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Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1993 22:00:01 -0400
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From: odin@world.std.com (Hank Roth)
Subject: CDC AIDS Report [Oct 8]

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>From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NATL AIDS CLEARINGHOUSE" <CLEARINGHOUS@delphi.com>
>Subject: CDC Summary 10/06/93
>Message-ID: <1993Oct6.151649.27837@wubios.wustl.edu>
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                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 6, 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, and the CDC
Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information.
Copyright 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
 
"5 Dentists Admit Bias Against AIDS Patients" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/06/93) P. B1 (Jaffe, Mark) 
     Following a 1990 complaint lodged against 11 Philadelphia area  
dentists, five of the accused have admitted that their refusal to 
treat HIV-infected patients was a violation of the law, and  
pledged not to discriminate in the future.  The American Civil  
Liberties Union and the AIDS Law Project filed the complaint with 
the state Human Relations Commission after their investigations  
identified dentists who canceled appointments with patients  
claiming to be HIV-positive.  AIDS activists, who have become  
frustrated with what they perceive as inaction on the part of the 
commission, announced the settlements of the five dentists.  A  
sixth case has turned to the court system rather than wait for  
the commission to take action, according to Scott Burris, an ACLU 
lawyer who is representing the AIDS patients.  Of the remaining  
cases, one dentist has been dropped from the complaint since his  
retirement and four others have settled on confidential terms  
with the AIDS patient against whom they discriminated. 
 
"Justices Deny Appeal by Dentists Over AIDS Rule" 
Reuters (10/04/93) 
     Washington--The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the American  
Dental Association challenging AIDS safety rules adopted in 1991. 
The guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health  
Administration were designed to protect health care workers from  
exposure to the AIDS virus and hepatitis B, which are both  
transmitted through blood and other body fluids.  Regulations  
mandate the use of universal precautions, procedures for disposal 
of needles and other sharp instruments, requirements for cleaning 
contaminated surfaces and laundry, as well as confidential blood  
testing, medical evaluation, and counseling for workers who have  
been accidentally exposed to body fluids.  The American Dental  
Association, arguing that the new rules would cost dental  
employers more than $400 million a year, protested that the  
federal government ignored more cost-effective alternatives for  
reducing the risk to health care workers.  The trade group also  
said that the government neglected to assess potential risk on an 
industry-to-industry basis.  A U.S. appeals court in Chicago  
upheld the rules, and the Supreme Court refused to disturb that  
decision. 
 
"The Rise and Fall of a Pioneering AIDS Agency" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/06/93) P. A1 (Collins, Huntly and  
Kaufman, Marc) 
     A pioneering minority AIDS organization that was born in a  
Philadelphia kitchen and grew quickly to international  
recognition is now in the midst of its demise due to management  
and financial problems.  BEBASHI (Blacks Educating Blacks About  
Sexual Health Issues), steered by founder Rashidah Lorraine  
Hassan, sought from the start to help marginalized AIDS  
patients--the poor, the uneducated, the homeless, drug addicts,  
prostitutes, and criminals.  Hassan reasoned that only a  
black-run group with an Afrocentric philosophy could help these  
segments of the AIDS population.  Funding agencies agreed;  
BEBASHI subsequently received more than $5 million in government  
grants and attained real successes.  Now, plagued by back taxes,  
penalties, owed rent, and other unpaid bills, the organization is 
struggling for survival, and has filed for bankruptcy.  Many  
agree that BEBASHI's decline began when it moved out of free  
offices into a $15,000 a month suite in Center City.  At any  
rate, the group symbolizes a problem becoming more common.   
Grassroots organizations are closest to the problem of AIDS, but  
often are too inexperienced to manage the large amounts of money  
granted to them.  Some now fear that BEBASHI's failures will have 
a negative impact on all minority groups.  "The real danger here  
is that people will look at organizations like BEBASHI and say  
that if the models fail, then everyone will fail," said Paul  
Kawata, executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council  
in Washington.  "I just hope that...people do not forget there  
are people of color dying of AIDS with very, very real needs." 
 
"Cash Problems Force DNX to Curtail Research into Human Blood  
Substitute" 
Knight-Ridder (10/05/93) 
     DNX Corp., a Princeton, N.J., biotechnology company, announced  
that money troubles were forcing it to curtail revolutionary  
research into human blood substitutes.  Just a month ago, the  
company disclosed that it was progressing in its human-hemoglobin 
program.  That program develops and breeds genetically engineered 
pigs with 25 percent human hemoglobin in their blood.  Human  
genes inserted into the transgenic swine transform them into  
production factories for human hemoglobin, which is an essential  
blood component that transports oxygen.  DNX hoped to market the  
product as an easy-to-store blood substitute, compatible with all 
blood types and free of viral contamination such as AIDS.  The  
company said that the expense of developing the product became "a 
major obstacle to obtaining a corporate partner."  DNX also said  
that Clinton's health plan's focus on cost containment scared off 
investors. 
       
"AIDS Foundation Receives Big Gift" 
Baltimore Sun (10/06/93) P. 2A 
     The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation yesterday received a  
donation of $1 million from tobacco heiress Doris Duke.  "I'm  
very pleased to be able to do my part," said Duke, 80.  Of the  
generous gift, renowned actress Taylor commented , "This  
magnificent contribution will...increase public awareness about  
AIDS; it will immediately and directly alleviate suffering; and  
it can help us reach our ultimate goal--a cure." 
 
"Activists: AIDS Funding Biased Against Minorities" 
Washington Blade (09/24/93) Vol. 24, No. 41, P. 25 (Chibbaro Jr., 
Lou) 
     Representatives of AIDS service programs targeting minorities  
told a Congressional Black Caucus workshop Sept. 16 that the  
majority of federal AIDS funds are awarded to older groups run by 
gay white men.  The speakers, voicing the opinion of many black  
organizations in the District of Columbia, New York, and other  
cities, protested that the process for distribution of AIDS money 
discriminates against minority-run organizations.  Established  
groups, like the Whitman-Walker Clinic in D.C. and New York's Gay 
Men's Health Crisis, counter the accusations by reminding that  
they created their agencies in the early years of the epidemic  
when they alone warned the world about AIDS.  Minority AIDS  
groups do not deny this, but reason that dramatic demographic  
changes indicate that blacks and Hispanics are being infected at  
a higher rate than white homosexual men.  "We must demand that  
funds be allocated in proportion to the populations affected by  
this disease," insisted Gregory Hutchings, director of LifeLink,  
a D.C. group representing people with HIV and AIDS. 
 
"Employee With AIDS Sues Over Benefits" 
Washington Business Journal (09/17/93-09/23/93) Vol. 12, No. 18,  
P. 7 (Love, Alice A.) 
     A Virginia moving and storage company employee is suing his  
employer for restricting the amount of health insurance benefits  
he can receive for AIDS treatment.  The case is one of several  
cropping up around the nation in response to the new federal  
Americans with Disabilities Act, which makes it illegal to limit  
the health care benefits of disabled persons--including those  
with AIDS.  Identified only as John Doe, the employee says his  
employers at the Victory Van Corp. in Alexandria probably knew of 
his condition when he submitted reimbursement claims for AZT in  
July of 1991.  In January of 1992, the company revised its  
insurance plan to include a $25,000 annual limit and $50,000  
lifetime limit on benefits for employees with AIDS.  According to 
the U.S. Public Health Service, the average cost for medical  
treatment of AIDS-related illness is $38,300 a year and $102,000  
in a lifetime.  Doe has only used $18,000 of the benefits that  
Victory Van has allotted him, but was recently prescribed the  
drug Neupogen, which costs $287 a day.  Doe had to begin  
rationing his medication for fear of surpassing the limit set for 
his insurance coverage.  Doe is seeking to require Victory to  
continue paying the full costs of his treatment, $100,000 for  
negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as $1 million 
under an ADA clause that provides punitive damages against  
employers who intentionally attempt to circumvent the new law. 
 
"Tuberculosis Recurrence in Africa: True Relapse or Re-Infection?" 
Lancet (09/25/93) Vol. 342, No. 8874, P. 756 (Daley, Charles L.) 
     HIV-infected persons are at extremely high risk for progression  
to tuberculosis; in fact, U.S. and African studies indicate that  
HIV infection is the greatest known risk factor for the  
development of TB.  The World Health Organization estimates that  
there are up to 4.5 million people who are dually infected with  
the two conditions, and many of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. 
Despite weakened immune systems, these individuals respond to  
anti-TB treatment just as well as HIV-negative patients--but only 
if rifampicin is used.  Those with HIV were, however, much more  
likely to experience recurrence.  Of HIV-positive patients, those 
who were treated with rifampicin had much lower recurrence rates. 
A question formed in researchers' minds as to whether the  
patients truly relapsed or if they were reinfected.  The only way 
to distinguish this is via DNA fingerprinting.  Frequency of  
reinfection is unknown but if it were to occur, it would do so in 
areas like sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV and TB are prevalent.   
Therefore, says Charles L. Daley of San Francisco General  
Hospital, until more is known about reinfection, doctors cannot  
assess treatment regimens for HIV patients without the data  
provided by DNA fingerprinting. 
 
"Just What the Doctor Ordered" 
Barron's (09/20/93) Vol. 73, No. 38, P. 10 (Morgenthaler, Lissa) 
     Scientists now have the technology to insert genes into cells of  
human patients to correct diseases.  The result of this procedure 
is about 100 gene therapy techniques that have received approval  
and are in clinical testing in the United States and Europe.   
More than 3,000 disorders stem from genetic flaws or missing  
genes, including hemophilia, which causes vulnerability to the  
AIDS virus.  In fact, AIDS research itself could benefit from  
gene therapy.  Because retroviruses like AIDS have great  
potential as gene carriers, scientists hope that an AIDS vaccine  
can be developed based on the HIV retrovirus.  In theory, the  
vaccine would get to all to the cells already infected with the  
disease. 
 

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