AIDS Daily Summary January 19, 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 "AIDS Clinic Dedicated in Anacostia" Washington Post (01/19/95) P. D.C.7; Young, Vincent Last week, while dedicating a new location for the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Max Robinson Center in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., officials pledged to better reach out and called for cooperation in fighting AIDS. "We're seeing the ravages of AIDS in our community. It's time for [all] of us to put our differences--politics, personal platforms, egos--aside and work together. People are dying and they need our help," said Whitman-Walker Executive Director Jim Graham, who said his staff will work closely with community leaders in Wards 6, 7, and 8 in the city. The majority of people using the center--which offers free, anonymous testing for HIV, a food bank, counseling, and medical and dental services--are intravenous drug users and other substance abusers who are HIV-positive. The center is named for the first black network television anchor in the country, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1988. "With Spray Paint, Students Wage 'Safe Sex' War" New York Times (01/19/95) P. A4; Sims, Calvin Last year, scores of high school students in Buenos Aires went on a graffiti-writing rampage to demonstrate their frustration with the Argentine government's refusal to use the word condom in its AIDS prevention campaign. "AIDS: For Love, Use a Condom," is scrawled across walls in almost every neighborhood of the city. The government has been criticized by nongovernmental AIDS groups and AIDS activists for what they call an anti-AIDS campaign from the Middle Ages because it does not mention condoms. Instead, it notes the modes of transmission. Critics say the federal government has given in to pressure from the Catholic Church not to openly promote condom use. With 39 AIDS cases for every 1 million citizens, Argentina--population 33 million--has the second highest number of AIDS cases in South America. Government health officials acknowledge the pressure of the Catholic Church and call the control more covert than overt. The Catholic church, however, says the condom issue is blown out of proportion to make the church a scapegoat for the government's failure to adequately finance AIDS care and prevention programs. "Ballet Double Bill to Benefit Youths, an AIDS Charity" Philadelphia Inquirer (01/19/95) P. E1; Seidel, Miriam One of two ballets being performed in Philadelphia this Saturday night, "Shut Up and Dance" will benefit the grass-roots AIDS organization MANNA. The performance is the result of the Pennsylvania Ballet dancers' decision to stop talking and do something that would directly help the cause of people with AIDS. MANNA (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance) distributes food to the homes of AIDS patients. "European Commission to Help Indonesia Combat AIDS" Reuters (01/18/95) On Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) initiated a two-year project to help Indonesia fight the spread of AIDS. The EC said the $900,000 project focused on preventing the spread of HIV in Indonesia's three largest cities--Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung. "The government is determined to fight AIDS with all efforts and funds so the conquering of AIDS becomes a part of our national development plan," said Coordinating Minister for Welfare Azwar Anas. By the end of last year, 67 people were reported to have AIDS and 208 were HIV-infected in Indonesia, which has a thriving sex industry. Health officials and aid workers, however, say the HIV figure could be 200 times higher. "Enzo Biochem Announces Antisense Research Collaboration with Cornell University Aimed at Neutralizing HIV Virus" Business Wire (01/18/95) Enzo Biochem Inc. has signed a collaborative research agreement with Cornell University on behalf of its Medical College, to evaluate the company's genetic antisense product for use in managing the treatment of HIV. The work at Cornell will be led by the director of the Laboratory for AIDS Virus Research, Dr. Jeffrey C. Laurence, a physician who is world renowned for his work in AIDS research. Enzo owns the patent to genetic antisense. The HIV-related applications of the product represent the company's first effort to develop therapeutic products utilizing such technology. Enzo's genetic antisense technology has the ability to turn off specific individual genes. For HIV, the technology would be applied to inhibiting the function of the gene necessary for HIV to grow, without affecting other genes. Once validated, the product will undergo a clinical study in which certain cells would be removed from patients, altered ex vivo, and inserted with a new gene that can make the anti-HIV antisense. The altered cells would be reinfused into the patients, where they are expected to offer immune protection against HIV. "Sacked French Bishop Open to Mediation with Rome" Reuters (01/18/95) Jacques Gaillot--the bishop of Evreux, France, who was dismissed by the Vatican last week because of his unorthodox views--was quoted Wednesday as saying he was willing to accept mediation with Rome. Germany's Roman Catholic community has added its voice to the criticism of Gaillot's removal, saying the decision was wrong, although Gaillot was also to blame. "The whole thing is an example of a failure by the Vatican and a bishop to communicate," said Rita Waschbuesch, president of the Central Council of German Catholics. A senior French clergyman, Jean Vilnet, called for a special episcopal conference to discuss the issue and warned that a failure to air differences could cause a division in the church. Gaillot said he would accept mediation through Belgium's Cardinal Godfried Danneels or another prelate if Rome suggested it. Last year, Danneels spoke out against the Vatican, on the issue of giving communion to divorcees. The Vatican said that Gaillot had been repeatedly warned for going against church doctrine by advocating the use of condoms to prevent AIDS, speaking in favor of allowing priests to marry, and calling for greater tolerance of homosexuality. "Hybridon, Inc. and Pharmacia Biotech to Develop Large-Scale Oligonucleotide Synthesis System" PR Newswire (01/17/95) Hybridon Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with Pharmacia Biotech AB to develop an oligonucleotide synthesis system for the commercial production of GEM 91, Hybridon's potential treatment for HIV infection and AIDS. GEM 91 is currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials in the United States and Paris. The system, OligoProcess, will produce antisense oligonucleotide compounds in quantities up to 100 times greater than those produced by currently available systems. Hybridon's chairman and chief executive, E. Andrews Grinstead, III, said, "We believe the successful relationship that we have established with Pharmacia Biotech will quickly lead to the next generation in oligonucleotide manufacturing." "Cellular Immunity to HIV" Nature (01/05/95) Vol. 373, No. 6509, P. 87 A study of the immune status of a group of prostitutes from The Gambia in West Africa may explain the apparent immunity of some to HIV-infection. The prostitutes' blood contains cytotoxic lymphcytes (CTLs) specifically active against identified immunologically active peptides from the HIV proteins. The discovery may suggest better routes to the design of HIV vaccines than the ones currently being pursued. The study, published in Nature Medicine, involved 20 women--six of whom were apparently free of infection from HIV-1 or HIV-2. CTLs specific for HIV peptides are naturally found in an infected person's blood. Their presence without overt infection, however, has no natural explanation except for previous infection. CTLs specifically active against HIV were evoked in only three of the six HIV-free women. The authors suggest that the women were exposed to low-level infection at one point, but the infected cells were eliminated by CTLs before the infection took hold. There is no explanation for the apparent immunity of the other three high-risk women. "Therapy with Gay Men" Focus (12/94) Vol. 10, No. 1, P. 1; Silven, David In "Therapists on the Front Line: Psychotherapy with Gay Men in the Age of AIDS," experienced clinicians summarize their knowledge over the first 10 years of the AIDS epidemic. Topics covered include general issues pertaining to HIV-related psychotherapy with gay men, as well as therapeutic modalities such as individual, group, couples, and family therapy, and special treatment populations. The editors focus on only two minority populations--African-Americans and Latinos. The final chapters of the book address the sensitive issues that arise for the HIV-infected therapist with respect to disclosure of serostatus to clients and the timing of closing one's clinical practice. Although there are topics that are not covered in any depth--such as the epidemiological and medical aspects of HIV, and political and psychosocial issues--the book successfully treats issues sensitively and thoughtfully. "Bangkok's Prostitutes Strike a Harrowing Bargain" Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly (01/09/95) Vol. 17, No. 2, P. 11; Schroeder, Robert "Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex World" is author Cleo Odzer's journalistic memoir on the sex trade and her own life in Thailand. The majority of her field work was conducted in Patpong, an area of Bangkok filled with bars and clubs. Instead of the targeting the macroeconomy of sex, the book focuses on the lives of the women and men Odzer befriends. About halfway through "Patpong Sisters," Odzer tells of the arrival of an American sailing fleet in Pattaya, a coastal city southeast of Bangkok. A Thai group called Friends of Women protested the servicemen's arrival. The sailors were accused of carrying AIDS and infecting young Thai prostitutes. In their counterprotest, however, some of the prostitutes' signs read "Better AIDS than Starvation." Odzer concludes that for the women of the Bangkok sex world, sex equals money, which equals power.