| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2004-10-29, 7:15 pm |
| CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Friday, October 29, 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 Pays High Prices for Global AIDS Drugs, Study Says=94
WEST VIRGINIA: =93W. Va. To Get $1 Million in HUD Funding=94
FLORIDA: =93Grant Aims at Risks Facing Latino Teens=94
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
GLOBAL: =93Security Council Told that Sexual Violence Against Women Is Ta=
king Place 'on a Massive Scale' During and After Conflicts=94
CANADA: =93Hospital Won't Help Set Up HIV Clinic=94
MEDICAL NEWS
UNITED STATES; NETHERLANDS: =93CDC: Rare Infection a Risk to Gay, Bisexua=
l Men in US=94
LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
NEW YORK: =93Fighting a Persistent Plague=94
NEWS BRIEFS
CAMEROON: =93Health Survey Shows AIDS Rate of 5.5 Percent in Cameroon=94
CALIFORNIA: =93Stop AIDS Names Stiles as Interim ED=94
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NATIONAL NEWS=09
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GLOBAL:
=93US Pays High Prices for Global AIDS Drugs, Study Says=94
Wall Street Journal (10.29.04)::Sarah Lueck
According to congressional investigators, the US government is payin=
g twice as much for many of the drugs in its global AIDS program as other=
international aid groups pay because the Bush administration will not bu=
y cheaper drugs from India.=20
The Government Accountability Office's draft report states that the =
lowest price available to the United States for the stavudine, lamivudine=
and nevirapine regimen is $562 per person annually. International aid gr=
oups not bound by US restrictions pay $215. The report's public release w=
ill not come until after the administration submits comments to GAO.=20
For months, administration officials have said they will buy the Ind=
ian-made drugs once they are certified safe by the Food and Drug Administ=
ration. The Indian drugs are cheaper and are administered as two pills da=
ily instead of six. The administration says the issue is safety, not gene=
rics versus brand-name drugs. But a special FDA approval process, establi=
shed in May, has yet to approve a three-in-one AIDS pill, in part because=
some companies have not submitted applications. AIDS advocates call the =
FDA review unnecessary and say the administration should treat the AIDS e=
pidemic as an emergency.=20
Programs funded by the World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,=
TB and Malaria are using Indian drugs prequalified by the World Health O=
rganization. WHO has removed a few of the Indian drugs from the prequalif=
ied list due to data problems.=20
To secure FDA approval, foreign manufacturers must demonstrate that =
their generics are equivalent to brand-name products, and they must submi=
t detailed information about chemistry and production. They cannot simply=
submit copies of the information given to WHO; they must also allow FDA =
to inspect their plants.=20
Bill Haddad, advisor to the Indian firm Cipla Ltd., said FDA has be=
en helpful but the process is cumbersome, and the company is still evalua=
ting whether applying is worthwhile.
Chuck Capariello, spokesperson for Indian drug-maker Ranbaxy Laborat=
ories Ltd., said the company last week applied for FDA approval of one me=
dication and plans to submit applications for 12 other products, includin=
g a combination drug, early in 2005. Aspen Pharmacare Inc. of South Afric=
a said it will apply for FDA approval.
Dr. Mark Dybul, chief medical officer for the Office of the US Globa=
l AIDS Coordinator, said he is hopeful a three-in-one pill will win FDA a=
pproval early next year.=20
WEST VIRGINIA:
=93W. Va. To Get $1 Million in HUD Funding=94
Associated Press (10.25.04)
On Monday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development renewed a=
$1 million grant to provide affordable housing for West Virginians livin=
g with HIV/AIDS.=20
The West Virginia Office of Economic Opportunity was one of 22 agenc=
ies nationwide to receive a grant through HUD's Housing Opportunities for=
Persons with AIDS Program. Working with the office are the Charleston-ba=
sed West Virginia Coalition for People with HIV/AIDS and Covenant House, =
Caritas House in Morgantown, and Community Networks in Martinsburg. Over =
the next three years, the money will assist 1,400 West Virginians with ho=
using, counseling and other services, a state official said.
=93Staying healthy is a full-time job for persons with HIV/AIDS,=94 =
said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. =93Working closely with our local pa=
rtners, we can help offer a stable home and needed services to thousands =
of our most vulnerable neighbors.=94
The 22 US AIDS housing programs benefiting from the HUD grants are c=
ommitting $6 million in matching funds and have raised around $27.5 milli=
on from various resources to help families.=20
FLORIDA:
=93Grant Aims at Risks Facing Latino Teens=94
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) (10.27.04)::Saundra Amrhein=20
On Tuesday, the Florida Institute for Community Studies Inc. (FICS) =
received four-year, $1 million grant from the US Substance Abuse and Ment=
al Health Services Administration to help prevent HIV/AIDS and substance =
abuse among Latinos in Town 'N Country.
Through Proyecto Prevencion (Project Prevention), FICS surveyed mor=
e than 200 youths and adults to identify strengths and risk behaviors of =
Hillsborough's Latino residents, with a particular focus placed on survey=
ing Town 'N Country, Wimauma, Ruskin, Dover and Plant City.=20
Among the research findings: One-third of teens did not remember get=
ting any HIV prevention or sex education; the HIV/AIDS rate among Hispani=
cs in Town 'N Country ZIP codes is five times greater than elsewhere in t=
he county; and a generational, cultural, language, and communication gap =
exists between Latino youths and parents. =93It was like two world views =
never met,=94 said Alayne Unterberger, FICS' founder and director.
Proyecto Prevencion has already had community festivals and formed a=
youth council called TC Nenas (Town 'N Country Ladies). The girls' famil=
ies come from various countries, but the girls have one thing in common, =
said TC Nenas President Nancy Ruiz, 13: =93We found out we really want to=
help our community.=94 =20
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS=09
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GLOBAL:=20
=93Security Council Told that Sexual Violence Against Women Is Taking Pla=
ce 'on a Massive Scale' During and After Conflicts=94
Associated Press (10.28.04)::Edith M. Lederer
Four years after the UN Security Council passed a resolution committ=
ing governments to protect women from war-time abuses, =93most women in c=
onflict and post-conflict situations continue to experience little peace =
and little security,=94 the council heard during a recent meeting. The co=
mment by UN Population Fund head Thoraya Obaid was made as the council fo=
cused on how to implement the resolution. More than 50 speakers said that=
much remains to be done.
In Rwanda, two-thirds of the women who were raped during the 1994 ge=
nocide were infected with HIV, =93and they are dying slow painful deaths =
from AIDS,=94 said Obaid. These women need antiretroviral drugs, she said=
.. =93Today we are here to speak about the unspeakable =97 the gender-base=
d and sexual violence that is occurring on a massive scale in conflict an=
d post-conflict situations around the world.=94
=93In places such as Haiti and East Timor, rape has been used to pun=
ish wives and female sympathizers of the enemy,=94 said Noeleen Heyzer, e=
xecutive director of the UN Development Fund for Women. =93And in many wa=
rs and conflicts, rape has been used as a way of humiliating the men of t=
he other side, infecting women with HIV/AIDS, forcing them into sexual sl=
avery and destroying women's ability to revitalize their communities.=94=20
Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, current council president,=
read a statement condemning the continued acts of violence. The Security=
Council urged the cessation of all such violence; stressed the need to p=
unish perpetrators; and called for increased female participation in oper=
ations to prevent conflict and promote peace.
CANADA:=20
=93Hospital Won't Help Set Up HIV Clinic=94
Toronto Star (10.27.04)::Joanne Shuttleworth
On Tuesday, Guelph General Hospital's board of commissioners passed =
a motion to support a regional HIV/AIDS clinic in principle, while reject=
ing a request to sponsor it. Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik, a Guelph family phys=
ician and HIV specialist, last month asked the hospital to sponsor the cl=
inic. An institutional sponsorship would have allowed Ontario's Ministry =
of Health to channel funds to the clinic.
=93Without complete information and not knowing what the Ministry of=
Health would require of us, we cannot sponsor the clinic,=94 said hospit=
al CEO Richard Ernst.
The proposed regional clinic is modeled after a similar facility in =
Windsor. Ernst said that in contacting the Windsor clinic and hospital to=
learn more about how they operate, he discovered =93it's effectively a d=
epartment of the hospital.=94 Given the cost-cutting underway at provinci=
al hospitals, Ernst said GGH cannot add a department.
=93Without [the hospital's] sponsorship, I can't even submit a propo=
sal to the Ministry of Health,=94 Zajdlik said. She insisted there would =
be no cost to the hospital and that it could benefit from the presence of=
medical specialists.=20
As the region's sole HIV specialist, Zajdlik sees 76 HIV/AIDS patien=
ts, and that number grows by 5-10 every year. Afraid that caseload would =
burn her out, Zajdlik invested nearly seven months in trying to create a =
regional clinic.
Zajdlik partnered with the local Community Care Access Centre, heal=
th unit, AIDS committee, and agencies in Dufferin, Waterloo Region, and G=
rey and Bruce counties. The Ministry of Health gave her assistance with p=
lanning and proposal writing. And four doctors, two nurses, a secretary a=
nd pharmacist are =93ready to go,=94 she said, adding that after initiall=
y approaching GGH in April, she had expected =93this to be a rubber stamp=
thing. Now there are all these red flags. I really don't understand it.=94
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MEDICAL NEWS=09
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UNITED STATES; NETHERLANDS:
=93CDC: Rare Infection a Risk to Gay, Bisexual Men in US=94
Reuters (10.28.04)::Paul Simao=20
On Thursday, CDC alerted US doctors and clinics to be prepared to di=
agnose and treat gay and bisexual men who could be infected with the rare=
STD Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). =20
CDC issued the warning following reports of a recent outbreak of the=
disease among gay and bisexual men in the Netherlands, which uncovered 9=
2 LGV cases dating back to 2003. The nation usually sees less than five c=
ases a year. Belgium, France, Sweden and Britain have also reported infec=
tions. It is unknown whether a similar LGV surge affects the United State=
s, because doctors are not required to report the infections to local hea=
lth departments.
Caused by specific strains of the STD chlamydia, LGV is usually mark=
ed by genital ulcers, swollen lymph glands and flu-like symptoms. However=
, the men recently infected in the Netherlands developed gastrointestinal=
bleeding, inflammation of the rectum and colon and other problems not ty=
pically associated with LGV or other STDs.=20
LGV can be cured with a three-week course of antibiotics; however, i=
t could be difficult to contain since it is uncommon in industrialized na=
tions and is easily misdiagnosed. Control efforts could be complicated by=
some gay and bisexual men's high-risk sexual behavior. A large number of=
the men recently LGV-infected in the Netherlands had engaged in unprotec=
ted anal intercourse and taken part in sex parties in the year before get=
ting sick, Dutch authorities found. Many were also HIV-infected.
=93We expect it's a question of time before we see cases appearing h=
ere,=94 said Dr. Stuart Berman, chief of epidemiology surveillance in CDC=
's division of STD prevention. =93This is an early warning.=94
The full report, =93Lymphogranuloma Venereum Among Men Who Have Sex =
with Men =97 Netherlands, 2003-2004,=94 was published in CDC's Morbidity =
and Mortality Weekly Report (2004;53(42):985-988). =20
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LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS=09
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NEW YORK:
=93Fighting a Persistent Plague=94
Newsday (10.24.04)::Kathleen Kerr
For the first time in more than a decade, New York City officials sa=
w an unexpected rise in active TB cases last year to 1,140, the city's he=
alth department said. Another 6,700 patients had latent or inactive TB in=
2003. While some of the 5 percent increase =97 67 percent of which was i=
n foreign-born people =97 is attributable to new reporting methods, healt=
h officials are concerned, particularly since there is growing resistance=
to the antibiotics used to treat TB.=20
Located in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, Elmhurst Hospital=
Center's TB unit reported 89 confirmed cases of the disease last year =97=
more than any other hospital in the city. Dr. George Alonso, head of the=
hospital's TB treatment unit and director of infection control, said Elm=
hurst reports an average of 350 TB cases to the New York City Department =
of Health each year.=20
The cultural diversity found in Elmhurst can aid the spread of TB, s=
aid Alonso. =93There's virtually people from all over the world here. Ver=
y commonly, they develop TB within the first five years of being here,=94=
Alonso said. Sometimes, he said, people with latent TB enter the country=
as visitors, without the medical screening required of those applying fo=
r citizenship. Some immigrants contract TB when they visit their homeland=
and return to the United States unaware they are carrying the bacteria.
TB's growing resistance to antibiotics is in part attributed to pati=
ents' failure to take all of their medicine. Last spring, Elmhurst Hospi=
tal Center had four cases of multi-drug resistant TB; citywide, there wer=
e 21 cases. To combat this trend, the hospital requires all patients with=
active TB to visit the TB unit to be observed taking their pills, or hos=
pital staff travel to their homes to observe them. Patients with latent T=
B can take their medicine at home.=20
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NEWS BRIEFS =09
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CAMEROON:
=93Health Survey Shows AIDS Rate of 5.5 Percent in Cameroon=94
Associated Press (10.28.04)::Emmanuel Tumanjong
Urbain Olanguena Awono, Cameroon's health minister, credited more ac=
curate testing methods with a drop in the nation's HIV infection rate, wh=
ich fell to 5.5 percent from 12 percent a year ago. A new health survey, =
whose results were released Wednesday, relied on anonymous testing. Previ=
ously, participants were required to give their names. Whereas past surve=
ys tested mostly pregnant women in hospitals, the new survey sampled male=
s and females, ages 15-59, across the country. Officials stressed that th=
e lower rate results from the new survey approach and not from a drop in =
the actual number of case. The UN estimates Cameroon's HIV rate at about =
7 percent.
CALIFORNIA:
=93Stop AIDS Names Stiles as Interim ED=94
Bay Area Reporter (10.21.04)::Matthew S. Bajko
While it continues its national search for a permanent leader, San F=
rancisco's Stop AIDS Project has named B.J. Stiles its interim executive =
director. In 1987, Stiles founded the National Leadership Coalition on AI=
DS; he managed its successful merger with the National AIDS Fund in 1996.=
He served as interim executive director of the AIDS Emergency Fund/Breas=
t Cancer Emergency Fund for more than a year, ending in late 2002. Most r=
ecently, Stiles was interim executive director of Operation Access, a non=
-profit that provides free outpatient surgery to uninsured persons in six=
Bay Area counties. Prior to his work on HIV/AIDS, he held leadership pos=
itions at the Urban Institute, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, the Counci=
l on Foundations and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Stiles ha=
s agreed to lead SAP until the selection of a permanent executive directo=
r, which is expected in early 2005.=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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