Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 10:59:57 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com AIDS Daily Summary June 29, 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 ************************************************************ "Fear of AIDS Got Him Fired, Ex-Collins Staffer Says" "Contesting Termination a Long Process" "FDA Advisory Panel Rejects New, Expensive Test to Screen Blood for AIDS Virus" "Disney Unit Chairmen Form Firm to Release Controversial Movie" "Nixon Protests Detainment" "Republicans Take Aim at White House Funds" "Obituaries: Jonathan S. Berg, AIDS Educator, 34" "Across the USA: West Virginia" "Whimsy as a Tool to Deal with AIDS" "Medizone Announces New Zealand Joint Venture" "Can One Type of HIV Protect Against Another Type?" "Swedes Support UNAIDS" ************************************************************ "Fear of AIDS Got Him Fired, Ex-Collins Staffer Says" Detroit News (06/29/95) P. 1A; Zagaroli, Lisa; Bivins, Larry In a complaint filed with the Office of Fair Employment Practices--the House's internal personnel grievance system--a former employee of Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins (D-Mich.) charges the congresswoman with violating the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) when she fired him. Bruce Taylor claims that Collins dismissed him because she thought he was infected with HIV. The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against people with HIV, AIDS, or "who are erroneously assumed to have HIV or AIDS." During recent hearings, Collins and her chief of staff, Meridith Cooper, testified that Taylor was dismissed as part of plans to restructure the office in anticipation of the Republican takeover of Congress. Taylor claims, however, that after having had surgery for colon cancer in August 1994, Collins--who knew that he was caring for his dying partner--asked "the real reason" for his absence. He also says she asked whether he had HIV or AIDS. In addition, he alleges that Cooper also asked him if he was HIV-positive. Later in the year, Taylor claims, Cooper told him he needed to be more honest about his "health status" and said that the Collins needed someone who would be "accessible." Taylor is seeking back pay, attorney's expenses, and $50,000 in damages. "Contesting Termination a Long Process" Detroit News (06/29/95) P. 1A; Bivins, Larry; Zagaroli, Lisa The case of congressional staffer Bruce Taylor, who claims that Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins (D-Mich.) dismissed him out of a fear that he had AIDS, focuses attention on a grievance procedure that some say is designed to deter complaints of unfair employment practices. Taylor was fired in December, before legislation was passed this year giving congressional employees the right to sue the politicians that hire them. He was therefore forced to follow an internal process falling under House Rule 51. Although the procedure grants workers rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act., it requires approximately seven months to complete. "The system is so stacked against you," says Taylor "FDA Advisory Panel Rejects New, Expensive Test to Screen Blood for AIDS Virus" Baltimore Sun (06/29/95) P. 24A The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a new HIV test to screen donated blood, but will probably decide against it because it is too expensive. According to scientists, the test would prevent as many as 20 transfusions of HIV-tainted blood each year at a cost of at least $24 million. "It's inconceivable in 1995 that we would consider a test that would cost so much," says Louis M. Katz, chairman of the FDA advisory panel that recommended not using the test. Although the FDA is not required to adopt the panel's decisions, it usually does so. The panel's decision followed conflicting testimony from blood banks, doctors, and AIDS patients who became infected with HIV via contaminated blood transfusions. The Red Cross, for example, strongly urged approval of the test. However, the Council of Community Blood Centers--which collects about 40 percent of the nation's blood--advised against it, arguing that the same result could be achieved by screening high-risk donors. After the vote, both scientists and representatives from the blood groups emphasized that the nation's blood supplies were still largely safe. "Disney Unit Chairmen Form Firm to Release Controversial Movie" Wall Street Journal (06/29/95) P. B2 Miramax Films will return to its parent Walt Disney Co. the $3.5 million it used to acquire "Kids," an explicit movie in part about an HIV-infected teenage boy who has sex with teenage girls. Instead, the film will be distributed by Excalibur Films--a separate company to be established by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who are co-chairmen of Miramax. Many Disney officials were outraged when Miramax acquired "Kids," primarily because they thought the film would be rated NC-17, meaning that no one under age 17 could attend. According to Disney corporate policy, Disney and its business units should not release NC-17 movies. "Nixon Protests Detainment" Washington Post (06/29/95) P. A35 In an interview in Havana, Donald Nixon--a nephew of former president Richard M. Nixon who is being detained in Cuba--said that he has done nothing wrong and has not been charged with anything. Nixon has been told not to leave the country until his relationship with fugitive financier Robert Vesco has been clarified, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said. Vesco was arrested by Cuban authorities on suspicion of being a foreign agent, but is also wanted in the United States for allegedly conning investors out of more than $200 million. Nixon, who was Vesco's house guest at the time of the arrest, said that he was there because he and Vesco are involved in a project to develop a Cuban drug that could be used against diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Nixon said he became interested in the drug, which is not licensed in the United States, after it helped his wife fight breast cancer. "Republicans Take Aim at White House Funds" Reuters (06/28/95); Frank, Jackie Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted on Wednesday to reduce President Clinton's own office funds, and to eliminate his Council of Economic Advisers. The House panel also cut nearly $600,000 from the National Security Council, which advises the president on defense and foreign policy issues. Of that sum, $500,000 would be shifted to the State Department to pay for AIDS treatment for children overseas. Subcommittee chairman Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa) said there was "no money to spare" in the $11.4 billion appropriations bill, which also funds the Treasury Department; the Internal Revenue Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and federal retirees. "Obituaries: Jonathan S. Berg, AIDS Educator, 34" New York Times (06/29/95) P. D21 On Saturday, Jonathan S. Berg, a real estate broker and AIDS educator, died of AIDS-related complications at age 34. Berg worked with the People with AIDS Coalition, speaking at high schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. He also helped develop an AIDS education program at the Town and Village Synagogue in Manhattan, which became a model for many synagogues across the country. In addition, Berg last year helped establish the Project for Being and Dying with the Upaya Foundation in Santa Fe, N.M. He is survived by his companion, his parents, and his sister. "Across the USA: West Virginia" USA Today (06/29/95) P. 5A Rob Cervi, the AIDS activist who sued the Kaufmann's department store chain over his dismissal, has died at age 43. Kaufmann claimed he was fired for shoplifting. The case is pending before the Supreme Court of West Virginia. "Whimsy as a Tool to Deal with AIDS" New York Times (06/29/95) P. C11; Brantley, Ben Steven Dietz's "Lonely Planet" is a fanciful play in which two gay men examine death and friendship in a cosmically significant map store. Maps, says store owner Jody, bring comfort in their "attempt to maintain order and reduce our reliance on hypotheses." His friend Carl insists on storing chairs at the map shop, and continually describes his numerous imaginary jobs, which include restoring art and dusting for fingerprints. As the play progresses, the audience learns that both the chairs and the jobs once belonged to people who have died. They also, however, become reminders of things Jody is trying to ignore--the ephemeral nature of life and relationships; the horrors of disease; and specifically, the fact that he has not yet been tested for HIV. This revival of "Lonely Planet" creates some deeply evocative images that become a disturbing monument to lives lost to time. "Medizone Announces New Zealand Joint Venture" Business Wire (06/28/95) Medizone International Inc. has joined Solwin Investments, Ltd. in New Zealand to create a joint venture subsidiary called Medizone New Zealand Limited. Through this venture, Medizone plans to obtain regulatory approval for its proprietary technology and to license the technology in New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific Islands, and Australia. In addition, Medizone has given the development and licensing rights for its process and equipment patents to Medizone New Zealand in exchange for a 50 percent interest in the subsidiary. Medizone International is currently developing an ozone-based treatment for diseases caused by lipid enveloped viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis B, and Herpes. "Can One Type of HIV Protect Against Another Type?" Science (06/16/95) Vol. 268, No. 5217, P. 1566; Cohen, Jon Researchers led by Phyllis Kanki of the Harvard School of Public Health recently concluded that, after following the HIV status and health of "commercial sex workers" in Senegal for nine years, HIV-2-infected women had a lower incidence of HIV-1-infection than did women who were initially uninfected. "I think it's protection," said Kanki. As Kanki et al. reported last year, HIV-2 takes an average of at least 25 years to cripple the immune system and cause full-blown AIDS--more than twice as long as the typical delay seen with HIV-1. Kanki's hope is that HIV-2-infected people might live long, dying of other causes before AIDS develops, and might benefit from the HIV-2 infection if it protects them from HIV-1. She cautions, however, that she does not want the possible protection "to be taken too far, so that people run out and go get infected with HIV-2." Kanki does, however, see comparisons with cowpox/smallpox and other "heterologous virus" systems, in which a weaker form protects against its aggressive relative by stimulating immune molecules to recognize both strains. Despite enthusiasm about the findings, other researchers also expressed concern about the risks of attenuated AIDS vaccines. "Swedes Support UNAIDS" Lancet (06/17/95) Vol. 345, No. 8964, P. 1563; Awuonda, Moussa In May, the Swedish government announced that it would donate Sek 20 million to the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) for the two fiscal years 1995-1997. Martina Smedberg, health adviser to the Minister of Development Cooperation, said that UNAIDS offers "the promise of what most people want--a thin layer at the top which can take innovative steps to reach the grassroots." Smedberg added that the program's objective of working at the country level, and its emphasis on broad social and economic issues related to HIV corresponds to Swedish aid policy, which increasingly must respond to demands put to women and child health in the mainstream HIV and AIDS campaigns. The Swedish donation to UNAIDS' start-up funds equals about 3 percent of UNAIDS' initial, two-year budget of $180 million .