AIDS Daily Summary June 10, 1994 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 Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "AZT Not Linked to Higher Rate of Birth Defects" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/10/94) P. D9 Infants whose mothers took the anti-AIDS drug AZT while pregnant do not appear to suffer from birth defects as a result, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the babies born to mothers who took the drug during pregnancy, only about 2 percent had birth defects. That rate was not significantly more than the general population, in which 3 percent of all babies are born deformed. Furthermore, there was no pattern among the babies born with defects to suggest that the deformity was caused by AZT. "Scientists Joust Over AIDS Research" Baltimore Sun (06/10/94) P. 17A Two renowned scientific journals, Science and the Journal of the American Medical Association, have clashed over the validity of findings in a published report about an AIDS-related skin cancer. The dispute revolves around an experimental compound regarded by leading AIDS researcher Dr. Robert Gallo as promising for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma. Public debate exploded on Wednesday when JAMA printed a report by Dr. Marlys H. Witte et al. of the University of Arizona in Tucson, who attempted, but failed, to duplicate Gallo's experiments with mice and confirm some of the key findings. The researchers say Gallo's work is flawed by systematic errors and omissions, and that their challenge of the findings' validity was foiled by another journal, Science. Witte et al. had originally submitted their own report to Science, which had published Gallo's study, but the journal called the Witte team's experiments "an extraordinary waste of time and effort" and rejected the paper. When a second report including the comments of another researcher, Dr. H.J. Carroll, was again rejected by Science, the Tucson researchers decided to air the dispute through JAMA. Related Story: Chicago Tribune (06/09) P. 1 "Aids on the Increase" Financial Times (06/10/94) P. 29; Crawford, Leslie The number of Ugandan AIDS cases continues to increase despite intense education and prevention efforts. Recent medical studies indicate that public health campaigns are not successful. Besides the usual task of convincing people to modify sexual behavior, Uganda must confront the additional issues of widespread polygamy and low societal status of women--both of which prevent women from exerting control over their own and their partners' sexual health. While the government's AIDS program concedes it can do little for adults who are already infected, it is placing special emphasis on the education of children aged 5 to 15 in hopes of preventing them from ever getting infected. Young girls between the ages of 15 and 19, however, are six times more likely to carry the disease than boys of the same age group. This is largely attributed to the fact that men increasingly prefer young sexual partners, whom they assume are free from infection. "'Patience': An AIDS Musical, Lewd & Crude" Washington Post (06/10/94) P. D6; Kempley, Rita The mission of "Zero Patience," an AIDS musical written and directed by John Greyson, is to debunk scientific theories about the disease. The title stems from Patient Zero, the promiscuous French Canadian flight attendant who supposedly introduced AIDS to North America. Another theory ridiculed in the work is the notion that the virus originated in Africa with the green monkey. Instead, "Zero Patience" blames the epidemic on homophobic governments, greedy pharmaceutical firms, and the public's Victorian prejudices. "Russian AIDS Law Needs Looking At" United Press International (06/09/94); Barclay, William Russia's first proposed law designed to confront the threat of AIDS must be widely discussed before it can be enforced, admitted a Russian parliamentary representative. The draft law would allow police and physicians to require blood tests from foreigners and members of high-risk groups, and to do so without the guarantee of anonymity of those found to be infected with HIV. AIDS activists were outraged and the foreign community concerned by the proposed legislation, which they called a violation of civil rights. The groups claimed it would likely force AIDS patients underground, and leave foreigners at the mercy of Russian hospitals and their contaminated needles. "State Police Warn of AIDS Infected Men" United Press International (06/09/94) Michigan state police warned enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for two men who told border officials in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, that they wanted to infect other people with HIV. The two California residents were arrested by the Canadian border officials for possession of LSD as they attempted to cross the border into the United States. While in custody, the men said that they were gay and--according to a log book they carried--they were traveling cross-country with the express purpose of infecting people with the disease. In accordance with standard procedure, the Canadian Customs agents confiscated the drugs, released the men into the United States, and notified Michigan state police. "Paul Simon to Perform AIDS Benefit in Dallas" Reuters (06/09/94); Zakaria, Tabassum Singer Paul Simon announced that, out of respect and admiration for Mathilde Krim--chairwoman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research--he will perform an AIDS benefit concert tonight. More than $900,000 has been raised from the sold-out event, with proceeds benefiting AmFAR and local AIDS organizations. "AAAS Criticized Over AIDS Sceptics' Meeting...As UK Prepares for Mullis Encounter" Nature (05/26/94) Vol. 369, No. 6478, P. 265; Macilwain, Colin American AIDS researchers and public health officials have sharply criticized the American Association for the Advancement of Science for sponsoring a meeting at which speakers will debate the link between HIV and AIDS. The meeting, called, "The role of HIV in AIDS: Why There is Still A Controversy" is to be held June 21 in San Francisco. The featured speakers include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inventor Kary Mullis, and Peter Duesberg of the University of California at Berkeley, and critics have complained that nearly all of the remaining speakers are known to share Duesberg's skepticism about the role of HIV in AIDS. AAAS Pacific Division executive director Alan Levitone says efforts are now being made to balance the panel. Still, David Baltimore of Rockefeller University says he cannot comprehend why the AAAS would sponsor a meeting that fails to represent scientific opinion. "This is a group of people who have denied the scientific facts," he says. "There is no question at all that HIV is the cause of AIDS. Anyone who gets up publicly and says the opposite is encouraging people to risk their lives." The June meeting parallels an earlier one, this to be held by Britain's Sunday Times. At that public meeting, Mullis is expected to argue that there is insufficient evidence that HIV causes AIDS. "Pain Management" Advocate (05/31/94) No. 656, P. 41; Ricks, Ingrid In response to the AIDS crisis, dozens of service organizations have sprung up over the past 10 years to combat the problem. Many, however, are now plagued by severe financial mix-ups and mismanagement that could eventually lead to their downfall. The reason these agencies are troubled, according to Michael Seltzer, executive director of the New York-based Funders Concerned About AIDS, is understandable. These organizations grew out of the grassroots efforts of motivated, caring members of the gay community who rallied to the cause because no one else would at that time. The problems began to emerge as the organizations began to receive significant funding, because the people who got the groups going did not have the necessary financial and management skills to run the organization smoothly. Seltzer says AIDS groups must go beyond the networks of people they know personally, and seek out help in the homosexual community--not only for financial aid, but for the individual skills needed to run a nonprofit agency. Continued public support, he concludes, may be one of the best techniques for rescuing these AIDS organizations from themselves. "Home Testing for HIV" Lancet (05/21/94) Vol. 343, No. 8908, P. 1293; Mertens, Thierry E.; Smith, George Davey; Van Praag, Eric et al. Some researchers disagree with Frerich's proposal for home HIV testing kits. Mertens et al. say Frerich embraces an old fallacy--that HIV testing alone may slow the spread of AIDS. For this to be true, they say, it must be established that HIV testing and any accompanying counseling lead to a reduction in HIV transmission. A comprehensive review of the evidence in 1991 suggested that this was probably not the case. Mertens et al. are also wary of Frerich's recommendation that tests be sent anonymously to labs. Given the state of the post offices in many developing countries, which would be targeted for home testing, the wait for test results would be long. Also, in a world where women are often culturally and economically subordinate to men, Frerich's scenario of a woman quietly testing her partner is unreal, say Mertens et al. The greatest evidence, they say, is that most people are not willing to undergo testing. They conclude that the main challenge for prevention is to act before the HIV test becomes positive and not after. Campbell et al. agree that there is little evidence to support the idea that HIV testing alone prevents infection. They also add that unregulated home testing is likely to be misapplied, and point out the costliness of such a venture.