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        - E-mail NPIN |             | Friday, 
      March 10, 2000 
      The CDC National 
        Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention provides the following information 
        as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles 
        and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, 
        and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update 
        also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such 
        as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, 
        fact sheets, press releases, and announcements. Reproduction of this text 
        is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB 
        Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. 
        Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of 
        the articles.Peer-Reviewed Journals
      "Electric Razors as a Potential 
          Vector for Viral Hepatitis"
        "HIV Incidence Among Injection 
          Drug Users in New York City, 1992-1997: Evidence for a Declining Epidemic 
          "
      General Media
      "Mass Injections Against Parasite 
          Spread Hepatitis Across Egypt"
        "Scientists Discover Antibody 
          That Blocks HIV From Cells"
        "Digene Gets FDA OK for Disease 
          Detection Test"
        "Austrian Firm Suspected of Exporting 
          Bad Blood"
        "UN Forces Play Deadly Role in 
          Spread of AIDS, Ambassador Says: Condoms to Be Given to All Peacekeepers 
          "
        "Zambia: Incorporate AIDS Subject 
          in Schools Curriculum"
        "AIDS: Still Searching"
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|"Electric Razors as a Potential Vector for Viral Hepatitis" 
        New England Journal of Medicine (03/09/00) Vol. 
        342, No. 10, P. 744; Kelly, Colleen R. 
        top                                                                                                          |             | In a letter to the editor of The New England 
        Journal of Medicine, Dr. Colleen R. Kelly of Boston Medical Center 
        suggests that shared electric razors may be why so many patients in veterans 
        hospitals shows signs of hepatitis exposure. Overall, the United States 
        has a 1.5 percent rate of chronic hepatitis C infection and 5.5 percent 
        for chronic hepatitis B. According to Kelly, however, "as many as 24 percent 
        of nonalcoholic patients in Veterans Affairs facilities who do not have 
        liver disease have antibodies to hepatitis B, and 3.0 percent have antibodies 
        to hepatitis C." While working at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Jamaica 
        Plain, Massachusetts, Kelly observed communal use of electric razors. 
        Although she knows of no cases in which hepatitis B or C viruses were 
        isolated from the razors, Kelly points out that there "is a potential 
        hazard" because of the risk of small cuts and abrasions. Kelly recommends 
        replacing communal razors with disposable, single-use ones to stop this 
        practice and to reduce the risk of hepatitis transmission.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
|"HIV Incidence Among Injection Drug Users in New York City, 1992-1997: 
        Evidence for a Declining Epidemic " American 
        Journal of Public Health (03/00) Vol. 90, No. 3, P. 352; Des Jarlais, 
        Don C.; Marmor, Michael; Friedmann, Patricia; et al. 
        top    |             | Researchers from Beth Israel Medical Center 
        report that the low incidence of HIV infection and the declining prevalence 
        of the virus among injection drug users (IDUs) in New York City suggest 
        that the HIV epidemic among this group may be in a "declining phase." 
        HIV first entered the IDU population of New York in the mid-1970s and 
        spread rapidly through the early 1980s, with the average seroprevalence 
        reaching about 50 percent. Using 10 studies of nearly 5,000 subjects between 
        1992 and 1997, the researchers found the observed incidence rates ranged 
        from 0 per 100 person-years at risk to 2.96 per 100 person-years at risk. 
        They note that the weighted average incidence rate of infection was 0.7 
        per 100 person-years at risk. Comparisons with other cities--including 
        Bangkok, Amsterdam, and Baltimore--show that New York City appears to 
        have one of the lowest incidence rates around for IDUs. "The recent decline 
        in HIV prevalence, the continuing declines in HIV risk behavior, and the 
        low incidence of HIV reported here all make a strong case for a declining 
        phase in the very large HIV epidemic among injection drug users in New 
        York City," the researchers conclude. They warn, however, that the HIV 
        epidemic among IDUs in the city is not "over," citing as an example the 
        resurgence of tuberculosis in New York after control efforts were reduced 
        in the face of declining cases.                                                                                                                                              
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|"Mass Injections Against Parasite Spread Hepatitis Across Egypt" 
        New York Times (03/10/00) P. A9 
        top                                                                                                                                                                      |             | A decades-long mass campaign intended to eliminate 
        a blood parasite in Egypt backfired, infecting thousands of people in 
        the country with hepatitis C virus (HCV). According to a report in The 
        Lancet (2000;355:887), HCV was transmitted through unsterilized needles 
        and reused syringes employed in the fight against schistosomiasis from 
        the 1950s to 1980s. During the effort, each patient received 12 to 16 
        injections of a tartar emetic; the injections were discontinued when an 
        inexpensive oral drug became available. However, the researchers note 
        that by that time, there had been "epidemic spread" of HCV in Egypt, with 
        many people likely also contracting hepatitis B. Statistics show that 
        15 percent to 20 percent of the 63.3 million Egyptians have antibodies 
        to hepatitis C.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
|"Scientists Discover Antibody That Blocks HIV From Cells" 
        Kyodo News Service (03/10/00) 
        top                                                                                                                                                                               |             | New research from Italian scientists discusses 
        the discovery of an antibody that prevents HIV from entering cells. The-four-year 
        study, published in the Journal of Immunology (2000;164:3426), 
        involved 90 people who had HIV-infected partners. The researchers found 
        that the subjects carried an antibody that their infected partners did 
        not, one that can alter CCR5 and make it inaccessible to HIV. The findings 
        could lead to new HIV treatments or the development of a vaccine, the 
        authors said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
|"Digene Gets FDA OK for Disease Detection Test" 
        Reuters (03/07/00) 
        top                                                                                                                                                                                                    |             | Digene Corp. has received marketing clearance 
        from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Hybrid Capture II test. 
        The test is used to identify or confirm the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis 
        DNA and Neisseria gonorrhea DNA in cervical specimens.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
|"Austrian Firm Suspected of Exporting Bad Blood" 
        Reuters (03/10/00) 
        top                                                                                                                                                                                                   |             | An Austrian firm is being investigated for possibly 
        selling blood to India and China that was not screened for HIV and hepatitis. 
        Austrian prosecutors refused to name the firm, which went bankrupt three 
        years ago. State prosecutor Dietmar Gutmayer said, however, that the company 
        is suspected of selling the blood, from U.S. and African donor centers, 
        as a medical product without testing it for disease. The blood reportedly 
        was processed by an Israeli company, prior to being returned to Austria 
        for distribution through firms in Switzerland and France.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
|"UN Forces Play Deadly Role in Spread of AIDS, Ambassador Says: 
        Condoms to Be Given to All Peacekeepers " Ottawa Citizen (03/10/00) P. 
        A11; Bone, James 
        top                                                                                                     |             | The United Nations (UN) has begun handing out 
        condoms to peacekeepers following American complaints that UN forces may 
        be spreading HIV in countries they are trying to protect. New budget provisions 
        provide for the supply of "one condom per man per day" to UN troops. Although 
        the UN does not track HIV cases associated with peacekeeping missions, 
        a number of Croatian women reportedly were infected after going out with 
        UN soldiers. Also, some troops returning from Cambodia were diagnosed 
        with an HIV strain found in Southeast Asia. At the urging of U.S. ambassador 
        to the UN Richard Holbrooke, resolutions authorizing peacekeeping missions 
        now include statements "encouraging efforts by the UN to sensitize UN 
        personnel in the prevention and control of AIDS."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
|"Zambia: Incorporate AIDS Subject in Schools Curriculum" 
        Africa News Service (03/09/00) 
        top                                                                                                                                                                               |             | In Zambia, UNAIDS country representative Dr. 
        Kenneth Ofosu Barku has suggested that students entering college in the 
        country should first pass a class about AIDS. At a workshop in Lusaka, 
        Barku said HIV should be a priority in the curriculum so Zambia can successfully 
        fight the epidemic. He noted, "HIV/AIDS is the major problem which has 
        led to all the development problems because people could not get the formal 
        education in the first place regarding the disease."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
|"AIDS: Still Searching" New York (02/07/00) Vol. 35, No. 
        5, P. 37; Kinetz, Erika 
        top                                                                                                                                                                                      |             | The last major breakthrough in AIDS drug research, 
        the development of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), does 
        not always do what its creators had hoped at its inception five years 
        ago. Dr. David Ho and Dr. Martin Markowitz have found that HAART, while 
        extending the comfort periods and the lives of AIDS patients, cannot rid 
        the body of the virus. Also, the drugs do not help everyone. Hope may 
        be on the way, however. Markowitz will begin trials at the Aaron Diamond 
        AIDS Research Center of three new drugs that appear to work better with 
        fewer side effects than those currently on the market. Meanwhile, three 
        other drugs in various stages of development are radically different in 
        approach: two fusion inhibitors are being tested on humans, and one drug 
        that prevents the virus from attaching itself to cells may reach the clinical 
        trial stage this year. Other potential changes include once-per-day doses, 
        rather than the complicated and difficult three to five doses per day, 
        stopping HAART treatments while HIV is at low levels and letting the immune 
        system fight back, and vaccines to help the immune system in the battle 
        after HAART is discontinued.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
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