                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      October 10, 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

"Giving Experimental AIDS Drugs a Trial Run"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/10/94) P. B1;  Collins, Huntly
     Experimental AIDS drugs are being tested in 1,400 
Philadelphia-area residents in clinical trials conducted by 
Philadelphia FIGHT, a medical-research group that conducts 
community-based trials of AIDS drugs.  For three years, the group
has been helping people and extending their lives by testing 
drugs that prevent or treat opportunistic diseases, such as 
pneumonia.  In September, FIGHT was granted $3.7 million from the
National Institutes of Health to conduct additional trials of 
HIV-positive people in Philadelphia and its suburbs--a 
significant increase to FIGHT's current budget of $350,000.  
Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, N.J., was 
also awarded $3.2 million to conduct similar trials.  The awards 
bring the Philadelphia area into a network of 16 federally funded
trial locations nationwide whose goals are to give poor people 
access to experimental AIDS treatments.  Until now, Philadelphia 
FIGHT has received its primary funding from the American 
Foundation for AIDS Research.
      
"Dentists Urged to Treat AIDS Patients"
Washington Times (10/10/94) P. A12;  Lehrman, Sally
     The American Dental Association and the Dental Alliance of
AIDS Healthcare are urging dentists to treat people with HIV and
AIDS.  In studies of doctors' attitudes toward patients with HIV
from 1986 to 1990, Barbara Gerbert, professor and head of the
division of behavioral sciences at the University of California
at San Francisco, found that approximately 30 percent of
physicians and dentists were uneasy treating HIV-infected people. 
"We said it's a given that dental health care providers should be
willing to treat HIV-infected individuals," said Gerbert, who
also lead a six-person committee that developed the ADA's and the
DAAH's standards.  The Justice Department is currently
investigating two doctors who refused to treat people with HIV.
      
"Confronting the Gap in HIV Testing"
Chicago Tribune (10/08/94) P. 1-1;  James, Frank;  Irwin, Julie
     Because it can take up to six weeks for a newly infected
person to develop enough HIV antibodies for tests to detect them,
there is a gap in HIV detection.  New Jersey and California have
laws that require doctors to warn patients of transfusion
problems and alternatives.  Increasingly, even where it is not
law, physicians and hospitals are offering patients alternatives
to using strangers' blood in transfusions, including providing
patients with the option of autologous donations--storing their
own blood prior to surgery.  This comes at a time when experts
claim that the blood supply is safer than ever.  Food and Drug 
Administration researchers estimated recently that, in blood that
has been screened, only one unit out of 420,000 was infected with
HIV.  Researchers are now trying to develop more sensitive and 
less expensive tests that detect infected blood sooner.
      
"Red Cross Opens Door in Bid for Trust"
Toronto Globe and Mail (10/07/94) P. A4
     In an effort to restore public confidence in Canada's blood 
supply, the Canadian Red Cross on Thursday opened the doors of 
its largest blood center, located in Toronto.  Reporters and 
camera crews were given a two-hour tour of laboratories usually 
closed to the public.  Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration announced that the Toronto center had 19 
violations of U.S. standards.  The final stage of a federal 
inquiry will begin in Toronto on Tuesday to try to determine why 
more than 1,000 Canadians received HIV-infected blood during the 
1980s.
      
"High Share of Males, AIDS Victims Hit by Plague"
Reuters (10/09/94);  Graves, Nelson
     A total of nine of the 192 people diagnosed with the
pneumonic plague in Surat, in western India, are HIV-positive,
said the director of the World Health Organization, Hiroshi
Nakajima.  Statistics show that approximately 2 percent of blood
donors in India have HIV.  Dr. Dinesh Shah, medical
superintendent of Civil Hospital in Surat, explained the high
number of plague patients with HIV by noting that between 10 and
20 percent of Surat's workers are migrant workers who, because
they are isolated from their families, solicit prostitutes--many
of whom are HIV-positive.
      
"Additional AIDS Drugs Provided Through State Program"
PR Newswire (10/07/94)
     Pennsylvania State Public Welfare Secretary Karen F. Snider 
announced Friday that her department will begin paying for Megace
and Zerit, two treatments for people with HIV and AIDS.  The 
medications will be provided through the Special Pharmaceutical 
Benefits program, which helps individuals who cannot afford the 
expense of HIV/AIDS treatment medications.  Funds for the new 
medications come from the state and federal Ryan White Emergency 
Care Act.  Friday's announcement brings the total of state-funded
HIV and AIDS drugs to 25.
      
"Alpha 1 Biomedicals, Inc. Announces Consummation of License 
Agreement with SciClone Pharmaceuticals"
PR Newswire (10/07/94)
     Alpha 1 Biomedicals, Inc. announced Friday that it has
completed a license agreement with SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
in which Alpha 1 licensed to SciClone its proprietary rights to
Thymosin alpha 1.  As part of the agreement, Alpha 1 will receive
royalties on SciClone's commercial sales if SciClone is 
successful in completing development of the product.  Thymosin 
alpha 1 is currently being studied in clinical trials as a 
treatment for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and AIDS.  Through Viral 
Technologies, a joint venture with Cel-Sci Corporation, Alpha 1 
is involved in the development of HGP-30, a peptide that is 
potentially an AIDS vaccine or therapeutic.
      
"200 Atlanta Airline Employees Sign Up for October 16 AIDS Walk"
PR Newswire (10/06/94)
     About 200 employees of the 25 passenger airlines that serve 
Atlanta have signed up as participants in the Oct. 16 AIDS Walk. 
The workers will constitute the Airline Industry Alliance 
combined team, one of 956 teams that are registered for the 
event.  Funds raised from the AIDS Walk support Atlanta's 
non-profit AIDS service organizations.  The Alliance is planning 
to raise additional funds by hosting a Retro Disco Party Oct. 14.
      
"Pap Smears Gain Favor as Screening Tool"
Nation's Health (09/94) Vol. 24, No. 8, P. 3
     Preliminary results of a small study presented at the 10th 
International Conference on AIDS show that pap smears are as 
effective as colposcopies in detecting potentially pre-cancerous 
cervical conditions in HIV-positive women.  Pap smears detected 
cervical abnormalities in 59 percent of the 75 HIV-infected and 
21 HIV-negative women, while the colposcopy found abnormalities 
in 63 percent of the women tested, which contradicts previous 
reports that pap smears were less reliable.  HIV-infected women 
were advised to have colposcopies, which are more expensive and 
less available, performed every six months.  Women who are 
HIV-positive are more likely than uninfected women to develop 
cervical intraepithelial neoplacia, a precursor to cervical 
cancer.
      
"Legal Briefs: Family Guide, AIDS Law"
Washington Blade (09/23/94) Vol. 25, No. 39, P. 18;  Keen, Lisa
      The John Marshall Law School in Chicago has released it Law
Review book of essays that discusses AIDS-related legal issues.  
Short commentary pieces include "Obligations of HIV-infected 
health professionals" and "The AIDS epidemic and health care 
reform."
      

Notice to ADS Users:

CDC offers the following information to address questions raised
by the abstract of an article published by AIDS Alert and
included in the ADS on September 26.

A subtype of HIV from West Africa has been described in an
analysis by French researchers.  Called subtype "O," the virus is
an unusual variant of HIV-1 that is antigenically distinct from
other HIV-1 subtypes.  This variant is now thought to account for
less than 10 percent of HIV-1 infections in Cameroon.  Other HIV
subtypes range from "A" through "H," and each contains unique
antigens.

Alterations to HIV antibody tests can be made to accommodate
subtype O.  Health officials from the United States and the World
Health Organization say that the modifications are necessary only
in countries where subtype O has been identified.

This variant has not been isolated from any non-human primates.
