                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      October 27, 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

"Schwartz Has Plan to Boost Health Care"
Washington Post (10/27/94) P. C3;  Goldstein, Amy
     District of Columbia Republican mayoral candidate Carol Schwartz 
announced Wednesday a plan to improve the health of the city's 
residents.  She said she would emphasize preventative care, 
expand drug treatment, and continue many controversial methods 
the city is using to fight AIDS.  Schwartz supported several 
AIDS-prevention techniques that current mayor, Sharon Pratt Kelly
initiated--such as providing condoms at public secondary schools 
and making clean needles available to injection drug users.  
While stopping short of offering concrete solutions to the 
problems she cited, Schwartz said the District must expand its 
public health services.  She was not sure, however, whether she 
would keep open some of the 15 clinics that may be closed for 
financial reasons.  Related Story: Washington Times (10/27) P. C6
      
"Court Overturns Limited Visits to Gay Father"
Washington Post (10/27/94) P. D1;  Fisher, Marc
     The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has overturned a judge's 
ruling that limited a homosexual father's right to see his 
children.  In a nine-to-four decision, the court ruled that if 
the father, David North, was permitted to see his children during
the day, there is no reason to believe that nighttime visits 
would expose them to greater harm.  The judges also said that 
this is the first time a child's visits with a non-custodial 
parent may not be restricted because the parent in HIV-positive. 
The Norths divorced in 1991, after David North told his wife that
he was infected with HIV.  North did not reveal his homosexuality
to his wife until 1992.  Two judges said that North's "proven 
poor judgment and reckless behavior" justified limiting his time 
with his children--referring to the fact that he continued to 
have sexual intercourse with his wife after he discovered that he
was HIV-infected.
      
"America's Silent Epidemic"
Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (10/26/94) P. A1;  Roan, 
Shari
     As sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) flourish, many young 
American are naive about the risks of sex in the 90s.  Teen-agers
and young adults are now the primary recipients of sexually 
transmitted diseases which, among other things, can increase the 
risk of contracting HIV.  Statistics show that many people are 
infected with HIV when they are in their late teens and early 
20s.  Even though AIDS and safe sex are universal discussion 
topics, the message is not getting through to teenagers in 
particular.  Experts suggest several reasons for the increase 
including an increasingly promiscuous society in which people 
begin having unprotected sex younger, Americans' inability to 
discuss sex and provide factual sex education in the home, and an
antiquated approach to STDs by the government, health 
organizations, and schools.
      
"Nurse's Car Will Display AIDS Plate"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (10/26/94) P. 4A
     A registered nurse who specializes in AIDS care will be able to 
keep his custom license plate that reads "AIDS RN".  The Missouri
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) initially denied Steve 
Lee--who wanted to show his pride in his work and AIDS 
awareness--the license plate.  The agency reversed its decision 
this week on the condition that Lee prove he is a registered 
nurse at a hospital.  Many AIDS groups had told the state agency 
that they did not want license plates bearing "AIDS" or "HIV" 
because they were just another reminder to people who may be 
infected, said Christine Quigley, a unit manager at the DMV.
      
"Reaching Out to Asians & Pacific Islanders Facing HIV & AIDS; 
Campaign to Be Unveiled at Nov. 3 Media Conference"
Business Wire (10/25/94)
     The largest HIV/AIDS campaign yet to reach out to Asians and 
Pacific Islanders will be introduced at a media conference on 
Nov. 3 in Los Angeles.  "Facing HIV & AIDS" is a multilingual 
approach that will inform those who know or think they may be 
infected of the wide range of confidential services and resources
available to them.  The program is a collaboration between the 
Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) and Pacific Asian 
Language Services (PALS).  "Early detection and treatment are key
to providing the highest quality of life for those with HIV and 
AIDS," said Dean Goishi, director of APAIT.  The project is 
funded by a CARE Grant for the County of Los Angeles Department 
of Health Services, AIDS Program Office.
      
"Osteotech Demineralization Process Inactivates HIV, Hepatitis 
and Other Viruses"
PR Newswire (10/24/94)
     A new study, "Inactivation of Viruses During Bone 
Demineralization," was presented to the North American Spine 
Society (NASS) Annual Meeting last Friday.  The study described 
the potent virucidal effect of Osteotech, Inc.'s bone 
demineralization process on HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and 
cytomegalovirus.  "The study results presented at NASS indicate 
that in the unlikely event tissue from an HIV positive donor is 
not detected during the screening and testing process, there is 
less than 1 chance in 2.8 billion that HIV will survive our 
proprietary demineralization process," said Osteotech President 
and Chief Executive Officer, Richard Bauer.  Demineralization is 
a process in which certain minerals and cellular elements are 
removed from ground forms of banked bone.
      
"New Symposium Series' First Topic Focuses on AIDS"
PR Newswire (10/24/94)
     The subject of the first Page-Wood Symposium series, which is 
combined this year with the second Cleveland Virology Symposium, 
is "AIDS and the Structure and Function of Viruses."  The three 
day conference--to be held Oct. 27-29--will include topics such 
as "Public Health and Social Policy," "Vaccine Development, 
Immunology, Developing Therapies," and "Virus Structure."  
Experts from around the country are scheduled to speak at the 
conference, which was established by Case Western Reserve 
University School of Medicine and the The Cleveland Clinic 
Foundation in honor of the memories of Irvine H. Page, M.D. and 
Harland G. Wood, Ph.D.
      
"AIDS, HIV-Carriers Hit 1,709"
Nikkei Weekly (10/10/94) Vol. 32, No. 1,641, P. 20
     The Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry's AIDS Surveillance 
Committee reported cases of 92 new HIV carriers and AIDS patients
in Japan during the July-August period--the third highest total 
during a two-month period.  Of the total, 50 were Japanese males,
exceeding the past rate of 37 in the May-June period.  Eight new 
cases of HIV or AIDS were diagnosed in Japanese females.  The 
remaining 34 were non-Japanese cases occurring in 18 males and 16
females.  The current number of AIDS patients and HIV-infected 
people in Japan is 1,709, according to the committee.  Effective 
January, the Ministry will add phthisis and two other symptoms to
carinii pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, and other representative 
AIDS symptoms to its definition of AIDS patients.  These 
additions will increase the number of AIDS patients by 
approximately 10 percent, said one ministry official.
      
"Infections Related to Venous Access Devices in Patients with 
AIDS"
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (9/94-10/94) 
Vol. 5, No. 5, P. 43;  Settle, Jane T.;  Neff-Smith, Martha;  
Wan, George J.
     A retrospective study of venous access devices (VADs) was 
conducted in patients with AIDS to compare infection rates in 
implanted external catheters and completely implanted ports.  
VADs are often found in PWAs who need long-term administration of
medications and access for phlebotomy and dehydration.  All 48 
participants were diagnosed with AIDS and received a total of 54 
VADs.  While the 41 external catheters had an infection rate of 
36.5 percent, the 13 ports had a 30.8 percent infection rate.  
The authors hypothesize that lack of compliance with care of the 
device is a significant factor in the development of VAD 
infections.
      
"HIV Prevention Programs"
Science (10/07/94) Vol. 266, No. 5182, P. 13;  Holtgrave, David 
R.;  Qualls, Noreen
     David R. Holtgrave and Noreen L. Qualls of the Centers for 
Disease Control's Office of HIV/AIDS fully endorse Aggleton et 
al's overview of issues related to the primary prevention of HIV 
infection.  They note that while HIV prevention programs work, 
further empirical research is needed to address more complex 
questions--such as which interventions work best, when do they 
work, and at what cost.  The CDC and its prevention partners now 
have a community-based approach to HIV prevention.  Community 
planning groups need the best available scientific data that is 
engineered to best suit their purposes.  Holtgrave and Qualls 
both advocate the continued financial, human, and material 
support to the creation and implementation of HIV prevention 
programs.
      
