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.
"SAAVI Awards First AIDS Vaccine Grants"
Nature Medicine (11/99) Vol. 5, No. 11, P.
1220; Birmingham, Karen
The South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) has chosen its
first award recipients. Four research proposals were selected,
and a fifth proposal is undergoing additional review. SAAVI has
allocated the groups 7 million Rand out of its R20 million
budget. The recipients include two basic science projects on HIV
clade C, one "Education and Advocacy" program, and a project on
the "Ethical Issues in HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development." Each team
must re-apply for funding on an annual basis.
"A Sex Guide for Girls, Minus Homilies"
New York Times (11/16/99) P. D7; Angier,
Natalie
Frank sex information for adolescent girls is becoming widely
available on the Internet and in a new book aimed at young women.
The book, titled "Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your
Body, Brain and Life as a Gurl," is based on the website gURL.com
and offers nonjudgmental takes on girlhood. The book is humorous
yet serious, addressing many concerns or questions a teenage girl
may have and providing information about bodies and pregnancy.
The book contains some graphic sexual situations, providing
information beyond what is taught in schools. A far cry from the
morality movement of the first half of the century, the guide for
girls focuses not on causing fear about sex, but on providing the
facts in a forthright manner without embarrassment. Some critics
contend that the website and book provide too much information
without discussing marriage.
"In Heated Heroin, a Dangerous Dragon"
New York Times (11/16/99) P. D8
In an effort to avoid contaminated needles, some heroin users
have started heating the drug and inhaling its fumes--a method
known as "chasing the dragon." However, Columbia University
neurologists suggest that this practice can cause spongiform
leukoencephalopathy, a rare brain disorder that can cause
paralysis and death. The researchers report three cases of the
disorder in the journal Neurology, noting that the disease killed
11 heroin addicts in Amsterdam several years ago. The authors
theorize that a contaminant that adds its vapor to the heroin
plume when heated is to blame, because in the Amsterdam cases,
not everyone who injected or sniffed heroin from the same batches
was affected.
USA Today (11/16/99) P. 14A
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Colorado State
University researchers $6.25 million in grants to help fight
tuberculosis. The grants will help 70 researchers continue
studying drugs to combat the disease, hopefully developing a
vaccine.
Seattle Times (11/15/99) P. B2
In Washington state, abortions have reached their lowest rate in
20 years, according to the Department of Health. With 27
abortions per 1,000 women, King County had the highest rate among
the 39 counties. Overall, abortions were down 5.3 percent last
year from 1997, and teen pregnancies dropped nearly 7 percent.
Health department researcher Sharon Estee suggested the declines
could be linked to fear of sexually transmitted diseases,
increased availability of contraceptives, and abstinence
education.
"US Surgeon General Cold on Carr Injecting Room Plan"
Australian Associated Press (11/15/99); Smith, Rod
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said Monday that an Australian
plan to test an injecting room for drug addicts would be rejected
in the United States. Satcher noted that the United States must
maintain a hard stance against drugs like heroin. "We believe
that drugs like heroin that are so addicting should not be
legalized and therefore we don't support shooting galleries or
things like that," Satcher said. He noted that Congress has
prohibited the use of federal funds for even needle exchanges,
although the programs have been shown to stem the spread of HIV
while not promoting drug use. Dr. Satcher was visiting a school
in Sydney to discuss the annual Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, a
national event that encourages students to be drug- and
alcohol-free via an inter-school dance competition.
United Press International (11/16/99); Wasowicz, Lidia
University of Michigan researchers report that microbes can
attach to the chromosomes of a host cell for an extended time,
going dormant until a weak immune system allows the virus to
multiply. The team looked at Kaposi's sarcoma and identified a
protein expressed by a gene of the causative virus that builds a
link between viral DNA and the chromosomes of lymphoma cells.
The researchers note that the findings, published in the journal
Virology, could be used to develop new treatments for viral
diseases.
Reuters Health Information Services (11/15/99)
New research indicates that women with genital herpes who are
under stress for a long period of time are at greater risk of
having repeated outbreaks of the disease compared to women with
short-term stress. The study, led by Dr. Frances Cohen of the
University of California at San Francisco, involved 58 women who
had regular herpes outbreaks, an average of three episodes during
the six-month study. The results of the study suggest that while
long-term stress can trigger a herpes outbreak, short-term stress
did not.
Reuters Health Information Services (11/15/99)
A recent study by members of the EuroSIDA Study Group found that
there are increased survival rates for HIV-infected people living
in central Europe. The study, which ran from 1994 to 1997,
included 7,331 HIV-positive individuals in 18 European countries.
Overall, the group found that patients in central Europe fared
better than those living in northern or southern Europe.
According to the researchers, the risk of death in central Europe
was at least one third lower than that in southern Europe and in
northern Europe; however, they suggest the numbers will soon be
comparable as treatment strategies become more widespread.
Time (11/01/99) Vol. 154, No. 18, P. 59;
Hawthorne, Peter
In South Africa, the annual number of rapes is about 50,000, up
from 1,263 two decades ago. But rape crisis researchers say that
only one in 35 rapes is reported, suggesting that there are more
than 1.6 million rapes annually. In a nation with one of the
highest rates of HIV infection around the globe, the situation is
especially dangerous. The HIV infection rate in Johannesburg is
estimated at about 40 percent among men between the ages of 20
and 29, and many men believe that raping a virgin will rid them
of the virus. Although post-rape antiretroviral therapy is not
available in government hospitals, growing outrage has forced
some facilities to open rape clinics and to train staff in
rape-crisis management. In addition, punishment for raping
someone has become harsher under the Criminal Law Amendment Act
of 1998.