From CLEARINGHOUS@delphi.com Wed Sep 14 09:53:03 1994 AIDS Daily Summary September 14, 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 ************************************************************ "C.D.C. Office on Women" "LaBelle Ad Urges Minorities to Seek Treatment for HIV" "For HIV-Positive, Cards Hit the Right Note" "Canton to Curb Infectious Diseases" "Los Angeles Endorses Needle Exchange to Fight AIDS" "Medizone's Blood Decontamination Technology Receives Third Stage of Funding by the Canadian Defense Department" "KSU Starts AIDS Prevent Project" "Epitope Files Response to FDA Form 483" "Champions Dedicated to Helping Others" ************************************************************ "C.D.C. Office on Women" New York Times (09/14/94) P. C10 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is forming the Office of Women's Health to make sure that women's health issues are fully recognized by the government. The office will be in charge of programs at the CDC that pertain to women's issues, said CDC director David Satcher, including research into female-controlled contraception for use in birth control and AIDS prevention and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases before they cause serious damage. The office is being opened partially in response to government criticism that women's health issues have been ignored and underfunded. "LaBelle Ad Urges Minorities to Seek Treatment for HIV" Baltimore Sun (09/14/94) P. 8D Grammy Award winner Patti LaBelle is featured in a bilingual ad campaign announced Tuesday that encourages HIV-infected minorities to seek preventative treatment for AIDS-related pneumonia. The National Minority AIDS Council's campaign is the first designed to keep HIV-positive people healthy for as long as possible. Using the slogan, "Live long, sugar," the principal message of the campaign is that the pneumonia is preventable by taking available, inexpensive drugs. While the majority of gay white men today receive these drugs, recent studies show that minorities are much less likely to receive them. "For HIV-Positive, Cards Hit the Right Note" USA Today (09/14/94) P. 6D; Painter, Kim In the last two years, Shari Anderson, an HIV-positive woman from Hanover Park, Ill., has sent over 5,000 greeting cards to approximately 200 HIV-infected people. Thousands more have been mailed through organizations. Anderson sends out blank cards, with only her Heart Spaces logo, to volunteers at churches, schools, hospitals, and shelters around the United States. The volunteers decorate the cards and return them to Anderson, who sends them to those on her mailing list. She says that her goal is to help AIDS patients avoid the stigma of being identified with AIDS--an experience she endured herself when she first went public with her infection in 1990. "Canton to Curb Infectious Diseases" United Press International (09/14/94) Canton, in southern China, is planning to draft regulations that would control the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera and malaria. While no new cases of AIDS have been reported, the draft regulations are under discussion because of the likelihood that the number of AIDS cases and the affected area will increase. Infectious diseases are encouraged in Canton by the high temperatures, humidity and rainfall, a dense population that includes many migrants, and its growing pollution problems. "Los Angeles Endorses Needle Exchange to Fight AIDS" Reuters (09/13/94) The Los Angeles City Council on Monday approved an emergency AIDS declaration by Mayor Richard Riordan that will allow a citywide hypodermic needle exchange program. Mayor Riordan made this move, which will permit the city to ignore state laws prohibiting the exchange of drug paraphernalia, in an effort to fight the swift rise of HIV in Los Angeles. Although the state has twice voted to make needle exchanges legal in California, Governor Pete Wilson has vetoed them both times, stating that the bills would authorize drug use. "Medizone's Blood Decontamination Technology Receives Third Stage of Funding by the Canadian Defense Department" Business Wire (09/12/94) Medizone International, Inc. announced Tuesday that the Canadian Defense Department would fund the third stage of research into the use of Medizone's proprietary blood decontamination technology to prevent transfusion-related disease transmission in a live monkey model. The company's technology is being studied as a process to neutralize viruses in infected red blood cell preparations. "We have compelling reasons to believe that the use of ozone with the proper technological support will have a profound impact on both blood transfusion and blood banking," stated Commodore Michael Shannon, deputy surgeon general of Canada. The study is expected to be completed by the end of 1994. Earlier this summer, Medizone announced the beginning of classically designed human Phase I trials studying the use of Medizone, an ozone-based treatment for diseases caused by lipid enveloped viruses, such as AIDS, hepatitis B, and herpes. "KSU Starts AIDS Prevent Project" United Press International (09/13/94) Kent State University researchers announced Tuesday that they would team up with Summa Health System of Akron to start an AIDS prevention program involving single women. The program is described as the first to include participation by boyfriends, family members, and friends. The five-year, 93.8 percent federally funded grant will support a demonstration project to increase women's ability to deal with AIDS-related stresses and to accept the personal demands of safe sex, including the use of condoms. The project will study 800 women between the ages of 16 and 40, focusing on single women because they are now a large risk group for HIV infection. "Epitope Files Response to FDA Form 483" PRNewswire (09/13/94) Epitope Inc. has filed with the Food and Drug Administration a response to the report of a facilities inspection team that studied Epitope's facilities over a three-week period ending August 26. The FDA Form 483 Report consisted of 17 observations mainly related to technical manufacturing issues dealing with Epitope's application to market its OraSure (R) oral specimen collection device. This device is used in the diagnosis of HIV. The written response detailed company actions to address each of the 17 observations. "Champions Dedicated to Helping Others" PR Newswire (09/12/94) The Champions Tour, the first 35-and-over competitive men's tennis circuit, has been receiving acclaim for its work both on and off the court. Each of its 12 tournaments includes programs that focus on local charities by raising funds and awareness and donating the players' personal time. The Champions Tour, while in Hilton Head, S.C., from Oct. 4-9 for the Corel Champions, will work closely with the Pediatric AIDS Foundation--whose booth is a regular at Tour events--and the Cultural Arts Council of Hilton Head Island.