Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 10:03:28 +0500 From: awilson@smtpinet.aspensys.com (Wilson, Anne) To: qrd@vector.casti.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 01/23/94 AIDS Daily Summary January 23, 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 ************************************************************ "Thousands Protest the Dismissal of a Leftist French Bishop" "Chesco Man with AIDS Sues Doctors and Hospital" "Uganda Imports Millions of Condoms to Fight AIDS" "AIDS Complaints Filed" "Bring Back Brothels, Say the French" "Cost and Outcome of Intensive Care for Patients with AIDS, Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, and Severe Respiratory Failure" "Factors Mediating Changes in Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among Gay and Bisexual Male Adolescents" "A Finger on the Culprit" "Mark Barnes Wants AIDS Action Council to Be a 'Tough Presence'" "The Backlash Against Victim Art" ************************************************************ "Thousands Protest the Dismissal of a Leftist French Bishop" New York Times (01/23/95) P. A9; Whitney, Craig R. Thousands of people gathered in Normandy on Sunday to protest the dismissal of the outspoken French Bishop of Evreux, Jacques Gaillot. In his farewell address, Gaillot said he would submit to church discipline, after the Vatican recently took away his diocese in Normandy and named him to an inactive one in Mauritania. His message was to take the gospel of hope for the poor and others Gaillot called "outcasts," such as AIDS patients, homosexuals, and the unemployed. "The church should be for the outcast, not a church that casts people out," he said. Gaillot was dismissed just over a week ago after being repeatedly warned for going against church doctrine by advocating the use of condoms to prevent AIDS, calling for tolerance of homosexuality, and speaking in favor of allowing priests to marry. Related Story: Wall Street Journal (01/23) P. A1 "Chesco Man with AIDS Sues Doctors and Hospital" Philadelphia Inquirer (01/23/95) P. B1; Bauers, Sandy Kenneth Brown, a man who received a blood transfusion at Phoenixville Hospital in 1988 and says he later contracted AIDS from it, has sued the hospital and several of its physicians, accusing them of malpractice. Brown claims that the doctors refused to allow him or his family to donate their own blood and that the blood subsequently used was tainted with HIV. The suit contends that the physicians "failed to inform themselves...as to current medical and non-medical knowledge, data, recommendations, and other information regarding the risks of AIDS virus transmission posed by the transfusion of blood." Brown received three blood transfusions after being admitted for gastrointestinal problems on Jan. 18, 1988. He alleges that the transfusions were unnecessary and that the doctors ignored or failed to respond to certain symptoms, delayed a diagnosis, and performed inappropriate tests. The suit seeks $50,000 from each of seven defendants on each of three counts. "Uganda Imports Millions of Condoms to Fight AIDS" Reuters (01/22/95) As part of its efforts to fight AIDS, Uganda plans to import a record 33 million condoms this year, the AIDS Control Programme announced on Sunday. Imports of condoms were "negligible" before AIDS was reported in Uganda in the early 1980s, the agency said. Medical sources estimate that Uganda, with a population of 17 million, has 1.5 million HIV-infected people. "AIDS Complaints Filed" Houston Chronicle (01/20/95) P. 21A; Robinson, James After having its funding for AIDS housing rejected, the Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, filed three separate complaints against the city. The church claimed that the city violated fair housing laws by giving in to neighborhood residents' fears of AIDS. The Rev. Joe Ratliff said the complaints were being filed reluctantly, with the hope that they will help "reopen conversations" about the $625,000 the church would have received. The church said neighborhood residents praised plans for the recreational center. "Thus the opponents ask the church to provide health-oriented programs for themselves, but would deny the church's extension of health-oriented programs for persons with AIDS," the suit charges. The neighbors of the predominantly black area expressed concern about decreasing property values if the AIDS housing were built, and health fears--such as catching AIDS on a basketball court--even though the disease is not spread by casual contact. The church appears to have a strong case against the city, according to legal experts, because the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, such as cancer or AIDS. "Bring Back Brothels, Say the French" Reuters (01/21/95) A poll conducted to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the closure of brothels found that an overwhelming majority of French people want them legalized to reassert government controls over prostitution. The poll found that 68 percent of those asked wanted the return of "closed houses," 28 percent rejected the proposal, and 4 percent had no opinion. While 71 percent thought that lifting the ban on brothels would help reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, 28 percent believed the opposite. The brothels were closed in April 1946, just after World War II. In Paris alone, the ban led to the eviction of prostitutes from 178 buildings and 6,000 hotel rooms. "Cost and Outcome of Intensive Care for Patients with AIDS, Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, and Severe Respiratory Failure" Journal of the American Medical Association (01/18/95) Vol. 273, No. 3, P. 230; Wachter, Robert M.; Luce, John M.; Safrin, Sharon Researchers at the San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center studied 113 patients with AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and severe respiratory failure to determine the costs and outcomes associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admission for such patients. Only 25 percent survived to hospital discharge. Post-ICU admission charges averaged $57,874 for the entire group. The cost of care for survivors was significantly more expensive than for those patients who died before discharge. ICU admission and subsequent hospitalization cost an average of $174,781 per year of life saved. It cost $305,795 for patients admitted to ICU from 1981 through 1985, $94,528 for those admitted during 1986 to 1988, and $215,233 for those admitted from 1989 through 1991. The second group's improved cost-effectiveness was due to improved survival rates and shorter lengths of ICU stays. The main predictors of hospital death in group three were low CD4 cell counts on hospital admission and the development of pneumothorax during mechanical ventilation. Although the cost-effectiveness of intensive care for patients with PCP and severe respiratory failure improved during the first eight years of the epidemic, it has dropped in recent years to levels below that of many accepted medical interventions. "Factors Mediating Changes in Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among Gay and Bisexual Male Adolescents" American Journal of Public Health (12/94) Vol. 84, No. 12, P. 1938; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Reid, Helen; Rosario, Margaret To determine changes in sexual risk behaviors over one year and mediators of change among gay and bisexual male adolescents who are primarily African-American and Hispanic, researchers studied 136 males between the ages of 14 and 19. The participants were assessed at four points during the year-long study, and attended HIV preventive intervention sessions. After one year, there was a significant reduction in the number of unprotected same-sex anal and oral acts. The participants who had less risk in their sexual history, who did not engage in commercial sex, and who attended more HIV intervention sessions were more likely to reduce their sexual risk. The most dramatic reduction of risk acts was among African-American youths. Abstinence was more likely among younger youths and those who had been abstinent before enrolling. Following the intervention, the youths significantly reduced the number of partners, which was maintained through the 12-month follow-up. The researchers concluded that the efficacy of HIV prevention programs must be empirically evaluated. "A Finger on the Culprit" Nature (01/05/95) Vol. 373, No. 6509, P. 17; Schulz, Thomas F.; Weiss, Robin A. Chang et al's discovery of a previously unknown human herpes virus should provide insights into the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and into the way in which viruses contribute to the early stages of tumor formation. More than a century ago, KS was described as a rare, slowly progressive tumor of elderly men. Now, it is most commonly associated with HIV infection and is characterized by rapid progression and a wide distribution which includes the viscera, lymph nodes, and skin. Epidemiological data suggested the involvement of an infectious agent that is preferentially transmitted by sexual contact. For example, KS is common in HIV-infected gay men, but is virtually absent in hemophiliacs with AIDS. The partial DNA sequence found shows some similarity to the Epstein-Barr virus and herpes virus saimiri. While a region derived from a minor capsid gene can be amplified from almost all biopsies of AIDS-related KS and from 15 percent of non-KS tissue from AIDS patients, it cannot be obtained from tissue samples of non-AIDS patients. The new virus may be viewed as a sexually transmitted virus which is relatively common in gay men and is an opportunist in HIV infection. "Mark Barnes Wants AIDS Action Council to Be a 'Tough Presence'" Washington Blade (01/06/95) Vol. 26, No. 1, P. 5; Campbell, Kristina As of Feb. 1, former New York City and state public health official Mark Barnes will become the executive director of the AIDS Action Council--the largest organization in the country dedicated to AIDS lobbying at the federal level. Barnes replaces Daniel Bross, who resigned in August. Barnes cites his two primary goals as strengthening AIDS Action's Congressional lobbying presence and pursuing a "very aggressive fundraising strategy" for the organization itself. Federal AIDS funding faces an "immediate crisis," says Barnes, with several programs being threatened by budget reforms and Republican control. The programs at risk include the Ryan White CARE Act--which will expire this year if not reauthorized by Congress--the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, and general AIDS prevention and research efforts. AIDS organizations will persuade Congress to continue funding the war against the disease, Barnes predicts. In response to criticism over his placement, Barnes he says he completely understands why people would want an HIV-infected person in the position, but "ultimately the test is whether one identifies with the risk groups." "The Backlash Against Victim Art" U.S. News & World Report (01/16/95) Vol. 118, No. 2, P. 22; Leo, John New Yorker dance critic Arlene Croce refuses to review choreographer Bill T. Jones' new mixed-media dance, "Still/Here." She claims she is sick to death of "victim art" and "the new tribe of victim artists parading their wounds." The AIDS-focused works of Jones--who is black, gay, and infected with HIVJ--show sick and dying people on videotape, and dancers who present themselves, according to Croce, as "dissed blacks, abused women, or disfranchised homosexuals." Deborah Jowitt, dance critic of the Village Voice, disagrees with some of Croce's arguments but says, "she's not alone in feeling her critical prerogatives and her power hobbled by art that prompts pity for the artists because of social oppression or the precarious state of their health." Today, almost any victim complaint is being passed off as art. The 1993 biennial show at the Whitney Museum, for example, included a large puddle of plastic vomit--a symbol of the outrage of the creator, a feminist, about female eating disorders in an oppressive patriarchal culture. Croce compares "the defiant anticonventionalism of the Sixties, when you were manipulated into accepting what you saw as art," to today, with Jones, where "you were actually intimidated" into shutting up about what's on stage.