Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 09:21:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "JOHN FANNING, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary October 13, 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 ************************************************************ "HIV-Infected Teenager Convicted of Attempted Murder in 3 Rapes" "Lawyer Says After HIV Diagnosis, He Went From Legal Star to Leper" "Across the USA: Minnesota/Illinois" "Philadelphia AIDS Advocacy Coalition Sponsors Gubernatorial Forum on HIV and AIDS on October 19" "10K Run and Rollerblade on Oct. 22 at Griffith Park for Childrens AIDS Center; Hundreds of Children in Los Angeles County to Benefit" "Infant's HIV Infection Attributed to Patient-to-Patient Contact" "Safe Sex for Lesbians" "HIV-1 Subtype E in Yunnan, China" "AIDS Scams Alleged" "Pillar House to Auction Kitchen Seats for AIDS Benefit" ************************************************************ "HIV-Infected Teenager Convicted of Attempted Murder in 3 Rapes" Washington Post (10/13/94) P. C5 An HIV-positive Maryland teenager has been convicted of attempted murder in the rape of three women last year. A second man is awaiting trial on charges related to the rapes. The teenager--diagnosed with HIV three years before the rapes--pleaded guilty to three rape charges and three counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, but pleaded not guilty to the charges of attempted second-degree murder. In making his decision, the judge relied on the 1990 Georgia and 1989 Indiana cases in which men were convicted of murder for deliberately trying to infect other people with HIV. Related Story: Washington Times (10/13) P. A1 "Lawyer Says After HIV Diagnosis, He Went From Legal Star to Leper" Philadelphia Inquirer (10/13/94) P. A1; Slobodzian, Joseph A. "Scott Doe," the lawyer who accused his former employers of HIV discrimination, testified Tuesday that after just a year at the law firm, he received regular praise, big assignments, and large bonuses. Doe claimed the praise and assignments stopped coming his way after his boss discovered that he was HIV-positive. Doe said he saw a photocopy of a letter he had received from a Johns Hopkins University AIDS specialist in a credenza behind his boss' desk and had no idea how his boss obtained the letter, which Doe said was kept in his desk at the firm. Doe contradicted a series of allegations that his former employers made against him as grounds for his dismissal, including their claims that he was leaving work early and reporting to work late in the morning and that he was secretly entering the law firm late at night and on weekends to steal confidential salary and shareholder information. Doe will continue his testimony today. "Across the USA: Minnesota/Illinois" USA Today (10/13/94) P. 8A Two states recently announced AIDS-related news. In Illinois, a new federal study reported that 44 percent of the state's private water wells have been found to be contaminated with bacteria--which is extremely dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, such as infants or AIDS patients. In Minneapolis, Minn., a syringe-exchange program has been approved to slow the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug users. The three-year program will begin next year. "Philadelphia AIDS Advocacy Coalition Sponsors Gubernatorial Forum on HIV and AIDS on October 19" PR Newswire (10/12/94) A gubernatorial forum on HIV and AIDS will be held by the Philadelphia AIDS Advocacy Coalition on Oct. 19. Estelle B. Richman, Philadelphia's Health Commissioner, will moderate the event. She will be joined by Lt. Governor Mark Singel, as well as a campaign representative of Congressmen Tom Ridge and Timothy C. Holloway. "We are really thrilled to be able to offer the public an opportunity to speak to the candidates for Pennsylvania Governor on the importance of HIV and AIDS," said Norman L. Baker, President of the Philadelphia AIDS Advocacy Coalition. "10K Run and Rollerblade on Oct. 22 at Griffith Park for Childrens AIDS Center; Hundreds of Children in Los Angeles County to Benefit" Business Wire (10/12/94) Run & Roll For Our Future '94, a 10K run and rollerblade event, is being presented Oct. 22 by Ronald McDonald Charities in recognition of AIDS Awareness Month. The event will benefit hundreds of children at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles who are being treated for HIV and AIDS. Activities include the 5K Celebrity/Family Rollalong, which will honor the children, families, and friends currently being helped by CHLA and will be dedicated to the children who have died of AIDS while at CHLA. The Childrens AIDS Center at CHLA--which emphasizes whole family support--is the largest care provider in the Western United States for youths of all ages with HIV or AIDS. "Infant's HIV Infection Attributed to Patient-to-Patient Contact" AIDS Alert (10/94) Vol. 9, No. 10, P. 133 The New York City Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that patient-to-patient transmission resulting from an unidentified breakdown in universal precautions at a New York City hospital was the cause of an 11-month-old boy's infection with HIV in 1993. HIV-antibody testing was performed when the boy was hospitalized for Pneumocystis carinii, a complication of AIDS. Officials reached the conclusion of patient-to-patient transmission because two other HIV-positive patients were in the pediatric isolation unit undergoing similar procedures to the infant's--including blood draws, IV medications, and eye washes. There were 46 one-hour periods in which the same health care workers performed 32 procedures on both the baby and one of the other patients. Of the 32 health care workers who treated the patients, only nine agreed to be tested for HIV--all were found negative. Mary E. Chamberland, chief of the HIV infections branch of the CDC's hospital infections program, said that universal precautions--used effectively on patients in a similar unit--should have prevented HIV transmission whether any of the patients were infected or not. "Safe Sex for Lesbians" Focus (09/94) Vol. 8, No. 9, P. 8 A lesbian AIDS pamphlet describes how a lesbian can avoid being infected with HIV by using simple precautions. Plastic wrap, dental dams, or non-lubricated condoms should be used during oral sex. Plastic gloves should be worn during sex play. Sex toys should not be shared without protecting against transmission by either cleaning them with bleach or by covering them with condoms. "HIV-1 Subtype E in Yunnan, China" Lancet (10/01/94) Vol. 344, No. 8927, P. 953; Cheng, Hehe; Zhang, Jiapeng; Capizzi, Jeffrey et al In a letter to the editor published in The Lancet medical journal, Cheng et al report that 80 percent of the HIV infections reported in China during 1993 were from the southwestern province of Yunnan. HIV-1 isolates from these people and from intravenous drug users (IDUs) in remote mountainous areas bordering Myanmar--the site of a 1989 HIV epidemic among IV drug addicts--were genetically characterized and classified within subtype B. This subtype represents almost all of the HIV-1 infections in North America and Europe. In Thailand, the heterosexually transmitted HIV-1 epidemic is primarily due to subtype E. Cheng et al report a segregation of HIV-1 subtypes among IDUs and people with sexual risk behaviors in Thailand. Subtype B is predominant among IDUs, while subtype E is the cause of a massive heterosexual epidemic--yet subtype E has not been shown to be more transmissible than other subtypes. The authors note how the introduction of subtype E into Yunnan via international prostitution emphasizes the vulnerability of women in the sex trade and the need for China to develop HIV control programs to prevent widespread sexual transmission of HIV. "AIDS Scams Alleged" Advocate (10/04/94) No. 665, P. 18 Two fraud allegations emphasize the potentially negative business side of the AIDS epidemic. Michael Alan Booth, an Atlanta resident who has AIDS, charged Caremark International Inc. with inflating his bills and prescribing unnecessary care so that it could pay kickbacks to two doctors and a pharmacy. The Illinois-based home health care provider, already indicted as part of a federal investigation into alleged kickbacks, has denied the accusations. In Washington, D.C., the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Life Partners Inc., a viatical-settlement firm, of selling millions of dollars in unregistered securities--which is illegal. The chairman of Life Partners, Brian Pardo, denied the allegations and accused the SEC of "mischaracterizing the nature of our business and overstepping its authority." "Pillar House to Auction Kitchen Seats for AIDS Benefit" Nation's Restaurant News (10/03/94) Vol. 28, No. 39, P. 19 The Pillar House in Newton Lower Falls, Mass., is auctioning four seats at its chef's table as part of an AIDS benefit on Oct. 22. All proceeds will go toward the construction of a computer center for the Foundation for Children with AIDS. The kitchen seats will be sold to bidders of more than $1,500. Tickets for seats in the main dining room may be purchased for $150. The seven-course meal will be prepared by six talented chefs from around the region.