Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 11:29:57 +0500 From: awilson@smtpinet.aspensys.com (Wilson, Anne) AIDS Daily Summary December 5, 1994 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Man with HIV Held for Intent to Murder" "Elizabeth Glaser Dies at 47; Crusader for Pediatric AIDS" "SEPTA Manager with AIDS Says He Was 'Consumed' by Fear" "AIDS Epidemic Spreads" "US Firms Are Faulted on AIDS Awareness" "West Covering Up AIDS Infection Rate, Zambia Says" "Egypt Reports 375 AIDS Cases" "HIV-1 Subtype C in Brazil" "HIV RNA--Time to Wake Up and Save Lives" "Medical Briefs: Cell-Based Therapy on Trial" ************************************************************ "Man with HIV Held for Intent to Murder" Washington Times (12/05/94) P. C3 Charges of assault with intent to murder have been filed against an HIV-positive man from Carroll County, Md., who police claim raped his eight-year-old step-grandson. The case represents the first time in the county that prosecutors have used the charge against someone who they said knew he was infected with HIV. In addition, the 46-year-old man faces 11 sexual-abuse charges and could be sentenced to more than 80 years in prison. The boy has been tested for HIV, but the results are not yet known. According to court documents, the boy wrote a note to his mother describing an afternoon of sex acts in the accused's attic. He also told the police that he had been assaulted for four hours. The suspect's attorney said that her client "adamantly denies the allegations." Related Story: Baltimore Sun (12/03) P. 1B "Elizabeth Glaser Dies at 47; Crusader for Pediatric AIDS" New York Times (12/05/94) P. B10; Kennedy, Randy Pediatric AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser has died of AIDS-related complications at the age of 47. Glaser, who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion in 1981, unknowingly passed the virus on to her two children. At the Democratic National Convention during the 1992 Presidential campaign, Glaser told of the death in 1988 of her seven-year-old daughter from AIDS. "She taught me to love when all I wanted to do was hate," Glaser said. "She taught me to help others when all I wanted to do was help myself." Glaser co-founded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which has raised more than $30 million for pediatric education and research, in 1988. Her autobiography, "In the Absence of Angels," described her frustration with the lack of information on children who have AIDS. It also described how she mobilized legislators, such as Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio). Glaser is survived by her husband, actor and director Paul Glaser, and her son. Related Stories: USA Today (12/05) P. 4D; Washington Times (12/05) P. A2 "SEPTA Manager with AIDS Says He Was 'Consumed' by Fear" Philadelphia Inquirer (12/03/94) P. B3; Slobodzian, Joseph A. A SEPTA manager, identified only as "John Doe," told a federal jury on Friday that since he discovered that a top administrator learned he has AIDS while reviewing employee prescription records, he has been "consumed" by fear and depression. Doe completed the final day of testimony in his invasion-of-privacy suit against SEPTA. Officials at SEPTA maintain that the discovery of Doe's HIV-positive status was accidental, and that the prescription review that happened to include the names of workers was legitimate. Doe said that while he told only a few of his co-workers that he was infected, the one SEPTA official he did not want to tell was Judith Pierce--who conducted the prescription review--because he considered her "capricious." She had also previously divulged Doe's sexual orientation to another person without his permission. "AIDS Epidemic Spreads" Houston Chronicle (12/02/94) P. 7A David Satcher, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced Thursday that AIDS is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. Satcher also said that the disease has moved dramatically into the heterosexual community and that the transmission rate there is increasing. The proportion of people who acquired AIDS through heterosexual transmission increased from 2 percent in 1985 to 7 percent in 1993. Preliminary data compiled by the CDC found that AIDS is the primary cause of death among men between the ages of 25 and 44 and is the fourth-leading cause of death among women in the same age group. "In the history of epidemics, AIDS is among the worst in the world," he told a meeting of Atlanta business and labor leaders. A total of 400,000 people in the United States have contracted AIDS since 1981 and 250,000 people have died from it. "US Firms Are Faulted on AIDS Awareness" Boston Globe (12/02/94) P. 65; Lewis, Diane E. AIDS activists said on Thursday that only one-third of U.S. companies have provided employees with AIDS awareness training--some of which were one-time events. At a World AIDS Day breakfast, Larry Kessler--founder and director of the AIDS Action Committee in Boston--said, "There are still companies--most of them small ones--where the feeling is: 'We'll wait until we have someone with it, or worse yet, get [that worker] out of here.'" The breakfast was sponsored by the New England Corporate Consortium for Aids Education, which was created by the Bank of Boston seven years ago to provide AIDS education to employees. When the consortium was formed in 1987, employees with friends or family members with AIDS were likely to remain silent because of the stigma attached to the disease. Now, AIDS is the second highest cause of significant illness among Bank of Boston employees between the ages of 24 and 44 years. "West Covering Up AIDS Infection Rate, Zambia Says" Reuters (12/01/94); Winton, Neil Industrialized nations have experienced a greater spread of AIDS among people, and the true rate of infection in these countries is actually much higher than official figures suggest, Zambian Health Minister Michael Sata accused on Thursday. "We in Africa are not ashamed to admit the extent of AIDS," he said. "We do not hide behind statistics that are much higher in the West than admitted." Asked to back up his statements, Sata said that tons of blood had been destroyed in Western countries because they were contaminated with HIV, and challenged the health ministers of industrialized nations to deny his statement. In addition, Sata called for increased local control of AIDS programs in developing countries like his own Zambia, which, according to data from the British health ministry, has the highest rate of infection. He said that plans to help poor countries fight the disease tend to be designed in Washington, London, or Paris, and were ineffective because they paid little attention to local conditions. "Egypt Reports 375 AIDS Cases" Reuters (12/01/94) Egypt has documented 375 AIDS cases since the disease was first identified there about 15 years ago, and about 178 Egyptians have died from the disease, reports Ali Abdel-Fattah el-Makhzanji, the country's health minister. Foreigners living in Egypt must pass an AIDS test, and are deported if the test results come back positive. "HIV-1 Subtype C in Brazil" Lancet (11/12/94) Vol. 344, No. 8933, P. 1354; Csillag, Claudio Four cases of HIV-1 type C have been identified in Brazil. The discovery is important, says Ester Sabino--who discovered the one C case in Sao Paulo--because the C subtype might be more easily heterosexually transmitted than other strains. Transmission is predominantly heterosexual in India, where the C subtype is commonly found. "The virus could be spreading itself in this manner because of a high incidence of sexually transmitted disease [in India], which increases HIV infection through sexual contact," says Jose Esparza of the World Health Organization's AIDS program. The finding will affect vaccine development because the majority of vaccines being tested are for the B subtype, which is the most common form in the United States, Europe, and Brazil, says Sabino. Sabino expects to present the finding at a Jan. 28 AIDS conference in Washington. "HIV RNA--Time to Wake Up and Save Lives" AIDS Treatment News (11/04/94) No. 210, P. 3; James, John S. HIV RNA tests should be used in numerous small, rapid trials to learn how to better use the drugs already available and others which could be made available, writes John S. James, editor of AIDS Treatment News. Although many researchers agree with this strategy, most want to first conduct other trials to prove that HIV RNA testing is useful for testing drugs--which could take years, if they can be conducted at all. HIV RNA is a much better gauge of HIV in the bloodstream than any other test available, James contends. It is necessary to learn to combine drugs and other treatments to keep HIV inactive indefinitely, he says. Substances that should be included in HIV RNA testing are the approved antiretrovirals AZT and ddC, acyclovir, and "alternative" treatments such as herbs and nutritional supplements. Although new technology that would make trials faster, less expensive, and more reliable is available, James says the necessary trials are not being performed for reasons that include a lack of commercial incentive and the neglect of treatment and research by the leadership of AIDS organizations. "Medical Briefs: Cell-Based Therapy on Trial" Advocate (11/15/94) No. 668, P. 44 Researchers from Activated Cell Therapy Inc. and the Stanford University School of Medicine will study a cell-based therapy created to boost the immune systems of people with HIV. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Strategic Program for Innovative Research on AIDS Treatment has provided a grant for this research. The scientists will infuse extremely strong antigen-presenting cells from uninfected siblings--treated with HIV antigens--into the patients. By conducting this study, the researchers hope to prime the patient's T cells against HIV and increase their immunity to the virus.