From: bigoldberg@igc.apc.org (Billi Goldberg)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: CDC Summary 12/23/92
Date: 23 Dec 92 16:15:24 GMT
Organization: unspecified
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6670


                       AIDS Daily Summary
                        December 23, 1992 

     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.  Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD 

 "Unimed Says FDA Cleared Use of Appetite Stimulant" Wall Street Journal 
(12/23/92), P. B6
     The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a synthetic 
form of one of the active ingredients in marijuana in treating  the 
appetite loss frequently experienced in AIDS patients,  according to 
Unimed, the manufacturer of the product.  The  product, Marinol, is 
known generically as dronabinol and is  already used to help alleviate 
nausea caused by cancer  chemotherapy.  The drug was previously given 
orphan-drug status  for the treatment of appetite and weight loss in 
AIDS patients.   This status provides seven years of exclusive marketing 
rights.   While some patients contend they experienced greater relief  
through the use of marijuana, the federal government earlier this year 
discontinued enrolling cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS patients  in an 
experimental program where they were given marijuana  cigarettes.  
Federal health officials have argued that those  patients should switch 
from marijuana to alternative treatments  such as Marinol. 

"Increasing Numbers of Young in U.S. Lose Their Mothers to AIDS" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (12/23/92), P. A2  (Collins, Huntly)
     Approximately 18,500 American children have been left orphaned by 
the AIDS epidemic--and the figure is likely to exceed 80,000 by  the 
year 2000 as more women contract HIV, according to a report  published 
in the Journal of the American Medical Association.   Authors David 
Michaels and Carol Levine said, "Unless increased  attention and 
resources are devoted to this vulnerable  population, a social 
catastrophe is unavoidable."  They called  the children "orphans" 
because their mothers were the primary  caregivers.  Most of the 
motherless young people, all under age  18, are not infected with HIV, 
but still will encounter problems, such as coping with the social stigma 
of AIDS at school and among friends, finding homes with loving 
caregivers after the mother  dies, and receiving continued support from 
government-funded AIDS services, said the researchers.  Although women 
make up 10  percent of AIDS cases in this country, their rate of 
infection is increasing, mostly because of IV-drug use.  For example, in 
New  Jersey, women constitute 27 percent of all AIDS cases.  The  
majority of the affected young people are low-income black and  Latino 
youths who live in the nation's largest cities, said the  researchers.  
These children have often lost siblings to AIDS,  added the researchers, 
and the social stigma of AIDS makes their  situation worse than that of 
children who lose a parent to cancer or some other fatal illness.   
Related Stories: Washington Post (12/23) P. A2; Los Angeles Times--
Washington Edition (12/23) P. A7; Baltimore Sun (12/23) P. 3A 

"Electronic System Protects Surgeons From HIV, Hepatitis" United Press 
International (12/23/92)  (Estrada, Ray)
     Los Angeles--A new apparatus designed to protect operating room  
personnel from infections like HIV and hepatitis was used for the first 
time Tuesday at the University of Southern California  Hospital.  The 
device is battery operated and is connected to a  surgical patient with 
an electrode while the surgeon, nurses, and others in the operating room 
stand on special pads.  The  manufacturer, San Diego-based InCoMed, said 
that similar monitors can be connected to basins, blood supplies, or 
other potential  sources of contamination.  If any fluids from the 
patient leak  through surgical gloves or gowns, they complete an 
electrical  circuit and incite an alarm.  At that point, a leaky glove 
can be replaced or a tainted gown changed and the fluid washed away  
before HIV or hepatitis B infection spreads.  InCoMed has tested  the 
device, called a barrier integrity monitor early warning  system, at 
four U.S. hospitals over the past 18 months.  Dietmar  Rabussay, InCoMed 
president, said, "Before, it would have been  very difficult to see 
something [such as a glove puncture]  because a surgeon's hand would be 
covered with blood."  He also  said the company is developing a similar 
system that can be used  in emergency rooms and for oral surgery.  "It 
is much more  dangerous [for hospital workers] in an emergency room 
because  there's no way of knowing whether the patient has HIV," said  
Rabussay. 

"AIDS Laboratory Reopens Despite Opposition" Reuters (12/23/92)
     Tokyo--An AIDS and tuberculosis research facility in central  Tokyo 
reopened on Wednesday, even though local residents objected to it, a 
laboratory official said.  Toshihiko Komatsu, director  in charge of 
biological safety at the National Institute of  Health laboratory, said, 
"We were far behind in our schedule,"  referring to a rapid increase in 
the number of people seeking HIV tests.  The laboratory's blood tests 
and other biological  research efforts were stopped in October after the 
facility  moving to the center of the city and prompted protests from 
local residents who feared infection.  Protesters demanded that the  
laboratory move to another location, but a local court has not  yet 
ruled on the matter. 

"News in Brief: New York" Advocate (12/15/92) No. 618, P. 24
     The New York State Bar Association committee on AIDS made 53  
recommendations on Nov. 5 which included leniency for prisoners  with 
AIDS, access to state-subsidized housing for low- and  moderate-income 
same-sex couples, and stepped-up investigation of allegations of AIDS-
related insurance bias.  Committee  co-chairwoman Renee White said if 
the recommendations are  approved by the association, they will be given 
to the state  legislature.  After a three-year study, the 
recommendations were  comprised by the commission, which includes 
lawyers, social  workers, civil rights advocates, and insurance experts. 

"News in Brief: Greece" Advocate (12/15/92) No. 618, P. 32
     A number of Greek hemophiliacs died after contracting HIV through 
blood products imported from France in 1985, according to  allegations 
that a Greek prosecutor began investigating Nov. 4.   The next day, 
health minister George Sourlas disclosed that 14  state hospitals had 
ignored until mid-1987 specific orders to  screen and sterilize blood 
and blood products.  In September  1985, rules were introduced that 
instructed hospitals to screen  all blood received after that date and 
destroy any blood products imported earlier.  According to a court 
official, murder charges  can be imposed if the investigation shows that 
anyone died of  complications from AIDS as a result of negligence. 

"Surveillance for Occupationally Acquired HIV Infection--United  States, 
1981-1992" Journal of the American Medical Association (12/16/92) Vol. 
268,  No. 23, P. 3294
     Public health surveillance of HIV infection in the health-care  
setting provides a basis for developing measures to minimize the  risk 
for occupational transmission of HIV to health-care workers, writes the 
Centers for Disease Control.  Two CDC-supported  national surveillance 
systems have compiled data on occupational  transmission of HIV: one 
initiated in 1981 for AIDS cases and one initiated in 1991 for HIV 
infections acquired through  occupational exposures.  Persons reported 
from these two systems  have been classified with documented or possible 
occupationally  acquired HIV infection.  The CDC received reports of 32  
health-care workers in the United States with documented  occupationally 
acquired HIV infection and 69 with possible  occupationally acquired HIV 
infection.  Of those with documented  occupationally acquired HIV 
infection, 27 (84 percent) had  percutaneous exposure, four (13 percent) 
had mucocutaneous  exposure, and one (3 percent) had both percutaneous 
and  mucocutaneous exposures.  A total of 30 were exposed to  HIV-
positive blood, one to concentrated infectious HIV, and one  had a 
percutaneous exposure to an unspecified fluid from an  unknown source 
patient.  Among these workers, seven have  developed AIDS.  Among the 69 
health-care workers classified with possible occupationally acquired HIV 
infection, four (6 percent)  had occupational exposures to blood of 
patients known to be  infected or to research laboratory specimens known 
to contain  infectious HIV.  Among the remaining 65, none reported 
exposure  to blood or body fluids known to be HIV-positive.  Of these 69  
workers, 54 (78 percent) have developed AIDS. 

"Confidential HIV Testing and Condom Promotion in Africa" Journal of the 
American Medical Association (12/16/92) Vol. 268,  No. 23, P. 3338  
(Allen, Susan et al.)
     Rates of condom use increased and rates of gonorrhea and HIV  
infection in urban Rwandan women decreased after a confidential  HIV 
testing and counseling program was implemented, write Susan  Allen et 
al. of the University of California--San Francisco.  A  study was 
conducted in 1988 among women attending an outpatient  research clinic 
in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.  The study  involved 1,458 
childbearing women, 32 percent of whom were  HIV-positive, who were 
followed at 3- to 6-month intervals for 2  years.  The study found that 
only 7 percent of the women reported ever using condoms before the 
intervention, but 22 percent  reported condom use with good compliance a 
year later.  The study also revealed that women who were infected with 
HIV were more  inclined to adopt condom use than HIV-negative women.   
Independent predictors of condom use, both in HIV-positive and in HIV-
negative women, included HIV testing and counseling of the  male 
partner, having a nonmonogamous relationship, and believing  condoms 
were not dangerous.  HIV rates were reduced significantly from 4.1 to 
1.8 per 100 person-years in women whose partners were tested and 
counseled.  Also, the rate of gonorrhea decreased  significantly (13 to 
6 percent) among HIV-positive women, with  the greatest decrease among 
condom users (16 to 4 percent).  A  total of 35 percent of women who 
knew that their steady male  partners were nonmonogamous had asked these 
partners to limit  their outside contacts in order to avoid AIDS.  
Interventions  that encourage HIV testing and counseling for both 
members of a  couple should be considered in other high-prevalence 
areas, the  researchers conclude. 

"News in Brief: New York" Advocate (12/29/92) No. 619, P. 25
     The federal government's recently proposed revision of the AIDS  
surveillance definition is likely to boost the number of New York City 
residents who have the disease by 5,000 and nearly double  the number of 
new cases that are currently reported per year,  according to municipal 
AIDS program coordinator Ronald Johnson.   He said on Nov. 13, "We are 
talking about an incredible if not  frightening increase in caseloads."  
The new definition will  entail a $250 million increase in municipal 
AIDS spending, he  added.  It is expected to take effect on Jan. 1 and 
will be the  first time that people who are HIV-positive and suffer from  
pulmonary tuberculosis, cervical cancer, severely depressed  immune 
systems, nonspecific bacterial pneumonia, or any of the 23 conditions in 
the current definition, are classified as having  AIDS. 
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids