Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 14:02:45 -0400 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 06/05/96 AIDS Daily Summary June 5, 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 ************************************************************ "Blood Bank Is Held Liable in AIDS Case" "15 Years of AIDS: The Epidemic's Legacy of Change" "As Mother Battles Court, a Child in Baltimore Suffers With AIDS" "Addicts in HIV Study Won't Be Treated" "Blood Inquiry 'Hijacked,' Lawyer Fears" "Two AIDS Tests OK'd" "Inmates to get Needle-Cleaning Kits" "Living in the Shadow of AIDS: For Many Teens, the Disease Is Ever-Present but Still Unreal" "Breathe Deeply and Hold" "About-Face" ************************************************************ "Blood Bank Is Held Liable in AIDS Case" New York Times (06/05/96) P. B2; Hanley, Robert In a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling Tuesday, the American Association of Blood Banks was found negligent for not enacting stricter screening tests for HIV in the early 1980s. The court upheld a $405,000 jury award to a former state resident who contracted HIV from blood he received during surgery in 1984. The blood was a donation from a blood center that was part of the national organization. The case could serve as a precedent for other people infected with HIV through donated blood. The association held that it was not at fault, noting that it would not be able to afford the legal costs associated with such cases. Furthermore, the organization threatened to end voluntary inspections of blood centers, hospital blood banks, and transfusion services. Such an action would force government agencies to take over the inspections and enforce safety standards. "15 Years of AIDS: The Epidemic's Legacy of Change" USA Today (06/05/96) P. 1D; Painter, Kim In the past 15 years, since the first cases of AIDS were identified, the disease has changed how blood banks and health care workers deal with blood, and how Americans talk about sex. Sex is discussed more openly, more graphically, and more often. Studies show that while more teenagers are having sex, they also use condoms more frequently. Public discussion of homosexuality has also increased as a result of the AIDS epidemic. Moreover, dentists now wear gloves to prevent transmission of HIV and other viruses, and blood banks are more selective of their donors. AIDS advocacy groups, meanwhile, have opened the door for other patient advocacy groups for diseases that include breast cancer. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the number of injection drug users has not declined, and infections among members of this group, their sex partners, and their children now represent a large number of U.S. HIV infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. "As Mother Battles Court, a Child in Baltimore Suffers With AIDS" Washington Post (06/05/96) P. D1; Lewis, Nancy The mother of a 3-year-old Burtonsville, Md. girl dying of AIDS is to blame for the child's grave condition, doctors say. The woman refuses to believe that medical care would have helped her daughter, and she has not been treated for her own infection with HIV for at least the past 18 months. Health officials and police had been looking for the girl since Jan. 30, when the mother repeatedly failed to keep appointments at an AIDS clinic and would not answer the door for home health care workers. When the mother did take the girl to the University of Maryland's pediatric AIDS clinic in Baltimore in April, it was too late to slow the progression to AIDS. The woman, a suspected drug user who was previously treated for drug abuse, then took her daughter into hiding again. The girl's grandmother took her to the hospital on May 10, and doctors now estimate that she has up to three months to live. "Addicts in HIV Study Won't Be Treated" Toronto Globe and Mail (06/04/96) P. A10; Coutts, Jane A Vancouver doctor has criticized a study to determine whether intravenous drug users will contract HIV because, he says, the study does not offer the subjects treatment to prevent them from becoming infected. Stanley de Vlaming, who treats addicts at the Gastown Medical Clinic, said the research, conducted by the Vancouver Injection Drug Use Study, is unethical because methadone treatment for drug addiction has been proven to reduce the risk that drug users will contract HIV. Two ethics panels have approved the study, saying that the researchers should not have to provide treatment that is not provided by society. Vlaming is also concerned about paying the volunteers for their participation, fearing that the payment will only enable their addiction. The ethics panels, however, said not paying them would be discriminatory. "Blood Inquiry 'Hijacked,' Lawyer Fears" Toronto Globe and Mail (06/04/96) P. A4; Picard, Andre A lawyer involved in the legal challenge to Canada's federal inquiry into the tainted blood tragedy, told the Federal Court of Canada Monday that the inquiry has been "hijacked" by the Red Cross, governments, and pharmaceutical companies. Harvey Strosberg, who is representing a group of people infected by HIV, charged that the parties are using the legal challenge as a way to control what will appear in the inquiry's final report. Strosberg estimated that the legal challenge, involving 37 lawyers, including himself, is costing more than $6,000 an hour. A lawyer for the Hepatitis C Survivors' Society said reform of the blood system depends on the inquiry's complete examination and recommendations. "Two AIDS Tests OK'd" Houston Chronicle (06/04/96) P. 6A Two tests for HIV were approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. OraSure, the first oral test for HIV antibodies, appears to be as accurate as the standard blood test for the virus. Doctors hope the test will attract people who would be wary of taking a blood test. The second test, Hoffmann-La Roche's Amplicor assay, will help doctors predict how fast patients will develop AIDS by measuring the amount of HIV in the bloodstream. "Inmates to get Needle-Cleaning Kits" Toronto Globe and Mail (06/04/96) P. A4 Inmates in Canadian prisons will soon receive bleach kits for cleaning needles, even though the Canadian Corrections Service does not allow drug use. The kits will be offered as an attempt to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. As of March 1, there were 147 reported cases of HIV or AIDS in Canada's federal prisons, up from 37 in 1991. "Living in the Shadow of AIDS: For Many Teens, the Disease Is Ever-Present but Still Unreal" USA Today (06/05/96) P. 5D; Peterson, Karen S. Today's teenagers grew up in the presence of AIDS and HIV; however, some members of USA Today's Teen Panel say they still feel like the disease cannot strike them. Others say they believe that anyone is at risk for HIV, and some claim they are tired of hearing about the disease. Aaron Benavidez, 16, of Stockton, Calif., said he started volunteering at a local AIDS organization as a result of learning about the disease through a school assignment. He believes that teens are not well-educated about AIDS. "Breathe Deeply and Hold" POZ (05/96) P. 64; Feehan, Amy Although drug prophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is the standard of care for AIDS patients, a debate continues over the use of conventional versus alternative treatment. Without drug prophylaxis, more than 80 percent of people with AIDS would die of PCP. With it, PCP incidence has decreased and survival has increased. Bactrim, the drug most commonly used to prevent PCP in AIDS patients, has potential side effects, however, and many patients are wary of its potential long-term effects. Alternative therapies, meanwhile, including nutritional supplements and herbs, do not have proven benefits against PCP but are virtually free of side effects. Health Education AIDS Liaison and Project AIDS International are two organizations that oppose prophylaxis against PCP, claiming that it increases a patient's chance of developing other health problems, including cryptosporidiosis, tuberculosis, and wasting syndrome. Prophylaxis advocates, however, say that such arguments are exaggerated and detract from the proven, recommended treatment. A compromise attractive to many patients who could not otherwise tolerate prophylaxis drugs is to combine them with alternative therapies to lessen their side effects. "About-Face" Advocate (05/28/96) No. 708, P. 20; Moss, J. Jennings Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Calif.), who has seen his controversial proposal to force the discharge of all HIV-positive military members first passed and then repealed, was able to get the national security subcommittee he chairs to approve a new version of the ban in April. President Clinton signed the ban into law in February, but also supported its repeal, which Congress voted for on April 25. The repeal was seen as a great victory for gay rights and AIDS activists, who credit Clinton and the Pentagon for their support. A group of senators initiated the repeal, which was approved as part of the 1996 spending bill. Dornan reacted to the repeal with anger, sounding off against Clinton. His new proposal adds full medical and disability benefits for all discharged HIV-positive service members, benefits he was against previously. He would also allow military leaders to keep any HIV-positive personnel who had at least 15 years of service. Another proposal from Dornan seeks to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Gay rights advocates say they are certain that Congress will reject a second foray into the issue of barring HIV-infected service members from the armed services and will also avoid getting back into the fight over gays in the military.