From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 10/8/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6294
Organization: unspecified
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 08:12:28 PDT

                          AIDS Daily Summary
                          October 8, 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 
************************************************************************
 "Congress Approves Measure to Speed FDA Drug Approval" Washington Post 
(10/08/92), P. A1  (Gladwell, Malcolm)
     Legislation was approved yesterday by Congress that would allow  
the Food and Drug Administration to charge pharmaceutical  companies 
various new fees to regulate and review prescription  drugs.  The move 
is expected to raise more than $300 million for  the agency over the 
next five years and to reduce by half the  time it takes to bring new 
drugs to market.  The legislation,  which FDA Commissioner David A. 
Kessler called the most  significant revision to the drug-approval 
process in years, was  passed yesterday by the Senate and by the House 
on Tuesday.  The  "user fees" would allow the FDA to increase the number 
of agency  employees specifically for reviewing new drugs from 1,000 to  
1,600 over the next four years.  The additional staff members  should 
substantially reduce the backlog of new drug applications  and assist 
the FDA in dealing with the escalating number of new  product 
applications expected from the biotechnology industry in  the next few 
years.  Kessler said, "This is a major turning  point--it's a 
milestone...We've stepped up getting  life-threatening drugs out.  We've 
stepped up review of  devices..."  The FDA has vowed to devote all of 
the money raised  to hastening the drug-approval process instead of 
spending it on  general agency activities.  The FDA also pledged that 
over the  next six years, review times would be decreased from the 
current  average of 20 months to six months for "breakthrough" drugs and  
12 months for all others. Related Story: New York Times (10/08) P. A1 

"Mending a Patchwork of Pain" Washington Post (10/08/92), P. C1  
(Kastor, Elizabeth)
     The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial quilt will be on display for  three 
days in Washington, D.C., starting Friday.  In five years,  the quilt 
has grown from 1,920 panels commemorating people who  died of AIDS to 
more than 21,000, and it continues to grow with  unfortunate speed.  The 
quilt has been featured on ABC's soap  opera "One Live to Live," and has 
been displayed in department  store windows.  It has visited small towns 
across the country and traveled to other countries as well.  The quilt 
has even been  compared to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to folk 
art.  Lisa  M. Catapano, the managing director of the NAMES Project, 
said,  "People feel the Quilt provides them with something that's lost  
or denied them by their communities--the opportunity to grieve.   The 
Quilt has provided them with these rituals, and continuing  that has 
become sacred to them."  NAMES board Chairman Geoffrey  Woolley said, 
"Every panelmaker feels the quilt is theirs."  The  quilt now weighs 26 
tons, and sections of it will be on display  in more than 300 sites 
during the next year.  The NAMES project  has raised more than $1 
million for local AIDS service  organizations, in addition to paying its 
own expenses.   Approximately 70 percent of quilt visitors say it 
prompted them  to become involved in AIDS causes by donating time or 
money, or  raised their awareness level and convinced them to change 
their  sexual practices to prevent infection. 

"'Quilt' Weaves Life Into AIDS Patchwork" Washington Post (10/08/92), P. 
D.C. 6  (Hughes, Leonard)
     The play, "Quilt--A Musical Celebration," which is based on the  
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt that goes on display this  weekend in 
Washington, D.C., will be presented tonight through  Sunday at the 
Smithsonian Institution's Baird Auditorium in  Washington.  In the play, 
almost half of the characters are dead. They died of AIDS and are 
eulogized one by one by people they  have left behind.  Their names are 
sewn into a rich, textured  quilt that tragically grows larger every 
day.  Written by five  New York writers and musicians, the play reveals 
the stories of  two dozen people who died or are dying of the disease.  
One of  the connecting themes is time, which tends to fly by for those  
who are dying, and creeps along for loved ones whose grief can be 
lessened only by its passage.  The script is sensitive without  being 
sentimental, and the songs and lyrics are memorable, says  reviewer 
Leonard Hughes.

"Phila. AIDS Walk-athon Is Scheduled for Oct. 25" Philadelphia Inquirer 
(10/08/92), P. B2
     The sixth annual AIDS walk-athon in Philadelphia, designed to  
raise money for local AIDS organizations, will begin at noon on  Oct. 25 
at Eakins Oval.  The event, known as "From All Walks of  Life," will 
encompass 12 kilometers.  Entertainers will perform  along the route and 
a there will be a free picnic at the finish.  A total of 32 Delaware 
Valley AIDS organizations will receive the proceeds from the walk-athon. 

"Health Care Crisis Hurts Fight Against AIDS" United Press International 
(10/08/92)  (Murray, William D.)
     San Francisco--The growing U.S. health care crisis is threatening 
to impede the momentum gained in the last ten years in fighting  the 
AIDS epidemic, according to AIDS organization leaders.  The  leaders 
said Wednesday at the 5th National AIDS Update Conference that severe 
budget cuts on the federal, state, and local levels  were endangering 
essential treatment and prevention programs,  especially at public 
health hospitals.  Mary Pittman, president  and CEO of the California 
Association of Public Hospitals, said,  "We realize we have to do more 
with less, but how much less?"   Pittman added that the California 
public health system dealt with 37.5 percent of the state's Medicare 
cases last year while having just 5 percent of the total number of beds.  
Also, indigents put  a great burden on the system, which cared for more 
than 70  percent of the cases.  "This is a population group greatly at  
risk of contracting AIDS," said Pittman, referring to the poor.   "If we 
are ever to bring this disease under control we must  re-evaluate the 
way the money is spent."  Phill Wilson, co-chair  of the Los Angeles 
County HIV Planning Council, said, "A decade  ago we were controlling 
tuberculosis, but the funding was cut and now we find a growing TB 
epidemic.  The same will be true of AIDS and HIV.  Without the resources 
much of the progress we have made will be lost."  He said that the 
financial burdens of the AIDS  epidemic have changed in the past ten 
years because now people  who rely on public access to health care are 
constituting a great proportion of AIDS cases. 

"Poll: Economy, AIDS, Schools Are Top Issues in California" United Press 
International (10/07/92)
     San Francisco--California residents are most concerned about the  
state's troubled economy, the rampant spread of HIV, and the  
distressing public school system, according to a state poll  released 
Thursday.  Pollster Mervin Field said more than three  out of four 
Californians say they are "extremely concerned" about the three issues. 

"She Ain't Shy" United Press International (10/07/92)  (Varin, Andra)
     Elizabeth Taylor is far from timid when it comes to encouraging  
safe sex.  Taylor is featured on the cover of the November issue  of 
Vanity Fair, waving a condom.  She continues to aggressively  campaign 
for AIDS awareness and education.  Her husband, Larry  Fortensky, is 
also interested in the cause, and now helps out at  an AIDS patient 
volunteer group.  Taylor says the couple has been tested for HIV.  
"Larry and I are regularly checked.  And at the  present moment we do 
not use condoms.  If you're in a monogamous  relationship for a certain 
amount of time and are true to each  other and have tested negative a 
couple of times for AIDS, I  think you're safe," she said.

"Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten 'San Francisco Model'" AIDS Treatment 
News (09/18/92) No. 159, P. 8
     Possible reductions in the San Francisco city health budget could 
ruin what is left of the once highly esteemed "San Francisco  model" of 
AIDS care, according to AIDS activists and care  providers.  San 
Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan is proposing that up to $25 million of the 
$64 million recently lost to San Francisco  (as a result of the 
California budget crisis) be cut from the  Department of Health.  Health 
experts, health-care workers, and  activists claim the reductions will 
lead to "the  Manhattanization" of health services in San Francisco, 
meaning  that the lack of services in New York will soon be experienced 
in San Francisco.  Jerry Windley of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club  
said, "The mayor says he is going to protect the AIDS budget.   But 
there is no way not to cut the AIDS budget [while cutting  overall 
health care].  People with AIDS go to the health centers. People with 
AIDS go to (San Francisco) General Hospital."   Raymond Baxter, director 
of the Public Health Department, said  though he objects to the cuts, he 
is proposing ways to handle the reduction, including the closure of one 
of the city's five  community health clinics, the reduction of 75,000 
appointments at San Francisco General Hospital, removal of one-quarter 
of the  psychiatric beds at the hospital, and huge cutbacks to the  
department of mental health.  The budget cuts would also include  the 
closure of the Center for Positive Care, a one-year-old  program that 
created a "one-stop shopping" center for AIDS  services in the city. 

"Technology: Univax Biologics and Genentech to Develop HIV Treatment" 
Washington Business Journal (10/11/92) Vol. 11, No. 19, P. 11
     Univax Biologics Inc. of Rockville, Md., has agreed with biotech  
giant Genentech Inc. to jointly develop a therapeutic to treat  and 
prevent HIV infection.  The Genentech vaccine will be used by Univax in 
a donor program to generate antibodies to be  researched.  These 
antibodies could be effective where vaccines  are not, for example in 
people already HIV-positive.  The  antibody will be manufactured by 
Univax and marketed by  Genentech--if it proves effective--and both 
companies will share  any profits.

"The Disclosure of Celebrity HIV Infection: Its Effects on Public 
Attitudes" American Journal of Public Health (10/92) Vol. 82, No. 10,  
P. 1374  (Kalichman, Seth C. and Hunter, Tricia L.)
     The effect of celebrity disclosures on urban men's perceptions of 
HIV infection may lead to increased readiness to reduce risk  behaviors 
and could be considered a window of opportunity for HIV prevention 
efforts, write Seth C. Kalichman and Tricia L. Hunter  of the Medical 
College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  The  researchers investigated the 
effects of celebrity disclosure of  HIV infection on the AIDS-related 
perceptions of 361 urban men,  using questionnaires collected from men 
waiting for mass  transportation in downtown Chicago.  Questions 
assessed risk  perceptions, interest in AIDS information, frequency of 
talking  with friends about AIDS, and risk behavior histories.  Of the  
total group, 252 were assessed at three time points prior to and  109 
were assessed at two time points after professional  basketball star 
Earvin "Magic" Johnson's disclosure of his  HIV-positive status.  After 
Johnson's announcement, substantial  increases were found in concern 
about AIDS, interest in AIDS  information, and talking with friends 
about the disease.   Therefore, disclosure should be encouraged and 
celebrity messages should be adjusted to maximize their social impact, 
the  researchers conclude.

"Women With Multiple Sexual Partners: United States, 1988" American 
Journal of Public Health (10/92) Vol. 82, No. 10,  P. 1388  (Seidman, 
Stuart N. et al.)
     Women who have multiple sex partners in a short time frame are  
good targets for programs for preventing sexually transmitted  diseases, 
write Stuart N. Seidman et al. of the Centers for  Disease Control in 
Atlanta, Ga.  To identify markers of sexually  active behavior, the 
researchers reviewed survey data collected  in 1988 from a nationally 
representative sample of 8,450 American women aged 15 to 44.  In the 
three months preceding the  interviews, 85 percent of those surveyed had 
intercourse with one man, 4 percent had intercourse with two men, and 
less than 1  percent reported having intercourse with three or more men.   
Among sexually active women (those who have had sex in the  preceding 
year), 3.4 percent reported having intercourse with two or more men in 
the previous three months.  A total of 0.4 percent of married women 
report multiple partners in a 3-month period  compared with 7.9 percent 
of never-married women, and 9.5 percent of divorced/separated women.  
The study found that earlier first  intercourse predicts having multiple 
recent partners for  never-married Whites and Blacks and for 
divorced/separated  Blacks.  Early first sexual intercourse has been 
linked with  "risky" behaviors such as drug use, not using contraception 
at  first intercourse, having more sexual partners, and having more  
frequent intercourse.  Also, having multiple recent sexual  partners is 
most common among divorced/separated Black women  (11.2 percent), least 
common among never-married Black women (6.2 percent) and intermediate 
among unmarried White women (9  percent).