-----===[[[ A I D S w i r e D I G E S T 03.29.93 ]]]===----- "Lifeline: AIDS and Work * USA Today (03/29/93), P. 1D A co-worker with HIV infection should be fired or put on disability at the first sign of AIDS, according to 24 percent of workers who participated in a new survey. However, most of the 2,000 private sector workers surveyed for the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS indicated tolerance for HIV- positive workers and concern about AIDS. Fifty percent claimed that AIDS is their leading health concern, 78 percent said infected workers should be treated like anyone else with a disability or illness, and 75 percent indicated support for AIDS education in the workplace. Family Sues Hospital After Mislabeled HIV Test * Baltimore Sun (03/29/93), P. 2B Roylance, Frank D. A 16-year-old girl from Towson, Md., was incorrectly told she tested HIV-positive, which caused her and her family severe anguish, according to a lawsuit filed by her family against the hospital where the test was taken. In May 1991, the girl learned that she tested positive for HIV. But two months later, after weeks of fear, anguish and repeated testing, her family discovered that their daughter was not infected after all. The mistake was apparently the result of a mislabeled blood sample. Last Wednesday, the girl and her family sued St. Joseph Hospital in Towson, charging it with negligence in handling the blood sample after it was taken, or in the supervision of the outside laboratory that conducted the test. The lawsuit alleges that the error caused the family weeks of emotional suffering and resulted in the daughter considering suicide. However, the hospital's public relations director, Lori Vidil, said St. Joseph officials believe the mislabeling occurred at an out-of- state laboratory, which she did not name. She said, "Following this incident, we re-evaluated our internal policies and we feel these procedures were followed properly. However, we are no longer sending [HIV tests] to the lab we had been sending them to." Vidil said the hospital has not taken legal action against the laboratory, and refused to comment further on the suit until the hospital's lawyers review it. Edward Savitz, Main Figure in Sex Scandal, Dies of AIDS * Philadelphia Inquirer (03/29/93), P. A1 Wiegand, Ginny Edward I. Savitz, the Philadelphia business executive accused of bizarre sexual fetishes who received national attention last year, died of AIDS on Saturday. He died at an unidentified Philadelphia hospice, where he had been transferred about a week ago by court order. He had previously been held at the prison wing of Girard Medical Center for allegedly sexually molesting four teenage boys. Barnaby C. Wittels, his lawyer, said, "The facts are that no one ever got AIDS from this man, and he is as yet untried and therefore cloaked in the presumption of innocence." He was charged with molestation at a pretrial hearing last April, and was scheduled to go to trial next Monday on 22 criminal charges including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, promoting prostitution, corrupting the morals of minors, and sexual abuse of children. Savitz had pleaded not guilty. Francis J. Stoffa, executive director of the AIDS Task Force of Philadelphia, said the case hurt public perceptions of people with AIDS. He said, "It was a horrible, horrible stereotype of a gay man. The Savitz case should be viewed for what it is--a unique case, a pathetic case. He was unto himself." Wittels said on March 19 that Savitz was close to death and would not make it to trial. He requested that Common Pleas Court Judge Legrome D. Davis allow his client to enter an AIDS hospice to "die with dignity." Related Story: New York Times (03/29) P. A10 Federal Inaction Blamed in Blood Crisis * Toronto Globe and Mail (03/26/93), P. A5 Mickleburgh, Rod Canadian health officials seemed content with watching and waiting as the country's contaminated blood scandal developed, a special parliamentary hearing into the controversy was told Thursday. Liberal Rey Pagtakhan, a Winnipeg doctor, accused the Health and Welfare's bureau of biologics, the group that monitors the safety of blood products, of neglecting to interfere as blood products at risk of HIV infection were administered to hemophiliacs in the early months of 1985. Dr. Pagtakhan, a member of the subcommittee investigating how more than 1,000 Canadians contracted HIV through tainted blood products before safeguards were introduced, said he was surprised to discover that the Canadian Blood Agency, which funds the Red Cross' blood transfusion system, has provincial and territorial representatives on its board--but no one from the federal health and welfare department. "This is an agency responsible for the national blood supply, and yet it has only provinces on it. We can't allow this. It's alarming," said Pagtakhan. On Nov. 16, 1984, the bureau of biologics wrote to all Canadian, American, and European manufacturers of Factor VIII, the blood-clotting agent used by hemophiliacs, requiring them to heat-treat all products destined for Canada. But the first heat-treated products did not arrive in Canada until July 1, 1985. During this period, many hemophiliacs received Factor VIII that had not been heat-treated. Mark Boucher, acting director of the bureau of biologics, said the group acknowledged that a sufficient supply of heat-treated blood products couldn't be immediately available regardless of its advisory. Care for Man With AIDS Substandard, MD Testifies * Toronto Globe and Mail (03/26/93), P. A14 Downey, Donn A Canadian man who died of AIDS without knowing he had the disease could have lived at least two years longer if his physician had cared for him properly, according to an AIDS expert from the United States. Michael Lange, associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York, said that if Dr. Stanley Bain had been practicing in New York, the treatment for the man, Kenneth Pittman, would have been considered below the accepted standard. Dr. Lange testified Thursday in a civil lawsuit filed by Pittman's widow, Rochelle, and their four children against Dr. Bain, the Canadian Red Cross Society, and the Toronto Hospital, where Pittman received an HIV-tainted blood transfusion in 1984 during heart surgery. The family is seeking about $2 million in damages. Dr. Bain learned in April of 1989 that the donor of the blood used in Pittman's operation had tested positive for HIV. According to Lange, Bain had a duty to either investigate the potential that Pittman was infected or refer him to a specialist. Rochelle Pittman probably contracted HIV after that date. Dr. Lange added that if Dr. Bain had chosen to care for Kenneth Pittman, he could have prescribed an antibiotic to treat the pneumonia that ultimately killed him. Also, if he had been treated properly, Pittman might have lived an additional five years and enjoyed a better quality of life than he did in the years immediately before his death. On March 2, 1990, Pittman was admitted to North York General Hospital where he was given antibiotics. He subsequently died on March 20, unaware that he had AIDS. As AIDS Casts Shadow of Death, More Churches Find Compassion * Los Angeles Times (03/28/93), P. A1 Briggs, David As the AIDS epidemic progresses and claims more lives, U.S. churches are starting to concentrate their efforts on the disease. Rev. Bill Heston of the First Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, said, "When AIDS took a face at First Baptist, then it could no longer be avoided. It became a person that we care about, that we loved, and AIDS is secondary." Although First Baptist is considered ultra-conservative, it now offers six AIDS-care teams, assisting AIDS patients from its nearly 20,000-member community. AIDS advocates claim that a new awareness exudes from churches. At the start of the AIDS epidemic, many of these same churches had expressed apathy, fear, or disgust, and had turned their backs on the disease and those infected with it. The doctrine of unconditional love did not seem to include the homosexuals and drug abusers who were the most affected by AIDS. Now, however, about 1,800 churches nationwide have AIDS relief and education programs, making the religious community the second-largest provider of AIDS-related services outside of the government, says the National AIDS Interfaith Network in Washington, D.C. The Rev. David Jaeger, coordinator of AIDS ministry for the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, Wash., says AIDS compares to "the story of Jesus Christ--suffering, misjudged, dying young, and coming back from the dead." Canada Decides, At Last, to Increase Spending on AIDS * Nature (03/18/93) Vol. 361, No. 6417, P. 199 Canada will increase funding for AIDS programs within the next five years by 13 percent. The increase from C$37 million (US$30 million) to C$42 million, which was recently announced just days before the end of funding for the current five-year plan for a national AIDS strategy, falls short of the C$55 million recommended by AIDS groups. However, it eases some of the anxiety caused by the government's failure to reveal its plans sooner. Previously, Health Minister Benoit Bouchard had told the AIDS groups without explanation that their request was unrealistic. Even though there will be more funding for the next five years, there has been sharp criticism of the government's AIDS-related efforts, which has witnessed the number of AIDS cases double in the past three years to about 12,000. "Canada's government spends per HIV person about 40 percent of what the U.S. and Australia each spend," says epidemiologist Martin Schechter of the University of British Columbia. Schechter says, "The Royal Society report recommended spending $80-$100 million a year. The government's figure of $42.2 million doesn't appear to be based on any kind of rational approach to the problem." The health department said the five-year plan will have a greater concentration on five areas: partnerships among federal, provincial, and international agencies and private groups; recognizing HIV as a chronic and progressive condition; promoting health for people with AIDS and HIV; developing supportive social environments; and encouraging and maintaining healthy behavior. AIDS Update: Bellingham, Wash. * National Law Journal (03/29/93) Vol. 15, No. 30, P. 6 The Washington state Supreme Court ruled on March 11 that the state law requiring HIV tests for people convicted of a sexual offense also includes juveniles. Justice Robert F. Utter ruled that a warrant is not needed to convict the juveniles, regardless of whether the sexual misconduct included behavior capable of transmitting HIV. The judge said HIV testing should be limited to cases in which there is probable cause to believe transmission of bodily fluids transpired. "There is no evidence that the juveniles here are part of a high risk group," he wrote. Justice Utter added, "Certainly their conduct prior to the offenses they committed does not so indicate. The majority simply accepts the legislature's sweeping judgment that all of those who are convicted of committing sex offenses should be tested." AIDS Update: Baltimore * National Law Journal (03/29/93) Vol. 15, No. 30, P. 6 The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled March 16 that HIV-positive surgeons can be held liable for neglecting to disclose their condition to patients before an operation. The unanimous ruling by the state's highest court reaffirmed two lawsuits filed against the estate of a Johns Hopkins Hospital breast cancer surgeon who died in 1990 of AIDS. The court made its decision based on an American Medical Association policy statement drafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the statement, infected health-care professionals should either abstain from surgery or receive the patient's consent, as well as approval from a review committee. NIH Starts Safety Trials of HIV Vaccine for Young * Wall Street Journal (03/30/93), P. B6 The National Institutes of Health has announced that it has initiated the first trial of AIDS vaccines in HIV-positive children. The safety trial is intended to determine whether a therapeutic vaccine can postpone the onset of AIDS in HIV- infected children. The children involved in the clinical trial will be aged one month to 12 years. The vaccines are manufactured by Chiron Corp.'s Biocine joint venture with Ciba- Geigy, in Emeryville, Calif.; Genentech Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif.; and MicroGeneSys Inc. of Meriden, Conn. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, said the study is "a hopeful milestone in our efforts to ameliorate the tragedy of HIV-infected children who now face the certainty that they will develop AIDS." In a separate issue, the NIH has verified that MicroGeneSys has withdrawn from a similar three- way therapeutic vaccine trial in adults, as a result of a disagreement over study design. Last fall, the company spurred controversy by lobbying Congress to appropriate $20 million for a Defense Department study of its product alone. Related Story: USA Today (03/30) P. 1D Health and Behavior: HIV, Immigration, and Rise in Tuberculosis * USA Today (03/30/93), P. 4D Federal health officials said Monday that the growing number of HIV-positive patients and infected immigrants have contributed to the re-emergence of tuberculosis in the United States. In the mid-1980s, the prevalence of TB had declined to record lows. However, in 1991, there were 26,283 new cases, which is 18 percent higher than 1984. Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health told a U.S. House subcommittee Monday that TB transmission often transpires in hospitals, prisons, and shelters, where those infected with HIV comprise an increasing population. Dr. William Roper, outgoing director of the Centers for Disease Control, cited several other groups also at high risk including: immigrants from countries with high rates of TB, elderly nursing home residents, children under five years of age, and the poor. AIDS Benefit at Industria * New York Times (03/30/93), P. B10 Spindler, Amy M. A children's street fair benefiting the Pediatric AIDS Foundation will take place on April 18 in New York City at the Industria Superstudio photography complex. Paul Wilmot, Vogue's publicity agent, will set up booths operated by Christy Turlington, Veronica Webb, and Isabella Rossellini, while Kenny Scharf, Julian Schnabel, and Francesco Clemente will help children develop murals for hospitals. In addition, Mark Morris will teach dance; Brian McNally will organize the food, and Fabrizio Ferri will supervise the taking of family portraits by Eric Boman, Walter Chin, Annie Leibovitz, and Sheila Metzner. The event, called Kids for Kids, is chaired by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, Donna Karan, and Elizabeth Glaser, a founder of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. All proceeds will be given to the Ariel Project, an AIDS research group that is part of the foundation. Senators Challenge State AIDS Actions * United Press International (03/29/93) (Sacramento) California state senators chastised Gov. Pete Wilson's administration Monday for rescinding AIDS education and prevention funding in 12 Northern California counties. Sen. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) told the health subcommittee he chairs that even though there is a significant need for help, the budget allotted for AIDS education programs in rural counties was severely reduced by the state Office of AIDS. The money was for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Thompson said the state has virtually abolished funding for 11 counties, and that the decision does not recognize the fact that many HIV- positive people are moving from urban to rural areas. Karan Mackey, chairwoman of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, said AIDS education and prevention programs are essential in rural areas because many residents falsely believe it is a city problem. In addition, the rate of HIV infection in some rural counties is higher than several urban areas, said Mackey. Frank McGarvey, an AIDS education official from Mendocino County, said that without state support "there will be no AIDS education-prevention in the county" even though the prevalence of AIDS there is exceeded by only nine other areas in the state. But AIDS Office chief Wayne Sauseda told the committee that rural California counties would be allotted a total of $800,000 under the proposed budget, or about $1 million less than in the current year. He admitted that the competitive process resulted in funding gaps, but said, "We simply did not have enough money to fund all the applications that received a passing score." AIDS--A Test of Faith III * Associated Press (03/30/93) Briggs, David When it comes to AIDS and the church there is some disagreement about whether those with the disease deserve their fate, but some faithful individuals seek solutions that are both compassionate and true to their own beliefs. Ronald H. Sunderland of the Foundation for Interfaith Research and Ministry in Houston, said, "This is a response of God's people to people being sick. That, to me, has always been the bottom line. If you force (other) issues together, you're going to confront over and over again problems we don't need to face, and the people who are going to suffer are people with AIDS." Although the Roman Catholic church teaches sexual abstinence before marriage, Judy Hunter, who was a consultant for the Catholic AIDS education curriculum, discusses condoms and homosexuality when she gives AIDS education seminars in diocese around the country. However, she says "there is no such thing as safe sex," and describes a case in which one spouse infected another despite practicing protected sex. The Rev. Rodney DeMartini, executive director of the San Francisco-based National Catholic AIDS Network, said he can relate to the frustration by AIDS activists, but he said they also need to acknowledge there is probably not one Catholic Charities agency in the nation that does not have an AIDS ministry, while several of the larger dioceses have full-time AIDS programs. Researchers at UC San Francisco and The Gladstone Institute Map Key Protein Interaction Believed to Control HIV Growth Inside Cell* Business Wire (03/25/93) (San Francisco) The direction of a cellular protein interaction which plays a key role in controlling the growth of HIV inside human T-cells has been tracked by University of California-San Francisco researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. The proteins, called NF-Kappa-B and I-Kappa-B, are inactive when the T-cell is in a resting state. However, once an HIV-positive T-cell is activated, these proteins incite the series of events that leads to reproduction of the virus inside the cell nucleus, the researchers report in the March 26 issue of Science. The scientists also found a unique relationship between the proteins, in which NF-Kappa-B is initially inhibited by I-Kappa-B but is released and later spurs new production of its own inhibitor. Warner C. Greene, M.D., Ph.D., UCSF professor of medicine, microbiology, and immunology, and chief author of the report, said I-Kappa-B's normal function is to help regulate cell growth and monitor how the cell responds to all kinds of outside invaders, such as bacteria and viruses. As a result of understanding the inner workings of HIV, researchers may reveal new ways to block the virus' destructive path. Researchers in Greene's lab monitored the action of I-Kappa-B over a few hours, noting its presence, disappearance, and then re-emergence inside an activated human T-cell. The researchers discovered that the protein initially serves as an anchor for NF-Kappa-B, which normally sits outside the nucleus of the cell. When the cell is subjected to an outside offender, I-Kappa-B releases its captive NF-Kappa-B, which then moves to the nucleus to activate genes which help fight off the invader. CDC-TB * Associated Press (03/25/93) (Atlanta) Federal health officials announced Thursday that more than 200,000 people released from prisons and drug-treatment centers may spread tuberculosis every year if those institutions don't test and treat every one who enters the facilities. Christopher Hayden of the Centers for Disease Control conceded that attempting to get prisoners and clinic patients "to complete a full, uninterrupted course of preventive therapy unless they are in a supervised setting would be almost impossible. About 10 million Americans are carriers of TB, and about 20,000 active cases are diagnosed each year. However, the prevalence of TB is three times higher in prisons than the general population. It is also high at drug-treatment centers because drug users and HIV-positive patients are most at risk. HIV-positive patients with TB must receive 12 months of medication, while HIV-negative patients must receive only six months. The CDC said that every year, 540,000 inmates are released and 645,000 people finish treatment at drug clinics. Also, about 240,000 of them have latent TB infection and spread the germ. The federal agency issued the first concrete evidence that those facilities not only are important test sites, but also can succeed in helping those at high risk for TB to complete treatment and prevent the spread of disease. Nevertheless, the American Correctional Health Services Association told the CDC two weeks ago that most prisons cannot afford to even test for TB, much less provide preventive treatment. Hayden said that the CDC funded TB programs at 25 prisons and drug clinics in 1990 and 1991 and has added another 13 prisons and clinic TB programs to the list this year. NIH Awards SBIR Grant to Progenics Pharmaceuticals to Study HIV Life Cycle * PR Newswire (03/29/93) (Tarrytown, NY) The National Institutes of Health has awarded biopharmaceutical company Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $50,000 under Phase I of a Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Grant. Progenics specializes in the development of therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnositics to treat diseases, particularly HIV infection. The grant will allow the company to expand its therapeutic discovery program by developing a new model system to study HIV's entry into target cells. A key component of the viral life cycle is HIV entry. This is mediated by two crucial events--attachment and fusion--that result in the entry of the viral genetic information into the target cell. HIV-positive cells can attach to and fuse with uninfected CD4 cells, as well as viral particles, thereby forming multinucleated giant cells known as syncytia. The presence of syncytia strongly suggests the development of AIDS- related complex and AIDS. Stephen P. Goff, Ph.D., of Columbia University, the chairman of Progenics' Scientific Advisory Board, said, "Progenics is developing a new model system to study HIV entry that will be extremely valuable in analyzing its role in the biology of HIV infection and the pathogenesis of HIV disease." Paul J. Maddon, M.D., Ph.D., Progenics' chairman and CEO, said, "This grant, our third from the SBIR program, will allow Progenics to expand its HIV research program and will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the viral life cycle. Our goal is to accelerate the company's effort to design new therapeutic strategies to block HIV infection." How Clean Needles Are Saving Lives * U.S. News & World Report (03/29/93) Vol. 114, No. 12, P. 24 Friedman, Dorian As the debate continues over the distribution of clean needles to IV-drug users, there is increasing evidence that these programs are preventing new cases of HIV infection and saving lives. Many conservative politicians and some religious and black leaders oppose the programs, claiming they promote drug use. But a study by Yale University researchers started in 1990 has shown that the share of returned used needles testing positive for HIV has dropped significantly--from 68 percent to 41 percent. It has also found that more addicts are trading in more needles and they are holding on to them a shorter time, indicating they are sharing them less. Moreover, the Yale group predicts a reduction of at least 33 percent in the rate of new HIV infections. The study's findings have prompted similar efforts in the United States. San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan declared a public health emergency last week so his city could implement a successful--but until now, illegal--needle exchange program despite opposition from some state officials. Also, in New York City, Mayor David Dinkins moved to legalized needle- exchange programs last year. The early findings suggest that needle sharing is down, referrals to drug treatment are increasing, and there is no evidence that the programs have attracted new drug users. Prof. Edward Kaplan, head of the Yale research team, said, "All evidence strongly suggests that these programs can work well. So the idea that they shouldn't even be considered strikes me as very bad public policy." This week, the federal General Accounting Office is expected to reinforce the positive findings in a review. AIDS Post Has Potential Czar, Needs a Home * Washington Post (03/31/93), P. A17 Kamen, Al New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is expected to be appointed as the federal AIDS czar. Hamburg served as acting commissioner for six months before her formal appointment in late 1991, and received acclamation for improving agency moral and administration. She is a staunch supporter of needle exchange programs as a means to curb the spread of HIV among IV-drug users and was credited with persuading New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins to back the policy. However, the formal appointment of the AIDS czar, which President Clinton promised to create during the campaign, has been held over until administration officials decide on the job description, responsibilities, authority, staff, and under which federal agency it will be established. Related Story: USA Today (03/31) P. 4A Wilder Seeks Funds for Ashe AIDS Center * Richmond Times-Dispatch (03/30/93), P. A1 Hardy, Michael Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has called for the state's General Assembly to allot $150,000 to establish in South Richmond the Arthur Ashe Health Center, which would serve HIV- positive individuals. The center would focus on early intervention, counseling, and treatment, a spokesman for the governor said on Monday. The facility would be part of the primary care center being developed by the city and the Medical College of Virginia, and expected to open in September. State Secretary of Health and Human Resources Howard M. Cullum said Monday that the Ashe health center could help about 350 HIV- infected people a year. "They would be referred for testing or follow-up after they were diagnosed with HIV to hook up with counseling or new medication," said Cullum. Wilder, who personally knew Ashe while growing up in Virginia, said, "Arthur Ashe's tragic and untimely death has helped educate people--not only from Richmond, but from across the commonwealth and the world--that HIV infection and the risk of AIDS hangs over the heads of many of our citizens, especially young adults." He added, "His name on this center, coupled with our expanded early intervention efforts, signifies to all of our citizens that we are committed to caring for others and lessening the damage done by this dreadful disease." U.S. Officials Say More Tuberculosis Funds Needed * Reuters (03/29/93) (Washington) Health officials announced Monday that it will not be possible to curb the disturbing increase in the number of U.S. tuberculosis cases unless the government increases funding for treatment and for new drug research. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a House subcommittee that if better TB research is not conducted soon, "we'll probably continue to lose ground." Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said that more money must be found to thwart the TB epidemic, even though the government had been forced to reduce AIDS research to fund TB programs. In 1988, the Public Health Service predicted that $36 million a year was needed to control TB, an estimate that jumped to $515 million in 1991, said Waxman. The rate of TB cases has increased about 20 percent since 1984, to 26,283 in 1991. The Centers for Disease Control said that the rise primarily affects the poor, minorities, and people infected with HIV. Dr. William Roper, outgoing director of the CDC, said more funding over the next decade would be needed for the government to control the problem. Fauci said the rise in cases can be attributed to a lack of tuberculosis experts who might have quickly developed better drugs and more efficient diagnostic tests. However, he said that researchers may be able to develop an implantable TB vaccine in a year, thereby facilitating treatment. Roper indicated that proposals to quarantine large numbers of TB patients would be ineffective, but might be needed in acute cases. Oscar Gets Political * United Press International (03/30/93) Ryan, Dollie F. (Los Angeles) Some moviemakers and actors used the 65th annual Academy Awards ceremony Monday night as a forum to protest controversial issues ranging from HIV-positive Haitian refugees to federal government secrecy. Early in the ceremony, actress Susan Sarandon and actor-boyfriend Tim Robbins presented the best film editing award with an appeal to the U.S. government. They requested that the Haitian refugees detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be admitted into the United States, regardless of their HIV-status. "We'd like the government to admit having HIV is not a crime, and to let them in the country," said Sarandon. Her plea was greeted with minimal applause from the audience. Oscar Night Benefit for Elton John AIDS Foundation Draws Hollywood's Finest With Tremendous Show of Support * PR Newswire (03/30/93) (Beverly Hills, CA) The First Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party to Benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation was held Monday night and was a tremendous success. The event, which was the foundation's first fund-raiser, was sold-out and raised more than $125,000. Honorary Chair Elton John was present to greet Academy Award winners and nominees such as Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Miranda Richardson, Robert Altman, Marisa Tomei, and Denzel Washington. Other members of the entertainment industry included Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid, Ted Danson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Cindy Crawford, Geena Davis, and Claudia Schiffer. Ron Perlman, chairman of Revlon, contributed $25,000 to the Oscar night benefit. The more than 200 invited guests joined singer Elton John early in the evening to view the Academy Awards telecast. The second half of the evening was dedicated to a post-telecast reception in honor of the Oscar winners and nominees. As a result of the success of the Oscar night benefit, two more fundraising events for the Elton John AIDS Foundation are scheduled for the months ahead. John and his band will perform a special concert May 8 in Atlanta, and on Sept. 22 & 23 Billy Jean King will join John for the "First Annual Slam 'n' Jam." The two-day fund-raiser will start with an all-star World Team Tennis Tournament at the Forum in Los Angeles, followed the next evening by a private concert and dinner. John has been a long-time AIDS activist and formed his foundation in November 1992. He serves as co-director of the Atlanta-based non-profit group, which will fund AIDS causes nationwide. Federal Court Rules HIV-Infected Haitians Require Adequate Care * United Press International (03/27/93) (Miami) A federal court order issued Friday requires the United States to either provide proper medical treatment for 250 HIV- positive Haitians at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba or move them elsewhere. On Saturday, the Miami Herald reported that U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. in New York allowed the U.S. government 10 days to comply. Michael Ratner, an attorney for the Haitians, said he is certain that the judge's ruling will mean that the Haitians will be freed from Guantanamo. "They can't get adequate medical care on Guantanamo because they have to be near a big-city hospital," said Ratner. The refugees have been considered to have legitimate claims of political asylum, but have been detained at the naval base for more than a year because either they or family members are infected with HIV. Joe Krovisky, a spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department, said the government does not know how it will handle the judge's decision. Johnson did not say where the Haitians should be taken, but he said they should not be taken to Haiti. Ratner said he thinks the government would have to bring them to the United States because no other country is willing to admit them. The Haitians could end up in Miami's Krome Avenue detention center or set free while they pursue their political asylum claims. A naval base spokesman said that at least 15 to 30 Haitians were in danger of becoming severely ill. But Haitian advocates said the number is closer to 60. Combating AIDS * Hispanic (03/93) Vol. 6, No. 1, P. 12 Gomez, Margarita Hispanics with HIV infection or AIDS are currently reaping the benefits of less expensive, more compassionate care as a result of efforts by the Pan American AIDS Foundation and Dr. Yamil Kouri. Kouri and his colleagues have established cost-efficient AIDS prevention and care programs throughout the Americas since 1986 by channeling resources for technical and financial aid. "Two to 3 million people are already HIV-positive in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is important for U.S. Hispanics to support us because the virus knows no frontiers," said Kouri. He believes the epidemic is a global problem that the Hispanic community should help control. "AIDS affects the Hispanic minority disproportionately. People who have succeeded in the United States can find, through this foundation, a vehicle through which to help their country of origin," said Kouri. Free Trial Offer for New AIDS Drug * Business Ethics (03/93-04/93) Vol. 7, No. 2, P. 9 Vestar Inc., a San Dimas, Calif., pharmaceutical company will soon launch a clinical trial of a new AIDS drug, DuanoXome, that will be given to patients free of charge. Michael Hart, Vestar's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "Some of the more advanced clinical trials have very specific requirements. This one, however, was set up in response to the interest AIDS groups have shown in the drug. We wanted to allow a wide range of patients access to the drug before it becomes officially approved by the FDA." In earlier trials, more than half of AIDS patients with advanced Kaposi's sarcoma had at least a slight response to the drug. The new trial will make the drug available to 100 New York City patients with other illnesses as well. Clinton Set Back on an AIDS Post * New York Times (04/01/93), P. A17 Berke, Richard L. The Clinton administration was shocked yesterday when it learned that its first choice for federal AIDS coordinator would not take the position. Health Commissioner of New York City Margaret Hamburg told Clinton staff members that she would not accept the job, even though it had not been formally offered to her. Her decision came as somewhat of an embarrassment for White House officials, who had been telling reporters that Clinton would select her for the post. Sources close to Dr. Hamburg said she was very interested in the position at first, but subsequently chose not to take it because she is pregnant and did not think she could not care for the baby properly if she had the pressing demands of the job, which would include heavy travel. But other sources said she had also wanted to be ensured that she would be given the appropriate authority in the position. Dr. Hamburg's decision is unfortunate for President Clinton, who has already been accused of taking too long to choose an AIDS coordinator, and has been questioned about his commitment to the fight against AIDS. Administration officials said the president did not have an alternative candidate selected yet, but would not have to start all over with the selection process. Dr. Hamburg was a top contender for the post for more than a month. According to White House officials, the president had decided he wanted someone who had been deeply involved in health care rather than a political figure. AIDS Toll Likely to Top 25 Million, Editors Told * Baltimore Sun (04/01/93), P. 4A Birch, Douglas The number of people dying of AIDS worldwide will exceed 25 million by 1997, according to predictions by a Johns Hopkins University medical researcher. Dr. John G. Bartlett, an AIDS expert and the head of infectious diseases at Hopkins Hospital, told the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Baltimore this week that, "You probably want to know if there's a cure ahead, a vaccine, a light at the end of the tunnel. Based on where we've been with this organism, I have to be pessimistic." He added that researchers are likely to slow progression of the disease in infected people, making it a "manageable" illness like diabetes. However, HIV may attack and mutate too quickly to be defeated altogether, he said. The plague called the Black Death in the 14th century claimed the lives of about 25 million people in Europe. Approximately 25 percent of the continent's population may have died in what was widely deemed the most deadly epidemic on record. However, the outcome of the AIDS epidemic is expected to be worse. 1 in 5 in U.S. Have Sexually Caused Viral Disease * New York Times (04/01/93), P. A1 Barringer, Felicity More than one in five people in the United States are infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), according to a study released yesterday by the Alan Guttmacher Institute. The study said that even more Americans were likely to become infected with an STD at some point in their life, and that these diseases would have the most profound effect in women and people under the age of 25. The report stated that 12 million new STDs occur each year, with two-thirds of them among people under 25, and one-quarter among teenagers. Although the information on the rate of STDs has been available to health experts, it has been largely ignored, in part as a result of the public's emphasis on AIDS. The study discovered that STDs affect women disproportionately, both because women tend to show fewer symptoms and because federal and state programs to fight such diseases tend to be in clinics that primarily treat men. The researchers have detected about 50 infections and syndromes that are sexually transmitted. The most common is chlamydia, a bacterial infection that infects 4 million people a year. The report also said that teenagers and blacks have a higher rate of STDs because "these groups are more likely than whites and older Americans to be unmarried and therefore to have multiple sexual partners. In addition, teenagers who begin sexual activity earlier are more likely to have multiple partners." Moreover, the study said those infected with STDs are more susceptible to HIV. Several of the STDs are also associated with the same social factors as HIV, including the use of crack cocaine, which increases the number of addicted women willing to trade sex for drugs. NYC Threatens to Boycott Astra Pharmaceuticals to Protest AIDS Drug's Cost* United Press International (03/31/93) (New York) The City of New York announced Wednesday that it may boycott Astra Pharmaceutical Products Inc. to protest the exorbitant price of its AIDS drug Foscavir. One year's supply of Foscavir, which treats cytomegalovirus, costs about $30,000. The steep cost led Dr. Billy Jones, head of the city's Health and Hospital Corp.--which oversees public hospitals and emergency-medical services--to caution that some AIDS patients cannot afford Astra's drug. The drug's price is high because doctors must administer it intravenously. Dr. Jones said in a memo to Mayor David Dinkins, "I have expressed my concerns to the president of Astra in an attempt to address this issue more directly. At this time, his response indicates an unwillingness to increase access to Foscavir." HHC spokesman Norman Katz said the city currently purchases $238,000 worth of Astra drugs annually, including $97,000 worth of Foscavir. However, Katz said that unless the city reaches an accord with Astra on the drug's price, HHC would boycott the Swedish company's products as existing drug contracts expire. Dinkins indicated he supported the boycott, claiming such a protest seemed important "in a time when there is heightened awareness of health-care costs and talk of health-care reform." But the mayor said the city would still buy Foscavir for patients who need it. An Astra spokesman from the U.S. headquarters in Westborough, Mass., said company president Lars Bildman "tried to arrange a meeting and never was able to talk to Dr. Billy Jones." In addition, she said that only 1,500 people nationwide use Foscavir, which generates a relatively small $27 million in annual income. Insurer Not Liable in Hudson Case, Court Rules * Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (04/01/93), P. B1 Weinstein, Henry An insurance company is not required to reimburse the estate of the late Rock Hudson for a multimillion-dollar settlement with the actor's former lover, according to a ruling by the federal appeals court in San Francisco. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Wednesday that Hudson's failure to disclose his AIDS-related condition in order to induce Marc Christian to engage in "high-risk sex" with him for eight months was "inherently harmful" behavior. Therefore, Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.'s obligation to pay claims under Hudson's homeowner's policy was voided. The ruling signifies another landmark in an increasing body of law that is developing out of the AIDS epidemic, said legal experts. David Bacon, a Los Angeles lawyer who specializes in insurance cases, commended the decision. "It is going to be a decision of increasing importance. As the AIDS disease spreads ... you will see more and more litigation in this area." However, J. Craig Fong, a lawyer with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay rights group, said he believed the ruling might "contribute to AIDS hysteria." Circuit Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall said, "It is undisputed that Hudson knew that he was infected with AIDS virus, and that he intentionally misrepresented and concealed his condition ..." An AIDS Hospice Threatens to Close * Philadelphia Inquirer (04/01/93), P. B1 Collins, Huntly A Philadelphia AIDS hospice expects to close in June unless it raises enough funds to make up for a major shortfall in state money. Betak, a home for 43 AIDS patients, is one of only two such homes in the city that serve as hospices for AIDS patients. Betack, which has a waiting list of more than 30 people, was opened in January 1992 in the city's Mount Airy section. It is considered a crucial need for poor people with AIDS who otherwise might be left to die on the streets. The Rev. Arnold L. Tiemeyer, president of Lutheran Home at Germantown, the nonprofit organization that owns Betak, said yesterday that the agency's board had decided to shut down Betak as of June 1, unless the state allots at least another $250,000 this year. ACT-UP/Philadelphia, which occupied the Betak facility twice to convince the state to fund it, scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday to deal with the predicament. Tiemeyer said the $250,000 was necessary to account for the gap between the $665,000 promised by the state health officials and a grant of only $415,000. The $415,000 was not only below what Betak had been relying on, but it was supposed to help the facility through an entire year. The state appropriated the same amount last year to cover Betak's expenses for six months. In addition, Tiemeyer said that Betak has not yet seen "one cent" of the $415,000, which was provided by the state in February for the fiscal year that began last July 1. HIV Vaccination Dilemma * Nature (03/18/93) Vol. 362, No. 6417, P. 212 Sabin, Albert B. There is no scientific evidence that any of the experimental vaccines against SIV or HIV, some of which are scheduled for use in large-scale human trials, have any protective effect against natural modes of transmission in previously uninfected or latently infected hosts, writes renowned polio researcher Dr. Albert B. Sabin. In their commentary in Nature, Ada et al. discussed a paper by Sabin on the improbability of effective vaccination against HIV because of its intracellular transmission and rectal (or vaginal cervical) port of entry. Neither antibodies nor cell-mediated immunity (CMI) is effective against intracellular transmission of HIV infection. Ada et al. said that "cells in the donated semen already expressing viral antigen could fuse with host cells (gp120/CD4 interaction), and thus be recognized by both classes I MHC restricted CTLs resulting from the vaccination and alloreactive CTLs." But the flaw in this argument is that there is a "novel way" by which HIV-infected lymphocytes have been demonstrated to be capable of rapidly transferring infectious virus, either HIV RNA or chromosomally integrated HIV cDNA, in HIV-positive cells by cell-to-cell contact without using CD4 receptors. Ada and colleagues also said that "to delay or not to perform such trials for the reason proposed by Dr. Sabin would be disastrous for the increasing numbers of people exposed to the risk of infection." Sabin concludes that what is dangerous is continuing the current inadequate methods of study of HIV and SIV vaccines, and to carry out large-scale tests in humans of vaccines without sufficient evidence that such vaccines can protect natural infection with adequate doses of intracellular virus. Testing Times Economist (03/20/93-03/26/93) Vol. 326, No. 7803 Clinical-trial researchers have developed three methods to improve clinical testing procedures. Currently, trials use small homogeneous groups of test subjects under strict controls. Small trials of drugs that only offer mild improvements over existing drugs often lead to inconclusive results, and many small trials are necessary to notice the differences. People with fatal diseases, such as AIDS, find that beneficial drugs may not be available because trials turn up inconclusive results, creating delays in drug approvals. However, AIDS researchers have found that they can reduce the length of clinical trials by using surrogate markers, which are measurements showing the progression of the disease. The use of surrogate markers allows researchers to determine the effectiveness of a drug without waiting for the disease to run its course, as was the case with ddi and ddc that used levels of CD4 as a marker. Another test procedure uses small trials to test for toxicity. Researchers then administer the safe drugs to patients while doctors and drug firms monitor the patients' progress to determine the effectiveness of the drugs. A third testing method, known as randomised heterogeneous mega-trials, uses a large number of subjects with different backgrounds in bias-free trials. AIDS: Donors Dictate Third-World Strategy * Lancet (03/20/93) Vol. 341, No. 8847, P. 764 Murmu, L.R. By industrialized countries' emphasizing AIDS research on vaccine and drug development, AIDS-related problems such as prostitution, poverty, and labor migration are clearly ignored, writes L.R. Murmu of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. Even though poverty is identified as a key factor in the AIDS epidemic, research has not been concentrated on the understanding of such social problems. The absence of critical inquiry makes these problems seem to be prevalent and come from nowhere. Rather than seek for ways to change the political conditions that subject women to the degradation of prostitution, for example, the Indian government's AIDS effort unwittingly provides for healthier prostitutes. Also, the use of dirty needles for immunizations is a common practice in developing countries, which has a real potential to spread HIV. Until there is a focus on how easily curable health problems go untreated, a cure for AIDS will be virtually meaningless to the populations of most developing countries, concludes Murmu. New Study Questions Use of AZT in Early Treatment of AIDS Virus * New York Times (04/02/93), P. A1 Altman, Lawrence K. Early treatment with the AIDS drug AZT for HIV infection may not be necessary, according to a large European study published in this Saturday's issue of The Lancet. The drug is prescribed to people infected with HIV long before they develop full-blown AIDS. However, the new study did not find an evident benefit in taking AZT early in the course of infection. The research, which was conducted in England, France, and Ireland between October 1988 and October 1991, is known as the Concorde study. It was carried out at 65 medical centers in the three countries, and involved a total of 1,749 HIV-positive people. Half of the volunteers were given AZT, while the other half were given a placebo. The survival rate was 92 percent among those who were treated immediately after diagnosis, and 93 percent among those who were given a placebo. The study found the rate of progression from infection to AIDS or death to be 18 percent in both groups involved. Dr. Dan Hoth, an AIDS expert at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., said American scientists were expecting to meet soon with the researchers who conducted the study to examine all the data. The meeting is scheduled to be held in June in Washington, but until then, he said, "we see no basis for making a change in the use of AZT in the current clinical practice in the United States." Nick Partridge, head of the Terrence Higgins Trust, an AIDS charity and advocacy group in Britain, said the new findings could deter some people from getting tested for HIV if they believe there is not an effective early treatment. Related Stories: Washington Post (04/02) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (04/02) P. A3; Financial Times (04/02) P. 1 36 Haitians With AIDS Virus to Get Treatment in U.S. * Washington Post (04/02/93), P. A10 A total of 36 HIV-positive refugees detained at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be admitted into the United States for treatment, the Justice Department announced yesterday. The department noted that the move was taken to comply with a court order issued last week and does not indicate a policy change. The department said, "Under the terms of the order, 36 Haitians will be brought to the United States as soon as the appropriate arrangements can be made. This action is taken to comply with the court's order and does not represent a change in general policy." The 36 refugees allowed in the United States are among 250 others held at the naval base because either they or their family members are infected with HIV. Officials have conceded that the 250 have legitimate political asylum claims, but must be held at the base because HIV infection prohibits them from being admitted into the United States. U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. in New York ruled last Friday that the U.S. government had 10 days to comply with his ruling that the government must provide medical treatment for those refugees or send them where they can be treated. The judge did not mention where the refugees should be taken for treatment but specified that they should not be repatriated to Haiti. An attorney representing the Haitians, Joseph Tringali, said there were 35 refugees who have developed AIDS, while the government earlier said that there were only 15 to 20. The department's decision to bring 36 to the United States suggests it agrees with Tringali's figure. Federal Payments Ending for Hemophiliacs With AIDS * Toronto Globe and Mail (04/01/93), P. A1 Picard, Andre Canadian government funds compensating people who contracted HIV during the tainted blood scandal will soon come to an end, leaving many hemophiliacs to die without any money. The blood scandal transpired before 1985 when blood products contaminated with HIV were distributed to hemophiliacs and people receiving transfusions without adequate warning about a potential problem. Hemophiliacs and former blood transfusion recipients with HIV say the end of government aid when they are dying in record numbers emphasizes how they have been abandoned by the health-care system. Most likely, within the next few years, the nearly 800 hemophiliacs and 300 transfusion recipients who received the infected blood will die. On Dec. 14, 1989, Perrin Beatty, the federal health minister at the time, announced a "catastrophe relief plan" to compensate those who became infected as a result of the government's negligence. He emphasized that the $30,000-a-year payment was only a partial solution. "I have invited the provinces to do their part in responding to those needs in view of their role in the national blood-supply system ... and I support the society's efforts for obtaining additional assistance from the provinces," Beatty wrote to the Canadian Hemophilia Society. He decided that the victims of the tainted blood scandal deserved compensation of about $380,000--the federal government contributed $120,000. The provinces were expected to give the other $260,000 as a sort of disability insurance. However, in 1990, the provincial health ministers decided that they would act in unison or not at all, effectively thwarting any opportunity of a settlement with the victims of the scandal. Law Notes: AIDS Exclusion * Wall Street Journal (04/02/93), P. B6 The American Civil Liberties Union and a South Carolina AIDS group have filed a lawsuit against South Carolina's insurance risk pool. The legal action claims that the risk pool, which insures people who have been rejected by private health insurers, infringes upon the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying coverage to people with AIDS. State legislators excluded AIDS patients when the pool was created. James C. Gray, a lawyer for the insurance pool, said the program is complying with state law. AIDS Care for Inmates Is Called Satisfactory * Boston Globe (04/01/93), P. 34 Hernandez, Efrain A preliminary survey of Massachusetts prison inmates shows that their medical treatment seems to parallel what is provided for the general public, a member of a state task force said Wednesday. Medical records of more than half of about 320 inmates being treated for HIV were examined in preparation for the first meeting of a prison AIDS task force formed in February by state Public Safety Secretary Thomas C. Rapone, said officials. The task force consists of 178 members, who gathered in Rapone's office on Wednesday for the initial session. They were briefed on basic data discovered in the records of 173 prisoners. "Most of the charts looked very good. There were gaps in certain institutions that require further analysis," said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, director of the communicable disease control bureau for the state Department of Public Health. DeMaria said none of the flaws involved life- threatening situations, and that 85-90 percent of the inmate charts were satisfactory. Some of the institutions, however, did not keep up with inmates who were moved from one place to another, and failed to provide adequate counseling for inmates with HIV. DeMaria said that two institutions were found lacking in the routine immunization of inmates for illnesses like pneumonia. Arrest Made in HIV Hoax * United Press International (04/01/93) (Youngstown, Ohio) Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have arrested a man who allegedly called police claiming he injected HIV-infected blood into packages of beef at two area supermarkets. The FBI said Curtis Burley of Campbell, Ohio, admitted that the call was a hoax. On Wednesday, he was charged in Akron's U.S. District Court for knowingly communicating false information that a consumer product had been contaminated. Burley could receive up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine if he is convicted. The man, who made the calls to police officers in Austintown and Boardman, said he had injected HIV into meat at two supermarkets because he was black and was prompted by hatred of white people. However, FBI agents said they had determined "incontrovertibly" that the incident was not racially motivated and they were convinced no products were affected. N.Y.'s "Must Insure" Takes Effect, and 50,000 Lose Their Coverage * Investor's Business Daily (04/02/93), P. 27 After New York became the first state to prohibit small-group health insurers from charging different rates based on age, sex, or health yesterday, nine companies informed 50,000 customers that their policies were being dropped because they were abandoning the state. Other companies have raised rates as much as 170 percent. Chris Petersen, assistant general counsel at the Health Insurance Association of America, says, "When people see what happens in New York, I think it will dampen some enthusiasm for community rating in other states." Supporters of the law say it will help the elderly and the sick, especially those with AIDS, get coverage. AIDS Conferees Get Berlin Assurance * Science (03/19/93) Vol. 259, No. 5102, P. 1698 Amato, Ivan The organizers of the 1993 International Conference on AIDS scheduled to take place in Berlin on June 7-11 are currently dealing with the implications from recent outbreaks of racial violence in Germany. A letter was sent to journalists who registered for the conference stating that in the wake of "recent violence against foreigners," people have been questioning the safety of guests in Germany. "We deeply regret and condemn the racist conflicts within Germany in the past few months," says conference chair Karl-Otto Habermehl, a virologist at the Free University of Berlin. However, he added, "The cosmopolitan open-mindedness and great tradition of tolerance which are so characteristic of Berlin have not been affected." According to Habermehl, the World Health Organization, the International AIDS Society, and other non- governmental groups asked him to "inform the whole world" that attendees at the conference--which typically attracts more than 10,000 researchers--are not in danger. He says the recent violence comes from "very small extremist groups acting against people who come from abroad to work." French Drug Developers Face HIV Fallout * Science (03/19/93) Vol. 259, No. 5102, P. 1698 Amato, Ivan As a result of the French HIV-tainted blood scandal that prompted a widespread public anxiety in the country, French pharmaceutical companies are planning clinical trials of drugs made by recombinant DNA technology or derived from human or animal tissues. The blood scandal recently incited fear about the safety of medicines among French people. This led the French health ministry to stop clinical trials involving "products of biological origin" last December. Such studies were to proceed only after being approved by a new 10-member panel of experts on viral contamination. Because most of the stalled trials have not yet been approved, the drug industry has been up in arms. One senior executive said that the delay has seriously slowed the development of vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and other medicinal products. One member of the new panel even admitted the health ministry was setting up the group of experts as a "panic reflex," before checking to ensure that clinical protocols would be assessed quickly. But Jean- Hugues Trouvin, a Paris-Sud University pharmacologist who chairs the panel, said that it has taken time to develop a standard questionnaire about company procedures for excluding live viruses from their products. He said the panel is now reducing its backlog. A total of 10 initial trials were approved when his group met on Feb. 24, and he expects to review the rest--up to 30 planned trials--within the next few months. Nevertheless, industry sources worry that the new regulatory process will continue to result in lengthy delays. HIV Ambush: Studies Show the AIDS Virus Hides Out in Lymph Nodes Before it Attacks * Time (04/05/93) Vol. 114, No. 14, P. 19 The belief that HIV lies dormant in HIV-positive individuals for the greater part of infection has been disproved in two studies published in Nature. The studies found that once infection has been established, the virus immediately replicates millions of times in the lymph nodes--pea-size organs located throughout the body. After main parts of the immune system are eradicated, the excess amounts of the virus in the lymph nodes move into the blood. Due to the massive hidden attack, it may make it impossible to eliminate the virus from the body. The researchers suggest that these findings emphasize the importance of preventing HIV infection as a means to fight the spread of the deadly virus. NOTE: Compilation by Michael Tidmus : AIDSwire. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to republish on electronic media for which no fee is charged, provided the complete text of this notice is attached to any republished portion or portions. * From the AIDS Daily Summary. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse has made this information available as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. -----===[[[ A I D S w i r e D I G E S T 03.29.93 ]]]===------ .