Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 09:54:28 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 01/11/94 AIDS Daily Summary January 11, 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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD "Government Airs Condom Ads" Washington Post (Health) (01/11/94) P. 14 (Evans, Sandra) Despite AIDS, surveys indicate that people are still indulging in risky sexual behavior, particularly the failure to use a condom. In response to this alarming trend, the government has embarked on a candid new AIDS prevention campaign heralding the virtues of condom use. The TV and radio spots urge young adults to abstain from sex altogether, or to use a condom with each act. "The CDC is telling you this is effective," says James W. Curran, the agency's director for HIV/AIDS. But one reason people do not respond accordingly is because they doubt that condoms can prevent HIV infection. "The important thing for people to know is that condoms are highly effective, though not perfect, but only if used consistently and correctly," Curran points out. Other reasons for neglecting to use a condom, he says, include ignorance, inconvenience, lack of access, embarrassment at buying them or at asking a partner to use them, and lessened sexual sensitivity. Although incorrect use of condoms is less of a problem than getting people to use them at all, Curran said it is still an issue the CDC felt needed to be addressed. The agency has produced a brochure explaining in detail the proper use of a condom, including how to put it on, what lubricants are safe, and how to store them. "More than half of the people who are having risky sexual behavior aren't using condoms," Curran notes. "If we could get even 10 percent of those people to protect themselves and others, it would be a helpful start." Curran said condom use should become routine and automatic, "like seatbelts." "AIDS Lawyer" Associated Press (01/07/94) (Harpaz, Beth J.) New York--A New York law firm that fired an AIDS-infected lawyer has been ordered to pay more than $500,000 to the lawyer's estate by the state Division of Human Rights. Baker & McKenzie plans to appeal the decision, maintaining that it was unaware of Geoffrey Bower's condition when he was fired from the Manhattan office in 1986. The firm contends that Bower was released from his employment because of his on-the-job performance. While Bowers never confided to anyone at the firm that he was gay or that he had AIDS, doctors testified that he had disfiguring lesions on his face as a result of Kaposi's Sarcoma, an infection symptomatic of AIDS. Bower filed a complaint with the state agency, claiming discrimination. The plaintiff died in September 1987, shortly after completing testimony, but on Dec. 17, the agency ordered Baker & McKenzie to pay the half-million dollars in compensation to Bowers' estate, as well as back pay from the time of his termination to the time of his death. Les Fagen, who is handling the appeal, repeated that the firm did not intentionally fire Bowers because of his illness. He noted that people then were not so familiar with AIDS as they are today, and that co-workers and supervisors at Baker & McKenzie accepted Bowers' explanations that the marks on his skin were from a bicycle accident. "AIDS Drug" Associated Press (01/11/94) Washington--The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the drug Bactrim for treatment of a deadly form of pneumonia common among HIV patients, announced the drug's manufacturer, Hoffman-La Roche Inc. Patients infected with the AIDS virus who were administered a double-strength tablet of the antibacterial drug contracted pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) less often than did those HIV patients who received aerosolized pentamidine, the company reported. "By preventing PCP we may help to increase the life span of patients," said Dr. Miklos Salgo, a research director at Hoffman-La Roche. Previously, the drug had been approved to treat actual, existing cases of PCP. "City Gets $1.2 Million for AIDS" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (01/07/94) P. 1B (Grimes, Charlotte and Allen, William) By exceeding the benchmark of 2,000 AIDS cases, St. Louis became eligible for federal grants to help care for its AIDS patients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded nearly $1.2 million to the city to alleviate the cost of out-patient services, meals, medication, counseling and other services to residents with HIV/AIDS. The agency awarded a total of $159.9 million in grants to 34 metropolitan areas which have bypassed the 2,000-case benchmark; St. Louis was one of nine to do so in 1993, reporting 2,074 cases to the Centers for Disease Control by March of last year. Among the other new recipients of federal money were Kansas City; Denver; New Haven, Conn.; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; and West Palm Beach, Fla. The grants are "more critical than ever" as the number of infected people grows, said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "Crime, AIDS Top Agenda for City in '94 Assembly" Baltimore Sun (01/10/94) P. 1B (Fletcher, Michael A.) Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and other city officials plan to make AIDS one of the top two items on the legislative agenda this year, with the highest priority dedicated to winning approval of a pilot needle-exchange program. Schmoke, aware that the state has little money for costly new programs, is not seeking any expensive projects this year. But, he emphasizes, this cannot lead to downplaying the importance of the city's initiatives. "I don't think it is a modest agenda, given that the No. 1 priority is the AIDS prevention program, " he remarked. "We recognize it is going to take a great deal of lobbying, and the program is of great importance to this community." The mayor cited Baltimore as one of four American cities where AIDS is the number one killer of people aged 25 to 44. A needle-exchange program would help curb the spread of the disease, he said. Governor William Donald Schaefer, previously an opponent of such programs, has pledged his support of emergency legislation that would allow the city to distribute clean needles to drug users. "Elusive 'Magic Bullet' May Help Shoot Down Infectious Diseases" Washington Post (01/10/94) P. A3 (Brown, David) Medical researchers have long sought a "magic bullet" against infectious disease, a search that has become more pressured with the continuing onslaught of the AIDS epidemic. That magic bullet may turn out to be DNA vaccines, which began development after a discovery five years ago that DNA from a virus or bacteria, injected into the body, could function as a vaccine. In the past year, scientists have found that DNA vaccines may provide broader protection than conventional vaccines. In addition, they may have a "self-boosting" effect that is more potent, and may be effective even when simply squirted up the nose. Simplicity is the key, say scientists. Conventional vaccines are made from dead or weakened viruses or bacteria, or protein fragments made from them. When the immune system detects the presence of foreign proteins from these microbes, it activates a defense against them. DNA vaccines, however, contain part of the microbes' DNA, and there is now little doubt that DNA alone is able to stimulate immune response and protect from future infection. The one problem with DNA vaccines is the fear that the genetic material could get into the nucleus and alter the host cell's normal genetic makeup. Still, the promising studies offer hope for the future, especially in treating AIDS. There is some thought that, like the flu, the interior structure of AIDS may be relatively stable, and thus useful for stimulating broad protection. "For AIDS Patients--With Love, Aunt Bee's" Los Angeles Times (01/09/94) P. E1 (Abcarian, Robin) While dozens of other AIDS charity services in California offer a broad range of services to patients, one grassroots organization known as Aunt Bee's is helping AIDS patients with a service so basic it is easily overlooked: laundry. Aunt Bee's is actually a thrift store, but the sale of donated items is just a means of covering the rent and other expenses. The real operation takes place in the back of the store where Aunt Bee's founder and executive director Miki Jackson and several volunteers wash, dry, and fold the clothing of AIDS patients who are too weak to do it themselves. "I have lost a lot of friends to AIDS," says Jackson, a 42-year-old political activist and graphic designer. "And one thing I know from taking care of people in the last stages is, you stand in front of the washing machine all day, because people get horrible sweats, and they get incontinent at times, and they just make a mass of laundry." Aunt Bee's is modeled after a five-year-old San Diego service called Auntie Helen's Fluff 'n Fold, and serves about 40 clients seven days a week. Jackson hopes to triple the number of clients in the next few months, as she replaces the trio of home-style washers with industrial machines. "Madison Ave. on AIDS" Philadelphia Inquirer (01/08/94) P. A8 Each year hundreds of thousands of unmarried teens get pregnant, tens of thousands of people become infected with the AIDS virus, and millions more contract some other sexually transmitted disease, write the editors of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The editors commend the Clinton administration for launching its new, taboo-breaking condom advertisements. Hopefully, they say, this initiative will have a positive impact. The editors do feel, however, that it is ironic that this campaign against irresponsible sexual behavior targeted at young adults focuses on AIDS above all other sexually transmitted diseases. First of all, they argue that although there is no cure for AIDS, the disease is not an epidemic among America's youth who are "straight," as in heterosexual and drug-free, and whose partners also are straight. Secondly, the Inquirer editors continue, the new ads only make a passing mention of other sexually transmitted diseases, which infect millions of teenagers every year. Finally, they note, the issue of "babies having babies," which is notably absent from the campaign, must still be "too hot for the government to hit with all the punch that Madison Avenue could muster." h AIDS and their loved ones," which includes just about everyone on earth. The book reviews the structure, goals, and operation of groups for eight different populations that include recently diagnosed HIV-positive individuals, infected substance abusers, and more. It also includes useful information concerning enrollment expectations, screening and intake criteria, and rules and guidelines of the support group. One critic warns, however, not to indiscriminately accept the guidelines of the LIAAC, which often deviate from the structure of other support groups. These criticisms of what is perceived as an unnecessarily rigid policy do not detract from the book's value. Despite a too broadly defined audience, the book is a helpful tool for anyone who has facilitated or designed HIV-related support groups, or plans to do so. This paperback is 91 pages and is available for $10.