                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      November 14, 1995

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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Reinforcement in the AIDS Battle"
"Lifeline: Cause Celeb"
"Migrants and Drugs"
"The Down Side of Home HIV Tests"
"Elton John Joins the Hard Rock Cafe to Commemorate World AIDS 
Day"
"Zimbabwe Minister to Sell Hair for AIDS Campaign"
"HIV-1 Seroconversion and Risk Behaviors Among Young Men in the 
U.S. Army"
"International Conference, Vancouver 1996: Arrangements, 
Deadlines"
"New Interactive Internet Form from CDC NAC"
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"Reinforcement in the AIDS Battle"
Financial Times (11/14/95) P. 12;  Cookson, Clive
     Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) 
antiviral drugs advisory panel recommended rapid approval of 
three anti-AIDS drugs.  If the FDA follows the recommendations to
approve 3TC, saquinavir, and d4T, the number of licensed drugs 
against HIV will double.  The agency's review is important 
because it lends support to the use of combination therapy and 
because saquinavir is the first of a new class of drugs called 
protease inhibitors.  Overall, there is disagreement among 
analysts about the potential of the new drugs on the market.  The
increasing number of AIDS cases and the popularity of combination
therapy will force spending to be divided between a growing 
number of suppliers, who will each therefore make less money.  
Additionally, AIDS drug development is more difficult than that 
for most other drugs because a great deal of management time is 
spent wrestling with the various political and ethical issues.
      
"Lifeline: Cause Celeb"
USA Today (11/14/95) P. 1D;  Vigoda, Arlene
     As part of Counter AID, a Dec. 2 benefit for people with AIDS, 
such celebrities as Kathy Mattea and Naomi Campbell will work the
cash registers at New York and Los Angeles record stores.  During
the event, retailers will ask consumers to round their purchases 
from the first week of December up to the nearest dollar.  The 
extra funds will be donated to LIFEbeat, the music industry's 
effort against AIDS.
      
"Migrants and Drugs"
Miami Herald (11/13/95) P. 5B
     University of Miami (UM) researchers say that increased 
drug-abuse testing and intervention is needed to combat the high 
rate of HIV among migrant workers.  Previous research on other 
high-risk groups found greater infection rates in drug users, and
the UM Migrant Worker Project learned that this also holds true 
for migrant drug abusers.  The primary connections between drug 
use and HIV infection are a failure to use condoms, multiple sex 
partners, and trading sex for drugs, report members of the UM 
Comprehensive Drug Research Center in the Florida Journal of 
Public Health.
      
"The Down Side of Home HIV Tests"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/13/95) P. 1E;  Schieszer, John
     Some health care experts have numerous problems with the concept 
of HIV home-testing kits.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA) is deliberating approval of the kits, which would permit 
anonymous testing by allowing people to place a drop of blood on 
treated paper and mail it to a laboratory for screening.  Results
would be obtained over the phone.  But Dr. Simeon Prager of South
Hampton Healthcare in south St. Louis argues that patients must 
be prepared psychologically for the positive or negative results.
"I think that the more a patient is prepared and the more support
they have, the less likely they are to react in an impulsive 
fashion," Prager observed.  Mark Pickering, executive director of
the St. Louis Effort for AIDS, also is worried about home testing
for HIV.  "One of my concerns," he said, "is that after people 
hear their test results, it is very difficult for them to take in
any additional information," such as how to change unsafe 
behavior.  But others believe that home tests could help more 
people get tested and treated for HIV, if necessary.  Some 
members of the medical community predict that the FDA will make 
its decision about HIV home testing kits within the next six 
months.
      
"Elton John Joins the Hard Rock Cafe to Commemorate World AIDS 
Day"
Business Wire (11/13/95)
     On Thursday, Nov. 16, singer Elton John will visit the New York 
Hard Rock Cafe to announce the worldwide launch of the restaurant
chain's fundraiser--a special edition red ribbon pin.  All net 
proceeds of the pins, which will sell for five dollars each, will
benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Inc.
      
"Zimbabwe Minister to Sell Hair for AIDS Campaign"
Reuters (11/13/95)
     Timothy Stamps, Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Welfare, 
will auction his hair next weekend to raise funds for a campaign 
against AIDS. According to the state news agency ZIANA, Stamps 
shaved his head in memory of people who have died from AIDS.  
Under African custom, people demonstrate their grief over the 
death of a relative by cutting off their hair.  Ministry of 
Health statistics show that more than 100,000 residents of 
Zimbabwe have died from AIDS-related causes in the past decade.  
Stamps predicted three weeks ago that another 100,000 
Zimbabweans, or 1 percent of the country's population, would die 
from AIDS in the next year and a half.
      
"HIV-1 Seroconversion and Risk Behaviors Among Young Men in the 
U.S. Army"
American Journal of Public Health (11/95) Vol. 85, No. 11, P. 
1500;  Levin, Lynn I.;  Peterman, Thomas A.;  Renzullo, Philip 
O.; et al.
     To determine the risk factors related to HIV-1 seroconversion 
among young men in the U.S. Army, Levin et al. compared 128 men 
with proven HIV-1 seroconversion between 1988 and 1991 to control
subjects based on demographic variables.  A total of 49 of the 
case subjects reported having same-gender sex, 34 of whom also 
had sex with women, while 70 case and 118 control subjects said 
their only risk factor was heterosexual sex.  Excess risk was 
observed among men who had sex with women in defined risk 
categories.  HIV-seroconversion risk estimates also rose with 
increasing numbers of female partners, nonsteady partners, and 
partners with whom sex occurred on the first day of acquaintance.
The researcher concluded that the primary risk factor for HIV-1 
seroconversion among young active-duty males in the U.S. Army is 
same-gender sex.  This risk was heightened among heterosexuals by
anonymous or casual sex partners.  HIV prevention messages 
directed at young heterosexual males should focus on the 
necessity of careful partner selection and the dangers of casual 
sex, in addition to the more standard warnings about the type of 
sexual acts and the consistent and correct use of condoms.
      
"International Conference, Vancouver 1996: Arrangements, 
Deadlines"
AIDS Treatment News (10/20/95) No. 233, P. 5;  James, John S.
     The theme of next July's 11th International Conference on AIDS in
Vancouver, British Columbia, is "One World, One Hope."  The 
meeting will offer several new elements, including program 
formats, such as formal debates and "late breaker" sessions; 
health insurance for attendees; and blinded review of abstracts. 
In addition, the program book will color-code three separate 
"pathways" with regard to Women and HIV, Development and HIV, and
Living with HIV.
      
"New Interactive Internet Form from CDC NAC"
CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse (11/14/95)
     An interactive World AIDS Day form has been added to the CDC
NAC Web site.  The form allows users to input information about
their organization's planned World AIDS Day activities, as well
as read about what others are doing. All interested callers are
encouraged to visit our Web site, http://cdcnac.aspensys.com:86,
and contribute information about their World AIDS Day activities
so that others may benefit from reading about a wide variety of
events.  The World AIDS Day form is located on the AIDS INFO page
and can also be accessed through the What's New page and the Home
page.  CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse staff will be glad to
answer any questions users may have.  The phone number (800) 458-
5231.

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