Date: Fri, 11 Aug 1995 09:59:19 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 08/11/95 AIDS Daily Summary August 11, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Mother's Boyfriend Charged in Beating of Child with AIDS" "School AIDS Tests" "Reveal Donors Who Had HIV, Judge Orders" "Gulf Grinding Co. Settles Lawsuit from Worker with AIDS" "British Lose Virginity at 17--Survey" "Glyko Biomedical Reports Financial Results" "UNAIDS Sets Preliminary Budget" "Suits by Patients Surge in Misdiagnosed AIDS Cases" "Hospice: A Place for Healing and Dying Well" ************************************************************ "Mother's Boyfriend Charged in Beating of Child with AIDS" Washington Times (08/11/95) P. C11; Gotsch, Ted On Thursday, the boyfriend of a Washington, D.C., woman whose son was hospitalized with apparent burns to his body was arrested for beating the two-year-old. The child, who has AIDS, was brought to the hospital two days ago with what first appeared to be burns on his face, legs, and buttocks. Police sources now say that the child's wounds are the result of a beating from his mother's boyfriend, Harold J. Kirkland Sr. "The child has AIDS. The bruises did not heal, and they began to deteriorate," said one source. Kirkland was charged with cruelty to children, and if found guilty, could be imprisoned for up to 15 years. "School AIDS Tests" Washington Times (08/11/95) P. A2 A school district in Florida has eliminated its voluntary HIV testing of high school students following complaints that the program was inappropriate for the setting. The program, which began three years ago, offered HIV tests in five of Lee County's eight high schools. But at a meeting this week of parents, health professionals, and a few students, the school board was asked to drop the program--which was described as the first time a public agency tested students for HIV. "You have stepped over the line of being educators and moved into the role of a parent," said one mother. Under the program, parents were required to sign permission slips for the tests, but the schoolchildren were not obligated to reveal the results. "Reveal Donors Who Had HIV, Judge Orders" Toronto Globe and Mail (08/10/95) P. A9; Claridge, Thomas; Coutts, Jane In a ruling released on Wednesday, a judge with Ontario Court's General Division rejected the Canadian AIDS Society's request for an order prohibiting the release of 13 HIV-infected blood donors' identities. The society claimed that because the men who donated blood for a study of hepatitis B between Dec. 1, 1984 and Oct. 31, 1985 had not consented to HIV testing, the disclosure of their names would be an invasion of privacy. However, Madam Justice Janet Wilson held that Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act requires the Canadian Red Cross to report the positive HIV tests that it received last year from a government laboratory. Wilson acknowledged that the disclosure will violate the donors' privacy rights, but noted that it may also save lives. The ruling does not mean an end to Ontario's anonymous HIV testing programs, said the Ministry of Health's Barbara Selkirk. "The issue is the donors' right to know," she explained. "The recipients [of contaminated blood] have been notified. Shouldn't the donors be told too?" "Gulf Grinding Co. Settles Lawsuit from Worker with AIDS" Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (08/10/95) Gulf Grinding Co. has agreed to pay $65,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a worker who was fired because he has AIDS. In addition, the company agreed to have the EEOC train its upper-level employees about employment discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Gulf Grinding admitted no wrongdoing in regards to the ADA. The company's lawyer said that the case was settled to avoid an expensive trial. "John Doe" was a grinder at the company until he informed his supervisor that he had AIDS. Doe was fired after his boss held an employee vote to determine whether he should continue working. "British Lose Virginity at 17--Survey" Reuters (08/10/95); Majendie, Paul A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reveals that the British lose their virginity at an average age of 17, three years earlier than in the 1950s. In this age of AIDS, however, the safe sex message appears to be getting through with 60 percent of the 19,000 young people surveyed using condoms--two times the previous figure. When presenting the findings, health lecturer Jane Wadsworth also said, "Two-thirds of young people said they would like to have known more through sex education before they had sex." Sex education is an emotive issue in Britain, where teenage pregnancies are increasing and approximately 40,000 teenagers have abortions each year. In addition, the BMJ reported the findings of a team developing a school sex education program that consists of physicians, teachers, and 16- and 17-year-olds instructing younger students. "Glyko Biomedical Reports Financial Results" Business Wire (08/10/95) Glyko Biomedical Ltd., a developer and manufacturer of instruments and reagents for scientific research and medical diagnosis, reported $391,000 in revenues for the second quarter of 1995, up from $242,000 one year ago. The total was primarily the result of sales of analytical systems, sales of kits and reagents, and custom analytical service revenues. The company recently received $60,000 from the Pediatric AIDS Foundation to research a new test for AZT resistance in people with AIDS. "UNAIDS Sets Preliminary Budget" Lancet (07/22/95) Vol. 346, No. 8969, P. 239; McGregor, Alan During its first meeting, the governing body of the new Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) approved an "indicative budget" of between $120 million and $140 million for 1996-1997. In addition, U.S. Ambassador Sally Shelton was elected chairman, and South African Minister of Health Dr. N.C. Dlamini Zuma was elected vice-chairman. At the next meeting, which is scheduled for mid-November, members of UNAIDS will review the definitive budget. UNAIDS replaced the World Health Operation's Global Programme on AIDS and became operative on Jan. 1. "Suits by Patients Surge in Misdiagnosed AIDS Cases" National Law Journal (08/07/95) Vol. 17, No. 49, P. A12; Weidlich, Thom Machesney v. Bruni is the latest in a series of "AIDS misdiagnosis" cases, of which lawyers say there are many currently active in the United States. Former Catholic priest Raymond Machesney was twice diagnosed as HIV-positive, and lived for nearly seven years under the mistaken belief that he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Recently, however, a jury awarded Machesney $4.1 million, despite his doctor's claims that at the time of the original testing, retesting was not required because HIV was believed to be incurable. Although doctors, clinics, and hospitals have problems with being sued by someone who does not have a disease, plaintiffs' lawyers claim that the patients often must withstand years of treatment and its side effects, as well as the AIDS-related stigma. In general, the suits are standard medical malpractice proceedings, with claims of negligence and emotional distress. However, states like California--which limit pain and suffering awards--and those which follow the "impact rule" for emotional distress claims impede these cases' progress. The HIV test is "not like a pregnancy test where pink is positive and blue is negative," observes Miami attorney Steven J. Mitchel. "Hospice: A Place for Healing and Dying Well" Focus (07/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 1; Hines, Barbara E.; Peura, Stephan M. People who care for advanced AIDS patients must deal with the difficult challenges of working with the young, disabled, and dying as they try to help these individuals during their final days. Hospice counselors assist dying patients in moving toward "inner peace" and "self-possession," the true objectives of "dying well." At Pittsburgh's Corpus Christi Residence, for example, AIDS patients who can no longer be cared for at home are provided with medical, nutritional, social, and spiritual services. Residents also have the opportunity to forego aggressive medical treatments, and remain under hospice care until death. Hospices, therefore, are places that offer comfort and support in a community setting to people in the end-stages of diseases. The first responsibility of hospice staff should be to provide information about HIV, the hospice community, and issues related to the end of life. Next, the staff should offer residents the emotional support to cope with HIV infection and death. The is especially important because the decline and death of other patients could affect HIV-infected patients' protective denial. Finally, caregivers of people with AIDS should provide their patients with appropriate activities until the end, because productivity can offer meaning.