                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 20, 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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" 'Promising' Gel Could Prevent HIV Infection in Women" 
"Infectious Diseases Resistant, Study Finds"
"Old in Africa"
"Obituary: Howard Shapiro, 40, A Writer With AIDS" 
"Teens Teach Peers About AIDS"
"AIDS Victim Jailed for Biting"
"First Spanish Conference on AIDS Set Here" 
"Roundup: Thailand's Prenatal HIV Transmission" 
"HIV-1 Entry Cofactor: Functional cDNA Cloning of a 
Seven-Transmembrane, G Protein-Coupled Receptor"
"Judge Freezes Accounts of Firm Touting AIDS Treatment" 
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" 'Promising' Gel Could Prevent HIV Infection in Women" 
USA Today (05/20/96) P. 1A;  Painter, Kim
     A vaginal gel has been shown to protect monkeys from simian 
immunodeficiency virus (SIV), suggesting that it could protect 
women from HIV.  The study, led by Roberta Black of the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, demonstrates the 
most promising lead yet for a chemical that women can use to 
protect themselves from the virus.  The vaginal gel, containing a 
drug called PMPA, was applied to five monkeys that were then 
exposed to SIV, along with two other untreated monkeys.  The 
monkeys who received the gel did not become infected, but the 
researchers note that further study is needed to determine 
whether the gel will work as well in women.  
Related Story: Baltimore Sun (05/20) P. 2A
     
"Infectious Diseases Resistant, Study Finds" 
New York Times (05/20/96) P. A3
     In its annual report, the World Health Organization (WHO)
warns that infectious diseases are becoming more resistant to 
antibiotic drugs.  The agency says that more money must be spent 
to fight malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis. These three diseases 
are becoming more prevalent even though they are preventable or 
easily treatable.  WHO also notes that some 30 new infectious 
diseases have emerged in the last 20 years, including AIDS and 
the Ebola virus. According to WHO's report, infectious diseases 
caused more than one-third of all deaths worldwide last year, and 
resistance to antibiotics is increasing due to misuse.
     
"Old in Africa"
Washington Post (05/19/96) P. A1;  Buckley, Stephen
     In sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS has orphaned many
children, elderly grandparents are often called upon to serve as 
full-time parents.  The elderly, however, also suffer from a lack 
of family or government financial support, and increasingly need 
to work to support themselves.  Africa's elderly were 
historically respected for their wisdom and power, and cared for 
by their children.  But now, as younger Africans struggle to 
support themselves, and AIDS hits the 20- to 30-year-old age 
group particularly hard, the elderly have become the primary 
caregivers for many children.
     
"Obituary: Howard Shapiro, 40, A Writer With AIDS" 
New York Times (05/20/96) P. B14
     Howard Aaron Shapiro, who started writing humorous newspaper
and magazine articles about living with HIV when he found out he 
was infected, died Saturday at the age of 40.  His writing gave 
readers insight to his life with the disease and his struggle to 
get assistance to survive.  Mr. Shapiro's work has been published 
in the New York Press and in the gay publication Body Positive, in 
which his last column, written while in the hospital, will appear.
     
"Teens Teach Peers About AIDS"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (05/17/96) P. B1;  Librach, Phyllis 
Brasch
     Students from St. Louis-area schools attended the Youth
Forum on HIV and AIDS Thursday, educating their peers about how 
HIV is transmitted and how to prevent its spread.  The program, 
which has been held since 1991, has trained about 175 teens, who 
in turn have taught 10,000 students about AIDS.  The peer 
teachers, who advocate abstinence, are thought to be able to 
communicate better with teens than adults would.
     
"AIDS Victim Jailed for Biting"
Toronto Globe and Mail (05/17/96) P. A10
     A man with AIDS was given a maximum reformatory sentence of 
nearly two years for biting an undercover police officer because 
the judge said he knew he was threatening the officer's health.  
After biting the officer, Robert Thissen told him that "the 
joke's on you. I've got AIDS."  Thissen, a transvestite 
prostitute, had offered his sexual services to the undercover 
officer but a struggle ensued when the officer tried to arrest 
him.  The officer has tested negative for HIV.
     
"First Spanish Conference on AIDS Set Here"
Houston Chronicle (05/17/96) P. 28A;  Zuniga, Jo Ann
The first all-Spanish AIDS conference in Houston began on May 18. 
Conference organizers intended to reach the growing population of 
minorities with AIDS. Workers from Amigos Volunteers in Education 
and Services (AVES) and the Houston Health Department have 
visited apartments, cantinas, and other sites to conduct HIV 
tests.  Each year, AVES reaches about 250 to 300 HIV or AIDS 
patients, of whom about 80 percent are Latinos.
     
"Roundup: Thailand's Prenatal HIV Transmission" 
Xinhua News Agency (05/20/96)
     The number of children infected with HIV born in Thailand is
increasing rapidly, posing future social problems for the 
country.  One quarter of all infants born to HIV-positive women 
in Thailand carry the virus, and even if they do not, their 
parents are likely to die before they are old enough to take care 
of themselves.  The number of orphans born to women with HIV is 
expected to rise to 20,000 per year by the year 2000.  The 
government is increasing spending on HIV/AIDS prevention and 
advanced research on remedies from tropical plants.
     
"HIV-1 Entry Cofactor: Functional cDNA Cloning of a 
Seven-Transmembrane, G Protein-Coupled Receptor"
Science (05/10/96) Vol. 272, No. 5263, P. 872;  Feng, Yu;  
Broder, Christopher C.;  Kennedy, Edward A.; et al.
     To infect a human cell, HIV-1 requires a CD4 receptor and
another cofactor specific to human cells.  This cofactor is 
needed for the virus to fuse to the cell membrane and enter the 
cell.  Edward A. Berger and colleagues at the National Institute 
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases identified this cofactor, 
which they called fusin.  The researchers said the identification 
of fusin would provide new insight into how HIV infects target 
cells and would allow the creation of transgenic lab animals that 
would serve as more effective models HIV-1 infection in humans.
     
"Judge Freezes Accounts of Firm Touting AIDS Treatment" 
American Medical News (05/13/96) Vol. 39, No. 18, P. 11
     A Pennsylvania company accused of fraudulently promoting an
ozone treatment as an AIDS cure has been ordered to provide a 
full financial report and has had its accounts frozen.  The 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Lazare 
Industries of Marshalls Creek, Pa., and Richard J. Harley, the 
company's chief executive, with scheming to defraud 72 investors 
in the sale of $1.4 million of stock.  In a lawsuit, the SEC 
charged that Lazare and Harley misled investors or failed to give 
them information about the company's ozone therapy.  The SEC 
claims that they wrongly said that the treatment, consisting of 
"ozone-oxygen enemas," was patented and that it had undergone 
extensive testing which showed it was effective against AIDS.  In 
actuality, one clinical test of the therapy was stopped by the 
Food and Drug Administration after two months.  The treatment was 
advertised on the Internet, radio, and through direct mail. 
Harley asked people seeking treatment at his clinic to invest in 
the company, promising huge returns as the business grew.
     
     
