Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 09:57:42 -0500 From: "Flynn Mclean" Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/02/96 AIDS Daily Summary December 2, 1996 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 National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ****************************************************** "World AIDS Day Marked Widely" "AIDS-Prevention Groups to Shift Fund Targets" "Across the USA: Florida" "A Day to Remember Those With AIDS" "Chronicle: For Natasha Richardson, A Bigger Role in AIDS Fight" "Rain Trims Crowd But Not AIDS Day Ire" "Across the USA: D.C." "Some Remember to Share the Bounty" "AIDS and HIV-1" "HIV, AIDS Not Separate, Court Rules" ****************************************************** "World AIDS Day Marked Widely" Washington Post (12/02/96) P. A18 World AIDS Day was observed around the world Sunday after a United Nations agency reported that the death rate from the disease is increasing. The Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS said that almost 25 percent of the 6.4 million AIDS-related deaths so far occurred in the past year. The total number of people who now have HIV or AIDS is 22.6 million, the agency said. "AIDS-Prevention Groups to Shift Fund Targets" Wall Street Journal (12/02/96) P. B7; Sharpe, Anita Due to increasing evidence that AIDS campaigns lack effectiveness, private foundations in the United States are planning to redistribute millions of dollars in HIV prevention funds to high-risk groups. Funders Concerned about AIDS, a group that works with some 1,800 U.S. foundations that contribute money to the AIDS fight, says that targeted prevention messages have become a priority for 1997 and beyond. In the recent past, public and private foundations have discouraged program proposals that targeted gay men, but the anti-gay attitude is changing. The Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation will be considering a program to target gays, and another to fund a needle exchange program. "Across the USA: Florida" USA Today (12/02/96) P. 11A For the third year in a row, the number of infants born with HIV in Florida has decreased, health officials report. The number peaked at 316 in 1992, and was down to 232 in 1995. Officials note that fewer women with AIDS are having children. "A Day to Remember Those With AIDS" USA Today (12/02/96) P. 8D; Manning, Anita; Painter, Kim Sunday's World AIDS Day marked the first time the event was observed at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park since it became a national landmark in October. A founder and board member of the grove, Michael Boland, said the designation is significant "because it shows a national commitment to fighting the illness and supporting people with AIDS and their loved ones." Speakers at the event included Bob Hattoy, White House liaison, U.S. Department of the Interior, and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "Chronicle: For Natasha Richardson, A Bigger Role in AIDS Fight" New York Times (12/02/96) P. B10; Brozan, Nadine Natasha Richardson, who lost her father, director Tony Richardson, to AIDS in 1991, will co-host the World AIDS Day awards luncheon today at the United Nations General Assembly. Dr. Mathilde Krim, chairwoman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, will also serve as co-host, and Elizabeth Taylor will speak. Richardson said, "It's something I have to do something about. When you see someone in your own family waste away in terrible agony, you can't ignore it anymore." "Rain Trims Crowd But Not AIDS Day Ire" Philadelphia Inquirer (12/02/96) P. B1; Yant, Monica In Philadelphia, 125 people attended the rainy World AIDS Day rally at JFK Plaza on Sunday, compared with 500 in previous years. AIDS activist Julie Davids said that, due to promising new drugs, "This year we're all supposed to be grateful or silent," but that "it's no cure." The fifth annual Day Without Art, a celebration of art and survival, was also observed. The works of HIV-positive poet laureate River Huston were celebrated with interpretations by students at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. "Across the USA: D.C." USA Today (11/29/96) P. 11A Washington, D.C.'s new human services procurement director, Wanda Mormon, does not approve of the needle exchange program proposed for the city. Wayne Casey, interim director of the department, says the program faces too many technical problems. "Some Remember to Share the Bounty" Washington Post (11/29/96) P. D1; Spinner, Jackie Among the Washington, D.C., organizations that provided Thanksgiving meals to the needy on Thursday was Food & Friends, a group that delivers meals to people with AIDS and HIV. About 200 volunteers helped cook and deliver some 1,200 turkey dinners. Executive director Craig M. Shniderman said, "It's wonderful to see this [volunteer spirit]. This terrible disease is giving people the opportunity to be their best selves." "AIDS and HIV-1" Lancet (11/16/96) Vol. 348, No. 9038, P. 1370 The number of AIDS-related deaths in Australia was 13 percent lower in 1995 than in 1994, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Deaths due to AIDS accounted for 0.5 percent of total deaths. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the number of HIV-1 infections decreased from 2,888 in 1994 to 2,623 in 1995, public health officials said. "HIV, AIDS Not Separate, Court Rules" American Medical News (11/18/96) Vol. 39, No. 43, P. 20 A federal trial court in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to a blood products supplier and a hospital which were sued after a patient who had received an HIV-tainted blood product died from AIDS. The patient received a blood transfusion during a coronary bypass at the hospital in January of 1984. In January 1987, the hospital blood bank's director informed the patient's primary care doctor that the donor had tested positive for HIV. The patient also tested positive, and died of AIDS-related causes in September 1993. The patient's husband, who was not infected, sued the blood product supplier and the hospital for negligence, breach of warranties, strict liability, survival, and wrongful death. The court dismissed the strict liability and breach of warranty claims, and granted summary judgment on the other claims, given that the statute of limitations had expired. The infection was known in 1987, but the action was not filed until more than six years later. The court rejected the argument that HIV and AIDS be considered "separate and distinct illnesses," an allowance which would have extended the statute of limitations.