                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 2, 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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"Reaching Out to the Community"  
"AIDS Testing Compromise Is Reached" 
"HHS to Assume D.C. Purse Strings"
"Pioneering AIDS Agency Making Comeback" 
"Moving Forward, With Hope"
"Bill Requiring HIV Test for Boxers Clears House" 
"Bill Could OK Court-Ordered Testing"
"PCR Analysis of Limited Value for Diagnosis of HIV Infection" 
"AIDS Advisers Disagree Over Events in HIV Blood Scandal" 
"Protease Inhibitors: Ritonavir and Saquinavir Combination Trial 
Recruiting--Seven U.S., Canada Sites Including San Francisco" 
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"Reaching Out to the Community"  
CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse (05/02/96)
     The CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse announces the opening of
its Community Outreach and Training Center (COTC) in Washington, 
DC. The COTC provides a setting for people and organizations 
working in prevention, health care, research and support to 
access a variety of HIV/AIDS information resources and receive 
training in accessing information.  An open house is being held 
today at the COTC from 3:00 until 6:00 p.m.  The COTC is located 
at 1931 13th St. NW in Washington, DC, in the National Minority 
AIDS Council building. The phone number is (202) 884-0164.
     
"AIDS Testing Compromise Is Reached"
Washington Post (05/02/96) P. A9;  Dewar, Helen
     House and Senate leaders agreed Wednesday to a plan to
encourage pregnant women to be tested for HIV and to require 
testing of newborns if the voluntary effort fails.  Tests of 
newborns would be required by 2000 for states that have not 
successfully implemented testing of pregnant women or succeeded 
in cutting down the number of children born with HIV.  The 
agreement broke a stalemate over a House-approved plan to require 
testing of newborns that delayed the five-year reauthorization of 
the Ryan White CARE program, which provides AIDS treatment and 
support funding.  Senators supported voluntary testing of 
mothers, which can prevent transmission of HIV to the children, 
rather than mandatory testing of infants.  Under the new 
agreement, which still must be approved by both houses, $10 
million will be provided annually to help states implement 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines related to 
voluntary HIV testing, counseling, and treatment of pregnant 
women.  The House overwhelmingly approved the compromise measure 
late on Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to act on it soon. 
Related Stories: New York Times (05/02) P. B9; Washington Times 
(05/02) P. A10
     
"HHS to Assume D.C. Purse Strings"
Washington Times (05/02/96) P. C3;  Nevans, Lisa
     The federal government will take over paying providers of
AIDS care in Washington, D.C., rather than giving the money to 
the city for the services.  Although Mayor Marion Barry opposes 
the plan, it is supported by the city's independent Chief 
Financial Officer Anthony Williams, who said the plan will allow 
the providers to be paid more quickly, thereby facilitating 
urgent care.  Williams added that the plan is not a threat to the 
city's independence.
     
"Pioneering AIDS Agency Making Comeback"
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/02/96) P. B2;  Collins, Huntly
     The first AIDS agency in the nation to work in the African 
American community, known as BEBASHI, for Blacks Educating Blacks 
About Sexual Health Issues, is paying off its debts and has hired 
a new executive director, three years after going bankrupt.  The 
Philadelphia Health Department showed its confidence in the 
agency by contributing $710,969 for the fiscal year.  BEBASHI's 
goal of preventing the spread of AIDS in the African American 
population is seen as especially important in Philadelphia, where 
the majority of AIDS cases are among blacks.
     
"Moving Forward, With Hope"
New York Times (05/02/96) P. C1;  Weinraub, Bernard
     Cookie Johnson had just found out she was pregnant when her 
husband, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, told her he was infected with 
HIV.  Both she and the baby, now three-year-old Earvin III, are 
HIV-negative, and the couple has adopted a one-year-old daughter, 
Elisa.  Cookie now works on AIDS education out of her husband's 
Beverly Hills business office, speaking to elementary and high 
school students and making a video to educate black women about 
AIDS.  Since finding out that Magic was HIV-positive, Cookie says 
she has become more religious and that she has learned to 
appreciate every moment.  She and her husband learned everything 
they could about HIV and how to sustain the immune system through 
exercise and a proper diet.  She notes that before returning to 
the NBA, Magic was very focused on building up his body, sometimes 
doing 700 situps a day.
     
"Bill Requiring HIV Test for Boxers Clears House" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/01/96) P. B2;  Eshleman, Russell E.
     The Pennsylvania House passed a bill Tuesday to make HIV
testing mandatory for anyone who boxes professionally in the 
state.  The bill, a response to heavyweight fighter Tommy 
Morrison's disclosure that he has HIV, would also ban anyone 
found to have HIV from boxing in Pennsylvania.  The bill's 
sponsor, Republican Rep. John A. Lawless, said it would not only 
curb the possibility of HIV transmission in the ring, but would 
also cut down on fight promoters recruiting boxers at the last 
minute because the provision calls for a test at least 30 days 
before a fight.  The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission has 
proposed that boxers be tested annually at least 60 days before 
applying for a boxing license.  The law being considered would 
take precedence over the commission regulation.
     
"Bill Could OK Court-Ordered Testing" 
St.. Louis Post-Dispatch (05/01/96) P. 
2B
     The St.. Louis House of Delegates passed a bill to allow
anyone to ask for court-ordered HIV testing of a person they have 
had contact with--if medical experts say the contact can transmit 
the virus.  Missouri state law currently calls for testing if the 
defendant in a sex crime case is convicted.  Opponents of the 
measure said the law could be improperly used out of vengeance, 
and lack of confidentiality is an issue.
     
"PCR Analysis of Limited Value for Diagnosis of HIV Infection" 
Reuters (05/01/96)
     Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay has been shown by 
meta-analysis to be of limited usefulness for diagnosing HIV 
infection.  One analysis, published in the May 1 issue of the 
Annals of Internal Medicine, found that PCR assay for HIV 
diagnosis in adults should only be used when HIV antibody tests 
are insufficient.  The second analysis, published in the May 1 
Journal of the American Medical Association, found that while PCR 
is among the best tests for HIV diagnosis in neonates, it is not 
definite.  Test errors can be reduced by either delaying testing 
until after the neonatal period or by repeating testing at 30 and 
60 days of age.
     
"AIDS Advisers Disagree Over Events in HIV Blood Scandal" 
Nature (04/25/96) Vol. 380, No. 6575, P. 660;  Swinbanks, David
     Three scientists involved in the Japanese government's study
group on AIDS provided additional information about the group's 
role in the tainted-blood scandal when they testified recently 
before the Japanese Diet.  The group recommended in 1983 that 
hemophiliacs continue to use blood products that had not been 
heat-treated and reportedly rejected a proposal to have 
heat-treated products imported.  Takeshi Abe, who headed the 
group, testified that its purpose was to determine if anyone in 
Japan had AIDS, not to influence policy.  Atsuaki Gunji, who 
headed the government's biologics and antibiotics division and 
set up the group, argued that the purpose was to evaluate how 
hemophiliacs were being treated and to decide if changes were 
merited because of AIDS.  He noted that the group became an 
important decision-making body, even though it was not intended 
to be.  Meanwhile, Juzo Matsuda, the third member of the study 
group, apologized for the group's actions, admitting that its 
decisions resulted in the wider spread of HIV.  Abe refused to 
take any responsibility and dismissed suggestions that he delayed 
clinical trials of heat-treated blood products in exchange for 
donations from Japanese drug companies.
     
"Protease Inhibitors: Ritonavir and Saquinavir Combination Trial 
Recruiting--Seven U.S., Canada Sites Including San Francisco" 
AIDS Treatment News (04/19/96) No. 245, P. 1
     For the first time, two protease inhibitors will be combined
in a study, to be conducted by Abbott Laboratories in the United 
States and Canada.  Volunteers are now being recruited for the 
seven-city trial of ritonavir and saquinavir.  The combination of 
the two drugs poses potential benefits along with serious safety 
concerns.  Saquinavir is not well absorbed by the body, but when 
ritonavir is added, it can produce increased and sustained levels 
of saquinavir.  The drugs also have different patterns of 
resistance, which may work together well to slow the development 
of resistance to the combination.  The combination must be tested 
very carefully, however, with special consideration given to 
dosing.
     
     
