From: jfh@netcom.com (Jack Hamilton)
Subject: AIDS news, Bay Area Reporter, April 2, 1992
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 4812
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Sun, 05 Apr 92 19:50:40 GMT

Excerpted and summarized from the Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco, 
California.  Topics are separated by titles in UPPER CASE starting with
-----.  [Some of this is just my added opinion.]

----- JORDAN BACKS NEEDLE EFFORTS

San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan announced his support Berkeley's new
needle exchange effort.

"I am firmly in support of Berkeley or ay other city that wants to curb the
spread of HIV.  That means I support any city's efforts to develop a needle
exchange program." said Jordan, a former police chief.  He had  previously
testified in Sacramento in favor of a law to decriminalize the possession
of needles: "It is my firm belief that AB 2525 would prevent rather than
contribute to the spread of drug use", saying that needle exchange is a
"bridge to drug treatment for IV drug users."

[It's interesting that this is happening before possession has actually been
legalized, so the Berkeley City Council and Mayor jordan are to a certain
extent encouraging civil disobedience. ]

----- MEXICO LOGS 9,329 AIDS CASES

The Health Ministry says that the number of people with AIDS in Mexico has
risen to 9,329.  The growth continues to be exponential, but is starting to
level out.  About 47.8 percent of the people who have contracted it have
died.  ABout 90% of the cases resulted from sexual contact.  After the
United States and Brazil, Mexico has the has the largest number of
documented cases in the Americas.  Since 1983, 250,623 cases have been
reported, which is about 357 for every million inhabitants.  In Mexico, the
rate is around 119 per million.

----- AIDS SPREADING FASTER AMONG HETEROSEXUALS

According the Health Secretary Louis Sullivan, a million Americans are
infected with HIV, about one in 250 people.  The rate is around 1 in 100
adult males, and 1 in 800 females.  Every 13 minutes, another person is
infected.

In San Francisco, it is estimated that 1 in 12.5 males and less than 1
percent of females are HIV positive.  Males 13-35 have a 12 percent
infection rate; males over 35 have a 43 percent infection rate.

The CDC estimates that 40,000 more americans will be infected during 1992.
About 60 percent of HIVers have significant immune impairment.  CDC
estimates say that 480,000 cases of AIDS will have been reported by the end
of 1993, with 340,000 deaths.

The number of infections among heterosexuals went up 20.6 percent from 1990
to 1991, IV drug users went up 9.8 percent, and homosexual men went down
0.3 percent.

[I'm not sure how to reconcile the different numbers in these articles.]

----- TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL AIDS CASES

It was reported earlier that high school students at Rivercrest High School
in Bogata, Texas were infected with HIV at a rate six times the national
average.  The Texas Department of Health is still attempting to verify
those claims.  In the meantime, the nurse who reported the problem has
resigned after it has learned that she was not, in fact, a former Army
nurse as she had claimed to be on her resume.

----- ARC AND ASYMPTOMATIC HIV+ VOLUNTEERS WANTED

for an immune modulation study being conducted at Children's Hospital, with
DNCB.  Enrollment is open to people who have decided to begin use of DNCB
in the near future.  For information, call Joanna Van Elk at 415/552-7464.

[I suspect that this study is only for people who live in the Bay Area.
Even so, it's good to see that DNCB is being looked at.  this study is
sponsored by Project infform.]

----- CUBA PHASING OUT HIV SANATORIUMS

Cuba is moving away from holding HIVers in quarantine.  The current
sanatoria will be converted to outpatient clinics.  Most of Cuba's HIVers
(more than 600) may now leave on weekends and holidays, if they can show
that they can care for themselves and protect others.

----- FDA apPROVES TREATMENT FOR MAC

The FDA has approved a treatment IND for Mycobutin brand of rifabutin from
Adria Laboratories.  Clinical trials have already been conducted with
Mycobutin for prevention of MAC (mycobacterium avium complex), which is
believed to be the major cause of "wasting syndrome".  The treatment IND
will allow Adria to supply patients during the pre-approval period before
Mycobutin is approved for marketing.  To be eligible for rifabutin under
the treatment IND, a person must have a diagnosis of AIDS, no history of
MAC, and a CD4 cell count < 200.  Physicians who have patients who may be
eligible can call the PACT Rifabutin Treatment IND Study Center at
800/552-7228.

----- RECENT STUDIES ADVANCE KS DEBATE

The cause of KS, which in the US is most common among gay men, has never
been established.  It was first thought to be a can, but there's increasing
thought that it may be an infectious disease. 

A study published last month [unfortunately, the article didn't give any
details, like where the study appeared or the names of the authors]
indicates that human papilloma virus (HPV) type 16 is present in KS tissues
and sparks the condition.  The authors of the study now claim a detection
rate greater than 95 percent.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that produces genital warts and is
associated with cervical cancer.  HPV is widespread in the straight
population, and S epidemiologists wonder how it could cause a disease which
is most prevalent in gay men.

Another report indicates that KS is associated with oral/anal contact or
other contact with feces, such as "fisting".  A British study claims to
find a relationship between "insertive rimming" and KS, and goes on to
claim that this explains the high incidence among gay men.  [This can't be
the whole story, since rimming isn't restricted to gay men.]

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has not found a relationship
between KS and any particular sexual practice.  The major risks associated
with rimming were hepatitis and dysentery. 

Other researchers have reported that the Japanese drug SP-PG blockks KS
growth in animal models.  The findings, published in Science, are based on
research done more than a year ago.  Robert Gallo's labs at the NCI had
been doing the research, but work there has been disrupted by the
controversies about who really discovered HIV and who owns rights to the
antibody test.  Then the manufacturer, daiichi Pharmaceutical, stopped
supplying the drug.  Production has now resumed, and two investigators have
moved from Gallo's lab to USC.  Human tests are reported scheduled for this
fall. 

----- ACADEMY OF FRIENDS RAISES 100,000 DOLLARS 

An Oscar night event organized by the Academy of Friead more than 1,500
attendees, raising over 100,000 dollas for the Center for AIDS Services in
Oakland, the Stop AIDS Project in San Francisco, and the Lyon-Martin
Women's Health Services (also in San Francisco).  Partygoers were
everywhere in the Fashion center, which had a giant tv screen in the
atrium in addition to smaller sets throughout the building.

The Academy of Friends started with a group of people getting together in
the 80's to watch the Oscars.  The party grew, and the academy now has a
mailing list of over 3000 people.  It has distributed over 450,000 dollars.
it's the second largest Oscar night gala in the world, and the biggest
single-evening AIDS benefit in San Francisco.  Last year, 80,000 was raised
for Project Inform and Shanti.

Expenses for the event are completely underwritten by local donors, so all
proceeds from ticket sales, the silent auction, and the raffle go to AIDS
organizations.

-- 

------------------------------------
Jack Hamilton         jfh@netcom.com
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids