From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 7/24/92
Note: non-commercial reproduction.
Archive-Number: 5779
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 20:04:33 PDT

                         AIDS Daily Summary
                           July 24, 1992 
 The Centers for Disease Control (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 
Clearinghouse, or any other organization.  Reproduction of this text is 
encouraged; however, copies may not be sold.  Copyright 1992, 
Information, Inc., Washington, DC 
************************************************************************ 
"AIDS-Like Illness: More Study Vowed" New York Times (07/24/92), P. D16  
(Altman, Lawrence K.)
     Researchers attending the Eighth International Conference on  AIDS 
in Amsterdam yesterday said they would increase study of the  mysterious 
condition that causes AIDS symptoms but shows no sign  of HIV infection.  
The researchers have indicated that at the  present time there is no 
reason to believe that a new strain of  HIV is rampant.  However, 
reports of about 30 of the cases has  prompted some alarm, and a 
California researcher reported that he found a new virus in a woman 
experiencing the condition.   Officials from the World Health 
Organization said they would soon recruit experts to help elucidate the 
frequency and location of  such cases.  Epidemiologists will investigate 
all of the cases  reported and any new cases that emerge to see if the 
patients  have the same condition.  Dr. James Curran, AIDS expert at the  
Centers for Disease Control, has reversed his stance on the  public 
health significance of the cases.  Now he says that  researching the new 
cases was "an extremely important priority  for the Public Health 
Service and scientists."  The change in  attitude demonstrates concerns 
about the illness' danger to  public health, the publicity that it has 
spurred, and the  conflicting interpretations of the minimal data 
reported so far.  Related Stories: Washington Post (07/24) P. A1; Wall 
Street  Journal (07/24) P. B4; Philadelphia Inquirer (07/24) P. A4;  
Baltimore Sun (07/24) P. 3A; Los Angeles Times (07/24) P. A2; USA Today 
(07/24) P. 1D

"A Look Into the Safety of the Blood Supply" USA Today (07/24/92), P. 2D  
(Manning, Anita)
     Blood bank officials have emphasized the safety of the U.S.  blood 
supply in response to reports this week regarding a new virus  that 
causes symptoms of AIDS without detectable HIV infection  from blood 
screening tests.  Researchers at the international  AIDS conference in 
Amsterdam heard reports of at least 30  patients with AIDS-like 
illnesses, but no sign of HIV.  Liz Hall  of the American Red Cross 
said, "We feel comfortable about the  safety of the blood supply because 
our donor testing has been  very reliable."  Hall and Marcia Lane of the 
American Association of Blood Banks said that blood banks use eight 
tests for  infectious disease on each unit of donated blood.  They said 
that blood is tested for syphilis, hepatitis B, HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV-1,  
and hepatitis C, while two surrogate tests are conducted for  non-A, 
non-B hepatitis.  Also, donors are asked about medical  histories, in 
addition to sex and drug activities that could put  them at risk for 
infections like HIV and hepatitis.  Hall said  the average donor's blood 
is "40 to 50 times safer" than that of  the general population.  They 
encourage everyone who is able to  donate their own blood in advance of 
surgery.

"AIDS Patients Charged in Sodomy Case" Washington Post (07/24/92), P. B1   
(Griffith, Stephanie and Hall, Charles W.)
     Two men with AIDS residing at an Arlington home for homeless  
people with the disease have been charged with engaging in sodomy with a 
14-year-old Falls Church youth.  The arrest led county  officials and 
the Whitman-Walker Clinic to shut down the house  indefinitely.  
Kimberly C. Copeland was arrested by Arlington  police Thursday and 
Jarvis Linnel Foster was arrested on  Wednesday.  Both men were 
residents of the Gary Thomas House for  homeless AIDS patients, which is 
operated by the Whitman-Walker  Clinic, a nonprofit AIDS clinic in 
Washington, D.C.  Authorities  from Whitman-Walker and Arlington County 
revealed yesterday that  the house will stay closed temporarily while 
the situation and  the clinic's method of screening residents are 
examined.  Clinic  spokesman Scott Sanders said, "It gives us time to 
work with the  community.  It gives us time to review our policies."  
Police say that Copeland and Foster allegedly had consensual anal and 
oral  sex with the youth, who was frequently paid.  Foster had a sexual 
relationship with the youth for several months before his arrest, said 
detectives.  Copeland met with the youth when he was with  Foster, and 
had sex with him at least once, said police.  Police  also said that the 
youth had tried to get other boys from his Boy Scout troop to provide 
sex for Foster. 

"Activist Prods City to House HIV-Infected" Philadelphia Inquirer 
(07/24/92), P. B6  (Collins, Huntly)
     Philadelphia city officials are keeping homeless AIDS patients  on 
the streets as long as possible to avoid spending more than $1  million 
in rental subsidies, according to an AIDS activist.   David Fair, 
executive director of We the People Living with  AIDS/HIV, said the 
city's bureaucratic delays have threatened the lives of HIV-positive 
homeless people.  However, city officials  said yesterday that they had 
just received a housing proposal  from the Tenants Rental Assistance 
Corp. (TRAC), the nonprofit  agency hired to provide housing for 
homeless people, including  those with HIV or AIDS.  Officials said they 
would convene next  week to devise a plan to cover TRAC's administrative 
expenses.   At that point, they said, they will be able to provide more  
housing to homeless people.  Dr. Marla Gold, assistant health  
commissioner for infectious disease, said the Health Department  has 
increased its rental subsidy program for homeless AIDS  patients 
twofold--from about $150,000 last year to about $300,000 in the fiscal 
year that began July 1.  Dennis Bethea, executive  director of TRAC, 
said the agency's proposal to the city, given  yesterday, requests 
spending about $1.5 million on rental  subsidies for homeless AIDS 
patients.  He said that amount would  cover about 270 people, most of 
whom are now living in city  shelters. 

"Legal Beat: Judge Rules Against Insurer in AIDS Case" Wall Street 
Journal (07/24/92), P. B14  (Woo, Junda)
     New York State Court Judge Ira Gammerman ruled that New  England 
Mutual Life Insurance Co. was guilty of bad faith and  discrimination 
for disqualifying a policyholder after he became  ill with AIDS.  
Gammerman, whose decision could deter insurers  from rescinding coverage 
for people with AIDS, ordered the  insurer to pay  Jeffrey F. Duke's 
$50,000 life insurance policy  and give Duke's estate $127,500 to cover 
attorney fees.  The  carrier tried to justify its move by alleging that 
Duke, who died of AIDS in 1988, misrepresented his relationship with his  
beneficiary, who was both his business partner and his lover.   Duke had 
acknowledged only the business partnership.  Gammerman,  who called the 
insurer's argument "bogus," said even if Duke had  misstated his 
relationship, that would be an inadequate basis for rescinding coverage.  
Charging that people with AIDS are making  misstatements to insurers "is 
a fairly typical way that the  insurers have tried to rescind coverage," 
said Ruth E. Harlow, a  staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties 
Union.

"Women Achieving a Deadly Equality in AIDS Infection" Chicago Tribune 
(07/23/92), P. 1-13  (Beck, Joan)
     In order to control the AIDS epidemic, women's status must  improve 
so that they are empowered enough to take control of  their health and 
protect themselves against HIV infection, writes columnist Joan Beck.  
At the AIDS conference in Amsterdam this  week, the news regarding 
women's roles in the epidemic has been  sad.  Women, who at least in 
Western societies have comprised far fewer AIDS cases than men, are now 
catching up.  In most parts of the world, AIDS is already characterized 
as a heterosexual  disease.  The World Health Organization states that 
new cases  worldwide are now about equally divided among men and women, 
but  by the year 2000 most new infections will occur in women.  About  
one-third of the children born to HIV-positive mothers will  become 
infected.  Millions of the remaining children, worldwide,  will be 
orphaned when their mothers die of AIDS.  In the U.S.,  where most of 
the cases have been in men, women are accounting  for a growing number 
of HIV infections.  The AIDS toll will look  even more murky when the 
U.S. AIDS definition is expanded to  include gynecologic infections that 
do not occur in men but are  frequent in women with HIV.  While one 
researcher at the  conference said, "Women have to be made aware that 
they do have  the power to refuse sex without a condom," it prove easier 
to  find a cure for AIDS. 

"Bush and AIDS: A Record of Indifference?" Chicago Tribune (07/23/92), 
P. 1-13  (Chapman, Stephen)
     While AIDS patients blame their tragedy on President Bush, he has 
nothing to apologize for, writes columnist Stephen Chapman.  At  the 
Democratic convention, two AIDS patients, Elizabeth Glaser  and Bob 
Hattoy, spoke about the disease and blamed their  suffering on the 
Republicans.  Glaser asserted that if Bush is  re-elected, she and her 
HIV-positive son may not survive "four  more years of leaders who say 
they care--but do nothing."   However, Glaser and her son are unlikely 
to survive no matter  what the next president does to save them, says 
Chapman.  The  primary complaint against Bush is that insufficient funds 
have  been spent fighting AIDS.  Yet while AIDS ranks only 11th among  
causes of death in America, it receives more research funds than  any 
other illness except cancer.  In addition, on a per-death  basis, the 
government spends five times as much on AIDS as it  does on cancer.  The 
administration also has been criticized for  maintaining a policy of 
excluding immigrants and visitors who are HIV-positive.  However, 
foreigners are also banned if they have  tuberculosis, leprosy, and 
venereal diseases.  The policy is  legitimate in protecting our own 
people from infection, says  Chapman.  Because the Democratic speakers 
were so eloquent,  people incorrectly believe they are right for blaming 
the Bush  administration, concludes Chapman. 

"Is a New AIDS Virus Emerging?" Newsweek (07/27/92) Vol. 20, No. 4, P. 
41  (Cowley, Geoffrey)
     Some researchers have recently witnessed ill patients with  
depleted immune systems and other opportunistic infections that  
resemble AIDS but who are not infected with HIV.  Most of the  patients 
have high risk factors such as needle-sharing,  unprotected sex, or a 
history of blood transfusions.  This  condition could suggest the 
emergence of a new strain of HIV--one that acts like HIV-1 and HIV-2 but 
is able to evade detection by  any existing blood test-- health 
officials fear.  In addition,  there is currently no way to track the 
phenomenon it in the  population or the blood supply if the new cases 
are a result of a new virus.  Physicians have so far detected about a 
dozen such  cases.  Research groups led by Dr. Jeffrey Laurence of New 
York's Cornell University Medical College and Dr. Sudhir Gupta of the  
University of California--Irvine, have submitted evidence to  scientific 
journals regarding the mysterious virus, but will not  disclose any 
specifics until they're published.  However, if  there does exist a new 
strain of HIV, it seems no more contagious than HIV-1 or HIV-2.

"News in Brief: Sri Lanka" Advocate (07/14/92) No. 607, P. 31
     Local citizens of the town of Negombo, Sri Lanka, a popular gay  
resort, have organized a task force to campaign against AIDS.   Police, 
priests, doctors, social workers, and hoteliers comprise  the group, 
which intends to arrest and attempt to reform local  male prostitutes.  
Negombo, an area that is about 85 percent  Catholic, has an estimated 
200 boys and young men working as  prostitutes.  Due to arrests and 
forced HIV testing of 35 of  them, most have gone underground, the 
police said.  Not one of  the 35 who were tested are infected with the 
virus.  According to health officials, about 1,000 of Sri Lanka's 17 
million residents are HIV-positive.  A total of 14 people have died of 
AIDS and 50  more have the disease.  Paramalingam Sivarajah, district 
medical  officer, said that three people have developed AIDS in Negombo  
and one of them has died of the disease. 

"Magic Bullet" Time (07/27/92) Vol. 140, No. 4, P. 75  (Quinn, Michael)
     Magic Johnson, who has served on the president's National  
Commission on AIDS for several months, announced that he will  resign if 
no more federal funding is allotted to fight AIDS when  he returns from 
playing basketball in the Summer Olympics.   Almost as soon as he was 
appointed to the commission, he  requested increased funds for AIDS 
research and treatment.  He  became rapidly frustrated with the Bush 
administration's  reluctance to take an active stance to fight the 
epidemic.  Lon  Rosen, Johnson's spokesman, said, "He does not believe 
the  President is doing enough."  Johnson has also indicated that he  
would not vote for President Bush in the upcoming elections. 

"Efficacy of Nonoxynol 9 Contraceptive Sponge Use in Preventing  
Heterosexual Acquisition of HIV in Nairobi Prostitutes" Journal of the 
American Medical Association (07/29/92) Vol. 268,  No. 4, P. 477  
(Kreiss, Joan et al.)
     Using nonoxynol 9 contraceptive sponge to prevent HIV  transmission 
among highly exposed women is ineffective, write  Joan Kreiss et al. of 
the University of Washington--Seattle.   Kreiss et al. studied 138 HIV-
positive prostitutes from a  Nairobi, Kenya, research clinic.  Among the 
138, 74 were assigned to use nonoxynol 9 sponge and 64 to use a placebo.  
The two  groups did not dramatically differ in terms of demographic  
characteristics, sexual practices, or prevalence of genital  infections 
at enrollment, though there was a lower number of sex  partners per week 
and a higher initial prevalence of genital  ulcers among women assigned 
to nonoxynol 9 sponge use. The mean  durations of follow-up among the 
116 women who did follow up were 14 and 17 months for the two groups, 
respectively.  An increased  frequency of genital ulcers and a decreased 
risk of gonococcal  cervicitis was linked with Nonoxynol 9 sponge use.  
HIV was  contracted by a total of 27 (45 percent) of the 60 women in the  
nonoxynol 9 sponge group and 20 (36 percent) of the 56 women in  the 
placebo group.  There was a 1.7 hazard ratio for the link  between 
nonoxynol 9 sponge use and HIV seroconversion. 

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