From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 9/1/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6056
Organization: unspecified
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 92 22:36:22 PDT

                         AIDS Daily Summary
                         September 1, 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 CDC Clearinghouse, 
or any other organization.  Reproduction  of this text is encouraged; however, 
copies may not be sold.  Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD 
******************************************************************************
 "Law: Red Cross Must Disclose Information About a Blood Donor" Wall Street 
Journal (09/01/92), P. B8
     The Richmond, Va., federal appeals court ruled that the mother of an 
infant who contracted HIV via a tainted blood transfusion in  1985 and died of 
AIDS in 1988 may obtain medical information  about the person who donated 
blood used in that transfusion.  The court upheld a lower court order 
requiring the Red Cross to  reveal the donor's identity to the court, but not 
to the  plaintiff.  Some medical information regarding the donor will then be 
provided for the plaintiff.  This will enable the mother to  find out what 
happened during the donor-screening process, which  is essential in proving 
her claim that the Red Cross failed to  screen the blood, according to the 
appeals court.  But revealing  such information, "has the potential to turn 
away blood donors,"  said Elizabeth Hall, spokeswoman for the American Red 
Cross.   When blood donors are screened they tell Red Cross staff members  
about their sexual activities to enable the screeners to  determine whether to 
accept the blood.  The case against the Red  Cross will be tried in early 
1993, said the plaintiff's attorney,  Bernard McIntyre of Beaufort, S.C. 

"Ferrer Upset Over Vote on Teaching About AIDS" New York Times (09/01/92), P. 
B3  (Gonzalez, David)
     The Bronx Borough President, Fernando Ferrer, announced yesterday that he 
opposed the stance taken by his appointee to the Board of Education regarding 
a pledge to be taken by AIDS educators.   Ferrer said the pledge might force 
him to reconsider Ninfa  Segarra's reappointment in 1994.  Ninfa Segarra, whom 
Ferrer  appointed in 1990, voted in favor of the controversial oath  requiring 
outside AIDS educators to agree to emphasize abstinence in their educational 
programs.  Many AIDS education advocates say the oath is unrealistic and they 
insist they will not comply with the pledge.  Ferrer said he had told Segarra 
that the pledge was  "a bogus political issue."  In addition, he said that 
Segarra's  backing of the oath would be among the factors taken into account 
in the decision on her reappointment.  Although he has influenced Segarra 
previously to back a compromise AIDS education plan and a condom distribution 
program to curb the spread of HIV, Ferrer  said there was not much he could do 
on the issue of the pledge.   Segarra said the Borough President could "do 
what he wants to do" concerning her reappointment.  She added, "There's no 
contract or implication because he appointed me." 

"Parents Get Say in D.C. School Condom Plan" Washington Post (09/01/92), P. C1

(Goldstein, Amy)
     Parents who insist that their children not receive condoms  through the 
Washington, D.C., high school distribution program,  will be able to prevent 
teenagers from doing so, said School  Superintendent Franklin L. Smith.  Smith 
added that school  officials will inform parents who have prohibited their 
children  from obtaining condoms if a nurse or teacher finds out that the  
student is sexually active.  "If they write to me and say they  don't want 
their child getting condoms, I will do everything in  my power to make sure 
the nurse understands that, and we will not give condoms to that child," said 
Smith.  His comments  contradicted the city public health commission's 
position that  parents would not be able to intervene--or even be told--if a  
teenager requested condoms at school.  Some city officials said  Smith was 
ignoring one of the program's central premises:  Teenagers would be more 
inclined to use condoms if they could get them from a convenient place where 
they were guaranteed  confidentiality.  Public health officials in favor of 
the condom  program said they felt any violation of privacy would undermine  
the program by making students hesitant to request condoms.   Smith said he 
would not announce to parents that they could  prevent their child from 
receiving condoms, but would respect the wishes of any who contacted him or a 
principal.   Related Story: Washington Times (09/01) P. B1

"Dentist as Source of AIDS Unlikely" Washington Post (Health) (09/01/92), P. 5

(Colburn, Don)
     Despite recent public concern, additional evidence indicates that the 
risk of contracting HIV while being treated by an infected  dentist is 
significantly low.  A dental student at the Medical  College of Georgia School 
of Dentistry in Augusta tested  HIV-positive, and was suspended from treating 
patients after  disclosing the infection.  However, the student already had  
treated 163 patients in the School of Dentistry and public health clinics.  
All of the patients were notified and offered HIV  testing and counseling.  
Not one patient seroconverted, according to a study by a team from the Medical 
College of Georgia School  of Dentistry published in the Journal of the 
American Dental  Association.  The 163 patients had been treated during a 
total of 596 dental visits to the HIV-positive student.  The student  
reportedly adhered to standard precautions, including proper  sterilization of 
all instruments and use of gloves, mask and  protective eyewear during all 
patient treatment.  The 596 dental  procedures were categorized as 
incidentally invasive (using no  sharp instruments), moderately invasive 
(nonsurgical procedures  such as filling of cavities), and surgically invasive 
(including  extraction of teeth and gum surgery).  Approximately half of the  
procedures were moderately invasive, and another 42 were  surgically invasive. 

"Quarantine Extended for AIDS-Infected Woman" United Press International 
(08/31/92)
     Muskegon Heights, Mich.--The Muskegon Heights woman with AIDS who is 
quarantined for allegedly having had sex with as many as six  men without 
disclosing her condition will continue to be  confined, with some 
modifications.  Muskegon County Probate Judge Neill Mullally held a hearing 
Monday for Brenda Jensen, 31, and  prolonged the quarantine an additional 90 
days.  Due to the  allegations, Jensen has been confined for the past two 
months in  a Muskegon Heights adult foster care home.  Now, the woman will  be 
permitted to go outside the foster care home in daylight hours only, and with 
a court-appointed chaperone.  However, Mullally  said if she has any contact 
at all with any of the six men in  question, the complete quarantine will be 
re-established.   Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said if the quarantine 
is  effective in altering her behavior, he does not expect to charge  her with 
breaching Michigan's AIDS disclosure law.

"Progress Fitful on Understanding AIDS, Developing Therapies" Chemical + 
Engineering News (08/24/92) Vol.70, No.34, P.27 (Baum, Rudy M.)
     Although the event was quite subdued, several findings were  released on 
AIDS research at the Eighth International Conference  on AIDS in Amsterdam 
last month.  The prevailing report detailed  cases of an AIDS-like condition 
without detectable HIV infection. Many researchers felt that the new condition 
may be some  undetectable variant of HIV-1 or HIV-2.  But Gerald Myers of Los  
Alamos National Laboratories said that he has conducted extensive research on 
HIV-1 variability and that five HIV-1 lineages exist  worldwide.  Regarding 
the stages of HIV-1 infection, Dr. Anthony  S. Fauci, director of the National 
Institute of Allergy and  Infectious Diseases, said that the virus is present 
and active  throughout the course of an infection, which involves three  
phases.  First there is an acute phase lasting two to four weeks  during which 
there is a burst of viremia that may or may not  include flu-like symptoms.  
Next is the latency phase, when the  lymph nodes of an infected person are 
slowly destroyed.  In the  final phase, which Fauci called an "intensification 
of this  scenario,"   the structure of the lymph node collapses to produce 
what Fauci calls a "burnt-out lymph node."  During the collapse  large amounts 
of virus are emitted into the circulatory system  and peripheral cells become 
infected. 

"News in Brief: New York" Advocate (08/25/92) No. 610, P. 22
     A nurse who became infected with HIV after being pricked with a  
contaminated needle during a struggle with a prisoner was granted $5.3 million 
in damages by a New York state judge on July 21.   State court of claims Judge 
Israel Margolis said the nurse could  have prevented being pricked with the 
needle during the 1988  struggle if the prison guards had approached the 
situation  responsibly.  The nurse, who remains anonymous in court papers,  
said that she pleaded with the guards for help in restraining the inmate.  A 
spokesman for the department of correctional services  said the state would 
appeal the ruling on the basis that Margolis failed to consider the testimony 
of the guards.  One of the  guards said he could not recall the incident, and 
the other said  that he attempted to restrain the inmate but was unsuccessful.

"Camp HIV" Village Voice (08/25/92) Vol. 37, No. 34, P. 18  (Coughlin, Dan)
     A total of 233 HIV-positive Haitian refugees and family members  seeking 
political asylum have been detained at Camp Bulkeley in  Guantanamo Bay by the 
U.S. government since February.  The  Bulkeley internees and 37,000 of their 
compatriots were initially found by the U.S. Coast Guard and then brought to 
Guantanamo and  interviewed by Immigrations and Naturalization Service (INS)  
officers to determine whether they had a credible fear of  persecution.  None 
of the internees have been granted entry into  the U.S. without taking the HIV 
test, and none who have tested  positive have been admitted.  INS spokesperson 
Duke Austin  supports the government's closed-door policy, asserting that the  
quarantine is needed to protect the health of INS and military  personnel.  
But Lucas Guttentag, director of the American Civil  Liberties Union's 
Immigration Rights Project, said, "HIV testing  is one more of many steps the 
government has taken to deny  Haitian refugees protection in the U.S. and 
their rights under  international law."  The matter has been taken to a New 
York  court, which, in June, barred the administration from sending the 
refugees back to Haiti without first offering them legal counsel. An appeal to 
the Supreme Court from the administration is expected. 

"Hotel Hit in AIDS Bias Claim" National Law Journal (08/24/92) Vol.14, No.51, 
P.15 (MacLachlan, Claudia)
     A Boston hotel was directed to pay $30,000 in "emotional  distress" 
damages to the estate of a waiter who charged that  hotel officials harassed 
him because he had AIDS.  The case was  the first of its kind in Massachusetts 
and one of the few  nationally to go to a hearing.  Douglas McKinley, the 
waiter who  died last October, stopped working at the Boston Harbor Hotel's  
Rowe's Wharf restaurant 15 months before dying.  Michael T.  Duffy, a 
commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission Against  Discrimination who 
presented the award on Aug. 10,    Duffy ruled against McKinley on the issue 
of back pay and benefits, claiming  he had not proved that the hotel's 
treatment of him was so  intolerable that it constituted a constructive 
discharge.  Duffy  wrote, "The humiliating treatment that I have found that 
the  complainant endured is not enough to establish that McKinley was  in 
effect fired."  Duffy added that McKinley sought a leave of  absence without 
ever indicating he had AIDS.  Duffy said he did  not believe hotel officials 
when they claimed they were unaware  that McKinley had AIDS.  Denise 
McWilliams, an attorney  representing McKinley with the AIDS Law Project in 
Boston, said,  "Employers are now on notice that they can no longer mask  
discriminatory actions behind feigned ignorance of their  employees' HIV 
status." 

"AIDS Pact Reached" National Law Journal (08/24/92) Vol. 14, No. 51, P. 6
     An HIV-positive nurse from Maine, fired after being tested for  the 
virus, agreed in court for an undisclosed settlement amount  not to return to 
his medical practice.  Settled Aug. 10, the suit was thought to be the first 
in the state dealing with a  health-care worker fired for testing HIV-positive 
or having AIDS. 

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