Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 09:30:39 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary June 27, 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 ************************************************************ "Area Groups Helping People With HIV Get Federal Grants" "Gay Marchers Celebrate History in 2 Parades" "AIDS Babies Deserve Testing" "Man Infected With HIV Through Transfusion Awarded $570,000" "Getting the AIDS Point" "NAIW Schedules Meeting on AIDS" "WorkLine: Is My Insurer Making Illegal Claims?" "Immune Activation, A Co-Factor for HIV Transmission in Thailand?" "Social Influence on the Sexual Behavior of Youth at Risk for HIV Exposure" ************************************************************ "Area Groups Helping People With HIV Get Federal Grants" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/27/94) P. B2 Seven AIDS service organizations in the Philadelphia area have received $1.34 million in federal grants to develop more than 70 units of housing for low-income AIDS patients. Among the seven groups was the financially troubled AIDS nursing home, Betak. That organization was awarded $40,000 to renovate part of its Mount Airy facility for people with AIDS dementia. The other organizations were Dooley House, Calcutta House, Pennrose Properties, We the People Living with HIV/AIDS of the Delaware Valley, Family and Community Services of Delaware County, and HELP/Open Arms II. "Gay Marchers Celebrate History in 2 Parades" New York Times (06/27/94) P. A1; Scott, Janny Celebrations of the Stonewall rebellion, a civil-rights movement that began at a gay bar a quarter of a century ago, took different paths with two separate parades. While a traditional parade meandered through Manhattan's East Side, a smaller, unauthorized one wound its way up Fifth Avenue from Greenwich Village to make a statement that AIDS is the most pressing crisis facing the homosexual community today. The two processions eventually met, and the unauthorized parade joined the larger to become one. At 3:00 p.m., the group observed a full minute of silence to remember loved ones lost to AIDS. The march was led by a mile-long, 30-foot wide, rainbow-colored flag symbolizing gay and lesbian unity. Hundreds of volunteers paid for the privilege of carrying the flag, which weighed 7,550 pounds. Their donations will benefit AIDS services. "AIDS Babies Deserve Testing" New York Times (06/27/94) P. A16 In New York state's debate over whether or not to test newborns for HIV, the New York Times applauds the state's Commissioner of Social Services, Michael Dowling, for seeing to it that all AIDS-infected babies in the foster-care system are identified and cared for. This is not enough, however, because the foster-care system only represents a fraction of the several hundred infected infants born each year in New York, say the editors. Nor is it enough to simply reveal anonymous test results to the mothers, as suggested by Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn and State Senator Guy Velella. Moreover, there is little evidence that mandatory counseling of new and expectant mothers--which is the focus of pending bills--would work, either. But because no one seriously expects to force pregnant women into submitting to an AIDS test, the only feasible solution, according to the editors of the Times, would appear to be counseling mothers-to-be on the benefits of testing. However, they stress, newborns should be tested regardless of whether or not the mother approves. "Man Infected With HIV Through Transfusion Awarded $570,000" Chicago Tribune (06/25/94) P. 1-19 William Snyder, who contracted HIV through a transfusion in 1984, received $570,000 in the first successful lawsuit of its kind against the American Association of Blood Banks. Snyder's lawyer had argued that although an AIDS test did not become available until 1985, the association--which establishes screening standards for the country's blood banks--ignored another screening option. Attorney George Baxter said the association was aware as early as 1983 that a "surrogate test" for hepatitis would have also detected HIV. The American Association of Blood Banks contended that the surrogate test was not reliable. Related Story: Baltimore Sun (06/25) P. 4A. "Getting the AIDS Point" Houston Chronicle (06/24/94) P. 8A Most intravenous drug users are not getting the AIDS prevention message, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. According to the agency, only one-third of IV-drug users surveyed in New York City last year knew the proper method for sterilizing used syringes. Health officials last year confirmed that household bleach can be effective, but only when used at full strength and left in contact with the syringe for at least 30 seconds. "NAIW Schedules Meeting on AIDS" Journal of Commerce (06/27/94) P. 13A The National Association of Insurance Women--NYC has scheduled a speaker to discuss "HIV, AIDS and Adolescents" at its July 12 meeting. "WorkLine: Is My Insurer Making Illegal Claims?" Advocate (06/14/94) No. 657, P. 42; Mickens, Ed AIDS-based discrimination was prohibited by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. Still, many health insurers reject the idea of domestic-partner health benefits because they fear the costs associated with treating AIDS. There are, however, no facts to support their fears. For instance, insurers refuse to accept that being gay or lesbian does not automatically mean that the couple--or one half of the couple--is infected. And the actual cost of AIDS care is relatively small compared to that of premature births or some forms of cancer care--conditions which are far more prevalent but against which insurers would never attempt to discriminate. "Immune Activation, A Co-Factor for HIV Transmission in Thailand?" Lancet (06/11/94) Vol. 343, No. 8911, P. 1506; Kalinkovich, Alexander; Maayan, Shiomo; Weisman, Ziva et al. The report that female-to-male HIV transmission in Thailand was higher than observed anywhere else in the western world is not easily explained, admits Kalinkovich et al. High rates of sexually transmitted disease in the study group, they say, cannot possibly account for such a high transmission rate. Kalinkovich and colleagues suggest that host co-factors, especially pre-existing immune activation, heighten vulnerability to HIV infection and provide at least a partial explanation for the different epidemiological patterns of the epidemic in Africa. Unpublished studies of HIV-negative Ethiopian immigrants to Israel found several markers of immune activation: increased serum IgE and IgG levels, increased interleukin-4 secretion, and activated tumor necrosis factor (TNF). If this pattern were also found among Thais, it could account for the unusually high rate of HIV transmission in that country. A study of young, HIV-negative Thai temporary workers in Israel found the subjects did indeed have high levels of IgE, IgG, and activated TNF systems--indicating immune activation in these healthy, HIV-negative Thais. Kalinkovich et al. suggest that this pattern makes these individuals more susceptible to HIV infection once exposed to the virus. "Social Influence on the Sexual Behavior of Youth at Risk for HIV Exposure" American Journal of Public Health (06/94) Vol. 84, No. 6, P. 977; Romer, Daniel; Black, Maureen; Ricardo, Izabel Young people, particularly in poor, urban, minority communities, are increasingly at risk for HIV infection. To help determine appropriate intervention techniques for these communities, Romer et al. examined the role of knowledge, attitudes, perceived parental monitoring, and peer behavior in 300 African-American children at risk for exposure to HIV. Knowledge about the risks associated with sex increased with age; however, sexual activity increased as well--from 12 percent sexually experienced at age 9 to more than 80 percent experienced at age 15. The rate at which sexual activity progressed and the extent to which condoms were used, however, was associated with the perceived behavior of friends-- although parental monitoring did appear to exert some influence over sexual activity. Romer et al. conclude that early onset and prevalence of sexual behavior and the importance of peer group influence present a need for early interventions that influence both the parents and peers in social networks.