From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 1/11/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6742
Organization: unspecified
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 07:29:40 PST

                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      January 11, 1993 
 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. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD 

 "D.C. Targets Homeless in TB Battle" Washington Post (01/11/93), P. A1  
(Goldstein, Amy)
     Thousands of homeless people in Washington, D.C., will eventually 
be tested for tuberculosis in an effort to thwart its rampant spread in 
the District.  District health-care workers and 150 volunteers will 
start testing residents of the city's homeless shelters tonight for TB.  
Through the mass testing, D.C. health officials hope eventually to reach 
as many as 5,000 homeless men  and women in all 43 shelters.  This move 
marks the first time  that any large American city will attempt to 
systematically  examine people in shelters for the homeless to detect 
and treat  TB, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  Physicians 
and health-care advocates across the city said they hope the campaign 
will draw public and political attention to a serious disease  that has 
been less publicized than AIDS but is inclined to affect many more 
residents.  The rate of TB infection in the District is about three 
times the national average, according to federal  statistics.  The 
disease's prevalence has increased in the last  few years, particularly 
in inner cities, as a result of poverty,  recent immigration, and AIDS.  
A normal person infected with TB  bacteria has a 10 percent chance of 
developing the disease  itself.  However, the chances escalate among 
AIDS patients, drug  addicts, or those who live in crowded, unsanitary 
conditions with poor ventilation.  Washington, D.C., is a prime target 
for TB,  because HIV is spreading faster there than any other city in 
the  U.S.  Also, the city has a large population of homeless  people--
approximately 10,000-15,000--many of whom stay in  shelters at night. 

"Medicine: Second Baboon-Human Transplant Tried" Washington Post 
(01/11/93), P. A2
     Surgeons from the University of Pittsburgh performed their second 
baboon-to-human liver transplant yesterday, after the moderate  success 
of the first such transplant in June.  The new patient  was a 62-year-
old man who was dying of hepatitis B.  Doctors said that if he had been 
given another human liver, hepatitis B would  have destroyed it.  Baboon 
livers, however, are believed to be  immune to the disease.  The first 
human recipient of a baboon  liver was a 35-year-old HIV-positive man 
who died 70 days after  the transplant.  Doctors said in a study 
released last week that  an overdose of an anti-rejection drug hastened 
an infection that  killed him.   The first recipient had hepatitis B and 
was near  death when he received the liver during an 11-hour operation 
on  June 28.  He also was infected with HIV, but had not yet  developed 
AIDS.  Pitt spokesman Mark Kanny said the second  recipient is not 
infected with HIV.  Physicians said they were  pleased that the first 
patient's cells coexisted with baboon  cells and that he experienced 
only a mild rejection of the organ.

"Doctor Fights Back: 'I Don't Have AIDS,' He Tells Town" Los Angeles 
Times (01/10/93), P. A7  (Newberry, Paul)
     A false rumor that a local doctor had AIDS incited fear in many  
residents of a small Alabama town.  Dr. James W. Smith, prominent 
pediatrician in his home town of Athens, Ala., for more than 18  years, 
decided on a public defense against a "vicious lie" that  spread like 
gossip.  He made the headline on the front page of  the local newspaper 
that read, "Athens Doctor: 'I Don't Have  AIDS.'"  Dr. Smith said, 
"People heard that I had tested positive for AIDS.  I was supposedly 
leaving my practice and leaving  town."  Smith said he first learned of 
the rumor when his office  began receiving calls from nervous parents 
after Thanksgiving.   Subsequently, he found out that Athens-Limestone 
Hospital local  paper the News Courier were receiving calls as well.  In  
addition, other pediatricians were being contacted by parents who didn't 
want their children to be treated by Dr. Smith any longer  because he 
had AIDS.  Smith said he believed his physique  contributed to the 
rumor's spread through the north Alabama town  of 17,000.  He said, "I 
am slender.  People who have AIDS are  usually slender.  But I'm slender 
by design, and I make sure I  stay that way" with regular exercise.  
After all of the hysteria, Smith was approached for comment and his 
denial ran at the top of the front page of the News Courier on Dec. 6.  
In the article,  the physician confirmed that the rumors were false and 
that he  was "healthy and free of any infectious disease," and offered a  
$2,000 reward for any information on who started the rumor. 

"The Public's Eye" Richmond Times-Dispatch (01/08/93), P. C1  (Slack, 
Charles)
     Although celebrities with AIDS receive much more recognition in  
their plight with the disease, they are beginning to collectively 
represent every population affected by AIDS, writes columnist  Charles 
Slack.  The recent death of ballet master Rudolf Nureyev  was 
significant not because "we were shocked that a man of his  stature died 
of the disease, but [because of] the fact that we  were not shocked," 
says Slack.  Nureyev denied up until his death on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 
that he had AIDS.  Following his wishes,  Nureyev's doctor would only 
say that the dancer died of  complications resulting from a "cruel 
illness."  But it was  painfully clear to most people that eliminating 
some medical  improbability, the world had lost another public figure to 
AIDS.  AIDS advocates make a strong point when they contend that  
concentrating on celebrities obscures the many thousands of AIDS  
patients whose tragic deaths go unnoticed.  However, Slack argues that 
it is only natural to take a special interest in celebrities lives, just 
as is done in their glories.  Within the past two  years two highly 
celebrated athletes--Magic Johnson and Arthur  Ashe--disclosed their 
AIDS-related conditions, demonstrating that even the most healthy 
individuals can become infected.  As a  whole, this growing list of 
famous people stricken by the disease closely resembles the count of 
AIDS patients everywhere,  concludes Slack. 

"FEA--Journal-AIDS" Associated Press (01/08/93)
     Alan Guttmacher Institute, a research institute on human  
sexuality, reports that the number of teenagers having sex has  jumped 
63 percent in the past 20 years, according to Ladies Home  Journal 
magazine.  The largest increase was among white  middle-class girls.  
However, the age at which they have their  first intercourse is 
declining.  In 1988, the latest year for  which statistics are 
available, 27 percent of 15-year-old girls  and 32 percent of 15-year-
old boys had already had sex.  Dr.  Laurence Steinberg, professor of 
psychology at Temple University  and co-author (with Ann Levine) of "You 
and Your Adolescent: Why  Can't We Get Through to Them?", said, "What 
we're finding is that despite all the discussions of safe sex, despite 
the distribution of condoms, teens aren't using them."  Steinberg added, 
"Parents  have to face facts.  Teenagers today are wrestling with sexual  
decisions that many of their parents never had to face--at least, not 
until they were older."  If parents demand that their child  wait until 
he or she is older before having sex, a teen will hear the words but may 
subsequently not want to talk to Mom and Dad  about sex.  Dr. Sally 
Ourieff, assistant attending psychiatrist  at McLean Hospital in 
Belmont, Mass., and instructor of  psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, 
said, "Let's get rid of the myth that talking to kids about sex 
encourages them to have it."  The article in Ladies Home Journal 
encourages parents not to keep a tight rein over a child's sexuality 
because it may backfire.   Instead, parents should address 
responsibilities that accompany  sexual activity, such as condom usage. 

"San Francisco Mourns Its 10,000th AIDS Death" Reuters (01/07/93)
     San Francisco--Flags were expected to be flown at half-mast on  
Friday, Jan. 8, over San Francisco City Hall in observance of the 10,000 
people who have died of AIDS in the city, announced  officials Thursday.  
On Thursday morning, the city's 10,000th  death was reported since the 
AIDS epidemic emerged in 1981, said  the San Francisco Department of 
Public Health.  Mayor Frank  Jordan said, "Today is a very sad day in 
San Francisco, now that  we've reached a milestone of 10,000 deaths from 
AIDS....  We must continue the fight for prevention, treatment, 
education, and  compassion."  Jordan indicated that he ordered flags 
over City  Hall to be lowered to half-mast on Friday and also requested 
five minutes of silence throughout the city to begin at 9 a.m. on  
Friday.  The San Francisco AIDS Foundation said that the city,  with its 
large homosexual population, ranks behind New York,  which has reported 
30,772 AIDS deaths, and Los Angeles, with  12,213 deaths from AIDS. 

"AIDS 10th Leading Killer of Americans in 1990" Reuters (01/07/93)
     Atlanta--Among the top 10 causes of death among Americans in  1990, 
AIDS was ranked 10th, replacing murder as a leading killer, according to 
the Centers for Disease Control.  In the same year,  AIDS ranked third 
as a leading cause of death among young  Americans behind only cancer 
and accidents.  A report by a unit  of the CDC said that preliminary 
data for 1991 suggest AIDS may  have moved up to the ninth leading 
killer for all Americans.  CDC spokeswoman Sandra Smith said, "Homicides 
increased between 1990  and 1991 [but] they didn't increase as much as 
AIDS."  The report said AIDS killed 25,188 Americans in 1990, or 14 
percent more  than the prior year.  Although the future of the epidemic 
appears bleak, AIDS awareness has significantly increased, according to 
a separate study by the CDC.  A 1991 survey of attitudes and  knowledge 
about AIDS demonstrated 29 percent of Americans said  they knew "a lot" 
about AIDS, whereas a year earlier the  statistic was only 19 percent.  
Among all Americans who  participated in the survey, more than 95 
percent said they knew  that anyone infected with HIV could infect 
someone else by sexual intercourse or sharing drug needles, whether that 
person has  full-blown AIDS or not.  Still, more than 60 percent in the  
survey said it was possible that a person under the care of an  HIV-
positive nurse, doctor, or dentist would be infected by his  or her 
health-care worker. 

"German Minister Suggests AIDS Test for Refugees" Reuters (01/08/93)
     Bonn, Germany--A German government minister incited protests from 
the opposition and a human rights organization after proposing  that 
foreign asylum-seekers undergo mandatory HIV testing upon  entering the 
country.  Foreign Aid Minister Carl-Dieter Spranger  said refugees from 
countries with high rates of HIV infection  should be forced to be 
tested for HIV before being admitted to  Germany.  Spranger said, "The 
explosive spread of AIDS in certain countries in Africa and Asia is 
becoming a growing problem also  for Germany through the influx of 
asylum-seekers."  Human rights  group Pro Asyl considers the proposal 
"racist" and added, "The  AIDS threat does not come from refugees but 
has for a long time  been a social problem in every society."  A 
spokeswoman for the  opposition Social Democrats said the proposal by 
the conservative minister works only to strengthen prejudices against  
asylum-seekers, who are frequent targets of neo-Nazi arsonists.   Last 
year, approximately 440,000 Third World and eastern European refugees 
filed for political asylum in Germany. 

"FEA--NYU-Blood Recycling" Associated Press (01/08/93)  (Lamparello, 
Patrick J.)
     As a means to prevent tainted blood transfusions, surgeons are  
currently recycling blood.  They use machines that collect blood  from 
an open incision, cleanse it, and return the red blood cells to the 
patient.  Although the chance of contracting HIV through a blood 
transfusion is foremost in many patients' minds, the  American Red Cross 
predicts that only one of every 225,000  transfused units is 
contaminated with HIV.  Many companies  manufacture blood recycling 
devices--the most widely used being  the Cell Saver.  The way blood 
recycling is performed is simple:  a technician uses a suction device to 
gather blood during  surgery.  It is spun in a centrifuge to concentrate 
the red blood cells, which are cleansed in a saline solution to remove  
contaminants such as bacteria and damaged cells.  Approximately  50 
percent of the red cells are recovered and are subsequently  transfused 
back to the patient.  Blood recycling is used in about 10 percent of all 
surgery in the United States.  This process is  not intended for 
operations in which little or no blood will be  transfused.  Also, it 
isn't used in surgery for cancer that has  already spread or when there 
is a serious infection to prevent  the spreading of cancer cells or an 
infectious agent throughout  the body.  However, blood recycling is used 
frequently in  open-heart surgery, hip replacement operations, back 
surgery, and some neurosurgical procedures.  Moreover, blood recycling 
can be  used in addition to autologous transfusions.  The equipment and  
the technician needed for blood recycling can cost about $500,  which is 
often less than the costs of providing donor blood. 
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