From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 9/2/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6057
Organization: unspecified
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 92 22:38:24 PDT

                        AIDS Daily Summary
                          September 2, 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 
******************************************************************************
 "Pushing for a More Inclusive AIDS Census" USA Today (09/02/92), P. 1D  
(Painter, Kim)
     Dozens of AIDS organizations will be meeting with members of the Centers 
for Disease Control today in Atlanta to discuss the federal definition of 
AIDS.  Currently, health officials consider AIDS patients only those who have 
experienced one of 23  opportunistic infections and cancers that indicate a 
weakened  immune system.  The CDC's AIDS case rate, now totalling 230,179  
cases, carries considerable political weight.  It suggests how  devastating 
the epidemic is becoming in the United States and how fast it is growing.  Due 
to claims that the case rate excludes  many seriously ill people with HIV 
infection, the CDC has  proposed adding anyone with HIV who has a low T-cell 
count.  This factor could add 200,000 cases--if all those people underwent  T-
cell testing and were reported.  However, many HIV-positive  people cannot 
afford T-cell tests, while others aren't offered  T-cell or HIV tests because 
their doctors don't realize their  illnesses could be AIDS-related.  Patient 
advocates recommend  adding cervical cancers and pre-cancers and two lung  
infections--tuberculosis and recurring bacterial pneumonia--to the list of 
conditions that can signal full-blown AIDS.  The CDC is  not slated to reveal 
a decision for at least several weeks. 

"AIDS Activists Distribute Condoms to Teen Art Students" Baltimore Sun 
(09/02/92), P. 7E  (Siegel, Eric)
     ACT-UP conducted a short course in safe sex for students in front of the 
Baltimore School for the Arts yesterday.  As the students  were dismissed from 
the first day of classes, ACT-UP members  stood across the street from the 
school and handed out condoms  and brochures.  However, the director of the 
high school, David  Simon, opposed the presence of ACT-UP.  He said, "Kids are 
being  treated in an unfair way when they're being accosted on the  street."  
Simon indicated that the School for the Arts has  instituted several 
assemblies on sex and is "not deaf to the  issues outside of school."  Yet 
some students thought the condom  and safe sex pamphlet distribution were a 
good idea.  One  sophomore student said, "I think they're trying to help kids.
  
People don't talk to kids enough about sex in schools."  ACT-UP  members 
handed out condoms and a brochure involving explicit tips on safe sex 
illustrated with graphic cartoons because the sex  education students are 
getting in schools "is not enough," said  Mark Shaw, a spokesman for the 
group.  In Baltimore, city schools do not distribute condoms to students.  
However, clinics in nine  schools operated by the city health department 
provide condoms to students who have been identified as high risks for 
sexually  transmitted diseases, multiple pregnancies, or both. 

"A 7-Year-Old AIDS Victim Sparks Hysteria, Hatred" Baltimore Sun (09/02/92), 
P. 2A  (Driscoll, Amy)
     Autum Aquino, a second-grader with AIDS, received a death  threat and a 
hostile reception from members of her new community  in Florida.  Autum and 
her family recently moved to Florida from  Maine because her doctors said the 
climate would be easier for  her to handle.  Parents at Lakeland Elementary 
did not want their children to share a classroom with a girl with AIDS.  
School  officials organized an educational meeting Aug. 18 to discuss the 
issue with apprehensive parents and children, but the meeting  ended with 
Autum's mother leaving in tears.  Mrs. Dannemiller,  Autum's mother, said, 
"These people get up at the microphone and  say they are good Christian 
people, and then they judge and  accuse and condemn my child."  Dannemiller 
contracted HIV from  her former husband who was an IV-drug user and 
unknowingly passed it on to Autum when she was pregnant.  Due to the open 
hostility  and rejection, Dannemiller wanted to move, but Autum was not  
prepared to give up and wants to educate the Florida town.   School officials 
are supporting Autum and her mother.   Subsequently, Autum and her family 
decided she should return to  school.  She started second grade a week ago and 
her classroom  was very supportive.

"In the Nation: Condoms Dropped From Plane Miss Target" Baltimore Sun 
(09/02/92), P. 22A
     Members of ACT-UP dropped condoms from a plane over a  maximum-security 
prison in Waupun, Wis., yesterday.  However,  winds carried part of the foil-
wrapped cargo into a nearby  neighborhood, according to a prison spokesman.  
Associate Warden  Greg Grams said that the condoms were confiscated and seized 
as  contraband because they are banned in state prisons.  ACT-UP  stated that 
it dropped the condoms on the maximum-security prison as a means of 
encouraging safe sex and safeguarding inmates. 

"News in Brief: Michigan" Advocate (08/25/92) No. 610, P. 23
     Board Chairman Richard Semple of Ottaway County, Michigan,  claimed on 
July 14 that the AIDS epidemic is the outcome of the  United States' 
reluctance to quarantine people with HIV  infection.  "Back in the beginning 
when [HIV] was first  discovered, there was an opportunity to do something.  
We gave  that away."  He added, "I know it sounds brutal, but this is a  self-
inflicted disease for many people."  Regardless of Semple's  comments, the 
board voted 7-3 to hire a second nurse for a  county-operated clinic, where 
the number of requests for HIV  tests has escalated.  The clinic reported 
2,244 visits by the end of March, halfway through the fiscal year.  The clinic 
handled a  total of 2,321 visits last year. 

"News in Brief: Minnesota" Advocate (08/25/92) No. 610, P. 23
     The Minnesota Supreme Court determined on July 24 that a woman  who 
became infected through a contaminated blood transfusion can  file a lawsuit 
against the American Red Cross.  The woman, Patty  Kaiser, received the 
transfusion in 1984, but did not learn that  she was infected until 1987, 
after the statute of limitations for malpractice claims had expired.  The 
court ruled that she could  proceed with legal action as a civil negligence 
suit, which holds a six-year statute of limitations.  William Studer, a 
spokesman  for the Red Cross, said the agency is "deeply regretful of the  
circumstances in which Mrs. Kaiser finds herself," but indicated  that HIV 
testing of the blood supply was not established widely  until 1985, one year 
after Kaiser received the tainted blood. 

"From Amsterdam to Berlin to Yokohama, Maybe" Advocate (08/25/92) No. 610, P. 
34  (Gessen, Masha)
     Contentions over international AIDS-related travel restrictions  
continued to flare as the Eighth International Conference on AIDS in Amsterdam 
came to a close.  The two agencies that sponsor the  annual event disclosed 
July 24 that they would not support a  conference held in a country that 
prohibits foreign citizens with HIV infection from entry.  Dr. Michael Merson, 
director of WHO's  Global Programme on AIDS, announced at the last day of the  
conference, "WHO [the World Health Organization] will not sponsor, cosponsor, 
or give financial support to international conferences or meetings on AIDS in 
a country with AIDS-specific restrictions  on short-term travel."  He added 
that AIDS conferences would not  be complete without the expertise of those 
affected with the  disease--the AIDS patients themselves.  The International 
AIDS  Society (IAS), which cosponsors the AIDS conference annually with WHO, 
announced that its members had approved a resolution that  would bar the 
organization from sponsoring conferences in  countries with HIV travel 
restrictions.  This year's meeting had  to be moved from its original Boston, 
Mass., location to  Amsterdam because Harvard University organizers refused to 
abide  by U.S. regulations that bar entry by HIV-positive foreigners,  even 
though waivers were issued allowing entry for the meeting. 

"AIDS Vaccines: Liability Bill Introduced in Congress" Science (08/21/92) Vol. 
2576, No. 5073, P. 1035  (Cohen, Jon)
     In an effort to resolve AIDS vaccine liability problems, Rep.  Pete Stark 
(D-Calif.) proposed a bill on August 12 aimed at  protecting responsible 
manufacturers from being sued by  recipients of experimental or approved 
vaccines.  "From  discussions with advocacy groups, industry, academia, and 
the  government research and regulatory agencies, there is unanimity  on the 
point that AIDS vaccine research efforts have been  inhibited by the issue of 
liability," said Stark, while  presenting the "AIDS Vaccine Development and 
Compensation Act of  1992" on the House floor.  If Stark's bill is passed--
which  sources say is unlikely this congressional session--people  injured by 
AIDS vaccines would receive compensation from a trust  fund that would be 
completely supported by the vaccine  developers.  Claimants alleging injury 
would not be permitted to  sue manufacturers for civil, punitive, or exemplary 
damages until they have exhausted the legal process established by the AIDS  
Vaccine Development and Compensation Program.  Compensation for  injured 
people would cover unreimbursed medical care and  rehabilitation, loss of 
wages, and counseling.  A  $300,000 cap  would be placed on pain and 
suffering--the amount families would  receive in the event that an AIDS 
vaccine kills someone. 

"News in Brief: Georgia" Advocate (08/25/92) No. 610, P. 24
     A Georgia board of human resources is considering funding a  proposal 
that would require that doctors and clinics report the  names and addresses of 
people who test positive for HIV  infection.  Activists said at a public 
hearing in Atlanta on July 21 that such a proposal would result in 
discrimination.   The  proposal also advocates counseling for people who test  
HIV-positive.  Advocates of the proposed state policy said the  spread of HIV 
would be controlled by allowing the partners of  those who test positive to be 
notified.  But activists said that  the plan would deter people from getting 
tested and might lead to discrimination.  The annual cost of enforcing the 
proposal was  projected at $17 million.