                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       August 08, 1994


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"Japan Opens AIDS Forum; Note of Gloom"
New York Times (08/08/94) P. A2
     The 10th International Conference on AIDS opened yesterday in 
Yokohama, Japan, with a warning from a top health official that 
the disease "will be an integral part of the human condition for 
a very long time."  Dr. Peter Piot, president of the 
International AIDS society, pointed out that attempts to develop 
preventative drugs and vaccines have failed and that society must
now accept that rapid breakthroughs are unlikely.  Currently, 
there are about 17 million people worldwide who are HIV carriers.
The World Health Organization predicts that if the disease 
continues to spread at its present rate, total cases will reach 
30 to 40 million by the end of the decade.  The Yokohama 
conference is the first major AIDS summit to be held in Asia, 
where the epidemic is has reached crisis levels.  Related 
Stories: Washington Times (08/08) P. A1; Wall Street Journal 
(08/08) P. B6
      
"Hemophiliacs With AIDS May Reject Settlement"
Wall Street Journal (08/08/94) P. B6
     A Chicago judge's decision on Friday allows hemophiliacs who 
contracted HIV through blood-clotting medications during the 
1980s to opt out of a $160 million settlement offered by Baxter 
International and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., two manufacturers of 
the products.  Judge John F. Grady ruled that the question of 
negligence in the AIDS litigation may be tried as a class action 
suit in federal court.  Attorneys for the plaintiffs say their 
clients could receive greater compensation through a trial in 
federal court.  The hemophiliacs, who contend that manufacturers 
of Factor VIII and Factor IX should have recognized HIV as a 
blood-borne virus and begun treating the materials with heat 
immediately, will decide this week whether or not to accept the 
deal.  Related Story: Chicago Tribune (08/06) P. 2-1
      
"Lifeline: Women and AIDS"
USA Today (08/08/94) P. 1D;  Vigoda, Arlene
     Despite sluggish research, women can still protect themselves 
against AIDS, said Columbia University researcher Zena Stein, 
speaking at the International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, 
Japan.  Stein said that the Reality female condom, as well as 
cervical caps and diaphragms used with the widely available 
spermicide Nonoxynol-9, can help reduce HIV transmission.
      
"Lone Japanese Crusader Lifts Conference"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/08/94) P. A3;  Collins, Huntly
     In Japan, host of the 10th International Conference on AIDS, so 
much shame and stigma is attached to the disease that there is 
only one man in the country who will publicly admit that he is 
infected.  That man, 25-year-old Toshihiro Oishi, drew thunderous
applause as he spoke yesterday at the opening of the conference. 
Oishi first announced his infection last summer, but so far has 
been unable to persuade others to come forward.  Yesterday, 
however, he convinced hundreds of conference participants at his 
speech to stand and acknowledge their condition.  "We are all 
humans," said Oishi.  "We must continue to live together."  
Japanese officials said the government had made progress in 
educating the country about AIDS, and vowed to help lead the 
fight against the disease.  Related Story: Financial Times 
(08/08) P. 4
      
"HIV Cases Up 1 Million in Asia"
USA Today (08/08/94) P. 1A;  Levy, Doug
     AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate in Asia and, in some 
countries, has advanced from intravenous drug users and 
commercial sex workers to the general population.  Health experts
informed the 10th International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, 
Japan, that quick action on the part of Asian governments could 
halt the surge in HIV infections.  "The real question for Asia is
whether the response will be enough, soon enough," speculated Dr.
Michael Merson of the World Health Organization Global AIDS 
Program.  The actual number of AIDS cases remains relatively low 
in Japan and China, but new cases in the region overall have 
skyrocketed--40 percent among women.  According to WHO, more than
2.5 million people in Asia are infected--about 1 million more 
than last year.  The countries most affected are Thailand, 
Cambodia, Vietnam, and India.
      
"Thai Prison System Overwhelmed by AIDS Crisis"
Reuters (08/08/94)
     On average, one person per day dies within Thai prisons as the 
system is flooded with AIDS cases.  According to Chon 
Lerwitvorapong, a physician at the Klong Prem facility in 
Bangkok, official estimates citing about 400 HIV-infected inmates
in the prison are much lower than the actual number, since 
authorities cannot force inmates to undergo testing for the 
virus.  Most of the HIV-positive prisoners are believed to have 
acquired the virus before being incarcerated.  Lerwitvorapong 
said other Thai prisons face AIDS crises similar to the one at 
his facility.
      
"Experimental Vaccine for AIDS Is Safe, Study Says"
Baltimore Sun (08/06/94) P. 7A
     MN rgp 120, an experimental AIDS vaccine, elicits a strong 
antibody response against HIV in uninfected persons and is safe 
to use, report researchers at the St. Louis University School of 
Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.  Many of the 57 
participants in the study developed HIV antibodies after 
receiving two doses of the vaccine, and none experienced adverse 
reactions.
      
"Success With AIDS Drug Combinations"
United Press International (08/07/94);  Kelly, Janice
     On Sunday, the opening day of the 10th International Conference 
on AIDS, Dr. Neil Graham of Johns Hopkins University reported his
findings that AIDS patients who were treated with more than one 
drug had a 34 percent higher chance of survival during the 2.7 
years of the study than those who took one drug at a time.  The 
study is especially important because AZT, the first AIDS 
treatment available, is only effective for about a year, after 
which the virus develops a resistance to the drug.  In response 
to activists' requests for joint trials of drug combinations, 16 
large pharmaceutical companies are now cooperating with each 
other to test eight anti-AIDS drugs from seven companies.  
Although Dr. David Barry of the Wellcome Foundations, a figure 
closely identified with the development of AZT, is optimistic 
about the new approach, Dr. Takuma Shirasaka from the U.S. 
National Cancer Institute is scheduled to report later in the 
conference that the HIV virus can develop resistance to a third 
drug even if it has only been treated by two.
      
"AZT Drug Delays Progression of AIDS, But No Cure"
Reuters (08/05/94)
     Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco 
released findings on Friday, showing that AZT delays but does not
halt the onset of AIDS in HIV-infected patients.  The findings 
were based on data compiled from 1,565 HIV-infected subjects who 
had not yet developed symptoms of full-blown AIDS.  Paul 
Volberding, the author of the study, wrote that "the current 
results from the extended follow-up of [AIDS] ... trials clearly 
indicate that there are benefits as well as limitations to 
prolonged zidovudine monotherapy and that there is an urgent need
to continue to explore new agents and secondary treatment 
strategies."  The study was presented at an AIDS conference in 
Japan on Saturday, during an American Medical Association 
briefing.
      
