| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2004-10-21, 10:08 pm |
| CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Friday, October 15, 2004
The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the follo=
wing information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scie=
ntific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmi=
tted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. The f=
ollowing summaries were prepared without conducting any additional resear=
ch or investigation into the facts and statements made in the articles be=
ing summarized, and therefore readers are expressly cautioned against rel=
ying on the validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summar=
ies. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other gover=
nment agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Repo=
rt (MMWR) articles, fact sheets and announcements. Reproduction of this t=
ext is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/T=
B Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the=20
information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for ful=
l texts of the articles.
HEADLINES
NATIONAL NEWS
GLOBAL: =93US Tells UN It Supports Population Agenda =97 on the Understan=
ding It Doesn't Promote Abortion=94
LOUISIANA: =93Peer Program Teaches Inmates About HIV/AIDS=94
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
CROATIA: =93Report: Croatian Health Minister Asks WHO to Check on Possibl=
e Syphilis Transmission=94
MEDICAL NEWS
UNITED STATES; SWITZERLAND: =93Drug Protects Monkeys from AIDS in Experim=
ent=94
BOTSWANA: =93Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea in Pregnancy: Effectiveness of Diag=
nosis and Treatment in Botswana=94
LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
FLORIDA: =93Keeping an Eye on Health=94
CALIFORNIA: =93Safe Sex Info Often Missing from Bars=94
NEWS BRIEFS
AFRICA: =93African Countries Urged to Treat HIV-Positive People Properly=94
NEW YORK: =93A Social Issue in a Comic=94
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NATIONAL NEWS=09
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GLOBAL:
=93US Tells UN It Supports Population Agenda =97 on the Understanding It =
Doesn't Promote Abortion=94
Associated Press (10.15.04)::Edith M. Lederer
Ten years after the International Conference on Population and Devel=
opment (ICPD) in Cairo, the UN General Assembly convened Thursday to prom=
ote implementation of that meeting's 20-year action plan, which had been =
adopted by 179 countries. On Wednesday, the UN received a statement endor=
sing the Cairo plan and bearing the signatures of 250 global leaders, inc=
luding 85 heads of state and government. President George W. Bush refused=
to sign the statement because it mentions =93sexual rights.=94
However, Sichan Siv, US ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Cou=
ncil, told the General Assembly the United States is firmly committed =93=
to advancing the well-being of women and their families.=94 With the stip=
ulation that the Cairo document not be used to support abortion, =93we ar=
e pleased to continue to offer strong support for ICPD and its program of=
action,=94 Siv said.
Siv detailed ways the United States is advancing the Cairo goals: by=
supporting girls' education and political participation and microcredit =
programs for women; and by spending more than $475 million each of the la=
st four years to support maternal and reproductive health and family plan=
ning. =93The promotion of behavior change =97 encouraging abstinence and =
fidelity =97 is integral to our fight against HIV/AIDS,=94 Siv said.
However, Mona Sahlin, Sweden's minister for democracy, integration a=
nd gender equality issues, told the General Assembly =97 without naming n=
ames =97 that =93too many actors today promote abstinence=94 when =93the =
reality shows us that the promotion of abstinence doesn't work.=94 Sahlin=
said, =93Young people need to have means to protect themselves from unwa=
nted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.=
They need sex education as well as condoms and other contraceptives.=94
Bush has blocked $34 million in congressionally approved annual fund=
ing to the UN Population Fund =97 the main group charged with implementin=
g the Cairo plan =97 saying it helped China manage programs that included=
coerced abortions. The UN agency denies this.=20
Former European Union Commissioner Hans Van Den Broek, a special EU =
envoy to Thursday's meeting, decried the =93alarming shortfall=94 in supp=
lies of contraceptives and condoms for HIV-prevention and announced that =
the EU intends to contribute the $75 million needed to fill the gap. =20
LOUISIANA:
=93Peer Program Teaches Inmates About HIV/AIDS=94
Associated Press (10.13.04)::Cristina Rodriguez
This month, about 100 inmates from various Louisiana prisons met at =
the state-run David Wade Correctional Center in Homer for a conference on=
counseling their peers about HIV/AIDS. At that meeting, the inmates lear=
ned about the most recent medical information on HIV, and they shared cou=
nseling strategies.=20
The state prison system requires TB tests but screens for HIV only i=
f an inmate requests it. Wade inmate Harold Omar Hill told the group his =
method for persuading new prisoners to take an HIV test: =93If you're sic=
k inside a prison, you'll do hard, hard time. In this system here, if you=
say you have AIDS, people get away from you like you've got blackfoot,=94=
Hill explained. =93But it's not that bad if you take your medicine, if y=
ou stay in shape. You must stay positive,=94 he said.
Hill is president of Helper Group, comprised of 20 inmates who speak=
at Wade's prisoner orientation and offer individual counseling. The five=
-year-old group also offers its volunteers Red Cross certification. After=
providing inmates with basic preventative information =97 such as avoidi=
ng unprotected sex and how sharing razor blades and nail clippers can tra=
nsmit blood =97 Helper Group encourages at-risk prisoners to get tested f=
or HIV.=20
=93There are all kinds of excuses as to why they don't want to get t=
ested,=94 said James Cass, Helper Group's secretary. =93They don't want t=
o think of the reason why they're positive. It's denial.=94 Cass said the=
group works to dismantle the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.
Prison officials and Helper Group members say peer HIV education is =
more effective than institutional sources. =93We don't try to go over the=
ir head,=94 said Hill. =93You've got to stay on their level, approximatel=
y a third-grade education. We've got to get dirty with them and clean the=
m up.=94
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS=09
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CROATIA:=20
=93Report: Croatian Health Minister Asks WHO to Check on Possible Syphili=
s Transmission=94
Associated Press (10.15.04)
Croatian Health Minister Andrija Hebrang will ask the World Health O=
rganization to investigate a report that thousands of patients may have b=
een infected with syphilis through blood transfusions in 2000-2001, =93so=
we can put an end to that story and restore our citizens' trust,=94 the =
newspaper Jutarnji List reported Thursday. No one from the Health Ministr=
y was available to confirm the request.
The suspicions are =93totally unfounded,=94 Irena Jukic, head of the=
state-run Institute for Transfusional Medicine =97 which is in charge of=
taking blood from donors, preserving it and delivering it to hospitals =97=
told the Associated Press. =93International experts are welcome. We're n=
ot afraid; they'll find nothing,=94 she said.=20
=93For the past 39 years, there hasn't been a single case of a post-=
transfusional syphilis infection, and there won't be any,=94 Jukic said. =
The conditions required for storing blood do not allow for the syphilis b=
acteria's survival, she said. Every donor is screened for syphilis, hepat=
itis B and C and HIV, she said. =93People who receive the blood are compl=
etely safe.=94
The syphilis story first appeared this summer in a Croatian magazine=
.. Institute expert Dr. Dubravka Pirc-Tiljak claimed she was double-checki=
ng previously cleared blood in 2001 and found many samples were syphilis-=
contaminated, and that the disease could have infected up to 10,000 peopl=
e. Pirc-Tiljak was later fired from the institute. =20
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MEDICAL NEWS=09
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UNITED STATES; SWITZERLAND:
=93Drug Protects Monkeys from AIDS in Experiment=94
Reuters (10.14.04)::Maggie Fox=20
On Thursday, US and Swiss scientists reported they have developed a =
chemical that can protect female rhesus monkeys against HIV infection. Th=
e researchers hope to use the promising findings to someday develop an HI=
V microbicide for use by women and men, perhaps in a gel or cream form.
=93The vast majority of HIV infections in the world are sexually tra=
nsmitted, most commonly through heterosexual sex,=94 said lead author Dr.=
Michael Lederman of Case Western university in Cleveland, Ohio. =93But t=
here has been substantial debate as to how the virus actually gets into c=
ells at these sites of transmission, called mucosal sites,=94 he said. On=
e of the molecular doorways HIV uses to enter human CD4 T-cells is the CC=
R5 receptor.
=93We knew that people with a mutation whose CD4 cells' surface lack=
CCR5 are almost completely protected from acquiring HIV infection,=94 sa=
id Lederman. Scientists also knew that a chemokine called RANTES can atta=
ch to CCR5 and keep HIV from entering the cells. Robin Offord and Olivier=
Hartley of university of Geneva created a form of RANTES that did this j=
ob especially well and could be dissolved in a saline solution for testin=
g in monkeys.
The highest concentration of PSC-RANTES in vaginal solution protecte=
d all five monkeys that received it from infection by a hybrid of HIV and=
the simian version of the virus, which infects monkeys. The second-highe=
st dose protected four of five rhesus monkeys from acquiring SHIV; and a =
slightly lower dose protected three of five monkeys. The solution did not=
appear to cause irritation in the monkeys, said Lederman. In the laborat=
ory, the chemical protected cells from infection for a full day. In theor=
y, this would mean a woman could use it 24 hours before having sex and st=
ill be protected.=20
=93It took a pretty hefty dose to get protection in the rhesus monke=
ys,=94 said Lederman. =93In reality this is pretty pricey,=94 he said, ad=
ding that his team is developing a cheaper and easier process to make the=
RANTES molecule.
The full study, =93Prevention of Vaginal SHIV Transmission in Rhesus=
Macaques Through Inhibition of CCR5,=94 was published in the journal Sci=
ence (2004;306(5695):485-487). =20
BOTSWANA:
=93Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea in Pregnancy: Effectiveness of Diagnosis and =
Treatment in Botswana=94
Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 395-400::M. Romoren; =
M. Rahman; J. Sundby; P. Hjortdahl
Each year, millions of patients in developing countries are prescrib=
ed drugs to treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The treatment e=
ffect of these prescriptions, however, is largely unknown. In the present=
study, researchers sought to determine if prescribing erythromycin and c=
eftriaxone to pregnant women with STI symptoms leads to a reduction in th=
e prevalence of chlamydia and gonorrhea, respectively, among them.
The researchers compared the prevalence of chlamydia among 116 pregn=
ant women who had been prescribed erythromycin for a history of STI sympt=
oms in their current pregnancy with its prevalence among a control group =
of 557 pregnant women who had not received it. In addition, they compared=
the prevalence of gonorrhea among 110 pregnant women who had been prescr=
ibed ceftriaxone with its prevalence among a control group of 561 pregnan=
t women who had not received the drug.=20
The study's results indicated no significant difference in chlamydia=
prevalence between the women who had (7 percent prevalence) and had not =
(8 percent prevalence) received erythromycin four times daily for 10 days=
.. However, whereas none of the women who had been prescribed ceftriaxone =
had gonorrhea, 4 percent of the women who had not received the drug did h=
ave gonorrhea.
The researchers concluded, =93The prescribing of erythromycin seems =
to have had a limited effect on chlamydia in this population, whereas the=
prescribing of ceftriaxone led to the curing of gonorrhea.=94 Noting tha=
t ceftriaxone is provided as a single-dose injection at the point of care=
, the authors remarked that =93the differential effectiveness between the=
two drugs may reflect low compliance with the complex erythromycin regim=
en.=94 Cure rates might be increased by compliance-improving intervention=
s. When low compliance is likely, the use of a simpler drug regimen shoul=
d be considered, the researchers recommended.
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LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS=09
************************************************************
FLORIDA:
=93Keeping an Eye on Health=94
Miami Herald (10.14.04)::Ryan Mills
Over the Columbus Day weekend, Miami Beach's PET (Prevention, Educa=
tion and Treatment) Center held its first Young Adult Health Fair. Visito=
rs to the Collins Avenue center were offered free HIV testing and other h=
ealth screenings. The purpose of the fair was to teach the community =97 =
specifically young people ages 15-24 =97 the importance of HIV testing, s=
aid Nancy Gutierrez, the center's medical director. =93With this kind of =
event we try to get people to get tested and accept that it's not just mi=
norities or homosexuals. This is a disease that everybody can get.=94
According to the state Department of Health, Florida ranks third in =
the nation in the number of AIDS cases, estimated at 95,000. Through 2003=
, Miami-Dade County has reported 27,540, and the county ranks number one =
in Florida in the number of AIDS cases. Drugs and alcohol play a signific=
ant role the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, said Hazel Ruffin, admini=
strative nurse manager of PET Center. =93A big part of the Miami Beach sc=
ene is the drug culture,=94 noted Ruffin. =93When their inhibitions are l=
owered, they engage in risky behavior.=94
The PET Center, which opened in 1962, is one of six Miami-Dade Count=
y Department of Health facilities run by the Public Health Trust and the =
Florida Department of Health. With a staff of 30, including case managers=
, a psychiatrist, social worker, nutritionist and a peer counselor, the c=
enter provides services on a sliding-scale fee, based on a client's abili=
ty to pay, said Ruffin. The center plans to turn the health fair into an =
annual event to be held over the Columbus holiday weekend, she said. For =
more information, telephone 305-535-5540.
CALIFORNIA:=20
=93Safe Sex Info Often Missing from Bars=94
Bay Area Reporter (09.23.04)::Kevin Davis
In some Bay Area venues frequented by sexually active gay men, the a=
bsence of safe sex literature could be caused by ineffective communicatio=
n and the realities of bar life. The result can mean that health departme=
nt brochures, pamphlets and wallet resource cards end up out of sight or =
discarded.=20
Neither the city Department of Public Health (DPH) nor Better World =
Advertising, creator of the syphilis-themed comic =93The Adventures of He=
althy Penis,=94 supplied businesses with display racks for the promotions=
.. Bar owners, managers and workers look for flat areas to display the mat=
erial. But when patrons brush materials onto the floor, they can be swept=
into the trash by cleaning crews. =93The bar gets so busy. At night stuf=
f gets trashed,=94 said Greg Bronstein, owner of The Bar on Castro.
The Healthy Penis comic book =93was designed to fit in a pocket,=94 =
said Better World's developer Les Pappas. =93To be honest, a lot of times=
they're thrown into the trash,=94 said Doug Murphy, owner of Daddy's bar=
and Moby Dick. =93They just bring them and throw them down. In 20 minute=
s they're everywhere,=94 he said. Nonetheless, DPH has noticed an increas=
e in syphilis testing and requests for Healthy Penis-related promotional =
items, said Pappas.
=93You need to think like a business owner,=94 said Steve Gibson, th=
e director of Magnet health center, who developed Stop AIDS Project's 199=
0 condom program. =93Cards get blown around. Get input. Ask bar owners, '=
Do you have space?'=94 For all aspects of the displays, including condom =
bucket and poster sizes, Gibson said he solicited bar owners' input.
=93We usually work closely with each venue about displaying material=
,=94 said Jacqueline Siller, DPH's community-based STD services director.=
She acknowledged the limited bar space, =93and oftentimes they do not wa=
nt tape or things mounted on their wall.=94 She said DPH would offer disp=
lay cases to bars within the next month, and that few items were left out=
in display areas, in order to reduce waste. =20
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NEWS BRIEFS =09
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AFRICA:=20
=93African Countries Urged to Treat HIV-Positive People Properly=94
Xinhua News Agency (10.14.04)
On Thursday, delegates to the Fourth African Development Forum meeti=
ng in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, heard the former prime minister of Mozambiqu=
e warn of dire consequences if HIV-positive people do not receive treatme=
nt. =93The future of our societies is tied to keeping these people alive,=
=94 said Pascoal Mocumbi. =93There is no escaping the fact that the loss =
of teachers, health workers and civil servants at the rates witnessed tod=
ay threatens deterioration and eventual collapse [of the societies],=94 h=
e said, adding, =93The cost of writing off HIV-infected people is too hig=
h to contemplate.=94 There is an absence of knowledge regarding HIV's imp=
act on governance, particularly on society's skills base, Mocumbi said. T=
he Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA), of which he is=
a member, will work to help governments understand the implications of A=
IDS on human capacity and related planning and budgetary matters. CHGA wa=
s set up in 2003 to=20
consider the long-term consequences of the AIDS pandemic and to devise re=
commendations. =20
NEW YORK:
=93A Social Issue in a Comic=94
New York Times (10.14.04)::George Gene Gustines
The latest Green Arrow comic book, published Wednesday, featured a t=
wist as the emerald archer learned that Mia, the teenage runaway under hi=
s care, had tested positive for HIV. The news makes Mia even more determi=
ned to realize her dream of becoming a hero. Green Arrow's writer is Judd=
Winick, who participated in the MTV reality series =93The Real World=94 =
along with Pedro Zamora, who has since died of AIDS-related complications=
.. In 2000, Winick wrote and illustrated =93Pedro and Me,=94 a graphic nov=
el chronicling his friendship with Zamora. Winick notes that Mia's storyl=
ine will not be about her being ill or dying, but rather about her turnin=
g her life around and becoming a positive force. Mia will eventually beco=
me one of Green Arrow's sidekicks and join other young heroes in Teen Tit=
ans. As for Mia's future, Winick said: =93I'd like to one day write the s=
tory where Mia gets the cure for HIV.=94
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ANNOUNCEMENT: National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NLHAAD) is October =
15. In support of NLHAAD, the Department of Health and Human Services is =
hosting an Awareness Day=A0Web site that=A0offers information on preventi=
on, testing, and treatment, as well as information on local NLHAAD events=
.. The=A0Web site address is http://www.omhrc.gov/hivaidsobservances/nlhaa=
d/index.html.
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