Date: Mon, 23 Oct 1995 13:57:58 +0500
From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com
Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 10/23/95


                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 23, 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


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"Drug Company Did Not Act on AIDS Virus Warning"
"Safeguarding US Drug Patents"
"100,000 Zimbabweans Face AIDS Deaths in 18 Months"
"Clinton, Dole Struggle With Gay Rights Politics"
"Pros and Cons: Carrington Laboratories"
"Fear of Disclosure"
"Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection in AIDS: Clinical
Features, Treatment, and Prevention"
"Chicago Hope"
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"Drug Company Did Not Act on AIDS Virus Warning"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/23/95) P. A1;  Shaw, Donna
     In October of 1985, executives of Armour Pharmaceutical Co.
agreed to ignore a warning from researcher Alfred M. Prince that
the company's heating procedure was insufficient to kill the AIDS
virus in Armour's blood clotting medicine Factorate.  "Confronted
with the facts at the time, Armour had no scientific reason to
believe that there was anything wrong with its heat-treatment
methods, and every good reason to suspect that the Prince results
were flawed."  The company did switch to a more rigorous heating
process in 1987, but it continued to sell the remainder of the
medicine that was heat treated by the old method.  By this point,
the medicine had already infected several hemophiliacs in
Britain, Canada, and the United States with HIV.

"Safeguarding US Drug Patents"
Journal of Commerce (10/23/95) P. 10A;  Brock, William E.
     William E. Brock, a former U.S. trade representative who now
represents Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, applauds Congress's recent
decision to uphold its commitment to intellectual property rights
under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  Generic
drug companies have been lobbying for immunity from the GATT
agreement, and Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) has argued that such a
provision was erroneously left out of the GATT terms due to
"bureaucratic oversight."  Brock contends that the United States'
policy of protecting intellectual property rights has made it a
world leader in innovation, adding, "It is no coincidence that
the pharmaceutical industry is one of the few sectors of the U.S.
economy enjoying a balance of trade surplus with the rest of the
world."  He concludes, "Eroding the incentives that reward
pioneering drug companies will mean less research devoted to
cures for cancer, heart disease, AIDS and Alzheimer's."

"100,000 Zimbabweans Face AIDS Deaths in 18 Months"
Reuters (10/22/95)
     According to a statement made to the independent Sunday Gazette
newspaper by Zimbabwe Health Minister Timothy Stamps, at least
100,000 Zimbabweans will die of AIDS-related diseases over the
next 18 months.  "I am not trying to be alarmist," he said, "but
this is the reality we are facing."  Stamps added, "At present
... 25 to 30 bodies of victims of AIDS are put [daily] into
mortuaries of Harare and Mpilo hospitals where authorities are
now failing to cope with the congestion."  Stamp noted that
Zimbabwe is now one of the world's top countries in terms of new
HIV infections.

"Clinton, Dole Struggle With Gay Rights Politics"
Reuters (10/22/95);  Zabarenko, Deborah
     Top Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos recently spoke to the
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association detailing
President Clinton's efforts on behalf of gay rights.  He
specifically mentioned the president's support for AIDS research,
the appointment of a liaison with the homosexual community, and
the scheduling of a White House summit on AIDS.  However, he also
noted that Clinton continues to resist federal sanction of
same-sex marriages.  On Friday, Clinton articulated his support
of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit
employers from discriminating against employees based on their
sexual orientation.

"Pros and Cons: Carrington Laboratories"
Barron's (10/02/95) Vol. 75, No. 40, P. 5;  Welling, Kathryn M.
     Carrington Laboratories suffered a decline in the late 1980s when
several of its aloe vera extracts, touted as remedies for
everything from AIDS to cancer, did not pan out.  The company is
back now, performing better on the stock market and planning
trials of aloe-based capsules to treat ulcerative colitis as well
as a possible aloe-based cancer treatment.  Its FDA-approved OTC
canker-sore remedy is in test marketing.  The company claims to
have been completely overhauled.  However, Stephen Hanauer, a
leading researcher on ulcerative colitis at the University of
Chicago, says, "All these studies of aloe vera are 90 percent
pseudo-science."

"Fear of Disclosure"
POZ (10/95-11/95) No. 10, P. 36;  Murphy, Robert
     Tom Stoddard, former director of the Lambda Legal Defense and
Education Fund, concealed his HIV-positive status from nearly
everyone at the organization for two years before going public.
Stoddard entered Lambda in 1985, after eight years at the New
York Civil Liberties Union; there, he lobbied for such issues as
freedom of speech and religion, women's reproductive rights, due
process in criminal law, and gay rights.  At Lambda, Stoddard's
high visibility and fundraising skills propelled rapid growth.  A
review of Lambda's docket in the mid- to late-1980s reveals a
wide range of discrimination against HIV-infected people, and
much success on the part of the organization.  "We succeeded in
making AIDS discrimination illegal, and Tom deserves the most
credit for pulling the effort along," said David Hollander, a
former co-chair of Lambda.  Although Stoddard learned he was
HIV-infected in 1989, he did not immediately reveal his
infection, in part, because he said he "didn't want other people
to believe that [he] was an advocate for people with HIV because
that was [his] illness."  He ultimately disclosed his status in a
New York Times op-ed column, at a time when he felt it was right;
however, prolonged staff tensions, tension over his disclosure,
and his deteriorating health forced him to resign toward the end
of 1991.  Currently, Stoddard teaches law, serves as
vice-chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and
is a consultant for HIV and gay-rights advocates across the
country.

"Mycobacterium Avium Complex Infection in AIDS: Clinical
Features, Treatment, and Prevention"
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (09/95-10/95)
Vol. 6, No. 5, P. 37;  Eccles, Elizabeth;  Ptak, Judy
     Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC)--a group of slow-growing,
closely-related, aerobic bacilli--can cause a severe disseminated
bacterial infection in as many as 40 percent of all advanced HIV
patients.  Disseminated MAC (dMAC) causes fever and wasting, and
substantially contributes to the mortality of HIV-infected
persons.  As the patient's CD4 cell level falls, the risk of
developing dMAC increases; most cases of dMAC are found in
HIV-infected patients who have fewer than 50 CD4 cells.  Still,
new studies of dMAC therapy show that aggressive diagnosis and
treatment can reduce the infection's debilitating effects, thus
improving the overall quality of life.  For example, the new
macrolide antibiotics have quickly become the basis for the
multidrug therapy that is used because antimicrobial resistance
develops when single drugs are used.  Also, the antibiotic
rifabutin has been recommended as way to help prevent dMAC in
HIV-patients with less than 200 CD4 cells.  The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration based its decision on two large studies in
which rifabutin prophylaxis effected a 50 percent decline in the
incidence of dMAC in HIV-infected individuals with low CD4
counts.

"Chicago Hope"
Multi-Housing News (09/95-10/95) Vol. 30, No. 6, P. 37;  Foong,
L. Keat
     Last year, a 71-unit home for people with HIV, low-income
families, and singles earning 50 percent or less than the area
median income opened for occupancy in Chicago.  San Miguel
Apartments are named for Frank San Miguel, a former caseworker
for Chicago's Travelers and Immigrants Aid (TIA), who encountered
the many problems involved in locating housing for homeless
people with AIDS.  "You need to organize permanent housing for
people with AIDS, which also integrates them with the general
population," he said to Sid Mohn, president of the Century Place
Development Corp. (CPDC), the development arm of TIA.  CPDC took
up the suggestion, overcoming such challenges as locating finance
sources and countering strong opposition from local groups.  The
$3.21 million rehabilitation project has 30 units for people with
HIV/AIDS, and has inspired the CPDC to consider other similar
developments.