-----===[[[ A I D S w i r e  D I G E S T  02.15.93 ]]]===-----


     U.S. Starts Initial Human Tests on New Type
     of AIDS Vaccine *
     Los Angeles Times (02.14.93), P. A7

On Friday, the federal government began preliminary human
trials of an AIDS vaccine, which researchers hope will protect
against several strains of HIV. The National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said researchers would
first give the vaccine to 36 healthy volunteers to test its
safety and the immune system response of the participants. The
vaccine is manufactured by United Biomedical Inc. of Hauppauge,
N.Y. It is a so-called "peptide vaccine," based on a
laboratory-synthesized protein fragment, or peptide. An agency
AIDS researcher, Margaret Johnston, said, "Peptide vaccines
have two particular strengths: They are inexpensive and
relatively easy to modify, to include new mixtures of peptides
and those from different HIV strains." There are at least five
genetically distinguishable strains of HIV, according to
research. The NIAID said United Biomedical eventually wants to
develop a vaccine involving a mix of peptides that would
provide protection against all strains of the AIDS virus.

     A Place for Children Touched by AIDS *
     Washington Post (02.15.93), P. B3
     Pressley, Sue Anne

A facility designed to provide care for children affected by
the AIDS epidemic will open in two weeks in Alexandria, Va. The
PlayCare Center is the first childcare program of its kind in
the Washington, D.C., area. The center will offer a free, safe
place to leave young children for a few hours. Parents or
guardians who have AIDS and need to see a doctor, go to the
grocery store, or even take a nap can take advantage of the
center's services. One HIV-positive woman said, "You find
yourself needing a day for yourself. This disease is so
stressful. It's nice to know I don't have to feel so
overwhelmed." The PlayCare Center is sponsored by the Northern
Virginia AIDS Ministry, known as NOVAM. The center is not a
day-care program, but more like a special baby-sitting service,
featuring volunteers from the Children's Hospital who are
trained to deal with the sensitive problems of families coping
with AIDS. NOVAM executive director Donald W. Leary said the
program is not just for HIV-positive children, but also for all
family members whose lives have been affected by the disease.
The program has a $40,000 annual budget and will be offered in
two small nursery classrooms at the United Methodist Church in
Alexandria, Va. Initially, the center will be open only on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

     Around the Region: Hunger Strike Threatened *
     Washington Post (02.16.93), P. E3

Jesse L. Jackson yesterday proposed organizing a hunger strike
in the United States if the Clinton administration continues to
refuse HIV positive Haitians admission into the country. After
meeting with Chief of Staff Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty, Jackson,
who started a personal hunger strike Sunday, said he supports
President Clinton's policy on the Haitians but wants action
within a week. Recently, Jackson returned from the Guantanamo
Naval base in Cuba, where he joined HIV-positive Haitians in a
hunger strike to prompt Clinton to lift the ban on their entry.
A total of 267 Haitians are being detained at the base because
their claims for political asylum have been refused due to
their own or their family members' HIV-positive status. The
majority of the Haitians are refusing their meals to some
degree, but 15 or 20 are considered active strikers. Jackson
said the expanded strike could involve "other leaders and other
organizations that have been involved in the process." Last
week, Clinton revealed that he wants to end the ban, which
prohibits HIV-positive foreigners from entering the country.

     New Research Shows HIV and Cancer Genes May Be Blocked *
     United Press International (02.15.93)

(Cleveland) A new drug may inhibit cancer and viral infections,
including HIV, according to recent research conducted by the
Cleveland Clinic and the National Institutes of Health, and
published in the Monday issue of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. The drug, 2-5A-antisense, causes
the breakdown of unwanted messenger RNA. Messenger RNA
determines which protein will be made in the cell. Therefore,
when the unwanted RNA is broken down, the gene cannot function.
Dr. Robert Silverman of the Cleveland Clinic's Cancer Biology
Department said, "The research is in its very early stages. But
our results are exciting. This method takes a much more
targeted approach to treating viral infections and cancer." The
approach reported uses a modified "antisense," which is a piece
of DNA that seeks out and binds with messenger RNA. Attached to
the antisense is an enzyme activator, known as 2-5A. The
antisense binds to the unwanted messenger RNA, which is then
killed by the activated enzyme. The report states, "In any
virus, the genes have a sequence unique in nature. In theory,
we can make an antisense that will bind only to the virus RNA
without binding to human RNA, thereby destroying the virus
without harming the person." Silverman warns that the findings
have been in cell extracts, not within animals or people. But
he said the researchers still consider the results quite
promising.

     Blood Program Lacks Expertise, Doctor Contends *
     Toronto Globe and Mail (02.12.93), P. A3
     York, Geoffrey

The Canadian Red Cross blood transfusion program is poorly
organized, which has caused several top physicians to leave the
organization, a former senior official has cautioned. Gail
Rock, medical director at the Ottawa center of the Red Cross
transfusion service from 1974 until her dismissal in 1988, said
she is concerned about the lack of trained experts in the blood
program. She told a House of Commons subcommittee on Thursday
that the national office has only one full time physician, and
he had no training in transfusion medicine before joining the
Red Cross. But Rita Cloghesy, a Red Cross spokeswoman, said the
blood program did not have a shortage of medical expertise.
However, Dr. Rock argued that even after more than 1,000
Canadians contracted HIV from tainted blood products in the
early 1980s, a senior official at the Red Cross refused to
believe the medical proof that HIV could be transmitted through
blood transfusions. She said that the Canadian Red Cross has
also failed to make its citizens aware that they can donate
their own blood for transfusions, a process that is much more
common in the United States. Dr. Norbert Gilmore, a professor
of medicine at McGill University and former chairman of the
National Advisory Committee on AIDS, told the subcommittee
there was a lack of coordination among several organizations
and agencies that are involved in the Canadian blood
transfusion system. He said this lack of coordination "may have
disastrous consequences" if there is a rapidly spreading virus
in the future.

     Hemophiliac Pleads for Redress *
     Toronto Globe and Mail (02.12.93), P. A3
     Cox, Kevin

A man who contracted HIV through a contaminated blood
transfusion and is dying of AIDS made an appeal Thursday to
provincial governments in Canada to compensate the families of
those with the disease. Randy Conners said, "I think a great
injustice has been done to me and my family and I want just
compensation. I want to know that after I die my family doesn't
have to lose our home or go on welfare." He also said he may
only have a few months to live and is concerned about what will
happen to his wife, Janet, who is also infected with HIV, and
their 12-year-old son. A Canadian federal program has been
giving the Conners family, in addition to about 1,000 other
HIV-positive Canadians, a maximum of $120,000 over four years.
That program will end on April 1. The provincial governments
have recently refused to give compensation to these people, all
of whom contracted HIV through infected blood products. The
infected blood made its way into the blood supply in several
countries before aggressive screening and lab testing was
introduced in Canada in 1985. Mr. and Mrs. Conners, along with
Dan Doran, president of the Nova Scotia Hemophilia Society,
made their request for compensation for the families of people
affected by the tainted-blood scandal to provincial Health
Minister George Moody last week. John Sansom, a spokesman for
the Health Department, said that Moody has decided to examine
the situation with other provincial health officials to
determine if a compensation package would be feasible.

     Bishop Urges Nationwide Fight Against Government
     Safe Sex Drive *
     United Press International (02.15.93)

(Manila, Philippines) The archbishop of Manila is encouraging
Roman Catholics nationwide to fight attempts by President Fidel
Ramos' government to promote the use of condoms as a means of
preventing the spread of HIV infection. Cardinal Jaime Sin
asked Manila parishioners on Sunday in his sermon to "join
hands" in the fight against abortion, condoms, and
prostitution. The sermon was the most recent strike at the
nation's first Protestant president. Ramos, a Methodist, has
contradicted the church's beliefs by backing his health
secretary's policy of distributing condoms to prevent HIV and
educating people in the predominantly Catholic nation about all
means of birth control. Sin said, "We all know how hard our
lives are in the Philippines, but what I don't understand is
why the government doesn't care for the feelings of Christians
in our country." Many church leaders and conservative
legislators demanded the resignation of health secretary Juan
Flavier after the former country physician started distributing
condoms in public early this year. The Catholic Bishops
Conference called the use of condoms a "simplistic and evasive"
solution to preventing HIV infection, according to a pastoral
letter read in Catholic churches nationwide Feb. 7. The
Department of Health reports that 368 Filipinos have been found
to have AIDS. Flavier said Thursday that the actual number
could be 100 times that figure.

     Newsline: Fear of AIDS Suit Allowed *
     National Law Journal (02.15.93) Vol. 15, No. 24, P. 17

A federal ruling permitting a worker to sue his employer for
his fear of AIDS is believed to be the first of its kind. The
decision was called a "landmark" by prominent AIDS plaintiffs'
litigator David B. Baum of San Francisco's Baum, Wiss, & Blake.
U.S. District Judge Arthur D. Spatt of the Eastern District of
New York, ruled on Jan. 26 that a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)
employee who was accidentally stuck with a hypodermic needle
while cleaning a railroad station can sue his employer for his
fears that he became infected with HIV.

     Supermarket Video: AIDS Committee Sets Fund-Raiser
     to Start Nov. 24 *
     Supermarket News (02.08.93) Vol. 43, No. 6, P. 37

A multi-million dollar fundraising effort will be led by the
Video Industry AIDS Action Committee between Nov. 24 and Dec.
1, 1993. The program, called "A Penny for AIDS," asks retailers
to donate one cent to VIAAC for every video rental and sale.
The campaign was announced during the Video Software Dealers
Association Regional Leaders Conference in La Jolla, Calif. The
fundraiser program will also request that suppliers donate one
cent for every $2 of revenue during the period.

     Unexplained Opportunistic Infections and CD4+
     T-Lymphocytopenia Without HIV Infection *
     New England Journal of Medicine
     (02.11.93) Vol. 328, No. 6, P. 373
     Smith, Dawn K., et al.

The mysterious AIDS-like condition without evidence of HIV
infection that has recently been reported appears to be rare
and not transmissible, write Dr. Dawn K. Smith and colleagues
of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga. Researchers
conducted investigations to determine the demographic,
clinical, and immunologic features of patients with idiopathic
CD4+ T lymphocytopenia (ICL); whether the syndrome is epidemic
or transmissible; and its possible causes. The researchers
reviewed 230,179 cases in the CDC AIDS Reporting System and
performed interviews, medical reviews, and laboratory analyses
of blood specimens from adults and adolescents who met the CDC
definition of ICL. The patients' sexual contacts, household
contacts, and persons who had donated blood to them were also
tested. The researchers interviewed 31 of the 47 patients
identified with ICL, as well as 23 of their contacts. A total
of 18 patients had one or more risk factors for HIV infection:
seven had hemophilia, six had engaged in homosexual sex, six
had received blood transfusions, and two had had heterosexual
sex partners who were at risk for HIV infection. The other 29
patients had no risk factors for HIV infection. When blood from
28 patients was tested, eight were found to have T-cell counts
of less than 300 cells per cubic millimeter, and 6 had fewer
than 250 T-cells per cubic millimeter. The researchers
determined that 10 sex partners, three household contacts, and
four children of the ICL patients, as well as six persons who
had donated blood to the patients, were immunologically and
clinically normal.

     Survey Finds a Third of Firms Have Policies
     on Workers With AIDS, HIV *
     Boston Globe (02.16.93), P. 43
     Brudney, Juliet F.

Approximately one-third of 535 mid-to-large-size companies
surveyed nationwide have implemented anti-AIDS policies,
according to The Wyatt Company, a human resources consulting
firm. These programs included employee education, training for
managers, one-to-one counseling, and referrals. Dr. John
Bunker, a Wyatt consultant, said the policies usually condemn
discrimination against people with HIV infection or AIDS, and
state that reasonable accommodations will be made to help
employees stay on the job as long as they can continue to
perform essential functions. Moreover, confidentiality issues
are discussed in most company policies. DAKA International,
which owns restaurant chain Fuddruckers, was one of the
companies surveyed. It requires all employees to attend a
session on how HIV is contracted, and how to prevent it.
Managers must attend half- to full-day training sessions that
address company commitments, state and federal laws prohibiting
discrimination and harassment of employees with AIDS or HIV,
and the employer's obligation to provide reasonable
accommodations. Also, an 800 information-and-referral telephone
number is about to be established for internal use only.
Polaroid is another company that provides an aggressive anti-
AIDS program. It has considered prevention through education
its major goal since its AIDS program was launched in 1987. In
addition to educating employees, Polaroid has an information
office equipped with multi-media materials that offers
education sessions for employees' families and friends. The
corporation and Polaroid Foundation fund home care, peer-led
support groups, and other direct services.

     Chronicle: Randy Shilts, Whose Best-Seller About AIDS
     is Headed for HBO, Says He Has the Disease *
     New York Times (02.17.93), P. B4

Randy Shilts, the author of the book "And the Band Played On,"
yesterday revealed that he has AIDS. The best-selling book
discussed the progression of AIDS from an obscure and largely
ignored condition to a nationwide epidemic. Shilts disclosed
his condition in an interview conducted late last week and
printed yesterday in The San Francisco Chronicle. Shilts said
he learned of his HIV-positive status in 1985, "on the day that
I pulled the last sheet from the typewriter of 'And the Band
Played On.'" Shilts said that he decided not to reveal his
condition publicly until now because he was afraid that it
might diminish the effectiveness of his reporting for The San
Francisco Chronicle. "Every gay writer who tests positive ends
up being an AIDS activist, and I didn't want to end up being an
activist. I wanted to keep on being a reporter." Shilts has
recently completed his third book, "Conduct Unbecoming: Gays
and Lesbians in the Military." As he was nearing completion of
the book, he suffered a collapsed lung that forced him to stop
writing. Friends and associates helped him finish it.
Currently, he is recuperating and in physical therapy and an
undisclosed location. A television version of "And the Band
Played On" will be aired on HBO in late summer, and is expected
to involve several celebrity actors.

     Effort to Manufacture Artificial Blood is Thwarted *
     Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (02.17.93), P. B7
     Maugh, Thomas H.

The production of an artificial blood product has encountered
an unexpected hindrance that may seriously postpone its
commercialization, said a University of California--San Diego
physician at a meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. While researchers from the four
companies conducting clinical trials on the artificial bloods
have not disclosed the preliminary findings from their trials,
enough information has been released to allow observers to
figure out the cause of the difficulties, said Dr. Robert M.
Winslow, a professor of medicine at UC-San Diego who was
formerly in charge of the U.S. Army's efforts to develop an
artificial blood. Participants in the clinical trials of the
artificial bloods have reported various unexpected side
effects, including chest pains, back pains, nausea, and
hypertension. What seems to be the cause is nitric oxide (NO),
which interacts with artificial blood, Winslow said. The
hemoglobin in the artificial blood is leaking out of blood
vessels and into the surrounding tissues, where it binds NO
tightly, inhibiting its vasorelaxant properties, said Winslow.
Consequently, the blood vessels constrict, causing the unusual
symptoms. The problem could be very hard to solve because NO
binds with the hemoglobin at the same molecular location that
oxygen does. Any efforts to prevent the binding will most
likely restrict hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying capacity.

     People and Places: Belgium Launches Condom Campaign *
     Baltimore Sun (02.17.93), P. 2A

The condom is being strongly promoted in an anti-AIDS
advertising campaign in Belgium, a predominantly Roman Catholic
country. Social Affairs Minister Leona Detiege said that
Belgians use condoms less than half as often as other
Europeans. The condom was prohibited in Belgium until 1973, and
advertising was under strict regulation until 1984. The new
promotional campaign, called "Zet 'm Op"--which means both "put
it on" and "go for it" in Dutch--will be featured in
advertising on radio, television, and in cinemas.

     Senate Tackles AIDS Controversy *
     United Press International (02.17.93)
     Gerstel, Stev

(Washington) Senate Republicans have waged a major debate with
President Clinton over his campaign pledge to eliminate the ban
that prohibits HIV-foreigners from entering the United States.
Senate Republican leader Robert Dole said Tuesday he would
introduce an amendment to legislation re-authorizing the
National Institutes of Health that would make the anti-
immigration policy a law. However, Clinton had not signed the
executive order to lift the ban. Health and Human Services
Secretary Donna Shalala said it is still being reviewed, and
Dole did not offer his amendment. But Dole's top deputy, Sen.
Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) said the proposal to lift the ban calls
into question two things--are HIV-positive immigrants "a public
health risk" and "do they become a public charge." Sen. Simpson
said these questions and others call for thorough study before
consideration is given to lifting the ban, and added that too
frequently "we do something out of emotion, fear, guilt, yes,
racism -and it's not always the right thing." Simpson said that
among the 45,000 immigrants allowed into the United States, 20
percent are infected with HIV. The immigrants he spoke of are
thought to be from Haiti, but Simpson did not specify. He said
the United States should continue the ban but provide waivers
for family reasons and enable those with AIDS to participate in
conferences held in the United States. Among the 267 Haitians
held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 215 are infected with HIV; the
others are their spouses and children. Of those Haitians, 10
have full-blown AIDS.

     Princess of Wales Attacks Britain for AIDS Prejudice *
     United Press International (02.16.93)

(London) Princess Diana of Wales told a London conference on
AIDS Tuesday that fear and ignorance were the cause of the
alienation of people with HIV or AIDS in Britain. She spoke of
the social problems, prejudice, intolerance, and British
reluctance that isolated AIDS patients from their families.
"All too soon we all will know someone with AIDS.... How will
we treat them? With compassion and care, or fear and
rejection?" she asked. The princess told of the loneliness and
isolation people with AIDS experience and described her meeting
with one woman dying of the disease who had been rejected by
her family. "Her wasted hand reached out for help. She'd been
abandoned by her family, who saw her as an unbearable
embarrassment and disgrace," said Diana. She added, "Still I am
meeting patients like her, rejected by family and past friends,
leaving them with the fear of not being able to find someone to
share their emotional overload and physical disablement and
ultimately their death." The princess called for British people
to eliminate the barriers and overcome the prejudice and
abandonment they inflict on people with AIDS.

     Ashe-AIDS Endowment *
     Associated Press (02.13.93)

(Memphis, TN) A pediatric AIDS research endowment of $1.25
million named for tennis legend Arthur Ashe will be given to
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The announcement came
during the Kroger-St. Jude International tennis tournament on
Saturday. J. Wayne Richmond, executive vice president of the
IBM-ATP Tour, said, "One call to Arthur and he was quickly on
board. He worked up to 48 hours before his death to make this
happen." IBM-ATP was previously called the Association of
Tennis Professionals. The Racquet Club of Memphis, site of the
tournament, Kroger, and the IBM-ATP Tour Charities are involved
in raising the money for the $1.25 million contribution. Ashe
recorded a videotape about the effort days before his death.
St. Jude is part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group--a network
of 24 pediatric and 28 adult AIDS research units nationwide.

     Fearful of AIDS, China Lifts Veil on Homosexuality *
     United Press International (02.17.93)
     Leicester, John

(Beijing) Although the Chinese government previously denied
that homosexuality existed and jailed anyone suspected of being
gay, the AIDS epidemic has forced officials to try to lure them
back. Officials at the National Health Education Institute in
China established "Men's World," a support group for gay men,
last year. The authorities hoped that Chinese homosexuals could
be educated about the risks of HIV infection before it
devastates gay communities as it has in the West. Currently,
only 3 of the 969 reported cases of HIV infection have been
among gay men, but health officials claim these figures are
misleading. Wan Yanhai, an official at the institute and a
pioneer in AIDS prevention work among gay men, said, "I think
in reality the number could be much higher, [and] it is
definitely going to rise." In 1991, a study was conducted among
homosexuals which found that just 3.9 percent "knew a lot"
about AIDS. But most believed AIDS posed no risk and only 6
percent had ever used condoms, even though they may have had
hundreds of sex partners. What was more alarming was that 25
percent of the 96 men surveyed were found to have a sexually
transmitted disease, which increases the chance of HIV
transmission. "Men's World" plans on implementing a gay
counseling hotline and center in Beijing and AIDS hotlines in
Shanghai and Canton, distributing condoms and training gay men
as educators who would use their knowledge of China's secretive
gay communities to instruct on HIV prevention.

     Idiopathic CD4+ T-Lymphocytopenia--Immunodeficiency
     Without Evidence of HIV Infection *
     New England Journal of Medicine
     (02.16.93) Vol. 328, No. 6, P. 380
     Ho, David D. et al.

It remains undetermined whether idiopathic CD4 T-
lymphocytopenia (ICL) is new, transmissible, or acquired, write
David D. Ho et al. of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in
New York, N.Y. Patients recently diagnosed with severe CD4 T-
lymphocytopenia but without evidence of HIV infection have
spurred a national surveillance network to investigate such
cases. The researchers examined 12 patients with CD4 T-
lymphocytopenia who were referred by three U.S. cities. The
patients (10 men and 2 women) ranged in age from 30 to 69
years. A total of eight had risk factors for HIV infection. The
clinical conditions were heterogeneous: five patients had
opportunistic infections, five had syndromes of unknown cause,
and two had no symptoms. Two patients died from severe
complications of their immunodeficiency. The patients' lowest
CD4 T-lymphocyte counts ranged from three to 308 per cubic
millimeter. Three patients had complete or partial spontaneous
reversal of the CD4 T lymphocytopenia. Concomitant CD8 T-
lymphocytopenia was found in three patientsJand abnormal
immunoglobulin levels were found in five. Multiple virologic
studies by serologic testing, culture, and polymerase chain
reaction were completely negative for HIV in all patients. The
researchers found that the 12 patients with ICL appear to be
epidemiologically, clinically, and immunologically
heterogeneous. Although the conditions experienced in the ICL
patients resemble AIDS, HIV infection was not detected. The
cause of ICL is unknown, the researchers conclude.

     Projections of the Number of Persons Diagnosed With AIDS
     and the Number of Immunosuppressed HIV-Infected Persons-
     United States, 1992-1994 *
     Journal of the American Medical Association
     (02.10.93) Vol. 269, No. 6, P. 733

The Centers for Disease Control recently released new estimates
of the number of persons in the United States who will
initially be diagnosed with an illness included in the 1987
AIDS surveillance case definition during 1992-1994. About
58,000 Americans had AIDS during 1991 as defined by the 1987
AIDS definition. Between 1992-1994, the number of persons who
have illnesses meeting these criteria is expected to rise by
only a few percent annually, with about 85 percent of those
persons being reported to the CDC with cases of AIDS. The rate
of increase in reported AIDS cases in persons who contracted
HIV via heterosexual contact is expected to be higher than that
in persons who contracted the virus through homosexual/bisexual
contact or IV-drug use. The CDC predicts that, as of January
1993, an additional 120,000 to 190,000 Americans had HIV-
related severe immunosuppression. Not all of these persons were
aware of their HIV infection, however, and of those who know
their HIV infection status, not all have had a T-cell count. If
the AIDS definition went unchanged, about 50,000 to 60,000
reported AIDS cases would have been expected in 1993. The new
definition of AIDS that includes HIV related severe
immunosuppression should increase reported cases by about 75
percent. The effect of this expansion on the number of reported
cases is estimated to be smaller in later years because in 1993
many prevalent as well as incident cases of immunosuppression
will be reported as the expanded surveillance case definition
is used. Reported AIDS cases may decrease from 1993 through
1994, according to the CDC.

     Multicenter Clinical Trials of AIDS Vaccines Scheduled
     to Get Under Way in Coming Months *
     Journal of the American Medical Association
     (02.10.93) Vol. 269, No. 6, P. 725
     Marwick, Charles

HIV-negative volunteers at high risk of infection areJbeing
recruited for nationwide clinical trials of two AIDS vaccines.
A total of about 320 male and female volunteers aged 18-60
years old will be involved. However, some officials from the
National Institutes of Health project that it will be at least
two more years before full-scale vaccine trials are conducted.
The two vaccines will be tested in five American centers: Johns
Hopkins University Center for Immunization, Baltimore, Md.; St.
Louis (Mo.) University School of Medicine; University of
Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center; Vanderbilt University Medical
Center, Nashville, Tenn.; and the University of Washington
School of Medicine in Seattle. The two vaccines have already
undergone safety testing, and do not appear to produce unwanted
side effects. The trials will test the ability of two
recombinant proteins made from the HIV envelope protein gp160
to boost protective antibodies and possibly cytotoxic T-
lymphocyte responses, says Daniel Hoth, MD, director of the
AIDS division at the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases. Volunteers will be counseled to avoid
high-risk behaviors linked with HIV transmission. They will be
assigned randomly to receive one of the vaccines or a placebo.
Three intramuscular injections will be given--an initial
injection and then two boosters at one and six months. One
vaccine, genetically engineered by Genentech Inc., uses the
HIV-1 MN strain. The other, made by Biocine, uses the closely
related HIV-1 SF-2 strain. The two vaccines are equipped with
adjuvants to further potentiate an immune response.

     TB Control Guidelines Cause Coast-to-Coast Confusion *
     American Medical News (02.08.93) Vol. 36, No. 6, P. 1
     Voelker, Rebecca

Due to the lack of a national plan to prevent tuberculosis
transmission, federal, state, and regional health officials
have developed conflicting respiratory-protection guidelines.
The suggested measures range from protective surgical masks to
the cumbersome powered air respirators proposed last year by
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. But
in its current draft guidelines, the Centers for Disease
Control backs away from the NIOSH-recommended respirators
because of opposition from both health professionals and
hospital administrators. Despite the tighter facial fit of the
respirators, the CDC says, "There is not sufficient scientific
evidence to support" their routine use. The agency instead
suggests that protective surgical masks and valveless dust and
mist respirators are sufficient for minimum protection. CDC
spokeswoman Kay Golan said, "NIOSH was required by law to
assess the risk and make recommendations so that no worker
suffers. They were prohibited from considering cost or
feasibility when they made their recommendations." But if the
NIOSH recommendations are adopted in a federal OSHA standard,
they could become legally enforceable. Dr. Michael Tapper,
chairman of the AIDS/TB committee of the Society for the
Hospital Epidemiologists of America, attended a meeting at the
CDC in Atlanta concerning its first round of revisions to the
1990 guidelines for TB control in health-care settings. He said
that consensus based on science is desperately needed to dispel
the confusion.

     Drug Combination Stops AIDS Virus Reproduction *
     Washington Post (02.18.93), P. A3

A drug strategy has been developed that inhibits HIV from
reproducing in a test tube, according to a report published in
Thursday's issue of Nature by researchers from the
Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School
in Boston. The technique involves a combination of three drugs:
AZT, ddI, and a third compound called pyridinone. All three
drugs attack a single enzyme, called reverse transcriptase,
which HIV needs to reproduce. If the approach is found to also
block the spread of HIV in people, a patient's immune system
might be able "to at least keep the virus in control for long
periods of time, and perhaps forever," said Martin Hirsh, one
of the researchers in the study. However, he and other
researchers warn that it will take experiments in humans to
determine if the technique is actually effective. HIV can
mutate to produce subtle alterations in the enzyme that yield
resistance to individual drugs. Yung-Kang Chow, one of the
researchers, said the concept behind the "convergent
combination therapy" was that the virus would be unable to
resist a triple attack. In addition, thwarting the spread of
the enzyme might prevent the virus from developing drug-
resistant strains, said Chow. The researchers infected blood
cells with HIV, then waited a week until HIV reproduction was
at its peak. At this point, they added the three-drug
combination. After 35 days, the infection was no longer
detectable. After 49 days of treatment the drugs were
discontinued, and no HIV reproduction was evident for the next
45 days. The three drug combination will be tested in a study
of people with advanced stage HIV infection beginning this
spring.
Related Stories: New York Times (02.18) P. A1: Philadelphia
Inquirer (02.18) P. A3

     New York Needle Exchanges Called Surprisingly Effective *
     New York Times (02.18.93), P. A1
     Navarro, Mireya

The New York city needle exchange program designed to curb the
spread of HIV among drug addicts has attracted substantial
numbers of IV drug users and convinced several of them to share
their used needles less frequently, according to experts
evaluating the effort. The programs, which began six months
ago, have enrolled 5,000 IV-drug users, far more than previous
needle swap efforts in the city, both legal and illegal. Also,
the programs have not led to increased drug use among the
addicts. The program results are significant because of the
city's estimated 200,000 IV-drug users, 50 percent are infected
with HIV. Dr. Don C. Des Jarlais, director of research for Beth
Israel Medical Center's Chemical Dependency Institute, said
that the early findings are parallel to those from Europe,
Canada, and other cities in the United States, including
Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, Ore. The city began four new pilot
programs between July and November of last year, which were
funded with money from the American Foundation for AIDS
Research, and the New York State Department of Health. Unlike
an earlier program, the new ones are operated by community
groups already experienced in working with drug users. Those
participants interviewed said they were sharing their needles
less: 20 percent said they still borrowed syringe needles from
others, compared with 30 percent before the programs; and 10
percent said they rented or bought used needles, compared with
more than 25 percent earlier. The programs have received little
resistance from the community, and have been successful in
linking the addicts with health care and housing, according to
evaluators.

     At a Base in Cuba, Many Haitians Live in Doubt With HIV *
     Philadelphia Inquirer (02.18.93), P. A13
     Viglucci, Andres

A significant number of the HIV-positive Haitians held at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba who are participating in a
hunger strike are also refusing to take medications that could
slow disease progression. For some of the Haitians, the
reluctance is an act of defiance or hopelessness, but most
don't even believe they are infected with HIV. A few are so
suspicious that they believe the drugs they are given are
poison, according to independent physicians who visited the
camp last week. There is no exact count of the Haitians
refusing medication. However, physicians fear that a notable
number of the 267 men, women, and children at the base are
taking the drugs only sporadically, or not at all. Dr. Jean
Ford, a Columbia University Medical School professor who
recently spent five days at the base, said, "My sense was that
at least half, and as many as two thirds, are not taking the
medication the way they're supposed to." Navy physicians who
operate the camp clinic say they have been frustrated by the
refugees' reluctance to take the treatments since long before
the three-week-old hunger strike. Now, the doctors are so busy
dealing with fainting or dehydrated refugees that they are
unable to monitor the development of the patients' HIV
infection as closely as before. Doctors are also concerned
about what the hunger strike might do the already-depleted
immune systems of many refugees. Two Haitians recently suffered
a recurrence of tuberculosis infection, which Navy doctors had
managed to control months ago only after threatening isolation
for those who refused to take medication.

     TB Drugs *
     Associated Press (02.16.93)
     Johnson, Linda A.

(Trenton, NJ) Responding to a resurgence of tuberculosis cases
that resist therapy, federal health officials are reintroducing
three drugs that pharmaceutical firms stopped marketing.
Bristol-Myers Squibb will introduce the first anti-microbial
drug, its injectable form of isoniazid, which should be on the
market within 10 days. The FDA asked the pharmaceutical
manufacturers to resume production of the three tuberculosis
drugs because of the public health threat that tuberculosis now
poses. The companies stopped selling the drugs in 1990, because
they were not producing profits.

     Inmate With H.I.V. Who Bit Guard Loses Appeal *
     New York Times (02.18.93), P. B7
     Sullivan, Joseph F.

A Trenton, N.J., appeals court yesterday upheld the attempted
murder conviction of an HIV-positive prisoner who bit a prison
guard. The court said it was irrelevant whether actually biting
someone could transmit HIV, as long as the infected prisoner
believed it could. The decision by the Appellate Division of
the Superior Court confirmed part of the jury instruction given
by the trial judge, John B. Mariano of Superior Court, who
said, "Impossibility is not a defense to the charge of
attempted murder. That is because our law, our criminal
statutes punish conduct based on state of mind. It punishes
purposeful actions regardless of whether the result can be
accomplished." Judge Mariano added that this would hold true
"even if the result, which in this case would be death, was a
scientific or factual impossibility." The prisoner's conviction
added 25 years to his earlier robbery sentence of five years;
he was sent to Trenton State Prison from Camden County Jail.
The inmate's attorneys, Ronald L. Kuby and William M. Kunstler
of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said they would appeal
yesterday's decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The
lawyers said the appeals court was surrendering to "AIDS
hysteria," and added that the ruling not only affects the
prisoner, but "is a tragedy for the hundreds of thousands of
HIV positive people who will continue to face irrational
discrimination at the hands of the ignorant and fearful." The
prisoner, Gregory Dean Smith, bit the prison guard on June 11,
1989, saying, "Now die, you pig! Die from what I have!"

     In the News: Increased Funding Sought
     for Anacostia AIDS Clinics *
     Washington Post (02.18.93), P. D.C. 1

The executive director of Washington, D.C.'s Whitman-Walker
Clinic requested more money for AIDS services east of the
Anacostia River. Jim Graham testified Tuesday before the D.C.
Council's Committee on Human Services and called for an
additional $1 million. He said approximately 20 percent of the
District's AIDS patients live east of the Anacostia River, but
that area has only two of the city's 19 primary care facilities
for people infected with HIV. Also, both clinics can only treat
a limited number of people. Graham said, "We must change the
geographic balance of AIDS services in this city to reflect the
realities of the epidemic. We must end AIDS medical apartheid
for people with HIV east of the Anacostia River."

     Media Notes: Is Being Positive a Negative
     on the AIDS Beat? *
     Washington Post (02.18.93), P. C1
     Kurtz, Howard

The disclosure of author/reporter Randy Shilts' HIV-positive
status has brought into question whether he can still be
objective when writing about the AIDS-related issues. Shilts, a
San Francisco Chronicle reporter, is openly gay. However, he
did not disclose his HIV-positive status until recently, even
though he knew of his condition in 1987 before he published his
book, "And the Band Played On." The book details the emergence
of the AIDS epidemic. Shilts said, "Every gay writer who tests
positive ends up being an AIDS activist, and I didn't want to
end up being an activist." The issue has confused minority
journalists who find themselves dealing with questions about
their "objectivity." Chronicle Editor William German said he
did not wish to publicize Shilts' condition until Shilts chose
to do so himself. German said, "If we thought of eliminating
reporters who might not be objective because of their ancestry
or their politics, frankly, we'd go out of our minds and it
would be impossible to practice journalism." But Jeffrey
Schmalz, a New York Times reporter who has spoken and written
about having AIDS, said that "everyone knew Randy was gay. I
don't agree with the argument it would have compromised him."
He added, "When I write about AIDS the objections come not from
the right but from people in the gay community who call me and
say: 'You're not out front enough on this issue.... My response
is, I'm a reporter first." Victor Zonana of the Los Angeles
Times said that "illness is a private matter," and that even
editors have no right to learn of an employee's HIV-positive
status.

     News Digest: Sanction for Nureyev's Doctor? *
     American Medical News (02.08.93) Vol. 36, No. 6, P. 2

A French medical watchdog group claims it may take action
against Rudolph Nureyev's doctor for disclosing details of the
renowned dancer's fight with AIDS. Without naming either
Nureyev or his physician, Dr. Michael Canesi, the Order of
Doctors' board of directors said it was "indignant about
statements by a doctor about the illness and circumstances of
the death of a great artist." Nureyev died Jan. 6. The Order of
Doctors can suspend or revoke Dr. Canesi's license.

     Food for Life *
     American Medical News (02.08.93) Vol. 36, No. 6, P. 31

The Physicians Association for AIDS Care wants doctors who care
for HIV/AIDS patients to treat nutrition as if it were a form
of pharmacology. PAAC has implemented a new effort to
streamline doctors' work in assessing, monitoring, and treating
HIV-related malnutrition. What makes this possible is a
computerized algorithm that provides updated nutrition
information. Also, doctors can have their patient's diets
examined and reviewed by a registered dietitian. HIV/AIDS
patients can receive individualized treatment plans, and the
dietitian is available via a toll-free number. In addition, the
PAAC has released proceedings from its First International
Symposium on Nutrition on HIV/AIDS, held last summer at the
Eighth International Conference on AIDS.

     AIDS and the Law *
     American Medical News (02.08.93) Vol. 36, No. 6, P. 31

A doctor who contracted HIV via a needlestick during her first
month as an intern has sued the medical-equipment company
Beckton Dickinson and Co. for $1.1 billion. The doctor said she
was pricked while recapping a hypodermic needle after drawing
blood from an AIDS patient. She said the needle was "grossly
defective" because it wasn't created to prevent needlesticks
upon disposal. The incident happened in 1986, before the
Centers for Disease Control released universal guidelines that
prohibit recapping needles. A Beckton Dickinson attorney said
that the incident was unfortunate, but the firm did not
consider itself responsible.

     Dossier: Something Old, Something New *
     Advocate (02.09.93) No. 622, P. 10

The sexual activity with the highest risk is anal sex,
regardless of homosexual or heterosexual origin, and oral sex
is a very low risk activity. Although this information has been
known by the homosexual community for years, it took 12 years
into the epidemic for the New York State health officials to
release such information for the first time. Federal health
officials still have not issued safer-sex guidelines. Joan
Cleary, AIDS research coordinator for the state health
department in Albany and author of the report, said, "We're not
claiming this information is new, it's just a comprehensive
review. Rarely do you ever see it backed up by scientific
research. But the federal CDC has never been able to release
this sort of information because of political pressure."

     Senate, 76-23, Votes to Bar HIV-Infected Immigrants *
     Washington Post (02.19.93), P. A2
     Dewar, Helen

The Senate voted yesterday to keep the ban preventing HIV-
positive foreigners from entering the United States. The
immigration ban was endorsed in a 76-23 vote and added to a
reauthorization bill for the National Institutes of Health,
which was subsequently passed and sent to the House by a vote
of 93 to 4. President Clinton vowed to lift the immigration ban
during his campaign, and a White House spokesman said earlier
this month that Clinton advised the Department of Health and
Human Services to remove the restriction. But 34 Democrats
helped the Republicans led by Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.)
succeed in writing the ban into permanent law, in effect
preventing the president's plan to repeal it by executive
order. The Democratic-controlled Senate chose the GOP proposal
over a more moderate alternative drafted by Democratic leaders
that would have delayed imposition of the new policy for 90
days. Although Democrats have hindered a vote on a similar bill
in the House, Republicans restored their efforts yesterday on
the proposal, arguing that it would pass. The NIH
reauthorization bill would also give NIH's Office of AIDS
Research (OAR) extensive power to direct government-funded
research on HIV infection. Rather than going directly to the 21
institutes, the NIH money--about $1.1 billion this year--would
pass through OAR. The director of the OAR would be an "AIDS
czar" and would be responsible for developing a "strategic
plan" for AIDS research. While many AIDS activists applaud the
change, several scientists fear a more powerful OAR will add
another layer of bureaucracy to NIH.
Related Stories: New York Times (02.19) P. A11; Los Angeles
Times- Washington Edition (02.19) P. A1; Baltimore Sun (02.19)
P. 3A; Philadelphia Inquirer (02.19) P. A2; USA Today (02.19)
P. 9A

     Reasons for HIV Exclusion *
     Washington Post (02.19.93), P. A21
     Simpson, Alan

Until it is resolved whether HIV-positive foreigners attempting
to enter the United States are a public health risk and likely
to become a public charge, the legislation passed yesterday
prohibiting such people from immigrating will hold, writes Sen.
Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.). The Clinton administration promised to
lift the ban against HIV positive foreigners entering the
United States, but that measure was defeated yesterday in the
Senate. There was an influx of constituent calls and a stream
of faxes to Capitol Hill offices over the matter. The
legislation does allow waivers for visitors who come to see
relatives, seek medical treatment, attend conferences, or have
other short-term purposes. Also, there has always been a waiver
for immigrants who come to join close family members living in
the United States. AIDS is definitely a serious malady that
threatens public health in America, as it does elsewhere in the
world, says Simpson. About 175,000 Americans have died of the
disease, and about 1 million to 1.5 million are estimated to be
HIV-positive. The disease can result in medical expenses of
$100,000 or more for each patient, according to recent
predictions. It also appears that many HIV positive foreigners
may soon become "public charges" after their admission to the
United States, so the American Medical Association has
therefore opposed the admission of such persons into the United
States as permanent immigrants. When it can be determined
whether or not these persons will be "public charges," then HIV
infection should be taken off the list of communicable disease
that are of public health significance, concludes Simpson.

     The Ban Makes No Sense *
     Washington Post (02.19.93), P. A21
     Wiley, Dinah and Fornaci, Philip

The Senate's approval yesterday of legislation that will
continue to prohibit HIV-positive foreigners from being
admitted into the United States was irrational and not based on
scientific fact, write Dinah Wiley and Philip Fornaci of the
Whitman-Walker AIDS Clinic in Washington, D.C. When the
decision was initiated to ban people infected with HIV from
entering the United States or from obtaining "green card"
status in 1987, it was done not by medical authorities, but by
right-wing Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the authors write. The
Senate's decision yesterday was "a shameful display of
ignorance and prejudice." On June 1, 1991, Health and Human
Services Secretary Louis Sullivan announced that HIV would be
taken off the list of "communicable diseases of public health
significance." But after political pressure from the White
House, Sullivan was forced to reverse his position, and the
exclusion for people with HIV remained intact. At the Whitman-
Walker Clinic, many foreign-born HIV-positive people are
assisted. These people are mainly immigrants already living
here who are seeking permanent residency status. Even though
many of these immigrants have lived, worked, and paid taxes in
the country for many years, they are denied their green cards.
Proponents of the ban contend that HIV-positive people will
pose a burden on the already-strained U.S. health care system.
However, people with cancer, hepatitis, or heart disease are
not excluded from entering the country. It is clear that the
Senate's decision is purely an act of discrimination against
HIV-positive people, conclude the authors.

     In the Nation: Judge Scales Back Johnson AIDS Suit *
     Baltimore Sun (02.19.93), P. 9A

Part of a lawsuit filed against basketball star Magic Johnson
by a woman who alleged he infected her with HIV was dismissed
yesterday by a federal judge. The $2 million lawsuit claimed
that Johnson either was aware that he was infected with HIV or
should have told the woman that he was at high risk for
infection when the two had sex in June of 1990. U.S. District
Judge Richard A. Enslen dismissed a count alleging that Johnson
committed fraud by neglecting to tell the woman that "he had
engaged in a sexually active, promiscuous lifestyle that put
him at a high risk for becoming infected with the HIV virus."
The other count that was dismissed said Johnson was "strictly
liable for transmitting the HIV virus to [the woman] because of
his abnormally dangerous and ultrahazardous activities."

     Woman Charged With Poisoning After Lover Gets AIDS *
     Reuters (02.18.93)
     Bon, Gerard

(Paris) An HIV-positive French woman has been indicted for
poisoning her boyfriend because she neglected to disclose her
condition to him. An examining magistrate in the northeastern
city of Metz charged the woman on Wednesday after her 29-year-
old boyfriend filed a lawsuit alleging she knowingly infected
him with HIV during their three-year relationship. The
prosecutors would have to prove the woman, whose name has not
been disclosed, meant to kill the man, known only as Fabien,
according to attorneys. Health Minister Bernard Kouchner said,
"Legal proceedings are not the right way to handle matters of
public health and personal anguish." However, he added that
people must be more open about their conditions. Fabien's
attorney, Marie Laurence Fromer, contended that a need to
encourage HIV-positive individuals to be candid was exactly
what spurred the complaint. She said, "My client is not in any
way motivated by revenge. He just wants to say to people who
are HIV-positive that they should let their partners know." The
poisoning charge will be studied further before determining
whether to put the woman on trial. Attorneys said they may
switch to a lesser charge of failing to help a person in
danger.

     AIDS It Ain't: A Frightening Immune Disorder Turns Out
     to Be Rare and Noncontagious *
     Time (02.22.93) Vol. 141, No. 8, P. 21

The mysterious AIDS-like condition that was reported last
summer at the Eighth International Conference on AIDS in
Amsterdam does not appear to be infectious, according to
reports in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers had
reported patients who had alarmingly low levels of CD4 cells
but no detectable evidence of HIV infection. Some likely causes
of the disease include bacteria, fungi, and other parasites,
poisons, and environmental toxins. Also, viruses may be
involved, but not necessarily a single virus or even a family
of them. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief
of U.S. AIDS research, said that last year's press speculation
about a new AIDS virus was part of a "media frenzy" that was
"inappropriate."

     Database *
     U.S. News & World Report (02.22.93) Vol. 114, No. 7, P. 8

AIDS ranks ninth for the cause of death among children aged 1
to 4 years old, and by the year 2000, AIDS could be the fifth
leading cause of death of such children. In 1992, there were a
total of 4,249 children under the age of 13 with AIDS, and a
total of 2,267 children who have died from the disease. In
addition, there are 1,800 HIV positive infants born each year
in the United States. Approximately 10 million children
worldwide will be infected with HIV by the year 2000, and by
the end of the decade a total of 5-10 million babies will be
born infected with HIV. Moreover, the projected number of
children who will have been left orphaned by the AIDS epidemic
by the year 2000 will reach 82,000. About 87 percent of
Americans say they support educating children about AIDS and
sexually transmitted diseases in early grades.

     Opening the Border to AIDS *
     Time (02.22.93) Vol. 141, No. 8, P. 45
     Gorman, Christine

The HIV-positive Haitian refugees held at the Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, Naval Base are the most visible symbol of what may become
the next controversy to emerge between the Clinton
administration and Congress. The Bush administration ruled the
refugees had plausible claims for political asylum last year
after they fled their country. Yet because most of them tested
HIV-positive, they are prohibited from entering the U.S. Now
they are waging a hunger strike in protest over the policy,
even though President Clinton announced last week that he plans
on eliminating the ban. Most of the medical community supports
the president. Dr. June Osborn, chair of the National
Commission on AIDS, said, "This shouldn't be a hot-button
issue, especially when you consider the lack of a public health
threat." But Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole wrote in a
letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala
last week, "Unless you believe we have the AIDS crisis under
control, I would advise you to resist this potentially
explosive policy change." If the administration removes AIDS
from the list of communicable diseases barring entry, the
National Commission on AIDS predicts that between 300-600
people with HIV/AIDS might immigrate into the country every
year. A 1991 report by the commission states that HIV-positive
individuals typically remain employed and self-sufficient for
10 years or more from the time of infection to development of
full-blown AIDS. The report said, "Their economic contribution
to our society will far outweigh the estimated lifetime cost of
treating HIV-infected individuals." Still, Congress may make it
difficult for Clinton to lift the ban.

     Federal Grants Cut Back *
     Advocate (02.09.93) No. 622, P. 19

Federal AIDS prevention funds have been cut just as the Centers
for Disease Control has implemented its new definition of the
disease that is expected to double the amount of people
considered to have AIDS. CDC spokesman Kent Taylor said the
drop in the total amount of funds granted to states for HIV
prevention programs happened because Congress ordered funds
diverted to other programs when it approved the CDC's 1993
budget. To compensate for the shifts, CDC officials had to
shuffle the budget to provide $143.7 million in new funds for
programs, up 1.5 percent from the $141.5 million in new funds
the CDC provided in 1992. However, the rearrangement resulted
in less money for states because there was less money remaining
from 1992 expenditures than there was in 1991. By the end of
1991, agencies had about $20 million left to spend in 1992. But
at the end of 1992, there was only about $15 million remaining.
Therefore, in 1993 the CDC will allot state and local
governments a total of about $155 million for AIDS prevention
programs--down about 4.3 percent from $162 million given in
1992. States will feel the hardest impact--with about 5 percent
less money available to them overall. Alan R. Hinman, director
of the CDC's national center for prevention services, in a
letter to state and local HIV project directors, said, "Almost
all states will receive reduced levels of funding in 1993. No
state will receive an increase in funds." Consequently, Arizona
health department AIDS office director Doug Hirano said,
"You've got more people who want to find out their HIV status
at the same time the CDC is cutting the moneys we use to
counsel and test people."

     Idiopathic CD4+ T-Lymphocytopenia--An Analysis of Five
     Patients With Unexplained Opportunistic Infections *
     New England Journal of Medicine
     (02.11.93) Vol. 328, No. 6, P. 386
     Spira, Thomas J. et al.

Because major differences were discovered in clinical,
virologic, and immunologic findings between five patients with
idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia (ICL), additional research is
warranted, write Thomas J. Spira et al. of the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga. The researchers examined, in
detail, five patients with ICL. The studies involved serologic
testing, culture, and polymerase chain reaction for the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) types 1 and 2, serologic testing
for the human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) types I and II,

lymphocyte-transformation assays, as well as attempts to
isolate a retroviral agent. The findings were compared with
those in HIV-positive persons matched for CD4+ T-cell counts
and with those in normal controls. The spouses of patients and
the blood donors for one patients were also investigated. There
was no evidence of HIV or HTLV infection in any of the five
patients. All the patients had both low percentages and low
counts of T-cells with relative increases in percentages, but
not counts of CD8 cells. The patients had lower percentages and
counts ofJCD8 cells and more lymphopenia than HIV positive
patients. CD4 counts were relatively stable over time. Instead
of the high immunoglobulin levels seen in HIV infection, these
patients had normal or slightly low levels of immunoglobulins.
The lymphocyte-transformation response to mitogens and antigens
was depressed. ICL differs from HIV infection in its
immunologic characteristics and in its apparent lack of
progression over time. After researching the blood donors and
family members of the patients, the researchers conclude that
ICL is not transmissible.


NOTE:  Compilation by Michael Tidmus : AIDSwire. All rights
reserved. Permission is granted to republish on electronic
media for which no fee is charged, provided the complete text
of this notice is attached to any republished portion or
portions.

* From the AIDS Daily Summary. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse has made this
information available as a public service only. Providing this
information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold. Copyright
1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD.

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