Poor Response to Yellow Fever Vaccine: Reuters Health Information Services (12/23/97); In the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Dr. Stefan Wiktor of Ivory Coast's Project RETRO-CI and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and elsewhere report that HIV-positive children have a poor antibody response to yellow fever (YF) vaccination.
'Thorough' Blood Probe Promised: Toronto Globe and Mail (12/23/97) P. A4; Anderssen, Erin; On Monday, Chief Superintendent Freeman Sheppard vowed to conduct "the most thorough investigation" possible into Canada's tainted-blood scandal, but he noted that the search could take years.
Hawaii High Court Overturns AIDS Disability Case Decision: Journal of Commerce (12/24/97) P. 8A; A Circuit Court ruling that permitted Paul Revere Insurance Co. to deny disability payments to an AIDS patient has been reversed by the Hawaii Supreme Court.
HIV Program for Aid Workers in Norway: Lancet (12/20/97-12/27/97) Vol. 350, No. 9094, P. 1830; Awuonda, Moussa; Norway's state aid agency, NORAD, has adopted a new HIV prevention program following the discovery that 66 NORAD employees were infected with HIV.
Children on Losing End of Access to New Drugs: AIDS Alert (01/98) Vol. 13, No. 1, P. 10; In response to the finding that only five of 14 approved AIDS drugs have been tested in children and no protease inhibitors have been approved for pediatric patients under age two, the White House has proposed a rule to require pharmaceutical companies to test more drugs in children and report data to the Food and Drug Administration at the same time, or shortly after, the drug is okayed for adults.
Plight of HIV People in Zambia Worry Japan: Africa News Service (12/22/97); Kaunda, Joe; The Japanese government has given two non-governmental organizations in Zambia more than $31,000 for use in the fight against AIDS.
Visible Genetics Forms Group to Test HIV Genotyping Kits: Reuters Health Information Services (12/22/97); Visible Genetics will perform human clinical tests of its HIV genotyping kits at two sites in Canada and four sites in the United States.
Quinolinic Acid May Have Role in AIDS Dementia Complex: Reuters Health Information Services (12/22/97); In the December issue of Neurology, researchers from Australia's St. Vincent's Hospital report that in vitro studies suggest that quinolinic acid--a neurotoxic tryptophan metabolite that is a byproduct of the kynurenine pathway--is involved in AIDS-related dementia and, therefore, neuroprotective methods may be effective in the treatment of the disease.
RCMP to Launch Blood Probe: Toronto Globe and Mail (12/22/97) P. A1; Picard, Andre; Between 1980 and 1985, nearly 2,000 Canadians received HIV- infected blood and blood products, while an additional 60,000 transfusion recipients contracted hepatitis C between 1980 and 1990.
For Doctors, Years of Grief and Daring: New York Times (12/23/97) P. C4; In a book set to be published next year by Oxford University Press, Drs. Ronald Bayer and Gerald Oppenheimer have compiled the recollections of nearly 80 doctors who were among the first to mobilize against the then-mysterious and unknown AIDS epidemic.
Indinavir in Cerebrospinal Fluid of HIV-1 Infected Patients (Research Letter): Lancet (12/20/97-12/27/97) Vol. 35, No. 9094, P. 1823; Stahle, Lars; Martin, Claes; Svensson, Jan-Olof; et al.; As part of a population pharmocokinetic project examining protease inhibitors approved in Sweden, researchers from Sweden's Karolinska Institute analyzed the concentration of indinavir in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 13 patients by high-pressure liquid chromatography.
Cost-Effectiveness of Improved Treatment Services for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Preventing HIV-1 Infection in Mwanza Region, Tanzania: Lancet (12/20/97-12/27/97) Vol. 350, No. 9094, P. 1805; Gilson, Lucy; Mkanje, Rashid; Grosskurth, Heiner; et al.; To determine the effect of improved management practices in sexually transmitted disease programs located in Mwanza, Tanzania, on HIV infection rates, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and elsewhere compared six intervention communities with six matched communities.
IAPAC Proposes Rationing HIV Drugs in the U.S.: AIDS Alert (01/98) Vol. 13, No. 1, P. 9; The International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care in Chicago has announced its support for a policy to ration HIV/AIDS drugs in the United States.
Gender Matters: POZ (12/97) P. 75; Ocamb, Karen; Some 20 percent of persons with AIDS in the United States are women, but AIDS activists claim there is not enough testing of new drug treatments' effects on women.
Sustiva Access Broadened to Include More HIV-Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/19/97); DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical announced last week that it was expanding its access program for efavirenz--commercially known as Sustiva--to HIV-positive patients who have had CD4 cell counts below 400 cells per ml.
Enzo Biochem Is Ready for Phase I Trial of HIV Gene Therapy: Reuters Health Information Services (12/19/97); Enzo Therapeutics has reportedly filed an Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration to begin phase I testing of its StealthVector gene delivery system against HIV infection.
Bloodbank Workers Jailed for Tampering: United Press International (12/19/97); Two New York Blood Center employees have been sentenced to prison for tampering with and falsifying tests for HIV, hepatitis, and other viruses.
STD Programs Cost-Effective in Reducing HIV-1 Incidence: Reuters Health Information Services (12/19/97); To determine the impact of improving sexually transmitted disease treatment services on the rate of HIV infection, Richard Hayes and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine randomly selected a cohort of 12,537 adults in six rural Tanzanian communities and calculated the total cost per HIV-1 infection averted and the cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) saved.
Hooked on Dogma: Washington Post (12/21/97) P. C1; Shenk, Joshua Wolf; In spite of the failure of Switzerland's "Needle Park" experiment in the early 1990s, Swiss researchers remain intent on exploring alternative avenues to controlling the side effects of intravenous drug use--primarily the spread of infectious diseases--notes U.S. News & World Report's Joshua Wolf Shenk in a Washington Post commentary.
Medical Professionals With H.I.V. Keep Their Silence, Fearing Reprisals: New York Times (12/21/97) P. 41; Fein, Ester B.; Despite the decision last week by a Connecticut jury to award $12.2 million to a physician who sued Yale Medical School for failing to train her on proper precautions to prevent on-the- job transmission, many medical professionals with HIV plan to maintain silence about their infections.
Working With AIDS: Crain's New York Business (12/08/97-12/14/97) Vol. 13, No. 49, P. 1; Croghan, Lore; Gault, Ylonda; The latest medical advancements in the treatment of AIDS-- primarily the antiretroviral drug cocktails--have encouraged a movement back into the workforce among people with AIDS who previously had been resigned to death.
Transfusions and Kids: The Deadly HIV Link in Africa: AIDS Alert--International (12/97) Vol. 12, No. 12, P. 1; Many HIV infections in developing nations, especially those in young children, are the result of contaminated blood transfusions.
MSL-109 Ineffective Adjuvant Therapy for AIDS-Related CMV Retinitis: Reuters Health Information Services (12/18/97); In the December issue of the Archives of Opthamology, Dr. Douglas A. Jabs and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University report that MSL-109--the human monoclonal antibody of the IgG1 -kappa subclass that earlier demonstrated in vitro activity against cytomegalovirus--has now been found to be ineffective as an adjuvant therapy for CMV retinitis in AIDS patients.
Anti-HHV-8 Agents Identified as Candidates for AIDS-Related KS Prevention: Reuters Health Information Services (12/18/97); Johan Neyts and Erik de Clercq of Belgium's Rega Institute report in the December issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy that they have identified four agents with "marked anti-HHV-8 activity": cidofovir, ganciclovir, foscarnet, and adefovir.
World Bank Approves $18.3 Million Loan [for Eritrea]: M2 Presswire (12/18/97); The World Bank has authorized an $18.3 million credit for a program to expand health care access in Eritrea.
AIDS-Infected Doctor Blasts Yale Over Appeal: Reuters (12/18/97); Lewis, Matthew; A doctor who sued the Yale School of Medicine after contracting HIV as an intern was awarded $12.2 million in compensatory damages on Wednesday.
Blood-Clotting Drug Manufacturer Wins Suit Brought by Hemophiliacs With AIDS: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (12/18/97) P. C3; Bryant, Tim; On Wednesday, a St. Louis, MO, Circuit Court jury rejected three hemophiliacs' claims that Alpha Therapeutics should pay damages to them for the HIV infection they contracted as a result of using allegedly contaminated blood-clotting products.
Young Reported to Minimize AIDS: Boston Globe (12/18/97) P. A26; New data from an MTV/Yale University study indicate that 87 percent of young people do not believe they are at risk for HIV infection.
Blood-Product Shortage Puts Many at Risk: USA Today (12/19/97) P. 4A; At the peak of the cold and flu season, a serious shortage of immunoglobulin across the nation has raised concerns among those with deficient immune systems who need the medicine.
2nd Progress Report' Released by Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS: Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (12/18/97); The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (Council) released its 2nd Progress Report on December 7, 1997.
Routine Fungal Blood Culture May Be Unnecessary in AIDS Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/17/97); In the December issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles suggest that routine fungal blood cultures in AIDS patients with suspected invasive fungal infection may not be needed.
Biochip Speeds Up Gene Testing: Financial Times (12/18/97) P. 8; Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are planning a "DNA biochip" that could test for HIV, cancer, or tuberculosis within minutes.
HIV Vaccine Trial Participants May Need More Behavior Counseling: Reuters Health Information Services (12/17/97); Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco report that HIV vaccine trial participants with histories of high-risk sexual behavior may return to such behavior during the trial if they incorrectly believe they are protected against HIV.
Man With HIV Faces Charges of Not Telling: Washington Post (12/18/97) P. A22; James Wallace Jones, a convicted sex offender with HIV, faces charges in Michigan for failing to notify four sex partners-- including a 15-year-old girl--of his infected status.
UK Researchers Give Boost to TB Research: Reuters (12/17/97); In an effort that could aid researchers in the fight against tuberculosis, Dr. Bart Barrell of Britain's Wellcome Trust medical charity and Dr. Stewart Cole of France's Pasteur Institute announced Wednesday that they had completed reading the genetic map of the TB bacterium.
Yale Must Pay Doctor Infected With AIDS: New York Times (12/18/97) P. A32; Fisher, Ian; A young physician who was infected with HIV after pricking her thumb when inserting a catheter tube into a dying AIDS patient at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1988 was awarded $12.2 million on Wednesday by a New Haven Superior Court jury.
U.S. Agency Devotes $50 Million More to Fight Infectious Diseases Overseas: Washington Post (12/18/97) P. A15; Brown, David; The U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) has allocated an additional $50 million this year for the control of infectious diseases found overseas--an investment AID administrator J. Brian Atwood called "a defense fund for the United States ...[and] for the entire world."
Treating the HIV-Infected Pregnant Woman and Her Child: AIDS Clinical Care (12/97) Vol. 9, No. 12, P. 91; Pitt, Jane; Cotton, Deborah; In AIDS Clinical Care, authors Jane Pitt and Deborah Cotton review recent advances in perinatal and pediatric HIV infection and the effect of treatment guidelines for HIV- infected individuals on the care of HIV-infected pregnant women and children.
Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus During Colonoscopy (Letter): New England Journal of Medicine (12/18/97) Vol. 337, No. 25, P. 1849; Bronowicki, Jean-Pierre; Bigard, Marc-Andre; In response to a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Jean-Pierre Bronowicki and Marc-Andre Bigard of France's Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nancy support the author's assertion that gastrointestinal endoscopy is safe when the recommended procedures are followed.
Three Documents Addressing the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Perinatal, Pediatric, and Adult HIV Infection are Now Available: AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) (12/17/97); The "Revised Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection," "Revised Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs During Pregnancy for Maternal Health and Reduction of Perinatal Transmission of HIV-1," and "Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV Infected Adults and Adolescents" are now available in PDF format on the ATIS Web site at http://www.hivatis.org/ or in print by calling 1-800-448-0440 (TTY: 1-800-243-7012).
Studies Shed New Light on HIV Epidemic in India: NIAID News (12/16/97); Two new studies published in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association offer insight into the AIDS epidemic in India, where the United Nations estimates that up to 5 million people are infected with HIV.
The Deadly Streets: Maclean's (12/08/97) Vol. 110, No. 49, P. 32; Hunter, Jennifer; Blood Alley is the nickname of an area on the east side of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, that has become a haven for the city's intravenous drug users, most of whom are HIV- positive.
Health--Congo: Handed a Death Sentence: IPS Wire (12/16/97); On December 1, World AIDS Day, a number of HIV-infected children in Congo traveled to various schools and other public places to help educate other children on the dangers of the virus.
Russian Church Attacks ... Sex Education: Reuters (12/16/97); MacDonald, Alastair; Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexiy II addressed a group of parish priests and lay officials this week on the immorality of the government's decision to spend $40 million to teach sex education in school.
New System Rapidly Identifies RT Inhibitor-Resistant HIV-1 Strains: Reuters Health Information Services (12/16/97); Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have developed a new "recombinant retroviral system in which a library of infectious molecular clones" of HIV-1 is constructed with reverse transcriptase genes.
UN Urges Steps to Limit HIV, TB in Europe's Jails: Reuters (12/16/97); Barker, Anthony; World Health Organization officials are alarmed at the rapid spread of tuberculosis and HIV in jails around Europe, much of which has been attributed to overcrowding.
High Rates of HIV Infection Among Injection Drug Users Participating in Needle Exchange Programs in Montreal; Results of Cohort Study: American Journal of Epidemiology (12/15/97) Vol. 146, No. 12, P. 994; Bruneau, J.; Lamothe, F.; Franco, E.; Canadian researchers have concluded that participants in needle-exchange programs in Montreal appear to have greater HIV seroconversion rates than non-participants.
Risk Factors and Clinical Presentation of Acute Primary HIV Infection in India: Journal of the American Medical Association (12/17/97) Vol. 278, No. 23, P. 2085; Bollinger, Robert; Brookmeyer, Ronald; Mehendale, Sanjay M; et al.; Johns Hopkins University researchers and colleagues conducted a nested case-control study in Pune, India, to identify the risk factors for newly acquired HIV infection and the symptoms of acute HIV infection.
Spread of HIV Infection in Married Monogamous Women in India: Journal of the American Medical Association (12/17/97) Vol. 278, No. 23, P. 2090; Gangakhedkar, Raman R.; Bentley, Margaret E.; Divekar, Anand D; et al.; HIV infection among women who are not sex workers is increasing in India, and the likely mode of transmission is these women's husbands, according to a new study.
Thalidomide Well-Absorbed by HIV-Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/15/97); New research appearing in the December issue of Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy suggests that single doses of thalidomide are well absorbed by patients infected with HIV.
UK Soldiers Offered AIDS Tests After Sex Spree: Reuters (12/16/97); Officials at the Catterick army base in Yorkshire, England, have offered HIV tests to soldiers after learning that two local women who had been "liberal with their affections" were HIV positive.
Interferon-Alpha-2a Plus Nucleosides for HIV Infection: Increased Toxicity, Transient Viral Load Decreases: Reuters Health Information Services (12/15/97); The addition of interferon-alpha-2a to the drug combination of zidovudine and zalcitabine appears to be harmful over time, according to a study published in the December 1 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology.
Tanzania AIDS Cases Number at Least 88,667: Reuters (12/15/97); By year-end 1996, the number of AIDS cases in Tanzania hit 88,667, according to a health ministry report, though experts estimate the actual number is much larger.
FDA Advisory Committee Approves Expanded Use of RNA HIV-1 Test: Reuters Health Information Services (12/15/97); Roche Diagnostics Systems' Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test, which will be used to monitor antiretroviral treatment for HIV, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration's Blood Products Committee.
AIDS Claws Back Gains in African Development: Reuters (12/16/97); Bunce, Matthew; The United Nations Development Program has compiled several development indices of economic conditions in Africa that critics feel may be painting too bleak a picture regarding the effects of AIDS.
Lifeline: Risky Business: USA Today (12/16/97) P. 1D; DeRosa, Robin; New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins University shows that about 14 percent of sexually active people between the ages of 14 and 22 report not using any protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases the last time they had sex.
HIV-1 Infection Puzzles Denmark: Lancet (12/13/97) Vol. 350, No. 9093, P. 1758; Skovmand, Kaare; Danish health authorities are investigating what they believe could be the first patient-to-patient transmission of HIV-1 infection.
Nosocomial Transmission of Mycobacterium Bovis Resistant to 11 Drugs in People With Advanced HIV-1 Infection: Lancet (12/13/97) Vol. 350, No. 9093, P. 1738; Guerrero, Antonio; Cobo, Javier; Fortun, Jesus; et al.; Researchers from Hospital Ramon y Cajal in Madrid, Spain, investigated the presence of Mycobacterium bovis in a tuberculosis outbreak at the hospital.
A Harsh Rebuke: Maclean's (12/08/97) Vol. 110, No. 49, P. 20; DeMont, John; The infection of thousands of Canadians with HIV and the hepatitis C virus in the late 1970s and 1980s by tainted blood, could have been avoided, according to the final report by Justice Horace Krever on his investigation into the country's largest medical scandal of the century.
Making the Case for the Live Attenuated Approach: An Interview With Ronald Desrosiers: IAVI Report (10/97-12/97) Vol. 2, No. 3, P. 6; In an interview with the IAVI Report, Harvard's Ronald Desrosiers endorses the use of a live attenuated HIV vaccine in a human trial because, he believes, such a vaccine may be effective, relatively safe, and inexpensive to produce.
Zambia to Host Next African AIDS Conference: PANA Wire Service (12/12/97); At the close of the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa, Zambia was designated as the location for the next meeting, to be held in 1999.
Charges Announced for Bogus HIV Test: United Press International (12/12/97); A California businessman and two companies he owns have been charged with marketing medically useless HIV and hepatitis home test kits.
Nelfinavir Boosts Bioavailability of Saquinavir in HIV- Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/12/97); A group of U.K. and Irish researchers, led by David Black of the University of Liverpool, recently found that the use of two protease inhibitors with two nucleoside analogues helps boost protease inhibitor bioavailability to the therapeutic range among some patients.
Nosocomial Transmission of MDR Mycobacterium Bovis Reported in HIV-1-Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/12/97); In the Dec. 13 edition of the Lancet, a report from Spanish researchers discusses the appearance of a strain of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium bovis in advanced stages of HIV infection.
AIDS Gives African Mothers Cruel Choices: Reuters (12/14/97); Bunce, Matthew; Last week's AIDS conference in Ivory Coast painted vivid images of the difficult choices African women must make, ranging from genital mutilation with unsanitary instruments, to forced pregnancies and husbands' silence about HIV infection.
UN Alarmed by High HIV Rates in Europe's Prisons: Reuters (12/12/97); On Friday, The United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS said that HIV infection rates are extremely high in many European prisons, with as many as one in five inmates infected in Spanish and Irish jails.
Crack Pipe Dreams: Washington Times (12/15/97) P. A19; Ehrenfeld, Rachel; In an editorial for the Washington Times, author Rachel Ehrenfeld lauds President Clinton's decision not to support needle-exchange programs.
Looming Hepatitis C Epidemic Sparks New Research: Scientist (12/08/97) Vol. 11, No. 24, P. 1; Bunk, Steve; Nearly 4 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus, according to federal health officials, but the American Liver Foundation says that annual federal government funding for HCV research is only about $11.9 million.
Guidance Offered in Drug Combination Choices: AIDS Alert (12/97) Vol. 12, No. 12, P. 135; The development of new antiretroviral drugs provides increasing options for combination therapy against AIDS, but experts say physicians and patients would be better served by assessing new comparative trials and considering the risks of resistance and noncompliance.
Science & Health Bulletin: Antiretrovirals Support: PANA Wire Service (12/11/97); Masebu, Peter; At the 10th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa, a proposal was made by French President Jacques Chirac--and supported by French scientist Gentilin Marc--to create a global fund to provide antiretrovirals to African countries.
AIDS--Rehabilitation: PANA Wire Service (12/11/97); Masebu, Peter; For years, Dr. Elizabeth Ngugi of the Kenya Voluntary Women Rehabilitation has worked with young female prostitutes to discourage both the spread of HIV and the prevalence of prostitution among Nairobi's youth.
OSHA Extends Period for Comments on Tuberculosis: U.S. Newswire (12/11/97); To offer community groups and organizations additional time to prepare testimony regarding a proposed standard to protect workers exposed to tuberculosis, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the deadline for comments to Feb. 17, 1998.
India Needs to Talk About Sex to Tackle AIDS: Reuters (12/11/97); Kataria, Sunil; In conjunction with the release of a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Indian Health Minister Renuka Chowdhary urged the government to involve industry and the private sector in the fight against AIDS, and Indians to shed their inhibitions against open discussions of sex.
Defining Events: World War II, Vietnam, AIDS: Wall Street Journal--American Opinion (12/12/97) P. R6; Hunt, Albert R.; Unlike older Americans who link their generations to such events as World War II and the Vietnam War, Generation Xers list AIDS as the most defining event of their generation, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey.
Digest: MedImmune: Washington Post (12/12/97) P. G1; Gaithersburg, Md.-based MedImmune has signed a deal with SmithKline Beecham to develop and market vaccines for the prevention of genital warts and cervical cancer.
Primate Researcher Dies From Rare Infection: Washington Post (12/12/97) P. A44; An animal research worker from Emory University's Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center died Wednesday from Herpes B virus, six weeks after contaminated fluid from an infected laboratory monkey got in her eye. Officials say this is believed to be the first reported instance of HBV transmission through the eye.
No Discrimination Found Against HIV Patient: American Medical News (12/08/97) Vol. 40, No. 46, P. 20; A federal trial court in Michigan has dismissed an Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act claim brought against Henry Ford Health Systems Hospital for allegedly discriminating against an HIV-infected emergency patient.
'Traditional' Medicines for HIV Infection Merit Investigation: Reuters Health Information Services (12/10/97); During a recent lecture at Hong Kong's Chinese University, Dr. David Ho of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York said that more research into the effect of traditional Chinese medicines on HIV is needed, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
Plasma MCP-1 Levels Correlate With HIV RNA Load: Reuters Health Information Services (12/10/97); Researchers report in the December issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases that plasma HIV RNA levels in HIV-infected patients strongly correlate with plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1), indicating that MCP-1 may be a triggering agent for viral replication in HIV.
Hormone May Fight Kaposi's Sarcoma: United Press International (12/10/97); Wasowicz, Lidia; In the journal Nature, British scientists have reported early data that could lead to a treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma.
AIDS Treatment Study Reports Positive Results: Wall Street Journal (12/11/97) P. B4; Ligand Pharmaceuticals has announced that clinical test results of its treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma are positive.
AIDS Vaccine Hunters Seek Cash Injection: Reuters (12/10/97); Bunce, Matthew; On the sidelines of the 10th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS in Africa, UNAIDS director Peter Piot explained that the search for a viable HIV/AIDS vaccine has been inhibited by concerns of lawsuits if the vaccines do not work and by fears of poor investment returns from developing nations.
CEL-SCI Says AIDS Drug Effective in Animals: Reuters (12/10/97); CEL-SCI has reported that studies of its HGP-30 AIDS vaccine protected animals against HIV infection and induced humans to produce antibodies that recognize the most common subtypes of the virus.
Expression and Function of CCR5 and CXCR4 on Human Langerhans Cells and Macrophages: Implications for HIV Primary Infection: Nature Medicine (12/97) Vol. 3, No. 12, P. 1369; Zaitseva, Marina; Blauvelt, Andrew; Lee, Shirley; et al.; Marina Zaitseva and colleagues from the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and elsewhere generated polyclonal immune serum specific for the extracellular amino termini of CXCR4 and CCR5 in rabbits to determine whether restricted transmission of HIV-1 correlates with the expression and function of HIV-1 co- receptors on Langerhans cells (LCs) and macrophages.
Lack of Response of Thrombocytopenia Associated With Human Immunodeficiency Virus to Triple Antiretroviral Therapy (Research Letter): Archives of Internal Medicine (12/08/97-12/22/97) Vol. 157, No. 22, P. 2669; Domingo, Pere; Coma, Eva; Muniz-Diaz, Eduardo; et Domingo, Pere; In the Archives of Internal Medicine, Spanish researchers report on an HIV-infected patient with symptomatic thrombocytopenia that did not respond positively to triple antiretroviral therapy.
Two Revised Documents Address the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric and Perinatal HIV Infection are Now Available: AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) (12/10/97); The "Revised Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection" and the "Revised Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs During Pregnancy for Maternal Health and Reduction of Perinatal Transmission of HIV-1."
Africa: AIDS Experts Caution Over New AIDS Drugs: PANA Wire Service (12/09/97); Africans should not immediately begin using antiretroviral drugs to fight HIV without ensuring that the drugs will remain available, says Yaw Adu-Sarkodie, a Ghanaian AIDS expert.
AIDS Drugs-for-the-Poor Plan to Start Early 1998: Reuters (12/10/97); Bunce, Matthew; The UNAIDS Drug Access Initiative, a controversial pilot project starting next year, seeks to encourage pharmaceutical companies to reduce their prices for expensive anti-retroviral drugs against HIV.
Four Infected by Alleged HIV Spreader: United Press International (12/09/97); Four new cases of HIV have been linked to a New York man who allegedly slept with numerous young women while knowing that he was infected, health experts say.
Gore Statement on Expanding HIV/AIDS Drug Therapies: U.S. Newswire (12/09/97); Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday that he was "extremely disappointed" that the Health Care Financing Administration and the Office of National AIDS Policy could not find a way to provide earlier Medicaid coverage for HIV-infected people.
Across the USA: Colorado: USA Today (12/10/97) P. 22A; The city council of Denver, CO, has endorsed the creation of a needle-exchange program to stem the spread of HIV.
African Taboos Mean AIDS Among Young Stays Hidden: Reuters (12/09/97); Bunce, Matthew; According to a report by the Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) network, cultural and traditional taboos that keep young people from freely discussing their sexuality are hindering efforts to curb the spread of HIV among that population group.
AIDS Vaccine Unlikely Before 2004 at Earliest: Reuters (12/09/97); Balouki, Eya; Based on the progress of current trials, a vaccine against AIDS is not likely to be available before 2004 or 2005, Dr. Margaret Johnson of the International AIDS Initiative recently told a news conference.
Overshadowed by AIDS, Herpes Spreads Alarmingly: Wall Street Journal (12/10/97) P. B1; Petersen, Andrea; With the intense focus on AIDS and several other public health issues in the United States, genital herpes has been largely ignored and is spreading rampantly through the nation's 12-to- 19-year-old population, according to an article published in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.
Association of Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV-6) With Multiple Sclerosis: Increased IgM Response to HHV-6 Early Antigen and Detection of Serum HHV-6 DNA: Nature Medicine (12/97) Vol. 3, No. 12, P. 1394; Soldan, Samantha S.; Berti, Rossana; Salem, Nazi; et al.; Researchers from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and elsewhere investigated the relationship of human herpesvirus 6 and multiple sclerosis.
Passive Immunization With a Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects hu-PBL-SCID Mice Against Challenge by Primary Isolates of HIV- 1: Nature Medicine (12/97) Vol. 3, No. 12, P. 1389; Gauduin, Marie-Claire; Parren, Paul W.H.I.; Weir, Raymond; et al.; To better understand the ability of passive antibody to protect against primary HIV-1 challenge, Marie-Claire Gauduin of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and colleagues populated severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hu-PBMCs) and infected them with HIV-1.
HIV Cases Have Dropped by 34 Percent in Some Areas of [Zimbabwe]: Africa News Service (12/08/97); Hamba, Joyce; Thanks to the Impact of Peer Education on HIV Transmission in the Workplace project--a joint effort by the Zimbabwe AIDS Prevention Project (Zapp), Stanford University, the National Blood Transfusion Service, and the University of Zimbabwe--the number of HIV cases in some industrial areas of Harare, Zimbabwe, has dropped by 34 percent.
Across the USA: Florida: USA Today (12/09/97) P. 8A; Florida health officials report that some 44 percent of the 64,207 AIDS cases recorded between 1981 and October 1997 were among African Americans.
Perinatal AIDS Program Reports Success With Combination Therapy: Reuters Health Information Services (12/08/97); The Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center, an affiliate of the University of California at San Francisco, has had great success in preventing the perinatal transmission of HIV to infants.
Lawsuit Fears, Cash Crunch Hit AIDS Vaccine Hunt: Reuters (12/08/97); Bunce, Matthew; UNAIDS director Peter Piot says the search for an AIDS vaccine is being hampered by a fear of litigation and a perception in the pharmaceutical industry that such a product might not be profitable.
AIDS Must Not Soak Up All African Health Funds: Reuters (12/08/97); Bunce, Matthew; During the 10th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS in Africa, European Union and World Bank AIDS experts warned that accessibility of retrovirals and other AIDS treatments should not take precedence, or divert funds from, other illnesses.
HIV Tests Should Stay Anonymous: Baltimore Sun (12/09/97) P. 27A; Dahir, Mubarak S.; In a Baltimore Sun commentary, Mubarak S. Dahir writes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to make a "recommendation" for the reporting of all HIV cases to states.
New AIDS Statistics Released at Ivory Coast Conference: Reuters Health Information Services (12/08/97); At the 10th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ivory Coast's Project RETRO-CI presented new statistics on the AIDS epidemic.
'Last Chance' to Control Tuberculosis in India: Lancet (12/06/97) Vol. 350, No.9091, P. 1689; Kumar, Sanjay; Since its inception in 1993, India's Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP)--which is based on the World Health Organization's Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course strategy--has significantly helped in the treatment of TB.
Human Herpesvirus 8 Variants in Sarcoid Tissues: Lancet (12/06/97) Vol. 350, No. 9091, P. 1655; Alberti, Luca Di; Piattelli, Adriano; Artese, Luciano; et al.; To gain a greater understanding about the cause of sarcoidosis, Luca Di Alberti of the Central Public Health Laboratory in London and colleagues compared biopsy samples from 17 individuals with varying types of sarcoidosis-- transbronchial, lymph node, skin, and oral--to tissue samples from 96 patients without sarcoidosis.
Proposed Live HIV Vaccine Trials Face Safety, Production Hurdles: IAVI Report (10/97-12/97) Vol. 2, No. 3, P. 1; Gold, David; Sparking a wave of activity on research into, and debate regarding, live-attenuated HIV vaccines, the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC) announced in September that more than 50 people had volunteered for a study of a live-attenuated HIV vaccine.
Africa Tops League of AIDS Babies, Experts Say: Reuters (12/07/97); Bunce, Matthew; The Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network has reported that Africa has the highest number of HIV-infected babies worldwide.
France's Chirac Calls for AIDS Therapy Fund: Reuters (12/07/97); Bunce, Matthew; French President Jacques Chirac addressed Africa's top AIDS conference on Sunday and called on the world's richest nations to create an AIDS therapy support fund to help Africa.
AIDS Joins Malaria to Keep Africa Poor: Reuters (12/07/97); Bunce, Matthew; Just prior to the 10th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Disease and AIDS in Africa, World Health Organization director Hiroshi Nakajima noted that AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis continue to be the leading development-related diseases plaguing parts of Africa.
Toward a Vaccine for Chlamydia: New York Times (12/08/97) P. D6; Riordan, Teresa; Researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins University, and Cornell University were recently awarded a patent for a molecule, GLXA, that is common to all strains of chlamydia.
Doctor Claims Lack of Training at Yale Led to Infection: New York Times (12/07/97) P. 41; In a civil trial that began December 2, a 35-year-old doctor who became infected with HIV while on the job is seeking damages from Yale University for faulty training and supervision in the application of an arterial catheter
AIDS Afflicts at Least 20 Million in Africa: Washington Post (12/08/97) P. A22; At the opening session of the 10th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa on Sunday, UNAIDS head Peter Piot said that more than 20 million residents of sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, and most of them are not aware of their infection.
AIDS Panel to Clinton: Leadership Is Lacking: USA Today (12/08/97) P. 2A; Hall, Mimi; In its second progress report, the Presidential Council on HIV/AIDS criticizes the Clinton administration for failing to demonstrate a "coherent plan of action" against AIDS, despite the abundance of evidence indicating the effectiveness of preventative efforts.
Pregnancy in Women With Known HIV Infection: Archives of Internal Medicine (12/08/97-12/22/97) Vol. 157, No. 22, P. 2543; Scarpinato, Len; In an Archives of Internal Medicine editorial, Len Scarpinato of the Racine Family Practice Residency in Wisconsin discusses what is and is not known about pregnancy in HIV-positive women.
Incidence and Consequences of Pregnancy in Women With Known Duration of HIV Infection: Archives of Internal Medicine (12/08/97-12/22/97) Vol. 157, No. 22, P. 2585; Alliegro, Maria Barbara; Dorrucci, Maria; Phillips, Andrew N.; et al.; To determine the incidence and outcome of pregnancy in HIV- infected women, as well as the rate of disease progression in pregnant women, Maria Alliegro and colleagues for the Italian Seroconversion Study Group conducted a prospective study of 331 women who seroconverted between 1981 and 1994.
Zambia AIDS Treatment Bill to Reach $20 Million: Africa News Service (12/04/97); Zambia's Central Health Board has predicted that the cost of treating AIDS patients by 2005 will be $21 million, up from $1.7 million in 1990.
AIDS Eats Away at Africa's Economies: Reuters (12/04/97); Bunce, Matthew; With a growing rate of HIV transmission among Africa's prostitutes and migrant workers, experts meeting next week in the Ivory Coast for the 10th International Conference on Sexually Transmitted Disease and AIDS in Africa are expected to discuss how far the virus has spread as well as its impact on the African economy.
Dip Expected in New S.F. AIDS Cases: United Press International (12/04/97); New data from the San Francisco Department of Public Health estimates that the number of new AIDS cases in the city will fall to about 1,200 next year, reflecting lower numbers of HIV infections among gay and bisexual men and injection drug users.
UCSF Announces Initiative at New AIDS Institute: Reuters Health Information Services (12/05/97); On Monday, the University of California in San Francisco announced the inauguration of the AIDS Research Institute (ARI), the largest AIDS initiative outside of the National Institutes of Health.
Drug Resistance AIDS Threat in Africa: Reuters (12/04/97); Bunce, Matthew; On Thursday, a leading AIDS expert warned that drug-resistant strains of HIV could emerge in Africa if new drugs to treat the disease are made more widely available, but are not taken according to strict prescription guidelines.
Americans Have Realistic View of AIDS: USA Today (12/05/97) P. 1D; Painter, Kim; According to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the U.S. public remains concerned about AIDS and its severity, despite recent news regarding declines in AIDS-related deaths and advances in treatments.
Administration Drops Effort to Extend Medicaid Coverage for AIDS Therapies: Washington Post (12/05/97) P. A23; Goldstein, Amy; The Clinton administration has given up on an effort to expand Medicaid coverage to include the expensive new AIDS drugs designed to keep AIDS patients healthy.
'Better Adherence Vital in AIDS Therapies': Nature (11/97) Vol. 390, No. 6658, P. 326; Macilwain, Colin; During a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., the Forum for Collaborative AIDS Research--a public/private-sector group-- announced plans to prepare a research plan for the National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies that outlines ways in which researchers can persuade HIV/AIDS patients to follow the complex combination drug therapy regimens.
Bangkok Study Adds Fuel to AIDS Ethics Debate: Science (11/28/97) Vol. 278, No. 5343, P. 1553; Amid the debate regarding the ethics of using placebos in AIDS -treatment studies, AIDS researchers are talking about a recent memo from Kenrad Nelson of Johns Hopkins University in which he described unpublished data discussed at a scientific meeting in Manila last month.
Catholic Cleanup: POZ (12/97) P. 32; The Australian Diocesan AIDS Council suggests providing clean needles to drug-using prison inmates in an effort to prevent HIV and hepatitis C transmission.
Uganda's Same-Day Testing Works Well for Everyone: AIDS Alert--International (12/97) Vol. 12, No. 12, P. 3; Since the beginning of the year, the AIDS Information Center and the U.S. Agency for International Development have been operating three AIDS testing sites in Uganda that provide same -day results, According to Carl H. Campbell Jr., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, the program helps to ensure that virtually everyone who is tested learns the results and receives the necessary counseling and education, without the stress of waiting one to two weeks.
Prednisone Boosts Weight, Reduces Viral Load in HIV-Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (12/03/97); Preliminary research reported in the November 20 issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses suggests that oral prednisone treatment helps AIDS patients with wasting syndrome to gain weight.
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin for AIDS-Related KS Successful in Phase I Trial: Reuters Health Information Services (12/03/97); New research published in the December 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that a preparation of human chorionic gonadotropin administered subcutaneously to AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma is safe and exhibits anti- KS activity.
Science & Health Bulletin: AIDS Conference: PANA Wire Service (12/03/97); Masebu, Peter; Leading African AIDS experts will convene in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, next week for the 10th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa.
Ivory Coast Plans Extension of AIDS Prevention: Reuters (12/03/97); Bunce, Matthew; As part of an effort to lower the Ivory Coast's 10 to 12 percent rate of HIV infection, the country is extending an HIV prevention plan aimed at prostitutes and their partners, and especially at migrant workers.
Nigeria Not Doing Enough to Fight AIDS, Says U.N.: Reuters (12/03/97); Bunce, Matthew; According to UNAIDS officials, Nigeria is not doing enough to fight HIV/AIDS. As many as 500,000 more people in the country are expected to become infected with the virus this year, raising the total number of infections to 2.2 million.
Study Shows Yawning Gaps in U.S. Health Care: USA Today (12/04/97) P. 11A; Sternberg, Steve; Although health care in the United States has long been considered the best in the world, a new Harvard study reveals that some areas of the nation rival the conditions in developing countries such as India and Pakistan.
Treatment of Early Syphilis: New England Journal of Medicine (12/04/97) Vol. 337, No. 23, P. 1698; Rolfs, Robert T.; Radolf, Justin D.; Augenbraun, Michael H.; et al.; In a response to a letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine regarding a study on the early treatment of syphilis, Dr. Robert T. Rolfs and colleagues--who conducted the syphilis study--agree with the authors' assertion that the effect of enhanced amoxicillin treatments on late neurologic sequelae cannot be adequately evaluated based on a single year of follow-up.
The Rise and Fall of Project SIDA: Science (11/28/97) Vol. 278, No. 5343, P. 1565; Cohen, Jon; SIDA--a Zairian-American-Belgian AIDS research program that began in 1984--not only provided researchers with a wealth of information regarding the epidemiology of HIV, but also illustrated the enormous difficulty of conducting research in poor, politically unstable countries.
'Lazarus Syndrome' Perpetuates a New Crisis: Washington Blade (11/28/97), P. 31. King, Mark; Columnist Mark King explores the issues confronting persons with HIV/AIDS who have regained their health due to new treatment regimens, only to face the threat of losing government or private disability benefits.
UPI Science News: [Research Suggests that Anti-AIDS Drug Cocktails Can Halt Dementia]: United Press International (12/02/97); Research presented on Tuesday at the Radiological Society of North America suggests that anti-AIDS drug cocktails can halt, or possibly reverse, dementia caused by the disease.
Health--Latin America: Region's Efforts to Deal With AIDS: IPS Wire (12/02/97); Experts from several Latin American countries warned on Monday that the high cost of AIDS treatment and inadequate prevention policies are hindering efforts to fight the disease in the region.
Malawi's Tuberculosis Figures Alarming: Africa News Service (12/02/97); Recent studies indicate that an estimated 20,000 Malawians contract tuberculosis each year, of whom 9,000 die.
Ivory Coast Defends AIDS Drugs Trials: Reuters (12/02/97); Bunce, Matthew; Controversial AIDS drug trials being conducted by U.S. and Ivory Coast-based researchers are being defended by the Ivory Coast, which says the studies are part of an effort to find solutions to the AIDS problem in Africa.
China HIV Cases Seen Jumping to 1.2 Million by 2000: Reuters (12/02/97); On Tuesday, a Chinese health official said that the number of HIV infections in China could soar to 1.2 million by 2000.
Pataki: HIV Testing Provides Safety Net: United Press International (12/01/97); New York Governor George Pataki reported that during the first nine months of the state's program to test all infants for HIV, 82 newborns were identified whose mothers had not previously been tested for HIV.
AIDS Strategy Retargets Spending: Toronto Globe and Mail (12/02/97) P. A4; Campbell, Murray; Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock announced on Monday (World AIDS Day) that the government will spend $42.2 million Canadian annually for the next five years on HIV and AIDS.
Tuberculosis Experts Back Social Reform: Lancet (11/29/97) Vol. 350, No. 9091, P. 1605; Abdulla, Sara; During the recent Novartis Foundation meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, field clinicians called upon their research colleagues to look beyond pure science and examine the larger social picture surrounding tuberculosis.
Illegal Drug Use and HIV-1 Infection in Colombia: Lancet (11/29/97) Vol. 350, No. 9091, P. 1635; Miguez, Maria Jose; Page, Bryan; Baum, Marianna K.; The recent shift to water-soluble drugs among Colombia's drug cartels has led to a greater incidence of HIV transmission via intravenous drug use, according to researchers from the University of Miami.
Preventing Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Injection Drug Users: Journal of the American Medical Association (12/03/97) Vol. 278, No. 21, P. 1743; Kaplan, Jonathan E.; Jaffe, Harold W.; Masur, Henry; et al.; Jonathan E. Kaplan and Harold W. Jaffe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues have written a response to a letter to the editor in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Health Notes: Huge New AIDS Center Inaugurated: United Press International (12/02/97); Wasowicz, Lidia; San Francisco is home to a new AIDS center second in size only to the National Institutes of Health's AIDS facility.
UPI Science News: [New Research May Lead to Treatments for Multiple Myeloma]: United Press International (12/01/97); Wasowicz, Lidia; New research published in the journal Blood suggests that there is a link between the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma and multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.
Russia--Health: Drugs Spark HIV Explosion in Russia: IPS Wire (12/01/97); Russian authorities have pinpointed growing drug addiction as a leading factor in the spread of HIV within the country.
Health: HIV/AIDS Timebomb Ticking in India: IPS Wire (12/01/97); India is expected to become the country with the highest incidence of HIV infection--up to 8 million cases--by the turn of the century, as the disease moves into rural areas, and from high-risk groups to the general populace.
Pataki Signs Bill That Allows Hemophiliacs to Sue Companies: New York Times (12/02/97) P. A28; Dao, James; New York Governor George E. Pataki signed legislation on Monday that would permit people to sue the manufacturers of blood-clotting products.
AIDS Will Orphan 40 Million: Washington Times (12/02/97) P. A11; Marshall, Toni; During a news conference for World AIDS Day Monday, Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, estimated that more than 40 million people will die of AIDS by 2010.
Clinton Orders Teen Services to Battle AIDS: Washington Times (12/02/97) P. A1; Bedard, Paul; President Clinton has given federal agencies 90 days in which to identify youth programs that could be used in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Too Many Mothers Getting AIDS Virus, CDC Says: Reuters (12/01/97); Cooper, Mike; During a World AIDS Day forum on Monday, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that use of drug treatments has lowered the rates of perinatal transmission of the virus.
World Bank Oil-Pipeline Project Designed to Prevent HIV Transmission: Lancet (11/29/97) Vol. 350, No. 9091, P. 1608; Kigotho, Anderson Wachira; The World Bank has financed a $3.5 billion Chad-Cameroon oil- pipeline project set to begin construction in March 1998; it is the first large-scale construction project in sub-Saharan Africa to integrate an HIV/AIDS prevention program into its design.
What Is Required of an HIV Vaccine?: Lancet (11/29/97) Vol. 350, No. 9091, P. 1617; Bangham, Charles R.M.; Phillips, Rodney E.; AIDS vaccine research reveals that there are currently a number of obstacles to the development of an effective HIV vaccine, including the extreme sequence variability and rapid replication of the virus.
National AIDS Health Fraud Reporting Hotline Launched: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (12/01/97); The Florida AIDS Health Fraud Task Force and its partner, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announce the initiation of a National AIDS Health Fraud Reporting Hotline.
Notice to Readers: Conference on Vaccine Research: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (10/31/97) Vol. 46, No. 43, P. 1028.; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the International Society for Vaccines will co-sponsor "The First Annual Conference on Vaccine Research: Basic Science - Product Development - Clinical and Field Studies" from May 30-June 1, 1998, in Washington, DC.
Dual PI Therapy Emerges as Most Viable Combination: AIDS Alert (12/97) Vol. 12, No. 12, P. 133; The use of dual protease inhibitor (PI) therapy was highlighted recently at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Toronto.
AIDS Drug Makers Still Looking for Magic Bullet: Reuters (11/28/97); Orr, Andrea; AIDS researcher David Ho said recently that failure rates for the new AIDS cocktails will most likely go up over time and that better drugs are needed. Ho, head of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, noted that the drug resistance problem will increase.
Many Do Not Change Behavior to Avoid AIDS: Reuters (11/28/97); Condom manufacturer Durex's recently released international survey of AIDS awareness found that while most people are cognizant of the dangers of HIV and AIDS, about half have failed to change their sexual behavior.
Doctors 'Cautiously Optimistic' About AIDS Vaccine: Reuters (11/28/97); Reaney, Patricia; Scientists from Britain's Medical Research Council said Friday that an experimental anti-AIDS vaccine known as Rgp 120 appears to be 10 times more effective than other experimental treatments.
Canadian Study Says Tainted-Blood Victims Deserve Payment: New York Times (11/27/97); DePalma, Anthony; At the conclusion of a federal inquiry, Canadian Justice Horace Krever has issued a report advocating that the Canadian government take responsibility for the tainted blood and blood products given out during the previous decade.
Supreme Court to Judge if HIV Is a Disability: Wall Street Journal (11/28/97) P. A2; Weigl, Andrea; The U.S. Supreme Court has said it will rule on whether an HIV -infected person is considered disabled under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
Tuberculosis Time Bomb in Poor Prisons: Reuters (11/28/97); According to the Red Cross, tuberculosis is spreading throughout prisons in the world's poorest nations, a situation that could eventually threaten the outside community.
After Crisis, County Is Sadder and Wiser: New York Times (12/01/97) P. A22; Sengupta, Somini; One month after discovering that a 21-year-old man had infected several women with HIV, the county of Chautauqua in New York has changed significantly.
Southern Africa Hit by AIDS Explosion: Reuters (12/01/97); Thomasson, Emma; As the result of a great deal of political and social upheaval, officials in southern Africa are expressing concern that they have not done enough to halt the advance of HIV and AIDS in their countries over the past 10 years.
Mixed Global Progress Against AIDS: Christian Science Monitor (12/01/97) P. 4; Baldauf, Scott; As the world observes the 10th Annual World AIDS Day today, a new report from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS indicates that incidence of the disease is falling rapidly in countries where AIDS awareness is high, but that AIDS still has a massive grip on the developing world.

November

Capitol Hill Update: Pelosi Wants Treatments to Match HHS Guidelines: Washington Blade (11/21/97), p. 17.; Just prior to the winter Congressional recess, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would place federally funded HIV treatment programs in line with the new guidelines for HIV treatment ,released earlier this year by the Department of Health and Human Services.
New Data Indicates Zidovudine Does Not Reduce Incidence of KS: Reuters Health Information Services (11/26/97); Researchers report in the November issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases that use of zidovudine does not appear to lower incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma.
Record AIDS, HIV Cases Reported Over Two Months [in Japan]: Kyodo News Service (11/25/97); Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday that a total of 136 new cases of HIV or AIDS were reported in September and October.
WHO Congratulates Bangladesh on TB Control: Reuters (11/25/97); Anwar, Shakeel; The World Health Organization is calling Bangladesh's tuberculosis control program one of the most effective in the world.
Japanese Boy Freed of HIV-Like Virus: United Press International (11/26/97); Kenny, Peter; Doctors from Japan's Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health report that a boy who had been diagnosed with human T-cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV1) no longer shows any indications of the virus following a bone marrow transplant in September 1992.
Estimate of HIV Infection Rises to 30.6 Million Globally: Washington Post (11/26/97) P. A6; Brown, David; The United Nations AIDS program and the World Health Organization announced Tuesday that an estimated 30.6 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, up 30 percent from last year's estimate of 22.6 million.
US Congress Extracts Price for Health-Spending Boost: Lancet (11/22/97) Vol. 350, No. 9090, P. 1529;; Rovner, Julie; The 1998 fiscal budget for the Department of Health and Human Services, which was signed into law on Nov. 13, includes a 15 percent increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health, to $13.6 billion, as well as a 15 percent increase, to $1.1 billion, for the Ryan White AIDS program.
Ethics of HIV Trials: Lancet (11/22/97) Vol. 350, No. 9090, P. 1546; Aaby, Peter; Babiker, Abdel; Darbyshire, Janet; et al.; In response to a Sept. 27 Lancet editorial that argued against the use of placebo groups in intervention trials to reduce perinatal HIV transmission in developing nations, researchers Peter Aaby and colleagues contend that such a stance is unfounded considering the financial and structural limitations in developing countries.
AIDS Training at Work Becoming Less Common: Crain's Chicago Business (11/10/97) Vol. 20, No. 45, P. SB20; Roberts, Sally; New data from the National AIDS Fund and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) indicate that, compared to five years ago, fewer companies are offering HIV/AIDS education and training to their workers.
PhRMA Marks World AIDS Day with Release of New [Survey on AIDS Drugs]: U.S. Newswire (11/24/97); A survey released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, set to coincide with World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), shows that 124 new medicines and vaccines for AIDS are currently in clinical trials or awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Lungs Frequently Involved in HIV-Positive Patients With Salmonella Bacteremia: Reuters Health Information Services (11/25/97); According to a report in this month's issue of Chest, doctors from the Hospital Ramon y Cajal in Madrid, Spain, reviewed the records of HIV-infected patients diagnosed with Salmonella bacteremia from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1995.
Churches: Morality Key to AIDS Prevention: Africa News Service (11/24/97); In reaction to the Zimbabwean government's National HIV/AIDS Policy Document, churches in the country recently organized a seminar.
Physicians Urged to Discuss With Patients Risks of HIV Transmission Through Oral Sex: Reuters Health Information Services (11/25/97); : In the November issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco reviewed current literature on the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex and the ability of barrier protection to reduce this risk.
UPI Science News: [TB Epidemic Hits Yanomami Indians]: United Press International (11/24/97); Bovsun, Mara; Scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York say the Yanomami, a tribe of warrior Indians of the Amazon, may be wiped out by a tuberculosis epidemic and a level of active TB that is substantially higher than that found among other Brazilians.
Africa--Population: Family Planners Urged to Boost [War Against AIDS]: IPS Wire (11/24/97); During the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) conference in Johannesburg, which ended Nov. 21, family planning associations were called upon to help accelerate the war against AIDS.
Herpes Virus Linked to MS: USA Today (11/25/97) P. 1D; New research published in the December issue of Nature Medicine suggests that HHV-6, a strain of herpes virus, may play a role in multiple sclerosis.
New Technique for Vaccines: Washington Post (11/25/97) P. A7; A study published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details a new technique for creating vaccines to fight cancer and viral infections, including AIDS.
Randomised, Controlled, Community-Level HIV-Prevention Intervention for Sexual-Risk Behaviour Among Homosexual Men in U.S. Cities: Lancet (11/22/97) Vol. 350, No. 9090, P. 1500; Kelly, Jeffrey A.; Murphy, Debra A.; Sikkema, Kathleen J.; et al.; Researchers for the Community HIV Prevention Research Collaborative investigated the efficacy of a randomized, community-level intervention designed to reduce the risk of HIV infection in men visiting gay bars in eight small U.S. cities.
Breaking the Silence: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 42; Dougherty, Shawn; Venezuela's Accion Solidaria and other non-governmental organizations are set to launch the country's first HIV prevention and education effort.
Science, Policy Issues Put AIDS Vaccine on Slow Track: Scientist (11/10/97) Vol. 11, No. 22, P. 1; Watanabe, Myrna A.; Health and AIDS groups are expressing concern that too much time and money has been dedicated to AIDS therapeutics at the expense of an AIDS vaccine.
11 HIV Cases Registered in Russian Republic: Itar Wire Service (11/22/97); The Russian republic of Yakutia has recorded 11 HIV infections so far this year, nine of whom are citizens of the Ukraine and Turkey.
Kenya: New AIDS Treatment Runs Into Trouble: IPS Wire (11/21/97); Kenyan medical authorities have barred Basil Wainwright, a U.S. national, from practicing medicine in the country and from using a treatment for HIV/AIDS known as ozone therapy.
Uganda: Muslim, Catholic Leaders Differ on Condom Use: Africa News Service (11/24/97); Following an announcement by the Ugandan Ministry of Health that it would drop its policy of quiet promotion of condom use in favor of a more proactive campaign, Muslim and Catholic church leaders offered opposing opinions about the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV.
Glaxo's Combination AIDS Therapy Nears Approval in Europe: Reuters Health Information Services (11/24/97); Glaxo Wellcome reports that the European Union's Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products has recommended clearance of Glaxo Wellcome's Combivir, a combination of Epivir (3TC) and Retrovir (AZT), for the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
AIDS Epidemic Hit Africa's Poor Hardest: Reuters (11/23/97); Denyer, Simon; Despite a recent report from the World Bank that downplays the effect that the AIDS epidemic will have on overall macroeconomic variables, experts argue that the epidemic is already severely impacting other measures of human economic welfare--life expectancy, education, and infant mortality--and will likely continue to do so.
Popular People Can Influence HIV Risk Behaviors in Communities: Reuters Health Information Services (11/24/97); Dr. Jeffrey A. Kelly of the Medical College of Wisconsin and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of an intervention program using popular, well-liked community members to endorse HIV risk-reduction behaviors in gay communities in four cities.
Oral Infection With HIV-1 Inefficient in Macaques: Reuters Health Information Services (11/24/97); According to a report in the November issue of AIDS, doctors from the University of Washington in Seattle compared the transmission of HIV-1 in Macaca nemestrina neonates via oral, intravenous, and rectal routes.
Update: Perinatally Acquired HIV/AIDS--United States, 1997: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (11/21/97)Vol. 46, No. 46, P. 1086; Data from National HIV/AIDS surveillance indicate continued success of recent perinatal prevention efforts in the United States.
Number of Children Contracting AIDS at Birth Is Down 43 Percent, CDC Says: Washington Post (11/21/97); The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the number of U.S. children contracting HIV from their mothers at birth fell 43 percent between 1992 and 1996, thanks to women's getting tested earlier and starting treatment with AZT.
The Other Epidemic: U.S. News & World Report (11/10/97) Vol. 123, No. 18, P. 78; Carpenter, Betsy; Today, many people fail to think of genital herpes as a real threat, an unfortunate attitude considering that more than 45 million people carry the incurable disease.
AIDS Comes to Small-Town America: U.S. News & World Report (11/10/97) Vol. 123, No. 18, P. 52; Brownlee, Shannon; McDonald, Marci; Ackerman, Elise; A recently discovered cluster of HIV-infected women in Jamestown, a small town in northwestern New York, seems an aberration to many.
Vancouver Debates 'Shooting Galleries': American Medical News (11/17/97) Vol. 40, No. 43, P. 20; Activists in Vancouver, British Columbia, have suggested "shooting galleries," or safe houses for drug addicts, to stem the spread of HIV in the Eastside, one of the nation's most impoverished neighborhoods.
Prisons Incubate Dangerous Diseases--Opposition: Australian Associated Press (11/21/97); Following the release of figures by Western Australia Minister of Justice Peter Foss, which indicate that 398 prisoners tested positive for HIV and hepatitis B and C in mid-October, the state opposition said Western Australia's prisons are incubators for such dangerous diseases and threaten control of disease in the larger community.
HIV Vaccine Under Discussion at National Conference: Australian Associated Press (11/21/97); Mangnall, Valkerie; International experts on AIDS will gather at the 36th national scientific conference of the Australian Society for Medical Research in Adelaide, Australia, next week to discuss efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
Studies Find Possible Gene Therapy AIDS Treatment: Reuters (11/21/97); Fox, Maggie; New research published in the journal Science suggests that gene therapy might be used to fight HIV.
Congress OKs Funds to Limit Global Disease Outbreaks: U.S. Newswire (11/20/97); The Office of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Thursday that Congress has approved, and the president will sign, the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 1998.
Special Type of Immune Cell May Be Key to Avoiding AIDS: New York Times (11/21/97) P. A18; New findings from researchers at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital suggest that high levels of HIV-specific helper T cells may be critical for the body's control of the virus.
HIV-1 Statistics Bring Good News for Uganda: Lancet (11/15/97) Vol. 350, No. 9089, P. 1456; Kigotho, Anderson Wachira; The World Health Organization has reported that an average 12 percent of patients seen at health clinics in Uganda are infected with HIV-1, down from 27 percent three years ago.
Health Notes: 4 Million Sick Livers: United Press International (11/19/97); The American Liver Foundation and the American Digestive Health Foundation say they are concerned about how little is known about hepatitis.
Stavudine/Lamivudine Combination Beneficial in Advanced HIV Disease: Reuters Health Information Services (11/20/97); New research published in the November issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases suggests that short-term treatment with stavudine and lamivudine is generally safe and well-tolerated in patients with advanced HIV infection who have been heavily pretreated.
HIV Inscriptase Inhibitor Trials Anticipated By End of Decade: Reuters Health Information Services (11/20/97); Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reports that clinical trials of inscriptase inhibitors may begin in just two years.
China HIV Cases Jump by More Than a Third: Reuters (11/19/97); China's Ministry of Health has reported that the number of known HIV infections in the country increased 37 percent during the first nine months of the year.
Globalization Poses Threat to Human Health: Reuters (11/19/97); Jasser, Adam; World Health Organization officials meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on Wednesday, called upon governments across the globe to place a greater emphasis on health spending and managing health systems, since globalization is expected to further polarize the wealthy and poor.
AIDS Shows Massive Impact: Toronto Globe and Mail (11/19/97) P. A6; Campbell, Murray; A report, slated to be released on Wednesday by the Canadian Policy Research Network, estimates that if nothing is done to stop the AIDS epidemic, it could cost the Canadian economy up to $22.2 billion Canadian over the next five years.
India Becoming AIDS Epicentre: Reuters (11/19/97); Krishnamoorthy, Giriprakash; India, which is fast becoming an AIDS epicenter, is committed to bringing the epidemic under control, said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy in a Reuters interview Wednesday.
U.S. Agency Says AIDS Will Orphan Millions: New York Times (11/20/97) P. A7; At a news conference Wednesday, the United States Agency for International Development said that 40 million children in developing nations will lose one or both parents to AIDS by 2010.
Postexposure Treatment of HIV--Taking Some Risks for Safety's Sake: New England Journal of Medicine (11/20/97) Vol. 337, No. 21, P. 1542; Henderson, David K.; In an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. David K. Henderson of the National Institutes of Health, Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, writes that the decision to support the use of postexposure chemoprophylaxis for health care workers accidentally exposed to HIV was warranted, despite the short- and long-term risks of such treatments.
A Case-Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health Care Workers After Percutaneous Exposure: New England Journal of Medicine (11/20/97) Vol. 337, No. 21, P. 1485; Cardo, Denise M.; Culver, David H.; Ciesielski, Carol A.; et al.; a retrospective case-control study for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Needlestick Surveillance Group, Dr. Denise M. Cardo and colleagues obtained exposure information from 33 case patients and 665 controls--all of whom were health care workers with occupational, percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood--to assess the factors that influence the risk of HIV transmission after such exposure.
Death Not Caused by Doctor Negligence: American Medical News (11/17/97) Vol. 40, No. 43, P. 26; A Missouri appellate court has upheld a summary judgment for a group of doctors involved in a wrongful death suit for their failure to diagnose a man with AIDS.
Reality Check for Health Biz: Crain's Chicago Business (11/03/97) Vol. 20, No. 44, P. 4; Littman, Margaret; Female Health Co.'s (FHC's) lack of success in selling its Reality female condom to American women between the ages of 18 and 24 has forced the company to switch tactics to gain involvement with global public health organizations.
AIDS Prevention Workshop Held in Bahrain: Alayam News Service (11/18/97); As part of a series expected to continue until Dec. 1--World AIDS Day--Bahrain's Ministry of Health sponsored a one-day workshop Monday to raise morticians' awareness about the transmission of HIV from dead bodies.
High Virological Rate of HIV Protease Inhibitors Reported: Reuters Health Information Services (11/19/97); New research published in the November 15 issue of AIDS suggests that there is a high virological failure rate associated with the use of HIV protease inhibitors.
Across the USA: Kentucky: USA Today (11/19/97) P. 25A; Officials at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex report that the number of inmates who have tested positive for tuberculosis has tripled this year, to 16. Five staff members have also tested positive.
HIV Prevalence in Drug Users Tied to Transmission Risk in Non- Users: Reuters Health Information Services (11/19/97); Between 1991 and 1995, Dr. G. Scott of Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary and colleagues evaluated the prevalence of HIV in more than 40,000 heterosexual clinic patients in Scotland who were not known to be intravenous drug users.
National Hotline Opens for Advice on Occupational HIV Exposure Prophylaxis: Reuters Health Information Services (11/19/97); San Francisco General Hospital is now offering a free, 24-hour hotline--The National Clinician's Post Exposure Prophylaxis Hotline (PEPLine)--to clinicians in need of advice on how to best treat healthcare workers accidentally exposed to blood- borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
Identification of a Reservoir for HIV-1 in Patients of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: Science (11/14/97) Vol. 278, No. 5341, P. 1,295; Finzi, Diana; Hermankova, Monika; Pierson, Theodore; et al.; To test the hypothesis that quiescent CD4 T lymphocytes carrying proviral DNA provide a reservoir for HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, and the University of California examined 22 patients who had been successfully treated with HAART for a maximum of 30 months.
Recovery of Replication-Competent HIV Despite Prolonged Suppression of Plasma Viremia: Science (11/14/97) Vol. 278, No. 5341, P. 1,291; Wong, Joseph K.; Hezareh, Marjan; Gunthard, Huldrych F.; et al.; Researchers from the University of California examined the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of six patients-- who were enrolled in the San Diego cohort of the Merck 035 study and who had received the triple drug treatment of zidovudine, lamivudine, and indinavir--to assess the replication capacity of HIV-1 provirus persisting in their PBMCs, despite complete and sustained suppression of plasma viremia.
National HIV Reporting Approaches, But Privacy Remains Paramount: Scientist (11/10/97) Vol. 11, No. 22, P. 1; Bunk, Steve; Support is growing for a national system of HIV case reporting as AIDS demographics and treatments change.
Dental AIDS Patient Discrimination Shown: American Medical News (11/10/97) Vol. 40, No. 42, P. 24; A New Jersey federal court has awarded an HIV-positive man $82,000 after it was found that his dentist refused to provide treatment because of his seropositivity.
Itraconazole in Oral Solution Improves Bioavailability in HIV- Positive Patients: Reuters Health Information Services (11/18/97) In the November issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, French researchers write that a new oral formulation of itraconazole may be effective in treating oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients with HIV. In a study of patients with HIV and AIDS, the team found that the relative bioavailability of the oral solution of itraconazole was unaltered by the stage of HIV infection. They also noted that high concentrations of the drug in patients' saliva were sustained for four hours. "Immunet Opens First Online AIDS Bookstore" M2 Presswire (11/17/97); Immunet, a non-profit AIDS organization that offers up-to-date treatment information and education services via the World Wide Web, has joined with online bookseller Amazon.com and the University of Illinois' "AIDS Book Review Journal" to launch the Immunet AIDS Bookstore at http://www.immunet.org/.
Hotels Obligated to Hand Out Condoms: United Press International (11/17/97); To curb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the municipal government of La Paz, Bolivia, has approved a resolution that requires hourly-rate establishments--such as hotels and motels--to distribute free condoms to couples spending the night.
Teacher Infects 30 Pupils With Tuberculosis: Reuters (11/17/97); According to officials from a hospital near Brasov, Romania, a schoolteacher in the Transylvania region has infected more than 30 students with tuberculosis, adding to the more than 12,000 cases of TB already reported in the country.
Southern Africa Will Not Escape the AIDS Epidemic: Reuters Health Information Services (11/17/97); During a UNAIDS meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday, UNAIDS head Peter Piot said that earlier hopes that Southern Africa would be spared the worst of the AIDS epidemic now seem unfounded.
Successful AIDS Vaccine May Be Decades Away: Reuters (11/17/97); Nobel Laureate David Baltimore said Monday that the development of an effective AIDS vaccine could take decades, but will be necessary to control the disease.
Mortality From Liver Cancer and Liver Disease in Haemophilic Men and Boys in UK Given Blood Products Contaminated With Hepatitis C: Lancet (11/15/97) Vol. 350, No. 9089, P. 1425; Darby, Sarah C.; Ewart, David W.; Giangrande, Paul L.F.; et al.; Researchers for the UK Haemophilia Centre Directors' Organization conducted a cohort study of mortality from liver cancer and liver disease in 4,865 hemophilic males in the United Kingdom, who were treated between 1969 and 1985 with blood products carrying a high risk of hepatitis C virus infection.
Zambians Review Locally Invented [AIDS Drug]: PANA Wire Service (11/15/97); Mulenga, Mildred; Health experts gathered Saturday in Lusaka, Zambia, to discuss the use of herbiron tinasiferon--a locally developed drug--for the treatment of AIDS.
Duma Urges Measures to Stop AIDS Spread in Russia: Itar Wire Service (11/15/97); Russia's State Duma voted unanimously Friday to urge the government to take much-needed steps to curb the spread of HIV.
Prostitutes Hope to 'Legalize' Profession: Houston Chronicle (11/15/97) P. 35A; Banerjee, Rupam; On Friday, thousands of prostitutes gathered in Calcutta, India, to call for an end to the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act and demand workers' rights.
For the Poor Especially, AIDS Is Still Rampaging: New York Times (11/16/97) P. 14; Baxter, Daniel; In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Dr. Daniel Baxter, director of adult medicine and HIV service at the William F. Ryan Community Health Center, denounces a recent series of articles in the Times that question "AIDS exceptionalism."
Heroin Finds Home in Texas Suburbs: Boston Globe (11/15/97) P. A6; A growing number of youths in Texas suburbs are inhaling heroin, believing the practice to be safer than using a needle.
Opinion: The Irresponsibility That Spreads AIDS: New York Times (11/15/97) P. A31; Mayer, Alan J.; In a New York Times op-ed piece, Alan J. Mayer argues that society and the existing AIDS support structure perpetuate irresponsibility among those infected with the virus.
U.N. to Announce Significant Increases in HIV/AIDS: Reuters (11/17/97); Fox, David; During the opening of the UNAIDS governing board meeting in Nairobi today, United Nations officials said the agency will release data on Dec. 1--World AIDS Day--indicating that worldwide HIV infections have been underestimated.
In Vivo Evolution of HIV-1 Co-Receptor Usage and Sensitivity to Chemokine-Mediated Suppression: Nature Medicine (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 1259; Scarlatti, Gabriella; Tresoldi, Eleonora; Bjorndal, Asa; et al.; Nine children perinatally infected with HIV-1 were studied to determine what inhibitive effect the C-C chemokines RANTES, MIP-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta, and MCP-1 and the C-X-C chemokine SDF -1 have on HIV-1 infection.
Increased Sensitivity to HIV-1 Antibody Detection: Nature Medicine (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 1258; Urnovitz, Howard B.; Sturge, Jerrilyn C.; Gottfried, Toby D.; Researchers from Calypte Biomedical in California report that accurate diagnosis of HIV-1 infection improves when tests of both blood products and urine are made.
HIV Persists and Can Replicate Despite Prolonged Combination Therapy: National Institute of Health and Infectious Diseases (11/13/97); New research published in the Nov. 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that HIV remains and can replicate in the immune system cells of patients who have no detectable virus in their blood as a result of antiretroviral treatment.
Notice to Readers: Conference on Vaccine Research: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (10/31/97) Vol. 46, No. 43, P. 1028.; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the International Society for Vaccines will co-sponsor "The First Annual Conference on Vaccine Research: Basic Science - Product Development - Clinical and Field Studies" from May 30-June 1, 1998, in Washington, DC.
Rx: Antidote for HIV?: Advocate (11/11/97) No. 746, P. 45; Gallagher, John; In San Francisco, the recent establishment of the country's first post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) program for individuals who have engaged in high-risk behavior raises questions regarding the motivation of anti-AIDS efforts in the United States, writes John Gallagher in the Advocate.
CMV Mainly Sexually Acquired in Men With HIV: Reuters Health Information Services (11/14/97); Sexual transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection among HIV-positive women has been well-documented, but there is less known about sexual transmission of the disease in infected men.
Canadian University Unveils 'Invisible Condom': Reuters (11/13/97); The Infectious Diseases Research Center of Canada's Laval University has developed a prototype for an "invisible condom," which is actually a non-toxic polymer-based liquid that solidifies into a gel when applied to the body.
AIDS Tests Produce Optimism: Washington Post (11/14/97) P. A23; New York Health Commissioner Barbara DeBuono announced Wednesday that only one individual out of 1,166 Chautauqua County residents recently tested for HIV was found to be infected.
Zimbabwe: Health Officials Alarmed by Spread of [Tuberculosis]: Africa Information Afrique (11/13/97); Health officials in Zimbabwe estimate that tuberculosis has resulted in at least 34,000 deaths over the past 11 years, including 3,700 deaths in 1996 alone.
New Studies Offer Hope and Caution on AIDS Therapies: New York Times (11/14/97) P. A1; Grady, Denise; Three new studies reveal that the potent new AIDS therapies do not entirely eliminate HIV from the body; however, they also suggest that the virus is not developing resistance to the drugs.
Achieving an HIV Vaccine: The Need for an Accelerated National Campaign: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 35; Marlink, Richard; The development of an effective HIV vaccine has become a crucial national healthcare goal, writes Richard Marlink, executive director of the Harvard AIDS Institute, in the Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care.
Communication of Preferences for Care Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients: Barriers to Informed Decisions?: Journal of the American Medical Association (11/12/97) Vol. 278, No. 18, P. 1470c; In the Archives of Family Medicine, Charles Mouton of the University of Texas Health Science Center and colleagues report a study in which they examined whether terminally ill patients communicated their wishes to their doctors.
Revised HIV Treatment Guidelines Available on Web Site: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Office of Communications (11/13/97); Revised Guidelines for the use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV -Infected Adults And Adolescents are now available on the Web site of the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) and can be reached at http://www.hivatis.org (TEL: 1-800-448-0440, TTY: 1-800-243-7012).
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 30; Berkley, Seth; The development of a safe and inexpensive HIV vaccine is the only hope of taming the global AIDS epidemic, researchers say. More than 20 vaccines devised to cure viral infections in humans exist, but the development of an HIV vaccine has proved problematic on numerous fronts.
TB Exposure Found: Federal Times (11/03/97) Vol. 33, No. 39, P. 4; Daniel, Lisa; The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found 22 violations at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, CN, where employees were exposed to tuberculosis and potentially infectious waste.
Restructuring of Categories for AIDS Research Applications Expected: Reuters Health Information Services (11/12/97); According to the November 5 issue of The Blue Sheet, the Center for Scientific Review may condense the number of study sections used to review applications for AIDS and AIDS-related research from 11 to four "topic clusters."
Successful Needle Exchange Programs Include Other Services: Reuters Health Information Services (11/12/97); A recent study of two successful needle-exchange programs in Massachusetts and Washington by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) revealed that complementary services for intravenous drug users and community support are essential for the programs' success, according to an article in the November issue of AIDS Alert.
Mavericks in the War on Drugs: Boston Globe (11/12/97) P. A1; Grunwald, Michael; Earlier this year, the city of Baltimore, MD--home to about 45,000 addicts--launched a new war against drugs.
India: World Health Body's TB Targets Unrealistic: IPS Wire (11/12/97); India plans to introduce a new treatment regimen for tuberculosis in 1998 as proscribed by the World Health Association, but some health officials say the agency's goal of universal coverage by 2000 is unrealistic.
Thailand--AIDS: No More Scare Tactics: IPS Wire (11/12/97); Thailand--with an estimated HIV prevalence rate of 2.3 percent, or 800,000 people--has seen the number of new infections drop significantly over the past seven years, in large part due to aggressive government efforts to educate the public about the virus.
Will a Presidential Public Apology Be Needed for HIV/AIDS Care in the Future?: Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (11/97- 12/97) Vol. 8, No. 6, P. 27; Porche, Demetrius James; In an editorial in the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, assistant editor Demetrius James Porche urges nurses and other health care professionals to make an ethical assessment of the current state of AIDS care and treatment.
Transmission of HIV-1 and HCV by Head-Butting (Research Letter): Lancet (11/08/97) Vol. 350, No. 9088, P. 1370; Brambilla, Andrea; Pristera, Raffaele; Salvatori, Francesca; et al.; Following an automobile accident, two men who had never met before had a fight, in which one man--an intravenous drug user who was HIV-1 positive--head-butted the other.
Triple Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lancet (11/08/97) Vol. 350, No. 9088, P. 1406; Hogg, Robert S.; Anis, Aslam; O'Shaughnessy, Michael V.; et al.; Researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, report in a letter to the Lancet that they have modeled the potential economic cost of making triple-combination antiretroviral therapy widely available for HIV-1-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa.
Notice to Readers: Conference on Vaccine Research: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (10/31/97) Vol. 46, No. 43, P. 1028.; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the International Society for Vaccines will co-sponsor "The First Annual Conference on Vaccine Research: Basic Science - Product Development - Clinical and Field Studies" from May 30-June 1, 1998, in Washington, DC.
Mexico Approves Device for Early HIV Detection: Reuters (11/10/97); Mexico's Health Ministry has approved ShiloovTube--a biochemical test that accelerates the development of HIV antibodies--for the early detection of HIV, according to Israel's Shiloov Medical Technologies Ltd, the makers of the test.
School Offers Tests After Students Share Needle: Reuters (11/11/97); School officials in Collins, Ohio, are offering students tests for HIV and hepatitis following a classroom science experiment three weeks ago in which 18 fifth-graders used the same needle to prick their fingers.
Treatment Has Promise for Hepatitis C Patients: Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/11/97) P. A2; At a recent meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, University of Florida professor Dr. Gary L. Davis told attendees that an experimental drug treatment may hold promise for patients infected with the hepatitis C virus.
New Challenge to Idea That 'AIDS Is Special': New York Times (11/12/97) P. A1; Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; A number of government programs have been enacted to care for HIV-infected people because of their "special status," in the words of Gay Men's Health Crisis Executive Director Mark Robinson. However, this status is being challenged, not only by advocates of people with other life-threatening diseases, but by advocates of people with AIDS as well.
AIDS Vaccine Tests on Humans in Two Years: Washington Times (11/12/97) P. A7; The first human trials of an AIDS vaccine could begin in the next two years, according to Charles Farthing of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care.
'Innovation' in AIDS Vaccines: Nature Medicine (11/97) Vol. 3, No. 11, P. 1181; Culliton, Barbara J.; The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a total of $11.8 million in 49 grants "to explore creative approaches" to HIV vaccine research.
Heterosexual Transmission of HIV in Women: Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (11/97- 12/97) Vol. 8, No. 6, P. 84; Gaskins, Susan W.; Nineteen percent of all AIDS cases reported from July 1995 to June 1996 were in women, and HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women aged 25 to 44 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, sexual transmission is the most common means of spreading HIV, and women are at a greater risk for infection through heterosexual transmission than men.
The Role of Self-Esteem in Safer Sexual Practices: Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (11/97- 12/97) Vol. 8, No. 6, P. 64; Cole, Frank; Although theoretical literature associates high self-e