| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2004-10-25, 7:11 pm |
| CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Monday, October 25, 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
NEW JERSEY: =93Debate over Plan to Offer Clean Needles to Addicts in New =
Jersey=94
MARYLAND: =93Schaefer Modifies His Proposal for HIV/AIDS Registry=94
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
SOUTH AFRICA: =93South Africa AIDS Group Drops Legal Case on Drug Delays=94
ZAMBIA: =93Zambia's President Promises to Provide More AIDS Drugs=94
LITHUANIA: =93Lithuanian Teenagers Among Youngest to Start Having Sex =97=
WHO Poll=94
REPUBLIC OF KOREA: =93455 More Test Positive for HIV/AIDS=94
MEDICAL NEWS
UNITED KINGDOM: =93The Chlamydia Screening Studies: Rationale and Design=94
NEWS BRIEFS
THAILAND: =93Thai Government Urged to Improve Sex education in Classroom=94
TANZANIA: =93AIDS Helpline in Tanzania Logs 22,000 Inquiries in 7 Months=94
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NATIONAL NEWS=09
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NEW JERSEY:
=93Debate over Plan to Offer Clean Needles to Addicts in New Jersey=94
Associated Press (10.24.04)::Angela Delli Santi=20
Members of a New Jersey Senate committee have been listening to publ=
ic testimony about two measures aimed at reducing IV drug users' risk of =
infection from blood-borne diseases, including HIV. One measure would aut=
horize towns to create their own needle-exchange programs; the other woul=
d allow pharmacies to sell syringes without a prescription. Earlier this =
month, the Assembly approved two similar measures and included in one $10=
million for inpatient drug treatment.
The legislative debate was jump-started in part by Atlantic City's a=
ttempt to begin its own needle exchange program. That endeavor was struck=
down last month by a judge who found the city lacked legislative authori=
ty to begin the program. For the same reason, efforts to begin a needle-e=
xchange program in Camden =97 which passed a law to authorize a program =97=
also stalled. Gov. James E. McGreevey has sought to fast-track needle-ex=
change legislation into law before he leaves office on Nov. 15.
Of the 64,219 HIV/AIDS cases in New Jersey, 51 percent are related t=
o IV drug use, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Ser=
vices. There are 28,000 IV drug users in the state, the department said. =
But does giving sterile needles to drug addicts prevent HIV/AIDS infectio=
n, as needle-exchange proponents claim, or promote drug abuse, as exchang=
e opponents suggest?
In 1994, when Baltimore began its needle-exchange program, the city =
recorded 602 new HIV cases, of which 61 percent were due to IV drug use, =
said Liza Solomon, director of Maryland's AIDS Administration. By 2002, n=
ew cases had dropped to 195, of which only 39 percent stemmed from IV dru=
g use. Solomon cited the program as a key reason for the decline in new i=
nfections.
=93The urban community wants to be off drugs, not given free needles=
,=94 said State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex). =93We should be opening our e=
yes and helping instead of turning our backs and killing the people we wa=
nt to save.=94
=20
MARYLAND:
=93Schaefer Modifies His Proposal for HIV/AIDS Registry=94
Baltimore Sun (10.23.04)::Andrew A. Green
On Friday, Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer clarified hi=
s support for a public list of people with HIV/AIDS, saying he advocates =
such a registry only for those who intentionally spread the disease. Scha=
efer has been criticized since stating, two weeks ago, that AIDS patients=
are to blame for their disease and that they constitute a danger to soci=
ety. He made his latest remarks on WBAL radio's =93Chip Franklin Show.=94=
=20
=93Let's put on the registry those who are known givers of AIDS, tha=
t's all,=94 Schaefer said on the broadcast. Schaefer said he had met with=
AIDS activists Thursday to restate his views.=20
Minutes after the show, a small group protesting outside the stateho=
use compared Schaefer's call for a AIDS registry to Nazi laws that requir=
ed Jews, homosexuals and others to wear identifying marks on their clothi=
ng. The activists called for a boycott of tourism to Maryland and the pur=
chase of Maryland products until Schaefer resigns. =93The people of Maryl=
and should not let this harmful man represent the state,=94 said Craig Sh=
ireman of Laytonsville.=20
A week ago, Del. John Adams Hurson (D-Montgomery County), who chairs=
the House Health and Government Operations Committee, asked Schaefer to =
resign. Schaefer's earlier call for an AIDS registry was rebuffed by the =
Legislature a decade ago.=20
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS=09
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SOUTH AFRICA:=20
=93South Africa AIDS Group Drops Legal Case on Drug Delays=94
Reuters (10.24.04)::Miriam Isa
On Sunday, the South Africa AIDS treatment lobby Treatment Action Ca=
mpaign announced it was dropping its case to force the government to disc=
lose its timeline for rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in publi=
c hospitals. TAC withdrew its case after South African health officials i=
nformed it last month that a document on a timeline for the rollout has n=
ever been officially adopted and thus does not exist.
=93We were told that the document we were seeking was a draft and ha=
d never been officially adopted by the cabinet or by the Department of He=
alth,=94 said Mark Heywood, TAC's national treasurer. =93Our approach was=
to reply and say we are not interested in a document which has no status=
,=94 Heywood said. =93But we are consulting with lawyers on a new case. I=
f they don't have an implementation plan, that is unlawful =97 and if the=
y have a plan they don't intend to make public they are also acting unlaw=
fully.=94
President Thabo Mbeki's government was last year prevailed upon to d=
rop its long-standing opposition to providing ARV treatment. The governme=
nt initially said it planned to treat about 53,000 patients by March 2004=
.. That goal has since been revised twice, and Health Minister Manto Tshab=
alala-Msimang said it would probably only be achieved by next year. At th=
e end of September, more than 11,200 AIDS patients were being treated at =
public hospitals, according to Sibani Mngadi, a Health Ministry spokesper=
son.
Heywood said TAC would ask the court on Nov. 4 to require that the H=
ealth Ministry pay TAC's legal costs. =93It took them from February to Se=
ptember to tell us the thing we were requesting did not exist. We are arg=
uing that they could have told the country this eight months ago,=94 Heyw=
ood said. The ministry said it welcomed TAC's decision to drop its case; =
Mngadi said it was still deciding how to respond to the demand that the m=
inistry pay TAC's legal costs. =20
=20
ZAMBIA:
=93Zambia's President Promises to Provide More AIDS Drugs=94
New York Times (10.25.04)::Michael Wines
Recent economic problems in Zambia will not deter the government fro=
m honoring a pledge to provide 100,000 AIDS patients with antiretroviral =
drugs (ARVs) by the end of 2005, President Levy Mwanawasa said Saturday i=
n a national address. Mounting financial strains and a growing population=
have =93reduced the capacity for the government to maintain quality heal=
th services,=94 however the goal of providing free or subsidized ARV ther=
apy =97 first announced in September =97 will be met, the president said.
=93The impact on the health care delivery system is enormous, with 5=
0 percent of hospital beds occupied by patients with HIV- and AIDS-relate=
d illnesses,=94 Mwanawasa said during the address, which marked the 40th =
anniversary of Zambian independence. =93There is not enough money to spen=
d on social services such as health.=94
Initially, the government had hoped to have 70,000 of the estimated =
200,000 patients in advanced stages of AIDS-related illnesses on ARVs by =
the end of this year. However, the rollout of ARVs has been markedly slow=
.. The first significant financial donations from the Global Fund to Fight=
AIDS, TB and Malaria came this year. In addition, the US President's Eme=
rgency Plan for AIDS Relief has expanded drug treatment in Lusaka, the ca=
pital. =20
The Zambian government is in a race against HIV/AIDS, as long-latent=
HIV infections develop into AIDS at an ever-quicker pace and AIDS deaths=
exacerbate hunger in the region by killing the farmers and laborers who =
bring food to the market. The government has said it will spend $500 mill=
ion through 2010 on AIDS treatment, but it remains uncertain where much o=
f that money will come from.=20
LITHUANIA:
=93Lithuanian Teenagers Among Youngest to Start Having Sex =97 WHO Poll=94
Baltic News Service (10.18.04)
A World Health Organization-coordinated survey on international heal=
th and living found that among 15-year-old Lithuanians, 10 percent of gir=
ls and 26 percent of boys have already had sex. The WHO survey, which has=
been conducted every three years since 1993, polled 31 countries in Euro=
pe and North America.
According to the survey, in which only 15-year-olds were surveyed ab=
out their sexual health, Lithuanians are among the youngest to begin havi=
ng sex =97 at an average of 13.5 years =97 as compared with analogous age=
groups from other nations. On average, Ukrainian students are 14.7 years=
at their first sexual experience, Greeks and Italians are 14.4, Latvians=
are 14.3, Estonians and Hungarians are 14.2, Scottish are 14, and Dutch =
and Swedish students are 13.9 and 13.7 years old, respectively.
The study suggested that males start having sex at a younger age tha=
n females. A comparison of the Baltic states indicated that the overall p=
ercentage of students who have already had sex at age 15 is larger in Est=
onia and Latvia than in Lithuania among girls, but the opposite is true f=
or boys.=20
Around 70 percent of females and 80 percent of males surveyed said t=
hey used a condom during their last sexual experience. The survey results=
found that 84.6 percent of 15-year-old girls and 86.1 percent of boys us=
ed at least one contraceptive during their last sexual encounter.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA:
=93455 More Test Positive for HIV/AIDS=94
Korea Herald (10.21.04)::Lee Sun-young
On Oct. 20, health authorities reported that 455 people tested posit=
ive for HIV in the first nine months of 2004, raising the number of resid=
ent Koreans who have been infected with the virus to 2,994. The new cases=
represent a 14 percent increase over new cases in the same period the pr=
evious year.=20
All 305 cases whose route of transmission has been determined were i=
nfected sexually: 51 percent heterosexual vs. 49 percent homosexual, acco=
rding to the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Sin=
ce 1985, when the nation's AIDS epidemic began, 591 people died of AIDS, =
leaving the number living with HIV-infection at 2,403.=20
A survey last year found that only 12 percent of adults reported usi=
ng condoms during sex. In an effort to boost their use, KCDC recently lau=
nched a major campaign to improve the image of condoms. Beginning this mo=
nth, KCDC and the Korea Anti-AIDS Federation introduced commercials promo=
ting condom use. These public service announcements, aired nationwide on =
MBC-TV, are scheduled to run twice daily Monday through Thursday and once=
daily Friday through Sunday. =20
In addition, 132 foreign residents were found to be HIV-infected: Th=
ey are not included in the 455 figure. The number of foreign cases in the=
first nine months of 2004 was more than double the 59 foreign cases foun=
d in all of 2003. Some 80,000 formerly illegal foreign workers have under=
gone a required check-up that includes an HIV test, and health authoritie=
s say this explains the sharp increase in cases detected among foreigners=
.. Immigration officials say foreigners who are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS ma=
y face deportation if they do not return home on their own.=20
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MEDICAL NEWS=09
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UNITED KINGDOM:
=93The Chlamydia Screening Studies: Rationale and Design=94
Sexually Transmitted Infections (10.04) Vol. 80: P. 342-348::N. Low; A. M=
cCarthy; J. Macleod; C. Salisbury; P.J. Horner; T.E. Roberts; R. Campbell=
; A. Herring; S. Skidmore; E. Sanford; J.A.C. Sterne; G. Davey Smith; A. =
Graham; M. Huengsberg; J. Ross; M. Egger for the Chlamydia Screening Stud=
ies (ClaSS) Group
UK health authorities have recommended screening to reduce genital c=
hlamydia infection. In the current study, the authors described the ratio=
nale and study design for the Chlamydia Screening Studies (ClaSS), a coll=
aborative project designed to evaluate screening outside genitourinary me=
dicine clinics. A non-selective, active screening approach to 16- to 39-y=
ear-olds randomly sampled from 27 general practice lists in the Bristol a=
nd Birmingham areas formed the basis of interlinked studies, according to=
the investigators. The researchers used a case-control study to investig=
ate factors to improve the targeting of screening. Participants with chla=
mydia were invited to enroll in a randomized controlled trail to evaluate=
partner notification conducted in primary care. Laboratory-based studies=
were used to assess the best specimens and tests. The investigators expl=
ored the psychosocial effects of screening and partner notification and m=
odeled the program's cost-effectiveness.
=93Results from four pilot practices show that mailing specimens for =
chlamydia testing is feasible but that it is difficult to achieve high re=
sponse rates with postal screening,=94 the researchers concluded. =93The =
high prevalence of asymptomatic infection in men suggests that efforts to=
screen men for chlamydia should be strengthened.=94
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NEWS BRIEFS =09
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THAILAND:
=93Thai Government Urged to Improve Sex education in Classroom=94
Xinhua News Agency (10.25.04)
At a conference on how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among Thai =
teenagers, community members including educators, social workers and youn=
g people urged the government to improve sex education, the Thai News Age=
ncy reported today. education expert Sirikorn Maneerin told the seminar t=
hat teaching students about sex should not be limited to hygienic studies=
, as it is at present. Sex education must include information about HIV/A=
IDS, teenage pregnancy, equal rights between men and women, and respect =
for a woman's right to refuse sexual intercourse, said Sirikorn. More tha=
n 1,000 participants are attending the three-day seminar, which started t=
oday in Bangkok.
TANZANIA:
=93AIDS Helpline in Tanzania Logs 22,000 Inquiries in 7 Months=94
Xinhua News Agency (10.23.04)
Toll-free helplines in Tanzania have logged more than 22,000 calls i=
nquiring about HIV/AIDS information and counseling services, the Daily Ne=
ws reported Saturday. Thirty percent of the calls requested information o=
n HIV transmission, 22 percent on AIDS testing, 11 percent on condom use =
and 6 percent on AIDS treatment. According to the Tanzania Youth Aware Tr=
ust Fund, 26 percent of the callers had undergone HIV testing. The fund s=
aid more than 47,000 questions have been recorded during the seven-month =
survey period, and more than 70 percent of the callers were ages 20-25.=20
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference will be convene=
d by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many other =
national and community partners June 12-15 in Atlanta, Ga. The conference=
, which is held every two years, is noted for bringing together preventio=
n programs and science and for its exclusive focus on HIV prevention. Att=
endees include local, regional and national decision makers, researchers,=
policy makers, community leaders and practitioners working to prevent th=
e spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2003, this conference attracted over 3,000 parti=
cipants from across the country.
Abstract Submission Information: Online submission is available through t=
he conference Web site. Abstracts submitted on paper or diskette must be =
postmarked by Jan. 10, 2005. Abstracts submitted electronically must be r=
eceived by Jan. 17, 2005. For more information about abstract submission =
and other conference information, visit the conference Web site at http:/=
/www.2005HIVPrevConf.org, or telephone the conference hotline at 866-277-=
6313.
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