                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 03, 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

"Case Against Law Firm Has a Hollywood Ring"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/03/94) P. B1;  Slobodzian, Joseph A.
     Jury selection begins today in the trial of a discrimination suit
against a leading local law firm by an anonymous lawyer who 
claims that his promising career was cut short when he was fired 
after the firm learned that he was infected with HIV.  The man's 
former employers at Kohn, Nast & Graf contend that he was 
dismissed because his work did not meet their standards.  The 
Philadelphia office of the Equal Employment Opportunities 
Commission has joined the plaintiff, marking the first time it 
has intervened in a discrimination case concerning AIDS or HIV.  
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 is the foundation of 
this suit, and has already benefited a number of people 
discriminated against because of AIDS.  Activists hope that the 
trial will attract the public's attention and educate people 
about AIDS issues in the workplace.
      
"HIV-Positive Candidate Thinks Positive"
Los Angeles Times (10/02/94) P. A10;  Finucane, Martin
     Bob Massie, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of 
Massachusetts, is possibly the first HIV-positive candidate for 
statewide office.  He says that he wants to help small businesses
and work on health care reform and that he has not made his HIV 
status a focus of his campaign.  Massie, a hemophiliac who was 
diagnosed with HIV in 1984 after receiving a blood transfusion, 
has not developed any HIV or AIDS-related illnesses.  Kathleen 
DeBold, deputy director of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund in 
Washington, said that Massie's candidacy "sends a message that 
the lives of people with HIV are full and active."
      
"Canada Red Cross Wants Overhaul of Blood System"
Reuters (10/01/94)
     The Canadian Red Cross announced Saturday the Canadian provinces 
and government need to overhaul the blood supply system and 
ensure that it can afford to provide safe blood; otherwise, the 
agency may withdraw from the blood-donation business.  "If we 
don't have that change, then we'll have to...turn over our 
responsibilities to someone else," said Red Cross 
secretary-general Doug Lindores.  Last month, the U.S. Food and 
Drug Administration reported that some of Canada's blood banks 
had violated U.S. FDA blood-production regulations.  An inquiry 
is also examining how several Canadian hemophiliacs were infected
with HIV from the blood supply during the early 1980s.
      
"$15 Million Study Set to Improve HIV/AIDS Care"
PR Newswire (09/30/94)
     The Public Health Service's Agency for Health Care Policy and 
Research announced Friday that the RAND Corporation will 
undertake a $15 million study of AIDS and HIV health care, 
treatment costs, and patients' sources of financing.  The study 
will provide accurate, up-to-date information on the costs of and
access to health care.  More than 3,500 randomly selected 
participants from 16 states will be studied.  This project builds
on an earlier study, the AIDS Costs and Service Utilization 
Survey by AHCPR in 1991 and 1992.
      
"Man with AIDS Fighting Clinic's 'No Pets' Policy"
Washington Blade (09/23/94) Vol. 25, No. 39, P. 1;  Fox, Sue
     Controversy has erupted at Schwartz Housing, a division of the 
Whitman-Walker Clinic, because of its "no pets" policy.  Last 
August, officials told Jeffrey Pendleton, a Schwartz resident, 
that he could not keep his cats because they might carry diseases
that are dangerous to the weakened immune systems of people 
living with HIV and AIDS.  Officials also said that, because of 
the cats, the apartment would have to be fumigated before a new 
resident could move in--something that Pendleton said should be 
done regardless of whether there is an animal present or not.  
Pendleton credited the cats with giving him the will to live, and
said that "the clinic is not here to play God."  Whitman-Walker 
officials plan to re-evaluate their position on the "no pets" 
policy.
      
"Health Care Hell"
Advocate (09/20/94) No. 664, P. 20;  Gallagher, John
     AIDS activists question whether Congressional health care reform 
will help people with long-term illnesses, such as AIDS and 
cancer.  The Senate health care bill, while attempting 95 percent
insurance coverage for Americans, would potentially cause more 
problems for people with HIV and AIDS.  Some of the difficulties 
include a 25 percent tax on people with expensive policies; 
potentially suspended subsidies for Medicaid recipients, who rely
on those benefits to purchase their own insurance; and the 
required purchase of health insurance by those who are not 
covered and may not be able to afford it.  The delay in passing 
health care reform might benefit those with chronic illnesses 
because further changes to the bill might result in better care 
for people with HIV and AIDS.
      
"Still on the Fast Track"
Barron's (09/19/94) Vol. 74, No. 38, P. 14;  Wyatt, Edward A.
     While David Kessler, commissioner of the Food and Drug 
Administration, stated at last week's advisory hearings that the 
FDA would definitely continue its accelerated access policy for 
some experimental drugs used to treat life-threatening diseases, 
he did indicate that some "fine-tuning" might take place.  Many 
AIDS activists are frustrated with the current program because 
drugs are entering the market without sufficient testing to find 
out whether and how they are effective.  Critics also contend 
that the FDA should enforce adequate follow-up studies by the 
companies to prove a drug's long-term benefits.  Kessler 
emphasized that the benefits of approving an experimental drug 
outweigh the risk of temporarily allowing an ineffective 
treatment to be on the market.  Besides having to define their 
follow-up studies before accelerated access is granted, companies
might have to submit their plans to the advisory committee in 
order to clarify all expectations.  The FDA will use the 
recommendations to help develop new, clearer accelerated access 
guidelines for companies.
      
"Hot Zones, Cold Chills: The Coming Plague"
Newsweek (09/19/94) Vol. 124, No. 12, P. 64;  Jones Jr., Malcolm
     The Coming Plague, by Laurie Garrett, addresses the significant 
epidemics that the world has faced.  The 100-page chapter on AIDS
outlines the science, sociology, and bad politics very clearly 
and accurately, and gives a global perspective that is not often 
apparent in such works.  Garrett effectively highlights problems 
such as bureaucracy and the population explosion, and presents a 
world health crisis in which the world is being plagued by past 
and present diseases.
      
"AIDS Experts Look East"
Nation's Health (09/94) Vol. 24, No. 8, P. 1
     The first international AIDS conference to be held in Japan 
caused attention to focus on the growing number of HIV infections
in Asia and the immediate need for Asian countries to address 
AIDS prevention.  Asian HIV infections are predicted to quadruple
by the year 2000, affecting over 10 million  people, said World 
Health Organization officials at the 10th International 
Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, Japan.  AIDS cases in Asia 
represent 6 percent of the world total, up from 1 percent last 
year.  In future years, Asia is expected to surpass Africa's 
number of cumulative AIDS cases.  The conference also highlighted
women and HIV, the HIV vaccine challenge, the relationship 
between sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, and international
HIV prevention methods.
      
"AIDSLine: Hope for Cryptosporidiosis Sufferers?"
Advocate (09/20/94) No.664, P. 25;  Cohan, Gary R.
     Chronic gastric cryptosporidiosis, an AIDS-related complication, 
is characterized by prolonged watery diarrhea.  It is caused by a
parasite, whose eggs can be transmitted from person to person 
both sexually and casually.  Each year, approximately 10 to 20 
percent of AIDS patients contract intestinal cryptosporidiosis, 
and its fatality rate may be as high as 60 percent.  To date, 
there is no cure, but there are several partially effective 
treatments available--including fluid and nutrient replacement, a
lactose-free diet high in soluble fiber, and the drugs 
paromomycin and azithromycin.
      
