                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      March 26, 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


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"S. Africa Insurer Offers Cover for HIV Infection"
"AIDS Drug Is Approved by 4 European Countries"
"Review & Outlook: AIDS Babies"
"Drawbacks of Mandatory HIV Tests, Counseling"
"AIDS Conference Adopts Hopeful Spirit"
"Experimental AIDS Vaccine Volunteer Infected"
"Anti-HIV Agent Inhibits Early Step in HIV Life Cycle"
"Thalidomide: Facilitates Weight Gain in Persons with HIV and M. 
Tuberculosis Infections"
"Persistent Lack of Detectable HIV-1 Antibody in a Person with 
HIV Infection--Utah, 1995"
"Pregnant Nurse Won't Treat HIV Patient"
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"S. Africa Insurer Offers Cover for HIV Infection"
Financial Times (03/26/96) P. 4;  Ashurst, Mark
     In South Africa, Metropolitan Life has offered the world's
first commercial life insurance policy for people with HIV.  At
least 1.5 million South Africans have the virus, though 80 percent
have not developed AIDS.  Industry observers note that the plateau
of HIV infection in developed countries could deter insurers in the
west from developing similar policies.  MetLife's coverage is 
limited to people aged 15 to 55 who are in the asymptomatic 
stages of HIV infection.  The maximum death benefit is $12,800.
      
"AIDS Drug Is Approved by 4 European Countries"
Wall Street Journal (03/26/96) P. B8
     NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boulder, CO, announced that 
Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway have cleared
DaunoXome, the company's new drug for Kaposi's sarcoma, for
marketing.  NeXstar said it would begin selling the drug in Germany
and the Netherlands within the next few weeks and that its
marketing partner in the Nordic countries would handle the drug's
sales in Finland and Norway.  The drug was previously approved in
Sweden and the United Kingdom.
      
"Review & Outlook: AIDS Babies"
Wall Street Journal (03/26/96) P. A18
     In a Wall Street Journal editorial, the authors urge the
support of an amendment to the Ryan White Care Reauthorization Act
that would require mandatory HIV testing of babies born to mothers
who were not tested.  Members of a House-Senate conference
committee are scheduled to work on the legislation on Tuesday. 
Studies have shown that mothers with HIV who take AZT during
pregnancy lessen the chance of infecting their infants by
two-thirds.  Still, many mothers at risk for HIV are not tested or
treated; then, their babies are born with HIV and also often go
untreated.  AIDS activists and feminist groups have opposed
mandatory testing of newborns, arguing that it infringes on the
mother's privacy.  The authors note, however, that if the Ryan
White CARE Act is reauthorized without the Ackerman-Coburn
provision, HIV-positive infants will not be included in a measure
whose title carries the name of a child that died from the disease.
      
"Drawbacks of Mandatory HIV Tests, Counseling"
Philadelphia Inquirer (03/26/96) P. A8;  Smith, David Gary
     In a letter to the editor in the Philadelphia Inquirer, David 
Gary Smith, a physician at Abington Memorial Hospital, points out
that mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women could keep women at 
risk from getting proper prenatal care.  While studies have 
estimated that counseling women about being tested for HIV can 
reduce HIV transmission to newborns by 66 percent, inadequate 
mandatory testing, Smith says, could also have a negative impact.
Smith further notes that Philadelphia's health commissioner, 
Estelle B. Richman, has led the way for maximizing the benefits of
testing and minimizing the risks of a health-care intervention by
forming an advisory board, which in December stressed the need 
for effective outreach and counseling for pregnant women.
      
"AIDS Conference Adopts Hopeful Spirit"
Toronto Globe and Mail (03/25/96) P. A4
     AIDS Researchers and health workers say the 11th International
Conference on AIDS, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, 
will be optimistic and hopeful.  "The mood among this group is 
that we are taking our understanding of the virus and its effects
to unprecedented and exciting new levels," said Vancouver 
researcher Michael O'Shaughnessy.  The conference will be held 
July 7 to 12 and is expected to be the most significant event of 
the year for researchers studying HIV.
      
"Experimental AIDS Vaccine Volunteer Infected"
Reuters (03/25/96)
     One of 24 volunteers participating in a test of an
experimental AIDS vaccine developed by United Biomedical Inc. of
Hauppauge, NY, has been infected with HIV.  Dr. James Kahn of the
University of California, San Francisco, reports that the 
individual who was infected had received four doses of the 
vaccine; however, the vaccine is not thought to be the source of 
infection because it does not contain live virus.  Khan notes the
trial was designed to assess the vaccine's safety, not its 
efficacy.
      
"Anti-HIV Agent Inhibits Early Step in HIV Life Cycle"
Reuters (03/25/96)
     Researchers at Sandoz in Austria and SyStemix Inc. in Palo
Alto report promising results with an experimental anti-HIV
compound called SID 791.  SID 791 is a bicyclam, which inhibits an
early step in the life cycle of HIV, presumably a step associated
with the virus' entry into cells.  Experiments in mice suggest that
the compound alone, or in combination with other antivirals, could
decrease the viral load in HIV-infected patients, and that HIV 
therapy should target the virus' entry into the cell.
      
"Thalidomide: Facilitates Weight Gain in Persons with HIV and M. 
Tuberculosis Infections"
Reuters (03/25/96)
     Thalidomide may help people with HIV and other infections gain
weight, researchers at New York University Medical Center and 
Rockefeller University report.  Gilla Kaplan of Rockefeller 
University led the study of 32 patients with HIV-1, some of whom 
also had tuberculosis.  Kaplan says that tumor necrosis 
factor-alpha is made by the body to defend against infection, but
it may also cause fever, weakness, and wasting.  Thalidomide, 
which is known to inhibit the synthesis of TNG-alpha, might 
prevent continued wasting, and even help patients gain weight, 
the researchers surmised.
      
"Persistent Lack of Detectable HIV-1 Antibody in a Person with 
HIV Infection--Utah, 1995"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (03/08/96) Vol. 45, No. 9, 
P. 181;  Reimer, L.;  Brokopp, C.;  Mottice, S.; et al.
     Last year, a patient in Utah was found to be infected with HIV
even though he tested negative for the HIV-antibody beyond the 
expected "window period."  The patient--who experienced fatigue, 
weight loss, and a respiratory illness--had frequently donated 
plasma, and each donation was also negative for the antibody.  
However, his wife, who had sexual contact with a man who later 
died of AIDS, tested positive for HIV.  The patient said he had 
not used injection drugs, had a transfusion, or had male-to-male 
sexual contact.  Blood samples from the patient were analyzed by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and 
Drug Administration.  Several test kits were used, and while some
showed no reaction, some showed a weak reaction, and a test for 
HIV-1 p24 antigen showed positive results.  An editorial 
accompanying the report says that the man probably was infected 
by his wife and that the negative tests were probably a result of
an atypical host response to the virus--an occurrence which has 
been reported in a small number of patients before.
      
"Pregnant Nurse Won't Treat HIV Patient"
American Medical News (03/04/96) Vol. 39, No. 9, P. 22
     A federal appellate court in Alabama has affirmed summary 
judgment of a hospital sued for discrimination by a pregnant 
nurse who refused to treat an HIV-positive patient.  The nurse, 
who was in her first trimester of pregnancy, refused to treat a  
cryptococcal meningitis patient who was HIV-positive.  She was 
especially concerned about contracting one of the opportunistic 
diseases associated with HIV because she had gestational diabetes
and was immunocompromised.  The nurse--who was fired for her 
decision, but resigned before the termination took effect--sued 
the hospital four months later when she learned that it had not 
assumed payment of her student loans, which was part of her 
employment contract.  The hospital was granted partial summary 
judgment, which the nurse appealed and the appellate court 
affirmed.  The court held that the nurse failed to establish a 
prima facie case of discrimination.  She did not show that 
hospital rules allowed a pregnant nurse to refuse to treat an 
HIV-positive patient or that the hospital policy concerning 
patients with HIV resulted in disproportionate impact on pregnant
nurses.
      
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