Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 10:12:36 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/16/95 AIDS Daily Summary August 16, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Deadly Parasite in Water Spurs Scientists to Improve Detection" "Youngsters Take Disease's Effects in Stride" "Israeli Robber Threatened Victims with AIDS" "U.N. Says AIDS a Rights Problem in Cambodia" "Romanian Villagers Stone AIDS Child" "Indonesia Denies Condom Campaign Promotes Free Sex" "HIV Scandal Hits Bombay Blood Centre" "Infectious Disease Compensation Rules Eased" "Cancer and AIDS Pain Management Services on WWW" ************************************************************ "Deadly Parasite in Water Spurs Scientists to Improve Detection" Wall Street Journal (08/16/95) P. B1; Hsu, Karen The micro-organism cryptosporidium has attracted a great deal of attention in recent months, particularly because of the increasing number of deaths related to the parasite and the near inability of even the most complex filtration systems to track or kill it. The current test for the parasite is time-consuming, and not always precise. Now, however, Dr. Victor Tsang, chief of the National Center for Infectious Diseases' immunology branch, has a detection method that takes significantly less time and eliminates subjective judgments. The process involves magnetic-bead technology, which has been used for years in studies of AIDS and leukemia, as well as identification of E. coli strains in meat products. The "beads," plastic-covered iron particles, bring together any parasites from filtered residue so they can be measured. The research is in danger, however, because of dwindling funds. Meanwhile, Tsang's colleague, scientist Patrick Lammie, is working to develop a blood test for cryptosporidium. "Based on the number of infections found in an area, we can tailor a recommendation to the community on preventive measures," says Lammie, though he questions whether "the blood test will work as well on the AIDS population." "Youngsters Take Disease's Effects in Stride" USA Today (08/16/95) P. 1D; Painter, Kim "There's been a major shift" in thinking in the past decade since the nation first learned about HIV-infected babies who sickened and died as toddlers, says Dr. Arthur Ammann of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. It is now believed that only 25 percent of children decline so rapidly. According to Ammann's foundation, at least two AIDS babies have lived to age 17. Studies indicate that the average survival time is between six and nine years. Although this means that most children do not survive long as adults, it also means that many, including 11-year-old Hydeia Broadbent and 12-year-old Baron Jones, can beat the odds. The two children recently attended Camp Heartland, Neil Willenson's getaway for infected children, their siblings, and others affected by the disease. "I am seeing children who were nine when we started who are now 12," says Willenson. "They're developing, they're growing, they're maturing emotionally and physically. And it is exciting and inspiring to see." "Israeli Robber Threatened Victims with AIDS" Reuters (08/15/95) Police in Tel Aviv have arrested an Israeli art thief who threatened to infect gallery workers with HIV. The man, described as a 28-year-old drug addict, held up two art galleries by waving a syringe full of what he claimed was HIV-infected blood. Although he was successful in his first heist, the robber was tackled by the second gallery owner--who was jabbed with the syringe in the ensuing struggle. The man was later arrested and confessed to the crimes. He told police that he did not have AIDS, but was merely trying to frighten the people. "U.N. Says AIDS a Rights Problem in Cambodia" Reuters (08/15/95); Dodd, Mark Cambodia's critical human-rights problems include AIDS, poor housing, and the sexual exploitation of children, said a United Nations (UN) rights official on Tuesday. "The sexual exploitation of children is particularly offensive at a time when Cambodia like so many other countries is facing the problem of HIV/AIDS," he added. Special Representative for Human Rights Michael Kirby said ignorance about AIDS persists in Cambodia, and he asked the government to address the problem. Public health authorities estimate that the number of HIV-infected Cambodians could be in the tens of thousands. "Romanian Villagers Stone AIDS Child" Reuters (08/15/95) A Romanian doctor reported on Tuesday that villagers in his country stoned an eight-year-old AIDS patient and her family and tried to evict them from their home. "We have never before heard of families threatened with being banned from their homes because one member" has AIDS, said Dr. Constantin Barabolski. "Villagers here regard them as a peril." According to the doctor, the girl's mother had requested that her daughter be readmitted to the orphanage, from which she was released in June, to protect her from the villagers. It is not uncommon for impoverished Romanian families to put their children under state supervision and then reclaim them years later when they can support them. Romania has the highest rate of juvenile AIDS in Europe--more than 90 percent of the nearly 3,000 cases are under the age of 12. "Indonesia Denies Condom Campaign Promotes Free Sex" Reuters (08/15/95) The Indonesian government is not encouraging free sex by promoting the use of condoms, said an Indonesian minister on Tuesday. "What we are trying to do is to tell people affected by AIDS that they must protect their family from the disease. They must use condoms because it is a very dangerous disease," explained Coordinating Minister of Welfare Azwar Anas. The country's Council of Ulemas, an influential group of Moslem scholars, has requested that condoms be sold only to married people with prescriptions and not distributed freely to stem the spread of HIV because that would mean "we allow adultery." The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 50,000 residents of Indonesia are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. "HIV Scandal Hits Bombay Blood Centre" Nature (07/27/95) Vol. 376, No. 6538, P. 285; Jayaraman, K.S. Following charges that it provided HIV-infected blood to hospitals between 1992 and 1994, a Bombay blood bank operated by the India Red Cross Society (IRCS) has been closed. The scandal has caused widespread concern because the IRCS is supposed to set national blood safety standards. The center provides about one-third of Bombay's annual requirements for blood, and is one of the 16 testing sites that constitute the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), which was established with an $87 million grant from the World Bank. The matter was discovered when an IRCS official examined the blood bank's records. These indicated that HIV-infected blood had been delivered to at least 10 city hospitals. There have also been suggestions that blood bank employees have been selling tainted blood on the black market, rather than discarding it. According to NACO, 30 percent of the blood collected comes from professional donors, many of whom have HIV. "Infectious Disease Compensation Rules Eased" Federal Times (08/07/95) Vol. 31, No. 26, P. 9; Rivenbark, Leigh New regulations from the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) no longer call for examiners to know how and from whom workers contracted such diseases as tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and hepatitis. Claims examiners can now accept a claim for a communicable disease even if the source of infection is unidentified. This may help employees who become infected on the job to receive compensation payments. If, for example, an accidental needle stick causes infection with HIV, a medical worker may not know which person was the source of the infection. According to Thomas Markey, director of federal employees' compensation at OWCP, there were 52 claims filed for hepatitis B and approximately 25 claims for HIV last year. Although he did not know how many hepatitis and HIV claims were accepted, Markey estimated that about half of the 312 TB claims were approved. The changes came in large part because the Marshals Service--whose employees protect courts and judges, and transport inmates--told OWCP that some people were having problems getting their claims accepted because they could not identify the source of their infections. "Cancer and AIDS Pain Management Services on WWW" Information Today (07/95-08/95) Vol. 12, No. 7, P. 56 A new World Wide Web site offers educational materials on cancer and AIDS pain management from Roxane Laboratories and the Roxane Pain Institute. Users can easily obtain newsletters, clinical articles, and a schedule of future pain management seminars. "We consolidated information available to health care providers and designed a user-friendly program that provides up-to-date clinical information on managing pain in cancer and AIDS," explains Dr. Kirk V. Shepard of the Roxane Pain Institute and Roxane Laboratories. According to Roxane, it is the first pharmaceutical company to develop an Internet program with the primary focus on pain management. Other services the Roxane Pain Institute offers include an 800 number for health care professionals to access its information program, and a scholars' programs to educate doctors, nurses, and pharmacists on the treatment of pain and the administration of analgesia.