AIDS Daily Summary 
                     November 29, 1993 
 
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
 
 
"The Politics of AIDS" 
Washington Post (11/29/93) P. D1  (Weinraub, Judith) 
     Following her September dismissal from the District of Columbia's 
Agency for HIV/AIDS, former chief Caitlin Ryan awaits a  
conference on her appeal, scheduled for next Monday.  She was  
fired following allegations that she improperly steered a  
$200,000 AIDS education contract away from the Abundant Life  
Clinic, which is headed by the health minister of the Nation of  
Islam, Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad.  Ryan is also accused of stating  
that "Muslims hate gays" in defense of her actions.  The former  
agency chief denies any impropriety.  As she prepares her appeal, 
others reflect on the impact her dismissal has had on the agency. 
According to sources within and outside of the office, Ryan gave  
the agency a facelift and developed a highly acclaimed plan to  
combat AIDS.  Some say that Ryan--a white, openly lesbian  
woman--was set up.  Ryan admits to attending a meeting of a  
review panel for the AIDS contract, but claims to have done so  
only at the invitation of staffers who said they needed her help. 
Ryan supporters suggest that she was deliberately invited so that 
her attendance could be distorted into something that could get  
her fired.  Ryan, however, is determined to clear her name; in  
the meanwhile, the agency is floundering.  "The most unfortunate  
piece about all of this is that nothing constructive happened,"  
says Alexander Robinson, head of an AIDS consortium.  "We have  
not gotten a dynamite new person.  And the contract wasn't even  
awarded to people she allegedly steered it away from.  Nothing  
has been accomplished." 
       
"Romania Is Linked to Tainted Blood" 
New York Times (11/28/93) P. 15  (Perlez, Jane) 
     German investigators have pinpointed Romanian blood products as  
one source of HIV-contaminated blood that was distributed by  
German firm UB Plasma.  Romania's health minister has admitted to 
the sale of the blood from the German company's subsidiary in  
Bucharest, UB Plasma Roma, which sold 1,500 liters of plasma to  
the parent company this year.  The officials who allowed the sale 
of the blood insist that it was tainted only with hepatitis B,  
not with the AIDS virus.  But WHO officials have been told that  
"one or two" of the 1,500 liters from Romania were contaminated  
with HIV.  According to officials, the Romanian health  
authorities and their blood program will be investigated in  
January by doctors from the Council of Europe.  The Romanians  
signed a Council of Europe agreement in 1990 that prohibits  
cross-border trade in untested blood, said the officials. 
       
"Lecture on Sexism's Role in AIDS" 
Chicago Tribune (11/28/93) P. 6-13 
     Ann Meredith, a 45-year-old documentary photographer from New  
York, believes that only through discussion about AIDS and women  
can society recognize how sexual discrimination weakens the  
ability of women to protect themselves from HIV.  So Meredith  
will do just that at a lecture at the Art Institute of Chicago  
this Wednesday.  Her presentation will include photographs she  
took in Kenya, slides, and a video of interviews with infected  
black women.  Even women who are not intravenous drug users and  
have not had multiple sex partners are at risk if they are  
financially dependent on their husbands or partners, says  
Meredith.  If the man in such a relationship is not truthful  
about his sexual history and/or refuses to wear a condom, the  
woman's risk is elevated.  "It is very hard to trust even someone 
you know and love to tell the truth in this area," Meredith  
warns. 
       
"AIDS Spiral Raises Rights Issue in China" 
Reuters (11/23/93)  (Quinn, Andrew) 
     Beijing--In China's recent past, the very few numbers of isolated 
AIDS cases were listed and filed, and the public believed that  
the world's most populous country was safe from the deadly  
disease that is ravaging other nations.  Lately, the numbers have 
been piling up until it has become clear that China, too, is in  
danger of an AIDS explosion.  In response to a boom in sex,  
drugs, and prostitution that earlier generations of communist  
leaders thought they had eradicated, Beijing is drafting a set of 
policies to battle AIDS.  But the epidemic is more than a health  
problem in Beijing.  Values on sexual morality, drug abuse, and  
human rights are being scrutinized as officials debate which is  
the best approach.  Overseas experts insist the country should  
launch a large-scale campaign to educate the general public and  
to reach the groups at high risk with information, not  
punishment.  With commercial sex and narcotics abuse subject to  
severe penal consequences and homosexuality barely acknowledged,  
there has been little discussion on how to reach these  
populations.  Although promotion of medical and political rights  
for gays and drug users is abhorrent to China's leaders, it may  
nevertheless be critical in the fight to counter the AIDS threat. 
The issue is whether Beijing can find a way to deal with the  
"evils" of prostitution and drug abuse without stamping them out. 
One foreign expert says that trying to simply wipe them out will  
only drive AIDS underground and amplify the risk of infection. 
       
"An AIDS Risk That Can't Be Ignored" 
Boston Sunday Globe (11/28/93) P. A7  (Essex, Max) 
     Max Essex, chairman of the Harvard AIDS Institute, predicts  
devastation and loss of lives will result if nations do not unite 
to battle HIV.  Essex notes that in the 1990s there are new, more 
fierce strains of HIV emerging in Asia.  By the turn of the  
century, he contends, that continent will have more infected  
people than the rest of the world combined.  American and  
European corporations are scrambling furiously to develop an  
effective vaccine, but the lack of international corporate  
incentives is impeding the effort.  The World Health Organization 
has listed several Asian and African countries as the most  
appropriate and efficient testing sites for these vaccines, for  
they experience the highest numbers of infections and have the  
greatest need.  For vaccines to work in Africa and Asia, they  
must cater to the new strains that are most prevalent there,  
reasons Essex.  Yet the trial vaccines have all been made with  
subtype B, which is dominant in America and Europe.  Meanwhile,  
subtypes rampant in Asia and Africa--like the rapid and easily  
transmitted subtype F that is threatening Thailand--are left  
untested.  Western corporations, who have the technology and  
expertise to develop treatments, hesitate to invest in vaccine  
research with strains from developing countries, claims Essex,  
because profits would be near non-existent and there would be  
pressure to make the vaccine accessible and affordable to those  
poor countries.  The drug corporations are more eager to work  
with AIDS in the States, where profits may be high, even though  
efficacy would be hard to prove. 
       
"Safety Program Yielding Encouraging Results; Hypericin Used to  
Inactivate HIV in Blood" 
Business Wire (11/23/93) 
     Stamford, Conn.--A program to develop hypericin, a antiviral  
compound that inactivates viruses in blood used for transfusions, 
is yielding promising results, according to an announcement by  
VIMRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.  Studies at the NY Blood Center showed 
that hypericin achieved complete inactivation of infectious HIV  
in human blood.  The dose of the compound necessary for  
inactivation leaves normal blood cells safe and does not  
interfere with standard blood tests.  Scientists at VIMRx believe 
that hypericin should be an effective agent for protecting the  
blood supply.  "Hypericin's unique mechanism of action targets  
free infectious virus before it has invaded a host cell and has  
begun to reproduce," explains Richard Podell, VIMRx president.   
"Hypericin can also prevent the transmission of active virus from 
an infected cell to an uninfected cell.  We currently know of no  
other antiviral agent targeted for use with transfused blood that 
has demonstrated the in vitro effectiveness of hypericin and has  
a similar safety profile."  Additional studies have shown that  
hypericin does not adversely affect normal blood chemistry, and  
is not toxic to major organs when administered intravenously. 
       
"Free 'AIDS in the Workplace' Seminar for Businesses Will Be  
Offered on World AIDS Day" 
PR Newswire (11/23/93) 
     Los Angeles--United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the  
Press-Telegram will sponsor a free "AIDS in the Workplace"  
breakfast seminar on Dec. 1 in response to the increasing numbers 
of workers and businesses affected by the AIDS epidemic.  The  
seminar, which coincides with World AIDS Day, will provide AIDS  
education and policy development information to business leaders  
and human resources personnel.  Experts will present examples of  
company policies that address issues such as confidentiality of  
infected employees and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  All  
participants will receive a comprehensive notebook of resource  
materials.  Recent studies indicate that as much as 90 percent of 
the HIV population is in the workforce, and the increasing  
lifespan of infected people reflect the need for workplace  
education. 
       
"Portland Post Office Commemorates World AIDS Day With Wednesday, 
Dec. 1, Issuance of AIDS Awareness Stamps" 
PR Newswire (11/23/93) 
     Portland--On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, Portland Postmaster Michael  
Daley will host a ceremony recognizing the First Day of Issue for 
the new AIDS Awareness Stamp.  Daley will be joined by Judith  
Hyde, a Portland letter carrier who walked nearly 3,000 miles  
across the country to spread her message of AIDS awareness to  
thousands of Americans.  To close the ceremony, Daley and Hyde  
will unveil a large replica of the stamp design.  They will then  
lead a symbolic walk as they help carry the two-foot by  
three-foot replica from the post office across the Broadway  
Bridge to Portland Memorial Coliseum.  There, the enlarged stamp  
will be displayed with part of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.   
Attendees at the ceremony will also be able to obtain a special  
postmark for the stamp as a momento. 
       
"Internationally Renowned Talk Show Host Christina Saralegui  
Joins AmFar's National Council" 
PR Newswire (11/23/93) 
     New York--World renowned print and broadcast personality Cristina 
Saralegui has accepted the invitation of the American Foundation  
for AIDS Research to join its national council.  AmFar,  
established in 1985 by actress Elizabeth Taylor and scientist Dr. 
Mathilde Krim, is the premier private AIDS fundraising  
organization and a leader in AIDS research.  The National Council 
includes more than 50 of the globe's most prestigious medical  
specialists, philanthropists, and celebrities including Rosalynn  
Carter, Phil Donahue, Jonas Salk and Barbara Streisand.  The  
latest addition, Saralegui, is considered an influential force in 
the Hispanic community.  In the business of journalism for a  
quarter of a century, she hosts her own international television  
talk show and radio programs and is co-publisher of her own  
international magazine.  "I am confident that, with this new  
association, I will be able to bring important information to  
Hispanic men, women, and children in the U.S. and throughout the  
world about the dangers of AIDS--how it is spread and, most  
importantly, how to prevent it," said Saralegui.  "I also hope to 
reach those already infected with the virus and to educate  
Hispanic people to be more accepting and supportive of those  
suffering with this dreaded disease." 
       
"The Liposome Company, Inc. Starts Phase III ABLC Trials in South 
Africa--Drug Being Tested in AIDS-Related Fungal Infections" 
PR Newswire (11/23/93) 
     Princeton, N.J.--The Liposome Company, Inc. has begun clinical  
testing of its drug ABLC (amphotericin B lipid complex) in South  
African AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal  
infection that occurs in as many as 10 percent of AIDS patients.  
The infection attacks the central nervous system, and 20 percent  
of patients die within a month of diagnosis.  "Due to the AIDS  
epidemic in Africa, we believe we can efficiently conduct a  
larger Phase III study in cryptococcal meningitis in South Africa 
to confirm the efficacy and safety of ABLC," said Charles A.  
Baker, chairman and chief executive officer of Liposome.  He  
added that the study will be conducted by 10 hospitals with large 
AIDS populations, and is slated for completion in 1994.  The  
pharmaceutical company is also readying applications for approval 
to market the drug in Europe.  It is already available on a  
compassionate use basis in America and Europe. 
       



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