>From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" >Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 09:16:44 -0400 (EDT) AIDS Daily Summary April 25, 1994 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Swedes Ban Sale of AIDS 'Art'" Washington Times (04/25/94) P. A13 Swedish health authorities have banned the sale of works by American artist Barton Lidice Benes because the pieces feature the blood of the artist, who has AIDS. The exhibition includes bottles of Benes' blood, a water gun firing drops of his blood, and a syringe spurting his blood. Authorities declared the works a potential hazard to public health. "Preaching to the Choir" Washington Times (04/25/94) P. A7 Some of the scientists at the National Institutes of Health are annoyed that, in response to a directive issued by President Clinton last September, they will have to attend a 2 1/2-hour training session on HIV and AIDS awareness. "They've hired the Whitman-Walker Clinic to come out and train us about how HIV is transmitted and prevented, but we pretty much know how it's prevented and transmitted," complained one researcher at the National Cancer Institute, which is part of NIH. Referring to two of the health agency's leading HIV experts, the researcher asked, "What are they going to teach Bob Gallo? What are they going to teach Tony Fauci?" He concluded that to have the area's largest AIDS service organization train employees at NIH is needless squandering of time and money. Harold Varmus, director of the agency, told his employees that the program is in compliance with Clinton's directive, which mandates "comprehensive training on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention [for] every federal employee." "Investors Buy 'Death Futures,' Cash in When Terminally Ill Die" Baltimore Sun (04/25/94) P. 13C The viatication business--in which terminally ill patients sign over their insurance policies at a discount to investors who receive the proceeds after the patient's death--has grown in the past five years into a $300 million industry. Viatical settlements, also known as "death futures," may seem morbid, but investors insist that their services are life-affirming and provide something terminally-ill patients need: money to spend while they are alive. Like any investment, there is risk involved. Scientists could discover a cure, investors might be sued, or borrowed money could erode profits. And perhaps most importantly, there is the risk of being too bullish about how long the patient has to live. "It used to be when someone was diagnosed with AIDS, they were gone in a year," remarks Bob Banchich, national marketing director for viatical broker Living Benefits. "Now it's more of a crapshoot." Possibly one of the biggest selling points for the industry is the fact that the sick patients are themselves among the biggest supporters. "We're very much in support. We think it's a great idea," confirms Bill Freeman, executive director of the National Association of People with AIDS. "AIDS Patient Defies Odds, Outlives Policy" Baltimore Sun (04/25/94) P. 13C When viatical investors paid AIDS patient Peter Baez for the rights to the proceeds of his $150,000 life insurance policy, they expected him to die soon thereafter. For the past two years, however, Baez has defied the certain death the disease brings, and is now sitting triumphantly on a pile of cash. For premium payments amounting to $857, he ended up with $100,000. Baez went on a spending spree that included two new cars, home redecoration, and college tuition for his siblings. His investment in assorted stocks also turned $30,000 into $300,000 within a year. "Since I sold my policy, I haven't thought about AIDS," he said. "What more can you ask for than that you forget your disease?" He says that the viatical companies are not very skilled at predicting life expectancy. "You go through this guilt thing at first. You know they're making money off your death," he explains. "But 99 percent of the time, it's a service that a client is benefiting from more than the people who purchase the policies." Baez is getting ready to viaticate his second policy, which has a face value of $500,000. He expects to receive $350,000 for it. "Danes Weigh Law to Bar Sex With HIV Carrier" Baltimore Sun (04/23/94) P. 7A Officials in Denmark announced that the country is drafting legislation that will make it a punishable offense for an HIV-positive individual to engage in unprotected sex. Penalties for violating the law would range from fines to prison sentences of up to four years. The announcement was made following the Supreme Court's decision last week to overturn the conviction of a Haitian street musician who had unsafe sex with 23 Danish women without informing them of his HIV-positive status. None of the women have contracted the virus. Some doctors expressed concern that imposing sentences on AIDS patients could make "HIV-carrying" a criminal offense that would deter carriers from seeking medical tests. "Hemophiliacs--AIDS" Associated Press (04/23/94) A New Jersey judge has rejected a motion by hemophiliacs infected with HIV through blood-clotting products to litigate as a group. As the nation's first attempt at class-action status on an AIDS case, the lawsuit charges that blood banks and manufacturers of blood products could have prevented transmission of the virus by heat-treating the blood. State Superior Court Judge C. Judson Hamlin called the cases "tragic and catastrophic," but said they didn't qualify for class-action status, which allows lawyers to present cases on behalf of a group rather than an individual. The attorneys have argued that class-action status would accelerate the legal process and could resolve the lawsuit before any of the more than 100 plaintiffs die. "Prostitute: HIV Did Not Deter Her" Philadelphia Inquirer (04/23/94) P. B3 A Lebanon, Pa., prostitute who was arrested for propositioning an undercover officer, informed police that she had sex with more than 500 men in the last year, despite the fact that she is HIV-positive. Victoria Cintron was charged with prostitution and also with reckless endangerment, which the arrest affidavit said resulted when she placed the undercover officer in "imminent danger of contracting a fatal disease." Cintron, 27, told police she was diagnosed as an HIV carrier several years ago, yet has had sex with 10 to 15 men each week for the past year. "We don't have a client list. We have no idea of who they might be or if that information is accurate," said Detective Daniel Kauffman. "The best we can do is make the public aware of a potential problem." Cintron was imprisoned on $25,000 bond. In another case, a 24-year-old prostitute in Harrisburg, Pa., told police that she was infected with HIV. During that time, she had participated in sexual activity with as many as 50 men per week. The Harrisburg woman served 17 months of an 11 1/2-to 23-month sentence on prostitution and reckless endangerment charges, and was paroled in February. "Up to 1.3 Million Thais May Have HIV" United Press International (04/22/94) As many as 1.3 million people in Thailand may be HIV carriers, reported Interior Ministry spokesperson Jiyakorn Sesavej on Friday. About 78,000 people are believed to have already developed symptoms of AIDS, said Sesavej, quoting from a report from the Thai Public Health Ministry. The report also said that, of the people testing HIV-positive, 80 percent were aged 15 to 44, and 75 percent were infected through sexual behavior--particularly having sex with prostitutes. The number of infected Thais will climb to 2.4 million by 1997, predicted the report. "All the HIV in China" Advocate (04/19/94) No. 653, P. 20 The world's most populous country claims that only 1,200 of its 1.2 billion citizens are infected with HIV. But China is threatened by an AIDS epidemic, and time is running out for the government to take action to prevent it, according to Michael Merson, head of the World Health Organization's global program on AIDS. Merson made the assessment after meeting with Chinese health officials on March 8 in Beijing. According to WHO estimates, as many as 100,000 Chinese citizens could be HIV-positive by the year 2000. "Megestrol Helps Enhance Appetite" AIDS Alert (04/94) Vol. 9, No. 4, P. 61 Megestrol (Megace), a synthetic progesterone agent, has won approval for the treatment of anorexia, cachexia, and weight loss among AIDS patients. Two unpublished trials conducted from 1988 to 1991 found that AIDS patients gained between 10.7 to 11.2 pounds after 12 weeks of treatment with megestrol. At a dose of 800 mg a day, however, some patients experienced impotence, rash, or hypertension. Cutting the dosage in half may help impotence and other side effects, according to Isadore Pike, vice president of medical affairs for the Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology-HIV Products Division. He recommends that the dosage be reduced from 800 mg to 400 mg when the patient has gained enough weight. Pregnant women should not take megestrol, and women who are not pregnant should use contraception when taking megestrol because of a potentially heightened risk of birth defects. "If you see somebody with AIDS, you see that his appetite really drops off, and there is no other obvious reason for that, that's the point you ought to consider instituting treatment" with megestrol, says Pike. "If the anorexia or weight loss appears to be a function of the disease itself, then I think [megestrol] becomes appropriate. But I don't think you need to wait to try it until they lose a tremendous amount of weight." It is not known through what mechanism the drug improves appetite.