Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 10:09:10 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary June 24, 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 ************************************************************ "Kelly Faulted in AIDS Official's Exit" "AIDS Patient Wins Job Settlement" "Anonymity Doubles Requests for HIV Testing" "Condom Campaign Fails to Increase Sales" "Molson Pulls Condom Ad" "He'll Take Manhattan" "Health Insurance Coverage Among Persons With AIDS: Results from a Multistate Surveillance Project" "Personal Screening for HIV in Developing Countries" "Proposal for More Rigorous Testing of Sharps Safety Devices Draws Strong Protest" ************************************************************ "Kelly Faulted in AIDS Official's Exit" Washington Times (06/24/94) P. C6; Seigle, Greg A group of AIDS activists met for an hour yesterday to air their disappointment and frustration following the unexpected resignation of Frank Oldham Jr., who in January reluctantly accepted an appointment to head the troubled D.C. Agency for HIV-AIDS. Much of the blame was directed at Mayor Sharon Pratt-Kelly for what was perceived as her lack of commitment to the AIDS fight. Oldham's reasons for leaving included the "anger and distress" he encountered in trying to get the mayor to address inner-city needs, said one activist. The activists also accused Pratt-Kelly and Vincent Gray, head of the Department of Human Services, of creating political barriers and failing to adequately staff the agency. The activists admitted, however, that their efforts have been hampered by their own internal disputes, and renewed a call to restructure the D.C. Agency for HIV-AIDS. "AIDS Patient Wins Job Settlement" United Press International (06/23/94) Shawn Smith, a Chicago man who claimed he was fired from his job at Dovenmuehle Mortgage Inc. because he has AIDS, on Wednesday reached a settlement with the firm. He was returned to his former position and given $160,000 in back pay and damages, as well as health coverage for the rest of his life. Smith's case was one of the first to charge an employer with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against disabled persons. He said he was dismissed as assistant vice president three months after disclosing his condition to a supervisor. Dovenmuehle maintained that Smith was fired not because of the disease, but because of his failure to meet a project deadline, which forced the company to spend $240,000 to meet a rushed deadline. "Anonymity Doubles Requests for HIV Testing" Toronto Globe and Mail (06/23/94) P. A7; Coutts, Jane There have been twice as many requests for HIV tests in the southern Ontario municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth since anonymous testing was introduced in 1992. About 18 people a week in the region are tested for the virus, up from about eight per week prior to anonymous testing, according to public health nurse Lynn North. "It's an issue of anonymity," she said. "People do not want to go for a test if they know a positive result means their name will be reported to the medical officer of health." Physicians are obliged by law to report positive HIV test results to local medical authorities, except in the two dozen clinics approved for anonymous testing. The Ontario Ministry of Health will review assessments of the 24 anonymous test sites this summer, and decide whether to approve more, said Frank McGee, project officer of the ministry's AIDS Bureau. "Condom Campaign Fails to Increase Sales" Wall Street Journal (06/23/94) P. B3; Bird, Laura So far, the federal government's campaign promoting condom use for the prevention of AIDS has not increased condom sales. According to Towne-Oller Association, 137.6 million condoms were sold in the four months following the campaign's debut in January--virtually the same as in the year-earlier period. Some established brands, such as Trojan, Sheik, and Ramses, have even experienced a drop in sales since the debut of the advertising campaign. James Curran, director for HIV and AIDS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sponsored the campaign, says success "can't be measured in a few months, nor can it be prematurely dropped." He notes that condom sales nearly doubled in the late 1980s. In recent years, however, condom use has reached a plateau, and Joseph Catania, a behavioral epidemiologist at the University of California at San Francisco, says this is as good as it gets. The major problem, he states, is that people do not know how to use condoms without feeling that they are losing the romance. Manufacturers say retail sales may have dipped due to growing volumes of condoms sold to health clinics, schools, and other institutions. Others say many consumers simply do not like condoms for either prevention of disease or birth control. "Molson Pulls Condom Ad" Toronto Globe and Mail (06/23/94) P. B1; Strauss, Marina Flooded with dozens of complaints that it seems to be promoting sex and condoms, Molson Breweries withdrew an ad featuring a packaged condom and the message that if one buys Carling Ice discount beer, one will have enough money left over to buy a "glove"--a double entendre for condom. A spokeswoman, Freda Colbourne, explained the Molson was only trying to reflect "the priority that young people give today to safe and responsible sexual relations," and that the ad was pulled because of the strong nature of the complaints. Some callers were offended by the picture of the condom; others said the ad suggested that drinking beer would lead to sex, and still others said the ad encouraged sex. "He'll Take Manhattan" Advocate (06/14/94) No. 657, P. 14 Vowing to halt the "business-as-usual" sentiment toward finding an AIDS cure, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.) announced that he will introduce the AIDS Cure Act. The bill will mimic the Manhattan Project, a federal effort to develop an atomic bomb during World War II. "Health Insurance Coverage Among Persons With AIDS: Results from a Multistate Surveillance Project" American Journal of Public Health (06/94) Vol. 84, No. 6, P. 1015; Diaz, Theresa; Chu, Susan Y.; Conti, Lisa et al. Factors associated with health insurance coverage among AIDS patients varied according to current employment status, concluded a study of 1958 infected people aged 18 or older. Diaz et al. calculated that 25 percent of the survey sample did not have insurance, 55 percent had public insurance, and 20 percent had private insurance. Employed AIDS patients whose income fell below $10,000 were 3.6 times more likely to have no insurance than were those who had higher incomes. Among unemployed persons, those who had been diagnosed with AIDS for less than a year were twice as likely to lack health insurance than those who had been diagnosed for a longer period of time. Diaz et al. conclude that making insurance available to persons identified as most likely to lack coverage should improve access to care for AIDS patients. "Personal Screening for HIV in Developing Countries" Lancet (06/11/94) Vol. 343, No. 8911, P. 1506; Frerichs, Ralph R. Mertens et al.'s belief that early detection of disease is the objective of home HIV screening is slightly off-center, according to Ralph R. Frerichs. While Mertens and colleagues tend to focus on those already infected, Frerichs contends that the primary goal of home screening is not only to promote early detection, but to prevent HIV transmission from occurring in the first place. Personal screening is one promising option, if sold at reasonable prices through pharmacies, food stores, and medical clinics. Encouraging the sale of inexpensive HIV home tests in the private sector not only benefits the private sector, but services the wider interests of public health as well, according to Frerichs. "Proposal for More Rigorous Testing of Sharps Safety Devices Draws Strong Protest" AIDS Alert (06/94) Vol. 9, No. 6, P. 77 The Food and Drug Administration's drive for proof of the safety and effectiveness of sharps injury prevention devices will stifle innovation, delay approvals, and force health care costs up, according to a group of healthcare and manufacturing organizations. Reports on device defects prompted the FDA to issue testing guidelines. The recommendations promote safety features which require that workers' hands remain behind the needle as it is covered, are an integral part of the device, remain activated during disassembly and disposal, and require little or no user action or training. Manufacturers have been developing sharps injury prevention devices in response to the threat of occupational exposure to HIV, yet only about five to 10 percent of U.S. health care facilities use the devices. As of last December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified 40 cases of occupational spread of HIV, 28 of which occurred among nurses and clinical lab technicians.