                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       April 3, 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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"Lawsuit Seeks to Bar U.S. From Access To AIDS Files"
"AIDS Funding Cut by $600,000"
"Mission Goes Global, Grows Ever Broader" 
"Funding for AIDS Drugs in the Spotlight"
"An HIV-positive Father Tells Children in a Book" 
"Hepatitis Strain Rare Among U.S. Blood Donors"
"HIV Seroprevalence Among Injection Drug Users: No Decline" 
"Tuberculosis, AIDS, and Death Among Substance Abusers on Welfare
in New York City"
"Contraceptives' Role in HIV Transmission Is Examined" 
"Isolation and Characteristics of Mycobacterium Avium Complex 
From Water and Soil Samples in Uganda" 
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"Lawsuit Seeks to Bar U.S. From Access To AIDS Files" 
New York Times (04/03/96) P. A13;  Lewin, Tamar
     Boston social service agencies are filing a complaint in
federal district court today to keep federal officials from 
obtaining records with the names and social security numbers of 
people with AIDS.  Last May, federal auditors from the Inspector 
General's office took such records from a Boston center for 
Haitian immigrants with AIDS and passed them on to other 
government officials in an effort to determine whether the people
receiving federal AIDS-related support were in fact HIV-positive.
The auditors claim it is the only way to verify that people in 
programs for AIDS patients are eligible.  Administrators at AIDS 
clinics say allowing the government access to the records 
threatens their programs' confidentiality.
     
"AIDS Funding Cut by $600,000"
Boston Globe (04/02/96) P. 17;  Kong, Dolores
     Massachusetts' share of funds under the Ryan White CARE Act
was cut by $600,000, or 16 percent for the fiscal year, 
threatening coverage for AIDS drugs, home care, and other 
services.  A State House rally was planned for Tuesday to call 
for increasing funding for newly approved promising AIDS drugs 
called protease inhibitors.  The lost money could be restored 
retroactively if Congress reauthorizes the Ryan White Act, which 
expired on Sept. 30, and passes a 1996 federal budget.  Mary Ann 
Hart, of Project ABLE, or AIDS Budget Legislative Effort, said 
the funding cut "is even more reason to increase state funding." 
Her organization is looking for $4.5 million more in the state 
AIDS line item for fiscal 1997.  Massachusetts Gov. Weld, 
however, is asking for a $2.5 million increase, while the House 
Ways and Means budget calls for an increase of $538,000.
     
"Mission Goes Global, Grows Ever Broader" 
USA Today (04/03/96) P. 1D;  Manning, Anita
     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which 
celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has expanded its 
disease-fighting mission on a global and sociological scale.  The
CDC not only fights infectious diseases, but also battles gun 
violence, poverty, and poor nutrition.  Director David Satcher 
points out that "you can no longer separate infectious diseases 
from human behavior."  Citing the AIDS epidemic, he explains
that, "if the science tells us that 75 percent of teen-agers are 
sexually active by the time they finish high school, our programs
must deal with abstinence," adding that they also need to know
how to protect themselves.  While the agency has been criticized
for making recommendations that infringe on social and religious 
issues, Satcher says the agency cannot afford not to do so.
     
"Funding for AIDS Drugs in the Spotlight"
Toronto Globe and Mail (04/02/96) P. A2;  Ha, Tu Thanh
     In a commentary in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Tu Thanh Ha
tells the story of a Canadian AIDS patient who went on a hunger 
strike to protest the government's refusal to pay for a 
$300-a-month drug he needed, called 3TC.  The Quebec government 
had decided to limit the payment to only welfare recipients, 
patients over 65, and those unable to take other standard drugs. 
However, the policy was reversed, government officials said, 
because new data proved the drug's benefits.  With new, even more
costly drugs becoming available, the fight to get government 
funding is expected to escalate, the author concludes.
     
"An HIV-Positive Father Tells Children in a Book" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (04/03/96) P. E3;  Sacks, Melinda
     Earl Alexander, who faced the task of telling his 5-year-old
daughter that he had HIV, has written a picture book, "My Dad Has
HIV," to help other parents deal with the problem.  The book is 
an attempt to give children information they need in a form they 
can manage at a young age.  Some 200,000 children will be 
orphaned by AIDS by the year 2000.  Alexander's next book, "Our 
Dad Has AIDS," will be told from the point of view of his 
daughters.
     
"Hepatitis Strain Rare Among U.S. Blood Donors" 
Reuters (04/02/96)
     A strain of hepatitis attributed to most infections from
blood transfusions is found in less than 1 percent of U.S. blood 
donors but is more common among less educated, younger men, 
researchers said Tuesday.  Between March 1992 and December 1993, 
only 3.6 out of 1,000 donors tested positive for hepatitis C, but

the rate of infection was as high as 8.6 per 1,000 among men in 
their thirties.  Male donors between the ages of 20 and 50 had 
significantly higher infection rates than women, and donors who 
did not graduate from high school were as much as 10 times more 
likely to be infected than those who reached the highest 
education levels.  Hepatitis C is the most common cause of 
post-transfusion hepatitis and is associated with chronic liver 
disease.
     
"HIV Seroprevalence Among Injection Drug Users: No Decline" 
Reuters (04/02/96)
     The seroprevalence of HIV among injection drug users stayed
the same from 1988 through 1993, according to a new report by D. 
Rebecca Prevots and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.  The results were based on analysis of data from 
drug treatment programs at 60 different sites and included HIV 
tests of 70,800 samples.  Seroprevalence remained low in 
low-prevalence groups and high in high-prevalence groups, Prevots
said.
     
"Tuberculosis, AIDS, and Death Among Substance Abusers on Welfare

in New York City"
New England Journal of Medicine (03/28/96) Vol. 334, No. 13, P. 
828;  Friedman, Lloyd N.;  Williams, Michael T.;  Singh, Tejinder
P.; et al.
     The dramatic rise in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in
New York City in the last decade is attributed to HIV infection, 
drug abuse, alcoholism, homelessness, immigration, drug 
resistance, and reduced vigilance by public health organizations.
From 1984 to 1992, Dr. Lloyd N. Friedman of Yale University and 
colleagues followed a group of 858 welfare applicants and 
recipients who abused drugs or alcohol.  During the study period,
5.5 percent of the participants developed TB, 9.8 percent 
developed AIDS, and 21.3 percent died.  The rate of newly 
diagnosed TB was 14.8 times higher in the study group than the 
normal rate in New York City.  The rate of AIDS was 10 times as 
high, and the death rate was 5.2 times the normal rate.  For AIDS
and TB programs to be effective among indigent substance abusers,
the authors conclude, health services must be integrated into the
welfare delivery system.
     
"Contraceptives' Role in HIV Transmission Is Examined" 
AIDS Alert (03/96) Vol. 11, No. 3, P. 30
     The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) in Bethesda, Md., is conducting a study of how various 
contraceptives affect HIV transmission.  Diaphragms and cervical 
caps are effective contraceptive shields, but are less reliable 
against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases than the male
condom.  NICHD is evaluating a new customized cervical cap that 
would be fitted by a health care provider in one visit.  Other 
contraceptives, including a modified diaphragm and a vaginal
sponge and vaginal ring that would release a contraceptive
hormone, are also in development.  Only three new contraceptives
have been approved this decade: the female condom; Norplant, a
hormonal implant; and Depo-Provera, an injectable hormone.  The
NICHD is also investigating whether the use of hormonal
contraceptives increase HIV risk.  The agency recently reported
that the physiologic effects of hormonal contraceptives may
affect HIV transmission.  "Women might be more susceptible during
menses, after menopause, or if they are on hormonal
contraceptives," said Pamala Stratton, an NICHD researcher.
     
"Isolation and Characteristics of Mycobacterium Avium Complex 
From Water and Soil Samples in Uganda"
Journal of the American Medical Association (03/27/96) Vol. 275, 
No. 12, P. 894
     Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) organisms have not been 
isolated in late-stage AIDS patients in Uganda, a situation which
caused scientists to theorize that there was an absence of MAC in
the local environment.  But researchers at Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute and State University found representatives of the 
Mycobacterium avium complex in 43 percent of the water and soil 
samples taken in Kampala, Uganda.  Furthermore, they determined 
that the isolates were similar to those found in the United
States and European AIDS patients and their environment.
     
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