DP Tool Club 17/CD_ASCQ_17_101194.iso/vrac/ad9408.zip/AD940803.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-03 | 9KB | 153 lines

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       August 03, 1994


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information 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, and the CDC
Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information.
Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"2 Firms to Pay HIV-Infected Hemophiliacs"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/03/94) P. A1;  Shaw, Donna
     In a move that limits but does not completely eliminate future
litigation against them, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. and Baxter
International Inc. will contribute as much as $160 million to a
fund for hemophiliacs who acquired HIV infection from
blood-clotting products manufactured by the companies.  As many
as 6,000 infected individuals and their families are expected to
apply for the compensation, according to David S. Shrager, lead
counsel in the case.  Filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago,
the lawsuit alleges that Baxter, Rhone-Poulenc, and three other
companies sold and promoted HIV-contaminated plasma proteins in
the mid-1980s, even after learning of the risk involved.  The
plaintiffs charge that the companies did not adequately screen
donors, test or treat plasma, or fully warn hemophiliacs about
the risks.  Three other firms accused--Miles Inc., Alpha
Therapeutic Corp., and the National Hemophilia Foundation--opted
not to participate in the settlement.  Related Stories: Wall
Street Journal (08/03) P. B7; New York Times (08/03) P. A22;
Baltimore Sun (08/03) P. 2A

"Shalala Aide Named Temporary AIDS Chief"
Baltimore Sun (08/03/94) P. 11A
     President Clinton has appointed Patricia Fleming to act as
interim national AIDS policy coordinator.  Fleming formerly
served as an assistant specializing in AIDS and public health
issues to the late New York representative Ted Weiss, and is
presently a special assistant to Health and Human Services
Secretary Donna E. Shalala.  As the temporary replacement for
Kristine Gebbie, who resigned as AIDS czar, Fleming will
represent the United States at the 10th annual AIDS conference
being held this year in Japan.  Despite her background, Fleming
said she is not a candidate to hold the permanent position of
AIDS policy coordinator.  Related Stories: Los Angeles Times
(08/03) P. A7; Washington Times (08/03) P. A4

"AIDS Costs Insurers $1.52 Billion"
Washington Times (08/03/94) P. B7
     Based on data from 372 companies, the American Council of Life
Insurance calculated that health and life insurers in the United
States doled out $1.52 billion last year in claims directly
related to AIDS patients.  The total was up from the $1.41
billion paid out in 1992.

"18 Percent of H.I.V.-Infected Hemophiliacs May Stay Free of AIDS for 25 Years"
New York Times (08/03/94) P. C10;  Brody, Jane E.
     A significant minority of HIV-infected hemophiliac men may
survive for as long as a quarter of a century before developing
AIDS, say British researchers.  The team at the Royal Free
Hospital and School of Medicine in London based its conclusion on
an ongoing study of 111 patients who have been monitored since
contracting the virus, over a six-year period beginning in 1979.
By Jan. 1, 1993, all 111 of the men had developed the disease, as
defined by a sharp decline in CD4 cell count.  Based on the rate
of change in these white blood cells, the researchers devised a
mathematical model predicting that one quarter of the men would
live 20 years, and 18 percent would live 25 years, before
developing full-blown AIDS.  It is unclear whether traits
particular to hemophiliac men increased their chances for
disease-free survival, or if the findings of the British study
apply to infected women or intravenous drug users as well.

"How a Determined Young Man Built a Camp for AIDS Children"
Wall Street Journal (08/03/94) P. B1;  Murray, Matt
     When the 10-year-old son of a friend was squeezed out of a
California summer camp for kids with HIV/AIDS, Neil Willenson set
out to start his own camp.  He called doctors, charities,
newspapers, and community leaders for advice and publicity.  The
23-year-old activist delved into his own savings, solicited money
from friends and family, and convinced companies like Miller
Brewing Co. and Harley-Davidson to contribute several thousand
dollars.  The result was Camp Heartland in Blairstown, N.J.,
where half of the children have HIV or AIDS, and the other half
come from households in which a family member is sick or has died
from the disease.  The facility operates on a shoestring budget.
It is staffed by young people--mostly volunteer college
students--and depends upon volunteer nurses and local hospitals
for medical assistance.  This summer, about 250 children aged
five to 17 will attend two-week long sessions at Camp Heartland,
free of charge.

"Hugh Hefner"
Los Angeles Times (08/03/94) P. A12;  Proffitt, Steve
     Asked how the reality of AIDS has influenced the philosophy of
his magazine, Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner notes that the
publication is based on informed sexuality.  Playboy began to
publish AIDS-related editorials before any other national
magazine, according to Hefner.  He recalls a cover story,
"AIDS--Now We Are All At Risk," as early as 1985.  Playboy, says
Hefner, "brought some rational thought to the subject when the
[television] networks and the rest of the mass media were really
involved in a form of hysteria."

"From the Food and Drug Administration: FDA to Sponsor Workshop on HIV Detection During 'Window' Period in Donor Screening"
Journal of the American Medical Association (08/03/94) Vol. 272,
No. 5, P. 344;  Nightingale, Stuart L.
     The Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a conference for
Sept. 26-28 to explore the possible use of polymerase chain
reaction and other gene amplification techniques to improve viral
detection during the seronegative "window" phase of HIV
infection.  Although donor deferral and donor screening practices
have helped to significantly decrease the risk of HIV
transmission through blood, the virus continues to spread through
units that have been screened.  The risk is estimated at one per
40,000 to one per 225,000 per unit.  The workshop, to be held in
Silver Spring, Md., will evaluate the specificity, sensitivity,
and precision of various techniques and consider the
appropriateness of applying them to donor screening.

"WHO Warns of Global TB Epidemic"
Washington Blade (07/08/94) Vol. 25, No. 28, P. 12
     Unless tuberculosis "becomes a funding priority," 30 million
people will die from the infection in the next decade, the World
Health Organization warned recently.  TB is spreading with
particular speed among the HIV population, according to a WHO
report.  In 1990, it said, four percent of TB patients were also
infected with HIV.  The organization predicts that, by the year
2000, nearly one in seven TB patients will also be HIV-positive.
Co-infection with TB and HIV has become so common that the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year added TB to
its AIDS case definition.

"No News on Sunday"
Nature (07/07/94) Vol. 370, No. 6484, P. 1
     A series of new developments suggests that the London Sunday
Times appears to have quieted its controversial campaign
endorsing the belief that HIV does not have a causal role in the
development of AIDS.  The paper's editor, Andrew Neil, is now
with Fox Television in the United States, and Neville Hodgkinson,
the author of most of the articles that have for the past two
years argued the unimportance and/or irrelevance of HIV, has also
left the Times.  Acting editor John Witherow defends the
publication's coverage on the subject, and still insists that the
idea that HIV causes AIDS does not conform to the facts.  It is
unlikely, however, that anyone would be willing to take
Hodgkinson's place in lauding the Duesberg theories.  Therefore,
the scientific journal Nature will cease coverage of the Sunday
Times' treatment of HIV, "relieving readers of a degree of
boredom."