Date: Tue, 16 May 1995 09:21:56 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary May 16, 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 ************************************************************ "FBI Accused of Spying on AIDS Activists" "France's Ex-Blood Chief Freed" "AIDS Testing" "AIDS Class Attendance Up to Agencies" "AIDS Services to See Changes" "Preteens Have Great Trust in Parents" "Close the Doors of the Bathhouses" "First Infants on Gene Therapy Seem Better" "Heating Blood Tried as AIDS Treatment" "Chernobyl Nine Years On" ************************************************************ "FBI Accused of Spying on AIDS Activists" Washington Post (05/16/95) P. A6; Thomas, Pierre On Monday, several AIDS activists and gay rights groups accused the FBI of spying on them after the release of Justice Department documents showing that files have been kept on these groups since the early 1980s. The FBI denied the allegations, saying that it only passed on tips about potential violence to other law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department files show that the FBI kept files on ACT UP after receiving information about alleged planned acts of violence by members of the group, activists said Monday. The tips concerned a number of scheduled events in 1990 and 1991, including protests at the National Institutes of Health and at the Capitol. The FBI also has files on the Gay Men's Health Crisis, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights, and Senior Action in a Gay Environment. Members of these groups have accused the FBI of conducting surveillance, attempting to infiltrate their organizations, and actively investigating them. Related Stories: New York Times (05/16) P. B3; Philadelphia Inquirer (05/16) P. A2; Washington Times (05/16) P. A9 "France's Ex-Blood Chief Freed" Financial Times (05/16/95) P. 3 Dr. Michel Garretta, who headed France's national blood bank during the contaminated blood scandal in the late 1980s, has been released on parole. Garretta was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in 1992, but was released after 31 months for good behavior. The doctor is forbidden to leave the European Union, and is still under formal investigation in two other cases related to the release of HIV-infected blood products. Related Story: Philadelphia Inquirer (05/16) P. B7 "AIDS Testing" Washington Times (05/16/95) P. A6 Just one week after the federal government canceled the HIV testing of newborns, lawmakers are rewriting their bills to force federal doctors to resume the testing and inform mothers if their infants are infected. "If the baby AIDS bill had been in effect, everybody would have treated him right away," said Michele Faust, referring to her son, who was secretly tested for HIV at birth. Faust only learned of her son's illness when he nearly died of pneumonia at two months. AIDS activists argue that testing newborns violates mothers' rights to privacy without slowing the spread of the virus. "AIDS Class Attendance Up to Agencies" Washington Times (05/16/95) P. A9; Larson, Ruth It will be up to the individual federal agencies to decide whether to require new employees to attend HIV/AIDS training, the White House AIDS policy office says. Some agencies--including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration--have already revised their policies so that workers are encouraged, but not required, to attend the classes. The Department of Defense, however, says the training will remain mandatory for all employees. The classes, which began in September 1993, have been a source of controversy. Some federal workers objected to them for religious reasons, while others were offended by the graphic nature of the courses. The training was widely seen as mandatory, and most employees felt they had to attend. As of the scheduled March 31 deadline, nearly 75 percent of federal employees had participated in the training. "AIDS Services to See Changes" Philadelphia Inquirer (05/16/95) P. B1; Santiago, Denise-Marie Philadelphia Mayor Rendell will establish a committee to investigate mismanagement and corruption of the manner in which public funds are distributed to city AIDS organizations. City Health Commissioner Estelle B. Richman made the announcement on Monday while informing members of the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium (TPAC) and other activists that she will restructure the service-delivery system for people with AIDS by Labor Day. TPAC will no longer set the priorities in spending the approximately $15 million in federal AIDS funds. In March, a grand jury indicted the former head of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from the organization. AIDS activists have also made other accusations of mismanagement in recent months, Richman said. She said that the changes were intended to give the AIDS community and the public officials more confidence in the service-delivery system. "Preteens Have Great Trust in Parents" Washington Times (05/16/95) P. A2; Wetzstein, Cheryl A new survey of American children between the ages of 10 and 13 reflects their great trust in their parents, and many fears about society as a whole. More than half of the children polled said they were afraid of contracting HIV, being kidnapped, or dying, found the recent study by the Lee Salk Center at KidsPeace, the National Center for Kids in Crisis. The children were also scared that their parents would die or not be able to pay the bills. A total of 98 percent of the preteens said their mother "cares about me all of the time" and 94 percent said the same of their father. Also, seven out of 10 children said they could count on their parents to be there when they needed help, and trust them to do what is best for them. KidsPeace, which offers education programs and has ties to 1,500 mental health professionals in five states, is launching a campaign for better parenting. "Close the Doors of the Bathhouses" Toronto Globe and Mail (05/15/95) P. A14; Samuels, Brian For Toronto's gay community, the controversy about bathhouses as havens for HIV transmission and the need for their regulation and possible closing has become a non-issue, writes Brian Samuels in the Toronto Globe and Mail. In the 1980s, the general consensus was that self-regulation and promotion of safer-sex guidelines would happen best at the baths. But because of the current 500 to 600 new cases of HIV infection each year, the debate should be re-opened, Samuels says. Safer-sex education in bathhouses is rarely more than a jar of free condoms or a rack of brochures--most of which remain unread. It is argued that people are free to make their own decisions. Sometimes, however, people must be saved from their own behavior, which is why there are restrictions on tobacco and alcohol, Samuels concludes. "First Infants on Gene Therapy Seem Better" New York Times (05/15/95) P. A15; Blakeslee, Sandra The first three infants to undergo gene therapy for severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) are responding positively to this controversial treatment. In the therapy, the gene is inserted into certain blood cells removed from the newborn's umbilical cord and reinjected into the infant's bloodstream. Dr. Donald B. Kohn, director of the gene therapy program at Children's Hospital, reports that the treatment "seems to be working," with each infant showing signs of improvement. However, National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Geneticist Dr. Ellen Sidransky says that these infants are also taking medication, making it "too early to tell if it's the drug or the gene therapy that is keeping them alive." If this gene therapy is successful, Dr. Kohn says that it might be applied to blood disorders such as hemophilia and AIDS. "Heating Blood Tried as AIDS Treatment" American Medical News (05/08/95) Vol. 38, No. 18, P. 24 Indiana internist Dr. Stephen Ash has developed a hyperthermia machine in which an AIDS patient's blood is scalded, then reinfused until body temperature reaches 108 degrees. The theory is that heat will offer a patient a temporary respite from the disease by killing some of the HIV that is free in the blood, as well as in HIV-infected cells. Many scientists, however, do not believe it is possible. The National Institutes of Health warns that heat, in test tubes, appears to stimulate hidden HIV. So far, some of Ash's patients tested last July have seen a significant drop in the level of HIV in their blood and a modest increase in their CD4 counts. Ash and 30 AIDS patients will spend the next month trying to determine whether the controversial therapy works. The Food and Drug Administration is cautious, but has promised an especially quick review once the companies file an application with the test results this summer. "Chernobyl Nine Years On" Lancet (05/06/95) Vol. 345, No. 8958, P. 1168; Rich, Vera According to Ukraine's Minister of Health, the death toll in the country due to the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 has now passed 125,000. Deaths have been the result of diseases directly-associated with radiation, as well as the widespread reduction of immunity. This condition was, at first, called "Chernobyl AIDS" because apart from the loss of immunity, the authorities denied its existence. The comparison to HIV-infection has now gained semi-official status. At the country's first National AIDS Congress in January, President Leonid Kuchma said that the Ukraine's leading epidemiologists are now speaking about an "exceptionally threatening association of ecological and virus AIDS."