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.
"The Cause of Invasive Cervical Cancer Could Be Multifactorial"
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
(www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/5/0/5/8/1/0/index.htt)
(3/00) Vol. 54, P. 54; Haverkos, H.; Rohrer, M.; Pickworth, W.
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer for women
worldwide. Clinical data have shown that human papillomavirus
(HPV) plays a role in the etiology of cervical cancer. But not
all women with cervical cancer have HPV, suggesting there are
other factors promoting the cancer. Researchers from Walter Reed
Army Medical Center and the National Institute on Drug Abuse
looked at two different animal models to study cervical cancer.
According to the authors, tumors were produced in the two models
following exposure to DNA viruses and tars. The researchers
suggest, therefore, that the etiology of cervical cancer could be
triggered by the interaction between DNA viruses, specifically
HPV and/or herpes simplex virus type 2 infection, and tar
exposure from smoking cigarettes and/or douching with tar-based
products. If cervical cancer is the result of such an
interaction, the authors note, "it is likely that the declining
rates of cervical cancer in recent decades may, in part, reflect
decreasing tar exposure," as the tar content in cigarettes has been
reduced and vaginal douching products increasingly use vinegar
and water.
"Lawmakers Turn Away $974,000 Health Grant Sex-Education Debate"
Columbus Dispatch (03/30/00) P. 1A; Leonard, Lee
Ohio will relinquish $974,000 in federal funds for health
education because conservatives in the state House object to
sex education programs in public schools that do not focus on
abstinence as the only way to prevent sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs). Democrats criticized the resolution, pointing
out that most of the funds were intended for health issues not
related to sex education. The conservatives objected to $90,000
that was slated for education in schools regarding the prevention
of STDs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which
was providing the funds, noted only that abstinence should be
"emphasized." Groups such as the Eagle Forum of Ohio, Abstinence
Educators' Network, and the American Family Association opposed
the federal grant, citing fears that the funds would be use to
teach kids about condoms, oral sex, and other issues.
"County Plans Effort to Promote Safe Sex"
Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) (03/29/00) P. B3; Marquis,
Julie
A syphilis outbreak among gay men in Los Angeles County has
prompted the county Board of Supervisors to launch a media
campaign promoting safe sex and condom distribution. The
supervisors also asked the county Department of Health Services
to come up with faster methods of reporting sexually transmitted
diseases. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky made the proposals, which
he requested be completed within two weeks' time, noting that "we
need to address the problem in the crisis mode it deserves." At
least 26 gay men in the area have contracted syphilis, with many
of the cases resulting from anonymous sex in bath houses, sex
clubs, or parks with male prostitutes. Many of the men are also
coinfected with HIV.
Reuters Health Information Services (03/30/00)
A review of the National Survey of Adolescent Males by Carolyn
Bradner, a student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School
of Medicine, and colleagues shows that young adult men in the
United States are less likely to receive information abut HIV
infection and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Additional
data was also collected from nearly 1,300 subjects from the
original cohort, with the men between the ages of 22 and 26 at
follow-up. The report, published in Family Planning Perspectives
(2000;32:33-38), shows that 30 percent of the subjects received
no HIV or STD information other than that obtained from media
sources. According to the authors, factors associated with
obtaining more information about STDs include being African
American or Hispanic and having had an HIV test or physical exam
in the past 12 months.
Reuters Health Information Services (03/30/00)
A team of scientists led by Dr. Veronica Miller of Klinikum der
J.W. Goethe Universitat in Frankfurt, Germany, has found that
genotypic drug resistance is common among heavily pretreated
HIV-infected patients. The researchers, who reported their
findings in the Journal of Infectious Diseases
(2000;181:1143-1147), studied 60 HIV patients who saw viral
rebound after 36 weeks of highly active antiretroviral therapy,
after previously being treated with zidovudine and some with
lamivudine. Resistance testing showed that 45 percent of the
patients had strains resistant to the protease inhibitor they
started with and nearly 90 percent of the individuals who
received nevirapine showed strains with reduced susceptibility to that
drug. Overall, approximately three-quarters of the patients had
a strain resistant to at least one drug in their initial protease
inhibitor- or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitor-containing regimen.
Agence France Presse (03/31/00)
Nigerian health minister Tim Menakaya announced Thursday that the
government has significantly increased its budget for verifying
HIV/AIDS cure claims, after a recommendation by the World Bank
and UNAIDS. Menakaya also noted that discussions were being held
with visiting UNAIDS officials--including executive director
Peter Piot--about vaccine trials, increased access to
antiretroviral drugs, and UNAIDS and World Bank financial support
for HIV prevention and control efforts in the country. Nigeria's
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, reported earlier this week that the
government may enact legislation regarding discrimination against
people with HIV or AIDS and also mandatory HIV testing for
couples planning to marry.
"Trade Unions Seen Having Muscle for AIDS Fight"
Reuters (03/31/00); Mnyandu, Ellis
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has
proposed that trade unions could be a powerful factor in the
fight against AIDS, and could lobby world governments for ways to
help Africa fight the disease. The ICFTU issued a report on AIDS
at its 17th World Congress in South Africa, which begins this
weekend in Durban. The report, titled "AIDS--the Fear Syndrome,"
noted that HIV continues to spread, in part, because of a lack of
affordable treatments for poor people and poor nations. The
confederation also called for more concrete measures by
governments to overcome the AIDS epidemic.
"Receptor Boosts HIV Infection"
Scientist (www.the-scientist.com) (03/20/00) Vol. 14, No. 6, P.
12; Steinberg, Douglas
Dendritic cells help immune-system cells transport HIV from its
place of entry to T lymphocytes. Recent research shows that a
receptor on dendritic cells that binds to the HIV protein gp120
and to a molecule on T cells can be targeted in the fight against
AIDS. The receptor, known as DC-SIGN, may be a crucial element
in HIV's invasion. It has been shown that the receptor increases
HIV infection, although the method by which DC-SIGN carries and
transmits HIV is not known. Dan Littman, professor of pathology
at New York University School of Medicine, explains that DC-SIGN
could have a key role in the virus's infection of the body. An
alternate hypothesis does not accept the theory of DC-SIGN as a
receptor for dendritic cells to carry HIV, suggesting instead
that HIV infects dendritic cells, which then replicate the virus
and spread it to T cells after binding to them. However,
scientists continue to research this area to determine if a
possible target for drugs is available in DC-SIGN, especially
since the cell's interaction with HIV occurs early in the
infection process. According to Harvard Medical School's Ruth M.
Ruprecht, future endeavors may investigate DC-SIGN's role in
several types of dendritic cells and also the possible
agglomeration of DC-SIGN receptors. Meanwhile, Harvard's Joseph
Sodroski notes that because the receptor probably binds to other
glycoproteins, attempts to block it "might interfere with the
body's ability to respond to other viruses or even other
infectious agents."