Volume 4, Number 17
March 24, 2003

In this edition:

• Study Finds Universal HIV Testing of Pregnant Women and HIV Case Reporting Increases HIV Testing
• New Mexico House Approves Bill to Allow Routine HIV Tests of Pregnant Women
• Abstinence Education Gains Record Funding
• Minnesota Bill to Emphasize Abstinence in Sex Ed Approved by Legislative Committee
• U.S. House and Senate Panels Delay Consideration of Global AIDS Bills
• South Florida Experiencing Growing Syphilis Outbreak
• Providence, Rhode Island City Council Backs Bill to Limit Needle-Exchange Program
• New Evidence Hepatitis C May Be Sexually Transmitted
• Conviction Upheld for Man with HIV who Raped 12-year-old Girl in Mississippi
• Ohio Man Gets 4-year Sentence for Exposing Woman to HIV
• New AIDS Treatment will Cost $30,000 a Year Per Patient
• Some AIDS Drugs Increase Diabetes Risk for Women

Study Finds Universal HIV Testing of Pregnant Women and HIV Case Reporting Increases HIV Testing

The number of HIV tests administered increase after both the implementation of both universal HIV testing of pregnant women and HIV case reporting, according to a study published in the March 18 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Canadian researchers studied data from the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health on the number of HIV tests administered between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 2000, for men and women in Alberta, Canada. Researchers also obtained information from the Canadian Blood Services laboratories to determine the number of tests conducted as part of the mandatory prenatal HIV testing program, from which pregnant women could choose to opt-out.

The reporting of HIV infection became mandatory in Alberta on May 1, 1998, and opt-out prenatal testing, in which all pregnant women seeking prenatal care are tested for HIV unless they specifically choose not to be tested, was introduced on September 1, 1998.

Researchers found that for men, the average annual percent increase in the number of HIV tests was 4 percent for the period before mandatory testing, compared to 4.3 percent after mandatory testing was instituted. For women, the average annual percent increase in the number of HIV tests was 9.2 percent before mandatory testing, but in the month "immediately following" the institution of opt-out prenatal HIV testing the rate increased by 28 percent. Between 1999 and 2000, the average annual percent increase in the number of HIV tests among females was 1.4 percent, according to the study.

The authors state that mandatory reporting of HIV infection "did not appear to have a deterrent effect" on rates of HIV testing, and the implementation of an opt-out prenatal HIV testing policy "resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of females being tested for HIV infection." They concluded that the findings were "reassuring.”

Screening pregnant women for HIV "clearly represents an important opportunity to prevent the transmission of the virus to infants," Sharon Walmsley, associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and assistant director of Toronto Hospital’s Immunodeficiency Clinic, writes in an accompanying CMAJ commentary. She states “rates of testing for HIV infection appear to be markedly increased in jurisdictions that have adopted an opt-out strategy. Given that mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection continues to occur but may be preventable, the opt-in strategy is just not good enough. As has been shown in Alberta by Jayaraman and colleagues, testing rates improve with the opt-out approach. This approach should be adopted in the remaining jurisdictions with opt-in strategies, where testing rates remain suboptimal and HIV-infected children continue to be born. Policies should also be modified to consider screening the paternal partner as well.”

The research is availbale on-line at http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/168/6/679 and the commentary is available at http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/168/6/707 .

[Canadian Medical Association Journal, 3/18/03; The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/19/03]

New Mexico House Approves Bill to Allow Routine HIV Tests of Pregnant Women

Doctors would have greater discretion to identify and treat women with HIV and prevent HIV transmission to newborns under a bill approved by the New Mexico House of Representatives on March 17. Specifically, the bill, SB 805, allows—but does not require-- doctors to routinely test pregnant women for HIV. The House passed the bill 32 to 0. State senator Steve Komadina authored the bill. Current law requires extensive pre- and post- test counseling which studies have found discourage health professional from offering and patients from accepting HIV tests.

[Associated Press, 3/18/03; SB 805 text]

Abstinence Education Gains Record Funding

The U.S. federal government’s investment in abstinence education should reach a record high of about $120 million this year. The funding includes $117 million in ongoing programs and about $3.5 million in one-time earmarks to specific programs.

"This is as high as it’s ever been," said Heritage Foundation analyst Robert Rector. The goal, he said, remains at least $135 million a year, which would put abstinence funding on par with spending for contraceptive education.

President Bush tried to reach $135 million by budgeting $73 million for one abstinence grant program. Congress funded it at $55 million instead. Two veteran abstinence programs— Project Reality, based in Golf, Illinois, and the Best Friends Foundation in the District of Columbia— received earmarks of $100,000 and $250,000, respectively. Both will use the money for programs in DC.

The other $3.2 million is going to 31 programs in Pennsylvania. The Silver Ring Thing in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, which won a $700,000 grant, teaches abstinence in school assemblies, said founder Denny Pattyn. The program has a secular part and an optional faith-based part. Students who want to commit to abstinence can buy their own silver ring and a Bible for $12, he said. The new funding, Mr. Pattyn added, will be used to take the program to other cities. The Urban Family Council in Philadelphia, which won $126,000, plans to use its new funds to expand its fatherhood program and teach single fathers the benefits of "saving sex for marriage," said Betty Jean Wolfe, council president.

The federal government funds abstinence education through three programs. Its total funding was $80 million in 2001 and $100 million in 2002. Once welfare reform is renewed, 2003 funding should reach $117 million.

[Washington Times, 3/24/03]

Minnesota Bill to Emphasize Abstinence in Sex Ed Approved by Legislative Committee

The message that young people shouldn’t have sex until marriage would get an extra boost in schools under a bill that passed the Minnesota House Education Policy Committee last Tuesday. Proponents say the emphasis is needed because sex education programs give students conflicting messages that may encourage sexual activity.

Critics claim the bill is unnecessary and could result in programs that don’t provide students with needed information on contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases.

The bill, sponsored by state Representative Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, now goes before the full House after being approved on a voice vote. Her proposal requires districts to offer instruction in “abstinence until marriage that is premised on risk avoidance.”

Current law already requires curriculum to help “students to abstain from sexual activity until marriage.” But Erickson and others said most sex education programs also include frank discussion about contraceptives and other issues, giving the implied message that some forms of sexual activity-- such as oral sex-- are acceptable for young people.

While some may blame MTV or other forms of popular culture for promoting sexual activity among teens, several lawmakers questioned whether so-called ‘comprehensive’ sex education program also may play a role.

“I think we give our kids information that is more destructive than helpful,” said Representative Alice Seagren, R-Bloomington. Said Rep. Mark Olson, R-Big Lake: “This kind of education destroys young ladies’ modesty.” Information about this bill, HF 580, is available at www.leg.state.mn.us

[Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), 3/19/03]

U.S. House and Senate Panels Delay Consideration of Global AIDS Bills

U.S. House and Senate Committees last Thursday delayed plans to consider separate bill that would finance efforts to combat HIV worldwide. A U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote on the legislation scheduled was canceled to allow consideration of additional ideas from the White House, the Senate majority leader and others, said Senator Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Top Republicans and the White House say the Senate bill does not adequately promote abstinence over condom use.

Senator Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican and committee member, said the bill needs to emphasize abstinence and monogamy, and is not modeled after Uganda’s successful "Abstinence, Be Faithful, or use Condoms" (ABC) campaign, as desired by President Bush and other Republicans.

"They do mention abstinence, but that doesn’t mean it’s a priority," said a House Republican aide involved in the issue. "There’s nothing in the Lugar bill that would change our current policy."

"There are still some issues that are concerns to the White House and various Republican senators, including Senator [Bill] Frist," said Bob Stevenson, spokesman for Mr. Frist, Tennessee Republican. "These are being worked on, and the senator remains optimistic that the committee will produce a bill in the near future that enjoys broad support." President Bush has asked Congress for $15 billion over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean.

The International Relations Committee in the House of Representatives also postponed consideration of a global AIDS bill on Thursday. The House bill is sponsored by Congressman Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and committee chairman and is expected to be marked-up this week.

While condom distribution and "safe sex" have been the core of failed U.S. and international efforts in Africa to inhibit HIV transmission for 20 years, ABC is winning important backers on the left and the right, as ABC campaigns in Senegal and Zambia also have begun to show similar positive results.

Mr. Frist mentioned the ABC program in a memo to Mr. Lugar suggesting improvements to the bill. Mr. Frist also would like the bill to more forcefully aim to eliminate the sex trade and prostitution, which are believed to contribute to the spread of HIV. He also wants Mr. Lugar to include provisions to confidentially notify wives of HIV-infected men that they may be at risk and should be tested.

Another issue is how to divide the money. Conservatives would like to limit the amount of money given to the global AIDS fund, which is composed of international groups and representatives. They say that once money is given to the fund, there is no way to control how it is spent.

"This organization has not proven that it can adequately account for its use of funds and has sent money to North Korea," said Congressman Joe Pitts, Pennsylvania Republican, who said the bill should stick to the president’s request of $200 million for the global fund in the first year.

The Lugar bill does not set a number for how much specifically should go to the global fund. The House bill says the president can give up to $1 billion to the fund in the first year. The White House remained optimistic that the issues can be worked out.

"We are committed to and continuing to work with leaders in the Senate and in the House to get legislation passed that is consistent with what the president outlined," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, adding that it should be based on the Ugandan model.

"We want to make sure that [condom distribution] is not the main part of the outreach," said Connie Mackey, vice president of government affairs at the Family Research Council, adding that the new AIDS initiative should not turn into "an airlift for condoms."

Michael Schwartz, vice president for government relations at Concerned Women for America, is focusing on the House bill, which he said should mandate that most of the money should be spent on treatment of AIDS and should include an opt-out for faith-based groups who do not want to distribute condoms.

[Washington Times, 3/20/03]

South Florida Experiencing Growing Syphilis Outbreak

Syphilis, once nearly eradicated in South Florida, is on the rise again in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where cases are increasing so dramatically that health officials are calling it an epidemic. The numbers have grown steadily over the past five years.

Broward County, where just 13 cases were reported in 1998, is now seeing an average 11 new cases a month. From 2001 to 2002, the number of new syphilis cases in the county jumped 88 percent; in Dade, the cases rose 19 percent. In the first two months of this year, Broward cases increased 43 percent compared with the same period last year; Dade cases went up 30 percent.

Last November, Miami and Fort Lauderdale were ranked among the eight U.S. cities with the highest number of new syphilis cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, the numbers are not the only cause for concern.

The new outbreak-- primarily among gay and bisexual men-- signals a return to high-risk sexual behavior of the pre-HIV/AIDS era, as well as a backlash against the “safe” sex messages of the past two decades, say state and county health officials. That “prevention message burnout,” combined with the perception that HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence but something that can be controlled by powerful new drugs, may be creating an atmosphere in which ‘unprotected’ sex with multiple, anonymous partners is not only tolerated, but encouraged, say health officials.

In addition, the rise of “club” drugs, such as ecstasy, crystal meth and Viagra, is also contributing to the trend toward high-risk behavior.

“We are concerned about it. Absolutely,” said Tom Burns, program manager of the Miami-Dade County Health Department’s STD program. “There seems to be ‘prevention message burnout.’ Maybe we don’t have the right messages out there.”

A “rapid response team” from the CDC will meet with officials in Miami-Dade on Tuesday and with Broward officials on Wednesday to discuss prevention and intervention strategies for tackling the outbreak.

In 1999, the CDC launched a campaign to wipe out syphilis by 2005. But federal officials did not foresee the outbreaks in big cities with large gay and bisexual communities.

Instead, noted Dr. James Cresanta, disease prevention specialist for the Broward Health Department: “It looks like it’s getting worse. It’s not something that went away.”

In Miami-Dade County, health officials have responded to the outbreak by stepping up a community education campaign and outreach efforts in the gay community. The message-- placed on billboards, posters at Metrorail stations, palm cards and in ads in newspapers serving the gay community-- is simple: “Kiss & Tell.” In other words, talk to sexual partners and healthcare providers about sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, the campaign urges anyone who is sexually active to be tested for syphilis and to use condoms.

Dade officials are also working with the Sobe Syph Coalition, a task force of community activists and health workers that focuses on men’s health issues. A similar task force is being formed in Broward County, where activists say more needs to be done to fight the syphilis outbreak.

Although syphilis can be cured with antibiotics, the disease is often overlooked in its early stages, when symptoms first appear as genital sores or rashes that go away after a few weeks. That means an infected person can be spreading the disease without knowing it. If left untreated, the disease can recur, leading to heart damage and blindness. In addition, syphilis lesions increase the rate of HIV transmission. People infected with syphilis are three to five times more likely to contract HIV.

In Broward, where the gay community is less organized than in Dade, health officials say they face greater obstacles in getting the word out. In the past, officials relied on partner notification to track down anyone who might have been infected, said Howard Somers, acting director of the Broward STD program. But, in many of the new cases, the infected person does not know the names of his sexual partners.

So, Broward health officials have started outreach efforts to healthcare providers who work with HIV/AIDS patients. They hope to encourage doctors to test patients for syphilis, which could help spot early cases before the disease is spread further.

Health officials say such new strategies are needed to reach those at risk of syphilis. Otherwise, say health officials, the epidemic could continue to spiral.

“Syphilis can shoot through the ceiling and spike in numbers at any time,” said Dan George, field operations manager with the state health department’s Bureau of STD Prevention and Control. “We need to increase public awareness not just to syphilis, but to the behavior that leads to the disease.”

[The Miami Herald, 3/23/03]

Providence, Rhode Island City Council Backs Bill to Limit Needle-Exchange Program

The City Council of Providence, Rhode Island unanimously agreed to back a bill pending in the General Assembly that would prohibit the location of any hypodermic needle-exchange van or center within 300 yards of parks, playgrounds, schools and churches. The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Health, Education and Welfare. It was introduced by Rep. Todd R. Brien of Woonsocket in January after local lawmakers learned of a state Health Department-financed needle-exchange van distributing clean needles, syringes, condoms and literature to intravenous drug users in a parking lot next to World War II Veterans Memorial Park.

Council members described the needle-exchange program, in which drug users trade their used needles for clean ones, as a public-safety menace and one that would likely send a confusing "double message" about drug use to children.

"I’m having a big problem with this," said Councilwoman Suzanne J. Vadenais, a licensed practical nurse at St. Antoine Residence in North Smithfield. "What kind of message are we sending to our kids that says if you do [drugs] we have a van out there that’ll give you free needles?"

"It’s a difficult message to get across to children," agreed Council President Leo T. Fontaine Monday night, who said he was opposed to the needle-exchange concept. He also objected to the practice from a public-safety standpoint, arguing that, besides posing a threat to children, city police officers could be put in harm’s way by the program’s actions. Patrolmen would run the risk of contracting blood-borne diseases when patting down criminal suspects pocketing needles.

Councilman Brian R. Blais said that he was not philosophically opposed to the goal of needle exchange, which is to prevent the spread of disease. But, he said, operating the distribution van next to a public park is not appropriate, and indeed, is "somewhat offensive."

Mayor Susan D. Menard said, when the controversy about the distribution van first came to light, that offering the needle-exchange program at a health clinic or a hospital would be a far more appropriate setting than next to a municipal park, a location she deemed not only "absurd," but "dangerous."

Advocates for needle exchange counter that parks offer some amount of confidentiality to addicts difficult to reach.

Starting last autumn, workers from ENCORE (Education, Needle Exchange, Counseling, Outreach and Referral) provided clean needles, condoms, and literature to addicts next to the Woonsocket park for two hours each Wednesday. The program was suspended in January. The harm-reduction program is run by the Health Department’s AIDS Care Ocean State agency, which has operated a needle-exchange program in Providence for years. It also recently started one in Newport.

[The Providence Journal-Bulletin (Providence, RI), 3/20/03]

New Evidence Hepatitis C May Be Sexually Transmitted

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) appears intermittently in the semen of men co-infected with HIV-1, French researchers report in the March issue of the Journal of Medical Virology. Dr. Christopher Pasquier of Hopital Purpan, Toulouse, and colleagues note that although HCV is usually transmitted by means of blood, HCV has recently been detected in semen. This indicates that infected men "may transmit HCV during medically assisted procreation or sexual intercourse."

To determine which factors might be associated with the appearance of HCV, the researchers studied 35 men who were coinfected with HCV and HIV and were enrolled in a medically assisted procreation program for HIV serodiscordant couples.

Examination of paired blood and semen samples showed that HCV RNA appeared sporadically in the semen of 25.7 percent of the subjects.

[Reuters Health, 3/19/03]

Conviction Upheld for Man with HIV who Raped 12-year-old Girl in Mississippi

An HIV positive inmate in Mississippi who admitted having sex with a 12-year-old girl has had his rape conviction upheld by the state Court of Appeals. Tony Jackson argued last Tuesday in his appeal that he never admitted to the crime. Jackson claimed he was only repeating back to DeSoto County investigators information they had supplied him during questioning. Jackson was sentenced in 2001 to 40 years in prison on the rape conviction.

At sentencing, Circuit Judge George Ready said he imposed the lengthy prison term because Tony Jackson had shown a complete disregard for others by engaging in sexual activity knowing he was HIV positive.

Jackson had sex with the 12-year-old in 1998. Prosecutors said the juvenile had also tested positive for the AIDS virus. The girl testified at Jackson’s trial that the sex was consensual. Under Mississippi law, however, sex with a minor under the age of 14 is classified as a felony and subject to the statutory rape provision.

Appeals Judge James E. Thomas, writing for the court, said a tape was played during the trial in which Jackson admitted to having sexual intercourse with the girl. Thomas said there was nothing to suggest Jackson’s confession was anything but voluntary.

[Associated Press, 3/18/03]

Ohio Man Gets 4-year Sentence for Exposing Woman to HIV

An HIV-positive Ohio man who was found guilty of not telling his sexual partners that he carried the deadly virus was sentenced to four years in prison Friday. Mor Rondo Roberts was arrested after being accused of having sex with two women-- and telling neither he was HIV-positive. The 31-year-old Akron man is active in local AIDS-awareness programs.

Charges involving one of the women were dismissed, but Roberts was convicted of felonious assault involving the other, a second-degree felony that could have brought eight years in prison. He had continually denied he had sex with any woman because he is openly gay. When he finally spoke Friday, Roberts apologized to both women and their families. He told the judge he needs counseling to deal with his HIV status. Roberts said he had previously “tried drinking to cope,” but now understands his need for professional intervention.

While Summit County Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove said she considered letters of support for Roberts along with his community work, she said she had to consider the impact on the victim. The judge paraphrased a letter written by Deidre Lisman, 27, who had been involved with Roberts for nine months until she learned that he was HIV-positive. Lisman wrote that she suffers from sleepless nights wondering if she will become HIV-positive-- she has tested negative-- and worries who will care for her two children, ages 7 and 5, if she should come down with AIDS and die.

“Why didn’t he tell me? I thought he loved me. I don’t deserve this,” Cosgrove said in remembering the victim’s words.

Cosgrove let it be known that she was not pleased with a statement made by Robert’s attorney, Tom Adgate, following last week’s guilty verdict. Adgate was quoted as saying that it was “hard for the jury to believe a black man who’s gay and has HIV.” Cosgrove said the statement “denigrates” the two women who came forward. She called them courageous. “Your conduct brought you here,” said the judge, fixing a hard stare on Roberts.

The judge said handing out a sentence that didn’t include jail time would send the wrong message—“that it is OK to expose someone to HIV.”

Cosgrove gave Roberts four years in prison and ordered that neither he nor any of his family have any contact with his accusers. The judge said there would be “ramifications” if Roberts or any of his relatives tried to intimidate the women in this case.

Following Roberts’ conviction last week, several of his supporters got into an altercation with one of his accusers in the hallway outside of Cosgrove’s courtroom. Deputies had to intervene.

In a statement following the sentencing, Lisman said she is undergoing counseling in order to move on with her life. She said she hopes Roberts’ sentence serves “as a warning signal to others who might try to engage in such activities... running around spreading disease and not warning people.”

[Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio), 3/22/03]

New AIDS Treatment will Cost $30,000 a Year Per Patient

The newly approved AIDS drug Fuzeon, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Roche, will cost more than twice the price of existing treatments, making it the most expensive AIDS drug on the market. The drug will cost $19,990 a year, developers Roche Holdings and Trimeris Inc. said Thursday. But because it must be taken in combination with other drugs, the total yearly cost per patient could approach $30,000.

Roche says it offers a financial assistance program for patients not covered by insurance, although the vast majority of patients get some type of government help.

Fuzeon is designed for patients who are resistant to existing AIDS medicines. Roche estimates that demand will far outstrip initial supply: It has enough for 12,000 to 15,000 patients worldwide this year. The drug will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis through one independent distributor, Chronimed, said spokeswoman Carolyn Glynn. The average AIDS patient takes a combination of drugs costing about $14,000. Adding Fuzeon could bump that to nearly $30,000.

"That is expensive, for sure," said Scott Barnette, Colorado’s manager of the federal- and state-funded AIDS Drug Assistance Program, or ADAP. "It’s going to require a lot of discussion," Barnette said. "At this point, I can’t say what we will end up doing, as far as adding it to the (list of drugs) or not."

ADAP pays for drugs for about 800 patients a month in Colorado. About 9,000 people are infected with HIV in the state.Fuzeon belongs to a new class of AIDS drugs, the first such advance in seven years. One family of current medicines, called protease inhibitors, blocks the virus from replicating within a cell. But Fuzeon blocks the AIDS virus from latching onto the outside of the cell. It’s the first of a new class of drugs called "fusion inhibitors."

The following is a list of the most-expensive AIDS drugs, according to 2002 U.S. average wholesale prices, based on an annual regimen:

[Rocky Mountain News, 3/21/03]

Some AIDS Drugs Increase Diabetes Risk for Women

A powerful drug used to treat HIV appears to increase the risk of developing diabetes in women, new study findings suggest. However, the drugs featured in the current study, known as protease inhibitors, or PIs, have proven to be extremely effective in preventing HIV from progressing to AIDS.

The fact that they are associated with a small increased risk of diabetes should not deter people from using them, study author Dr. Jessica E. Justman of the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York said. "PIs are so effective in helping people with AIDS be healthier and live longer, and the risk of diabetes is small, compared to the risk of death without treatment," Justman said. Moreover, diabetes can often be "handled" using other medications or by losing weight, Justman added.

People using protease inhibitors should receive regular screening for diabetes, she and her colleagues write, especially if they have other risk factors for the condition.

Although protease inhibitors are partly responsible for the reason why people infected with HIV are living longer than ever before, previous research has linked the powerful drugs to a host of other health problems besides diabetes, including an increase in blood cholesterol and abnormal heart rhythms.

o determine which factors may place people who take protease inhibitors at particularly high risk of diabetes, Justman and her team followed 1,785 women who were initially diabetes-free. All but 350 were HIV-positive, and 609 were taking protease inhibitors. Periodically, the researchers interviewed the women to determine if they had developed diabetes and performed physical examinations. Most of the study participants were either African American or Latina.

Reporting in the March 1st issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Justman and her team found that around three percent of women taking protease inhibitors developed diabetes, compared with only about one percent of women not taking the drugs. Women who only took another type of AIDS drug, known as reverse transcriptase inhibitors, were no more likely to develop diabetes than women who were not taking any AIDS medications. Older women and those who were obese or overweight were also more likely than others to develop diabetes, the authors note. Based on these findings, Justman and her colleagues suggest that doctors should offer "routine screening" to patients using protease inhibitors, especially patients who are older or obese.

The risk of developing diabetes among users of protease inhibitors may be even higher than that estimated in the current study, she and her colleagues add. Participants were noted as having developed diabetes if they said they had, but many people could have been unaware that they had developed the disease.

Previous research has suggested that protease inhibitors may cause diabetes by blocking the body’s ability to store glucose. But the current findings offer no explanation why protease inhibitors may cause diabetes, while other AIDS drugs do not, Justman said in an interview.

[Reuters Health, 3/21/03]

The HIV Update is a weekly report of articles, studies and other information related to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and related risk behaviors compiled from various news sources by the Children’s AIDS Fund.

The Children’s AIDS Fund is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to helping limit the suffering of HIV-impacted children through direct assistance and resources, as well as through technical assistance for their parents and care-givers. For additional information, call (703) 471-7350.

Previous editions of the HIV Update are available on-line at http://www.childrensaidsfund.org/news.asp.