                     AIDS Daily Summary
                   Monday, October 21, 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
     
     
******************************************************
"If You'll Need Blood, New Options Offer Some Peace of Mind" 
"Phila. AIDS Walk Draws Thousands to River Drives"
"Medical Realities"
"Morrison Hopeful"
"New Spermicide Unveiled in Canada"
"Japan TV Says HIV-Positive Candidate Wins Seat" 
"AIDS Campaigns in Poor States Fail Most Women" 
"Zimbabwean Minister Urged Child Education on AIDS"
"False Positives"
"The Utility of IgA Antibody to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 
1 in Early Diagnosis of Vertically Transmitted Infection" 
******************************************************
     
"If You'll Need Blood, New Options Offer Some Peace of Mind" 
Wall Street Journal (10/21/96) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn
     New alternatives for people in need of a blood transfusion
offer increased protection from HIV and other blood-borne 
diseases.  Blood recycling, which became popular in the 1980s 
after tennis star Arthur Ashe and others contracted HIV from 
blood transfusions, can reduce or eliminate the need for a 
transfusion.  Self-donation is another option for people who have 
elective surgery and the time to plan ahead.  Currently, about 5 
percent of the blood used in transfusions comes from 
self-donations.  The process costs $25 to $100 more per unit than 
standard donated blood.  Blood that is banked for self-donation 
usually gets tested for HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases.  If 
it tests positive, however, the blood may still be used but will 
be labeled to caution handlers.  Finally, directed donations,
which come from family and friends, have also increased due to 
the fear of contracting HIV from anonymous donors.
     
"Phila. AIDS Walk Draws Thousands to River Drives" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/21/96) P. B1
     Participants in Sunday's 10th annual Philadelphia AIDS Walk 
raised more than $1.3 million for 62 area AIDS organizations.  
`We did better than last year ... so we're ecstatic,' said Steve 
Brown of the sponsoring organization From All Walks of Life.
     
"Medical Realities"
Washington Post (10/21/96) P. A18; Cohen, Murray J.
     The federal guidelines proposed for animal-to-human organ 
transplants overlook the reality that medical care is not 
affordable for many Americans, claims Murray J. Cohen, in a letter 
to the editor of the Washington Post.  Cohen questions the use of 
federal research funds to develop therapies that most health care 
consumers will not be able to afford.  He argues that patients in 
need of treatments, including those with cancer and AIDS, already 
have difficulty obtaining available therapies.  Cohen contends
that the guidelines are inadequate, and he says that a better 
alternative would be to consider the European presumed-consent 
law, under which everyone is a potential organ donor unless they 
declare otherwise.
     
"Morrison Hopeful"
USA Today (10/21/96) P. 1C
     HIV-positive fighter Tommy Morrison said his planned
comeback fight in Tokyo next month would be stopped immediately 
for an "uncontrollable" cut.  The heavyweight said his comeback, 
which would partially benefit his AIDS-awareness foundation, will 
consist of one or two fights.
     
"New Spermicide Unveiled in Canada"
Toronto Globe and Mail (10/17/96) P. A16; Immen, Wallace
     Roberts Pharmaceuticals' Advantage 24, a new spermicide 
introduced in Canada, has the potential to be a "condomless condom," 
physicians say.  The spermicide--which is currently being tested by 
the United Nations AIDS program and U.S. National Institutes of 
Health in Africa and Asia for its effectiveness against HIV, herpes,
and chlamydia--is said to lower the risk of sexually transmitted 
diseases as well as prevent pregnancy.  Doctors recommend, however, 
that it be used in addition to a condom.  According to Howard 
Levine, a researcher with Roberts Pharmaceuticals, laboratory 
testing has found that only extremely small doses of the 
product--which blends nonoxynol 9 with a bioadhesive--are needed to 
kill sexually transmitted viruses, including HIV.
     
"Japan TV Says HIV-Positive Candidate Wins Seat" 
Reuters (10/20/96)
     An HIV-positive hemophiliac in Japan has apparently won a
seat in parliament, after campaigning that he wanted to inspire 
others who contracted the virus through unheated blood products. 
If poll predictions are accurate, Satoru Ienishi, who ran in 
Sunday's election for the newly formed Democratic Party, would be 
Japan's only publicly acknowledged HIV-positive parliament 
member.
     
"AIDS Campaigns in Poor States Fail Most Women" 
Reuters (10/18/96)
     Married women in developing nations are at high risk for HIV
and are not being reached by HIV prevention programs, a German 
researcher claims in the British medical journal The Lancet.  
Doris D'Cruz-Grote found that programs in developing countries 
attempt to reduce the spread of HIV by targeting prostitutes and 
others at risk but that married women lack the tools to negotiate 
safer sex.  Grote says these women need comprehensive sex 
education and sexual health services, including counseling, 
contraception, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
     
"Zimbabwean Minister Urged Child Education on AIDS" 
Xinhua News Agency (10/19/96)
     Parents in Zimbabwe have been urged to teach their children
about AIDS in hopes of helping them avoid HIV infection.  "We have 
to be frank with our children because an ignorant child is a 
vulnerable child," warned Timothy Stamps, Zimbabwe's Minister of 
Health and Child Welfare.  Zimbabwe has the second-highest number 
of AIDS cases, according to the World Health Organization, with up 
to 500 people dying of AIDS every week.

"False Positives"
Barron's (10/14/96) Vol. 76, No. 42, P. 15; Laing, Jonathan R.
     Despite the success of Novatek International, a
biotechnology company, on Wall Street and an aggressive public 
relations campaign touting its potential, an investigation by 
Barron's magazine suggests that the company is involved in a 
stock rig.  Novatek's success began in March, when it acquired 
the rights to market diagnostic tests made by Universal 
HealthWatch to Latin American countries.  Universal makes tests 
for HIV, hepatitis, cholera, syphilis, and diabetes.  Novatek 
then began a public relations blitz to boost interest in its 
stock on Wall Street, issuing press releases that reported new 
multi-million dollar contracts all over South America.  Novatek's 
stock jumped from about $5 share in March to a peak of $13 in 
early September as a result.  However, Barron's discovered that 
Universal HealthWatch is being sued by another biotech company 
for misappropriating trade secrets and violating confidentiality 
agreements.  Universal also has only three or four patents 
instead of the 12 Novatek has reported in its press releases, and 
is at least a year away from receiving FDA approval of its HIV
and hepatitis diagnostic products.  Novatek's contracts in Latin 
America are suspect, moreover, as is the company's investment
banker and primary brokerage sponsor, Joseph Roberts & Co. 
Another questionable factor is William Trainor, who likely 
controls over 60 percent of Novatek, and has been convicted for 
fraud and repeatedly charged with other offenses.
     
"The Utility of IgA Antibody to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 
1 in Early Diagnosis of Vertically Transmitted Infection"
Journal of the American Medical Association (10/09/96) Vol. 276, 
No. 14, P. 1118j; McIntosh, Kenneth
     To determine the effectiveness of anti-HIV IgA antibody in 
identifying HIV-positive infants, researchers at the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases conducted a study of 
infants born to HIV-positive mothers at five centers in the 
United States and Puerto Rico.  Blood samples taken from 156 
infants were tested at two laboratories using two different 
methods.  The anti-HIV IgA test was found to have moderate 
sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of HIV 
infection at six months of age.  Lower sensitivity and high
specificity resulted from tests performed at one, two, and four
months.
