Date: Fri, 27 May 1994 09:39:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary May 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 "Gay Games Bring Protest and Support at City Hall" New York Times (05/27/94) P. B2; Lueck, Thomas J. Conservative politicians and advocates of traditional values yesterday protested the Gay Games, an Olympic-like competition for homosexuals that is expected to draw large crowds to New York City next month. The group of about 10 denounced the event as a threat to the morals of children, and an AIDS scourge on the city. Some of the harshest criticism targeted federal officials, especially Attorney General Janet Reno, who in March granted a waiver that will allow travelers with HIV or AIDS entry into the United States for no more than 10 days. Rev. Reuben Diaz, a member of the Police Civilian Complaint Review Board who recently came under fire for homophobic comments, said the waiver presented a severe risk of HIV transmission. According to Diaz, the waiver would attract 10,000 infected people to New York. Federal officials have placed the number of foreign participants and spectators at 10,000 to 15,000, but they have not offered an estimate of how many of them will have HIV/AIDS. "Chicago Museum to Offer AIDS Exhibit" Baltimore Sun (05/27/94) P. 2E; Storch, Charles Next March, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry will open what promises to a pioneering, if controversial, exhibit on AIDS. Museum officials, who believe the $1 million installation will be the first permanent exhibition of its kind, say it will tackle such topics as sexual behavior, AIDS prevention--including abstinence--and condom use. The exhibit will be presented in a style and vocabulary aimed primarily at children aged 9 to 12. Officials say that although the AIDS exhibit will not attempt to sugarcoat the fatal nature of the disease, it will try not to convey hopelessness about a cure or frighten the children. Final plans have not been completed, but the exhibit will emphasize prevention, discuss the latest scientific advances, and demonstrate that infected individuals can lead productive lives, said Barry Aprison, project director for the exhibit. "New Condom Helps LIG Gain Foothold in Japan" Financial Times (05/27/94) P. 25; Blackwell, David London International Group, the world leader in branded condoms, yesterday announced a joint venture with Okamoto Industries that will take it for the first time into the Japanese condom market. LIG will introduce to Japan its new polyurethane condom, called Avanti, which it claims to be a technical breakthrough. The polyurethane product, known as Duron, is twice as strong as latex, which allows the manufacture of very thin condoms. Japan, which sells 3.8 million condoms a year, is second only to the United States in the world market. The American market, however, has a lower value than the Japanese market, partly because the Japanese are more willing to pay for quality. "AIDS Funds Concerns Go to Allen" Richmond Times-Dispatch (05/26/94) P. B8; Billingsley, Anna Barron Michael J. Snoddy, a disease intervention specialist at the Alexandria Health Department, has asked Virginia Gov. George Allen to investigate the department for alleged misappropriation of AIDS funds. Snoddy contends that an estimated $60,713 out of $94,575 earmarked for anonymous AIDS testing has been used for other purposes. Because that money has been diverted, he says, "fewer people are being tested and more people probably are being infected." Bill Harrison, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Health, said that the anonymous testing program in Alexandria serves as a model for the rest of the state, and that there was no reason to believe that any money in that program has been misappropriated. Still, Harrison said Snoddy's accusations will be investigated. "Ottawa to Extend Tainted-Blood Inquiry" Toronto Globe and Mail (05/26/94) P. A6 The Krever inquiry, which was to finish its probe into the safety of Canadian blood supplies by September, will be granted more time and money to complete its investigation, confirmed Jocelyne Bourgon, Clerk of the Privy Council. Justice Horace Krever, who is heading the inquiry, has asked for a $10-million budget--four times the $2.5 million originally set aside for the commission's use--and has requested that the deadline be pushed back to the end of 1995. Bourgon said that although the deadline has been extended, the final amount of money is still under discussion. The inquiry was established to explore how more than 1,000 Canadians contracted HIV through blood products in the 1980s, and to recommend measures to improve the safety of the blood system. "Ukraine Appeals for Money to Screen Blood for AIDS" Reuters (05/26/94) A Ukrainian government health agency on Thursday appealed for hard currency to conduct HIV screening of blood, saying that, otherwise, it could not assume responsibility for its safety. Untested blood in Ukrainian hospitals had increased the risk of HIV infection through transfusion, and money was needed to filter out tainted blood, said the state committee. The statement also reported that blood donor services had virtually ground to a halt in various regions because of the lack of funds and fear of AIDS. The disease, which infects mostly foreign students and workers from third world nations, is not yet a serious problem in Ukraine or other parts of the former Soviet Union, but the country's medical service has declined from the poor standards maintained during the Soviet era. "Dutchman Gets 10 Years Jail for HIV Syringe Attack" Reuters (05/25/94) A 39-year-old man who infected a former lover with HIV by stabbing her with a syringe filled with contaminated blood was on Wednesday sentenced to a 10-year prison term, reported the Dutch news agency ANP. He will also have to spend time in an institution for the criminally insane. The man deliberately jabbed his former girlfriend with the syringe, full of the infected blood of a HIV-positive friend, in retaliation for her break-up with him, said prosecutors. The woman, a mother of two, has tested positive for the virus. "New TB Cases Drop in 1993" Houston Chronicle (05/26/94) P. 12A Last year, for the first time since the mid-1980s, the number of new tuberculosis cases fell significantly, federal officials announced on Wednesday. The 1993 tally dropped by 1,360 cases, a 5 percent reduction from the previous year, when the number of cases rose by 2 percent. The number of new cases had climbed steadily since 1985, due to the emergence of AIDS--which makes people more vulnerable to infection--increasing numbers of TB-infected immigrants, and homelessness. Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiled the statistics, cautioned that the one-year decline does not necessarily mean the problem is under control. "It probably reflects the effectiveness of prevention and control methods," said Dr. Kenneth Castro, the CDC's director of tuberculosis elimination. He added that under-reporting of TB cases, too, may have contributed to the statistical decline. The AIDS Daily Summary will not publish on Monday, May 30, 1994. Publication will resume on Tuesday, May 31.