| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2005-01-13, 7:10 pm |
| CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Thursday, January 13, 2005
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
UNITED STATES: =93Never Too Old; In the Age of AIDS and Viagra, the Safe =
Sex Message Applies to Women Over 50 as Well=94
ALABAMA: =93Drug Companies Attempting Cervical Cancer Breakthrough=94
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
GLOBAL: =93Britain=92s Brown Unveils $10 Billion Plan to Beat AIDS=94
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: =93AIDS Stigma Leads to Crowded PNG Morgue and Paupers=92=
Graves=94
MEDICAL NEWS
UNITED KINGDOM: =93Scientists Find Clue to AIDS Origins, New Therapy=94
LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
NEVADA: =93Washoe School Board Opposes Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Video=94
WYOMING: =93Students Laud WAIT Training=94
NEWS BRIEFS
MISSISSIPPI: =93Hip-Hop Concert Scratched=94
TEXAS: =93Test Indicates TB Exposure for Two Children=94
VIRGINIA: =93Norfolk Hospital Service Worker Likely Has TB=94
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NATIONAL NEWS=09
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UNITED STATES:=20
=93Never Too Old; In the Age of AIDS and Viagra, the Safe Sex Message App=
lies to Women Over 50 as Well=94
Chicago Tribune (01.12.05)::Connie Lauerman
Among the findings of a 1999 American Association of Retired Persons=
mail survey of 1,384 adults age 45 and older, a third of women age 60 an=
d older reported having sexual intercourse once or more a week. In anothe=
r study, about half of 514 women over 50 surveyed recently by Emory Unive=
rsity had a significant deficit of HIV knowledge.=20
Some Planned Parenthood affiliates have expanded their missions to a=
ddress women beyond the typical childbearing years. And an educator in Pl=
anned Parenthood=92s Grand Rapids, Mich., office has written a curriculum=
to help professionals counsel older patients, said Michael McGee, the na=
tional group=92s vice president of education and social marketing.
Menopausal changes can make women more vulnerable to STDs. Many wom=
en over 50 are only diagnosed with HIV when they have AIDS. Women over 50=
comprise 18 percent of US female AIDS cases, according to doctors. Press=
ure on women to have sex because their partner has taken a pill like Viag=
ra has been documented in one small New Zealand study, and some experienc=
ed discomfort from prolonged, repeated intercourse.=20
Sex among older people is =93not an issue brought into conversation =
in a family, much less in the community. Doctors don=92t talk to seniors =
about sex,=94 nor is the population=92s behavior well studied, said Vince=
nt Delgado, a founder of National Association on HIV Over 50, and deputy =
director of special populations in Borinquen Health Care Center in Miami.=
=20
=93The typical intervention is the use of the male condom during int=
ercourse. We don=92t know, though, whether the male condom is really very=
effective for older couples,=94 said Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau, a gynecol=
ogist and geriatrician at the university of Chicago. =93In order to use a=
condom properly, there needs to be a full erection, and we need to know =
whether the timing of condom application is appropriate for older men.=94
ALABAMA:
=93Drug Companies Attempting Cervical Cancer Breakthrough=94
Birmingham News (01.11.05)::Dave Parks
The university of Alabama-Birmingham is participating in worldwide hu=
man trials of two new vaccines targeted at the human papillomavirus strai=
ns that produce about 75 percent of cervical cancer cases. HPV is the mos=
t common STD, and Merck and GlaxoSmithKline have created HPV vaccines tha=
t have shown promise in studies.=20
=93This research is really groundbreaking,=94 Dr. Warner Huh, an obs=
tetrician/gynecologist and researcher at UAB, said Monday during a news c=
onference to promote recruitment for the Glaxo study. =93The vaccines are=
incredibly, incredibly effective. They may really change the frontier an=
d how patients are managed from the moment they are born.=94=20
UAB is enrolling 200 women ages 19-25 as part of the four-year Glaxo=
trial, the final step toward Food and Drug Administration approval of th=
e vaccine. The Merck vaccine, also undergoing testing at UAB, is aimed at=
the same strains of HPV as the Glaxo product but also includes protectio=
n against HVP strains that cause genital warts. Test subjects for the Mer=
ck vaccine are no longer being recruited.
According to Dr. Sharmila Makhija, a UAB obstetrician/gynecologist a=
nd researcher, Merck is leading the race for an HPV vaccine, and its prod=
uct could get FDA approval by the beginning of next year.=20
In the United States, the vaccines could result in fewer cervical ca=
ncer cases and deaths. They could also allow women to wait longer between=
Pap tests, but that kind of progress could be decades away, said Makhija=
.. The impact of the vaccines would be even greater overseas. Makhija is w=
orking on HPV vaccine research in India, where cervical cancer is the lea=
ding cause of cancer-related death and the third-leading cause of death o=
verall for women.=20
For more information about the UAB GlaxoSmithKline HPV vaccine study=
, telephone 205-975-7223.=20
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS=09
************************************************************
GLOBAL:
=93Britain=92s Brown Unveils $10 Billion Plan to Beat AIDS=94
Reuters (01.13.05)::Matthew Green
Today in Kenya, Gordon Brown, Britain=92s finance minister, proposed=
a $10 billion plan to revitalize the fight against AIDS. =93I believe th=
e generation that provided the finance to combat, cure and eradicate the =
world=92s deadliest disease of today =97 and today the world=92s least cu=
rable disease =97 will rightly earn the title =91the great generation,=92=
=94 Brown said.
The plan calls on donors to pledge large funding increases to fight =
AIDS on every front: from accelerating the hunt for vaccines to providing=
drugs for millions of people infected with HIV. The extra billions of do=
llars would ensure that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria wou=
ld have a steady income stream to fund the rapid expansion of AIDS progra=
ms in the developing world.=20
Britain this year holds the presidency of the G8 group of industrial=
ized nations and has promised to use that position to promote a plan to r=
aise AIDS funding and fight poverty through debt relief, trade-barrier re=
moval, and boosting aid.=20
The pledges Brown hopes to secure would help governments invest in h=
ospitals, sex education and bulk purchases of drugs. The plan would doubl=
e HIV/AIDS vaccine research funding from the current $750 million annuall=
y and create a coordinated global system through which scientists could s=
hare findings. The plan would also encourage drug makers to speed up vacc=
ine research by having rich countries promise to buy doses for African go=
vernments.=20
The AIDS plan, Brown said, would be combined with a larger push to f=
ight poverty. Funding for the effort will come from Brown=92s planned Int=
ernational Finance Facility, which would seek to double aid by leveraging=
existing budgets in the capital markets, boosting assistance to the poor=
est countries by $50 billion annually.=20
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria praised Brown=92s plan=
.. However, the relief group ActionAid said the plan emphasizes vaccine r=
esearch at the expense of immediate treatment.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
=93AIDS Stigma Leads to Crowded PNG Morgue and Paupers=92 Graves=94
Australian Associated Press (01.11.05)::Lloyd Jones
HIV/AIDS stigma in Papua New Guinea has left the Port Moresby Genera=
l Hospital morgue crammed with unclaimed bodies: Many relatives of the AI=
DS-dead want nothing to do with them, said hospital Chairperson Brian Bel=
l. The morgue is designed to accommodate 64 bodies but has been holding m=
ore than 200.=20
This week, 84 bodies, including 16 infants, will be buried in unmark=
ed graves at Nine Mile Cemetery on the outskirts of Port Moresby. Many of=
the bodies are those of HIV/AIDS patients whose relatives have shunned t=
hem, while some are unidentified or were left unclaimed because far-away =
kin were unaware of the death or could not afford funeral and burial expe=
nses. =20
St. John=92s Voluntary Service Superintendent Fred Bukoya has been c=
ontracted to transport the bodies to the cemetery for burial. Nearby are =
the graves of a dozen unclaimed children who died of HIV/AIDS and were bu=
ried in November, their plots marked only with bougainvilleas donated by =
the city=92s international school.=20
Bukoya said PNG, which has the highest HIV caseload in the Pacific, =
must invest in HIV/AIDS education to help remove the stigma surrounding t=
he disease. =93It=92s dealing with the unknown. They are very fearful of =
[HIV/AIDS],=94 he said. =93We have just come out of an age of sorcery and=
witchcraft. So anything like this can still strike fear in normal Papua =
New Guineans.=94
=93A lot of people wouldn=92t even attend a funeral when bodies were=
being interred,=94 said Bell. =93People here still think you can contrac=
t HIV/AIDS just sitting on a seat used by somebody else,=94 he added.=20
************************************************************
MEDICAL NEWS=09
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UNITED KINGDOM:=20
=93Scientists Find Clue to AIDS Origins, New Therapy=94
Reuters (01.10.05)::Patricia Reaney
A single difference between a human gene and the one in rhesus monke=
ys that blocks HIV infection in the animals could offer both insight into=
the origins of the AIDS epidemic and a potential gene therapy, said auth=
ors of a study published Monday. If humans had the same gene, =93we proba=
bly would never have had AIDS. I believe it is a key change,=92 said Dr. =
Jonathan Stoye, head of virology at London=92s National Institute of Medi=
cal Research and an author of the study.
In laboratory experiments, it is much more difficult to infect monke=
y cells with HIV than to infect human cells. Something differed in the an=
imal cells to block infection. A gene called Trim 5 alpha was found to be=
the reason. In monkeys, but not in humans, it stops HIV from replicating=
.. Stoye and colleagues found one specific change in a protein that was ke=
y to blocking HIV. In substituting a human protein with a monkey protein,=
the team found they could make human cells HIV-resistant.
Stoye=92s team believes introducing the gene carrying that one chang=
e back into human cells would make those cells resistant to HIV. =93What =
we are suggesting one might try doing is to purify HIV negative cells out=
of a patient who has been infected, introduce the gene with this one mod=
ification and then put them back into people,=94 said Stoye. More laborat=
ory research, followed by animal tests and human trials is necessary, he =
said.
The full report, =93A Single Amino Acid Change in the SPRY Domain of=
Human Trim5α Leads to HIV-1 Restriction,=94 was published in Curren=
t Biology (2005;15:73-78). =20
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LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS=09
************************************************************
NEVADA:
=93Washoe School Board Opposes Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Video=94
Associated Press (01.12.05)
On Tuesday, the Washoe County School Board rejected a new abstinence=
-only sex education videotape for seventh-graders due to its =93sensation=
alized=94 tone. Carson City schools adopted the video, =93The Rules Have =
Changed: The Teen STD Epidemic,=94 but Washoe County trustees turned it d=
own on a 3-1 vote. The video will likely come up again for a vote because=
a four-vote consensus is required for any formal action.=20
Last year, the Washoe County district=92s SHARE sex-education adviso=
ry committee rejected the video on a vote of 8-2. =93The over-hyped, fear=
-based tone was felt to be a turnoff for many teens who most needed to he=
ar the abstinence message,=94 SHARE committee member Nancy Lim said in a =
letter to the board of trustees. =93Examples of the alarmist format inclu=
ded blood dripping into a sink when a link was drawn between teen suicide=
rates and teen sexuality.=94
Trustee Lezlie Porter introduced the video to the board and was the =
only member who voted in favor of it. According to Porter, the video offe=
rs updated, scientific information to teens. Porter said it would be a va=
st improvement over the current video shown to seventh-graders in the dis=
trict, which she characterized as a =93talking head=94 video; it was prod=
uced in the late 1980s by a university of Nevada-Reno pathologist. =93The=
re=92s no compelling message=94 in the current tape, she said. =93It=92s =
just, =91Here=92s an STD, here=92s what it looks like, now onto the next =
one.=92=94
Board member Jonnie Pullman said she had expected to support the fil=
m but instead voted against it. =93It reminds me of a few videos I saw in=
school. One was =91Red Highways,=92=94 she said, referring to an educati=
on film from a genre infamous for scaring teenagers with graphic depictio=
ns of auto accidents.=20
WYOMING:=20
=93Students Laud WAIT Training=94
Casper Star-Tribune (01.11.05)::Jenni Dillon
On Monday, a national speaker for WAIT (Why Am I Tempted?) Training =
discussed abstinence and healthy relationships with junior high and middl=
e school students in assemblies at Natrona County and Roosevelt high scho=
ols. Shelly Donahue told students how to =93have the best sex by waiting =
until marriage,=94 with blunt and humorous conversation that had students=
laughing and agreeing with her. =93It got me to want to change,=94 said =
Mike Fauber, a 16-year-old at Roosevelt.=20
WAIT uses several tactics to encourage students to delay sex until m=
arriage by remaining virgins or by becoming =93renewed virgins.=94 Donahu=
e described physical and emotional differences between males and females.=
Males, she said, compartmentalize feelings while females connect events =
and emotions. Donahue taught that women produce more of a bonding chemica=
l while engaging in sex than men, although sex produces emotional connect=
ions in both to their partner; that those connections get weaker with mul=
tiple partners; and that people who have multiple partners lose their abi=
lity to form emotional bonds.
Donahue spent a great part of the program discussing the physical ri=
sks of sex, especially the prevalence of STDs among teens. =93The facts w=
ere pretty scary, to be honest,=94 said 17-year-old Tabitha Sutton of Roo=
sevelt.
WAIT was among 11 federally funded abstinence curricula cited for in=
accuracies in a study by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.). The report crit=
icized WAIT for relying on gender stereotypes and providing questionable =
information about HIV transmission. WAIT included tears, saliva and sweat=
as risk factors for HIV transmission.=20
Joneen Krauth, the executive director of Abstinence and Relationship=
Training Center, which distributed WAIT, said sweat would be described a=
s having =93no risk=94 for HIV transmission in future program versions. =93=
We tell our trainers to tell kids that never have these substances been s=
hown in any study to cause HIV,=94 she said. However, as trace virus can =
be found in the tears and saliva of people with HIV, =93you can=92t say w=
ith certainty there is no risk,=94 said Krauth.
=20
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NEWS BRIEFS =09
************************************************************
MISSISSIPPI:
=93Hip-Hop Concert Scratched=94
Clarion-Ledger (01.11.05)::Cori Bolger
The hip-hop concert that was to be part of Friday=92s Jacktown Hip-H=
op Teen Summit in Jackson has been cancelled. The accompanying health fai=
r =97 aimed at educating teens about STDS =97 will go on as planned, as w=
ill a dance. Organizer Michelle McElroy said several residents complained=
that rap music=92s lyrics can be counterproductive, and one local minist=
er encouraged his congregation to boycott the event. City officials also =
told McElroy she would have to secure a permit to hold the concert.=20
TEXAS:
=93Test Indicates TB Exposure for Two Children=94
Associated Press (01.12.05)
Initial tests showed that two pupils at Rico Elementary School in We=
slaco may have been exposed to TB, but chest X-rays indicated both are cl=
ear of the disease. All fourth- and fifth-graders at the school were test=
ed Tuesday; results are expected Thursday. The tests are being given beca=
use a substitute teacher died, apparently of TB, in January after working=
at the school from September to December. Some parents had already had t=
heir children tested, including the two who underwent X-rays. Lydia Cerna=
of the Hidalgo County Health Department said it would be several weeks b=
efore it can be determined whether the teacher had TB. Health officials w=
ill use a mobile clinic to take chest X-rays of anyone who tests positive=
..
VIRGINIA:=20
=93Norfolk Hospital Service Worker Likely Has TB=94
Virginia-Pilot (01.11.05)
On Thursday, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital officials announced th=
at an employee =97 who does not work directly with patients but in a serv=
ice capacity =97 has a likely but unconfirmed case of TB. =93Visitors and=
patients do not have to be concerned; they are not at risk,=94 said Cher=
i Hinshelwood, a Sentara public relations consultant. The hospital is tes=
ting the employee=92s coworkers for possible exposure. Sentara regularly =
screens its employees for TB and other communicable diseases. Hinshelwood=
could not confirm how the probable case was identified. =20
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