-----===[[[ A I D S w i r e D I G E S T 10.11.93 ]]]===----- TriStar Takes a Risk With AIDS Drama * Wall Street Journal (10/11/93) P. B1 King, Thomas R. As the first film concerning AIDS by a major studio, TriStar's "Philadelphia" may be one of the most talked-about movies in recent times. The film stars Tom Hanks as a lawyer who is fired from his Philadelphia firm because he has AIDS, and Denzel Washington as the attorney who represents him in the courtroom battle against the firm. Although it features two popular actors, the film may be hard to sell because people have mixed feelings about movies and disease. "You have to tell people they're going to have an emotional experience, not that they're going to be educated or informed," explains Tom Rothman, president of production at Samuel Goldwyn Co., which in 1990 released the only other significant film about AIDS, "Longtime Companion." But TriStar insists that "Philadelphia" is not about AIDS, but about the relationship between Hanks' character and Washington's character. Nonetheless, says TriStar president Marc Platt, "Because AIDS has permeated every segment of society, I think people are almost anxious to see this. They're not as afraid as they once were." Industry experts speculate that adult women will be most receptive to the film, while young men will be hardest to sell. The company plans to court them anyway, however, with the appeal of a hot soundtrack. "Philadelphia" opens late this year, and TriStar is planning a premiere to benefit an AIDS charity. Haverford College to Show 1,000 Panels of AIDS Quilt * Philadelphia Inquirer (10/11/93) P. B2 Haverford College will display 1,000 of the 23,784 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt from Oct. 29 to Oct. 31 at the school's fieldhouse. The opening ceremony will feature Philadelphia AIDS activist Anna Forbes, as well as a recitation of the names of those represented on the quilt. Haverford is accepting new panels, which will be ceremoniously added to the quilt on Oct. 31. Clashing Over AIDS Coverage * New York Times (10/10/93) P. 23 Noble, Barbara Presley When the Supreme Court last November declined to hear a case from the estate of Jack McGann, who had died of AIDS by that time, the Court's inaction encouraged many self-insured employers to reconfigure employee health benefits. Those changes included placing caps on AIDS-related benefits, or dropping them altogether. Employees are beginning to win some victories, however, under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Equal rights lawyers contend that AIDS is clearly included in the definition of "disability." The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) cites that there have been close to 14,000 AIDS disability cases- -several of them benefits-related--filed since the law took effect last July. The latest triumph came in the case of the Allied Services Division Welfare Fund, which settled out of court by not only restoring full coverage for two men with AIDS, but awarding them $10,500 in damages. "We are getting the word out that we are prosecuting these cases," said Peter Laura, an EEOC attorney. While the EEOC is demonstrating that benefits discrimination will not be tolerated, lawyers representing companies or plans insist that dropping or capping coverage is not discriminatory. "Just because you recognize that some diseases are more expensive than others doesn't mean it's discrimination in the traditional sense," claims Christopher G. Bell, an ex-EEOC lawyer who is now with a labor firm. German Fights Ouster Over AIDS-Tainted Bloo * Philadelphia Inquirer (10/09/93) P. A7 German Health Minister Horst Seehofer refused to resign Friday following allegations that the government covered up 373 cases in which patients received blood transfusions from products contaminated with the AIDS virus. All but one of the patients has tested positive for AIDS. Seehofer last week revealed that a federal health agency neglected to report the transfusions, all but 13 of which occurred before rigid testing of blood products for HIV was mandated in October 1985. When Seehofer learned of the cases, he fired the agency's president and top aide. At an emergency session of the parliamentary Health Committee, opposition Social Democrats demanded that Seehofer step down. Better Condoms Called Essential AIDS Weapo * Baltimore Sun (10/09/93) P. 9A Funding and efforts funneled into the search for an AIDS vaccine would be better spent inventing condoms that are stronger, more sensitive, comfortable, and pleasant to use, according to a professor and a graduate student at the University of California at Los Angeles. Paul Abramson, the UCLA professor, criticizes current efforts which put "billions of dollars into developing a vaccine, while a device exists for HIV which is 98 percent effective." He and graduate student Steven Pinkerton insist that obstacles would remain even if a vaccine is developed. "We reject the notion that vaccination is the simplest, safest and most effective form of prevention," states Pinkerton. Abramson and Pinkerton contend that, in addition to the development of better condoms, additional funding for basic research, education, and treatment would be safer and more cost-effective. The Case for Clean Needle * New York Times (10/11/93) P. A16 The pros of needle exchange programs outweigh the cons, according to the editors of the New York Times, and it now makes sense to expand the number and size of such programs. The editors cite recent findings of a comprehensive study by the Centers for Disease Control. The study concluded that providing clean syringes to drug addicts in exchange for used ones effectively controls the spread of AIDS without increasing the amount of drugs taken by participants or raising the level of drug abuse in the community. Because that conclusion refutes the primary objection to needle exchange programs, the editors can find no reason why efforts to implement these programs should be blocked. Amendments should be made to laws which prevent addicts from buying their own clean syringes, contends the New York Times. The editors cite statistics indicating that one-third of all American AIDS cases occur in drug addicts, or their partners and children. With so few other tools with which to fight the deadly disease, the editors assert that any program which can curb the spread of AIDS--including needle exchanges--is desperately needed. Activists Stunned By City's Sharp Cuts in AIDS Budge * Washington Blade (10/08/93) Vol. 24, No. 43, P. 1 Chibbaro Jr., Lou The government of the District of Columbia has approved an immediate funding cut of 7.5 percent to 15 percent for all city AIDS programs run by private agencies, announced D.C. Deputy Public Health Commissioner Howard Manly this week. Manly reported that the cutbacks were needed to curtail D.C.'s financial crisis. The news stunned AIDS activists, who protested that the reductions could hinder the operation of several AIDS organizations servicing gay black men, such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic and IMPACT/D.C. Officials at those groups said that the funding cuts jeopardize about $10 million in federal AIDS money that falls under the Ryan White CARE Act. ACT UP denounced the cuts as yet another "broken promise" by Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, and have scheduled a demonstration outside of her office for Oct. 14. D.C. Public Health Commissioner Mohammad Akhter, however, said that the cuts will be offset by the city's recent increase in the overall AIDS budget. Akhter said that he believes that the small yearly augments to the AIDS budget since 1991 will result in no net decrease in funding compared to 1991. Activists Now Urge Caution on Approval of New AIDS Drug * Nature (09/30/93) Vol. 365, No. 6445, P. 378 Macilwain, Colin Despite objections from AIDS activists, who say the value of ddC has not been adequately proven, a panel of scientists is advising the Food and Drug Administration to approve the use of the drug as a treatment for HIV. The Antiviral Drug Advisory Committee decided last week that ddC, manufactured by Hoffman-LaRoche, should be used for HIV patients who either do not respond to AZT, or experience adverse reactions to it. The committee based its decision on a study which compared the efficacy of ddC to the Bristol-Meyers alternative, ddI. The study indicated that AIDS patients taking ddC tended to live longer than those taking ddI. AIDS activists, however, insisted that there is insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of either drug. While approving the use of ddC by itself, the committee simultaneously recommended the rejection of its use in conjunction with AZT. Needs Assessment for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Service Programs * United States Conference of Mayors: Technical Assistance Reports (09/93) P. 1 Needs assessment is a process by which data is gathered and analyzed in order to determine the needs of a targeted population. The United States Conference of Mayors contends that, with resources becoming scarce, needs assessment is crucial at this point in the AIDS epidemic. They applaud the process as a useful management tool that can help form decisions about expansion or reduction of services, or the allocation or reallocation of money. Needs assessment can ensure that a program continues to meet the needs of the community, as well as identify surfacing needs. It is vital to prevent duplication of services and maximize resources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cooperative Agreement Program, in addition to other grant programs, now require needs assessments. Assessments can be conducted for a number of reasons including planning, fundraising, budgeting, evaluation, capacity building, and community awareness. October 12, 1993 New Therapies Indicate Progress Against Other Diseases * Washington Post (Health) (10/12/93) P. 9 Alpha interferon is proving useful in the treatment of several diseases, not least among them the AIDS virus. The drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Kaposi's sarcoma, a rapidly progressive skin disease that spreads to other organs. This condition strikes about 20 percent of all persons with AIDS. Clinical trials indicate that alpha interferon caused regression or even elimination of tumors in as many as 67 percent of those treated. AIDS Education Campaign Calls on Morgan State * Baltimore Sun (10/12/93) P. 2B In an effort to educate college students about AIDS, students and staff at Morgan State University yesterday distributed about 2,000 condoms, as well as coupons for free, anonymous HIV testing. "The message is that you need to protect yourself but also protect others," said Erica Spradlin, a spokesperson for the Chase Brexton Clinic, the AIDS treatment organization that sponsored the activity at Morgan State. "That's the point of finding out if you're HIV positive, so you're not out infecting other people." The clinic plans to sponsor similar activities on other campuses. AIDS Patients Urged to Come Out * Washington Post (10/12/93) P. B7 In Washington, D.C., yesterday, in recognition of National Coming Out Day, ACT-UP sponsored a coming out rally as well as a news conference at Lafayette Square that called for action against the AIDS epidemic. Participants also joined in a march from Dupont Circle to the White House. AIDS Testing * Associated Press (10/08/93) Rawls, Phillip Montgomery, Ala.--A federal judge struck down the part of an Alabama law allowing a physician to conduct AIDS testing without patient permission on the grounds that the doctor thought the patient was at risk. U.S. District Judge Harold Albritton ruled that the 1991 law which allows the tests under certain conditions unfairly leaves the interpretation of "high risk" to doctors. The state was unable to show that HIV testing would curb the spread of the virus. Albritton let stand the part of the law 6allowing AIDS testing if the virus would change the patient's medical treatment or if knowledge of HIV status was necessary for the protection of health care workers. "It should be understood that this does not mean that, since all patients may have some contact with health care personnel, blanket testing of patients without their knowledge is authorized," the judge clarified. He also ruled that physicians may not take blood for an AIDS test, but may only test blood that has already been drawn. Alabama was the first of 22 states with AIDS testing laws to challenge the statute in federal court, according to the American Medical Association. Risky Sex Continues in Age of AIDS * United Press International (10/11/93) Washington--Even in the midst of the deadly AIDS epidemic, risky sexual behavior continues to prevail, according to the first major sex survey of American adults since the Kinsey report of 1948. The poll questioned 2,058 adults. Ninety percent reported having sex in the past five years, and 13 percent of those--including 1 percent who were married--had sex with more than one partner in just the previous year. Most respondents said they did not use a condom on a regular basis and, of those with multiple partners, only 7 percent claimed consistent use of a condom. Head researcher Barbara Leigh of the University of Washington said that, due to high rates of AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unwanted pregnancies, the study had great social and public health significance. She noted that the information in current use by most researchers is very outdated--more than 40 years old--and is hindered by important limitations. Officials Shocked by Wilson's Veto * United Press International (10/09/93) San Francisco--Officials have confirmed that California Gov. Pete Wilson's veto of legislation for an experimental, three-year needle exchange program will not affect a similar effort already underway in San Francisco. Mayor Frank Jordan criticized Wilson's action and assured city health officials that he has no intention of lifting the state of emergency which has permitted legal needle exchanges since last year. "I believe that his veto flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that needle exchange programs are effective tools in reducing the spread of HIV," declared Jordan. Wilson vetoed a similar measure last year, claiming a lack of proof that the programs would not increase the number of injecting drug users. That claim, however, has been refuted by a recent study finding that the programs do curb the spread of the virus, but do not encourage drug abuse. Wilson justifies his action this time by contending that needle exchanges "would send a mixed signal to children" who are taught to just say no to drugs, said a spokesperson for the mayor. His action has been lambasted by various groups for his lack of support. Said Pat Christen, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, "With this veto, the governor has written of injection drug users as expendable, and all but insured that many more men, women and children will become infected with HIV." Congress--AIDS * Associated Press (10/08/93) Washington--The House has voted to spend $2.5 billion in fiscal year 1994, which began Oct. 1, on AIDS programs, the most the government has ever allocated in one year to combat the disease. Fiscal year 1993 saw about $2 million spent on the same programs. The figure was cited in a $256 billion measure for education, health, and labor programs approved by the House on Thursday. The Senate may grant the proposal final approval this week. About $1.3 billion is expected for AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health, an increase over last year's allotment of $225 million. The Ryan White program would receive $579 million, $230 million more than fiscal year 1993. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding would increase $45 million to $543 million. Finally, about $350 million would go to a variety of programs, such as training of health care workers, coordination of public health programs, and reimbursements for dental schools that treat AIDS patients. * NIH Lays Groundwork for Expanded AIDS Vaccine Trials * United Press International (10/10/ Levy, Douglas A. Philadelphia--The National Institutes of Health has awarded two private firms contracts worth $6.5 million in the first year to prepare for large-scale Phase III trials of experimental AIDS vaccines. In an effort to build the infrastructure required to test vaccines so that it is ready when testing begins--between one and three years--Abt Associates Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., and Family Health International of Research Triangle Park, N.C., will help set up study sites for experiments involving 500 to 1,000 participants. While all previous studies have concentrated on the safety of proposed vaccines and whether they stimulate the immune system of recipients, the Phase III trials will be the first to evaluate whether the candidate vaccines actually shield against AIDS. The NIH project, HIVNET, includes a statistical and data coordinating center, a laboratory, and a blood specimen repository. The five vaccine test centers are Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, St. Louis University, University of Rochester in New York, University of Washington in Seattle, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Billy Graham Retracts Statement on AIDS as God's Judgment * United Press International (10/09/93) Cleveland--The Rev. Billy Graham has expressed deep regret for saying that AIDS may be God's judgment for people's sins. "Is AIDS a judgment of God?" asked Graham before a record-breaking crowd in Columbus, Ohio. "I could not say for sure, but I think so." After seeing letters criticizing that comment, Graham contacted the Cleveland Plain Dealer to retract his statement. "I remember saying it, and I immediately regretted it and almost went back and clarified the statement," said Graham in a telephone interview. He said he never intended to make the remark, explaining that he was tired during the sermon and forgot to retract or clarify his statement. "I do believe God stands in judgment of all sins...but AIDS is a disease that affects people and is not part of that judgment," Graham told the newspaper. "To say God has judged people with AIDS would be very wrong and very cruel." October 13, 1993 Medicinal Pot Defense Launched * United Press International (10/13/93) San Diego, Calif.--An HIV-infected man who is on trial for growing marijuana testified in court yesterday, portraying the illicit drug as a medicinal herb that helps him cope with the symptoms of his illness. Samuel Skipper, 39, is the first California resident permitted to use medical necessity as a defense against cultivation charges. Skipper told a jury that smoking and eating marijuana relieves nausea caused by his condition, and helps him to function much more normally. He denounces more conventional therapies. His former lover died of AIDS, said Skipper, even after taking AZT and 39 other prescription drugs. "AZT is poison because it kills the healthy cells, too..." he declared. The prosecution, however, maintains that Skipper has not tried all other legal alternatives. While an acquittal could affect defenses in future cases, defense lawyer Julianne Humphrey stressed that the case is not about legalization. * HO Pledges to Back Philippine AIDS Programme" Reuters (10/13/93) Manila--The World Health Organization announced its support of the Philippines' AIDS prevention and control program to prevent the virus from seizing the country. WHO said that it will provide the Philippine Health Department with $490,000 over the next two years in direct financial assistance, beginning in January of next year. About 30,000 Filipinos are HIV-positive, while less than 400 have developed AIDS. "The Philippines still has a low prevalence of the HIV virus and despite the rapidly growing epidemic in Asia, the health department can prevent HIV from taking a massive hold in the country," said WHO. The Philippines is one of six priority countries in the region for AIDS prevention and control, according to the health agency, which named China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Papua New Guinea as the others. A Hands-On Ministry * Philadelphia Inquirer (10/13/93) P. G1 Collins, Huntly Unlike traditional AIDS volunteer programs, an unconventional new ministry started by Philadelphia-area Quakers caters to the final needs of people in the last phases of the AIDS disease. Implemented in July, the program's goal is to help people dying of AIDS to remain in their homes as opposed to a nursing home or hospital. "The hospital is an extremely stressful place," says founder Carolyn Schodt, a former Temple University nursing professor. "The quality of life at home is so much better." Under the program, each of the 19 volunteers spends at least four hours each week at the home of a terminal AIDS patients, providing hands-on help with basic needs like meals and diaper changes. In addition, the program has an air of spirituality, although volunteers need not be Quakers. All volunteers must receive 25 hours of AIDS patient care training, as well as attend weekly training sessions. Hospital: No HIV Threat From Blackmail Attempt * United Press International (10/12/93) San Francisco--California Pacific Medical Center is convinced that no patients contracted the AIDS virus after a "disturbed" employee tried to blackmail the hospital for $1 million by suggesting that he may have infected patients while taking blood. The San Francisco hospital announced satisfaction "well beyond a reasonable doubt after an extensive investigation that it is the victim of a troubled employee and a failed attempt at blackmail, and that no patients were exposed to the HIV virus." Investigators are considering the possibility that the employee may have had a "copy cat mentality," since the incident occurred immediately after a national broadcast of ABC's "20/20," which focused on a dentist who deliberately infected patients. Inmates--AIDS Testing * Associated Press (10/11/93) Boston--The high number of prisoners in Massachusetts has prompted the state to reverse a 15-year ban prohibiting inmate participation in experimental drug trials. Of the approximately 850 HIV-positive inmates, many desire the same early access to potential treatments as do non-prisoners, say inmate advocates. Other states, including New York, Colorado, and Maryland, also have revised policies on prisoners and drug testing, but many remain apprehensive. Whether prisoners can freely consent and the matter of confidentiality are questions that are often raised. "The potential to abuse them has not changed," declares Dr. Deborah Cotton, an AIDS researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. "If they are going to be included in clinical trials, the greatest caution has to be exercised." Study Shows AIDS Risk Among Blacks * United Press International (10/11/93) Washington--A study of urban blacks in their mid-30s showed that 8.4 percent tested positive for HIV. Two-thirds of the infected women and three-quarters of the men did not know or even suspect their positive HIV status. A history of intravenous drug use was reported by 35 percent of the men who were infected, and another 35 percent admitted homosexual activity. Among the women, 90 percent had a history of injecting drugs, while 70 percent had both injected drugs and participated in risky sexual behavior. Amsterdam Study Finds Risky AIDS Behavior Among Homosexuals * United Press International (10/11/93) Washington--Despite intense AIDS education and prevention campaigns, there has been an increase in unprotected sex among gay men, according to an Amsterdam study. In the first half of 1991, the percentage of homosexual men reporting intercourse without a condom dropped dramatically from 86 percent to 29 percent. In the remaining portion of the year, however, that percentage swelled again to nearly 41 percent. Following several years of decline, researchers said that the incidence of rectal gonorrhea in gay and bisexual patients began an incline in 1989 which continued through 1990 and 1991. AIDS Sufferer Denounces Benetton's Use of Disease * Reuters (10/11/93) Paris--A terminally ill French AIDS patient struck back at controversial "HIV positive" ads by Italian clothier Benetton with his own full-page newspaper advertisement. Olivier Besnard-Rousseau's ad featured a picture of an emaciated man smiling sadly with the words "HIV positive" stamped above him. "Business as usual during the agony," read the copy. The advertisement was directly addressed to Luciano Benetton in the caption. Liberation, the left-wing daily that printed both Benetton's and Besnard-Rousseau's ads, said that the AIDS patient did so of his own initiative and paid the same price as did Benetton. Controversial publicity campaigns by the fashion firm showing naked body parts tattooed with the words "HIV positive" have prompted bans of the ads, as well as a lawsuit. The company insists that the campaign was designed to denounce treatment of people with AIDS as pariahs. Help Africa, Pleads AIDS Pioneer Montagnier * Reuters (10/11/93) Paris--The French scientist who initially discovered the AIDS virus made an appeal Monday for financial aid to help control the epidemic in Africa. That continent is the most afflicted by the disease, but the least able to combat it. "We can't just abandon Africa," Luc Montagnier said. "We must mobilize to stop the world from being divided into two zones, one where people are treated, the other where things are allowed to degenerate into a catastrophe." Since Montagnier's discovery about 15 years ago, more than 8 million adult Sub-Saharan Africans have been infected with the disease, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world's HIV-positive population. Montagnier said that extra money was needed in Africa, citing an estimate by the World Health Organization that the continent required twice as much funding to effectively fight the disease. He said that AIDS is becoming a social crisis, leaving behind millions of orphaned children who have lost their parents to the virus. In December, Montagnier and other health representatives will convene at a conference in Morocco for the Eighth International Conference on AIDS in Africa, where a few thousand people will study the link between AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. October 14, 1993 A Top Candidate to Head D.C. AIDS Agency Says No * Washington Post (10/14/93) P. B3 Goldstein, Amy The District of Columbia's prime choice to head the city's Agency for HIV/AIDS has declined an informal offer, citing as reasons an inadequate salary and a hostile environment. Frank Oldham, Jr., 45, director of New York's Office of Gay and Lesbian Health, rejected the proposed $65,000 salary and asserted that the position would place him in the midst of a bevy of internal and community conflicts. The agency promotes safe sex, sponsors educational programs, and awards $11 million in subsidies to AIDS service agencies. Oldham based part of his rejection on the growing competition and disputes between older organizations founded for gay, white men and newer ones targeting minorities. A spokesperson claimed that the organization has one remaining candidate and is searching for others, but assured that "there is no void of leadership in the Agency for HIV-AIDS." Activists, however, have become increasingly dissatisfied with what they say is the city's slow response to the epidemic. The District has the highest rate of new infections of any major American city, and more than three-fourths of those affect the minority population. Activists feel that Oldham, who is black, gay, and experienced with AIDS politics, would have had a soothing effect. Clinic Won't Fire Official Who Falsified Resume * Washington Post (10/14/93) P. D.C. 4 Harris, Hamil R. AIDS activists are criticizing the Whitman-Walker Clinic for its failure to remove the director of a new AIDS outreach center after he admitted to falsifying his resume to secure the position. Maurice O. Franklin, 33, was hired to head the Max Robinson Center in Southeast Washington, D.C., a social services and medical center that largely caters to the needs of the black neighborhood east of the Anacostia River. Whitman-Walker thought it was bringing aboard an experienced colleague with a master's degree in management and an undergraduate degree in psychology when, in fact, Franklin holds only a bachelor's of science in leisure studies. The clinic has opted to retain Franklin. "He is very bright, intelligent and I think he will be a very good director," said Jim Graham, executive director of Whitman-Walker. "Had I an accurate resume, I would have still hired him based on a bachelor's degree and his very strong AIDS experience." Still, some activists say that the issue is credibility, not forgiveness, and they want Franklin fired. "This takes away from his bargaining power because he lacks moral authority to speak for this community," said gay-rights activist Philip Pannell. Women With AIDS Risk Assault by Partners * Baltimore Sun (10/14/93) P. 16A Women who find out that they have the AIDS virus are in danger of injury by their partners if the physician tells the men that there is a chance that they may be infected as well, according to two Baltimore attorneys at the University of Maryland School of Law. Richard North and Karen Rothenberg identify such cases of violence, in which two women were shot and many others were assaulted or abandoned after disclosing their HIV status to their lovers. "The connection among domestic violence, drug abuse and AIDS suggest that thousands of women with HIV infection may be at risk of harm from their partners if the partners are informed of the infection," wrote the lawyers in a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. North and Rothenberg suggest that doctors should take measures to protect the patients if their partners are to be told. Germany Probes Blood Scandal * Wall Street Journal (10/14/93) P. A13 Germany's Health Ministry has ordered the shutdown and has assumed the functions of the Federal Health Agency, which is implicated in a cover-up of AIDS-contaminated blood products. The Ministry has also ordered a probe of government conduct in the 1980s, when scores of hemophiliacs were infected with HIV. Hemophiliacs now accuse the government of hushing up 373 reports of people who contracted the AIDS virus through contaminated supplies and blame it for delays in requiring the testing of donated blood for HIV. AIDS Threat Used in Extortion Attempt * United Press International (10/14/93) San Francisco--California Pacific Medical Center yesterday confirmed reports that a blood-drawing technician there threatened to claim he gave patients AIDS-contaminated blood unless he was paid $1 million. The San Francisco hospital is confident that no patient was injected with tainted blood, said Audrey Serfling, chief operating officer at the facility. As a precaution, California Pacific Medical Center will provide free AIDS testing for patients who believe they may have had blood taken by a male hospital employee since 1985. Serfling also reported that the blood technician has been fired and banned from the hospital, although he has not been arrested. A co-worker said that, on Oct. 2, the fired employee revealed to him fantasies about injecting patients with HIV, after viewing a television report about a Florida dentist who purposely infected several of his patients. The man also told a private detective that he had an "irresistible impulse" to infect others. Students Urged to Get Tests for AIDS Virus * Chicago Tribune (10/13/93) P. 1-3 Rochester, Mich.--Officials at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., have recommended that several students be screened for HIV as soon as possible, according to the Oakland Press. The students may have been exposed to the virus, which was being used in experiments during the winter term by a biology professor and his assistant. University President Sandra Packard told the Pontiac newspaper that there was "no evidence of exposure to infectious agents or injury to any person as a result of the research activities in question." Packard also reported that the virus in question has been destroyed. The school has begun an internal investigation. Cell Genesys and CellPro Collaborate on Anti-HIV T Cells for AIDS * PR Newswire (10/12/93) Foster City, Calif.--Cell Genesys will collaborate with CellPro Inc. to facilitate the initial clinical evaluation of its genetically engineered anti-HIV cells. Cell Genesys' program involves genetic alteration of white blood cells from the immune system, with receptors placed on the cell surface that allow the T cells to detect specific disease targets in patients with that disease. The gene technology company plans to use this concept for the production of anti-HIV cells for treatment of HIV infection in people with AIDS. Under the research and development agreement, CellPro will utilize its CEPRATE immunoaffinity-based, cell-separation system to increase the efficiency of T cell isolation and purification in order to provide a consistent product for patient administration. Both companies will retain full rights to their respective products and technologies. AIDS Digest * Washington Blade (10/01/93) Vol. 24, No. 42, P. 33 Burroughs Wellcome has said that it will simplify the financial assistance program through which the pharmaceutical company provides AZT and other AIDS drugs at no cost to financially disenfranchised patients. Under the previous system, patients received medication through product vouchers. Under the new plan, doctors call a toll-free number to enroll patients. If eligible, a patient gets a card that can be used to obtain the drugs at any pharmacy. Burroughs Wellcome dictates that a patient must be either financially disadvantaged, awaiting reply for other possible sources of financial aid, or ineligible for private or governmental assistance to qualify. In addition to AZT, patients can receive Septra (TMP/SMX), Mephron (atovaquone), and Zovirax (acyclovir). Medical Briefs * Advocate (10/05/93) No. 639, P. 33 Lifetime costs of HIV treatment are estimated at $119,000, according to a survey of 1,164 people with the AIDS virus. The AIDS Cost and Utilization Survey took data from participants at 26 different hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices to come up with that figure. The survey calculated the overall cost of in- and out-patient care, home care, long-term care, and prescriptions. Information from the San Francisco Men's Health Study was used to determine the length of time in each of four different phases of the disease, and those figures were translated into lifetime costs. October 15, 1993 Scores Scorn Kelly's AIDS Record * Washington Post (10/15/93) P. B Kovaleski, Serge F. Several dozen activists rallied outside the office of D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly to protest what they say is an inadequate response by the District of Columbia to the AIDS epidemic. The demonstrators criticized the city government for not spending more than $1 million this year in federal subsidies, for delaying the filling of two dozen open positions at the Agency for HIV/AIDS, and for considering budget cuts of up to 15 percent for AIDS programs. Marching and chanting for more than an hour, the protesters also demanded that more stability be brought to the AIDS agency, which has been troubled since the removal of former chief Caitlin Ryan in July. Vada Manager, spokesperson for the mayor, came down to distribute a news release from Kelly affirming her commitment to provide better service to people with AIDS. In the release, Kelly said she would maintain AIDS program funding and develop more educational programs to help stem the spread of the virus. The mayor also said her office would create a plan to fill agency vacancies immediately, and implement guidelines to avoid such delays in the future. Man With AIDS Virus Indicted on Assault Charges in Bitings * Washington Post (10/15/93) P. B3 A U.S. District Court grand jury in Alexandria, Va., yesterday indicted a man carrying the AIDS virus on charges stemming from a July confrontation in which he allegedly bit two corrections officers at a prison. Jeffrey Wayne Sturgis, 27, was charged with assault with intent to commit murder. Law enforcement officials say the incident occurred when officers at the Lorton Correctional Complex tried to search Sturgis when he entered the facility. The indictment reported that Sturgis learned of his condition in November 1990. Authorities say it is too soon to tell whether the bitten officers have been infected with the deadly virus. Sturgis was, in fact, trying to smuggle drugs into Lorton, and the grand jury also indicted him on charges of crack, marijuana, and heroin possession. Book Finds Business Too Often Ignores Growing Impact of AIDS on the Work Force * Baltimore Sun (10/15/93) P. 1E; Shapiro, Stephanie Earl C. Pike, author of "We Are All Living with AIDS: How You Can Set Policies and Guidelines for the Workplace," says that American businesses have too often opted to ignore the legal and moral issues posed by the epidemic. Large and small companies alike must develop sensitive and practical policies for dealing with the disease, asserts Pike, who is AIDS coordinator for the Minnesota Human Services Department. The disease is increasingly affecting the labor force in its prime productive years, Pike discloses, but medical advances now help AIDS patients survive longer, which prolongs their ability to continue working. Pike, as well as other activists, insist that companies must comply with the law--particularly the Americans With Disabilities Act--as well as protect employee privacy, incorporate education programs, and offer prevention techniques. National corporations such as Levi Strauss, IBM, and Time Warner have already established formal AIDS workplace strategies. President Clinton's recent mandate that all federal agency employees receive AIDS and HIV education has sent an important message to the private sector, says Patrick May of the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS. But, says May, policies need to consider sensitive issues surrounding the disease as well as the legal ones. "If you really want to deal with the HIV [crisis] in a way so that it couldn't happen again, you have to deal with underlying issues such as sexuality and homophobia," he asserts. HIV Carriers to Sue Pharmaceuticals Group for $1.4 Million * United Press International (10/14/93) Vienna--A consortium of 24 hemophiliacs will sue Austrian-Swiss pharmaceutical group Immuno for $1.4 million, on the grounds that they contracted the AIDS virus in 1985 after using the company's Factor 8 blood-clotting product. By testing blood supplies--a practice already in effect in many other countries--the HIV infections could have been avoided, asserts Thomas Prader, the plaintiffs' attorney. Immuno spokesperson Klaus Anderle, however, counters that the virus had not been properly identified until mid-1984 and that HIV tests did not gain widespread use until later. The company has already paid out $2.6 million to compensate those infected, but the 24 hemophiliacs are seeking $125,000 for personal suffering. They are also suing for sterility and other deformation damages that they contend are worth $16,600, and will ask the court for a ruling on Immuno's liability for future damages. There are about 600 hemophiliacs in Austria, an estimated 150 of whom are infected with HIV. Approximately 70 Austrians have died from AIDS. German Agency Says It Erred in H.I.V. Case * New York Times (10/15/93) P. A7 The German Federal Health Agency admitted its mistake in not passing along to the Health Ministry the reports regarding information on contaminated blood supplies that infected hundreds with the AIDS virus. Joachim Welz, deputy president of the agency, said at a news conference that it should have given the 373 reports of AIDS cases that may have been transmitted through transfusions of infected blood to the Health Ministry. "This is not about a new AIDS crisis," Welz said. "This is about an information crisis." Nonetheless, Health Minister Horst Seehofer has ordered the 117-year-old agency to be dissolved by the end of the year, with the Health Ministry assuming the agency's responsibilities. Sexual Transmission Surpasses Drug Use as Cause of AIDS Among Women * PR Newswire (10/13/93) Tampa, Fla.--In Florida, and across the nation, the incidence of AIDS in women is increasing and, among women, HIV infection through heterosexual activity has bypassed injection-drug use as the most prevalent mode of contracting the virus. The Centers for Disease Control this year expanded its definition of AIDS to include women with invasive cervical cancer, an action that will probably result in an even greater increase in the number of cases reported among females. Women now account for 12 percent of reported American cases of AIDS, a climb from 7 percent in 1985, according to the CDC. In addition, the mortality rate for women with AIDS is growing quickly. About one-quarter of infected women in 1992 were diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 29. Because the average period of latency between HIV infection and development of AIDS is 10 years, this CDC statistic implies that many of the women were infected during their teenage years. Other data for 1992 indicate that 54 percent of American women with AIDS were black, 23 percent were white, and 21 percent were Hispanic. Dr. Lionel Resnick Confirms Important Developments in AIDS Treatment * PR Newswire (10/13/93) Boynton Beach, Fla.--Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited announced that National Institute of Health consultant Dr. Lionel Resnick and Dr. Mariano Busso, both of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, have confirmed a significant development in AIDS treatment. Resnick, who is chief virologist at Mount Sinai, reported that tests of a new drug show that is effective against HIV in vitro. Resnick believes that the drug, a conjugate of Dextran and AZT, will substantially limit toxicity and lower the cost of AZT when administered to humans. The conjugate was developed by Polydex, which has a patent pending. Nobel Winning Technique Has Dramatic Applications * United Press International (10/13/93) Washington--The gene amplification technique that helped Kary B. Mullis share in this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is one that affects many aspects of life. Known as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, the technique permits scientists to target a specific area of genetic material and repeatedly multiply it. One very significant use is to measure the progress of AIDS or to analyze whether potential AIDS drugs are effective. "John S. Fanning Joins National Association of People with AIDS as Director of Information Service" PR Newswire (10/13/93) Washington--The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) announced the addition of John S. Fanning to its staff. Fanning is now director of information services, where he supervises the development of NAPWA's information-based programs. These programs educate communities nationwide and provide infected and affected Americans with the resources necessary to understand and manage HIV infection. NAPWA also supports all communities affected by AIDS with technical assistance to AIDS service providers and national advocacy. 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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. -----===[[[ A I D S w i r e D I G E S T 10.11.93 ]]]===----- .