                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                     September 22, 1994

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

"Across the USA: Alabama"
USA Today (09/22/94) P. 11A
     AIDS is the third-greatest killer of men in Alabama aged 25 to 
44, after accidents and heart disease, says a report from the 
state Department of Health.  The total number of reported AIDS 
cases rose to 2,851 in September.
      
"Barbara Fassbinder Dies at 40; Nurse With AIDS Traced to Job"
New York Times (09/22/94) P. D23;  Hilchey, Tim
     Barbara Fassbinder, one of the first medical professionals to 
become infected with HIV while working, died on Tuesday at the 
age of 40 from AIDS-related complications.  In 1986, Ms. 
Fassbinder became infected while helping treat a patient in the 
emergency room of Memorial Hospital in Prairie du Chien, Wis.  
She did not know she had been infected until 1987 when she tried 
to donate blood.  During the early 1990s, Ms. Fassbinder traveled
extensively, speaking about AIDS and about how to prevent HIV 
infection.  She testified before Congress about AIDS and was 
recognized for her work in 1992 by the Surgeon General and the 
Department of Health and Human Services.  Ms. Fassbinder was a 
member of the National Health Care Reform Committee, as well as a
member of the Iowa State Commission on AIDS.
      
"Town Supports Boy With HIV"
Boston Globe (09/21/94) P. 23
     A 12-year-old Rhode Island boy, who announced to his classmates 
that he is HIV-positive, was cheered by about 70 people from his 
town of Coventry during an informational hearing.  The goal of 
the hearing was to alleviate any fears residents might have about
getting the virus from the boy.
      
"Red Cross Urged to Quit Blood Business"
Toronto Globe and Mail (09/21/94) P. A4;  Picard, Andre
     When Dr. Raymond Guevin, former head of the Montreal blood 
centre, testified before the Commission of Inquiry on the Blood 
System in Canada on Tuesday, he stated that the Canadian Red 
Cross Society "lacks the leadership and the credibility to be 
involved in both the blood system and social programs."  He 
proposed that the administration of the system should go to a new
government agency, which he would call Transfusion Canada.  Dr. 
Guevin also claimed that it was outdated to have a volunteer 
organization running an important component of the modern 
health-care system.  The inquiry is trying to determine how over 
1,000 hemophiliacs and blood-transfusion recipients became 
infected with HIV by blood products from 1980 to 1985.
      
"How to Break the Link Between Drugs and AIDS"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (09/21/94) P. A15;  Chapman, Stephen
     An increasing number of drug users are becoming infected with 
HIV, but only recently have elected officials begun to treat this
problem with the necessary attention.  Last year, drug addicts 
and their partners made up 30 percent of all new AIDS cases.  The
risk of AIDS comes not from drug use, but as a result of a law 
enforcement policy that protects Americans from drugs, even if it
kills them, says Stephen Chapman in this opinion piece for the 
Richmond Times-Dispatch.  Studies of needle-exchange programs 
show that they do not encourage more drug use or drug addiction 
and that they do reduce syringe-sharing.  Across the country, 
some mayors are trying to slow the spread of AIDS by attempting 
to bypass federal laws that ban the distribution of drug 
paraphernalia.  These mayors demonstrate a willingness  to learn 
from experience, which many officials have not.
      
"S. African Health Minister Warns of HIV Rise"
Reuters (09/21/94)
     The spread of HIV had almost doubled each year since 1991, said 
South African Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma on Wednesday.  In 
1991, 1.3 percent of the South African population was infected 
with HIV.  In 1992, the number rose to 2.42 percent, and in 1993,
the figure was 4.25 percent.  Zuma said that if this pattern 
continues, 16 percent of the 40 million South African population 
could be HIV-infected by 1995.   The health department has 
targeted control of AIDS, added Zuma.
      
"Clearance From the FDA to Market the FACSCount System; the First Dedicated System for Monitoring Patients With HIV Infection."
Business Wire (09/20/94)
     Becton Dickinson and Company has announced that it has received 
clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market in the 
United States its FACSCount System, which is used for in vitro 
diagnostic purposes.  It is the first clinical system dedicated 
to obtaining absolute counts of CD4, CD8, and CD3 T lymphocytes, 
when used in monitoring HIV patients.  CD4 T lymphocyte levels 
are a critical indicator in monitoring the progression of HIV.
      
"Bad Example"
Nature (09/08/94) Vol. 371, No. 6493, P. 97;  Martin, John F.
     Dr. Kary Mullis, Nobel prize winner for chemistry in 1993, spoke 
at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for
Clinical Investigation in Toledo last April.  He addressed his 
theories about why AIDS is not caused by HIV.  In a letter to the
editors of Nature, John Martin, chairman of the society, relates 
how he interrupted the lecture after half an hour because 
"[Mullis'] talk was in style rambling and in content 
inappropriate for a public leader of science...."  Mullis also 
made accusations of corruption in science and attacked the 
honesty of several well-known scientists in the AIDS field.  Upon
questioning, Mullis' explanations lacked substance and coherence,
says Martin.
      
"Portrait of a Centerfold"
Advocate (09/06/94) No. 663, P. 41;  Kort, Michele
     Rebekka Armstrong, Playboy's September 1986 "Playmate of the 
Month," has used the time since her calendar days to work with 
people who are HIV-positive and educate those who are not.  She 
was a volunteer at a "Women for Positive Living" weekend in 
August after she participated in a similar seminar in February.  
Armstrong discovered that she is HIV-positive in 1989, but hadn't
actually sought companionship with women who have AIDS until now.
She has found that this experience strengthened her.  "I know 
this may sound strange, but as terrible as things sometimes get, 
this is the best time of my life," Armstrong says.  "Because of 
the way I look and my Playboy past, I have an opportunity to 
educate people about things I didn't know ... I have a real 
purpose now."  Armstrong may have been infected at age 16 after 
receiving a transfusion after an abortion procedure went awry.  
The other possibility was when she had drunken unprotected sex 
with a possibly bisexual male model.  Armstrong wants to tell 
young adults that just because they're young, that doesn't mean 
that they're immune.  "I want young teenagers to know that it 
could happen to them," she says.  "They're not invincible."
      
"California AIDS Legislation--Action Alerts"
AIDS Treatment News (09/02/94) No. 206, P. 7
     Both the California House and Senate have passed a bill that 
would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana as a medical treatment
to counter the effects of AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, 
and other conditions.  If passed by Gov. Wilson, marijuana would 
change from being a Schedule I drug with no medical use to a 
Schedule II drug, which is thought to have serious potential for 
abuse, but is justifiable for medical use.  Medical use of 
marijuana, which many claim as their only source of pain relief, 
is supported by numerous groups throughout the country, but both 
Presidents Bush and Clinton have done little to respond to their 
cries.  In other legislative action, the LIFE AIDS lobby is 
requesting support of a California bill that would let local 
jurisdictions create pilot programs for one-to-one needle 
exchanges.  They also are opposing a bill that would permit 
non-consensual testing for HIV in some cases when a healthcare 
worker has had a "significant exposure" to the patient's blood.
      
