                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       June 6, 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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"Pataki and Lawmakers Agree on Plan for Testing Newborns for AIDS 
Virus"
"In Malawi, Pilgrims Throng to an AIDS Potion" 
"Women and Drugs"
"AIDS Prevention Is Too Valuable to Cut"
"Oral Drug Reduces Risk of AIDS-Related Blindness" 
"South Africa Cancels Controversial AIDS Play" 
"AIDS Pioneer Wofsy Dies"
"Viral Infections in Short-Term Injection Drug Users: The 
Prevalence of the Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, Human 
Immunodeficiency, and Human T-Lymphotropic Viruses"
"The Use of Protease Inhibitors: A Sampling of Opinions" 
"The Parent Trap"
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"Pataki and Lawmakers Agree on Plan for Testing Newborns for AIDS 
Virus"
New York Times (06/06/96) P. B8;  Hernandez, Raymond
     New York Gov. George E. Pataki reached an agreement with 
lawmakers Wednesday on legislation to inform all parents of the 
results of HIV tests performed on their newborns.  Until now, the 
state has tested all newborns but only told parents the results 
if they asked.  People in favor of disclosing the results say the 
policy will lead to quicker medical care for infected children, 
but opponents claim that it violates the privacy of mothers 
because the test equates to an HIV test for them.  A recent move 
by Congress to require states to begin mandatory tests for 
infants prompted the agreement in New York.
     
"In Malawi, Pilgrims Throng to an AIDS Potion" 
New York Times (06/06/96) P. A3;  Daley, Suzanne
     In Malawi, health officials blame a self-proclaimed AIDS
healer for convincing citizens that he holds a cure for the 
disease, reversing years of AIDS education.  Billy Chisupe offers 
his "cure" for free, and an estimated 1 million individuals have 
gone to Chisupe's compound to be treated.  At the height of the 
frenzy over Chisupe's cure, many citizens believed that his liquid 
would protect them from AIDS, and they abandoned using condoms to 
prevent infection.  Health officials say they expect to see a 
sharp rise in AIDS cases as a result.  Chisupe said he learned of 
the cure in a dream and that he was also told not to charge for 
it.  Fewer people have come to receive the treatment recently, as 
most Malawians have already taken it.
     
"Women and Drugs"
Wall Street Journal (06/06/96) P. A14
     In a Wall Street Journal editorial, the authors comment on a 
report released Wednesday by the National Center on Addiction and 
Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which says the gap 
between women's and men's levels of drug use, alcohol use, and 
smoking is closing.  The report also says that the behaviors are 
about equal for male and female teenagers, and that young people 
are starting to use drugs, drink, and smoke earlier.  The trend 
of increased substance abuse among women has led to problems, 
including more welfare dependency and increased rates of AIDS 
among women.  Women who are themselves infected with HIV risk 
bearing children addicted or infected with HIV.  The editors 
suggest that in order to fight these trends, young people should 
be encouraged not to start using drugs.
     
"AIDS Prevention Is Too Valuable to Cut"
New York Times (06/06/96) P. A28;  Herman, Amy
     In a letter to the editor of the New York Times, Amy Herman, 
executive director of the New York AIDS Coalition, points out that 
a recent article on proposed cuts to New York City programs did not
mention a $321,000 cut to HIV prevention programs.  She says that 
more than 83,000 AIDS cases have been reported in the city and that
prevention programs save the city money and lives.  The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates the cost of 
community-based outreach and prevention programs at between $1,000 
and $13,000 per infection prevented.  The estimated cost 
of treating an AIDS patient, Herman points out, is $119,000.
     
"Oral Drug Reduces Risk of AIDS-Related Blindness" 
Reuters (06/05/96)
     A new study has found that oral ganciclovir can significantly 
reduce the risk of cytomegalovirus, or CMV, infection in advanced 
AIDS patients.  While there is no cure for CMV infection, which 
can lead to blindness, Stephen Spector of the University of 
California, San Diego et al. found that the drug, which is made 
by Hoffmann La-Roche, can help to prevent it.  Advanced AIDS 
patients who took 1,000 mgs of ganciclovir three times daily 
reduced the rate of CMV by about half in a one-year period.  The 
research was published in today's New England Journal of 
Medicine.
     
"South Africa Cancels Controversial AIDS Play" 
Reuters (06/05/96)
     A controversial AIDS-awareness musical being performed in
South Africa and paid for by the health department was canceled on 
Wednesday.  Money from the European Union (EU) had been spent on 
the play, but the EU said it had not been informed and refused to 
continue funding it.  South African Health Minister Nkosazana 
Zuma was criticized for authorizing the $3.25 million for the 
play, but she said it was an attempt to promote AIDS awareness 
among teenagers.
     
"AIDS Pioneer Wofsy Dies"
United Press International (06/05/96)
     Constance Wofsy, co-director of the University of California
AIDS program at San Francisco General Hospital and a leader in AIDS
education, died Monday of cancer.  Wofsy was a pioneer in the 
early days of the AIDS epidemic, providing medical services to 
young homosexuals.  She later drew public attention to the 
epidemic among women and worked to create new standards for their 
medical treatment.  She co-founded AWARE, the Association for 
Women's AIDS Research and Education, and influenced the 
documentary "HIV and the Health Care Worker," which showed the 
struggles of those caring for AIDS patients.
     
"Viral Infections in Short-Term Injection Drug Users: The 
Prevalence of the Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, Human 
Immunodeficiency, and Human T-Lymphotropic Viruses"
American Journal of Public Health (05/96) Vol. 86, No. 5, P. 655; 
Garfein, Richard S.;  Vlahov, David;  Galai, Noya; et al.
     To evaluate how the duration of injection drug use affects
risk for infection with certain bloodborne viruses, researchers 
from Johns Hopkins University compared infection rates for drug 
users with varying lengths of experience.  Richard Garfein et al. 
studied the rates of infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), 
hepatitis B virus (HBV), HIV-1, and human T-lymphotropic virus 
types I and II (HTLV), in more than 700 injection drug users.  The 
researchers found that, for injection drug users with up to one 
year of use, the prevalence of HCV, HBV, HIV, and HTLV 
was 64.7 percent, 49.8 percent, 13.9 percent, and 0.5 percent, 
respectively.  Overall, the rate for HCV was 76.9 percent, HBV 
was 65.7 percent, HIV was 20.5 percent, and HTLV was 1.8 percent. 
The authors also reported a dramatic increase in the prevalence 
of HCV and HBV infection within the first two years of injection 
drug use, as well as a smaller increase in the rate of HIV 
infection.  HIV infection in those with up to one year of 
experience was associated with sexual factors but not with 
injecting factors.  The authors suggest that, given the high 
rates of HIV, HCV, and HBV reported shortly after initiation, 
intervention efforts should target individuals at risk of 
starting to inject drugs.
     
"The Use of Protease Inhibitors: A Sampling of Opinions"
AIDS Clinical Care (05/96) Vol. 8, No. 5, P. 37;  Cotton, Deborah 
J.
     In a recent roundtable discussion with AIDS Clinical Care,
four experts in HIV clinical care discussed the use of the 
recently approved protease inhibitors for the treatment of HIV 
infection.  Martin Hirsch, the director of clinical AIDS research 
at Massachusetts General Hospital, recommended a combination of a 
protease inhibitor and one or two reverse transcriptase 
inhibitors for patients in the advanced stages of AIDS.  Lawrence 
Corey, head of the Program in Infectious Diseases at the Fred 
Hutchison Cancer Center, said that protease inhibitors should not 
be taken alone due to risk of the development of resistance, but 
that they should be used with a nucleoside analog.  Meanwhile, 
Gail Skowron, an infectious disease consultant for Roger Williams 
Hospital, said she would recommend using a protease inhibitor 
alone if a patient was not able to tolerate other 
antiretrovirals, noting that more information is needed on 
combining protease inhibitors.  Hirsch added that a clinical 
trial is needed to determine if protease inhibitors should be 
used early or late in infection.  He suggested using nucleoside 
combinations first and then resorting to protease inhibitors if 
needed.  Skowron recommended, however, that high viral loads, or 
symptoms, be treated aggressively with combination therapy, 
including a protease inhibitor.
     
"The Parent Trap"
POZ (05/96) No. 14, P. 52;  Forster, Evan M.
     Jay and GayLynn Brummett, model foster parents living in 
Nebraska, were easily approved in 1991 to adopt an infant, John T. 
About nine months later, however, the state Department of Social 
Services (DSS) received an anonymous phone call that GayLynn was 
infected with HIV.  Nearly 18 months later, after John T. had been 
adopted and had lived with the couple for more than 24 of his 27 
months of life, he was taken from them.  Lawyer Charles Bentjen 
agreed to represent the couple in a civil law suit based on the 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and help the legal 
representative for the child appeal for his return to the 
Brummetts' home.  The Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled in October 
1995 that John be returned to the Brummetts' home, but the 
attorney general's office then petitioned the State Supreme Court 
to review the case, while John stayed with another foster couple. 
When the State Supreme Court refused to hear the case, John should 
have been returned to his adoptive parents.  At that time, 
however, Cec Brady, main counsel for the DSS, brought a new case 
before the juvenile court, claiming that GayLynn had been 
deceitful in not disclosing that she was HIV-positive initially 
and that John had now bonded with his new foster parents.  
Evidence that Brady had potentially acted illegally, including 
allegedly submitting false affidavits, caused the state Supreme 
Court to support the Nebraska Court of Appeals and return John to 
the Brummetts.
     
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