CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update

Shift in Money and Message as Minorities Take on AIDS

"Shift in Money and Message as Minorities Take on AIDS" New York Times (12/17/99) P. A1; Steinhauer, Jennifer
The AIDS epidemic is increasingly affecting minorities, and finally policy making and fundraising have followed suit. AIDS Action, one of the nation's largest AIDS umbrella groups, now has 25 percent of its members representing organizations that cater to minorities, a significant change from even two years ago. An increasing number of African-Americans organizations have ended their silence on AIDS and have become involved, and more federal funds have allocated for minority AIDS programs. AIDS Action's Daniel Zingale explains, "There is no question that the changes are in direct response to the realities of today's epidemic, which is increasingly black, Latino, and female." To help their communities, many African-American and Hispanic groups have decided to focus on prevention instead of on new drug regimens. President Clinton last year signed a $156 million bill for AIDS prevention programs geared to minorities, and many state and local budgets are being revised to allocate greater sums for minority programs.

New, Virulent Forms of Tuberculosis Spur Concerns World-Wide

Wall Street Journal (12/17/99) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn
The threat of tuberculosis (TB) has resurfaced in many countries, after the United States saw a record low of 18,361 cases in 1998. Drug-resistant strains of the disease have spread across 43 U.S. states and in many developing countries. The hardest hit nations are Russia, Central Africa, India, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines. TB is also affecting many people with AIDS. World Health Organization experts admit that a treatment strategy called directly observed therapy, short course (DOTS) is not enough, and that longer drug regimens--up to two years--are needed. In addition, increased air travel is spreading TB across the world, as 40 percent of the cases diagnosed in the United States last year were carried in from countries like Mexico, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Researchers at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases have located the spot on the TB bacterium that is targeted by a staple drug, and the group will spend $75 million for drug and vaccine research on TB next year.

Whitman-Walker Announces Replacement for Ousted Director

Washington Post (12/17/99) P. A28; Goldstein, Avram
Whitman-Walker Clinic of Washington, D.C., has announced that Cornelius Baker, who now heads the National Association for People With AIDS, will become its new executive director. Baker, who has long served on Whitman-Walker's board of directors, will replace Elliot J. Johnson, who was ousted recently after serving for only four months. Whitman-Walker provides healthcare, housing, relief services and other assistance to more than 4,000 clients in the D.C. metropolitan area. The District of Columbia has one of the highest AIDS rates in the country, with up to 17,000 city residents unaware of their infection.

State Tests 38 Barber Employees for TB

Portland Press Herald (12/16/99) P. 1B; Goad, Meredith
A worker at Barber Foods in Maine has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), causing 38 employees to be tested. This marks the second time this year the plant's workers were tested for TB. In the most recent case, the infected worker had not taken the six months of antibiotics suggested two years ago after testing positive. The individual reportedly began developing symptoms soon after he was hired in November. Another round of tests will be done in three months.

Silent, Not So Deadly STD in Spotlight; Virus Becomes Tool in Abstinence Debate

Bergen Record (12/16/99) P. A1; Padawer, Ruth
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is giving conservative lawmakers a reason to warn that even using condoms is not safe sex, and only abstinence can prevent the dangers of disease. However, while HPV can cause cancer of the cervix, less than 1 percent of people with HPV develop the cancer. Less than 5,000 women die each year from cervical cancer, but abstinence supporters warn that nothing can prevent HPV but stopping premarital sex. HPV is the No. 2 cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, but cervical cancer is 13th on the list of female deaths in the United States. Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) recently added an HPV amendment onto a bill authorizing treatment for uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer. The amendment, which was later separated out by itself, would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor HPV rates and would add a warning label for condoms about their failure to completely protect against HPV; that measure is still pending. Public health officials fear that Coburn's anti-condom message will lead to decreased use and that by labeling condoms with a such a warning, the safe sex messages of the past 10 to 20 years could be eliminated.

Italy's Sant'Egidio to Fight AIDS in Mozambique

Reuters (12/16/99)
The Roman Catholic peace group Sant'Egidio has announced a four-year project to treat and prevent HIV in Mozambique along with the help of the Italian foreign ministry. The $4.72 million project will focus on diagnosis, blood screening, research, and HIV prevention. Sant'Egidio's Dr. Leonardo Emberti explained that the first year will be an emergency role, while the next three will focus on development. Experts estimate that there are approximately 700 new HIV infections each day in Mozambique.

Corporate Hospitality

"Corporate Hospitality" Economist (11/27/99) Vol. 353, No. 8147, P. 71
While many companies invest in their employees' health, Placer Dome is going one step further, trying to improve the health of not only its workers but also individuals living near its mines in Papua New Guinea. The international mining firm has joined with several other mining companies to form the World Alliance for Community Health, which, with help from the World Health Organization (WHO), will work with firms to develop a "business plan" for health. Keeping workers healthy helps to ensure productivity and success, and it is particularly useful for everyone when the threat is as serious as HIV. South Africa's Eskom, for example, estimates that AIDS could reduce its work force 15 percent by the year 2005. The electric utility, therefore, has spent $750,000 on AIDS education, distributes condoms to its workers, and is working with the government and mining firms to lower the rate of HIV infection among area prostitutes. Also, Shell Thailand has collaborated with UNICEF and the Thailand Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS to educate gas station employees about HIV prevention. This information can then be passed on to their customers. Such efforts appear to be successful; Volkswagen reports that AIDS-related costs dropped 40 percent after it implemented new HIV prevention measures. Similar projects include De Beer's recent $2.7 million donation to the WHO's polio eradication effort, in which it also involved its employees to help raise awareness, and a $750,000 contribution from the Italian firm ENI to help combat malaria in Azerbaijan. While business and charity are still sometimes at odds, such health partnerships are becoming more frequent and doing more good.

Mice Bring Hope to HIV Mothers-to-be

"Mice Bring Hope to HIV Mothers-to-be" New Scientist (12/04/99) Vol. 164, No. 2215, P. 6; Thomas, Jens
A team of researchers led by Alfred Schinkel and colleagues at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam bred mice lacking the gene that codes for P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which stops drugs from passing through the placenta. By blocking the protein in the placenta, HIV-positive mothers could stop passing HIV on to their babies. The anti-HIV drug, in this case saquinavir, could then reach the fetuses in much greater concentrations. The researchers administered saquinavir to normal mice, in conjunction with cancer drugs that are known to inhibit the action of P-gp, and found that the fetuses of the normal mice had the same increases in saquinavir uptake as those without P-gp genes. While Liverpool University pharmacologist David Back said that raising the level of anti-HIV drugs that can be given to a fetus in utero could be beneficial, he noted that more research needs to be done because "there's a lot we need to know about what happens when we shut this protein down."