AIDS Daily Summary November 14, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Reinforcement in the AIDS Battle" "Lifeline: Cause Celeb" "Migrants and Drugs" "The Down Side of Home HIV Tests" "Elton John Joins the Hard Rock Cafe to Commemorate World AIDS Day" "Zimbabwe Minister to Sell Hair for AIDS Campaign" "HIV-1 Seroconversion and Risk Behaviors Among Young Men in the U.S. Army" "International Conference, Vancouver 1996: Arrangements, Deadlines" "New Interactive Internet Form from CDC NAC" ************************************************************ "Reinforcement in the AIDS Battle" Financial Times (11/14/95) P. 12; Cookson, Clive Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) antiviral drugs advisory panel recommended rapid approval of three anti-AIDS drugs. If the FDA follows the recommendations to approve 3TC, saquinavir, and d4T, the number of licensed drugs against HIV will double. The agency's review is important because it lends support to the use of combination therapy and because saquinavir is the first of a new class of drugs called protease inhibitors. Overall, there is disagreement among analysts about the potential of the new drugs on the market. The increasing number of AIDS cases and the popularity of combination therapy will force spending to be divided between a growing number of suppliers, who will each therefore make less money. Additionally, AIDS drug development is more difficult than that for most other drugs because a great deal of management time is spent wrestling with the various political and ethical issues. "Lifeline: Cause Celeb" USA Today (11/14/95) P. 1D; Vigoda, Arlene As part of Counter AID, a Dec. 2 benefit for people with AIDS, such celebrities as Kathy Mattea and Naomi Campbell will work the cash registers at New York and Los Angeles record stores. During the event, retailers will ask consumers to round their purchases from the first week of December up to the nearest dollar. The extra funds will be donated to LIFEbeat, the music industry's effort against AIDS. "Migrants and Drugs" Miami Herald (11/13/95) P. 5B University of Miami (UM) researchers say that increased drug-abuse testing and intervention is needed to combat the high rate of HIV among migrant workers. Previous research on other high-risk groups found greater infection rates in drug users, and the UM Migrant Worker Project learned that this also holds true for migrant drug abusers. The primary connections between drug use and HIV infection are a failure to use condoms, multiple sex partners, and trading sex for drugs, report members of the UM Comprehensive Drug Research Center in the Florida Journal of Public Health. "The Down Side of Home HIV Tests" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (11/13/95) P. 1E; Schieszer, John Some health care experts have numerous problems with the concept of HIV home-testing kits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is deliberating approval of the kits, which would permit anonymous testing by allowing people to place a drop of blood on treated paper and mail it to a laboratory for screening. Results would be obtained over the phone. But Dr. Simeon Prager of South Hampton Healthcare in south St. Louis argues that patients must be prepared psychologically for the positive or negative results. "I think that the more a patient is prepared and the more support they have, the less likely they are to react in an impulsive fashion," Prager observed. Mark Pickering, executive director of the St. Louis Effort for AIDS, also is worried about home testing for HIV. "One of my concerns," he said, "is that after people hear their test results, it is very difficult for them to take in any additional information," such as how to change unsafe behavior. But others believe that home tests could help more people get tested and treated for HIV, if necessary. Some members of the medical community predict that the FDA will make its decision about HIV home testing kits within the next six months. "Elton John Joins the Hard Rock Cafe to Commemorate World AIDS Day" Business Wire (11/13/95) On Thursday, Nov. 16, singer Elton John will visit the New York Hard Rock Cafe to announce the worldwide launch of the restaurant chain's fundraiser--a special edition red ribbon pin. All net proceeds of the pins, which will sell for five dollars each, will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Inc. "Zimbabwe Minister to Sell Hair for AIDS Campaign" Reuters (11/13/95) Timothy Stamps, Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Welfare, will auction his hair next weekend to raise funds for a campaign against AIDS. According to the state news agency ZIANA, Stamps shaved his head in memory of people who have died from AIDS. Under African custom, people demonstrate their grief over the death of a relative by cutting off their hair. Ministry of Health statistics show that more than 100,000 residents of Zimbabwe have died from AIDS-related causes in the past decade. Stamps predicted three weeks ago that another 100,000 Zimbabweans, or 1 percent of the country's population, would die from AIDS in the next year and a half. "HIV-1 Seroconversion and Risk Behaviors Among Young Men in the U.S. Army" American Journal of Public Health (11/95) Vol. 85, No. 11, P. 1500; Levin, Lynn I.; Peterman, Thomas A.; Renzullo, Philip O.; et al. To determine the risk factors related to HIV-1 seroconversion among young men in the U.S. Army, Levin et al. compared 128 men with proven HIV-1 seroconversion between 1988 and 1991 to control subjects based on demographic variables. A total of 49 of the case subjects reported having same-gender sex, 34 of whom also had sex with women, while 70 case and 118 control subjects said their only risk factor was heterosexual sex. Excess risk was observed among men who had sex with women in defined risk categories. HIV-seroconversion risk estimates also rose with increasing numbers of female partners, nonsteady partners, and partners with whom sex occurred on the first day of acquaintance. The researcher concluded that the primary risk factor for HIV-1 seroconversion among young active-duty males in the U.S. Army is same-gender sex. This risk was heightened among heterosexuals by anonymous or casual sex partners. HIV prevention messages directed at young heterosexual males should focus on the necessity of careful partner selection and the dangers of casual sex, in addition to the more standard warnings about the type of sexual acts and the consistent and correct use of condoms. "International Conference, Vancouver 1996: Arrangements, Deadlines" AIDS Treatment News (10/20/95) No. 233, P. 5; James, John S. The theme of next July's 11th International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver, British Columbia, is "One World, One Hope." The meeting will offer several new elements, including program formats, such as formal debates and "late breaker" sessions; health insurance for attendees; and blinded review of abstracts. In addition, the program book will color-code three separate "pathways" with regard to Women and HIV, Development and HIV, and Living with HIV. "New Interactive Internet Form from CDC NAC" CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse (11/14/95) An interactive World AIDS Day form has been added to the CDC NAC Web site. The form allows users to input information about their organization's planned World AIDS Day activities, as well as read about what others are doing. All interested callers are encouraged to visit our Web site, http://cdcnac.aspensys.com:86, and contribute information about their World AIDS Day activities so that others may benefit from reading about a wide variety of events. The World AIDS Day form is located on the AIDS INFO page and can also be accessed through the What's New page and the Home page. CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse staff will be glad to answer any questions users may have. The phone number (800) 458- 5231.