| prevention-news@cdcnpin.org 2005-05-20, 5:56 pm |
| CDC/NPIN Logo <http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/index.asp>
Friday, May 20, 2005
The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides
the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses
of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other
sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC
endorsement. The following summaries were prepared without conducting
any additional research or investigation into the facts and statements
made in the articles being summarized, and therefore readers are
expressly cautioned against relying on the validity or invalidity of any
statements made in these summaries. This daily update also includes
information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background
on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets
and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however,
copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of
the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.
National News
"UNITED STATES: Panel Backs Boehringer Drug as Treatment
for Resistant HIV"
"UNITED STATES: Merck's Vaccine Against Pap Virus
Effective in Young"
International News
"MALAWI: Moms-to-Be Shun Malawi HIV Tests"
Medical News
"CHINA: A Rapid Assessment of Community-Wide HIV/STI
Intervention in China"
Local and Community News
"TEXAS: Agency Tackling Teen STD Problem"
"FLORIDA: A Reason for Rhymes; An AIDS Awareness Poet
Takes His One-Man Show on the Road"
"NORTH CAROLINA: Teens Learn About AIDS, HIV"
"NEW MEXICO: Mexican Woman Getting TB Treatment in
Albuquerque"
News Briefs
"SOUTH AFRICA: Up to 30 Percent of South African Miners
Have HIV/AIDS: Minister"
"PENNSYLVANIA: Northampton Community college Warns of TB
Infection"
"TEXAS: More than 100 Texas State Technical College
Students Tested for TB""
"MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts Asian and Pacific
Islanders for Health Debuts HIV Ads Targeting Asian Community"
_____
National News
UNITED STATES: "Panel Backs Boehringer Drug as Treatment for
Resistant HIV"
Wall Street Journal (05.20.05):: Jennifer Corbett Dooren;
Jeanne Whalen
Tipranavir, a new treatment for drug-resistant HIV, has received
the backing of a Food and Drug Administration panel despite concerns
about its safety. If it is approved, tipranavir would be used in
combination with Abbott Laboratories' Norvir and possibly other drugs as
well. The protease inhibitor, manufactured by a unit of Germany's
Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, aims to block HIV replication. The panel's
vote essentially recommends that FDA approve the drug.
The drug, which will be sold under the brand name Aptivus, is
being considered under FDA's accelerated review system. FDA's decision
is expected around June 22.
Panel members expressed concern about possible liver damage and
adverse reactions with other commonly used medicines such as cholesterol
and diabetes drugs. They also noted an increased incidence of rash in
female patients, who comprised just 15 percent of clinical study
subjects. Even so, they acknowledged the urgent need for new treatments
for HIV patients who no longer respond to their current regimen of
drugs.
Some of the study patients were also being treated with the
fusion inhibitor Fuzeon. When Fuzeon was added to the tipranavir
combination, "the treatment effect was even more significantly greater
than if [Fuzeon] was not used."
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UNITED STATES: "Merck's Vaccine Against Pap Virus Effective in
Young"
Wall Street Journal (05.20.05):: Barbara Martinez
Yesterday in Spain, Merck & Co. presented a study showing its
experimental vaccine, Gardasil, protects against human papillomavirus
(HPV), which is linked to cervical cancer. Later this year, Merck plans
to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve Gardasil, with the
goal of getting federal regulators to recommend that all young people
take the vaccination.
Merck said the vaccine produced a higher anti-HPV immune
response among boys and girls ages 10-15 than in a group of women ages
16-23. Men can carry and spread HPV. The study measured immune-system
response based on the development of HPV-specific antibodies in the
blood, not the actual rate of infection. Of the four common types of
HPV, adolescents in the study had a 100 percent antibody rate for three
types, and a 99.9 percent antibody rate for the fourth. Among young
women, the rate was 100 percent for three types and 99.1 percent for the
fourth.
In April, Merck said Gardasil reduced the incidence of
HPV-related infections that lead to cervical cancer and genital warts by
90 percent in a study of 552 women ages 16-23. Cervical cancer kills
nearly 250,000 women each year. The American Cancer Society said about
10,370 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed this
year, and 3,700 women will die from it.
Merck views Gardasil's target population as females ages 9-24,
some 30 million to 40 million girls and women in the United States and
Europe. Adolescent boys and young men are likely to be a harder sell.
Since HPV is sexually transmitted, the vaccine is most effective when
administered before people become sexually active.
In November, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and MedImmune announced
promising results from a similar HPV vaccine. Analysts say that venture
is not far behind Merck's effort.
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International News
MALAWI: "Moms-to-Be Shun Malawi HIV Tests"
BBC News (05.17.05):: Aubrey Sumbuleta
Health officials in Malawi are concerned about the reluctance of
pregnant women to undergo HIV testing, which is essential if those who
are infected are to be identified and given nevirapine to help prevent
mother-to-child transmission.
"Most of the women that have come to be tested have been either
attacked or left by their husbands," said Edwin Bakali, District Health
Officer for Thyolo, a hard-hit area of the country. "The men are
standing in our way to [protect] the unborn babies from the pandemic,"
he said.
Although approximately 14 percent of adult Malawians are
HIV-positive, the virus retains a strong social stigma. Those who have
HIV are often shunned. Some pregnant women take HIV tests without their
husbands' knowledge.
Dr. Phylos Bonongwe of Mlambe Mission Hospital in Blantyre said
pregnant women shy away from HIV testing because they fear for their
marriages should they test positive. He also bemoaned the low turnout of
pregnant women for voluntary testing and counseling before receiving
nevirapine prescriptions. The hospital launched a prevention campaign in
January to distribute the drug to HIV-positive mothers-to-be. So far,
only six women have shown up for the tests. Women who refuse HIV tests
during antenatal clinics are given another opportunity just before
delivery, but few accept.
Olivia Mangulenje, a senior community health nurse in Thyolo,
said the only solution is a public information campaign, already begun,
aimed at men and women.
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Medical News
CHINA: "A Rapid Assessment of Community-Wide HIV/STI
Intervention in China"
Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 81: P. 47-52 (02..05)::
D.B. Wang; X.J. Zhang; H.B. Zhang; B. Su
The current study developed, applied, and evaluated a rapid tool
for assessing community-wide HIV/STD intervention (CWI) in China. CWI
needs continuous monitoring and evaluation; however, the methodology for
CWI assessment is generally lacking.
The researchers randomly selected and surveyed 120 county-level
respondents in charge of countywide responses to HIV/STD throughout
China. Investigators used a structured inventory consisting of three
tiers of indicators. Respondents were asked to rate each of the
indicators on a 1-5 scale. Thirty pairs of the same staff from within
Anhui Province were surveyed to gauge inter-rater reliability.
Response rate for the nationwide survey was 85 percent and 90
percent for the inter-rater reliability survey. Correlation coefficients
between inter-rater ratings ranged from 0.68 to 0.95. The overall
average rating of CWI in China was 2.85. Average ratings for the six
first-tier indicators - organization and policy development, goals and
objectives settings, project and action planning, resource exploitation,
project and task implementation, and CWI evaluation - were 2.87, 2.83,
2.67, 2.77, 3.26 and 2.71, respectively. Ratings for the 24 second-tier
indicators ranged from 2.1 to 3.86. Ratings for the 96 third-tier
indicators ranged from 1.90 to 4.40.
"The instrument developed proved to be reliable, useful, and
easily applicable in common communities," the researchers concluded.
"Application of it in China revealed that a large gap exists between
desired and actual CWI, and areas meriting particular attention include
policy and incentives development, intervention planning and evaluation,
and fund raising and utilization."
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Local and Community News
TEXAS: "Agency Tackling Teen STD Problem"
San Antonio Express-News (05.18.05):: Simone Sebastian
Data collected by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District
(MHD) show a dramatic rise in syphilis and HIV/AIDS cases over the past
two years in the city, especially among teenagers. In the first three
months of 2005, 110 new syphilis cases were reported - double the number
reported in the first three months of 2004. New HIV/AIDS cases increased
32 percent between 2003-2004.
Experts suspect the increase results from teenagers becoming
more sexually experimental, having more sex partners, and using
protection less. "We see [teenagers] who have had eight, 10, 12
partners," said Sandra Guerra-Cantu, a medical chief for MHD. She
stressed the problem is occurring nationally.
CDC data show almost half of new STD infections in the United
States occur in people ages 15-24. In 2003, 14 percent of high schoolers
had already had four or more sex partners.
MHD is holding separate presentations in schools for parents and
students to draw attention to the growing problem. The student
presentation explains the symptoms of STDs and how to be tested. The
purpose is "to give them information that if they have been sexually
active, they may have been exposed and they should be tested," said
Susan Kasper, director of health services for the district.
Kasper told parents at a recent presentation, "It seems our
youth are having more sexual partners by 19 than a generation ago had in
their lifetime. We have a lot of misconceptions that oral sex is safe.
It is not safe from disease."
San Antonio School District has the highest STD rate of any
Bexar County school district. For every 1,000 13- to 18-year-olds in the
district, 29 tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea in 2004.
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FLORIDA: "A Reason for Rhymes; An AIDS Awareness Poet Takes
His One-Man Show on the Road"
Miami Herald (05.15.05):: Ashley Fantz
A year after finding himself bored at a seminar on HIV/AIDS
hosted by the Florida Department of Health, Palm Beach Community College
(PBCC) student Devin Robinson devised his own way to communicate with
young people about the epidemic. The 21-year-old theater major travels
the country, performing his original spoken-word poetry about characters
who contract HIV, including a football player, an amateur boxer, an
inmate, and a self-professed thug.
Robinson has recruited approximately 30 other aspiring rappers,
actors, and singers in AIDS Awareness Poets (AAP), a student club on
campus. Members have attended Red Cross HIV training sessions, handed
out HIV/AIDS information and condoms to clubgoers in West Palm Beach,
and organized free HIV testing at the college.
Growing up, Robinson said, he and his friends weren't concerned
about HIV; instead, they set out "to have as much sex with as many girls
as possible." "I didn't think it was that big, it couldn't happen to me,
it was only people in Africa," he said.
Although he practices abstinence, Robinson and AAP frankly
discuss condom use in their presentations. AAP and Robinson have
appeared before South Florida gay and lesbian groups and performed for
about 100 public school students at an annual teen summit sponsored by
Planned Parenthood of South Palm Beach and Broward County. Recently, the
group appeared at the Ryan White Youth Conference in Nashville and at
the National Youth Leadership Council Conference in Long Beach, Calif.
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NORTH CAROLINA: "Teens Learn About AIDS, HIV"
Charlotte Observer (05.15.05):: Bridgett Nesbitt
A recent presentation at the Statesville Skills Center featured
speakers brought in to educate teens about HIV/AIDS. A Charlotte woman,
who used only the first name Devin, said she contracted HIV from her
first sexual experience at age 13. She talked about how the disease has
altered the course of her life, and she showed students a tote
containing the more than 25 medicines she takes to stay alive. "Would
you rather have the one condom, or take all these pills?" she asked.
Ollie Reid, an HIV-positive case management counselor, told the
group that since last July, when he started working at Fifth Street
Shelter Ministries' Open Door Clinic in Statesville, its number of
patients has risen from 14 or 15 to 31.
The nonprofit Teen Health Inc. and its Latino Outreach Program
sponsored Devin's appearance with part of a $15,000 challenge grant from
the Regional HIV/AIDS consortium. The grant's goal is to bring
prevention programs to Iredell County adolescents.
Devin and Reid are affiliated with the Jemsek Project, a
Huntersville-based nonprofit that educates groups at risk of HIV. For
more information about booking speakers from Teen Health Inc., telephone
704-872-1023.
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NEW MEXICO: "Mexican Woman Getting TB Treatment in
Albuquerque"
Associated Press (05.15.05):: Sue Vorenberg
A Mexican woman with multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR TB) is being
treated in New Mexico, where she has relatives. Gary Simpson,
infectious-disease director for the state Health Department, said
treating MDR TB is so expensive, many developing countries cannot afford
to treat such patients. Treatment for MDR TB can cost $250,000 per
patient, compared to around $2,000 per patient for regular TB, said Dr.
Marcos Burgos of the university of New Mexico Hospital.
"About 2 million people die of tuberculosis each year in the
world," Burgos said. "If left untreated, each person can infect 10 to 15
people in a year."
The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
said up to 50 million people globally could have MDR TB.
"Our patient was basically told, 'Go to the United States or you
will die,'" Simpson said. Her two-year treatment regimen will be
finished in October. The New Mexico Health Department paid for her
treatment.
Simpson said it makes sense to treat Mexican patients. "We're
going to get more patients like this. And if we don't treat them, then
the disease will grow and spread into our own population."
Burgos said the root of the TB problem in the developing world
is policy and funding. Without resources for early testing and
monitoring patients so they take all their medications, MDR TB continues
to spread. If other nations do not help poor countries fight TB, Burgos
warned, "it will come to us, to places like the United States."
New Mexico has about 50 TB patients a year. Two cases of MDR TB
are currently being treated there. Health care workers expect that
number to grow soon, Simpson said.
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News Briefs
SOUTH AFRICA: "Up to 30 Percent of South African Miners Have
HIV/AIDS: Minister"
Agence France Presse (05.19.05)
Up to 30 percent of South African miners are HIV-infected, the
country's Mineral and Energy Minister said Thursday. "Individual mines
have done prevalence studies and the results are not readily available -
estimation is 20 to 30 percent of miners are affected," Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka told Parliament. "HIV/AIDS remains one of the biggest
challenges in the mining industry," she added. Mine employees comprise
about 4.3 percent of South Africa's total workforce, or more than
500,000 workers, and mining accounts for approximately one-third of all
exports.
Back to Top Back to Top
PENNSYLVANIA: "Northampton Community college Warns of TB
Infection"
Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (05.19.05):: Kevin Pentn
An active TB case detected in a student at Northampton Community
College (NCC) prompted school officials to notify 150 students and staff
of the need to undergo free TB skin tests next week. Those exposed to
the student will be tested from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday or Wednesday.
Just 21 of the 155 people contacted had responded to the letter as of
May 17; none reported any TB-like symptoms, said Peggy Marinelli, NCC's
director of health services. "An issue here is that with classes over,
many students have left the area and gone back home," said Mardi
McGuire-Closson, NCC's dean of students. For more information, telephone
the Allentown Health Bureau at 610-437-7632 or the Pennsylvania
Department of Health at 570-826-2062.
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TEXAS: "More than 100 Texas State Technical college Students
Tested for TB""
Associated Press (05.19.05)
More than 100 students and staff at Texas State Technical
College (TSTC), where a student was diagnosed with active tuberculosis,
will be tested for TB. Herb Tolantino of the Cameron County Health
Department and officials from TSTC said tests will be conducted on those
who may have come in contact with the student.
Back to Top Back to Top
MASSACHUSETTS: "Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders for
Health Debuts HIV Ads Targeting Asian Community"
Bay Windows (Boston) (05.19.05):: Ethan Jacobs
On Thursday, Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders (MAP) for
Health marked the first National Asian and Pacific Islanders HIV
Awareness Day with the launch of a radio and television campaign called
the Banyan Tree Project. Created in collaboration with San Francisco's
Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center, the ads will run on WHDH, the
Discovery Channel, and MTV. "It's the first time there's really been
anything national or anything on network TB that's specifically been
Asian-focused," said Jacob Smith Yang, the group's executive director.
The group plans to unveil the new ads Friday at a free event at the
Courtyard Boston Tremont Hotel.
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_____
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