>From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" >Date: Fri, 03 Jun 1994 09:43:15 -0400 (EDT) AIDS Daily Summary June 03, 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 ************************************************************ "Children Buy Used Syringes as Toys in China" "Guards Want Inmates With AIDS Segregated" "Italian Health Staff Can't Refuse HIV Test--Court" "HIV-Positive Man to Run for Congress" "Wage War on AIDS, Kenyan Tells Africa" "Memorable Mix" "AIDS Doesn't Discriminate" "The Story of O" "Protecting Women From AIDS" "Partner Preferences and Serostatus" ************************************************************ "Children Buy Used Syringes as Toys in China" Reuters (06/03/94) Used syringes, which present the risk of transmitting HIV and other deadly viruses, are being sold to Chinese children as toys, reported the official Farmer's Daily. The paper said private businessmen buy the dirty syringes for less than one American cent and sell them for 2.5 to 4.5 American cents to children, who use them as water pistols. The Farmer's Daily urged parents and teachers to warn children not to play with the syringes, which it said some medical units have failed to destroy despite rules and regulations instructing them to do so. "Guards Want Inmates With AIDS Segregated" Chicago Tribune (06/02/94) P. 1-3 The Michigan Corrections Organization, a union representing the guards who supervise the state's 37,000 prison inmates, is pressing for complete segregation of HIV-positive prisoners. The state Department of Corrections argues that the proposal would create "leper colonies" in the prison system, and says inmates should be isolated only for behavioral problems. There are 203 cases of HIV infection in Michigan prisons, and 266 inmates have full-blown AIDS. "Italian Health Staff Can't Refuse HIV Test--Court" Reuters (06/02/94) Health workers whose jobs require contact with other people do not have the right to refuse HIV testing, Italy's Constitutional Court decided on Thursday. The ruling invalidated provisions of a 1990 law stating that HIV testing could not be performed, under any circumstances, without the consent of the individual being tested. Italy's highest court said HIV tests should be viewed as a condition for employment in the health care field, but emphasized that tested individuals must be guaranteed confidentiality. "HIV-Positive Man to Run for Congress" United Press International (06/02/94) An HIV-positive Wisconsin man has announced his intention to run for Congress on the Republican ticket. Mike Johnson, 32, who has been presenting lectures on AIDS throughout the state, believes his candidacy will trigger debate on the disease. "Wage War on AIDS, Kenyan Tells Africa" Reuters (06/02/94); Mdlongwa, Francis A Kenyan official on Thursday urged Africa to mount a war against AIDS, which has infected more than 1.5 percent of the continent's 600 million people, or to suffer devastation. Professor H. Okoth-Ogendo, head of Kenya's Council for Population and Development, explained to national leaders how the epidemic had ravaged east and central Africa, and was surging toward the south. He said the African governments' most urgent imperatives were massive funding to buy condoms and AIDS therapeutics; elimination of import duties and taxes on these products, thereby making them more available to the young people who are most at risk; and better campaigns to combat the epidemic. "Memorable Mix" Chicago Tribune (06/02/94) P. 2-5; Dellios, Hugh The California fashion trade's recent tribute to designer Isaac Mizrahi, at $350 per person, raised half a million dollars for AIDS Project Los Angeles, a non-profit organization that services the needs of AIDS patients and seeks to prevent further spread of the disease. The show, which launched Mizrahi's fall collection, also included a performance by singer k.d. lang, as well as an auction. Mizrahi, 32, has been commended for his support of AIDS research and patient support efforts. "AIDS Doesn't Discriminate" Houston Chronicle (06/02/94) P. 5; Huynh, Dai Fifteen students at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts make up the cast of "The Age of Discretion," a play that seeks to send teenagers a wake-up call about AIDS. The play covers homosexuality, drugs, and sex; the message is that AIDS knows no boundaries. It began touring last year and, since then, has been presented at more than 45 schools in Houston and the surrounding areas. "The Story of O" Advocate (05/17/94) No. 655, P. 28; Gallagher, John French health officials removed an HIV antibody test from the market because it consistently failed to detect a rare African strain of the virus. The HIV-1 subtype, known as group O, poses no immediate threat to the United States, but merits close scrutiny, say AIDS researchers. "At the moment it has no significance for this country, but everyone involved in AIDS research is keeping a close eye on it," said Dr. Herbert Perkins, senior medical scientist at the Irwin Memorial Blood Centers in San Francisco. He noted that because HIV can change genetically, other subtypes could develop that are able to escape detection by antibody tests. Group O was first discovered four years ago, and is primarily found in Cameroon and Gabon. French officials reported that 11 cases of infection with the group O subtype had been documented in France, most of which involved patients from Cameroon. After pulling one antibody test from the market, the French urged a re-evaluation of other HIV antibody tests. Donald McLearn, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration, said that American HIV antibody tests are not designed to detect group O, but that they could most likely be modified to do so. Perkins confirmed that the test pulled from the French market differs significantly from those used in the United States, where no group O viruses have been detected. "Protecting Women From AIDS" Lancet (05/21/94) Vol. 343, No. 8908, P. 1284; Rowe, Paul M. Despite health education campaigns, risky sexual activities are still common among Americans, and are especially severe in the Haitian, Jamaican, and Latina communities. The National AIDS Behaviour Study found that 11 percent of American women between the ages of 18 and 49 were at some risk for HIV infection. Among Latina women, many clung to the myth that women should be submissive and less sexually knowledgeable than men. And among the poor and uneducated Haitian immigrants in Florida, extreme culture and language barriers rendered the idea of "safe sex" completely useless. Most of these women believe disease is caused by supernatural causes, and many are economically dependent on their partners--who are often promiscuous. They have very little control over their own lives. Under such conditions, women are not positioned to negotiate safe sex, and even those who are better-positioned do not consider it worthwhile. "Partner Preferences and Serostatus" Focus (05/94) Vol. 8, No. 6, P. 7; Colleen, C.; Hoff, B.A.; McKusick, L. et al. Serostatus may influence the formation of primary partner bonds in gay male communities, according to a large San Francisco study. Researchers conducted a mail survey of 540 homosexual men--of whom 29 percent were HIV-positive, 38 percent were HIV-negative, and 29 percent had not been tested. Respondents were asked about sexual behavior, antibody testing status, AIDS loss and relationship status, and partner preference. Seronegative and untested respondents were more likely to prefer uninfected partners for relationships, while seropositive respondents said HIV status was unimportant. Researchers found no correlation between current relationship status and serostatus preference for romantic or platonic relationships. The exception was that single men were more apt then men in relationships to base a preference for friendship on HIV status.