Date: Wed, 28 Jun 1995 09:19:01 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary June 28, 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 ************************************************************ "Teen Fear: Getting AIDS from Doctors" "Cross-Species Transplants Debated" "Bill Would Protect Sellers of Houses with Pasts" "Honoring an Auctioneer with a Benefit for AIDS" "New Issue Update: Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc." "Natural Protection Against HIV-1 Infection Provided by HIV-2" "HIV-Positive Technician Not 'Otherwise Qualified'" "Empathic Learning: An Innovative Teaching Strategy to Improve Attitudes Toward Caring for Persons with HIV/AIDS" ************************************************************ "Teen Fear: Getting AIDS from Doctors" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/28/95) P. A1; Santiago, Denise-Marie A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that many teenagers are worried about contracting HIV or another disease from their doctors. The study asked more than 6,800 ninth graders in Philadelphia to identify what they considered important characteristics of health-care providers and sites that affect their decision to seek health care. Four of the 10 leading characteristics concerned issues of cleanliness and infection control. Follow-up sessions with the students revealed that their primary concern was contracting HIV and AIDS from their doctors. Many recalled media reports about Kimberly Bergalis, who contracted HIV from her dentist. The students also estimated that between 100,000 and 1 million AIDS patients had been infected by health-care providers. There have, however, only been six such cases--those involving the Florida dentist who infected Bergalis. The study's authors were surprised by the HIV issues, having expected that confidentiality and respect would be the teens' main concerns. "Cross-Species Transplants Debated" Philadelphia Inquirer (06/28/95) P. A6; Neergaard, Lauran Last spring, doctors were prepared to inject baboon bone marrow into AIDS patients in an attempt to boost their immune systems, but the government told them to wait. Now, some experts say that such cautious federal conduct with animal organs is overdue, especially because it is not known whether such transplants could promote new diseases. The question is whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should regulate the increasing number of experiments in which Americans are given animal organs or cells. The debate was highlighted when the FDA suspended the AIDS-baboon trial until it determines whether the experiment is safe. An FDA panel will make that decision in July. In the meantime, the agency has sought advice from the Institute of Medicine. After three days of debate, scientists reached no conclusion, but some suggested a national panel to control xenotransplants. "Bill Would Protect Sellers of Houses with Pasts" New York Times (06/28/95) P. B1; Fisher, Ian New York Gov. George E. Pataki is considering legislation that would exempt real estate agents and owners from disclosing the histories of the houses they sell or the apartments they rent. Both the state Senate and the Assembly have passed the bill, siding with the real estate industry over a buyer's right to know about the murders, the suicides, or the crimes that might be as troubling to some buyers as a leaky roof. The measure has found support among the Democrats who control the Assembly because it protects sellers who chose not to reveal that a former owner or inhabitant had AIDS or HIV. A number of realtors have said that buyers are increasingly asking whether former occupants had AIDS or died from the disease. Federal fair housing laws already prohibit brokers from disclosing AIDS- or HIV-related information, so this part of the law would essentially protect only the sellers. "Honoring an Auctioneer with a Benefit for AIDS" New York Times (06/28/95) P. B3; Kaufman, Michael T. On Monday evening, Sotheby's held an auction in honor of Robert C. Woolley--its director of decorative arts--to benefit organizations trying to fight AIDS. Woolley worked at New York's famed auction house until just before Christmas last year when he became too sick from AIDS. During the event, four auctioneers whom he had trained took turns taking bids on artworks, jewelry, and furniture contributed by Woolley's friends. Woolley happily looked on from his wing chair, watching as more than $1.2 million was raised. All funds raised at the auction will be divided among four AIDS organizations: the Community Research Initiative on AIDS, Friends in Deed, Gay Men's Health Crisis, and God's Love We Deliver. "New Issue Update: Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc." Investor's Business Daily (06/28/95) P. A6 Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc., formerly known as Liposome Technology Inc., has appointed L. Scott Minick to the position of president. Sequus is responsible for developing Doxil as a treatment for AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. "Natural Protection Against HIV-1 Infection Provided by HIV-2" Science (06/16/95) Vol. 268, No. 5217, P. 1612; Travers, Karin; Mboup, Souleymane; Marlink, Richard et al. During a nine-year period, researchers measured the seroincidence of HIV-1 and HIV-2 in a cohort of prostitutes in Dakar, Senegal. Because people infected with HIV-2 remain asymptomatic for extended periods, it was suggested that the less virulent HIV-2 might protect against ensuing infection with HIV-1. Despite a higher incidence of other sexually transmitted diseases, the researchers found a lower HIV incidence rate among HIV-2-infected women than among the initially HIV-seronegative women. Univariate analysis indicated that HIV-2-seropositive women with CD4 levels under 800 were more likely to become infected with HIV-1 than were those with higher CD4 counts. Overall, HIV-2 infection provided approximately 70 percent protection from subsequent HIV-1 infection. Despite the protection potential and the lower virulence of HIV-2, the risks involved in a live virus attenuated vaccine may significantly exceed the possible benefits. The protection observed may be a result of cross-reactive immunity to epitopes conserved between HIV and HIV-2, the authors conclude. "HIV-Positive Technician Not 'Otherwise Qualified'" National Law Journal (06/26/95) Vol. 17, No. 43, P. B9 In Mauro v. Borgess Medical Center, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan ruled that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an HIV-infected surgical technician poses a significant risk to the health and safety of patients. William C. Mauro was laid off by Borgess after he was suspected of being infected with HIV, and refused to submit to a test or accept an alternative position at the hospital. Mauro sued Borgess, claiming the medical center violated the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. The court noted that HIV is a blood-borne disease that can be transmitted by contact with contaminated blood from an open wound of another. Mauro argued, however, that the likelihood of transmission was so small to bring doubt as to the severity of the risk he actually posed. The court held that there is a real possibility of transmission, however small, and because the consequence of transmission is death, the threat to the patient posed by Mauro's presence in the operating room is direct and significant. "Empathic Learning: An Innovative Teaching Strategy to Improve Attitudes Toward Caring for Persons with HIV/AIDS" Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (05/95-06/95) Vol. 6, No. 3, P. 19; Larson-Presswalla, Joyce; Rose, Molly A.; Cornett, Patricia Larson-Presswalla et al. conducted an experimental study to determine the effect of "The Circle of Life" method of improving feelings and attitudes about people with AIDS on nursing students. Author Patricia Cornett developed this intervention after presenting several traditional HIV education programs to audiences, and finding that facts and data did not change the way people felt about HIV. "The Circle of Life" uses dramatization, role play, and music to help participants feel the experience of an individual progressing from HIV seropositivity to an AIDS diagnosis. The students were assigned to either the intervention group or to only a lecture on HIV. Both before and after the intervention or the lecture, they also completed the Damrosch AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and concerns tool--a questionnaire relating to concerns about caring for persons with AIDS. In terms of AIDS knowledge, there were significant improvements in both groups. The intervention group, however, also showed a significant improvement in AIDS-related attitudes, which indicates that "The Circle of Life" simulation had a beneficial effect on the participants' attitudes.