                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                     September 24, 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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"India Enlists Barbers in the War on AIDS" 
"Clean-Needle Effort Wins Praise; Bid-Loser Appeals" 
"He Fights AIDS on Two Fronts"
"Sex on Daytime Soaps: Less Talk, More Action"
"AIDS Cases in Heterosexuals Equal to Homosexuals in Rhode 
Island"
"HIV Positives Up Among Colombian Heterosexuals" 
"South Asia to Work Out Strategy Against AIDS"
"Geneva Conference to Provide Human Rights Guidelines on 
HIV/AIDS"
"Two Candidates for a Live AIDS Vaccine Emerge" 
"Law Student Hangs Jury"
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"India Enlists Barbers in the War on AIDS"
Wall Street Journal (09/24/96) P. A18; Jordan, Miriam
     In India's state of Tamil Nadu, barbers are being trained to
discuss HIV prevention with their customers and to provide free 
condoms.  Indian men are often too embarrassed to buy condoms or 
to talk about sex with health counselors and family members.  
However, HIV is rapidly spreading in India, and UNAIDS estimates 
that up to 5 million of the country's 920 million people are 
already infected.  In many Indian states, officials are still in 
denial about the threat of AIDS, or they are more concerned with 
other diseases, like malaria and tuberculosis.  Tamil Nadu has 
introduced AIDS education in high schools, operates an 
information hotline, and incorporates AIDS education into popular 
movie screenings.  AIDS awareness has reached 95 percent in two 
years, up from 64 percent before the programs were implemented.
     
"Clean-Needle Effort Wins Praise; Bid-Loser Appeals" 
Washington Times (09/24/96) P. C4; Mercurio, John
     Although AIDS activists in Washington, D.C., are applauding
the city's decision to create a needle-exchange program, one 
leading supporter is appealing the city's move.  A group led by 
KOBA Associates, a non-profit drug-treatment organization, was 
awarded the project two years after the city council voted to 
fund the program.  However, a member of the activist group ACT-UP 
said the Department of Human Services rejected the bid offered by 
a consortium his group organized called DC Care, even though it 
scored higher than KOBA in terms of technical approach, 
experience, and capability.  Steve Michael, president of ACT-UP, 
said the group will appeal the selection and will lobby the 
city's financial control board to reject it.
     
"He Fights AIDS on Two Fronts"
Los Angeles Time--Washington Edition (09/24/96) P. A1; Fiore, 
Faye
     Dr. R. Scott Hitt, a leading AIDS doctor in Los Angeles and 
chairman of President Clinton's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, is 
being criticized by activists who say he has not done enough to 
improve the administration's AIDS policies.  Members of the 
advisory council say that while unimposing, Hitt is committed to 
his work.  In Los Angeles, he has treated more than 1,100 HIV 
patients and established a fund for gay political candidates and 
a civil rights group for homosexuals.  Hitt became the first 
openly gay person to lead a presidential advisory council, which 
faced criticism from activists before it even met.  The panel has 
published eight reports, recommending immediate actions the White 
House should take on AIDS. Clinton has followed up on all 
recommendations.
     
"Sex on Daytime Soaps: Less Talk, More Action" 
Washington Post--Health (09/24/96) P. 5; Verdon, Lexie
     A study of the sexual content of 10 daytime soap operas
found that more sexual situations are depicted than talked about 
by characters.  Katherine E. Heintz-Knowles, a researcher at the 
University of Washington, led the study, which compared how sex 
was shown on shows today with a similar study conducted two 
years ago.  Nearly 10 percent of the sexual behaviors evidenced 
in the five-weeks of research dealt with preventing pregnancy or 
sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.
     
"AIDS Cases in Heterosexuals Equal to Homosexuals in Rhode 
Island"
Reuters (09/23/96)
     The number of cases of AIDS among Rhode Island heterosexuals
is now equal to the number of AIDS cases in homosexuals living in 
the state, according to Sex Weekly Plus.  The Rhode Island 
Department of Health reports that half of the 1,385 AIDS cases 
diagnosed in Rhode Island in 1995 were among heterosexuals, and 38 
percent of them were intravenous drug users.  Among those who 
tested positive for HIV in the state last year, 41 percent were 
drug users, 21 percent contracted the virus via heterosexual sex, 
and 21 percent were infected via homosexual sex.  Moreover, the 
rates of HIV and AIDS are rising among Hispanic women in the state, 
especially cases related to heterosexual contact.
     
"HIV Positives Up Among Colombian Heterosexuals" 
Xinhua News Agency (09/23/96)
     Colombia's Ministry of Health reports that 16,331 Colombians
were infected with HIV by August.  Among them, 9,331 had no 
symptoms, and 6,981 had progressed to AIDS.  In addition, HIV was 
found to spread more among heterosexuals, while the number of 
infections had decreased among homosexuals and bisexuals.  The 
largest number of new HIV cases was reported in Bogota, the 
nation's capital.  In response to the growing threat, the 
Colombian government has set up a toll-free AIDS hotline, 
offering free information on sexually transmitted diseases and 
AIDS.
     
"South Asia to Work Out Strategy Against AIDS" 
Xinhua News Agency (09/24/96)
     Doctors from South Asian countries convened in Kathmandu to 
discuss the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) in the region 
and to develop a strategy to fight the diseases.  The World 
Health Organization estimates that 1.5 million people in South 
Asia are infected with HIV and that more than 3 million are 
infected with TB each year.  The co-epidemic is expected to 
increase, especially because TB is associated with HIV infection.
     
"Geneva Conference to Provide Human Rights Guidelines on 
HIV/AIDS"
Reuters (09/23/96)
     Government leaders and representatives from academic and
research organizations are meeting in Geneva to develop 
guidelines on the human rights of people with HIV and AIDS.  The 
guidelines, to be developed for state lawmakers and government 
policy makers, will address areas of law and administrative 
policy and practice.  The conference is sponsored by the United 
Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS.
     
"Two Candidates for a Live AIDS Vaccine Emerge"
Lancet (09/14/96) Vol. 348, No. 9029, P. 742; Rowe, Paul M.
     Two potential AIDS vaccines, both using attenuated and 
inactivatable strains of HIV-1, have been developed by two 
separate research groups.  Both groups used the thymidine kinase 
(tk) gene from herpes simplex virus to replace HIV-1's nef gene. 
The first report was published in the Proceedings of the National 
Academy of Sciences USA in July, while the second appeared in the 
same journal in September.  Researchers have learned that removing 
the nef gene potentially attenuates HIV-1. Some non-progressors 
have viruses without nef, and such strains do not replicate well 
in human cells in culture.  Including the tk gene from herpes 
simplex virus in the attenuated HIV-1 virus, however, makes the 
cell vulnerable to the drug ganciclovir.  Both research teams 
demonstrated that ganciclovir can eliminate the engineered virus 
from human cells in vitro, and one team reported that HIV could be 
eliminated in a small animal model.
     
"Law Student Hangs Jury"
National Law Journal (09/16/96) Vol. 19, No. 3, P. A6; Donovan, 
Karen
     A $350 million class action lawsuit brought by investors who
alleged that a pharmaceutical company made false claims about the 
efficacy of an AIDS drug ended in a hung jury earlier this 
summer, and a lawyer for the plaintiffs wants a new trial.  
Daniel I. Berger was among the lawyers representing investors who 
alleged that ICN Pharmaceuticals had defrauded them by making 
false statements about the potential effectiveness of Virazole, 
an anti-HIV drug.  The jury voted eight to one in the investors' 
favor--the only holdout was a law student whose work at a New 
York law firm dealt with efforts by biotechnology companies to 
make initial public offerings.  The woman, who was known to have 
completed due diligence for a biotechnology company's initial 
public offering at the time of jury selection, argued that the 
false claims were not material to the investors.
     
     
