Software Vault: The Sapphire Collection/Software Vault (Sapphire Collection) (Digital Impact).ISO/cdr16/ad941208.zip/AD941208.TXT

Text File | 1994-12-08 | 10KB | 188 lines

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      December 8, 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


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"AIDS to Slow Asian Economic Growth, Experts Warn"
"Across the USA: Alabama"
"Volunteers Take Care of AIDS Patients' Pets"
"AMA Opposes Federal Mandates Requiring Physicians to Determine
Immigration Status of Patients"
"Kenyan in AIDS Case Refused Condom, NZ Court Told"
"Epitope Announces Successful Completion of FDA Facilities
Inspection"
"Blood-Supply Computer Plan Struggling"
"HIV-1 in Blister Fluid of a Patient with Toxic Epidermal
Necrolysis and AIDS"
"California: AIDS Drug Assistance Program, New Drugs Proposed;
itle II Public Input Sought"
"Russia's Law on Iatrogenic HIV Infection"
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"AIDS to Slow Asian Economic Growth, Experts Warn"
Reuters (12/08/94)
     United Nations experts warned that a major HIV epidemic will slow
Asia's economic boom.  "With over 2.5 million estimated HIV
infections in South and Southeast Asia, HIV is poised to slow
down the pace of economic and social development in the region,"
said the experts in a statement after two days of talks in Hanoi.
Dr. Michael Merson, director of the World Health Organization's
AIDS program, noted how HIV is well-established in Asia and is
now spreading in parts of the region "faster than anywhere else
in the world."  Approximately 20 experts from Southeast Asia and
the Pacific attended the meeting to discuss closer cooperation in
fighting HIV and AIDS.

"Across the USA: Alabama"
USA Today (12/08/94) P. 8A
     An artist in Alabama says he is offended that his paintings of
nude men were hidden during an art gallery fund-raiser for
children with AIDS.  An organizer of the event said the paintings
might have scared off donors.

"Volunteers Take Care of AIDS Patients' Pets"
Reuters (12/07/94);  Vinzant, Carol
     Nationwide, there are 17 animal service organizations for people
with AIDS.  Pet Owners With AIDS Resource Service (POWARS) helps
AIDS patients care for their pets by walking dogs, changing
litter boxes, and offering veterinary care.  The services allow
patients to keep their pets and enjoy their companionship, even
when they cannot take care of the animals.  Dr. Fredrick Angulo
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has written a
dissertation showing that pet owners "are less likely to be
lonely."  According to Angulo, "People with HIV become
depressed...pets buffered that depression."  Angulo is also a
board member of the Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) chapter in
Los Angeles.  Founded in 1987 in San Francisco, PAWS was the
first pet service program in the United States for AIDS patients.
The organization brought together veterinarians, doctors, and
food-bank workers in a campaign to supply pet food and to teach
doctors not to tell AIDS patients to give up their pets.  PAWS-LA
now has 800 clients, 700 volunteers, and 1,200 pets.

"AMA Opposes Federal Mandates Requiring Physicians to Determine
Immigration Status of Patients"
PR Newswire (12/06/94)
     The American Medical Association (AMA) announced on Tuesday that
it will oppose any federal mandates requiring doctors to
determine a patient's immigration status before providing medical
care.  The organization also restated its policy of lobbying
Congress to provide sufficient funding for existing health care
programs for illegal aliens.  "It is fundamentally inconsistent
with the patient/physician relationship and the role of the
physician to deny services solely because the prospective patient
is an undocumented alien," said Dr. Lonnie R. Bristow,
president-elect of the AMA.  California's Proposition 187, for
example, would require doctors to determine a patient's
citizenship before providing treatment, "which poses a breach of
physician ethics and patient confidentiality," added Bristow.
The legislation poses a significant health risk by denying
treatment for communicable and preventable diseases and could
cause the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis.

"Kenyan in AIDS Case Refused Condom, NZ Court Told"
Reuters (12/06/94)
     A woman on Tuesday told a New Zealand court that the Kenyan man
charged with willfully infecting her with HIV refused to wear a
condom when they had sex.  Peter Mwai, 29, pleaded guilty to
charges of transmitting HIV to the woman and endangering four
other women.  The woman testified that she agreed to spend the
night with Mwai after meeting him in a hotel.  When she later
presented Mwai with a condom, "he indicated there was no way he
was going to put it on."  If convicted, Mwai faces up to 14 years
in prison.

"Epitope Announces Successful Completion of FDA Facilities
Inspection"
PR Newswire (12/05/94)
     Epitope, Inc. announced Monday that Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) officials had completed a re-inspection of the company's
manufacturing facilities and those of its contract manufacturer.
The officials did not find occasion to issue a form 483 notice of
deficiencies.  The re-inspection was conducted as part of the FDA
review of Epitope's pre-market approval application (PMA) for the
use of its OraSure (R) oral collection device in HIV diagnostics.

"Blood-Supply Computer Plan Struggling"
Toronto Globe and Mail (12/02/94) P. A4;  Coutts, Jane
     A report obtained by the Toronto Globe and Mail has found that
efforts to design a national computer system for Canada's blood
supply have been mismanaged and inadequate.  Five years after the
project was started, the country is still years away from having
a national computer system to trace safety problems in the blood
supply because of huge cost overruns and long delays.
Commissioned by the Canadian Blood Agency in 1992 after concerns
of problems in the development of a national computer system for
the Red Cross, the report found that the project had a weak
organizational structure.  In addition, a contract for the
writing of the software was signed before the magnitude of the
project was agreed upon, and the staff did not properly
understand all the functions the computer system was expected to
perform.  The Canadian Blood Agency will be responsible for
funding the computer system.  Once the computer system is
running, it will help trace contaminated blood donations so that
both donors and potential recipients can be warned.  The system
is also intended to prevent donations from people with HIV,
hepatitis B, or other blood-borne diseases.

"HIV-1 in Blister Fluid of a Patient with Toxic Epidermal
Necrolysis and AIDS"
Lancet (11/19/94) Vol. 344, No. 8934, P. 1432;  Correia, Osvaldo;
Delgado, Luis;  Santos, Cristina et al
     The existence of markers for HIV infection in the blister fluid
of a patient with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and full-blown
AIDS is described in a letter to the editor by Correia et al
appearing in the Lancet.  A series of tests for HIV-1 and HIV-2
were performed on blood and blister fluid samples from a
34-year-old woman.  Definitive evidence of HIV-1 infection in the
patient was proven by HIV-1 antibodies, positivity to different
viral antigen bands, HIV core antigen p24 positivity, and a
positive viral culture in the skin blister fluid.  The results
emphasize the need for safety precautions for blood and body
fluids.  While the antigen specificity of epidermal CD8 T
lymphocytes in TEN--in which significant numbers of CD8 T cells
are found--has not been determined, numerous AIDS studies propose
that both the increase in non-specific cytotoxic responses and
CD8 HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes play a part in
pathological syndromes associated with HIV infection.  Correia et
al suggest that the findings could also be related to the
increased risk of severe cutaneous adverse reactions, such as
TEN, in AIDS patients.

"California: AIDS Drug Assistance Program, New Drugs Proposed;
Title II Public Input Sought"
AIDS Treatment News (11/04/94) No. 210, P. 7;  James, John S.
     California's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) pays for some
drugs needed by people with HIV or AIDS.  To qualify for the
program, the prescription must be signed by a California-licensed
physician and the drugs cannot be covered through the
individual's insurance program.  Drugs funded by ADAP include
acyclovir, AZT, fluconazole, and rifabutin.  Also, the HIV
Comprehensive Care Working Group will finalize its
recommendations for distributing Title II money at its meeting on
Dec. 6 and 7.  At issue is how to distribute funds among three
programs: ADAP, AIDS Case Management Program (CMP), and
CARE/Health Insurance Premium Payment Program (CARE/HIPP).

"Russia's Law on Iatrogenic HIV Infection"
Lancet (12/03/94) Vol. 344, No. 8936, P. 1562;  Rich, Vera
     In contrast to the sharp criticism that Russia's proposed HIV
testing law has drawn, an amendment to the Russian Federation
Criminal Code has gone virtually unnoticed.  The legislation
would make doctors and medical workers open to prosecution for
the HIV-infection of a patient due to medical negligence.  For
one patient, the penalty would be two to five years imprisonment,
but if more than one patient is infected, the sentence would jump
to seven to twelve years in jail.  Another amendment makes it a
criminal offense for health workers to divulge medical records
concerning infection with HIV to unauthorized persons.