Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 10:07:03 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 09/25/95 AIDS Daily Summary September 25, 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 ************************************************************ "The Reliable Source: Senate Says No to Coffin in Exhibit" "A Strong Endorsement for Clean Needles" "Oasis of Love in Germantown" "Officials Face Tough Question: What AIDS Services Must Be Cut?" "Agouron Says Gets US Patent for AIDS Drug" "One-Time Accuser of Cardinal Bernardin Dies" "Management Changes at ChemTrak" "Staging Ethical AIDS Trials in Africa" "A Bittersweet Retirement Party Breaks AIDS Silence" ************************************************************ "The Reliable Source: Senate Says No to Coffin in Exhibit" Washington Post (09/25/95) P. B3; Gerhart, Ann; Groer, Annie AIDS activist Mary Fisher's art exhibit, which includes a reproduction of a flower-covered casket, will not be displayed at the Russell Senate Office Building today. The Senate Rules Committee has concluded that coffins on the Capitol grounds are only appropriate for official funerals and memorial services. Fisher has therefore decided to show all of her artwork at the headquarters of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. A number of senators apparently objected to the exhibit after the Washington Times termed the casket "bizarre." Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), a co-sponsor of the show, said she had asked Fisher "to consider the sensitivities of some senators who felt [the coffin] was not seemly, not appropriate." The senator also asked Fisher to remove the piece, which she had thought was a painting--not an actual coffin on a gurney. Related Story: USA Today (09/25) P. 4A "A Strong Endorsement for Clean Needles" New York Times (09/25/95) P. A14 The National Academy of Sciences' recent conclusion that needle-exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV should also reduce people's fears that such programs encourage drug use, according to the editors of the New York Times. The academy found no evidence that these programs increase the frequency of drug injection among participants or that they coax others into drug abuse. Indeed, needle-exchange programs frequently help reduce drug use by referring users to drug treatment clinics. The academy urged states that require prescriptions for selling or possessing injection paraphernalia to repeal their laws, but would leave it up to individual communities to determine whether they will create needle-exchange programs. However, the editors note, states and cities where drug addicts account for a significant number of HIV infections should take the academy's findings as a sign to proceed. "Oasis of Love in Germantown" Philadelphia Inquirer (09/23/95) P. A1; McCullough, Marie During the past five years, four nuns of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia have cared for 18 babies at risk of developing AIDS. All but one child has survived. The children's survival reflects the resilient nature of such babies and the advances of medical science, but it also reflects the love the nuns have given them. "It's just wonderful what Sister Kate [McCarron] and the other sisters provide to the children," commented Cynthia Trago, director of children's services at Episcopal Community Services, which places babies in the nuns' foster home under a contract with their religious order and the city's Department of Human Services. "Because of the special love and attention, these children maximize their potential," Trago added. The nuns deftly combine games and medicines, and songs and outings, providing love and care 24 hours a day. "Officials Face Tough Question: What AIDS Services Must Be Cut?" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (09/22/95) P. 15A; Shirk, Martha Health officials in St. Louis, Mo., met with AIDS patients and service providers on Friday to determine which support services to eliminate. Services that may be cut include chiropractic and acupuncture treatments, massage therapy, and "buddy" programs for homebound AIDS patients. The reductions are due, in part, to the fact that a state-administered program ran out of Ryan White funds eight months early and is $1.6 million in debt. Missouri health officials have not yet determined why the federal grant was depleted in July when it was supposed to last through next March, but both the state auditor and the health department are conducting separate investigations into the matter. In addition, state officials said they are meeting with pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and community mental health providers to attempt to find ways to provide necessary services through April, when a new grant is expected "Agouron Says Gets US Patent for AIDS Drug" Reuters (09/22/95) The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s patent application for the chemical composition of the anti-HIV drug VIRACEPT, the company announced on Friday. Agouron also predicted that a patent covering VIRACEPT, a synthetic chemical inhibitor of HIV protease, will be issued in due course. "One-Time Accuser of Cardinal Bernardin Dies" Reuters (09/22/95) Steven Cook, the man who retracted sexual molestation allegations against Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, has died of AIDS-related complications, the Chicago archdiocese announced on Friday. Cook was infected with HIV in 1993 when he accused Bernardin and another priest of molesting him some 20 years before when he was a 17-year-old seminary student. The man later said his recovered memories were incorrect and asked that his suit against the Cardinal be dismissed. "Management Changes at ChemTrak" Business Wire (09/22/95) ChemTrak, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of easy-to-use diagnostic tests, said on Friday that Dr. Victor Liu, vice president of research and development at the company, has resigned. Liu's move comes as ChemTrak reorganizes to more closely focus on the commercialization of its consumer diagnostic products--the Home HIV test system, which is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the CholesTrak self-test for cholesterol. The company is currently increasing its consumer sales and marketing forces, while also creating a state-of-the-art reference laboratory and counseling center for users of its Home HIV test system. "Staging Ethical AIDS Trials in Africa" Science (09/08/95) Vol. 269, No. 5229, P. 1332; Nowak, Rachel Ethical problems surround all kinds of clinical research in Africa, but AIDS research is particularly vulnerable to such difficulties because of the sheer enormity of the effort. The World Health Organization estimates that 9 million of the world's 15 million HIV-infected people live in Africa, where the international ethical principles of human subject research are only just taking hold. Although most researchers are unwilling to discuss specific infractions, many deplore the fact that even after a decade of work, HIV-related research often violates internationally accepted standards. Indeed, a 130-page report from the Office for Protection from Research Risks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that two "major problems" were establishing institutional review boards and obtaining meaningful informed consent from trial participants. But fixing the problems is a awesome task. "We have to help each country develop [ethical guidelines] and then make sure that there are mechanisms in place to have them respected," explains Peter Piot, head of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. Despite the hope for additional improvement, many AIDS researchers find the pace of change incredibly slow, and many African volunteers in clinical trials are still too vulnerable to those who are supposed to be helping them. "A Bittersweet Retirement Party Breaks AIDS Silence" Federal Times (09/11/95) Vol. 31, No. 31, P. 14; Daniel, Lisa For years, seemingly too-young workers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would gradually start missing more work and then one day disappear without the usual going away parties or announcements. Only months or years later would their former co-workers learn that they had died of AIDS. Employees in HUD's Washington, D.C., headquarters were shocked, therefore, when they learned of a reception for a co-worker with AIDS. In late August, Daniel Brooks, a GS-13 section chief who has worked for HUD for 17 years, announced to his employees that he has AIDS and was taking disability retirement. "I wanted to tell my staff so when people ask 'What happened to Daniel?' they could tell the truth: 'He died of AIDS'," explained Brooks. In his announcement for the reception, Brooks spoke of his partner and acknowledged that he is gay. He also noted, "AIDS is not a judgment from God, it is part of the human condition"--a quote which later appeared on poster announcing his retirement.