                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       August 5, 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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"Groups Unite on New AIDS Drug Therapies"
"Progress on AIDS Intensifies the Battle to Make Insurers Reveal 
Medical Data"
"States Run Low on AIDS Funds"
"Breakthrough for HIV-Positive Babies" 
"In Search of A Cure--and A New Image"
"Agents Crack Down on Marijuana Buying Club"
"TB Returns With A Vengeance"
"AIDS Ride Fund-Raisers Shift Into High Gear in Third Year"
"Foreign HIV Surfaces in the Bronx"
"Difficulties and Strategies of HIV Diagnosis"
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"Groups Unite on New AIDS Drug Therapies"
Wall Street Journal (08/05/96) P. B3; Waldholz, Michael
     A group of representatives from 40 organizations, including
the White House, government health agencies, pharmaceutical
companies, research centers, private and government health
insurers, and patient-advocacy groups, have formed a coalition to
organize research to help clear the confusion surrounding the use
of new AIDS drugs.  Linda Distlerath, an official at Merck, said
the group will try to "facilitate and coordinate" several
clinical trials in the next few years.  The group's goal is to
determine which drug combinations are most effective, at what
point therapy should begin, and what can be done to avoid the
development of drug resistance.  The group, to be called the
Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, has met five times and
announced the partnership on Friday after a meeting with Vice
President Gore.

"Progress on AIDS Intensifies the Battle to Make Insurers Reveal
Medical Data"
Wall Street Journal (08/05/96) P. A7A; Scism, Leslie
     Some large life and health insurance companies do not reveal
the results of tests to applicants, a practice that takes on
special significance for HIV tests.  Jody Deramus of Vienna, Va.,
has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Jackson National Life
Insurance Co., a unit of Prudential, charging that the company
failed to notify her husband that he had tested positive for HIV.
Mr. Deramus had applied to increase his life insurance coverage in
1988 and was refused additional coverage but not told why.
Moreover, when he became ill, HIV was not suspected, and the couple
only learned that Deramus was infected in October 1989.  Jackson
National revealed its test results days before Deramus died in June
1991.  In addition to her other claims, Mrs. Deramus charges that
the company exposed her to harm by not warning her of her husband's
condition.  She has not tested positive for the virus.  The company
holds that it acted within the law and that informing the patient
would not have prolonged his life.

"States Run Low on AIDS Funds"
Washington Times (08/05/96) P. A8
     As states are already facing shortages in funds that provide
AIDS drugs to their poor residents, many are cutting the share of
drugs they can afford to offer each patient.  Still more cuts are
pending as more patients seek treatment because of promising new
drugs.  Washington has become the latest state to cut its AIDS
drug assistance program to avoid bankruptcy.  The program was
shut down temporarily after a 76 percent increase in AIDS
patients between January and June.  The programs, which supply
drugs for patients who are uninsured or who do not qualify for
Medicaid, are in danger largely because of costly new protease
inhibitors that are powerful, but must be taken on a strict
regimen.

"Breakthrough for HIV-Positive Babies"
Washington Post (08/05/96) P. A19; Hentoff, Nat
     In a Washington Post commentary, Nat Hentoff applauds the
New York law passed in June that requires the HIV testing of all
newborns and the disclosure of the results to the mothers.
Hentoff points out that while some mothers in New York complained
for years that they should have been informed that their children
were infected with HIV, the state's confidentiality law prevented
such disclosure.  Nettie Mayersohn, a New York state
assemblywoman, sponsored the bill and fought for three years to
get it passed.  Hentoff notes that she was opposed by the
National Organization of Women, gay groups, AIDS activists, some
medical organizations, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The groups argued that mandatory testing is a violation of
privacy, and that counseling and voluntary testing is a better
method.  After the New York law passed, Hentoff further notes,
the American Medical Association announced their support for
mandatory testing of all newborns and pregnant women.

"In Search of A Cure--and A New Image"
Washington Post--Washington Business (08/05/96) P. 5; Day,
Kathleen
     While early tests of an AIDS vaccine being developed by
Cel-Sci, a small biotechnology company in Alexandria, Va., are
promising, Wall Street analysts have raised doubts about the
company.  Jim McCamant, associate editor of Medical Technology
Stock Letter, says Cel-Sci's promotion of the vaccine has been
very positive, even though their research has been slow and
inconclusive.  In addition, Angus MacDonald, a biotech analyst
with Fahnestock & Co., criticized the company for conducting
research on the vaccine without approval by the Food and Drug
Administration.  Cel-Sci CEO Geert Kersten admits that while the
company has some problems, it will ultimately win the confidence
of investors.

"Agents Crack Down on Marijuana Buying Club"
New York Times (08/05/96) P. A8; Golden, Tim
     California drug agents raided the largest above-board
marijuana provider in the country Sunday, after tolerating the
operation for more than two years.  Activists say the Cannabis
Buyers' Club of San Francisco provides marijuana to thousands of
people seeking relief from illnesses like AIDS and cancer.  The
operation was not closed down immediately, but more than 40
pounds of marijuana was seized and will probably be used to
arrest people, officials said.  Organizers of the club objected
to the crackdown, arguing that it would hurt AIDS and cancer
patients.

"TB Returns With A Vengeance"
Washington Post (08/03/96) P. A18
     Last year, almost 3 million people died of tuberculosis, a
figure greater than that reported during the worst years of the
epidemic around 1900, the World Health Organization said.  Nearly
15 million people have the disease today, and 50 million are
expected to be afflicted worldwide during the last decade of this
century.  WHO predicts that 17.9 million cases will occur in South
and Southeast Asia, 10.4 million in East Asia, and 9.2 million in
sub-Saharan Africa.

"AIDS Ride Fund-Raisers Shift Into High Gear in Third Year"
Los Angeles Times (08/04/96) P. B1; Sancetta, Amy
     Dan Pallotta, the creator and producer of the American AIDS
Rides, says the five rides this year will raise $23 million.  The
rides, which will involve 11,000 riders and thousands of
volunteers, will benefit 28 AIDS organizations across the
country.  Moreover, the riders bond on the challenging courses
and share the commitment to helping AIDS patients.  Pallotta has
helped raise $27.8 million since the first ride in 1994.

"Foreign HIV Surfaces in the Bronx"
Science News (07/20/96) Vol. 150, No. 3, P. 40; Sternberg, Steve
     In a surprising and disturbing find, AIDS researchers have
identified rare strains of HIV in long-time Bronx, N.Y., residents.
 At Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, 828 people who visited the
facility participated in voluntary HIV testing and counseling.  Of
the 43 people found to be HIV-positive, 35 were infected with
subtype B, the most common strain in North America. Eight had geno
types of HIV-1, including subtypes A, C, and a Thai strain of type
B, never before found in people living in the United States.
Kathleen Irwin, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, said the diversity of the strains was "far
greater" than researchers had expected to find in the United
States.  The Bronx is a common destination for immigrants from
countries where HIV is more common.  Intravenous drug use and
high-risk heterosexual sex are also common in the area.  The
discovery could have implications for vaccine development, because
although researchers are now focusing on a vaccine for the B strain
of HIV, the newly identified cases could spur research for a
vaccine to protect against strains previously thought to exist only
in developing countries.

"Difficulties and Strategies of HIV Diagnosis"
Lancet (07/20/96) Vol. 348, No. 9021, P. 176; Gurtler, Lutz
     In a review of current HIV testing methods, Lutz Gurtler, of
the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for
Reference and Research on AIDS, describes the strengths and
weaknesses of existing testing technologies.  Antibodies to HIV
are diagnosed initially by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
(ELISA) and agglutination assays and confirmed by either Western
Blot or more specific tests like competitive ELISA.
Nucleic-acid-based tests and p24-antigen tests, meanwhile, detect
the virus itself.  Such tests are used for HIV detection in
newborn infants, characterization of individual strains for
subtyping and forensic identification, and therapeutic
monitoring.  Moreover, nucleic-acid-based assays can detect HIV
in a shorter time period after infection than tests for
antibodies, which are not detectable until six to eight weeks
after infection.  When quantified, nucleic acid tests can also
indicate clinical status.  The limits of existing HIV tests are
recognized when new strains are identified.  New assays are
needed to detect all HIV strains, Gurtler concludes, to reduce
the risk of transmission and to make diagnosis more reliable.
