Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 09:31:39 -0400 (EDT) From: "JOHN FANNING, CDC NAC" AIDS Daily Summary October 25, 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 ************************************************************ "'Doe's' Boss Tells of Job Critiques" "German AIDS-Detecting Drug Recalled; Maker Says It Missed Virus in One Case" "Japan Admits Failed to Warn Over HIV-Tainted Blood" "French, U.S. Officials Plan AIDS Meeting" "U.S.-Ivory Coast AIDS Project Targets Women" "Michael Douglas and Chayanne to Join Sharon Stone and Other Superstars Presenting Culinary Delights at "The Big Feast on the Beach"" "Risperidone in HIV-Related Manic Psychosis" "The Content of Ethical Problems Experienced by Persons with AIDS" "New Blood Charges in Paris" "Armed and Dangerous" ************************************************************ "'Doe's' Boss Tells of Job Critiques" Philadelphia Inquirer (10/25/94) P. B1; Slobodzian, Joseph A. Steven Asher, "Scott Doe's" former boss, testified before a federal jury yesterday that he often criticized the lawyer--who has AIDS--for being a poor writer and researcher. The lawyer claimed he had to rewrite Doe's briefs and other work so extensively that once when he gave Doe an assignment, Doe replied, "Why should I bother, you're only going to rewrite it anyhow." Asher also referred to a note he had written in the fall of 1992 that said, "The honeymoon year is over. The banker's hours must cease." Asher said that he has no copies of that memo or of any of Doe's first draft to prove his allegations of poor work habits that led to Doe's dismissal from the firm in March 1993. Doe contends that he was fired because of his HIV-positive status, and that Kohn, Nast & Graf violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, in addition to federal and state civil rights laws. The case is the first suit involving HIV or AIDS to go to trial since the ADA took effect two years ago. Dianne Nast, one of the name shareholders of the firm, also testified Monday and said that neither she nor the other directors at the firm knew that Doe had HIV until after he had sued them. "German AIDS-Detecting Drug Recalled; Maker Says It Missed Virus in One Case" Boston Globe (10/24/94) P. 52 Hoechst, one of Germany's largest drug companies, has initiated a recall of Enzygnost--a drug used for HIV testing--because it missed HIV in one instance. Behring, the distributor of Enzygnost and a subsidiary of Hoechst, began a worldwide recall action to 35 countries on Oct. 15. German pharmaceutical authorities have withdrawn the license for the drug. In Japan, the Health and Welfare Ministry has requested more information so it can decide whether people who previously tested negative with Enzygnost should be tested again. It is believed that enough Enzygnost to test 150,000 people has been distributed in Japan--and 80 percent of that has already been used. Behring spokesman Wolfgang Faust said that extensive retesting would not be necessary--only one problem case has occurred since the drug was introduced in 1991. The diagnostic failure was partially explained by the gap between when a person is infected with HIV and when it can be detected in the blood, up to 12 weeks. Faust said that Behring has applied to license a new, improved AIDS test drug and that Enzygnost had become obsolete. "Japan Admits Failed to Warn Over HIV-Tainted Blood" Reuters (10/24/94) Japan admitted on Monday that its Health Ministry in 1983 did not publicize information it had about the risk of HIV contamination in imported blood products. Documents--filed in a lawsuit against the government and two pharmaceutical companies by hemophiliacs who claim they were infected with HIV through tainted U.S. blood products--include the government's admission. The Japanese government had previously claimed it was not aware of a serious danger at the time. The plaintiffs allege that if the information had been released it could have prevented an increase in HIV-infection among hemophiliacs. The Health Ministry said that "in 1983, AIDS was not yet detected in Japan and nothing was known about its causes." "French, U.S. Officials Plan AIDS Meeting" Reuters (10/24/94) Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and French Social Affairs and Health Minister Simone Veil met Monday to plan an international AIDS conference to be held in Paris. The meeting went smoothly, despite research tensions between French and U.S. scientists. "AIDS doesn't know if its French or American," said Shalala. The December meeting will bring together high government officials from approximately 40 countries to plot a concerted strategy to fight HIV. "U.S.-Ivory Coast AIDS Project Targets Women" Reuters (10/23/94) An AIDS project in Ivory Coast--funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--is trying to help the increasing number of women becoming infected with HIV. Project Retro-CI will try to keep women seronegative for HIV and keep seropositive women from developing opportunistic illnesses. Ivory Coast has the highest reported rate of HIV-infection in west Africa. Retro-CI is working with the national AIDS committee and the Ivorian Health Ministry to determine what HIV information should be included in prenatal care, and whether it is possible to counsel and test all pregnant women for HIV. A total of 3.3 percent of Ivory Coast women tested HIV-positive in 1986; the figure is now greater than 16 percent. "Michael Douglas and Chayanne to Join Sharon Stone and Other Superstars Presenting Culinary Delights at "The Big Feast on the Beach"" Business Wire (10/20/94) The list of celebrity chefs scheduled for "The Big Feast on the Beach" includes actor Michael Douglas and Latin pop star Chayanne. The event--which will benefit the March of Dimes, Lend-A-Hand, and the United Foundation for AIDS--will focus on celebrities, stars, chefs, famed wine makers, and a line-up of great music. Other celebrities who will attend the Big Feast on Nov. 4, 5, and 6 in Miami Beach, Fla., include actress Shari Belafonte, author Carl Hiaasen, and rocker Alice Cooper. "Risperidone in HIV-Related Manic Psychosis" Lancet (10/08/94) Vol. 344, No. 8928, P. 1029; Singh, A. N.; Catalan, J. Manic psychosis is fairly common among people in the advanced stages of HIV. Singh and Catalan successfully administered risperidone to four male psychotic AIDS patients with manic symptoms. Following the Young mania rating scale, ratings in three patients fell from 43 to 8, 35 to 14, and 30 to 3 within seven to 10 days of receiving the drug. In contrast to the study by Dwight et al concluding that risperidone may exacerbate manic symptoms in patients with schizoaffective disorders, the preliminary findings of Singh and Catalan indicate that risperidone may be safe and effective in the treatment of AIDS-related psychosis with manic symptoms. "The Content of Ethical Problems Experienced by Persons with AIDS" Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (9/94-10/94) Vol. 5, No. 5, P. 32; Cameron, Miriam E.; Crisham, Patricia; Lewis, Douglas E. Persons living with AIDS experience ethical problems that can significantly affect their health, families, healthcare personnel, and society. A study was conducted to determine the foundations and contents of the problems in 25 people with AIDS and five significant others. Totals of 45 and 17 different ethical concerns dealing with subjects such as death, alcohol and drugs, discrimination, and finances emerged in the PWAs and significant others, respectively. Ethical listening--actively and selectively focusing on a person's ethical dilemma, instead of other areas, such as medications or treatments--proved to be a useful intervention in PWAs because the person was encouraged to articulate the problem and his or her feelings to someone who cared. The findings also offered insight into the subject matter of a wide-range of ethical problems experienced by PWAs. "New Blood Charges in Paris" Science (10/14/94) Vol. 266, No. 5183, P. 222 Cell biologist Francois Gros--a former scientific counselor to the prime ministry and one of France's most well-known scientists--and physician Claude Weisselberg--a former adviser to the health ministry--were added to the list of those accused in the contaminated blood scandal. Several scientists and politicians have already been charged with "complicity in poisoning" for their roles in allowing the French blood supply to go untested for HIV. During May and June of 1985, the French government allegedly kept an U.S.-manufactured HIV antibody test off the market until it had developed its own version. A special magistrate will conduct an investigation to evaluate the charges and decide whether the accused should go to trial. "Armed and Dangerous" Advocate (10/18/94) No. 666, P. 28; Morales, Jorge On Sept. 1, 62-year-old retired state worker William Lewis walked into the offices of Frances Tarlton, a spokeswoman on AIDS issues for the New York state health department, and slashed her throat with a linoleum knife. Lewis, who called himself "an activist in the fight against AIDS," has been charged with attempted murder, assault, burglary, and illegal possession of a weapon. His answering machine had played a message informing callers that the use of condoms "will force the evolution of an AIDS virus which can be spread through sneezing. All humanity could be infected before we even know it is happening." Lewis claimed that he attacked Tarlton--who survived the injury--to draw attention to his unorthodox theories about AIDS. While state officials were quick to tighten security at the health department, AIDS groups did little to change their existing security measures. AIDS organizations say that accessibility for patients is their main concern. "It's important to us that our clients not feel like they're entering a maximum-security prison," said Ron Silverio, director of AIDS Community Services in Buffalo.