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1996-09-09
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AIDS Daily Summary
September 3, 1996
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 National AIDS
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
******************************************************
"For AIDS Doctors, a Needed Tonic"
"Kit Offers Home Blood Test for HIV"
"Teen Drug Use: Issue of Epidemic?"
"Across the USA: Utah"
"Millionaire Wages War on Pimps"
"More Women Have Tests for AIDS"
"Passing HIV to Babies Through Breastfeeding"
"HIV on the Rise Among Greek Women"
"The Seroepidemiology of Human Herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's
Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus): Distribution of Infection in KS
Risk Groups and Evidence for Sexual Transmission"
"A Resurgence for Condoms?"
******************************************************
"For AIDS Doctors, a Needed Tonic"
New York Times (09/03/96) P. D9; Dunlap, David W.
Doctors who specialize in treating people with AIDS say
promising new drugs have given them renewed hope for their
patients. Dr. Howard A. Grossman of New York says he now has
hopes of treating his patients into old age. However, although
many doctors are witnessing dramatic improvements in some
patients due to the use of protease inhibitors, the drugs do not
always work, thus leaving some patients disappointed. Doctors
must make sure their patients take the drugs according to a
strict regimen to prevent drug-resistant strains from developing.
"Kit Offers Home Blood Test for HIV"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (09/03/96) P. A1; Kelly, Deborah
A home HIV test kit became available in Virginia stores last
week, offering customers a convenient and anonymous way to find
out if they are infected with HIV. Test users send a dried blood
sample to a laboratory and receive their results by calling a
toll-free number. An estimated 15,000 Virginians are infected
with HIV but do not know it, health officials said. Virginia
health workers are generally supportive of the test, because it
makes it easier for more people to be tested. Lisa Kaplowitz,
director of the HIV/AIDS Center at Virginia Commonwealth
University, said there is concern in the community about the lack
of face-to-face counseling.
"Teen Drug Use: Issue of Epidemic?"
Investor's Business Daily (09/03/96) P. A1; Robinson, Matthew
Pointing to an increase in teen drug use, the Dole campaign
has criticized the Clinton administration for not making the war
against drugs a priority. Government studies have found that the
use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and other drugs
by teens has increased 78 percent since 1992, and 33 percent in
the last year. Moreover, data from the Department of Health and
Human Services show that many youths are using drugs at an even
earlier age than before--16.3 years on the average--while another
study indicates that 12-year-olds who use marijuana are nearly 80
times more likely to start using cocaine than others their age who
do not use marijuana. Tom Hedrick, vice chairman of Partnership
for a Drug-Free America, warned that addiction, drug-related
crime, and drug-related AIDS cases will increase if the rise in
drug use is not stopped.
"Across the USA: Utah"
USA Today (09/03/96) P. 8A
Utah health officials attribute an increase in tuberculosis
(TB) cases to improved screening for the disease. The state has
seen 41 TB cases so far this year, compared to 24 during the same
period of 1995.
"Millionaire Wages War on Pimps"
Toronto Globe and Mail (08/31/96) P. A8; Stackhouse, John
Bombay's sex industry is declining, due in part to the
increased threat of AIDS, fewer blue-collar jobs, and fewer
prostitutes. Dr. I.S. Gilada, who operates an AIDS awareness and
prevention program for prostitutes and their clients, says the
threat of AIDS is the greatest reason for the decrease in the
city's sex trade, and he notes that "there are 60 percent less
clients now than in 1991." Bombay's sex business is far from
stopping completely, however, and many brothel owners have started
offering younger girls to attract customers. Retired
millionaire Vinod Gupta has committed himself to rescuing young
girls from the business, and has saved 5,800 so far.
"More Women Have Tests for AIDS"
New York Times (08/31/96) P. 10
From 1991 to 1993, the percentage of women between the ages
of 18 and 44 who were tested for HIV rose 60 percent, federal
health officials reported Thursday. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention found that 31.8 percent of 6,267 women
surveyed in 1993 said they had been tested for HIV. In 1991,
only 18.8 percent of the 13,411 women surveyed said they had been
tested.
"Passing HIV to Babies Through Breastfeeding"
Xinhua News Agency (09/01/96)
The risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding may be
higher than originally thought, South African researchers have
found. The South African Press Association reports that Dr.
Glenda Gray determined that breastfeeding increases the risk of
transmission from mother to child by 28 percent. Previously,
studies have suggested that the risk only increased 14 percent.
"HIV on the Rise Among Greek Women"
Xinhua News Agency (09/01/96)
The total number of Greeks infected with HIV is reported at
1,386, including 37 cases reported between April and June this
year. Homosexual transmission accounts for 56 percent of the
known cases, while 15 percent of cases--the majority of which are
in women--are attributed to heterosexual sex. Greece has seen a
slight decline in the number of full-blown AIDS patients each
year. The country's Health Ministry is offering AIDS patients a
new combination of drugs free of charge.
"The Seroepidemiology of Human Herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's
Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus): Distribution of Infection in KS
Risk Groups and Evidence for Sexual Transmission"
Nature Medicine (08/96) Vol. 2, No. 8, P. 918; Kedes, Dean H.;
Operskalski, Eva; Busch, Michael; et al.
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm among AIDS
patients and is 20,000 times more common in this group than in
the general population. Incidence of KS varies widely among
those infected with HIV, however, and is also found in some
HIV-negative groups, suggesting the disease is not caused only by
HIV. A sexually transmitted cofactor is thought to be involved
in the disease's pathogenicity, but efforts to link KS with
recognized sexually transmitted agents have been unsuccessful.
Don Ganem, of the University of California San Francisco and the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and colleagues, used an
immunofluorescence assay they developed to evaluate serum samples
from 913 patients for the presence of an antibody for human
herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), a virus identified in KS tissues. They
report that the distribution of HHV8 they found is strongly
suggestive of sexual transmission and that within different
HIV-infected groups, the distribution of HHV8 seropositivity
parallels the relative risk for KS. The authors say their
results support the theory that HHV8 is the sexually transmitted
cofactor involved in the epidemiology of KS.
"A Resurgence for Condoms?"
Supermarket Business (08/96) Vol. 52, No. 8, P. 73
Renewed interest in condoms, which is attributed to
increased vendor support, improved products, and studies that
promote condom use to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted
diseases, should thus lead to increased sales of the
contraceptives in supermarkets. Hisayuki Naito, of Okamoto
U.S.A., says supermarket condom sales stand to increase as more
women are buying condoms. Women now buy at least 60 percent--and
possibly up to 80 percent--of all condoms. Supermarkets command
16 percent of the $270 million condom market. To further their
sales, supermarkets are therefore improving their presentation of
condoms, as well as increasing the roles of coupons and
advertising in condom sales.