From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: CDC Summary 8/14/92
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 5931
Organization: unspecified
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 23:22:40 PDT

                         AIDS Daily Summary
                           August 14, 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 
************************************************************************
 "Highlights: What's Planned for the Convention" USA Today (08/14/92), 
P. 6A
     On Wednesday, August 19 at the Republican National Convention in  
Houston, Texas, several speakers will address family values  themes.  
Mary Fisher, who has AIDS and founded the Family AIDS  Network, is 
scheduled to speak, along with Barbara Bush, Marilyn  Quayle, Pat 
Robertson, and Labor Secretary Lynn Martin. 

"Platform Battles Mirror the Party's Struggles" USA Today (08/14/92), P. 
6A  (Hall, Mimi)
     This year's GOP platform, due to be approved by delegates when  the 
Republican National Convention opens on Monday, puts a strong emphasis 
on traditional family values.  The platform, which  opposes programs to 
dispense clean needles and condoms to help  curb the spread of AIDS, has 
been called the most conservative  party agenda in recent years. 

"'Get High, Get Stupid, Get AIDS' Ads Unveiled" United Press 
International (08/14/92)  (Stein, Rob)
     Washington--The Department of Health and Human Services is  
sponsoring a new advertising campaign which uses cartoons and  humor to 
warn young people that the use of drugs and alcohol  increases their 
chances of engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, thus boosting their 
risk of becoming infected with the AIDS  virus.  "Our objective is to 
remind young adults...of the  dangerous links between substance abuse, 
irresponsible sexual  behavior and AIDS," HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan 
said yesterday.  The campaign of magazine, television, and radio ads 
aimed at 18-  to 24-year olds, does not mention sexual abstinence or 
condom  use, as it is intended to prevent substance abuse, said Michael  
Chaney of Della Femina McNamee Inc., the firm that created the  ads.  
Chaney said that research suggested that humor could be  successfully 
included in such an ad campaign as long as it  steered clear of 
"silliness or frivolity," and added that "scare  tactics won't work" 
with a young adult audience.  "They are media savvy...and will reject 
any message that is seen as a direct  threat to their lifestyles," 
Chaney said. 

"Experts Probe AIDS-Like Illness" United Press International (08/14/92)  
(Taylor, Charles S.)
     Atlanta--A perplexing illness that causes a condition similar to  
AIDS in patients who are not infected with either of the two  known AIDS 
viruses is being examined at a meeting of federal  health officials.  
The meeting was organized in part to gather  new reports of cases, said 
Bob Howard, a spokesman for the Center for Disease Control.  The 
condition, which has been identified by the CDC in 14 people in the 
United States and 11 people in six  other countries, mimics AIDS in its 
symptoms.  However, patients  with the condition repeatedly test 
negative for HIV-1 and HIV-2.  Although some concern has mounted that 
the cases may be caused by a new, unknown virus that is undetectable by 
existing screening  tests, CDC officials said the AIDS-like illness 
could ultimately  prove to be several different disorders.

      "'AIDS Bandit' Pleads Guilty to Robbery, Assault" United Press 
International (08/13/92)  (Worner, Elka)
     San Fernando, Calif.--Wesley Pledger, the man who used a syringe  
allegedly filled with his own AIDS-contaminated blood to hold up  
victims in a string of robberies, pleaded guilty yesterday to  three 
counts of second-degree robbery, one count of attempted  second degree 
robbery, and one count of assault with a deadly  weapon.  Pledger, 
dubbed the "AIDS bandit," received a prison  sentence of 15 years and 
eight months.  The court ruled that  testing the blood in the syringe to 
see if it was  AIDS-contaminated would be irrelevant to the case.  
Because  Pledger was not convicted of a sexual offense, he was not  
required to take an AIDS test.

       "Report: 100,000 New Yorkers Could Die of AIDS by 1997" United 
Press International (08/12/92)  (Lyle, Morgan)
     Albany, N.Y.--As many as 100,000 New York residents could die of  
AIDS by the year 1997, the state Health Department said Wednesday in its 
annual "AIDS in New York State" report.  According to the  report, 
between 130,000 and 200,000 New Yorkers are infected with HIV.  More 
than 47,500 cases of AIDS have been diagnosed to date, the report said, 
and that figure could hit 128,000 by 1997.   African-Americans 
represented 40 percent of the cases reported in 1991, whites and 
Hispanics 30 percent each, and women 20 percent. The report cited 
evidence that people with AIDS are surviving  longer.  Patients 
diagnosed between 1984 and 1986 survived an  average of 12.9 months, a 
figure that rose to 16.5 months for  those diagnosed between 1987 and 
1989.  New York State spent $699 million on AIDS treatment, research, 
and education and prevention efforts in 1991, while the federal 
government spent $405 million, and insurance companies and private 
citizens spend $363 million  in the state.  "To halt this devastation, 
we must find more  effective ways to prevent teenagers and young adults 
from  becoming infected....  We must also intensify scientific and  
clinical research...and expand medical services for HIV-infected  
persons," said Health Commissioner Mark Chassin. 

"Condom Dispute Splits Church, AIDS Agency" United Press International 
(08/12/92)
     Indianapolis--Despite the threat of a cut in financial support,  
the Damien Center will continue to distribute condoms.  The  
organization, founded in 1987 by local Roman Catholic and  Episcopal 
churches, was blasted Tuesday by board member and  Catholic archdiocese 
administrator Rev. David Coats for  distributing condoms at a July 
cultural event.  To distribute  condoms, Coats said, "is in a very real 
sense to disaffiliate  with our position and our heritage."  After 
discussing the issue, the Damien Center board voted 8-7 to resume condom 
distribution  as part of its education efforts.  The board also voted to  
evaluate the center's relationship with the Catholic Church.   Damien 
Center Executive Director Gordon Chastain noted that  funding could be 
lost no matter what the center does with its  condom program.  The Roman 
Catholic Church has promised to cut  funding if distribution does not 
cease, but, Chastain said,  non-Catholic groups may cut $250,000 in 
yearly grants if the  center puts an end to such programs. 

"HIV Prevention and the Two Faces of Partner Notification" American 
Journal of Public Health (08/92) Vol. 82, No. 8, P. 1158 (Bayer, Ronald 
and Toomey, Kathleen)
     Policymakers and clinicians are grappling with two distinct  
approaches to notify the sexual partners of persons infected with HIV.  
If persons at risk of HIV infection fear their anonymity  will be 
compromised if they seek medical advice, then they may be reluctant to 
see a doctor.  Consequently, the public's health  would be in jeopardy 
if persons at risk fail to undergo testing  and counseling.  Yet, those 
who have sexual contact with infected partners have an ethical right to 
know that their partners are  infected.  In the context of sexually 
transmitted diseases,  contact tracing requires that every case be 
reported and that all partners of the infected be informed, provided 
with testing, and  administered treatment if necessary.  Yet, gay 
leaders and civil  liberties groups oppose this approach.  Even if an 
HIV-infected  person's partner is notified, no treatment can 
administered.  The approach is also criticized because it does not 
protect contacts  whom the index patient refuses to disclose.  Another 
approach,  the "duty to warn," allows physicians to breach 
confidentiality  to notify contacts.  Yet, this approach may taint the  
patient/physician relationship and prevent the patient from  disclosing 
information from the physician. 

"Bush Administration's Efforts on AIDS Prevention Draw Attacks" Nation's 
Health (08/92) Vol. 22, No. 8, P. 4
     Witnesses before the House Government Operations Human Resources  
Committee last month attacked Bush Administration plans to spend  $1.5 
million on an AIDS prevention advertising campaign that  critics call 
inadequate.  Donald Francis, a retired Centers for  Disease Control 
(CDC) physician, told the committee that  political considerations were 
keeping the administration from  providing the public with ads supplying 
complete information  about condoms and other AIDS prevention 
techniques.  CDC Director William Roper countered that the ads were 
intended to encourage  the public to contact the CDC for information on 
AIDS.   Meanwhile, the National AIDS Commission publicly criticized the  
administration's policy on AIDS.  The action came after a meeting 
between the commission and Health and Human Services (HHS)  Secretary 
Louis Sullivan and Assistant Secretary for Health James Mason.  The 
meeting was called after the commission found an  internal HHS memo 
suggesting a 50 percent cut to the Ryan White  Act.  The commission said 
after the meeting that the  administration "is not prepared to undertake 
any significant new  actions against the HIV/AIDS epidemic."  HHS says 
AIDS spending  totaled $4 billion in fiscal 1992.  However, roughly half 
of  those funds pay for mandatory entitlement benefits. 

"New Virus Reports Roil AIDS Meeting" Science (07/31/92) Vol. 257, No. 
5070, P. 604  (Cohen, Jon)
     The big news at the 1992 International Conference on AIDS, held  in 
Amsterdam from July 19 to 24, was the announcement of a number of cases 
of people with AIDS symptoms but no indication of  infection by HIV-1 or 
HIV-2.  At this point, nobody knows if  these cases indicate a new virus 
or simply a variant of HIV, but  the news was enough for the conference 
to set up a special  session on these cases.  The session started with 
Cornell Medical University Immunologist Jeffrey Laurence's description 
of five  patients, four of whom had known risk factors, with symptoms of  
AIDS but no detectable HIV.  David Ho of New York's Aaron Diamond AIDS 
Research Center described another 11 of these cases.   Centers for 
Disease Control (CDC) HIV/AIDS program head James  Curran then said the 
CDC has identified six such cases over the  past three years.  Three of 
the cases had no risk factors.   Curran said these cases may only have 
been noticed because of  interest in immune disorders.  The next day the 
Proceedings of  the National Academy of Sciences released an upcoming 
article by  Sudhir Gupta of the University of California at Irvine 
describing the presence of retroviral particles in a woman and her 
daughter, neither of whom had any risk factors.  The cause of these 
cases  is completely unknown, but they sparked a response wholly  
unprecedented by the original response to AIDS 11 years ago. 
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids