                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      December 8, 1993 


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 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

 
"AIDS Expert Says Africa Faces a Deluge of Disease" 
Reuters (12/08/93)  (Hughes, Stephen) 
     Casablanca--Approximately 3,500 Africans are infected with the  
AIDS virus each day, and the continent is facing "an impending  
catastrophe, a deluge of disease," warns an AIDS expert.  The  
only hope for Africa is prevention and, unless the virus is  
arrested, "it is possible that within 10 years the elite in  
African countries will be simply wiped out," predicted Professor  
Abdallah Bensliman.  He finds that anti-AIDS policy since 1985  
has been "disastrous" for a number of reasons, beginning with  
finance.  Of the 42 poorest countries in the world, 29 are in  
Africa.  Financial assistance for AIDS programs in Africa is  
being diverted to Asia and Europe, says Bensliman.  How to  
distribute the money that is available also presents a dilemma in 
Africa.  In addition, most Africans cannot afford the expense of  
condoms and/or AIDS testing.  Illiteracy and superstition also  
complicate the AIDS issue in Africa, often giving rise to  
charlatans who offer "miracle cures."  There is a solution to the 
AIDS crisis, says Bensliman.  "The answer is in three words:  
fidelity, abstinence, and protection," he declared.  "No one, no  
religion, can quarrel with that."  He noted that Islam, Judaism,  
and Christianity all preach fidelity.  "If everyone practices  
what those religions preach, the spread of AIDS will diminish." 
       
"Panel to Advise Phila. on Spending AIDS Money" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (12/08/93) P. B3  (Collins, Huntly) 
     A newly formed advisory committee will offer recommendations to  
the acting Health Commissioner on how to allocate an anticipated  
$7 million in federal AIDS funding for the Philadelphia region,  
the city's Health Department announced yesterday.  The funds are  
provided under the Ryan White CARE Act, which finances services  
and medical care for people with HIV/AIDS.  The 12-member panel  
of four whites, six blacks, and two Latinos is a remedy for last  
year, when the city's system for allocating the money was  
criticized by federal officials for alleged conflicts of  
interest.  Some of the people who determined how the money was to 
be spent also headed agencies that received the money.  The  
advisory committee, however, is "an extremely balanced group,"  
and has no financial affiliations with the AIDS service  
organizations that will vie for their share of the federal money, 
said Richard Scott, director of the city's AIDS Activities  
Coordinating Office.  Three members are appointed by the Health  
Department, three by the Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, and six  
are jointly-appointed HIV/AIDS patients.  "We are now trying to  
respond to [the federal] concern about having an objective review 
process and conflict-free allocation," Scott said. 
       
"Dermatologists See Rise in Cases of Latex Irritation" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/08/93) P. A8 
     Doctors attending the annual meeting of the American Academy of  
Dermatology agree that there has been a sharp increase in the  
number of allergic reactions to natural rubber latex, the elastic 
material used to make products such as condoms and surgical  
gloves.  Dr. Ronald R. Brancaccio of the New York University  
Medical Center reported that, although no comprehensive study has 
been conducted, he and other physicians have observed widespread  
cases of allergic reaction ranging in severity from mild  
irritation to life-threatening shock.  Hives and other allergy  
reactions are being reported "more and more commonly,"  
particularly among medical employees, said Brancaccio.  According 
to one study, he said, 7 percent of surgeons and 5 percent of  
operating room nurses were allergic to the latex in their  
surgical gloves.  Surgical gloves are instrumental in preventing  
HIV transmission through exchange of blood and other body fluids, 
and condoms are critical to curbing the spread of the virus  
through sexual contact. 
       
"Tainted-Blood Victims Oppose Terms of Deal" 
Toronto Globe and Mail (Canada) (12/07/93) P. A10  (Picard,  
Andre) 
     Canadian hemophiliacs and transfusion patients who contracted  
AIDS through HIV-contaminated blood are denouncing the terms of a 
new government compensation package as heavy-handed and  
contemptuous of the judicial process.  The infected citizens are  
upset that, in order to qualify for assistance, they must drop  
all civil suits and meet a March 15 deadline, which falls well  
before the results are due from a judicial probe into the  
tragedy.  "It seems to me that the least we can expect is to have 
all the facts before we make a decision," reasoned Ed Kubin,  
spokesperson for Canadian Hemophiliacs with HIV-AIDS.  "Saying  
'sign now and we'll hear the evidence later' shows a blatant  
disregard for the judicial process."  More than 1,000 Canadians  
who got the AIDS virus from tainted blood between 1978 and 1989  
will receive details of the $151-million provincial-territorial  
package, which includes an immediate $22,000 payment followed by  
$30,000 annually for life.  Spouses and dependent children  
receive $20,000 and $4,000 a year, respectively, for up to five  
years.  There are currently more than 100 outstanding lawsuits  
against the provinces, the Canadian Red Cross, and pharmaceutical 
companies.  Some plaintiffs with cases before the court are  
considering a legal challenge of the waiver of the right to  
litigate.  What appears to upset the AIDS patients most, however, 
is the mid-March deadline.  The findings of the judicial  
commission of inquiry are not due in until the end of next year,  
and the patients feel they should have at least that long to  
consider the offer. 
       
"Disease Scares Fuel Interest in Blood Substitutes" 
Reuters (12/07/93)  (Johnson, Cynthia) 
     London--The German scandal over HIV-tainted blood products is  
sparking interest in the development of blood substitutes for  
transfusions.  Because of the increasing incidence of blood-borne 
diseases like AIDS and hepatitis, as well as recurring shortages  
of donated blood, industry sources say there is a potential  
market in surgical and trauma uses that is worth $5 billion a  
year.  "With advanced screening methods, the nation's blood  
supply is safer today than ever before, but it can never be 100  
percent safe," acknowledged Dr. Harvey Klein, chief of the  
Department of Transfusion Medicine at the National Institutes of  
Health.  "The risk of infection remains a major concern among  
medical and scientific communities, not to mention the general  
public."  Scientists say the ideal blood substitute would be a  
stable oxygen-carrying solution that would eliminate the risks of 
blood matching and contamination.  Research has primarily focused 
on hemoglobin-based products, including those using genetically  
manipulated forms of human hemoglobin or hemoglobin taken from  
pigs, cows, or donated human blood that is too old to use. 
       
"Texas Researchers Block HIV Infection in Cell" 
Reuters (12/06/93)  (Gilardi, John) 
     Houston--A drug made from an HIV protein segment that attaches to 
healthy cells appears to effectively block the virus from  
expanding in tests on healthy cells outside of the body,  
according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas  
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.  The research focused on the part of 
HIV known as the "V3 loop," which is thought to be key in binding 
to cell surfaces.  The Anderson scientists synthetically  
reproduced the protein fragment and tested it on cultures of  
human cells outside the body.  Six different protein segments  
have been developed, which lab tests suggest should block most  
HIV strains.  Researchers are not certain how the drug actually  
blocks HIV infection in healthy cells, but they speculate that it 
occupies all of the slots on a cell surface that would otherwise  
be used by the AIDS virus to penetrate the cell.  It also  
prevents HIV transmission by halting the fusion process between  
infected and non-infected cells.  Researchers say the study may  
be indicative of an effective AIDS treatment.  "Our discovery may 
lead to a more effective therapy because it blocks HIV from ever  
entering the cell and prevents it from spreading," explains Dr.  
Jagan Sastry, an assistant professor at the cancer center, and  
the head of the study.  The full implications of the study,  
however, will remain unknown until human tests are conducted to  
test the drug's effect on AIDS. 
       
"A Resistance to Reason" 
Newsweek (11/29/93) Vol. 122, No. 22, P. 79  (Gelman, David) 
     Despite an intense campaign to educate the public on how the AIDS 
virus can and cannot be transmitted, there still remains some  
uneasiness--even among physicians--about casual contact with AIDS 
patients.  Psychologists believe there is a greater force at work 
than just a simple fear of infection.  "People don't want to  
touch people with AIDS or share their dishes" even though they  
know that they are being irrational, says Carol Nemeroff, a  
clinical psychologist who headed a study of college students to  
evaluate how they would feel about using silverware previously  
used by AIDS patients, then washed.  John Pryor, who co-edited a  
chapter in the 1993 book, "The Social Psychology of HIV  
Infection," thinks the average person has a profound negative  
bias against AIDS, which has been stigmatized by its victims, the 
majority of whom are believed to be gay or intravenous drug  
users.  Therefore, AIDS is a "bad" disease carried by "bad"  
people.  According to a study by psychologists Gregory Herek and  
Eric Glunt, many Americans are not convinced that the chances of  
contracting the virus through casual contact are minimal.   
Rather, they focus on what likelihood there is.  The irony is  
that, amid all this anxiety, the public is not being more wary.   
Outside of high-risk groups like homosexuals and drug addicts,  
there have been few modifications in sexual behavior.  "What  
we're seeing is a combination of extreme overreactions to casual  
contact side by side with serious underreactions to actual risk," 
explain researchers at Arizona State University.  The only  
solution psychologists can offer is more and better education. 
       
"Heart Strings" 
Advocate (11/30/93) No. 643, P. 60  (Greenberg, Steve) 
     Hearts and Voices is a group that performs weekly cabaret shows  
for AIDS patients at seven New York City hospitals.  The  
organization was born three years ago when Nancy Sondag and  
friends performed a hospital, bedside revue of music written by  
her roommate Josef Gregory, who was ill with AIDS.  While  
spending time in the hospital with Gregory, Sondag noticed "so  
many AIDS patients who had no family or friends visiting them."   
Other patients, as well as the hospital staff, asked Sondag to do 
shows on a regular basis.  The shows grew from once weekly to six 
times a week.  There are plans to expand the group to several  
cities nationwide, but first it must address the 14 additional  
NYC hospitals that want to be part of the program.  The money is  
still tight, but Hearts and Voices has a gold mine of volunteers, 
including performers from Cats and Les Miserables, cabaret  
singers, and performers from the Metropolitan Opera. 
       
"At Last, a Promise Kept?" 
Advocate (11/16/93) No. 643, P. 24  (Gallagher, John) 
     After lean times during the Reagan and Bush years, AIDS  
organizations eagerly anticipated a record increase in federal  
AIDS funds.  Lobbyists fear, though, that a funding ceiling is  
near, one that will lessen the chances of similar funding  
increases in the future.  A funding bill approved by the House is 
expected to be approved by the Senate and will be sent along to  
the president.  If Clinton signs the bill into law, the federal  
AIDS budget would skyrocket to $2.58 billion--the largest amount  
of federal money ever allocated to fight a disease.  The proposed 
budget includes an additional $210.5 million for the Ryan White  
Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, and a significant  
increase in federal research funds.  The large infusion of money  
for AIDS services should also eliminate interagency fighting for  
federal funding. 
       
"A Journal From the Plague Years: Life in an AIDS Clinic" 
Destination Discovery (11/93) Vol. 9, No. 8, P. 27  (Parker,  
Gary) 
     The Whitman-Walker Clinic started 20 years ago as a VD clinic for 
white, homosexual men operating out of a church cellar on  
Saturdays.  Relocated to a three-story building and adapted in  
response to a strange new virus that no longer affects gays only, 
the pioneering center has become one of the most noted AIDS  
clinics in the world.  While it is the leading AIDS clinic in  
Washington, D.C., Whitman-Walker is actually only the third  
largest in the nation.  With a 180-member staff, it falls behind  
only the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York and AIDS Project Los 
Angeles in California.  Nonetheless, it offers the widest array  
of services of any such clinic in the world.  In fact, short of a 
hospital bed, Whitman-Walker can provide nearly every basic need. 
Over the years the clinic has launched such programs as free HIV  
testing, a pharmacy that sells medicine at cost, a dental clinic, 
and a food bank.  The clinic operates the D.C. AIDS Information  
Line, as well as group houses for AIDS patients.  Outreach  
staffers work the street corners, passing out free condoms and  
safe sex pamphlets to passerbys, as well as the prostitutes that  
are also working the street corners.  In addition, this year  
alone the clinic will represent about 1,000 clients with some  
1,700 legal problems.  With 5,000 District residents sick with  
AIDS, and 21,000 more infected with HIV, the rate of infection in 
the city is nearly six times the national average. 
       
