Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 09:47:09 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary July 27, 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 ************************************************************ "Board Upholds Hill Staffer Fired Over AIDS Fear" "Man with TB Infected 45 at Bar, Study Says" "New York TB Cases Decline" "Senate Votes Voluntary AIDS Testing for Pregnant Women" "Campaign Launched for HIV-AIDS Issues" "Across the USA: North Dakota" "Deaths Probed at AIDS Hospice" "Russell 2000 Advances to Set a Record, While Nasdaq Composite Tops 1,000" "Failure of T-Cell Homeostasis Preceding AIDS in HIV-1 Infection" "Customers Sue Illinois Insurance Company" ************************************************************ "Board Upholds Hill Staffer Fired Over AIDS Fear" Washington Post (07/27/95) P. A17 A congressional grievance committee has ruled in favor of a gay man who claimed he was fired by Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins (D-Mich.) because she thought he was infected with HIV. "The Office of Fair Employment Practices finds that [Bruce Taylor] was terminated because he was perceived to be HIV positive or to have AIDS and would require time off for health reasons," wrote hearing officer Edward Hosken Jr. According to the Associated Press, Collins testified in June that she never thought the former aide and press secretary was infected with HIV or ill with AIDS. The congresswoman contended that Taylor was fired because her office was eliminating six positions following the Republican election victory. Taylor, however, claimed that both Collins and her chief of staff, Meredith Cooper, knew that his partner was dying of AIDS and that he was asked if he, too, had AIDS. Taylor sought back pay, legal fees, and $50,000 in damages under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The board ruled that he should receive back pay and pay up until the end of this month, unless he finds another job before that date, as wells as reimbursement for legal expenses. "Man with TB Infected 45 at Bar, Study Says" New York Times (07/27/95) P. A21; Altman, Lawrence K. Epidemiologists have discovered that, in 1992, a regular at a neighborhood bar in Minneapolis, Minn., infected at least 45 bartenders and other customers with tuberculosis (TB). As a result, at least one patron died and others customers spread the infection to two more. This outbreak accounted for 35 percent of all new TB cases in Minneapolis that year. According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, the case showed that the spread of TB at a bar can be "a major public health problem." The recent rise in TB is due in part to co-infection with HIV, which weakens the immune system and makes it vulnerable to infection with certain microbes. The Minneapolis outbreak, however, was not associated with AIDS. The incident does raise some important questions, including whether some strains of TB bacilli are more virulent than others. Scientists have long suspected that such differences take place, but have not documented them. "New York TB Cases Decline" New York Times (07/27/95) P. A21 As a result of improved treatment and infection control, there has been a significant decrease in the number of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) cases in New York City, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden--head of the bureau of TB control in the city Department of Health--reported on Tuesday. In 1993 and 1994, cases of TB from bacteria that were antibiotic-resistant fell nearly 45 percent from 1991 and 1992. There were 435 multidrug resistant (MDR) cases in 1993 and 1994, compared with 775 in the previous two years, according to data reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. "This has documented for the first time that even in the era of HIV, and even when there is a lot of MDR, tuberculosis can be controlled," Frieden said. "Senate Votes Voluntary AIDS Testing for Pregnant Women" Reuters (07/26/95); Kirchhoff, Sue On Wednesday, the Senate approved a plan to expand voluntary HIV testing of pregnant women. The Senate passed an amendment introduced by Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.) to require 11 states, which account for 80 percent of all infants infected with HIV, to implement guidelines for the voluntary testing and counseling of pregnant women. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) rejected the legislation and offered amendments to limit use of funds in the measure. "AIDS is a chronic disease of sexually promiscuous people," he said, noting that "gay used to be a beautiful word but it's been corrupted." The Senate voted without opposition for a Helms amendment to require the spousal notification of people diagnosed with AIDS. Other amendments Helms wants put to vote include prohibiting the use of funds in the legislation to promote homosexuality or injection drug use, and keeping Congress from spending more money on AIDS than on cancer. A final vote on the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act is expected today. "Campaign Launched for HIV-AIDS Issues" Washington Times (07/27/95) P. C7 During a press conference today, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry and Melvin H. Wilson, administrator of the D.C. Agency for HIV-AIDS, will challenge black residents to "Get the 411 on HIV-AIDS." The African-American HIV-AIDS Mass Media Campaign was developed in increase public awareness and inform the target audience about the AIDS crisis and HIV prevention methods, as well as to encourage use of available HIV testing, counseling, and treatment services. "Across the USA: North Dakota" USA Today (07/27/95) P. 8A In Fargo, N.D., a woman has claimed that she was too drunk the night she had intercourse with her boss to warn him that she had AIDS. Cyndi Potete is the first person charged under a state law that compels people with AIDS to inform sexual partners of their condition. "Deaths Probed at AIDS Hospice" Boston Globe (07/26/95) P. 28 The death of at least one AIDS patient is being investigated as part of a probe into the unlawful dispensation of pain medication, Portland, Maine's chief of police has announced. An investigation launched by the attorney general's office in April was turned over to the police when evidence of criminal misconduct was found. Thus far, one nurse has been accused of illegally distributing morphine to patients. "Russell 2000 Advances to Set a Record, While Nasdaq Composite Tops 1,000" Wall Street Journal (07/27/95) P. C7; Bauman, Larry Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stocks rose 1.375 to 16.125 following the announcement of the results of its Phase I clinical trial for VX-478, an orally administered protease inhibitor for the treatment of HIV and AIDS. The results suggest that VX-478 can be administered at levels needed produce sustained anti-HIV activity, the company said. In addition, Vertex reported a 52 cents per share loss in the second-quarter, compared with a loss of 35 cents in the same period in 1994. "Failure of T-Cell Homeostasis Preceding AIDS in HIV-1 Infection" Nature Medicine (07/95) Vol. 1, No. 7, P. 674; Margolick, Joseph B.; Munoz, Alvaro; Donnenberg, Albert D. Many have theorized about "blind" T-cell homeostasis--that a constant level of T lymphocyte cells is maintained independent of CD4 or CD8 phenotype. In a recent study, Margolick et al. confirm the relatively constant T-cell counts of HIV-1-infected gay men who have not developed AIDS for as many as eight years after seroconversion. It was observed, however, that seroconverters who did develop AIDS had rapidly decreasing T-cell levels for approximately two years before full-blown AIDS developed. These findings indicate that homeostasis failure may be a key factor in HIV disease progression. The researchers conclude that, in light of the high rate of T-cell turnover in HIV-1 disease, blind T-cell homeostasis may augment HIV pathogenesis through a CD8 lymphocytosis that interferes with the regeneration of lost CD4 T cells. "Customers Sue Illinois Insurance Company" Washington Blade (07/07/95) Vol. 26, No. 27, P. 16; Walsh, Sheila Seventy-seven clients of Universal Guaranty Life Insurance have sued the company after it tried to renege of hundreds of life insurance policies, many of which were held by people infected with HIV. The Springfield, Ill., company offered policies for up to $100,000, with as much as $1,000 a month in disability coverage. However, when Universal learned that its independent agents were marketing the policies to the gay community and to people with HIV, the company tried to take back its offer. In a letter to hundreds of customers last fall, company president James Melville said that the agents had fraudulently solicited applications for insurance for people who had medical conditions "that the agent knew the Company would not willingly accept." Melville offered a stipend--which was sometimes a little as $1,000--to customers who voluntarily returned their policies. The customers involved in the suit have all refused to sell back their policies, alleging that the policies are still valid and that Universal engaged in "deceptive trade practices." They are seeking enforcement of statutory penalties of up to $25,000 per policy for "breach of contract."