                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       June 21, 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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"Slovenian Man Said to Get HIV From Human Bite" 
"Protesters Block Entrance to Rally"
"Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Roche Sign Agreement to Develop Cancer 
Drugs"
"Baltimorean Lives With HIV, Strives to Save Others From It" 
"Key Molecule That Lets HIV Enter Cells Found"
"South Carolina Will Permit Anonymous HIV Home Testing" 
"Court Rules That Lawsuit Against Baxter May Proceed"
"Immunosuppression: Major Predictor of Mortality in AIDS Patients 
With TB"
"Perinatal Intervention Trial in Africa: Effect of a Birth Canal 
Cleansing Intervention to Prevent HIV Transmission"
"Catalog Targets AIDS-Sensitive Consumers" 
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"Slovenian Man Said to Get HIV From Human Bite" 
Baltimore Sun (06/21/96) P. 13A
     In the first such documented case, a Slovenian man became 
infected with HIV after his neighbor bit him, doctors said 
Thursday.  Ludvik Vidmar and colleagues at the Department of 
Infectious Diseases in Ljubljana report that the incident 
occurred when a 47-year-old HIV-infected homosexual sought help 
from his neighbor when he had a seizure.  The 53-year-old 
neighbor, who did not know the man had HIV, became infected when 
he put his hand in the man's mouth to keep him from swallowing 
his tongue.
     
"Protesters Block Entrance to Rally" 
Washington Times (06/21/96) P. C8
     Jeff Getty, who received a baboon bone marrow transplant
last year as an experimental treatment for AIDS, was arrested 
with eight other demonstrators for blocking traffic at an animal 
rights rally on Thursday.  About 25 demonstrators from the AIDS 
activist group ACT-UP had been blocking the entrance to the USAir 
Arena, but they were all released after paying a $15 fine.  The 
AIDS activists, who argued that animal research is critical for 
medical progress, were protesting the animal rights groups' 
annual attempts to lobby Congress for stronger laws protecting 
animals used in scientific research.
     
"Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Roche Sign Agreement to Develop Cancer 
Drugs"
Wall Street Journal (06/21/96) P. B7; Rundle, Rhonda L.
     Agouron Pharmaceuticals said that it had entered a deal with
Roche Holding in which Roche would pay Agouron between $150 
million and $250 million over the next several years in exchange 
for a share of profits from anticancer drugs developed by 
Agouron.  The two drugs covered in the pact, Thymitaq and AG3340, 
have combined sales potential of more than $500 million, said Jim 
McCamant, editor of the Medical Technology Stock Newsletter.  
McCamant said he was surprised that Roche was selected over 
Bristol-Myers Squibb, the world leader in cancer drugs and a 
developer of AIDS drugs.  Agouron is pushing its own AIDS drug 
through human trials and is testing it in combination with a 
Bristol-Myers drug.
     
"Baltimorean Lives With HIV, Strives to Save Others From It" 
Baltimore Sun (06/21/96) P. 1E; Thompson, M. Dion
     Laurie Purdy, a 31-year-old woman from Baltimore, Md., said
she surprises people when she shows up to speak about AIDS.  She 
has been HIV-positive for six years, and for the past four years 
she has spread the message of HIV awareness to high school and 
college students and professional and amateur athletes.  Tonight 
she will be featured with five other HIV-positive women on 
Lifetime television's "Late Date with Sari."  The show, part of 
the fourth annual "Day of Compassion" effort to increase AIDS 
awareness, airs from 11 p.m. to midnight.  The women discuss 
their experiences regarding their HIV diagnosis, discrimination, 
and the virus has changed their lives.  They also stress the need 
for education.
     
"Key Molecule That Lets HIV Enter Cells Found"
Los Angeles Times (06/20/96) P. A1; Maugh, Thomas H. II
     Researchers have identified a co-factor essential to HIV's 
ability to invade the body, opening new avenues for treatment and 
helping to explain why some individuals are more resistant to the 
virus.  The co-factor, CKR5, seems to be more important than 
fusin, a co-factor identified last month, because it plays a part 
in the majority of HIV infections.  Researchers discovered last 
year that certain chemicals called chemokines could block HIV's 
entry into the human white blood cells.  This led to the search 
for the chemokine receptors, one of which is CKR5.  Researchers 
believe the different chemokine receptors may be specific to the 
various strains of HIV.  CKR5 is thought to be the receptor for 
the kind of HIV that is most prevalent in the United States.  
Increasing a person's level of the chemical could help protect 
them from an HIV infection, or drugs could be designed to bind 
with the chemical, possibly preventing the virus' entry.
     
"South Carolina Will Permit Anonymous HIV Home Testing" 
Reuters (06/20/96) 
     The governor of South Carolina has signed a law to allow the
anonymous use of a home HIV-antibody test, bypassing the state 
policy that all positive HIV tests be reported.  Besides South 
Carolina, 29 other states have a mandatory reporting law.  
Laboratories that perform the tests will still be required to 
report the results to the state but may not provide any 
identifying information.
     
"Court Rules That Lawsuit Against Baxter May Proceed" 
United Press International (06/20/96) 
     A lawsuit filed by Zurich Insurance Co. against Baxter 
International may proceed, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on 
Thursday.  The case involves a Baxter drug that allegedly 
transmitted HIV to more than 8,000 hemophiliacs in the late 1970s 
and early 1980s.  Zurich Insurance, which provided coverage for 
the drug maker, says it should not be responsible for covering 
Baxter's costs for defending, or settling, claims made by the 
hemophiliacs and their families who have sued the firm.  The cost 
of settling claims in the case has been estimated to be about $128 
million for Baxter.
     
"Immunosuppression: Major Predictor of Mortality in AIDS Patients 
With TB"
Reuters (06/20/96) 
     While HIV-infected patients who are co-infected with
tuberculosis (TB) respond well to antituberculosis therapy, their 
overall survival is poor, researchers at Case Western Reserve 
University report.  Survival seems to be determined largely by 
the degree of immunosuppression, resulting from either HIV or the 
impact of TB on HIV, Christopher Whalen and colleagues reported. 
The results are based on data from 191 HIV-positive adults 
treated at a TB treatment center in Kampala, Uganda.  During the 
six-month follow-up, 43 percent of the patients died.  Whalen 
said that preventing active disease and aggressively treating HIV 
infection during TB treatment may improve survival for 
HIV-infected patients with TB.
     
"Perinatal Intervention Trial in Africa: Effect of a Birth Canal 
Cleansing Intervention to Prevent HIV Transmission"
Lancet (06/15/96) Vol. 347, No. 9016, P. 1647; Biggar, Robert J.; 
Miotti, Paolo G.; Taha, Taha E.; et al.
     The prevalence of HIV infection in African women and the
rate of transmission from mother to infant requires a safe, 
low-cost mode of HIV transmission prevention.  Treating pregnant 
women and newborns with zidovudine can reduce the rate of 
transmission, but drug therapy is impractical in most of the 
world.  Many experts believe the virus is transmitted during 
delivery, through birth canal exposure.  Antiseptic cleansing of 
the birth canal was considered as a method to reduce 
transmission.  The National Cancer Institute's Robert J. Biggar 
and other researchers conducted a clinical trial to determine the 
safety and efficacy of this method.  The trial, held at Queen 
Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi, involved 3,327 infants of 
mothers who did not receive the intervention and 3,637 who did.  
The researchers report that, while the intervention had no 
adverse affect, it also had no significant impact on HIV 
infection rates.  They conclude that if birth canal exposure is a 
risk factor, other methods for reducing risk should be tested.
     
"Catalog Targets AIDS-Sensitive Consumers"
DM News (06/10/96) Vol. 18, No. 22; P. 4; Emerson, Jim
     The National Catalog Foundation (NCF) is using mailing lists
provided by nonprofit groups to reach potential customers for its 
National AIDS Awareness Catalog.  In return, the groups receive a 
portion of the sales generated by the catalog.  The products 
include clothing, books, and general merchandise with and without 
rainbows, the symbol of gay unity, and red ribbons, the symbol of 
support of AIDS research.  NCF President Jeffrey Zeidman says the 
products are attractive to customers because the proceeds benefit 
AIDS organizations.  The catalog, issued three times a year, is 
two years old, and Zeidman plans to more than double circulation 
to at least 750,000.  Over the last two years, about $60,000 was 
donated to AIDS organizations, including the Research Initiative 
on AIDS and the Gay Men's Health Crisis.
     
     
