                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       June 4, 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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"New Test for Progression to AIDS"
"Reliable Oral AIDS Test Gains Approval of FDA" 
"Prenatal Care Crucial for Infants' Health" 
"Blood Inquiry Dealings Costly"
"Family Bound to Walk"
"Clear-Eyed Look at AIDS Scourge and Advances" 
"1.8 Million South Africans Infected With HIV" 
"24 Singaporeans Get AIDS Virus in First Quarter"
"Prognosis in HIV-1 Infection Predicted by the Quantity of Virus 
in Plasma"
"HIV Suit Nets Award For Health Care Worker" 
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"New Test for Progression to AIDS"
New York Times (06/04/96) P. C3;  Altman, Lawrence K.
     Roche Diagnostic Systems received Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approval Monday to market a test that will help determine how
fast an individual's infection with HIV is progressing.  The 
test, called the Amplicor HIV-1 monitor test, is used to confirm 
a diagnosis of HIV infection, not to screen for the virus.  The 
test uses polymerase chain reaction to measure the amount of 
virus in the blood, a more accurate method than other tests.  
Roche has been marketing the test in Europe and elsewhere for 
over a year.  Doctors use tests of viral load to monitor a 
patient's progress and make treatment decisions, and experts 
recently published guidelines for using the measurement.
     
"Reliable Oral AIDS Test Gains Approval of FDA" 
Washington Post (06/04/96) P. A9
     The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first oral
HIV test, Epitope's Orasure, on Monday.  The test, which detects 
HIV antibodies in samples taken from the mouth, was found to be 
99.9 percent as accurate as the traditional HIV blood test.  An 
earlier version of Orasure was less sensitive and had to be 
confirmed by a second test.  That test was approved so that 
doctors would have at least one way to reach people who would not 
submit to a blood test.  An oral test is also safer for health 
care workers, because it avoids the problem of accidental 
needlesticks.
     
"Prenatal Care Crucial for Infants' Health"
Wall Street Journal (06/04/96) P. A19;  Glick, Deborah J.
     In a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Deborah
J. Glick, a member of the New York State Assembly, says that proper
prenatal care, not mandatory HIV-antibody testing of newborns, is 
essential to improving infants' health.  She says that women who 
receive HIV counseling usually get tested for HIV voluntarily and 
that such tests need to be combined with proper treatment and 
health care to be useful.  Glick takes issue with advocates of 
mandatory testing who also want to limit health care funding.
     
"Blood Inquiry Dealings Costly"
Toronto Globe and Mail (06/03/96) P. A1;  Picard, Andre
     More than $33 million has been spent on Canada's tainted-blood
inquiry, including money spent by various parties for their 
defense.  Health Canada spent $2.7 million, less than a third of 
the amount spent by the Canadian Red Cross.  The inquiry itself 
has a $14 million budget, plus another $3.5 million to provide 
legal fees for consumer groups.  Funds spent on the legal 
challenge to the inquiry are additional.  Health Canada created a 
group to work on its defense immediately after the federal 
government announced that a public inquiry would be held to 
investigate the contaminated blood tragedy.
     
"Family Bound to Walk"
Boston Globe (06/03/96) P. 13;  Avenoso, Karen
     The Lodie family of Boston had considered not participating in
the city's annual AIDS Pledge Walk this year even though the 
event had been a tradition for the past seven years.  Jay Lodie 
died of AIDS in 1994, and this year, his family was not showing 
the usual enthusiasm for the event.  In the end, however, about 
100 relatives and friends did join the more than 30,000 walkers 
in the 6.2 mile trek Sunday, contributing to the $2.5 million 
raised to fight AIDS.  Many participants commented on their 
difficulty in raising pledges, pointing to growing apathy in the 
community.
     
"Clear-Eyed Look at AIDS Scourge and Advances" 
Washington Times (06/04/96) P. C11
     "Sex, Drugs, and Consequences," an ABC television program 
scheduled for Thursday night, is a one-hour show that examines 
how HIV infection is spread, how it is treated, and how AIDS 
impacts both those who have it and those who treat it.  The show 
includes a profile of two children born with HIV, as well as 
scientific explanations of how HIV infects the body and how drugs 
help the body fight the virus.
     
"1.8 Million South Africans Infected With HIV" 
United Press International (06/04/96)
     The South African government reported that about 1.8 million 
people, or 4.3 percent of the country's population, have HIV.  
The virus is especially prevalent among teenagers, with 9.5 
percent of all pregnant teens infected, Health Minister Nkosazana 
Zuma said.  Zuma criticized the previous government for not 
spending enough on HIV prevention, although she was also attacked 
by the European Union for spending $3.2 million on a 
controversial AIDS awareness play.
     
"24 Singaporeans Get AIDS Virus in First Quarter" 
Xinhua News Agency (06/04/96)
     In the first quarter of 1996, 24 Singaporeans were infected
with HIV, and half have full-blown AIDS.  The total number of HIV 
infections documented in the country since 1985 is now 440.  Sex 
is the most common mode of transmission, and most cases are in 
men.
     
"Prognosis in HIV-1 Infection Predicted by the Quantity of Virus 
in Plasma"
Science (05/24/96) Vol. 272, No. 5265, P. 1167;  Mellors, John W.; 
Rinaldo Jr., Charles R.;  Gupta, Phalguni, et al.
     The most common predictor of the progression from HIV
infection to AIDS is the measure of CD4 T-cells, which shows how 
much damage has been done to the immune system.  The measure of 
HIV-1 RNA in cells or plasma has also been considered as a 
predictor of disease progression.  John W. Mellors of the 
University of Pittsburgh and colleagues followed a group of 180 
HIV-1 infected gay or bisexual men for up to 10 years to determine 
if viral load was a better predictor of AIDS than CD4 cell count. 
They found that the risk of AIDS and death was directly related to 
the plasma level of HIV-1 RNA at enrollment.  Viral load was found 
to be a better predictor of AIDS progression and death than the 
number of CD4 T-cells.  The results also confirmed earlier 
conclusions that individuals with persistently high levels of 
HIV-1 RNA had a greater risk of developing AIDS.  The authors 
suggest that the current treatment standards, based on CD4 cell 
counts, should be revised, and should take viral load into 
consideration.
     
"HIV Suit Nets Award For Health Care Worker"
American Medical News (05/27/96) Vol. 39, No. 20, P. 25
     A St. Louis health care worker who was infected with HIV
through a needlestick while disposing of a needle at a clinic won 
a $977,500 settlement in her case against the manufacturer of the 
container for used needles.  The woman, identified only as Susan 
M., charged that after she drew blood from an HIV-infected 
patient, she was accidentally pricked with the needle because the 
disposal container, called a "Vacutainer," was defective.  The 
woman and her husband filed the lawsuit against the manufacturer, 
Becton-Dickinson, in 1983.
     
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