Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 09:07:29 -0400 (EDT) From: "ANNE WILSON, CDC NAC" Subject: CDC AIDS DAILY SUMMARY 09/15/94. AIDS Daily Summary September 15, 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 ************************************************************ "Award Upheld for Tenant with AIDS" "Evaluating AIDS Drugs" "Judge Wants Records of Woman With AIDS" "Tainted-Blood Victim Fought for Compensation" "Former Editor in Beaumont Dies of AIDS" "Woman Pleads Guilty in AIDS Case" "Vatican Rejects Part of U.N. Plan" "Reality Female Condom Debuts in U.S." "Cancer and Infectious Disease Experts to Meet in Montreal" ************************************************************ "Award Upheld for Tenant with AIDS" Washington Times (09/15/94) P. C3; Seigle, Greg The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has upheld a 1993 ruling ordering the Joel Truitt Management company to pay $35,000 to one of its former tenants, Jay Condren, who has AIDS. The ruling found that the company refused to make any repairs on the man's apartment because he had AIDS. A 1991 note to Condren said that people were afraid to enter his apartment and that the company wanted a certification from a health authority that there was no risk in entering it. The D.C Human Rights Act of 1977 says it is illegal for building owners or managers "to refuse or resist facilities, service repairs or improvements for a tenant or lessee." "Evaluating AIDS Drugs" Washington Post (09/15/94) P. A16 This week the Food and Drug Administration held hearings to determine if changes are necessary in procedures used since 992 that provide accelerated access to AIDS drugs. Critics say that follow-up studies should be enforced by the FDA to effectively determine the success of the treatment. The Washington Post editors say that although new data and follow-up studies are needed to better direct future research, the needs of current and future patients are compelling. The availability of AIDS drugs should not compromised, they contend. "Judge Wants Records of Woman With AIDS" Chicago Tribune (09/14/94) P. 1-3 A Michigan judge has ordered that the records of a woman charged with violating the state's AIDS disclosure law--which makes it illegal for HIV-positive persons to have intercourse without first informing partners of their conditions--be released to the court. Brenda Jensen's physician has argued that doctor-patient confidentiality does not allow the release of such records. "Tainted-Blood Victim Fought for Compensation" Toronto Globe and Mail (09/14/94) P. A23; Picard, Andre Randy Conners, a man whose battle with AIDS prompted a $139 million compensation package for the 1,000 Canadian recipients of tainted blood products, has died of the disease at age 38. Conners, a hemophiliac who received HIV from Factor 8 before it was heat-treated, publicized his story and used his notoriety to persuade the government to help those who had been infected. Santo Caira, executive director of Hemophilia Ontario said, "He took on the government establishment and shattered the conspiracy of silence by telling the truth." "Former Editor in Beaumont Dies of AIDS" Houston Chronicle (09/14/94) P. 15A Tim Halley, an award-winning writer and former assistant city editor, has died of AIDS at age 35. In 1992, he wrote a first-person account of his fight against AIDS that appeared in a special section of the Beaumont Enterprise. The section won local, state, and national awards--including the American Medical Association's highest medical writing award. He is remembered as someone who wanted to help people understand HIV and AIDS by using his writing skills. "Woman Pleads Guilty in AIDS Case" United Press International (09/14/94) Illinois resident Shirley Noone pleaded guilty to knowingly exposing her husband to HIV without his knowledge and will be charged with criminal transmission of HIV. A 1989 Illinois law makes unprotected intercourse illegal when one partner is infected and the other does not know. Noone was sentenced to four to six years of probation after she agreed to always have protected sex. The case has sparked a civil rights controversy from opponents of the state law--the constitutionality of which has been challenged because it lacks specificity, which detractors claim encourages people to avoid being tested. "Vatican Rejects Part of U.N. Plan" United Press International (09/13/94); Huggins, Michael The Vatican accepted approximately half of the United Nation's 20-year Program of Action at the U.N. Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, but rejected the rest of the document because it deals with abortion, condoms, and sex education for adolescents. Chapters not approved by the Vatican included those addressing extra-marital sex and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV. "Reality Female Condom Debuts in U.S." PRNewswire (09/13/94) In a press conference scheduled for Sept. 21, The Female Health Company will announce the consumer and professional introduction of the Reality female condom. Health professionals and the public will be acquainted with Reality through advertising and a community outreach program. The Reality female condom, which provides American women an avenue of protection from AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases--as well as unplanned pregnancy--will be widely available by the end of the year. "Cancer and Infectious Disease Experts to Meet in Montreal" PR Newswire (09/12/94) The world's top experts in cancer and infectious diseases will assemble in Montreal for the 19th International Congress of Chemotherapy, July 16-21, 1995. The biannual meeting, drawing more than 10,000 scientists and physicians from over 90 countries, will focus on important discoveries in chemotherapy--which is increasingly being used to treat a number of infectious diseases. The Congress will open with presentations by Dr. Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in France and Dr. Robert Gallo of the National Cancer Institute in the United States, both of whom led research teams that isolated HIV during the early 1980s. The most recent research on drugs and treatment techniques will be presented, including advances in gene therapy and new techniques in the management of HIV.