[sci.med.aids] HICN231 News Part 2/2

ATW1H%ASUACAD.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu (Dr David Dodell) (08/28/89)

--- begin part 2 of 2 cut here ---
developing  lung cancer,  while women in the same category had seven times the
risk.  Study participants included 332 lung cancer patients and  865  controls
from  the island of Oahu.  In order to ascertain the frequency and quantity of
vegetable consumption,  researchers administered dietary questionnaires to all
subjects,  and  then  classified the food groups on the basis of micronutrient
content. Among vitamin A components, only consumption of beta-carotene and the
other carotenoids with vitamin A activity was linked  to  cancer  risk;  beta-
carotene showed a protective role.  Its protective mechanism was strongest for
male smokers,  particularly for current and  recent  ex-smokers,  whereas  for
women,  only  ex-smokers and those who had never smoked showed this protective
effect.  Of note,  however,  the researchers found that the reduction of  lung
cancer  risk  is  greater  for  overall  vegetable consumption than with beta-
carotene intake per se.  In addition,  they reported that ``the study provides
indirect  evidence  for  a  protective  effect  against  lung  cancer from the
consumption of  lycopene,  lutein,  and  the  cancer  inhibitors  particularly
abundant  in cruciferous vegetables.'' JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL OF THE NATIONAL
CANCER INSTITUTE  August  2,1989;81:1158-64.  (Compiled  from  Newspapers  and
Medical Journals for IMTS's Healthweek In Review.)

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

===============================================================================
              News from the National Institute of Dental Research
===============================================================================

                             Dental News from the
                     National Institute of Dental Research

                                   07/13/89

        CONSENSUS CONFERENCE URGES DENTAL TREATMENT FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Among the one million Americans who are diagnosed with cancer each year,  some
400,000  will  develop oral complications from their cancer treatments.  These
painful and debilitating oral side effects,  often severe enough to  interfere
with  a  patient's  trex8mnt  and  recovery,  were  the  subject of a National
Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference held April 17-19 on "The
Oral Complications of Cancer Therapies: Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment."

Copies of the Consensus Statement may be obtained by  writing  to  the  Public
Inquiries   and  Reports  Section,   Office  of  Planning,   Evaluation,   and
Communications,  NIDR,  NIH,  Building 31,  Room 2C35,  9000  Rockville  Pike,
Bethesda,  MD  20892.  Proceedings from the conference will be published later
this year as a monograph of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

              RESEARCHERS LINK HPV TO ORAL AND PHARYNGEAL CANCER

Using a sensitive genetic probe,  University  of  North  Carolina  researchers
recently  found  DNA traces from several human papillomaviruses (HPVs)--common
causes of warts--in squamous cell carcinoma samples taken from  patients  with
oral  and pharyngeal cancer.  This finding suggests that HPV's may play a role
in the development of squamous cell carcinomas in this part of the body.

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

===============================================================================
                        Food & Drug Administration News
===============================================================================

                            Food Labelling Changes

     P89-36                                  Food and Drug Administration
     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   Jeff Nesbit - (301) 443-4177
     July 28, l989                           (Home) --     (703) 273-l043

     HHS Secretary Louis W.  Sullivan, M.D.,  today said that he has asked the
Food  and  Drug Administration to consider "sweeping changes" in the way foods
should be labeled.
     In August,  as part of the initiative,  FDA Commissioner Frank E.  Young,
M.D.,  Ph.D.,  will  be  publishing an advanced notice of proposed rule making
describing this effort in detail.  The FDA will also hold a series of three or
four public hearings across the country beginning this fall to find  out  what
consumers want and need on food labels.
     Under  the  guidelines  set out by Dr.  Sullivan,  the FDA is expected to
propose a federal rule on the various aspects  of  food  labeling  early  next
year.
     The FDA has long required certain labeling -- such as ingredients and net
weight   on  packaged  foods  --  and  has  regulations  for  how  nutritional
information should be displayed.
     However,  there is currently no comprehensive,  mandatory  food  labeling
requirement  for  nutritional  labeling  for  all  foods,  despite the federal
government's efforts to improve food labeling over the past two decades.
     "Interest in food labeling has never been  higher,"  said  Dr.  Sullivan.
"Food labeling bills have been introduced in Congress.  Consumers are watching
what they eat more closely.  Scientific knowledge about the effects of diet on
health has increased in recent years.  And food  manufacturers  are  providing
more information to consumers on their food labels."
     Dr.  Sullivan said the FDA will look at five major areas of food labeling
during the public hearings this fall and as the agency begins the  process  of
drafting the proposed federal rule, including:

     * NUTRITION LABELING

     Nutrition  labeling  is  the  voluntary  listing  of a food's nutritional
value, including vitamins and minerals,  calories,  sodium,  fat,  protein and
carbohydrates.
     Since  the  current  list  of  elements  was  developed,  there have been
requests by both consumers and manufacturers to revise  that  list  (e.g.,  to
eliminate some of the items such as certain detailed vitamin information,  and
add others, such as cholesterol, fiber and saturated vs. unsaturated fat).
     According  to  surveys,   consumers  say  that  labeling  food  for   its
nutritional  value  is  second  in  importance  only  to a listing of a food's
ingredients.
     "For this reason,  consumers might prefer  to  see  the  nutrition  label
extended from its present 55 percent of packaged foods," said Dr. Young.

     * LABEL FORMAT

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

     Just  as  nutrition  information  is  sought  by  consumers,  there is an
increasing demand for more salient information in  an  easy-to-understand  and
useful fashion.
     Consumers  want  labels  that help them to more readily identify foods as
low in fat and cholesterol,  high in fiber and low in  sodium.  The  FDA  will
attempt  to  determine which label format is most helpful to consumers without
imposing significant new regulatory burdens on industry.

     * INGREDIENT LABELING

     FDA regulations currently require packaged  food  labels  to  list  their
ingredients  in  descending  order of predominance by weight (with bread,  for
example, labeled as containing flour, eggs,  sugar,  yeast,  preservatives and
artificial flavors and colors).
     The  FDA  will examine a number of proposals,  including those that major
ingredients should be listed by percentage, not just in order of weight;  that
minor  ingredients  be  exempted from the order of predominance labeling;  and
that specific oil content be listed.

     * DESCRIPTIONS OF FOOD

     There are a number of ways in which the food label is  used  to  describe
foods  --  names established by standards of identity,  common or usual names,
imitation of substitute foods,  and descriptor labeling such as "low calorie,"
"low fat," "high fiber," "natural" and "organic." Other names for common foods
have  been invented to make them sound more attractive (such as "snow cod" for
dogfish).
     The FDA will examine  whether  the  use  of  these  terms  is  useful  or
misleading,  whether these terms in combination with other larger changes such
as revised ingredient and labeling are necessary,  and whether some should  be
standardized  or prohibited,  as well as whether some food standards should be
revised to provide for improved nutritional characteristics or replaced  by  a
simple, full listing of ingredients.

     * HEALTH MESSAGES ON FOOD LABELS

     In  recent  years,  there has been increased use of food labels to impart
health messages to consumers on everything from  fiber's  protective  benefits
against  cancer  and  low  cholesterol  foods' effect on heart disease to high
calcium foods' impact on osteoporosis.
     The FDA has traditionally determined that foods may not make such health-
related claims.  However,  scientific evidence has accumulated to  support  at
least some claims linking good diet to good health.
     To  date,  the  FDA  has  not reached a regulatory position allowing such
claims when they are appropriate while still  protecting  the  public  against
fraudulent  or  misleading  claims.  FDA  plans  to reach a position on health
messages on food labels with this initiative.
     This initiative will involve close  cooperation  with  the  Institute  of
Medicine which is under contract with the Public Health Service to review food
labeling  issues.  In recent years,  the Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition
and Health and the National Academy of Science's Report  on  Diet  and  Health
provided  the nation with authoritative views on the evidence linking diet and
nutrition to health.
     "I believe all parties will welcome this  initiative,"  said  Dr.  Young.
"Consumers  want  an  opportunity  to make the food label more useful.  Health

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

professionals believe  that  better  information  about  nutrition  will  have
benefits to health.  And food manufacturers want to eliminate unnecessary food
labeling requirements,  yet be permitted to make greater use of the food label
in conveying information about their products."
                                      ###

                            Tuesday   July 26, 1989

                                  Surfactant

    P89-35                                    FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Eva Kemper -- (301) 443-3285
       July 26, 1989                             Home -- (301) 972-9273

     The  Food  and  Drug  Administration  today  authorized  wide  use  of an
experimental drug for the inside of the lungs to save thousands  of  premature
infants born with a breathing difficulty called Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
     The  syndrome is caused when the immature lungs of a premature infant are
not yet producing a naturally occurring surfactant -- a foamy  substance  that
coats  the  inside of the lungs and keeps them from collapsing when the infant
exhales.
     FDA Commissioner Frank E.  Young, M.D.,  Ph.D,  announced that the FDA is
making  the  drug,  a synthetic surfactant,  available on a wide basis through
qualified hospitals to treat or prevent  Respiratory  Distress  Syndrome.  The
syndrome is also called hyaline membrane disease.  In 1963, a baby boy born to
then-President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy died of the condition.
     Although in the past two decades great strides have been made against the
syndrome,  it  remains a leading cause of death and disability among premature
infants.  Among about 250,000 infants born prematurely each year in the United
States, up to 50,000 have the condition, which kills about 5,000.
     FDA Commissioner Young said, "When there is adequate evidence that a drug
is effective and safe for a serious or life-threatening disease,  and when  no
satisfactory  alternative  exists,  we  can  make  the  drug available under a
treatment IND -- before its approval for marketing -- with the cooperation  of
the  manufacturer.  In  this case,  Burroughs Wellcome Co.  agreed to make the
drug available early because of its potential benefit to thousands of  infants
throughout  the  U.S.  It is important to note that the evidence has come from
completed or partially completed controlled trials."
     Under the "treatment IND" (or investigational new drug application),  the
surfactant  can  be  administered  as a single dose immediately after birth to
help prevent death in  high-risk  middle-sized  premature  infants  (700-1,100
grams,  or 1.5 to 2.5 pounds) or as two doses, 12 hours apart, to treat middle
sized infants -- babies (700 - 1,350 grams,  or 1.5  to  3  pounds)  or  large
babies (more than 1,350 grams, or 3 pounds) who have the syndrome.
     The  drug comes as a powder to be mixed with sterile water and then given
through a tube into the lungs.  The premature infants must be on a  mechanical
ventilator to receive the drug.
     The  drug  has  been  associated  with  an  increase in episodes of apnea
(temporary cessation of breathing).
     Under the Treatment IND  protocols,  Burroughs  Wellcome  Co.  will  make
surfactant available to U.S. hospitals or institutions that can provide state-
of-the-art perinatal care to high-risk mothers and infants.
     Burroughs  Wellcome  Co.  of Research Triangle Park,  N.C.,  will provide
surfactant under the trade name Exosurf Pediatric.  Exosurf  was  invented  by

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

Dr.  John  Clements  of  the  University  of  California  at San Francisco and
licensed to Burroughs Wellcome Co.
     Physicians participating in the trials will receive  the  product  at  no
cost.  Physicians  who  have  questions  about the Treatment IND protocols can
call Burroughs Wellcome Co. at 1-800-326-3282.
                                     #####

                                 Nutrex Aminex

   P89-34                                      Food and Drug Administration
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       Bill Grigg - (301) 443-3285
     July 21, 1989                               (Home) -- (202) 652-1864

    The Food and Drug Administration warned hospitals nationally today not  to
use  a  nutritional powder called Nutrex Aminex made by the Nutrex Corporation
of Sunnyvale,  Calif.,  because it contains  a  potentially  fatal  amount  of
potassium.
    The  powder  is blended with water and administered by mouth or by gastric
tube to patients unable to eat ordinary meals.
    The problem was discovered after a patient at the Veterans  Administration
Medical  Center  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  developed  heart  arrhythmias and was
discovered to have high  blood  potassium.  The  patient  recovered  when  the
administration of Aminex was withdrawn.  Too much potassium can be fatal.
    VA  and  FDA tests subsequently showed the Aminex diet powder used to make
the food was extremely high in the nutrient.  FDA has not been  successful  in
obtaining  a  list  of  institutions  to which the product was sold,  and thus
issued a general press release in  an  attempt  to  get  its  warning  to  all
hospitals.
    Packets  of the powder,  which are flavored strawberry,  vanilla or orange
and are unflavored,  are labeled,  "Nutritionally complete elemental diet  for
oral or tube feeding -- Nutrex Aminex Nutritional Powder."
                                    ####

                            Tuesday   July 18, 1989

                            Aids treatment Registry

   P89-33                                      Food and Drug Administration
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       Brad Stone - (301) 443-3285
     July 18, 1989                               (Home) -- (703) 440-6042

    HHS Secretary Louis W.  Sullivan,  M.D., today announced the completion of
computerized listings through which AIDS patients and their  doctors  can  get
up-to-date  information  on  clinical  trials  of  AIDS  drugs and vaccines --
whether federally or privately sponsored  --  and  the  general  criteria  for
participating in them.
    "The  AIDS  Clinical  Trial  Information  Service  is on-line and ready to
provide  the  public  with  basic  information  concerning  clinical  trials,"
Secretary Sullivan said.  "The data bank will provide the answers to important
basic questions and tell individuals where to get further details."
    The listings were completed by a new data base developed by the  Food  and
Drug  Administration  on  clinical  trials  sponsored by private companies and

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

organizations.  This  information  complements  that  on  federally  sponsored
trials furnished by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Both  are  accessible  via  a Public Health Service toll-free hotline at 1-800
TRIALS-A.  The Centers for Disease Control will administer  the  operation  of
this hotline as part of its AIDS Information Clearinghouse.
    The Public Health Service AIDS Clinical  Trials  Information  Service  was
designed to provide greater access to information about the trials underway to
test the efficacy of proposed treatments for AIDS and related conditions.
    The  Public  Health Service AIDS Clinical Information Service was mandated
by the Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act passed by  Congress  in  November
1988.  The legislation also exempted basic information about clinical efficacy
trials for AIDS-related treatments from federal laws which had barred FDA from
disclosing   any   information   on  clinical  trials  without  the  sponsor's
permission.
    FDA Commissioner Frank E.  Young, M.D., Ph.D., said, "It is important that
people obtain early information on efficacy trials,  which a change in the law
now permits us to provide.  The information will enable people  with  AIDS  to
identify clinical trials more quickly and efficiently, and participate in them
more widely."
    The  FDA data base,  which began operation today,  contains information on
every experimental AIDS and AIDS-related treatment undergoing clinical testing
for efficacy in FDA-sanctioned trials.  The information will include the  name
of  the  drug  being  tested,  the indication for which the treatment is being
tested,  eligibility criteria for patient enrollment and the location  of  the
clinical  trial  sites.  In  addition,  FDA  has requested each clinical trial
sponsor to allow the release of information beyond that required by  the  law,
including information about other experimental drugs that are in earlier, pre-
efficacy stages of testing.
    FDA's  recently  established  AIDS  coordination staff developed this data
base,  working with other parts of the  agency  and  with  the  pharmaceutical
industry.
                                    ####

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

===============================================================================
                             Meeting Announcements
===============================================================================

                             SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
                             --------------------

                             MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE
                   6TH WORLD CONGRESS OF MEDICAL INFORMATICS

                        RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTER
                              10-14 DECEMBER 1989
                                   SINGAPORE

                    INFORMATICS IN SUPPORT OF GLOBAL HEALTH

       ----------------------------------------------------------------
                            MESSAGE FROM DR K C LUN
                   CHAIRMAN, SINGAPORE ORGANISING COMMITTEE
                             MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE

DEAR FRIENDS OF IMIA,

DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES,  THE IMIA BOARD AND THE MEDINFO  89  STEERING
COMMITTEE HAD TO REVISE PLANS FOR MEDINFO 89,  ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO BE HELD
IN BEIJING,  PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FROM 16-20 OCTOBER  1989.  THERE  WILL
NOW  BE  TWO  MEDINFO  89:  PART  I IN BEIJING,  AS SCHEDULED,  AND PART II IN
SINGAPORE.  MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE WILL BE HELD IN SINGAPORE FROM 10-14 DECEMBER
1989.  ENTRUSTED WITH THIS HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY OF  ENSURING  THE  SUCCESS  OF
THIS  IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF HEALTH INFORMATICIANS,  THE SINGAPORE
ORGANISING COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO PREPARE FOR THE EVENT.  YOU
CAN CERTAINLY TELL BY THE SPEED  IN  WHICH  WE  HAD  THE  NEW  DATES  AND  THE
CONVENTION  FACILITIES FIXED UP AND THIS PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT REACHING OUT
TO YOU TO INFORM YOU OF THE CHANGE.  I WISH TO GIVE  YOU  THE  ASSURANCE  THAT
THERE  WILL  BE NO LET UP IN THE ENTHUSIASM OF MY OC IN ENSURING THAT YOU WILL
HAVE A FIRST CLASS MEETING HERE  IN  DECEMBER  IN  A  WORLD  CLASS  CONVENTION
CENTRE, THE RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTRE THAT HAS PAR EXCELLENCE CONVENTION,
HOTEL  AND  SHOPPING  FACILITIES.  PLEASE  NOTE THAT WE HAVE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO
NEGOTIATE FOR YOU VERY COMPETITIVE ROOM RATES FOR A COMFORTABLE  STAY  AT  THE
WESTIN  PLAZA  AND  WESTIN  STAMFORD  HOTELS,  THE  OFFICIAL CONVENTION HOTELS
LOCATED WITHIN THE RAFFLES CITY.

YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE FULL  SCIENTIFIC  PROGRAM  AT  MEDINFO  89  SINGAPORE.
PAPERS  TO  BE  PRESENTED  WILL MAINTAIN THE HIGH SCIENTIFIC STANDARD THAT HAS
CHARACTERISED ALL PREVIOUS MEDINFOS.  IN ADDITION TO THE SCIENTIFIC  SESSIONS,
WE WILL MAINTAIN THE EXHIBITION,  DEMONSTRATIONS, WORKSHOPS, "MEET THE EXPERT"
SESSIONS,  VIDEO PRESENTATIONS,  SOFTWARE EXCHANGE,  AND POSTER  SESSIONS.  WE
HAVE ALSO PLANNED FOR YOU A RICH VARIETY OF SOCIAL PROGRAMS.  FOR THOSE OF YOU
WHO  ARE UNABLE TO TRAVEL TO CHINA,  WE SHALL BE BRINGING A HISTORICAL PART OF
CHINA TO YOU AT MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE.  OUR CONGRESS OPENING RECEPTION WILL  BE
A DINNER PARTY CUM EXHIBITION AT THE "EMPRESS", SINGAPORE'S LATEST MUSEUM THAT
HOUSES  A  MASSIVE  EXHIBITION  OF  AUTHENTIC IMPERIAL TREASURES FROM THE QING

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

DYNASTY.  THIS EXHIBITION IS MADE POSSIBLE  THROUGH  A  HIGH  LEVEL  AGREEMENT
BETWEEN  THE  GOVERNMENTS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND SINGAPORE.  WE
HAVE ALSO ARRANGED POST-CONGRESS TOURS FOR YOU TO SPEND YOUR WINTER AT SOME OF
THE TOP TOURISM SPOTS IN THE TROPICAL FAR EAST.  WE SHALL  BE  ANNOUNCING  THE
DETAILS VERY SOON.

YOU  HAVE  UNDOUBTEDLY  SEEN  IN  THE  MEDIA  OR  HEARD  FROM YOUR FRIENDS HOW
BEAUTIFUL AND CLEAN SINGAPORE IS AS AN  ISLAND  CITY  AND  HOW  EFFICIENT  AND
MODERNISED  SINGAPORE  IS  AS  A CONVENTION CITY.  HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO VISIT
SINGAPORE,  THE TROPICAL GARDEN CITY.  COME TO MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE.  WE  LOOK
FORWARD TO BEING YOUR HOST.

CONGRESS VENUE
--------------

ALL SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTRE, LOCATED ON
LEVEL  4 OF THE WESTIN STAMFORD AND WESTIN PLAZA HOTELS.  THE OPENING CEREMONY
WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY,  10 DECEMBER AND THE SCIENTIFIC  SESSIONS  WILL  BE
HELD FROM 11 DECEMBER TO 14 DECEMBER 1989.

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
--------------------

THE  SCIENTIFIC  PROGRAMME  WILL  CONSIST  OF  PLENARY SESSIONS,  WITH INVITED
SPEAKERS  AND  SUBMITTED  PAPERS.   THERE  WILL  ALSO   BE   WORKSHOPS,   FREE
COMMUNICATIONS,  "MEET-THE-EXPERTS"  SESSIONS,  POSTER DISPLAYS AND SCIENTIFIC
DEMONSTRATIONS.

SCIENTIFIC TRADE EXHIBITION
---------------------------

IN ORDER TO GIVE CONGRESS PARTICIPANTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO  ACQUAINT  THEMSELVES
WITH  THE  LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN HEALTH INFORMATICS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE,  A
TRADE EXHIBITION WILL BE HELD WITHIN THE CONGRESS VENUE.  COMPANIES INTERESTED
IN PARTICIPATING IN THE TRADE EXHIBITION ARE ADVISED TO CONTACT THE ORGANISING
COMMITTEE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

SOCIAL PROGRAMME
----------------

AN   ATTRACTIVE  SOCIAL  PROGRAMME  WILL  BE  ARRANGED  FOR  PARTICIPANTS  AND
ACCOMPANYING  PERSONS.  THE  MAIN  ATTRACTION  WILL  BE  A  DINNER  PARTY  CUM
EXHIBITION  AT  THE  "EMPRESS"  WHICH  HOUSES  A  VAST COLLECTION OF AUTHENTIC
IMPERIAL TREASURES FROM THE QING DYNASTY IN CHINA.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
-----------------

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE WILL BE ENGLISH.

Health InfoCom Network News                                             Page 18
Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

OFFICIAL TRAVEL AGENT
---------------------

WORLD  EXPRESS  HAS  BEEN  APPOINTED  AS  THE  OFFICIAL  TRAVEL  AGENT.   THIS
ORGANISATION, WITH ITS WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF OFFICES, WILL ASSIST IN ALL TRAVEL
AND HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS.  THEIR ADDRESS IS:

                             WORLD EXPRESS PTE LTD
                            114 MIDDLE ROAD #05-01
                                SINGAPORE 0718
                              TEL: (65)-336-3877
                                TLX: (65)-33372
                              FAX: (65)-339-8625
                          ATTN: MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE

REGISTRATION
------------

REGISTRATION FEES (US$) ARE AS FOLLOWS:

                           BEFORE OCT 1     ON/AFTER OCT 1

ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS          US$320            US$360
STUDENT PARTICIPANTS         US$100            US$120
ACCOMPANYING PERSONS         US$115            US$129
EXHIBITION PARTICIPANTS      US$ 50            US$ 50

TRAVEL AND VISAS
----------------

A  VALID  INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT IS NECESSARY.  FREE 14-DAY ENTRY VISA WILL BE
GRANTED UPON ARRIVAL AT CHANGI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR SOCIAL VISITS TO  ALL
EXCEPT  NATIONALS  OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:  AFGHANISTAN,  CAMBODIA,  LAOS,
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA,  SOVIET UNION AND VIETNAM.  FOR  THESE  NATIONALS,
VISA  APPLICATIONS  SHOULD  BE  MADE  IN  ADVANCE  FROM  THE NEAREST SINGAPORE
DIPLOMATIC MISSION.

PARTICIPANTS TRAVELLING ON A HONG KONG DOCUMENT OF IDENTITY OR A HOLDER  OF  A
REFUGEE TRAVEL DOCUMENT ISSUED BY THE ARAB COUNTRIES WILL ALSO REQUIRE ADVANCE
VISA APPLICATION.

PARTICIPANTS  ARE NEVERTHELESS ADVISED TO CHECK WITH THEIR MINISTRY OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS OR THE NEAREST SINGAPORE DIPLOMATIC MISSION.

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES ARE REQUIRED FOR ARRIVALS FROM YELLOW  FEVER
ENDEMIC/INFECTED AREAS.

HOTEL RESERVATION
-----------------

THE  OFFICIAL  CONGRESS  HOTELS  ARE THE WESTIN PLAZA AND THE WESTIN STAMFORD.

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Volume  2, Number 31                                         August 28, 1989

THE OC HAS RESERVED ROOMS AT SPECIAL CONGRESS ROOM RATES OF  US$80++  FOR  THE
PLAZA  AND US$70++ FOR THE STAMFORD.  ROOMS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON A FIRST-COME-
FIRST-SERVED BASIS.  A ONE-NIGHT ROOM DEPOSIT IS NECESSARY  TO  CONFIRM  HOTEL
BOOKING.  TO ENJOY THESE CONCESSION RATES,  HOTEL BOOKINGS MUST BE MADE EITHER
THROUGH THE OC SECRETARIAT OR THE OFFICIAL TRAVEL  AGENT,  WORLD  EXPRESS  PTE
LTD.  NOTE:  A  ONE-NIGHT  ROOM  DEPOSIT  PAYABLE TO "MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE" IS
REQUIRED TO CONFIRM HOTEL RESERVATION.

( ++ REFERS TO 10% SERVICE CHARGE AND 3% GOVT.TAX)

THE UNIT OF CURRENCY FOR SINGAPORE IS THE SINGAPORE DOLLAR.
(US$1.00 = APPROX S$2.00)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING REGISTRATION, HOTEL
RESERVATIONS, EXHIBITIONS, PLEASE CONTACT:

 THE SECRETARIAT
 MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE
 C/O DEPT OF COMMUNITY, OCCUPATIONAL
  AND FAMILY MEDICINE
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
 LOWER KENT RIDGE ROAD
 SINGAPORE 0511
 TEL: (65)-772-4299
 FAX: (65)-772-4252
 BITNET: LUNKC @ NUSVM
 TELEX: UNISPO RS33943
 TELEGRAM: UNIVSPORE

     *********************************************************************
     *********************************************************************
     *                                                                   *
     * THIS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE INFORMATION     *
     * OF THE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ENQUIRED ABOUT "MEDINFO 89 SINGAPORE" *
     * IT PRECEDES A COLOURFUL "SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT" FLYER WHICH IS     *
     * CURRENTLY BEING PRINTED AND WILL BE DISTRIBUTED SHORTLY.          *
     *                                                                   *
     *********************************************************************
     *********************************************************************

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