DP Tool Club 17/CD_ASCQ_17_101194.iso/vrac/ads894a.zip/AD940815.ZIP/AD940815.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-15 | 7KB | 125 lines

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       August 15, 1994

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement
by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction
of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC
Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information.
Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"HIV is Spread in Asia by the Sex Industry and its Captives"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/15/94) P. A1;  Collins, Huntly
     The multibillion-dollar sex trade industry in Asia is seen as a
key reason HIV is spreading so rapidly in that continent.  A
recent United Nations report found that "tens of thousands of
women and girls are unable to resist possible exposure to HIV."
Women from Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines have been forcibly
sent to Japan in increasing numbers since 1988.  Up to three
million Asians are already infected with HIV, a figure that could
hit 45 million by the end of the decade, some researchers
predict.

"Case for AIDS Vaccine Trials"
Financial Times (08/15/94) P. 13
     The editors of the Financial Times note that prospects for an
AIDS vaccine are seriously hampered by the refusal of the United
States to start trials of those vaccines that have been
developed.  With the epidemic continuing to accelerate in Africa
and Asia, greater risks must be taken in developing areas than
would be acceptable in America.  The editors call on the World
Health Organization to go forward with its planned coordination
of vaccine trials in Brazil, Thailand, and Uganda.

"Pathologist Says Gee-Whiz Bullets Are AIDS Threat"
Reuters (08/12/94)
     Varnard Adams, medical examiner in Tampa, Florida, warns that the
police department's use of high-tech dum dum bullets creates an
AIDS risk for doctors who perform autopsies.  The bullets expand
after entering the human body.  Adams protested the use of the
bullets after a bullet cut a doctor performing an autopsy.

"ACT-UP High on Hyatt"
Washington Times (08/11/94) P. 5
     ACT-UP is considering endorsing Ohio Democratic Senate candidate
Joel Hyatt despite the firing of an AIDS victim from his Hyatt
Legal Services firm.  That story was depicted in the movie
"Philadelphia."  Hyatt has apologized for the incident, which
occurred seven years ago.  ACT-UP officials say Hyatt may now be
more sensitive to the plight of AIDS victims.

"Aspirin May Inhibit HIV, Researchers Say"
Reuters (08/11/94)
     Yale researchers report that ordinary aspirin may keep
HIV-infected people from getting full-blown AIDS.  The
researchers found that aspirin and its chemical precursor, sodium
salicylate, block a protein which plays a critical role in
triggering the body's front-line immune response.  By inhibiting
this protein in two test-tube studies, the researchers also found
that aspirin substantially prevented the HIV virus that causes
AIDS from replicating itself.

"Indian Cop Rapes for AIDS Cure"
United Press International (08/14/94)
     An Indian police constable accused of raping and murdering a
young girl in New Delhi, India, asserts he committed the crime to
cure his case of AIDS.  The police officer claimed he thought
sexual intercourse with a virgin would cure him of AIDS.  An
independent estimate finds that more than a million cases of HIV
occur every year in India.  Various education campaigns have been
unsuccessful in the Asian nation.

"Elton John to Present Intimate Evening of Music"
Entertainment Wire (08/11/94)
     Elton John will perform in Beverly Hills, California, four nights
in September to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation Inc.  John
founded the Foundation in 1993 to raise funds for direct patient
care and AIDS prevention education.  The Foundation raised $1.65
million in its first year, a figure that was matched through the
Foundation's on-going affiliation with the National Community
AIDS Partnership, thus increasing the amount to $3 million in
disbursements.

"AIDS Researchers--What Can They Say?"
U.S. News & World Report (08/08/94) Vol. 117, No. 6, P. 18
     Researchers are dismayed that so few breakthroughs have occurred
in the decade between the first global AIDS research conference
in Atlanta in 1985 and the 10th conference being held Aug. 7-12
in Yokahama, Japan.  Nearly one million AIDS cases have been
reported to the World Health Organization, but the agency
suspects that the actual number is four million, in addition to
17 million HIV carriers.  The AIDS epicenter is moving from
Africa to Asia.  The good news is that the average rate of
survival for people with full-blown AIDS has nearly quadrupled
since 1983.  New studies, however, question the effectiveness of
a number of AIDS treatments.  Gene therapy, although promising,
remains untested.  With progress so slow, researchers have agreed
to meet less and work even harder.  After this year, the
conferences will be held every other year, the next one being
scheduled for 1996 in Vancouver.  "People are realizing that it's
unrealistic to think we'll have breakthroughs every year," says
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.

"An Anti-HIV Vitamin"
Science (07/15/94) Vol. 265, No. 5170, P. 314
     Studies have demonstrated that HIV-positive pregnant women
transmit the virus to their infants 10 to 40 percent of the time,
provoking questions as to why some babies become infected and
others do not.  A recent study in Malawi suggests that vitamin A
deficiency, which is known to compromise the immune system, may
influence whether pregnant women pass HIV on to their babies.
Richard Semba and colleagues at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene
and Public Health, in collaboration with John Chiphangwi from
Malawi Medical College, measured the vitamin A levels in 333
HIV-infected mothers-to-be.  The babies were tested for HIV after
birth.  Semba et al. found that women who did not transmit the
virus had vitamin A levels averaging 1.07 per liter, while women
who did not transmit HIV had levels of vitamin A averaging only
0.86 per liter--a level that is considered deficient.  It is
uncertain how vitamin A might affect maternal-infant HIV
transmission, but Semba is drafting plans for studies to test the
theory that treating HIV-positive pregnant women with vitamin A
might decrease transmission rates.