Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 14:30:55 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 04/29/96 AIDS Daily Summary April 29, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Not All AIDS Dramas Are on Broadway" "Across the USA: Connecticut" "HIV in the Armed Forces" "Blood System to Get Overhaul" "Homophobic Letter May Prompt Boycott by Group" "AIDS Study Overturns Theories" "U.S. Unsure How to Tax Viatical Settlements" "AIDS Hits Africa Most, but Asia Set to Overtake" "Protegrins for Prevention of STDs?" "Right to Fly" ************************************************************ "Not All AIDS Dramas Are on Broadway" Wall Street Journal (04/29/96) P. A22; Lasswell, Mark In a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Mark Lasswell, a consulting editor at the New Criterion, objects to the way HIV-infected people are portrayed in the popular musical "Rent." Lasswell says that the musical shows artistic, vital people with HIV fighting the disease, but who are not necessarily suffering from the disease. He compares the portrayal to the story of his friend Dan Meuleman, a hemophiliac who was infected with HIV through tainted blood products and died last fall. Lasswell contends that people like Meuleman, who lived and died from AIDS without glamour, should be remembered as "Rent" makes its Broadway debut. "Across the USA: Connecticut" USA Today (04/29/96) P. 11A In Connecticut, health care workers who disclose information about AIDS patients can be sued, the state Supreme Court has ruled. "HIV in the Armed Forces" Washington Post (04/27/96) P. A22 In a Washington Post editorial, the authors applaud Congress' repeal of a provision that would have forced all HIV-positive service members out of the military. Part of the Defense Department spending bill passed earlier this year, the ban was sponsored by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.). The ban, which was opposed by President Clinton and military leaders, would have forced HIV-positive service personnel out of the military before they would be eligible for disability benefits and family medical care. In conclusion, the editors say they support the repeal because the discharge provision would have unfairly singled out military personnel with HIV from those with other chronic illnesses and would have allowed discrimination in the military that is not allowed in the private sector. "Blood System to Get Overhaul" Toronto Globe and Mail (04/26/96) P. A1; McIlroy, Anne Federal and provincial Canadian health officials will reform the country's controversial blood system by creating a new agency to manage the supply and distribution of blood and blood products. The Canadian Red Cross Society has had the job since 1989, but has recently come under attack for the tainted-blood tragedy that may leave some 3,000 Canadians infected with HIV or hepatitis C. Although the health officials' decision is the first official reaction to the blood scandal, the impact it will have on the federal inquiry into the controversy is uncertain. Criticism of the current system has focused on its lack of coordination and input from consumers. The Canadian Red Cross has said that it will support the new plan, and the Canadian Hemophilia Society has expressed hope that reforms will bring the blood system under control. "Homophobic Letter May Prompt Boycott by Group" Miami Herald (04/26/96) P. 5B; Samuels, Christina A. A letter written by a Florida Department of Transportation worker, saying that AIDS was created to punish homosexuals, has prompted one medical group to cancel its 1997 convention in Fort Lauderdale. The Broward County tourism office is therefore now trying to emphasize the fact that the county has supported AIDS research and AIDS charities to keep other groups from boycotting the state. The loss of the convention business could mean millions of dollars to the state economy. The state worker was counseled about the letter, and the agency issued an apology. The Chicago medical group and a local gay and lesbian center have both said sensitivity training appears to be indicated as well. "AIDS Study Overturns Theories" United Press International (04/26/96) A new study conducted by researchers in Chicago, New York, and Los Alamos, N.M., suggests that AIDS patients whose symptoms develop rapidly have a lower diversity in HIV than those who survive with the infection for eight to 10 years. The study challenges the idea that the virus is deadly because it is able to mutate too quickly for the immune system to defend itself. "U.S. Unsure How to Tax Viatical Settlements" Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (04/29/96); Rothstein, Betsy Questions over tax regulations for the viatical settlement industry are keeping many life insurance companies out of the business of offering death benefits to people suffering from terminal illnesses, like AIDS. Right now a person who cashes in a life insurance policy early is taxed on the money they receive, but Congress is considering legislation to make such payments tax-free. Questions also remain about whether investors must pay taxes on the profit they make from such settlements. The Senate passed a health insurance bill last week that would allow early tax-free payments to the person receiving benefits from a viatical settlement. The Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission are currently considering cases dealing with these tax issues. "AIDS Hits Africa Most, but Asia Set to Overtake" Reuters (04/28/96); Mseteka, Buchizya Almost 13 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have AIDS, an agency of the United Nations reported on Sunday. While Africa has more AIDS cases than any other continent, Asia is set to overtake it. UNAIDS estimated that 7,500 people around the world are infected with HIV every day, and that heterosexual transmission has been the cause of more than 75 percent of all HIV infections worldwide. Nearly 50 percent of the 7,500 daily infections are in women. The agency estimated that by the end of 1995, more than 4 million people in Asia had HIV or AIDS. The majority of the cases are in India and Thailand, but the virus is spreading to other Asian countries. Poverty was cited as one of the most powerful forces driving HIV infection, with more than 90 percent of people with HIV living in a developing country. Worldwide, the hardest hit age group is those aged 15 to 24. "Protegrins for Prevention of STDs?" Lancet (04/20/96) Vol. 347, No. 9008, P. 1105; Choo, Vivien Researchers report that Neisseria gonorrhoeae, including penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae, are sensitive to porcine protegrins, part of a family of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides derived from leucocytes, epithelial cells, and mucosal tissues. The gonococci, however, are not sensitive to defensins, another family of antimicrobial peptides from the same types of cells as those in which protegrins occur. Since it is known that low concentrations of protegrins are also effective against HIV and Chlamydia trachomatis, the researchers suggest that the peptides might be developed into topical agents for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If protegrins should prove effective against such STD pathogens as herpes simplex virus, Treponema pallidum, and Trichomonas vaginalis, their potential as STD preventatives would be increased. "Right to Fly" POZ (04/96) No. 13, P. 50; Eads, Stefani Chris Prilliman, who was fired in 1994 from his position as a United Airlines pilot because he had HIV, is planning a Superior Court appeal of a district court's decision to dismiss his case against United. He earlier rejected the company's offer of a $10,000 settlement, choosing instead to fight for his job. Prilliman was abruptly and permanently grounded in 1994, just one day after passing a routine United physical. The doctor called him to talk about his abnormal liver tests, apparently considering them to be signs of alcoholism. When the doctor learned that Prilliman was HIV-positive, however, the pilot was fired immediately, and his medical insurance was cut off. The pilot sued United and now has medically retired status, receiving 55 percent of his former salary and all his medical and disability benefits. If, however, United had allowed him to work in any capacity for six months, Prilliman would have earned his 10-year tenure and much better benefits. For its part, United maintains that it was only following Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding the grounding of HIV-infected pilots.