Date: Wed, 22 Feb 1995 12:35:06 +0500
From: ghfostel{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghfostel}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com


                          AIDS Daily Summary
                          February 22, 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


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"Baboon Bone Marrow Will Be Used in AIDS Patient to Build
Immunity"
"False AIDS-Vaccine Report Prompts Japanese Inquiry"
"AIDS Sufferers Often Must Fight to Keep Jobs"
"Marchi Defends Refuge for HIV-Positive Pole"
"New Study of Combination AIDS Therapies to Begin"
"Law Would Encourage AIDS Test"
"Romanian Court Postpones Lawsuit over HIV Child"
"China Patient Wins Lawsuit over AIDS False Alarm"
"HIV Testing in Prison"
"How CDC Wages War on AIDS"
************************************************************

"Baboon Bone Marrow Will Be Used in AIDS Patient to Build
Immunity"
Philadelphia Inquirer (02/22/95) P. A3;  Haney, Daniel Q.
     In an effort to rebuild his ravaged immune system, an AIDS
patient will soon receive a bone marrow transplant from a baboon.
The transplant, which was described on Tuesday at a conference
sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, is meant to resupply the human bloodstream with baboon
blood cells, which do not become HIV-infected.  "Given the fact
that there is no treatment for AIDS, people have been very
comfortable with moving ahead," said Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of the
University of Pittsburgh, who is directing the treatment.
Collaborators on the experiment include Dr. Anthony Fauci, head
of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and
Dr. Robert Gallo, a pioneering AIDS researcher at the National
Cancer Institute.  Although a previous attempt at the procedure
failed, animal experiments indicate that the transplant might
succeed this time.  Several question remain, however, including
whether baboon blood cells can perform the same functions as
human cells do.  Ildstad said that the procedure will take place
sometime in the next few months and that a terminally ill AIDS
patient had already been selected to receive the therapy.
Related Story: Baltimore Sun (02/22) P. 3A

"False AIDS-Vaccine Report Prompts Japanese Inquiry"
Wall Street Journal (02/22/95) P. A16
     The Security and Exchange Surveillance Commission in Japan and
local officials of the Finance Ministry raided the home of
Tsutomu Matsuzaki, former president of T.S.D. Co., a now-bankrupt
computer software developer.  The regulators are investigating
Matsuzaki on suspicions that he deceived investors in 1992 by
falsely claiming that his company was sponsoring the clinical
testing of an AIDS vaccine in Thailand and Russia, said people
familiar with the case.  Matsuzaki's alleged claims may have
saved his company 1.5 billion yen ($15.4 million) before it went
under in November 1993.  In June 1992, after a Japanese business
journal reported that T.S.D. was involved in testing an AIDS
vaccine, the company's share price tripled in less than a month,
and 40 percent of the investors exercised an option to buy T.S.D.
stock at a set price.  The share price crashed in November 1992
after T.S.D retracted its vaccine claims.

"AIDS Sufferers Often Must Fight to Keep Jobs"
Houston Chronicle (02/21/95) P. 1C;  Sixel, L.M.
     The majority of the HIV/AIDS-related lawsuits filed these days
involve employees who took medical leave but found they were not
allowed to return to their jobs, experts say.  In one recent
case, for example, "John Doe" wanted to return to Gulf Precision
Industries in Texas after being treated for AIDS.  The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the company after
DOE was fired following an employee vote on whether he should be
allowed to return.  The EEOC accused the company of not
accommodating the man's illness as required by the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).  Another problem for people with AIDS is
the employer who tries to limit health insurance benefits for
specific illnesses.  Recently, the EEOC settled a case with an
employer who put a $10,000 cap on AIDS benefits, yet covered $1
million for other illnesses.  The employer agreed to repay all
the medical claims for an employee with AIDS, treat AIDS as any
other illness in the future, and donate $20,000 to an AIDS
charity.  AIDS discrimination cases make up a large number of ADA
cases, said Jim Sacher, regional attorney for the EEOC.
Nationwide, the EEOC has 35 ADA cases pending, eight of which
concern AIDS.

"Marchi Defends Refuge for HIV-Positive Pole"
Toronto Globe and Mail (02/21/95) P. A4;  Sarick, Lila
     Canada's Immigration Minister Sergio Marchi defended the
country's decision to grant refugee status to a HIV-positive
Polish man, saying the decision will not open the floodgates to
other infected claimants.  He added that the Immigration and
Refugee Board decides each case on its individual merits.  The
case is thought to be the first time the board has accepted a
claim that a person faces discrimination because of HIV-positive
status.  In December 1991, the Polish man arrived in Canada and
sought refugee status, claiming that he faced persecution because
he was both homosexual and HIV-positive, said his lawyer.  The
man had been arrested arbitrarily in Poland and beaten because of
his sexual orientation.  The man's doctor in Poland also sent a
letter to the board stating that his country's AIDS clinics have
been raided by the police and that patients' names had been
passed on to landlords and employers.  The issue has revived the
Reform call for mandatory HIV testing of all immigrants,
including refugees.

"New Study of Combination AIDS Therapies to Begin"
PR Newswire (02/21/95)
     The Inter-Company Collaboration for AIDS Drug Development and
PAREXEL International Corporation, a major contract research
organization, on Tuesday announced that the first study under the
collaboration has started to enroll patients at research centers
around the United States.  The study will determine the ability
of two separate three-drug combinations to reduce the viral load
and produce a sustained increase in CD4 cells in certain
HIV-infected patients.  The one-year study will evaluate the
antiviral and immunologic effects of a combination of Retrovir,
HIVID, and Invirase; as well as a combination of Retrovir, HIVID,
and nevirapine.  The three-drug combinations will be compared to
the two-drug combination of Retrovir and HIVID--two nucleoside
analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors that are currently on the
market for the treatment of HIV infection.

"Law Would Encourage AIDS Test"
Houston Chronicle (02/17/95) P. 25A;  Tuell, Sherry Carter
     A law proposed last Thursday in Texas, filed by state Rep. Peggy
Hamric, is designed to identify HIV-infected pregnant mothers so
that their doctors can begin treatment that would likely prevent
the child from becoming infected.  Under the law, Texas doctors
would strongly encourage pregnant patients to be tested for HIV
during regular prenatal visits.  The women would not be forced to
submit to the testing, but they would have to sign a waiver to
avoid it.  The HIV test would become part of the routine prenatal
blood test that is now offered by physicians.  Women testing
positive for HIV would be told of treatments involving AZT, which
has shown to be successful in preventing transmission of the
virus to unborn children.  Hamric said the cost of "testing every
pregnant woman in Texas and treating those HIV-positive amounts
to about $2 million, or the cost of treating only 20 HIV babies
for one year."  In Texas, 0.1 percent of the 328,000 women who
became pregnant in 1994 were HIV-positive.  One-quarter of their
babies were infected, but doctors say that two-thirds of those
children could have been spared with AZT treatment.

"Romanian Court Postpones Lawsuit over HIV Child"
Reuters (02/20/95);  Dascalu, Roxana
     On Monday, a Romanian court postponed hearing a landmark legal
case in which the parents of an HIV-positive six-year-old girl
are suing the Romanian government for token damages.  The girl's
parents claim that she became infected with HIV during treatment
at a hospital in Iasi, and that the hospital and health ministry
were negligent.  The ministry rejected the accusations, saying
that both the mother and the father have tested HIV-positive and
must prove how their daughter became infected.  The court
postponed the hearing after the couple's lawyer said they were
cutting their demand for damages to a token one leu ($0.055)
because the state required them to deposit too large a sum before
it would agree to accept the suit.  "The state wants the parents
to pay 32 million lei ($17,729) in order to accept their 325
million lei ($180,000) lawsuit against the hospital and the
health ministry.  They cannot afford to pay this sum," said the
lawyer.

"China Patient Wins Lawsuit over AIDS False Alarm"
Reuters (02/20/95)
     A northwest China court has ruled that a man was defamed by a
doctor who accidentally diagnosed him as HIV-positive and
reported the diagnosis to his employer.  A panel of judges in
Xian awarded the patient 26,000 yuan ($3,060) in damages and
compensation.  The court also ordered the doctor to apologize to
the patient and the more than 70 co-workers who were forced to
undergo AIDS testing after his erroneous diagnosis.  Last April,
after checking into a hospital because of a high fever, the
patient was diagnosed as "suspected of being infected with the
AIDS virus" and ordered into isolation for treatment.  The doctor
reported the suspected diagnosis to state quarantine officials
and the patient's workplace.  The quarantine officials quickly
reversed the diagnosis, but the doctor insisted on conducting
additional tests.  The man's employers panicked and summoned
doctors to draw blood for AIDS screening of all his co-workers.
Ten weeks after first entering the hospital, the patient was
finally given a clean bill of health.  For an unknown reason, the
November decision was not disclosed publicly until the Xinmin
Evening News of Shanghai reported it on Sunday.  Experts say the
case reflected widespread ignorance about AIDS in China and
emphasized the need for more education.

"HIV Testing in Prison"
Lancet (02/11/95) Vol. 345, No. 8946, P. 390;  Flanigan, Timothy
P.
     In response to a commentary on HIV testing in prison that
appeared in the Dec. 17 issue of the Lancet, Timothy P.
Flanigan--director of HIV medical care for incarcerated men and
women in Rhode Island who are infected--endorses the
recommendation of voluntary HIV testing with the provision of
counseling and comprehensive care.  In Rhode Island, testing is
mandatory by law for convicted inmates.  All persons who are seen
on intake at the state prison are offered voluntary HIV testing
with signed consent at the same time that blood is being drawn
for syphilis and pregnancy testing.  Individuals who test
positive for HIV receive individual counseling and comprehensive
medical care.  HIV-infected individuals are not segregated, and
only the medical team has access to records of HIV serostatus.
In this setting, 93 percent of individuals accept testing with
signed informed consent.  Incarceration could also offer many
HIV-infected persons the first opportunity to receive appropriate
counseling, medical care, and substance abuse treatment, Flanigan
concludes.

"How CDC Wages War on AIDS"
Government Computer News (02/06/95) Vol. 14, No. 3, P. 39;
McCarthy, Shawn P.
     Biologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) in Atlanta, working at networked Unix and Apple Macintosh
computers, use customized software and an electrophoretic
technique for molecular isolation to pinpoint strains of HIV.
The epidemiologists "aren't computer experts, they usually just
want to see the printouts to read the DNA sequences," said
molecular biologist Norman J. Pieniazek of the CDC's National
Center for Infectious Diseases, Parasitic Diseases Division.  The
printouts use letters and lines to show how linked proteins can
fall in almost endless combinations on DNA strands.  The core of
the system constructed by Pieniazek's division is an interface
called the Genetic Data Environment, which functions as a general
interface from which a user can launch any of several genetic
study applications.  It also has a built-in molecular taxonomy
package called fastDNAml to help with classification.  In the
case of the Florida dentist who allegedly infected several of his
patients with the disease, the CDC biologists used the system to
help identify virus strains that pointed to him as the source.

THE END