From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 10/1/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6261
Organization: unspecified
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 12:11:08 PDT

                         AIDS Daily Summary
                         October 1, 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 
************************************************************************
 "AIDS Ranks Ninth Among Top Killers" USA Today (10/01/92), P. 1D  
(Painter, Kim)
     AIDS is now among the 10 leading causes of death in the United  
States, according to a new report.  The disease obtained its  status in 
1991, moving from 11th to ninth on the list compiled by the National 
Center for Health Statistics.  The 29,550 AIDS  deaths in the U.S. 
comprised 1.4 percent of all deaths, surpassed 1990 AIDS deaths by 24 
percent, and outstripped the 27,440  murders and law-enforcement 
killings and 24,740 deaths resulting  from liver disease.  The other 
leading causes of death remained  heart disease, cancer, stroke, 
accidents, lung disease,  pneumonia/flu, diabetes, and suicide. 

"New Machines Allow Deaf to Call AIDS Agencies in Private" Washington 
Post (10/01/92), P. D.C. 8  (Gaines-Carter, Patrice)
     Deaf AIDS patients in the Washington, D.C., area now are assured  
of their privacy just as hearing AIDS patients always have been.  
Approximately 30 local organizations that provide services for  AIDS 
patients recently installed TTYs in their offices that will  allow the 
deaf to communicate with their organizations directly.  The machines, 
costing $400 each, were a gift to the agencies  purchased with a Ryan 
White grant by Deafpride, an advocacy group for the deaf.  Deafpride 
spokeswoman Ann Wilson said the deaf and hard of hearing are categorized 
as a population at risk for HIV  because they simply do not receive the 
same exposure to  information and news about the spread of the disease 
as hearing  people.  Deaf AIDS patients previously seeking information 
had to use what is known as a relay system, which meant sharing private  
information with an operator who acted as a liaison between the  deaf 
person and the agency on the other end of the phone.  The  new machines 
require no third party and no one listening who is  not trained to 
provide support services to people affected by  AIDS.  It is 
undetermined exactly how many deaf persons in the  area have AIDS.  
However, health-care workers know there are  people who do have the 
disease but have been reluctant to get  services because they could not 
contact agencies directly, said  Margaret Bibum, the deputy director of 
Deafpride. 

"Fund-Raising March by 22,000 Yields $1 Million" Washington Post 
(10/01/92), P. D.C. 8  (Sutner, Shaun)
     The AIDSWALK held last Saturday in Washington, D.C., involved  
22,000 participants and raised $1 million for the walk's sponsor, the 
Whitman-Walker Clinic, and two D.C. grantmaking groups,  Brother Help 
Thyself and the Metropolitan Washington Community  AIDS Partnership.  
This was the sixth year of the event, which  has increased in size each 
year.  The walk last year raised  $650,000 and involved 12,000 walkers.  
Approximately $800,000 of  this year's proceeds will be given to the 
nonprofit  Whitman-Walker Clinic to help fund its AIDS and HIV-related  
services, said clinic officials.  The clinic operates eight  residential 
facilities in the Washington area for AIDS patients  and provides 
health-care services, case management, HIV testing  and legal services, 
and runs a food bank.  Whitman-Walker  provides services for several 
thousand clients in the area and  has an annual budget of about $10 
million, raised from a  combination of private and government sources.  
The rest of the  money raised will be given to the other groups' grant 
funds.   Clinic officials claim the significant turnout probably 
resulted  from increased awareness of AIDS and HIV in the area, with a  
recent introduction of a city five-year plan to combat AIDS,  including 
the availability of condoms in D.C. schools, and needle exchange 
programs currently being debated.

"Business Digest: Biotech Lab Gets AIDS Contract" Baltimore Sun 
(10/01/92), P. 14D
     Biotech Research Laboratories of Rockville won a four-year  
$451,000 contract from the University of North Carolina to test  plants 
that might provide effective drugs to combat AIDS.  The  company, which 
was recently acquired by Boston Biomedical Inc.,  will study the 
compounds for toxicity, in addition to potency  against HIV. 

"Burroughs Wellcome Sues Company Over AZT Patent" Investor's Business 
Daily (10/01/92), P. 11
     Burroughs Wellcome Co. has filed a patent infringement suit  
against Novopharm Inc. in an effort to prevent the smaller  company from 
producing a generic version of the AIDS-treatment  drug known as AZT.  
Novopharm said it intends to obtain a license to market AZT from the 
National Institutes of Health, which  Novopharm claims is entitled to 
patent protection rights as a  co-inventor of the drug.  Burroughs 
Wellcome maintains that it  developed AZT without the aid of the NIH.  
Burroughs Wellcome has filed a similar suit against Barr Laboratories 
Inc. and has asked the court to consolidate the two cases. 

"Again, Magic Redefines NBA" Washington Post (10/01/92), P. D1  
(Aldridge, David)
     Although Magic Johnson's decision to return to the National  
Basketball Association is applauded by most people, some are  concerned 
about the potential for HIV transmission on the court.  Jerry Colangelo, 
president of the Phoenix Suns, said he was  worried about this risk.  
"The reason he retired was because he  was given the medical advice and 
counsel to do that, for myriad  reasons.  I don't know what's changed.  
So there's some questions left, that's all," said Colangelo.  He added, 
"Is there any  concern for this virus to be transmitted to other 
players?  It  would be nice to hear things that are a little more 
definitive  regarding these issues...  Nobody's saying it's a hundred 
percent certain" that HIV can't be transmitted.  In the last year, the  
NBA has taken several steps to educate its players and personnel  about 
HIV.  The league has even hired David Rogers, the vice  chairman of the 
National Commission on AIDS, as a consultant.   New guidelines 
concerning the treatment of players bleeding on  the floor and the 
disposal of blood-stained equipment have also  been implemented.  
Johnson played in the all-star game, and went  through Olympic practices 
and games.  There was no problem with  his condition then.  However, 
those situations are vastly  different from an NBA season, even if it is 
abbreviated for  Johnson's sake.  It is still unknown exactly what the 
chance of  transmission is through an open cut.  Michael Adams of the  
Washington Bullets said about Johnson, "He's feeling healthy and  he 
thinks the way to stay healthy is to keep playing.  I commend  him for 
that." 

"'Life' Lightens its AIDS Story Line" USA Today (10/01/92), P. 3D  
(Gable, Donna)
     The storyline behind the HIV-positive character on the ABC show  
"Life Goes On" will not be as murky as in the past.  In the show, Jesse 
McKenna contracted HIV through a one-time sexual encounter, and has 
learned to cope with his situation, says actor Chad Lowe, who plays him.  
This season viewers will be able to see the  character's lighter side.  
Co-producer and writer Toni Graphia  said, "We're emphasizing that he's 
living with HIV rather than  considering it a death sentence."  The show 
will concentrate on  Jesse's art career this season.  Lowe said, "It's 
great that he's able to enjoy life.  But it's real sad, too, because I 
know  what's waiting down the road a spell for Jesse--and other  HIV-
positive people like him--unless Washington decides to do  something 
about it."  He added, "Abstinence is not the cure for  AIDS.  The cure 
lies in education.  This role gives me an  opportunity to help educate 
people and help them to understand  more about the disease." 

"Blood Supply Safe, Study Finds" United Press International (10/01/92)
     Washington--Current provisions to protect the blood supply seem  to 
be highly effective in preventing blood transfusions from  being 
infected with HIV, according to researchers who conducted  the largest 
study to follow up transfusion recipients.  The study suggested that 
screening donors and testing blood minimizes the  chances that an 
infected person's blood will enter the blood  supply, reported the 
researchers Wednesday.  In the study,  published in the Annals of 
Internal Medicine, 11,532 patients who received 120,312 units of blood 
while undergoing heart surgery  were tested at the Johns Hopkins 
Hospital in Baltimore and at the St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital--Texas 
Heart Institute and  Methodist Hospital in Houston between 1985 and 
1991.  The  researchers discovered that only two of the patients had  
contracted HIV and one patient was infected with human  t-lymphotrophic 
virus type-2 (HTLV-2), another bloodborne virus.  The researcher said a 
transfusion recipient encounters a 1 in  60,000 risk of becoming 
infected with HIV or HTLV-2 from a unit  of blood.  The findings are 
encouraging because they suggest  current measures would decrease the 
chances of any new viruses  contaminating the blood supply, said the 
researchers. 

"160 AIDS Patients Cut Off From Free Drug Program" United Press 
International (09/30/92)
     Lansing, Mich.--Free medicine distribution to about 160 AIDS  
patients in the state of Michigan will be discontinued because  the 
individuals' incomes surpass new qualification guidelines.   Officials 
said the guidelines for the federally funded program  were revised 
because demand has increased over the last five  years and federal 
support has not followed.  The new rules will  eliminate from the 
program any AIDS patient with a monthly income above $568.  The income 
cutoff was previously about $1,700 a  month.  Approximately 400 people 
in Michigan will still qualify  for free treatment.  AZT and other drugs 
for AIDS patients can  cost as much as $300 a month per prescription.  
Randall Pope,  chief of the state Health Department's HIV/AIDS Unit, 
said 22  other states have to take similar actions regarding their AIDS  
drug program.  He said Congress is hesitant to increase funding  because 
it fears setting a standard.  The new guidelines were  called "inhuman" 
by one AIDS activist. 

"Questions Linger on Best HIV Drug Strategy" American Medical News 
(09/28/92) Vol. 35, No. 36, P.7 (Staver, Sari)
     It has yet to be determined exactly which anti-AIDS compound  works 
best for HIV-positive patients.  A few of the major  questions include 
when to begin treatment, when to switch drugs,  and how and when 
medication should be combined.  This year the  Food and Drug 
Administration approved two anti-AIDS drugs--DDC  and DDI--in addition 
to the already-approved AZT, giving  clinicians an alternative to only 
using AZT.  At a nationwide  videoconference this month on advances in 
HIV therapy, a panel of experts summarized research on the issue.  Some 
experts recommend combining DDI and AZT when patients fail on AZT alone, 
even  though the FDA has approved DDI only for monotherapy.  Dr. Gail  
Skowron, assistant professor of medicine at Brown University  Medical 
School, said she supports first trying DDI monotherapy  and then 
following with DDC-AZT.  DDI-AZT would be her third  choice, she said, 
basing this order of preference on the amount  of data supporting each 
strategy.  She indicated that patients  who become resistant to DDI 
probably should not be switched to  DDC, as the drugs have been 
demonstrated to be cross-resistant.  Various studies have shown that AZT 
and DDC together produced  longer and stronger CD4 growth than does AZT 
alone, she said.   Dr. H. Clifford Lane said he recommends starting AZT 
monotherapy  as soon as a patient is diagnosed with HIV disease, rather 
than  waiting until the CD4 count drops to 500. 

"No Proof That Prophylaxis Helps" American Medical News (09/28/92) 
Vol.35, No.36, P.7 (Staver, Sari)
     It remains unclear whether prophylactic use of antiviral drugs  can 
prevent seroconversion in health-care workers who come in  contact with 
HIV.  At a symposium, Dr. Fred Gordin, chief of  infectious disease at 
the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical  Center in Washington, D.C., 
said recent studies demonstrate that  half of the health-care workers 
who begin prophylactic treatment  with AZT stop the therapy within the 
first week.  Although there  is a dearth of data that AZT can prevent 
seroconversion,  infectious disease specialist Dr. Gail Skowron, of 
Brown  University, said she would still suggest its use, although not in 
combination with other drugs.  Dr. H. Clifford Lane, clinical  director 
of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious  Diseases, 
speculated that if he experienced a serious on-the-job  exposure, he 
would take AZT, adding that if he seroconverted, he  would start 
treatment early.  Dr. Lawrence J. Eron, a Washington, D.C., infectious 
disease specialist, said he took AZT for two  days following a workplace 
exposure but discontinued using it  because of nausea.  While there is 
no evidence of any medical  benefit, such treatment may prevent hysteria 
after an accident, he said. 

"AIDS Treatment Costs Could Rise Sharply" Nation's Health (09/92) Vol. 
22, No. 9, P. 3
     The national medical bill for treating HIV-positive patients,  both 
before and after actual diagnosis with AIDS, could increase  about 50 
percent, from $10.3 billion this year to $15.2 billion  in 1995, says a 
recent study from the Agency for Health Care  Policy and Research.  The 
additional costs will arise from both  the increase in the number of 
people who are HIV-positive and the increased cost of caring for the 
average case, said AHCPR's Fred  J. Hellinger, PhD, who reported the 
study at the Eighth  International Conference on AIDS in Amsterdam.  He 
figured that  average costs of treating an AIDS patient will escalate 
because  people who are HIV-positive are being treated earlier and more  
aggressively.  Annual treatment costs for an HIV-positive person, before 
AIDS diagnosis, will be $10,000; annual costs after  diagnosis were 
estimated at $38,000, Hellinger predicted.   Estimates of the number of 
American AIDS cases are 66,300 in  1992; 76,300 in 1993; 86,800 in 1994; 
and 97,800 in 1995. 
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