Date: Mon, 3 Jul 1995 09:55:23 +0500 From: ghfostel{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghfostel}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary July 3, 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 ************************************************************ "AIDS Group Seeks Official in Forgery" "AIDS Group Urges a Plan on Medicines" "Hopkins Doctors Look for Clues to AIDS in Africa" "France Pursues Global Leadership in Gene Therapy" "Condom Controversy in a Park" "Across the USA: Nebraska" "Nixon Nephew Says He Is Cleared to Leave Cuba" "Homosexual Partners Now Insurable" "Under Surveillance: Rubber Rooms" "Tougher on Tattoos" ************************************************************ "AIDS Group Seeks Official in Forgery" Washington Times (07/03/95) P. C7 The Tidewater AIDS Crisis Task Force in Virginia wants its ex-director David Gillooly extradited from Florida. Gillooly is being held in Melbourne, Fla., on check-forgery charges, after being detained upon returning from a cruise when a routine check by U.S. Customs turned up four outstanding warrants. In 1993, Norfolk, Va., police charged him with signing the names of trustee members of the nonprofit group to checks totaling $6,500. Gillooly later disappeared, but confessed in a letter that he had mismanaged the nonprofit's funds. Related Story: USA Today (07/03) P. 6A "AIDS Group Urges a Plan on Medicines" New York Times (07/03/95) P. 6 The National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development is urging the federal government to give drug manufacturers tax credits and protection against competition to speed development of new AIDS therapies. According to the advisory group, the pharmaceutical industry expects such limited profits that it is quickly abandoning research on new AIDS drugs. Peter Staley of the Treatment Action Group says the problem involves both cash-strapped smaller firms and larger companies that "simply are dropping AIDS when they do economic calculations of what research to pursue." The panel's recommendations to the Clinton Administration include offering a 50 percent tax credit for all clinical research into potential AIDS and HIV drugs, giving several years of market exclusivity to all AIDS and HIV treatments, and offering a 50 percent tax credit for studying other uses of approved AIDS drugs. "Hopkins Doctors Look for Clues to AIDS in Africa" Baltimore Sun (07/02/95) P. 1A; Hill, Michael Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health are trying to do something about AIDS in Malawi. The Hopkins Malawi project, which has been funded for the past six years by the National Institutes of Health, has focused on maternal-infant HIV transmission. Dr. Taha E. Taha, a native of Sudan who received his doctorate from Hopkins four years ago, has found a 30 percent HIV infection rate among the thousands of pre-natal patients at one hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, who are participating in the Hopkins study. The Hopkins team studied the effects of cleansing the birth canal just prior to delivery. Preliminary data, however, indicates that the cleansing had little or no effect on HIV transmission. A new study will examine the effects of vitamin A supplements in pregnant women. The data being gathered by Hopkins and other researchers are starting to explain why AIDS is essentially a heterosexual problem in Africa and not concentrated among gay men and injection drug users as it initially was in the United States and Europe. Some of the reasons for the rapid spread of the disease in Africa include polygamy, the large number of other untreated sexually transmitted diseases, and conflicts with the Roman Catholic church over the distribution of condoms. "France Pursues Global Leadership in Gene Therapy" Wall Street Journal (07/03/95) P. B4; Moore, Stephen D. The French government, together with French pharmaceutical manufacturers, is striving for global leadership in gene therapy for the treatment of such diseases as AIDS and cancer. The government is encouraging academic scientists and private industries to create strong alliances in order to accomplish this medical endeavor. In a partnership with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Genopoietic SA has initiated its first clinical trial of gene therapy for the treatment of brain cancers and the skin cancer melanoma. Until the year 2000, the French government intends to spend at least $206 million on fledgling companies in order to increase gene-therapy efforts. "Condom Controversy in a Park" New York Times (07/03/95) P. 25; Toy, Vivian S. On Sunday, the All Saints Lutheran Parish in the South Bronx distributed about 300 condoms at its annual basketball tournament--compared with about 1,500 in the previous year. The significantly lower distribution rate this year is due to a dispute with the city, which does not want condoms given away in parks. The controversy centers on the issue of what is considered acceptable in the city's parks. The city says that condoms should not be distributed so freely in a location where there are many young children, but the church considers a park the ideal place to reach the young people who most need to learn about AIDS prevention. The church distributes condoms at the basketball tournament because it attracts large numbers of teenagers. In June, the City Parks and Recreation Department rejected the parish's request to distribute condoms, noting that it was prohibited in all city parks and recreation sites. Last week, however, the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city on the church's behalf, gaining limited approval to distribute condoms to anyone over the age of 16 who specifically requested one. "Across the USA: Nebraska" USA Today (07/03/95) P. 6A During the first half of 1995, the state of Nebraska recorded 59 cases of AIDS. That total is seven higher than for the same period in 1994, statistics show. "Nixon Nephew Says He Is Cleared to Leave Cuba" Reuters (07/01/95) The nephew of former U.S. president Richard M. Nixon announced on Saturday that he was allowed to leave Cuba, where he was being detained pending questioning over his relationship with fugitive financier Robert Vesco. Donald Nixon was Vesco's houseguest when Vesco was arrested in Havana one month ago on suspicion of being a "provacateur and agent for foreign special services." Last week, Nixon told reporters that he had been in Cuba for a project to develop a drug that he says helps the immune system fight illnesses such as AIDS and cancer. Vesco was the one who coordinated the project with Cuban officials, he said. Nixon said Saturday that he hoped the project would continue, but that he did not know what Cuba's view of it was. "Homosexual Partners Now Insurable" Crain's New York Business (06/19/95) Vol. 11, No. 25, P. 40; Barge, Jeff Earlier this year, seven of New York's largest and most powerful corporate law firms announced they were extending health coverage to the domestic partners of their homosexual employees. Such coverage has flourished in the past year as many perceptions about it have been proven false. For example, contrary to insurance industry fears, recent studies show that domestic partners are not at a higher risk for AIDS than heterosexual spouses. A 1991 Bureau of National Affairs study of 17 companies with domestic partner coverage found that none of the companies had even one AIDS-related domestic partner claim. Some New York employers--such as Time Warner, HBO, and the city of New York--have offered the benefits for years. New York Gov. George Pataki extended the coverage to 250,000 state workers this year. Firms adding the coverage have found a surprisingly low annual cost, which is primarily the result of low enrollment. Many gay partners already have their own health coverage. Another reason for the low participation is that some gay employees are still worried about making their relationships public, though enrollment in the program is generally kept confidential. "Under Surveillance: Rubber Rooms" Advocate (07/11/95) No. 685, P. 14 A new bill sponsored by three members of the New York city council would require any place offering public sleeping accommodations--including hotels, motels, and homeless shelters--to install condom dispensers in its bathrooms. The measure is "an important step" in fighting AIDS, said bill co-sponsor Thomas Duane. Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration supports the proposal. "In the age of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, we must make condom availability and usage a part of our everyday lives," noted Ron Johnson, Giuliani's AIDS policy coordinator. The Hotel Association of New York City Inc., however, rejected the idea, claiming that "some hotels and many of their clients find the public dispensing of condoms offensive." "Tougher on Tattoos" Journal of the American Medical Association (06/28/95) Vol. 273, No. 24, P. 1894 As a result of the AIDS crisis, several state legislatures have increased their regulations on tattooing. A new study reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that in 17 states where tattooing laws have changed in the last 15 years, 10 went from having no statute at all to issuing comprehensive regulations that include provisions for infection control and artist training verification. "The increased vigilance of legislators may be due to a perceived threat of potentially fatal infections arising from a benign procedure," speculates dermatologist Whitney Tope, who notes that while there have been no documented cases of HIV transmission from tattooing, hepatitis B has been transmitted with needles used for tattoos. Tope suggests that certain elements, such as mandatory inspection of tattoo parlors by state officials and required apprenticeship and licensing for cosmetic and artistic tattoo providers, be included in state legislation to reduce tattoo-related infections. ** The AIDS Daily Summary will not be published on Tuesday, July 4, 1995. Publication will resume on Wednesday, July 5.