                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 06, 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


"Mayor to Try to Preserve AIDS Unit, Groups Say"
New York Times (05/06/94) P. B3;  Hicks, Jonathan P.
     New York's Giuliani administration, pounded with criticism for 
its plans to reduce or eliminate the city's Department of AIDS 
Services, will instead seek ways to keep the agency intact, said 
AIDS groups and other organizations after meeting with Deputy 
Mayor Fran Reiter yesterday.  "We are optimistic that there are 
no plans to eliminate or cut the Division of AIDS Services," the 
eight groups said in a statement.  "We are pleased that the 
administration has recognized the importance of the Division of 
AIDS Services."  The agency, which employs 740 workers, assists 
16,000 AIDS patients who are too sick to go back and forth 
between the various city welfare offices that handle different 
benefits.  The prospect of cuts or elimination of the Division of
AIDS Services had sparked a series of protests.  By this week, 
most of the organizations meeting with Reiter had prepared a suit
to bar the administration from dismantling the agency, but 
rescinded plans to file the suit after the meeting.  Still, some 
groups continued to express concern about Mayor Giuliani's 
commitment to AIDS.  "The fact of the matter is that the proposal
to cut D.A.S. was seriously considered by the administration," 
said ACT-UP spokesperson Denny Lee.
      
"Tap Water Source of AIDS-Related Illness"
United Press International (05/05/94);  Klinger, Karen
     Tap water may be a major source of mycobacterium avium complex 
(MAC), a bacterial infection common among AIDS patients, say 
researchers.  A study of patients in the advanced stage of 
disease found strains of MAC in a number of potable water 
sources, including municipal water and well water.  In an 
analysis of 36 AIDS patients in New Hampshire and Boston, 
investigators also concluded that some patients were probably 
infected through recirculating hot water systems in hospitals.  
These systems are much more likely to harbor the bacterium than 
those found in homes, where municipal water "comes through once, 
and is flushed out," says Dr. Fordham von Reyn of Dartmouth 
Medical School in Lebanon, N.H., lead author of the study.  In 
hospitals, "hot water is constantly recirculated, so the 
organisms ... can get in there and persist for two or three 
years."  He notes that 40 percent of the 50,000 to 60,000 
Americans diagnosed with AIDS each year will develop MAC 
infection within the following two years.  The infection is 
characterized by sluggishness, fever, and weight loss.  "It 
shortens survival by about half among those who get it," von Reyn
adds.  Although the infection is treatable with antibiotics, 
therapy is not always effective and sometimes causes severe side 
effects, such as eye inflammation.
      
"Protein Can Boost Immune Function in Fetal Cells and May Do the 
Same for AIDS Patients, UC San Francisco Researchers Find"
Business Wire (05/05/94)
     Interleukin-12 (IL-12), a recently discovered blood protein, is 
able to boost the immune function in human fetal cells in the 
test tube, report researchers at the University of California at 
San Francisco, who say the finding reinforces the protein's 
potential value as a treatment for AIDS.  IL-12 effectively 
stimulated natural killer cells, the front-line defenders of the 
immune system, in fetal cells extracted from umbilical cord 
blood, said Dr. Allan Lau, UCSF associate professor of pediatrics
at San Francisco General Hospital.  He and colleagues decided to 
test the protein in fetal cells because these cells are normally 
immune-deficient--lacking natural killer cells and 
cytokines--which explains why babies suffer from severe viral 
infections in the first few months of life.  "When we put IL-12 
back into the system, the immune system became normal," Lau 
explained.  "So if AIDS patients are deficient in natural killer 
cells, we may be able to do the same for them."  The researchers 
also discovered that fetal cells treated with IL-12 became 
activated in the presence of HIV-infected cells, much in the same
way that treated adult cells are stimulated to fight off the 
virus.  "Once you supplement the fetal cells with IL-12, they 
behave like adult cells," said Lau.  The researchers concluded 
that "IL-12 appears to be a major modulator of these immune 
processes in response to viral infection."
      
"HIV Inmate's Suit Rejected"
National Law Journal (05/02/94) Vol. 16, No. 35, P. A8
     Kentucky's policy on HIV screening for prison inmates did not 
violate the rights of a Florida man who was initially denied such
testing, a panel of judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of 
Appeals decided.  The April 19 ruling dismissed a claim of 
monetary damages by 48-year-old Felix Hernandez of Miami.  The 
three judges also denied a claim that his rights were violated 
when a prison official read his confidential file, and learned of
his HIV infection.
      
"Holding the Phones"
Advocate (05/03/94) No. 654, P. 21
     A flood of harassing phone calls that appeared to be the result 
of an organized effort forced officials in Seattle's King County 
to disconnect an AIDS information hotline.  The line was jammed 
after the number of daily incoming calls leaped from 50 to 100 to
more than 2,000.  "It was a concerted effort," said Rose Dembo, 
telecommunications manager for King County government agencies.  
"It was somebody with a real dedication to this."  Police are 
investigating the incident.
      
"Inhibition of Rev-Mediated HIV-1 Expression: Retraction"
Science (04/22/94) Vol. 264, No. 5158, P. 492;  Campbell, Mel;  
Felber, Barbara K.;  Nasioulas, Georgios et al.
     Campbell et al. from the Frederick Cancer and Research and 
Development Center of Advanced BioScience Laboratories in 
Frederick, Md., announce that some experiments performed by the 
author P. Constantoulakis were not reproducible.  The failure of 
the experiments described in "Inhibition of Rev-Mediated HIV-1 
Expression by an RNA Binding Protein Encoded by the 
Interferon-Inducible 9-27 Gene" to duplicate Constantoulakis' 
experiments casts doubt on the results and conclusions.  
Experiments are underway to re-evaluate the inhibition of HIV 
gene expression by the 9-27 protein and the degree to which this 
inhibition is specific to Rev-dependent expression.  At this 
time, however, Campbell et al., would simply prefer to retract 
the paper until its conclusions have undergone further 
experimental tests.  The researchers express their deepest regret
for any inconvenience that may have been caused to the scientific
community.
      
"Excess Deaths in Africa From HIV: Confirmed and Quantified"
Lancet (04/23/94) Vol. 343, No. 8904, P. 989;  Dondero, Timothy 
J.;  Curran, James W.
     In the past decade, HIV infection has reached epidemic 
proportions in sub-Saharan Africa, causing severe illness and 
death among multitudes of young adults and children.  Still, the 
extent of excess mortality linked to HIV has not been adequately 
measured.  The lack of data in this area has prompted some 
individuals to maintain that HIV is not responsible either for 
deaths or for AIDS in Africa.  Mulder et al., however, have 
quantified in an epidemiological study the significant excess 
mortality associated with HIV infection.  The study indicated 
that young, rural Ugandans testing positive for HIV antibody were
60 times more likely to die during a subsequent two-year 
observation period than were similar individuals who tested 
negative.  Mortality was highest in those individuals--men and 
women between the ages of 25 and 34--in whom HIV infection was 
most common.  Even skeptics cannot refute the high prevalence of 
HIV infection in Africa.  The strong connection between HIV and 
excess mortality emphasizes the critical importance of the AIDS 
epidemic in Africa, and reinforces the need for global 
prevention.  Further study is needed, however, to demonstrate how
many of the excess deaths could have been prevented through 
medical prevention and treatment of such HIV-related illnesses 
such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and diarrheal disease.
      
"Drug Users Who Stop Sharing Needles Cut Risk, Study Shows"
American Medical News (04/18/94) Vol. 37, No. 15, P. 13
     Intravenous drug addicts who ceased to share needles 
significantly lowered their chances of becoming infected with 
HIV, reports the first study to examine the habits of individual 
users.  Researchers followed 173 addicts in Bangkok at a time 
when the infection rate among Thailand's drug users soared from 
one percent to 43 percent.  Only five percent of the 111 addicts 
who stopped sharing needles from 1987 to 1989 contracted HIV, 
compared to 18 percent of the 62 who continued to share needles, 
the study found.  "For the first time there is direct evidence 
that what drug users are telling us about changing their behavior
relates to lower infection," said study head Dr. Don DesJarlais 
of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.  DesJarlais insisted 
that his study is proof that needle exchange programs are 
effective--proof that is needed for such programs to attain 
federal funding.
      
"Most Physicians Say AZT Benefits Outweigh Fears, Risks"
AIDS Alert (04/94) Vol. 9, No. 4, P. 53
     Promising results achieved during the AIDS Clinical Trials Group 
Study 076 on the ability of AZT to reduce the risk of HIV 
transmission from pregnant women to newborns will encourage 
physicians to be more aggressive in recommending the therapy, say
AIDS doctors.  In the study, the rate of perinatal HIV 
transmission plunged to 8.3 percent among women and babies 
receiving AZT, compared to a rate of 25.5 among women and babies 
getting placebos.  "I think more doctors will be more comfortable
in recommending AZT to pregnant women because of the study's 
results," says Dr. Melanie Thompson, an internist and president 
and principal investigator of the AIDS Research Consortium of 
Atlanta.  "In the past, there was a lot of fear about the side 
effects of AZT to the fetus.  But this study shows a clear 
benefit to the infant and alleviates some of those concerns."  
Pediatric AIDS specialists are also optimistic.  While some worry
about possible long-term side effects in infants exposed to AZT, 
Dr. Ram Yogev insists that future development of side effects is 
a secondary issue, and that the tradeoff is worthwhile.  "We're 
able to give life at this point.  I have a major problem with 
anyone who tells me that something might happen to these kids 
when they turn 40," he says.  "Without AZT, most of them with HIV
may not make it to the age of 12."  Still, some physicians will 
remain reluctant to offer AZT therapy to their pregnant HIV 
patients until formal clinical guidelines are established.  The 
Public Health Service is in the process of forming a task force 
to decide precisely what the response to the trial should be.
      
