Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 09:57:11 -0500 (EST) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 03/18/94 AIDS Daily Summary March 18, 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 "House Endorses Needle Exchange Program for City" Baltimore Sun (03/18/94) P. 1B; Timberg, Robert The Maryland House of Delegates voted yesterday to let the city of Baltimore establish a pilot needle-exchange program for intravenous drug users. The 84-51 decision practically guarantees that the measure will pass in the General Assembly. The Senate passed, by the narrowest of margins, a virtually identical bill on Wednesday. All that is needed is for one chamber to approve the other's legislation, and for the governor to sign it into law. "I'm very pleased," said Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. "The size of the vote indicates a strong endorsement of the program. I hope this means the bill will move along to the governor's desk as quickly as possible." Gov. William Donald Schaefer this year reversed his opposition to a needle-exchange program, which would allow drug addicts to trade in as many as 10 used syringes at a time for clean ones. Advocates say the program will curb the spread of AIDS without encouraging drug abuse, while opponents contend that it will not only encourage drug abuse, but create the impression that the state sanctions the use of illegal narcotics. A spokesperson for the governor announced that he will weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to sign the legislation, which is needed to circumvent a state law prohibiting the distribution of drug paraphernalia. "N.Y. Youth AIDS Forum Leaves Parents 'Horrified'" Washington Times (03/18/94) P. A1; Price, Joyce A New York City AIDS conference, where fliers on homosexual safe sex were distributed to attendees as young as 12, reportedly "impressed" AIDS czar Kristine Gebbie, but has provoked outrage in many parents. The Feb. 12 conference was held at the New York University Medical Center, sponsored by the city's department of education, featured Gebbie as a VIP speaker, and displayed pamphlets from the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). While Gebbie's spokesman said that the AIDS policy coordinator was unaware of the sexually explicit material handed out at the conference, critics charge that she was informed about workshops that would address such issues as "eroticizing safer sex," "sex options," and the "wonderful world of latex." School officials have distanced themselves from the graphic materials, saying that they were not prepared or authorized by the Board of Education. GMHC defended the pamphlets and rejected suggestions by columnists that the goal was to recruit children to a homosexual lifestyle. "The purpose of the convention was AIDS prevention and education, something that is needed urgently by young people in New York," said GMHC executive director Jeff Richardson. The agency said it distributed explicit materials--only when requested--because the majority of participants were young people "conversant with difficult sexual information" who had voluntarily attended the conference. "AIDS Agency in Trouble, Auditors Say" Philadelphia Inquirer (03/18/94) P. B1; Collins, Huntly Fiscal management at the AIDS Task Force of Philadelphia is so poor that even the organization's own accounting firm has refused to conduct an audit that is crucial if the group is to continue to receive close to $490,000 each year in public funds. The problems include overbillings to public funding sources, undocumented expenditures, and more than $150,000 in unpaid back payroll taxes, according to auditors from the Philadelphia accounting firm of Howe, Keller & Co. Their letter to the agency's board of directors prompted the resignations of three members of the 23-person board. Task Force executive director Francis J. Stoffa, Jr. and James H. Scheck, a lawyer who chairs the agency's board, both said the agency is improving its accounting practices. It has installed a computerized system and hired a full-time fiscal agent, they said. Stoffa and Scheck also said that after receiving the letter from Howe, Keller & Co., the task force has hired a new accountant. An audit by the new accountants will be delivered to City Hall by the end of March. If it is not, Tony Radwanski, spokesman for City Controller Jonathan Saidel, said that funds--which account for nearly half of its $1 million budget--to the AIDS agency will be cut off. "School Committee Approves Making Condoms Available" Boston Globe (03/17/94) P. 30; Benning, Victoria Boston public schools have joined the ranks of 19 other districts across the state which distribute condoms to high school students. The approved plan would allow condoms to be handed out only during a primary care visit by the student to school-based health centers, and only with a consent form signed by the student's parents. Condom distribution would also be accompanied by education and counseling. The plan also provides for enhancement of the school system's HIV/AIDS education with a curriculum--based on abstinence--that is designed to prevent pregnancy, as well as AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Health officials argue that programs like these are critical because the number of teenagers getting infected with HIV is rapidly increasing. Nationwide, HIV infection among adolescents has doubled in the past 14 months. In Massachusetts, nearly 20 percent of the state's 8,404 AIDS cases have been diagnosed in patients aged 20 to 29, and a substantial number contracted the virus as teenagers. "AIDS Stamp Rates High With Collectors" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (03/17/94) P. 3G; Rexford, Peter The AIDS awareness stamp was released early enough in 1993 to be included in the annual stamp popularity poll conducted by weekly stamp trade paper, Linn's Stamp News. The survey placed the AIDS stamp, which features a now-familiar crossed red ribbon, in second place for the stamp with the "worst design." On a more positive note, however, the stamp was at the top of the list for the "most important" stamp of the year. It was beat out of the No. 1 position by only one contender, the World War II commemorative. "Phase I/II Oral Dose Trial Against HIV/AIDS; Johns Hopkins University Selected as Third Trial Site" Business Wire (03/17/94) VIMRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that New York University Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston are now recruiting patients for Phase I/II HIV/AIDS trials using the company's antiviral drug, hypericin. VIMRx also announced that Johns Hopkins University has been chosen as the third trial site for the study, which is being sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. It will enroll 24 patients, and each patient will be enrolled for up to eight weeks. They will self-administer daily doses of an oral version of hypericin to determine the efficacy of the drug against HIV-1 in this dosing modality. The trial will also test patient tolerance to daily dosing of oral hypericin. "Samuel Perry, 53, Psychoanalyst Honored for AIDS Studies, Is Dead" New York Times (03/18/94) P. B8; Saxon, Wolfgang Dr. Samuel Wesley Perry 3d, a Manhattan psychoanalyst recognized for his studies of the mental aspects of illness--including AIDS--died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. Perry had identified the need to document the psychological course of prolonged infection and made a record of HIV-positive adults. His investigations led him to conclude that most HIV patients could cope reasonably well over time if they received appropriate counseling. Perry's commitment to AIDS counseling earned him the National AIDS Education Award from the Public Health Service. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, his mother, two sisters, and a brother. "Medical Briefs: Pioneering Gene Therapy" Advocate (03/08/94) No. 650, P. 19 Vical Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology firm, is exploring a "naked DNA" approach to gene therapy for AIDS and other diseases. Gene therapy involves the insertion of specific bits of DNA or genes into human cells to prompt them to fight disease. One way genes can be delivered to cells is to piggyback them on deactivated viruses, which are injected into the body. In the other method, cells are removed from a patient, modified, then returned. There are, however, disadvantages to both of these techniques, including side effects and high cost. The system under development by Vical attempts to avoid these obstacles by directly injecting naked DNA into the patient. While there are some limitations to this method of gene therapy, significant progress is being made. "Using Soap Opera in the Fight Against AIDS" Governing (03/94) Vol. 7, No. 6, P. 15; Dunn, James L. The New York City health department is getting the message about AIDS out through a comic strip series that appears in Spanish and English versions in the city's 6,000 subway cars. In actuality, there is nothing comical about "Decision," the "photo-novella" that uses tear-jerker soap-opera style drama to convey serious public health messages about safe sex and AIDS. The main characters are faced with real-life dilemmas, such as condom use and partner notification. The creators thought the soap-opera approach would have an emotional appeal and allow readers to identify with the story. They anticipated correctly, for readers have submitted more than 300 plot suggestions. But critics complain that the health department singled out Hispanics, and contend that the strip endorses premarital sex. Ann Sternberg, a health department official, denies this. "Everybody can identify with Julio and Marisol," she attests. "Partner Notification Practices Found 'Appalling' in Some Clinics" AIDS Alert (02/94) Vol. 9, No. 2, P. 23 The subcommittee on programs and services promoting knowledge of HIV status found blatant violations of federal standards for HIV partner notification programs when members visited counseling and testing sites. "Reports included leaving notices on a person's front door indicating exposure to HIV infection or serious disease, an observed post-test counseling session that focused on identification of partners rather than reduction of high-risk behaviors, and references by community-based organizations to health departments as 'sex police,'" the subcommittee states in an addendum to the minutes on its external review of relevant programs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some of the problems may stem from the possibility that CDC field staff are often misinformed or uninformed about CDC policies, speculated Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the National Center for Prevention Services' division of STD/HIV prevention.