From: bigoldberg@igc.apc.org (Billi Goldberg)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: CDC Summary 10/12/92
Date: 12 Oct 92 16:20:44 GMT
Organization: unspecified
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6313


                         AIDS Daily Summary
                          October 12, 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 
************************************************************************
 "Shelter Breaking Law by Forcing Out Man With HIV" United Press 
International (10/09/02)
     Norfolk, Va.--The director of the Union Mission Shelter, which  
forced an HIV-positive man to leave, said he will change the  shelter's 
policy after being informed it was illegal.  The  shelter kicked out 
David Murray, who was diagnosed as having HIV  in January.  The Rev. Ted 
Bashford, the shelter director, said he was unaware that the federal 
Fair Housing Act protects those with HIV, and had thought his policy was 
legal because the shelter  receives no state or federal money.  "I won't 
break any law,"  said Bashford, "as long as that law doesn't contradict 
my  conscience and downgrade the purpose of my mission, which is to  
obey the word of God and to extend the love of God to all men.   If 
these people aren't contagious, they're welcome to stay here." The 
Tidewater AIDS Crisis Task Force found Murray a room at a  local hotel.  
Murray said he was happy to learn Union Mission  Shelter's policy was 
illegal.  "People like me, people who are  HIV-positive, don't pose a 
threat to anybody.  We just don't need to be treated that way," he said. 

"Panel Wants FDA to Toss Ideas of Quayle Council" Baltimore Sun 
(10/12/92), P. 1A
     A report approved by the House Government Operations Committee  
concludes that a Bush administration plan to change the Food and  Drug 
Administration's drug approval process would hurt its  ability to 
guarantee the safety of medicine.  The report  criticizes Vice President 
Dan Quayle's Council on  Competitiveness, which recommended changing the 
FDA's operations. The council's recommendations "strongly resemble the 
'wish list'  it received at a secret meeting with the drug industry last  
year," says the report.  "The Quayle Council's initiatives may  well 
slow down drug approvals, while exposing consumers  unnecessarily to 
dangerous drugs."  The committee suggested that  the FDA scrap the 
council's plans.  The report, obtained by  Associated Press, indicates 
that an earlier investigation  determined the Bush administration 
attempted to force the FDA to  adopt the changes.  Quayle spokesman Jeff 
Nesbit, however,  dismissed the committee's criticism, saying it was  
"inconceivable" that the committee would question Quayle's claim  that 
the changes would "save millions of lives and billions of  dollars."  An 
internal FDA document shows FDA officials were  skeptical of Quayle's 
figures, yet Nesbit said there was no  question of the plan's ability to 
save money.  The report also  criticizes a proposal to allow private 
contractors to review new  drug applications, as well as a plan for 
accelerated approval of  new drugs, which the committee said should be 
reserved only for  cases involving treatments for life-threatening 
illnesses. 

"Diver to Scour Seabed for Possible AIDS, Cancer Treatments" United 
Press International (10/12/92)
     Miami--In a four-month project in the South Pacific Ocean, a  
commercial diver from Florida will collect specimens of  invertebrates 
and plant life that will be studied by researchers  trying to find cures 
for AIDS and cancer.  Commercial spear  fisherman Don DeMaria hopes the 
substances he collects will  contain some useful chemical compound.  
DeMaria's expedition is  funded by a grant from the Coral Reef Research 
Foundation of  California, which obtained funding from the National 
Cancer  Institute.  The institute has provided $3 million for five years  
of species sampling, said marine biologist Patrick Colin of the  
California research foundation.  The researchers, he added, "are  
particularly interested in chemicals that animals have for  deterring 
predators, or being a predator."  The samples that  DeMaria collects 
will be frozen and shipped to NCI's research  institute, where they will 
by applied to some 60 strains of  cancer and AIDS cells. 

"Medical Association Ponders Resolutions" United Press International 
(10/09/92)
     Indianapolis--Next weekend, the Indiana State Medical Association 
is scheduled to consider a resolution to approve routine AIDS  testing 
of many hospital patients.  If adopted, the resolution  would require 
the General Assembly to order testing of all  hospital patients between 
the ages of 15 and 54.  A report in the New England Journal of Medicine 
says that 1 million Americans are currently infected with HIV, but may 
not be aware of it.  The  medical association claims that 11 percent of 
these HIV-positive  individuals could be identified in one year of 
routine hospital  testing.  "Early detection and treatment will benefit 
those who  are infected and guard against their infecting others," says 
the  proposed resolution.  Although doctors and hospitals are required 
to ensure the protection of others, they are usually prohibited  by law 
from testing or informing others of an individual's HIV  status. 

"Study Links Symptom-Free HIV Patients" Washington Post (10/11/92), P. 
A38
     Australian researchers claim to have discovered six patients with 
the same strain of AIDS virus who have remained free of symptoms  for up 
to ten years.  This finding could play an important role  in developing 
a vaccine.  "Certainly, if you have a virus the  host recognizes as the 
AIDS virus but doesn't cause disease, you  are many steps forward in 
making a vaccine," said Brett Tyndall,  an investigator at the National 
Center in HIV Epidemiology and  Clinical Research at the University of 
New South Wales.  Although a vaccine would not be produced from this 
particular strain of  HIV, research on the strain could result in 
genetic clues being  found showing why this strain is weaker than 
others.  That  information could be quite helpful in the development of 
a  broad-based vaccine.  The findings can also be interpreted to  
suggest that some forms of HIV may be less dangerous than others. The 
investigators identified five individuals who got the virus  from the 
same blood donor between 1982 and 1984.  As of June,  neither the donor 
nor the recipients had shown any symptoms of  AIDS.  The sixth recipient 
suffered from a second immune disorder and has since died as a result of 
AIDS.   Professionals explained that identifying a cluster of long-term, 
symptom-free patients  who acquired the virus from one donor is 
significant because  researchers will be able to investigate what is 
different about  the virus, as opposed to focusing on the recipients. 

"15 Acres Of Anguish and Healing" Washington Post (10/11/92), P. A1  
(Schneider, Howard)
    The 15-acre, 30-ton AIDS Quilt was spread out across the grounds  of 
the Washington Monument over the weekend.  An estimated crowd  of 90,000 
gathered for a candlelight procession from the Ellipse  to the 
Reflecting Pool.  The Quilt "tells a story and  personalizes it for 
people," said NAMES Project volunteer Gwenn  Barteld, whose brother died 
of the disease in 1990.  People from  all over the U.S. and as far away 
as Australia gathered to see  the memorial in its entirety for only the 
fourth time since the  project was started in 1987.  The names of 26,988 
people who had  died of AIDS were read over a loudspeaker.  Tipper Gore 
and  entertainer Liza Minnelli were among the well-known figures who  
served as readers.  Predictably, anti-Bush sentiment ran rampant  
through the huge gathering.  Jim Graham, executive director of  the 
Whitman-Walker Clinic, stated that with more than 160,000  dead, "the 
electoral importance of this disease has been vastly  underestimated." 

"Doctor Faces Charge Of Misconduct" Toronto Globe and Mail (10/09/92), 
P. A1  (Mickleburgh, Rod)
     Toronto family doctor Stanley Bain is facing charges of  misconduct 
arising from his failure to inform a patient, Kenneth  Pittman, he had 
possibly received a transfusion of blood donated  by a person who later 
tested positive for the AIDS virus.  One  year after Dr. Bain learned of 
the potential contamination,  Pittman died of AIDS-related pneumonia.  
Shortly after that, the  patient's wife, Rochelle Pitman, discovered 
that she too had the  AIDS virus.  She has not yet developed symptoms of 
a full-blown  case of AIDS.  Dr. Bain has pleaded not guilty to the 
misconduct  allegations, which might cause him to lose his license to  
practice medicine.  He has not yet given his reasons for his  decision 
not to inform Pittman, but there is some indication that the doctor 
might have had Pittman's history of anxiety attacks in mind. 

"100,000 AIDS Cases In Myanmar" Toronto Globe and Mail (10/09/92), P. 
A12
    In spite of Myanmar's years of isolation, approximately 100,000  of 
its citizens are infected with the AIDS virus.  The estimates  come from 
experts in the United Nations Development Program.   According to the 
program's Yangon representative, Rohinton  Sethna, even the program's 
large figures could represent just a  portion of those infected. 

"Preventing International Spread of HIV Infection" Lancet (10/03/92) 
Vol. 340, No. 8823, P. 846
    Due to limited resources, the European project AIDS and Mobility  (A 
+ M) will continue to limit its activities to small-scale  innovative 
pilot projects for preventing the spread of HIV among  travelers and 
migrants.  A + M, which was established in October  1990 at the request 
of the World Health Organization, gathers  information on the 
characteristics of target groups, existing  AIDS prevention measures for 
these groups, and the needs of AIDS  prevention organizations.  Next 
year, projects aimed at Polish  and Romanian sex workers moving to and 
from Germany or the  Netherlands will be assessed, and a project 
targeted at young  tourists in Greece is scheduled to start. Migrants 
are not  considered at high-risk but they are a group of people who need  
to be educated about HIV in an appropriate way.  Activities this  year 
have been directed at Turkish migrants.  The target group  for next year 
is expected to be the Arabic-speaking community.   The workshop for the 
project is planned for the first half of  1993. 

"Viral Load and Mother-to-Infant HIV Transmission" Lancet (10/03/92) 
Vol. 340, No. 8823, P. 859  (Puel, J. et al.)
     While high levels of maternal viral load were clearly not always  
associated with HIV transmission to the infant, there is some  evidence 
that a high level of maternal viremia is linked with  high risk of 
transmission, write J. Puel et al. of the Centre  Hospitalier 
Universitaire Purpan in Toulouse, France.  With the  French ANRS 
consensus technique, the researchers quantified  plasma and cell virus 
load in 20 women, at least three times  during pregnancy, and 
investigated HIV status of newborn babies  with conventional techniques.  
The researchers demonstrated that  high plasma and cell virus loads do 
not necessarily lead to  transmission from mother to infant  They 
discovered evidence of  HIV infection in 2 newborn babies from 3 mothers 
with virus  detectable in the plasma and in 5 newborn babies from 8 
mothers  with cell load of greater than 100 TCID per 1,000,000 
peripheral  blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).  Among 12 of the cases, 10 
had  CD4 counts higher than 500 and of these, 6 had CD4 count over  700.  
The European Collaborative study, in agreement with the  researchers' 
observations, found that among 78 mothers whose CD4  counts were greater 
than 700, 73 did not transmit HIV to their  infants.  Other factors 
could have been involved in the infection of the infant, including 
emergence of maternal virulent  fast-replicating HIV variants, selective 
transmission of maternal variants, or co-infection with other microbial 
agents.  In fact,  lower risk of transmission is linked to very low 
levels or  absence of maternal viremia, the researchers conclude. 
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids