                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 05, 1994

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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"U.N. to Battle Against Spread of AIDS in Rwanda"
"French AIDS Scandal Targets Minister's Adviser"
"Bastyr University Awarded Federal Grant for Alternative Medical 
Research of HIV/AIDS"
"Rail Condom Ad Condemned as Irresponsible"
"Court TV Plans Live Coverage of John Doe, Esq. v. Kohn, Nast & 
Graf"
"Celebrities Game to Raise Money for AIDS at Loews Monopoly Power
Breakfast"
"The Immune Response Corporation Announces..."
"The American Clinical Laboratory Association Recognizes AIDS 
Awareness Month"
Medical Briefs: P. Aeruginosa Infection"
"Get the Point"
"AIDSLine: Live Long and Prosper"
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"U.N. to Battle Against Spread of AIDS in Rwanda"
Reuters (10/04/94)
     The United Nations has created a $1 million emergency fund to 
fight the spread of AIDS in Rwanda.  One U.N. official said that 
victorious soldiers of the former rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front 
were an obstacle to halting the progression of AIDS inside Rwanda
because "it is not easy for soldiers to accept the simple bare 
facts, that they will be mauled down by AIDS, rather than by 
machetes or AK-47 rifles."  Another official noted that the U.N. 
had devised a plan to educate the soldiers about AIDS, and 
expressed hoped that this program will be more successful than a 
previous one.  Rwandan health ministry officials, who said they 
were extremely concerned about the soldiers having unprotected 
sex, recommended that condoms be carried at all times.  It is 
estimated that the number of adult Rwandans with full-blown AIDS 
will be at least 460,000 in 1997--up from 223,000 recorded in 
April.  Health workers say that in the capital, Kigali, 73 
percent of the women and 55 percent of the men are HIV-positive, 
including up to 60 percent of the soldiers.
      
"French AIDS Scandal Targets Minister's Adviser"
Reuters (10/04/94)
     Claude Weisselberg, a former adviser to French ex-health Minister
Edmond Herve, was placed under investigation Tuesday for the 
alleged poisoning of 1,250 hemophiliacs with HIV-tainted blood 
products.  Weisselberg, Herve's specialist on infectious diseases
and blood transfusions in 1985, said he was shocked by the 
questioning and determined to defend himself.  Similar 
investigations began last week for the former ministers of health
and social affairs and for ex-Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.  
Weisselberg is suspected of helping delay AIDS tests in blood 
products until Paris developed its own version of the existing 
American test.
      
"Bastyr University Awarded Federal Grant for Alternative Medical 
Research of HIV/AIDS"
PR Newswire (10/04/94)
     The National Institutes of Health have awarded Bastyr University 
a three-year, $840,000 grant to establish an Alternative Medicine
Center for research in HIV/AIDS.  The center will study the use 
of alternative medicine therapy for HIV and AIDS patients, and 
will screen and evaluate HIV/AIDS therapies from the field of 
alternative medicine.  Dr. Leanna Standish, Bastyr's director of 
research, and Dr. Carlo Calabrese, chairman of the research 
department at Bastyr, will head the new center.  Bastyr is the 
only regionally accredited education and research center for 
alternative medicine in the United States.  The university has 
conducted clinical research in HIV/AIDS and provided HIV/AIDS 
patient services since 1987 through its National Health Clinic.  
An increasing number of people who are HIV-positive are using 
several alternative therapies, including Chinese herbal medicine 
and mega vitamin therapy.  Many of these treatments are 
self-administered and have not undergone sufficient clinical 
evaluation of their safety and efficacy.
      
"Rail Condom Ad Condemned as Irresponsible"
Reuters (10/04/94)
     Britain's Advertising Standards Authority on Tuesday condemned 
the state rail network for an advertisement displaying a dozen 
yellow condoms arranged in a circle like the European Union flag.
The advertisement, designed to promote sales of European Rail 
passes for young people, was titled "Inter-rail.  You've got the 
rest of your life to be good;" however, it also alluded to EU 
health campaigns to fight AIDS.  A British rail spokesman 
justified the advertisement, saying that studies have shown that 
a significant number of 18- to 25-year-olds had sex without the 
protection of condoms while on vacation .
      
"Court TV Plans Live Coverage of John Doe, Esq. v. Kohn, Nast & 
Graf"
Entertainment Wire (10/04/94)
     The Courtroom Television Network is planning to have live 
coverage of John Doe, Esq. v. Kohn, Nast & Graf starting Oct. 5. 
John Doe, a Philadelphia attorney, is suing his former employers 
for discrimination because the firm allegedly fired him when it 
was discovered he had AIDS.  He also charges that the law firm 
prevented him from getting another job.  The defense says that 
John Doe's work did not merit contract renewal and that the firm 
was not aware that he had AIDS until he made his story public.
      
"Celebrities Game to Raise Money for AIDS at Loews Monopoly Power
Breakfast"
Business Wire (10/04/94)
     AIDS Project Los Angeles has planned for Monday, Oct. 17 the 
Loews Monopoly Power Breakfast, a fast-paced game of Monopoly 
with two dozen celebrities participating as players.  The fifth 
annual event is sponsored by the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 
Buzz Magazine, and the radio station 94.7.  All proceeds will 
benefit APLA.  The event is part of the Loews Hotels' companywide
Good Neighbor Program that supports local charities.  APLA, the 
second largest AIDS service organization in the United States, is
dedicated to supporting and maintaining the best possible quality
of life for HIV-infected people in Los Angeles County and to 
reducing the incidence of HIV-infection through reduction and 
prevention education.
      
"The Immune Response Corporation Announces..."
PR Newswire (10/03/94)
     Immune Response Corp. announced on Monday that it has published 
Phase II Dose-Ranging study findings in the October 1994 issue of
the journal AIDS.  The study evaluated the effect of HIV proteins
on the immune system.  It "clearly confirms and extends the 
safety and immunogenicity of the HIV-1 immunogen," according to 
John L. Turner, the study's principal author from the Graduate 
Hospital in Philadelphia.  Immune Response is currently working 
with the FDA in planning future trials to determine if the 
therapy can delay the onset of AIDS symptoms.
      
"The American Clinical Laboratory Association Recognizes AIDS 
Awareness Month"
PR Newswire (10/03/94)
     In recognition of AIDS Awareness Month, the American Clinical 
Laboratory Association has prepared a "Q&A" fact sheet about the 
HIV antibody test.  This is an effort to educate people about the
test, about who should take the test, and about locations where 
the test is available.  "Having information available about 
reliable and confidential testing is a very important step in the
process of education and prevention," said Dr. David N. Sundwall,
ACLA president.  The association will also provide media with 
testing information about clinical conditions each month as part 
of its "Staying Healthy" program.   ACLA is a national 
organization that represents over 60 percent of the independent 
clinical laboratory testing in the United States.
      
"Medical Briefs: P. Aeruginosa Infection"
Advocate (09/20/94) No. 664, P. 25;  Cohan, Gary R.
     Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York 
City studied 27 occurrences of P. Aeruginosa bacterium--a 
significant opportunistic pathogen common among AIDS patients--in
21 people.  There were 21 primary infections and six relapses 
that were found in locations such as the lungs, the upper 
respiratory system, and an indwelling catheter.  Risk factors for
infection include low levels of granulocytes, intravascular 
catheterization, and hospitalization.
      
"Get the Point"
Village Voice (09/20/94) Vol. 39, No. 38, P. 6;  Stuen-Parker, 
Jon
     Stephen Arrendell's "Growing Pains and Needles" article did not 
note the extent of the National AIDS Brigade's New York City 
needle-exchange program, writes Jon Stuen-Parker, Director of the
National AIDS Brigade, in a letter to the editors of the Village 
Voice.  Some areas of the program reach over 100 intravenous drug
users an hour, making it the largest one of its kind in New York 
City.  NAB established the first needle-exchange program in the 
United States in 1986 and now reaches Manhattan, the Bronx, 
Brooklyn, and Queens.  Despite arrests and lack of support, NAB 
has continued the needle-exchange program, which now has more 
than 12,000 participants in New York City.
      
"AIDSLine: Live Long and Prosper"
Advocate (09/20/94) No. 664, P. 26;  Cohan, Gary R.
     Long-term survivors represent approximately 5 percent of the 
HIV-positive population.  Some defining characteristics for this 
segment include being HIV-positive for at least seven years, 
having not used antiretroviral drugs, and not having HIV-related 
symptoms.  When studied, the nonprogressors shared factors 
including low levels of HIV in peripheral blood, elevated CD8 
T-cell levels, and a favorable genetic genotype for 
nonprogression.
      
