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.
New York Times (01/31/00) P. A14
A study conducted by Johns Hopkins University followed 415
heterosexual, Ugandan couples, in which one partner was infected
with HIV and one was not. As a result of the couples rarely
using condoms, the researchers found, over the course of 30
months of follow-ups, that the higher the level of HIV in the
blood of the infected, the higher the risk of transmitting HIV
during sex. This means that low levels of HIV in the blood make
it less likely to spread the virus. The results are important
for drug treatments in the United States, but do not imply that
unsafe sex practices are acceptable.
United Press International (01/31/00); Susman, Ed
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, given
by Stan Lehman and colleagues at the annual Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco, show
that people who engage in behavior that puts them at risk for
AIDS are becoming less concerned about contracting HIV. One in
five who engage in high-risk behavior rely on the fact that they
know better treatments are available for HIV today. The data
came from the HIV Testing Survey, which included interviews from
693 men from gay bars, 693 men and women from sexually
transmitted diseases clinics, and 600 injection drug-users.
Lehman stated that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
has reduced mortality among AIDS patients, but it is not a cure.
All three groups interviewed revealed they had less concern about
contracting HIV and were being less careful during sex or drug
use.
USA Today (01/31/00) P. 3A; Sternberg, Steve
Research from David Cooper of St. Vincent's Hospital Sydney in
Australia has shown that the AIDS drugs protease inhibitors cause
abnormalities in blood fats, or lipids, in chronic users of the
drugs. Cooper's latest study of 84 HIV-infected patients with
abnormal fat metabolism shows that 28 patients have lost bone
density since starting treatment, and seven have osteoporosis.
The findings are to be presented at the Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco.
Reuters (01/30/00); Fox, Maggie
Researchers who met at the seventh Conference on Retroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections believe they may have to lower their
sights regarding an AIDS vaccine, and settle for one that does
not completely prevent HIV infection. Dr. Barney Graham believes
that researchers might have to settle for a vaccine that reduces
the severity of the disease, but not its transmission. A vaccine
has shown to be the best answer to stop the global epidemic, but
no working vaccine has yet been developed. Many are discouraged
by trials of several vaccines, including AIDSVAX by VaxGen Inc.
Dr. Gary Nabel, director of the AIDS vaccine center at NIH,
stated that researchers may be giving up too soon, and not
testing the vaccine thoroughly on control groups of monkeys.
New Jersey Star-Ledger (01/31/00); Campbell, Carol Ann
Gay men in New Jersey are participating in an experimental AIDS
vaccine trial called AIDSVAX, conducted by VaxGen. Two thirds of
the men will receive the actual vaccine, the rest will receive
the placebo. The federal government has finally begun to fund
AIDS vaccine research, spending over $200 million on it this
year. Other vaccine research projects in Kenya and South Africa
are working on stopping the global AIDS epidemic. The different
vaccine projects take various approaches, some focusing on
cellular response or immunity. There are 5,400 people in North
America taking part in AIDSVAX trials, mostly gay men who are
HIV-negative, who come to receive a series of seven shots for the
experiment. Private industry has been slow to work on an AIDS
vaccine, but the recent death toll from AIDS has pushed companies
to research a vaccine. Researchers are using man-made proteins
of the surface of HIV to prompt antibody production. VaxGen
president Don Francis, formerly of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, remains hopeful about the vaccine.
Although it is impossible for the vaccines to cause HIV,
participants may not be practicing safe sex. If the infection
rates are much higher for the placebo group, researchers will
believe the vaccine to be successful.
Chicago Tribune (01/31/00); Manier, Jeremy
Researchers from Northwestern University believe the AIDS
pandemic began in central west Africa around 1930, decades
earlier than previously thought by experts. The new theory has
sparked a historical look at events never before associated with
the spread of HIV, such as the African railway construction in
the early 20th Century. A research review article by Dr.
Beatrice Hahn at the University of Alabama-Birmingham released
the findings on Friday. The new estimate of 1930 challenges the
idea that the first known HIV infection was in 1959, although the
new estimate does have a 20-year margin of error. Dr. Steven
Wolinsky of Northwestern University Medical School explained that
it is likely HIV was in the population for a long time and then
took hold. The most recent HIV theory reported that HIV was
unknowingly passed to Africans who tested the oral polio vaccine
in the late 1950s, but the debate continues. Hahn's report found
the virus most likely entered humans within the chimp's natural
rainforest habitat in west African nations. A complicated
computer model of HIV's evolution has given the estimate of 1930
as the origin year, which coincides with the French colonial
government in western Africa, which used forced labor to make
railways. Because the workers suffered from malnutrition, it is
thought they might have trapped animals in the forest,
contracting HIV from primates. The Congo-Ocean railway is also
found near the earliest known HIV case, in the city of Kinshasa.
Another historical event, the rise of zoos and the capture of
chimps who bite, may be a factor in the spread of HIV.
Washington Post (01/31/00) P. A4
According to the Kansas City Star newspaper, AIDS has killed
hundreds of American Roman Catholic priests since the mid-1980s.
The newspaper revealed that the death rate for priests who have
AIDS is over four times the general population's rate. While the
death certificates of priests may list other causes of death
besides AIDS, Bishop Raymond Boland and other priests spoke that
they knew of priests with AIDS and of those who died from
AIDS-related illnesses. The case of Bishop Emerson J. Moore who
went to Minnesota in 1995 shows that he died from AIDS.
Itar Wire Service (01/31/00); Lents, Yevgenia
The rapid growth of HIV-infected people in Russia's Far East
Maritime territory has doctors alarmed, according to deputy chief
doctor of the AIDS center Valentina Kolesnikova. The chief
doctor stated that the port cities of Vladivostok and Nakhodka
have the most number of infected people, with eight per every
100,000. In only 23 days, the number of registered HIV cases in
Nakhodka has risen from 62 to 76. Kolesnikova stressed the need
for sources to fund prevention programs that help stop the spread
of the virus among high-risk groups.
Newsweek (01/17/00) Vol. 135, No. 3, P. 38; Cowley, Geoffrey
Stopping the spread of HIV in Africa is not impossible, but
several steps must be taken before any progress can be made.
Countries that have cut their infection rates by half, like
Uganda, serve as models for the rest of the continent. Some keys
to containing HIV are to break the silence and promote safer sex.
The stigma surrounding AIDS is powerful in Africa, but with
leaders now calling it an urgent problem, they are helping end
the silence. Promoting safer sex requires more than providing
pamphlets about sex. There must be a change in social norms in
order to have successful prevention efforts. Condoms can be
marketed as popular and attractive to own. Women in Africa also
need to be able to control contraceptives. With older men often
preying on teenage girls, it is hard for a woman to make a man
use a condom. A vaginal microbicide would be an efficient
contraceptive, but most are still in early testing. Finally,
while antibiotics can help treat sexually transmitted diseases,
the best measure against AIDS would be a vaccine for HIV. While
progress regarding a vaccine has been slow, the International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative is backing trials of two experimental
vaccines as well as the development of many others.
National Law Journal (01/10/00) P. B7; Slind-Flor, Victoria
During the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Doctors
Without Borders (known by its French acronym of MSF), the
international non-profit medical group brought attention to the
plight of nations without the means to buy costly drugs,
especially for AIDS. Patent law in the United States and Europe
gives exclusive rights to a drug to its creator for several years
after approval, essentially allowing the company to charge what
the market will bear. That system works well in developed
countries, which have the resources to pay higher prices several
years before the cheaper generic equivalent is released. But the
1999 Nobel Peace Prize-winning MSF is attempting to stress the
need for cheaper medicines in countries that cannot afford the
name-brand version, which happen to be the same countries where
95 percent of AIDS cases are diagnosed. Having created the
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, MSF points directly to
intellectual property rights as the problem, the same factor that
allows for patents on medicines, which give companies in
developed countries 20 years after the discovery of a treatment
without competition; developing countries must comply with the
international law by 2005. The Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, which represents the drug industry,
claims that patent laws allow drug companies to make enough money
to fund future research projects and create new medicines. The
group also says that patent protection affects developing nations
very little, as pharmaceutical companies tend to charge less for
the medicines there. According to the International Intellectual
Property Institute, patentless drugs would still be too expensive
for most developing nations. The group suggests that wealthier
countries should subsidize drugs for poorer nations, as the risk
of epidemics starting in developing countries and spreading
across the world makes everyone's health a global issue.