From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 9/24/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6226
Organization: unspecified
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 08:12:23 PDT

                          AIDS Daily Summary
                          September 24, 1992 
 The Centers for Disease Control (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. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD 
******************************************************************************
 "US, Foreign Firms Spar for Dominance in AIDS-Test Market" Journal of 
Commerce (09/24/92), P. 4A (Weinzimer, Lulu)
   American pharmaceutical companies and their foreign counterparts are 
debating over the lucrative market for HIV test kits. Abbot Pharmaceutical Co. 
of Illinois leads the competition, but foreign companies are gaining ground. 
Both Agen Biomedical Co. of Australia and Murex Co. of Toronto have developed 
tests that can identify the presence of HIV more rapidly than Abbott's test 
kit. Nevertheless, Abbot has the only test kit in the nation known to detect 
HIV-1 and HIV-2. More than 30 million pints of blood are tested for HIV 
annually. Abbott's AIDS tests currently cost about $7 a kit, according to a 
spokesman. A single kit tests one pint of blood. Abbott holds the biggest 
segment of the market, blood banks, which account for more than half of the 
blood tested in the U.S. Blood banks must test for both HIV strains, thus 
giving Abbott a clear advantage in the market. The Abbott test takes one and a 
half hours to conduct, which is a major drawback for organizations that test 
hundreds of pints of blood daily. However, test kits being promoted by foreign 
firms take only a fraction of that time. Agen's test, known as Simply Red HIV-
1, takes two minutes to perform, says Gita Delsing, assistant product manager 
for the company in Parsippany, N.J.  Although the more rapid foreign tests 
cannot identify the HIV-2 strain, their promoters say that it is of little 
importance since HIV-2 is much more rare than HIV-1. 

"Univax to Help Develop Therapy to Prevent AIDS" Baltimore Sun (09/24/92), P. 
4C (Bowie, Liz)
   Univax Biologics Inc. of Rockville, Md., will work with one of the nation's 
largest biotechnology firms to create a preventive therapy for individuals who 
may have come in contact with HIV, as well as for those already infected. 
Genentech Inc., a San Francisco company, selected Univax to develop the 
treatment because of the company's expertise in treatments based on 
antibodies. Genentech will provide Univax with a genetically engineered 
vaccine now being tested on humans. Univax will inject the therapy in healthy, 
uninfected volunteers, who may generate antibodies to HIV in their blood. 
Those antibodies will then be strained from the volunteers' blood and used to 
make the drug called hyperimmune immunoglobulin. If the therapy proves 
promising in humans, Genentech will work with Univax in more extensive 
testing. Iris Kersterman, a spokeswoman for Univax, said the company hopes the 
therapy can be used to help extend the lives of people who have tested 
positive for HIV by strengthening their immune systems. The therapy will also 
be tried on HIV-positive pregnant women who could transmit the virus to their 
infants. Kersterman said if the therapy is developed further, it could be 
effective for health-care workers who are exposed to HIV through needle sticks 
or other accidental ways. Univax said it couldn't give predictions of the 
market for such a product, but it said there are 1 million to 4 million HIV-
positive individuals who might want to use the therapy and 2,000 babies born 
to HIV-positive mothers in the United States annually. 

"Schmoke Calls for Clean-Needle Exchange Program" Baltimore Sun (09/24/92), P. 
12B (Ettlin, David Michael)
   Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke announced last night at the 5th annual 
Baltimore City-Baltimore County AIDS Conference that the city will again 
request an exemption from the General Assembly in drug laws to permit a clean 
needle exchange program to thwart the spread of HIV among drug addicts. 
Schmoke said at the Mercy Medical Center last night that drug-paraphernalia 
laws would have to be altered before the city could offer a needle exchange, 
which he has long supported. In the 1992 legislative session, a similar 
proposal died. Dr. Randy Berger, director of the Baltimore County Health 
Department's AIDS program, presented figures at the conference showing a 143-
percent rise in reported cases in Maryland since 1989--ahead of the national 
average of 126 percent--and a 168 percent increase in the metro area. She said 
that across the state 4,750 cases had been reported as of June 30. Dr. Berger 
added that Baltimore County has had 302 AIDS cases--most of them occurring 
around the Baltimore Beltway.  Schmoke said 2,273 AIDS cases had been reported 
in the city as of July 31, and 1,408 of those people have died. Health 
officials indicated that homosexuals and IV-drug users remain the most at-risk 
groups for HIV infection and that the disease has a disproportionately large 
affect on the black population. Paul Kelly, a panelist and activist who spoke 
about living with AIDS, said in order to get a better idea of the numbers of 
AIDS cases yet to appear, multiply each known case by five sexual partners and 
five "injection partners." 

"A Son's AIDS, and a Legacy" New York Times (09/24/92), P. C1 (Witchel, Alex)
   Jeanne White-Ginder, Ryan White's mother, is now involved in fostering 
community awareness of AIDS issues through the newly created Ryan White 
Foundation. The foundation is particularly concerned with helping hemophiliacs 
with HIV, families caring for AIDS infected relatives, and adolescents whose 
parents have AIDS. White-Ginder, who with her family was forced to move from 
Kokomo, Ind., when it was learned Ryan had AIDS, emphasizes the importance of 
eliminating ignorance about the disease. "Ryan always said if you don't know 
about something, you will be scared. At least educate yourself. So that's what 
I do. Not from a medical standpoint but a human standpoint. Because the best 
way to learn about AIDS is from human experience. Not statistics," said White-
Ginder. When Ryan was first diagnosed, she said, few people understood the 
disease, and many thought people "deserved" it. But, "we learned real fast to 
fight the disease and not the people." White-Ginder is quick to praise the gay 
community, which she said was vital in helping Ryan live longer. She is not, 
however, so supportive of the National Commission on AIDS. "I don't want to 
criticize the people on it, but I think it's just there for the President to 
say, 'See, I'm doing something.' And even if I think the committee itself is 
listening, is the President?"

"T Board Opposes Condom Posters" Boston Globe (09/23/92), P. 22 (Blake, 
Andrew)
   The chairwoman of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Bay 
Transportation Authority Board pleaded yesterday for an AIDS Action Committee 
advertising poster to be discontinued from display on the MBTA. Loraine Dunn 
said she saw the poster, which depicts wrapped condoms under the heading, 
"Menage a trois?" She said it was suggestive and offensive and it "just 
shouldn't be there." But John J. Haley Jr., the MBTA's general manager, 
suggested yesterday that the ads--intended to encourage the practice of safe-
sex--probably would continue running regardless of the advisory board's 
objections. Yet he would not give a final decision until after he reviews the 
board's request and others in writing. The condom posters prompted controversy 
earlier this month when three of seven proposed condom ads were rejected by 
MBTA offices, only to be overruled by Haley. Because the AIDS Action 
Committee, which introduced the ads, already spent its budgeted allotment for 
the four posters that were accepted, Haley said he would permit the other 
three to be featured on the Blue, Red, and Orange lines for free during the 
month of October. Larry Kessler, executive director of the AIDS Action 
Committee, said yesterday that he was disheartened that the advisory board 
would attempt to "micromanage" the language of advertisements that were 
designed to save lives. Haley said he had promised to allow the ads to run. 

"Gilead Seeks Approval to Start AIDS Drug Tests" Investor's Business Daily 
(09/24/92), P. 3
   Gilead Sciences announced yesterday that it submitted an application to the 
Food and Drug Administration for approval to test its drug GS 393 as an HIV 
treatment. Gilead said it expects to review the product, one of a series of 
so-called small molecule drugs it is developing, in AIDS patients. 

"China Reports Rising Incidence of AIDS Virus" United Press International 
(09/23/92)
   Beijing--An increase in the number of Chinese testing positive for HIV has 
been demonstrated by recent government statistics, reported China's official 
Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.  Xinhua quoted He Jiensheng, Vice Minister of 
Health Speaking, as disclosing to an international AIDS seminar that 932 
Chinese tested positive for HIV between January and mid-September.  Health 
officials announced previously this month that they had recorded 890 cases of 
HIV infection through mid-July. But despite the alarming increase in the 
prevalence of HIV, Xinhua quoted He Jiensheng as stressing China's commitment 
to the international AIDS-prevention campaign. The official added that China 
has enhanced domestic attempts at curbing the virus' spread. China has 
reported a total of just 11 full-blown AIDS cases, with nine deaths to date. 
Although the prevalence of AIDS is low, officials have cautioned that 
increased drug use is prompting ideal conditions for the disease's spread. For 
example, IV-drug use in the Yunnan province, which borders the drug-producing 
Golden Triangle area, has resulted in an escalation of recorded HIV cases 
there. 

"News in Brief: Michigan" Advocate (09/22/92) No. 612, P. 25
   A dispute has been settled between local health officials in Detroit and 
federal officials from the U.S. Public Health Service over money awarded to 
the city for the care of low-income AIDS patients that went unspent, said 
Mayor Colemen Young on Aug. 18. The mayor made the announcement days after 
federal and state officials condemned the city health department for failing 
to spend the allotted $475,000, given in October to be used for AIDS 
medication, treatment, and counseling. Though under terms of the grant 
services would be provided by city employees, city health director Victoria 
Binion said that implementing the program would be too costly. The situation 
was resolved when federal officials agreed to permit the city to contract with 
private-sector firms for the services. Young conceded that city health 
officials had looked for months for a way to deliver services to low-income 
AIDS patients. He added, "Any suggestion that we have in some way been 
ignoring or mishandling the grant is a lie." 

"News in Brief: Georgia" Advocate (09/22/92) No. 612, P. 26
   In Georgia, over 1,000 low-income and uninsured state residents with AIDS 
will be dropped from their AZT treatment in October.  The AIDS patients will 
lose access to the drug because the money provided by the federal government 
for the program that supplies the drug has been depleted. Also, no state 
counterpart to the program exists, activists said, adding that the federal 
government initially earmarked $1 million for the program, but the funds have 
since been spent. 

"Etcetera: Setting Them Free" Advocate (09/22/92) 612, P. 81
   More than 10,000 red balloons, each containing a poignant message dedicated 
to people worldwide who have died from AIDS, were expected to be released 
simultaneously on Sept. 13 in Albany, N.Y. The effort called "Lift for Life" 
was designed to raise awareness about AIDS and to raise money for small AIDS 
groups with low budgets. Joseph J. Sprague Jr., development director for Art + 
Understanding, an Albany-based AIDS literary journal that is sponsoring the 
event, said, "Most balloon launches are done by school children in search of 
pen pals. We're hoping to grab the people's attention and to get them to think 
about AIDS." Sprague added, "We feel the launch is very symbolic. Red 
symbolizes the blood of all the people who have been lost to AIDS, and setting 
the balloons free is a way of lifting their spirits." 

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