                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      January 29, 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 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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"Ethiopian Jews in Israeli Melee over AIDS Fear"
"AIDS Discharge Clause Under Fire From Critics"
"Lottery Emphasizes Dicey Nature of AIDS Treatment"
"AIDS Spreading Among Aboriginals"
"Blood Scandal Without End"
"AIDS Pioneer Says Vaccine Still a Long Way Off"
"Gilead Sciences Announces Further Results Indicating Vistide 
Delays Time to Disease Progression in Patients With Relapsing CMV
Retinitis"
"Saliva Diagnostic Systems Signs China Distributor for HIV Tests"
"The Emerging Genetic Diversity of HIV"
"Book Review: Coming to Terms with HIV"
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"Ethiopian Jews in Israeli Melee over AIDS Fear"
New York Times (01/29/96) P. A1;  Schmemann, Serge
     About 10,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel demonstrated outside the 
Prime Minister's Office on Sunday, protesting the 
recently-reported finding that blood they donated was discarded 
out of fear that it was contaminated with HIV.  Police used water
cannon and tear gas on the protesters, which further infuriated 
the crowd, spurring a riot.  Several police officers were 
seriously injured.  The news of the blood-dumping came last week 
and angered the Ethiopians who say the policy is racist.  
"Obviously this matter with the blood gets to the root of race, 
and whether Ethiopian Jews feel truly accepted here in Israel," 
said Micha Odenheimer, an American-born Israeli who directs the 
Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews.  Related Stories: 
Washington Post (01/29/96) P.A10; Wall Street Journal (01/29/96) 
P.A1
      
"AIDS Discharge Clause Under Fire From Critics"
USA Today (01/29/96) P. 4A
     AIDS advocacy groups are criticizing a recently-passed bill which
calls for military service members with HIV to be discharged.  
Aides to President Clinton said he would sign the 1996 Defense 
authorization bill, which was passed by Congress on Friday, because it 
includes provisions he supports.  White House spokesperson Mike 
McCurry said the administration will work closely with 
legislators who oppose the provision "to pursue legislation that 
would reverse this policy" before it takes effect in six months.
      
"Lottery Emphasizes Dicey Nature of AIDS Treatment"
Philadelphia Inquirer (01/29/96) P. A4;  Otto, Mary
     Abbott Laboratories is currently holding a lottery, a 
computer-run drawing, to choose 2,000 AIDS patients to take a 
promising new drug for free before it is on the market.  Although
clinical trials for the protease inhibitor ritonavir have been 
completed, the company is still awaiting Food and Drug 
Administration approval to market the drug.  The agency allows 
the company to offer the limited amount of the drug in the 
lottery because of the urgent need for AIDS treatment.
      
"AIDS Spreading Among Aboriginals"
Toronto Globe and Mail (01/25/96) P. A4
     AIDS cases among Canadian aboriginal people have increased six 
times over since 1990, climbing to 153 in 1995 from 24, a new 
study shows.  Health officials say testing in remote communities 
is uncommon, and note that the actual numbers are probably much 
higher.  In Canada overall, there are about 3,000 cases of HIV 
infection each year.  The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples 
says that ignorance among aboriginals about AIDS will probably 
remain because there is no organized campaign by Ottawa and 
aboriginal organizations.
      
"Blood Scandal Without End"
Toronto Globe and Mail (01/25/96) P. A18
     In the Toronto Globe and Mail, the editors observe that recent 
court claims are slowing the inquiry by the Canadian government 
into the tainted blood tragedy and that the answers should be 
found quickly so problems can be corrected.  The inquiry has been
stalled by court claims from the Red Cross and others, who claim 
that the judge, Justice Horace Krever, went beyond his authority 
in finding misconduct.  The editors state that the Krever inquiry
should follow the directive of the Canadian Supreme Court, which 
said that the governments "should be given ample room within 
their constitutional competence to establish public inquiries 
aimed at investigating, studying and recommending charges for the
better government of citizens."
      
"AIDS Pioneer Says Vaccine Still a Long Way Off"
Reuters (01/27/96);  Grant, Laurens
     According to Luc Montagnier, the French doctor credited with 
isolating the virus that causes AIDS, treatment for AIDS patients
will improve in the next several years, but the development of a 
safe vaccine against HIV is still a long way off.  Montagnier 
predicts advanced AIDS treatments by about the turn of the 
century, but warns that many drug companies are foregoing 
research on AIDS vaccines since "it would take a lot of money and
time to design" and not everyone is convinced the cure will be a 
vaccine.  Montagnier also notes that many experts believe 
treatment in the early stages of the infection with drugs such as
AZT is the best way of combating AIDS.   Furthermore, he warns 
that not enough is being done to promote safe-sex education.
      
"Gilead Sciences Announces Further Results Indicating Vistide 
Delays Time to Disease Progression in Patients With Relapsing CMV
Retinitis"
Business Wire (01/28/96)
     Gilead Sciences Inc. announced on Sunday that interim data from 
an ongoing clinical trial suggests that Vistide (cidofovir 
intravenous) is effective in delaying the progression of CMV 
retinitis in AIDS patients.  Patients participating in the trial 
had previously received a median of four courses of other 
treatments approved for CMV retinitis and had either proved 
intolerant to the previous therapies or had experienced disease 
progression despite treatment.  The administration of Vistide was
associated with median times to progression of 115 days in the 
group receiving a 5mg/kg dose and 49 days for those patients 
receiving a 3mg/kg dose.  The data were presented by Jacob 
Lalezari--co-director of HIV Clinical Research at the Mt. Zion 
Medical Center, University of California at San Francisco--at the
Critical Issues in Research Symposia sponsored by the American 
Foundation for [AIDS] Research.
      
"Saliva Diagnostic Systems Signs China Distributor for HIV Tests"
Business Wire (01/26/96)
     Saliva Diagnostic Systems Inc. has signed a contract with China's
largest importer of HIV tests.  Beijing Huayi Biotechnology Co. 
Ltd. will assemble and distribute the test, called Sero-Strip HIV
1/2, to government agencies and the private sector in China, 
after regulatory approval is obtained there.  The contract 
includes an order for at least 1 million units, beginning in 
February.
      
"The Emerging Genetic Diversity of HIV"
Journal of the American Medical Association (01/17/96) Vol.275, 
No.3, P. 210;  Hu, Dale J.;  Dondero, Timothy J.;  Rayfield, Mark
A.; et. al.
     Hu et al. studied the implications of the rapid mutation and 
genetic diversity of HIV and emphasize the need to expand 
systematic surveillance, along with laboratory science and 
applied research to detect these variants.  The recent discovery 
that some divergent HIV-1 strains are not reliably detected by 
current tests has focused the need for effective monitoring of 
HIV variants.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 
currently studying large collections of blood samples from the 
United States for subtypes other than the well-known HIV-1 
subtype B.  HIV-2 and other HIV-1 subtypes are present, 
indicating that multiple introductions of HIV to North America 
have occurred.  Organizations around the world are involved in 
collaborations to monitor the virus.  The authors say that "the 
potential for difficult-to-detect divergent HIV strains to have 
entered and to continue to enter human populations remains a 
major public health concern."  They advocate evaluating the 
sensitivity of current tests to divergent strains and subtypes, 
and say that routine screening tests "remain an essential first 
step in surveillance."  A monitoring network, they say, is 
important to identifying research needs and serves as a base for 
research.
      
"Book Review: Coming to Terms with HIV"
Focus (12/95) Vol.11, No.1, P. 6;  Benson, J.D.
     Book reviewer J.D. Benson says "People with HIV and Those Who 
Help Them," by Dennis Shelby presents an "intriguing schema of 
HIV-related psychological responses, adjustments, and 
resolutions."  But, he says, it is not a satisfying book to read 
because it "reads too much like a choppy doctoral dissertation." 
The book traces the psychological stages of development that gay 
men pass through after diagnosis.  The reviewer says the author's
perceived audience is too broad, encompassing HIV patients, their
friends and family, and care-givers.  He suggests that the book 
would be helpful to a mental health provider new to HIV.
      
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