                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      November 7, 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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"Kuwait Might Test Visitors for AIDS"
"Abandoned and Dying Babies Symbolize South Africa's AIDS 
Problem"
"U.S. Blood Supply Safe, Researchers Say"
"Earning Respect"
"National Advocacy Groups Call for Withdrawal of Johnson & 
Johnson's Application for HIV Home Test"
"Home But Not Alone--Homesharing Program"
"Nation's Divorce and Matrimonial Attorneys See Significant 
Increase in AIDS in Divorce Cases, Posing Special Problems"
"Sunset Boulevard to Close for Charity Fund-Raiser for Homebound 
with AIDS"
"Reduction of Maternal-Infant Transmission of Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 with Zidovudine Treatment"
"New Attitudes Boost Condom Sales"
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"Kuwait Might Test Visitors for AIDS"
Reuters (11/07/94)
     Kuwaiti citizens and expatriates who frequently visit countries 
with high AIDS rates may soon be tested for AIDS, the Arab Times 
reported Saturday.  Kuwait already requires that all expatriates 
working in the emirate be tested, and all non-Kuwaitis who test 
positive for HIV are deported.  Fewer than 30 Kuwaiti nationals 
have tested HIV-positive since 1985.
      
"Abandoned and Dying Babies Symbolize South Africa's AIDS 
Problem"
Los Angeles Times (11/06/94) P. A11;  Venter, Sahm
     Despite the South Africa's medical facilities, the most advanced 
in Africa, AIDS is spreading rapidly through the country.  The 
former white government neglected health care for blacks, who 
make up 75 percent of the 40 million population.  The almost 
14,500 babies that are born HIV-infected are part of a growing 
problem in South Africa.  Cultural and religious customs, such as
multiple partners and large families, hinder efforts to fight the
spread of the disease.  "When you diagnose a child, you are 
saying his mother's got it, maybe the father, the siblings.  You 
are diagnosing the community as well," said Dr. John Burgess, who
runs an AIDS clinic at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape 
Town.  Dr. Nkosazana Zuma, South Africa's health minister, plans 
to nearly double the $6.2 million spent by the former government 
to fight AIDS.  The money will target areas such as education, 
prevention, and buying condoms.
      
"U.S. Blood Supply Safe, Researchers Say"
Reuters (11/06/94)
     Harvey Klein, chief of the department of transfusion medicine at 
the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday that the U.S. 
blood supply is immensely safer than it was in the past, due in 
part to the all-volunteer blood donor policy.  Only volunteers 
are accepted because donors who sell their blood are less likely 
to be honest about their health history.  The risk of receiving 
HIV-infected blood is approximately one infection in every 
225,000 units of blood transfused.  Blood plasma--for which many 
donors are paid--is 10 times as likely to carry infectious agents
as donated blood, but unlike blood can be treated to inactivate 
viruses.
      
"Earning Respect"
Baltimore Sun (11/05/94) P. 1D;  Selby, Holly
     Mary Fisher--a wealthy Republican woman who became HIV-infected 
through her husband--first gained the national spotlight two 
years ago when, at the Republican national convention, she 
announced that she was HIV-infected.  She urged the convention to
show compassion for all people with AIDS.  Ms. Fisher, an artist,
has since founded the Families with AIDS Network, a support group
for care-givers of people with AIDS.  She has also earned the 
grudging respect of AIDS activists, such as Torie Osborn, former 
executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 
who said, "She speaks purposefully in places not used to hearing 
messages of compassion--and especially not about AIDS."  Ms. 
Fisher regularly travels around the country speaking in the most 
conservative churches, to Republican women's social clubs, and to
corporations.
      
"National Advocacy Groups Call for Withdrawal of Johnson & 
Johnson's Application for HIV Home Test"
PR Newswire (11/04/94)
     Citing unlawful promotion of a proposed HIV home testing product,
the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association (NLGHA), The 
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), and Americans 
for a Sound AIDS/HIV Policy (ASAP), have filed a complaint with 
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against Johnson & 
Johnson and its subsidiary, Direct Access Diagnostics.  The 
groups request the withdrawal of the FDA's consideration of 
Johnson & Johnson's application for its proposed product until a 
thorough investigation is conducted.  "Johnson & Johnson is 
trying to ramrod this product through the FDA without regard for 
federal regulations or rules-of-fair-play," said NLGHA Executive 
Director Christopher Portelli.  The three organizations voiced 
opposition to the test as early as April 1994, and say that 
questions including the quality of pre- and post-test counseling 
and the potential for fraudulent testing must be addressed prior 
to approval of any home testing product.
      
"Home But Not Alone--Homesharing Program"
Business Wire (11/04/94)
     "Home But Not Alone" is a homesharing program that matches 
compatible people looking to share living arrangements, expenses,
and household duties.  The program was created by Housemate 
Match--a service sponsored by the Atlanta Jewish Community 
Center--to provide affordable housing for people with HIV.  
Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS has provided a grant 
for "Home But Not Alone."  The program is available to people who
are without a place to live and are at risk of becoming homeless 
and to homeproviders with extra space in their homes.  One person
in the match must be HIV-infected.
      
"Nation's Divorce and Matrimonial Attorneys See Significant 
Increase in AIDS in Divorce Cases, Posing Special Problems"
PR Newswire (11/03/94)
     The major topics at the annual meeting of the American Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers included AIDS and other sexually transmitted 
diseases.  One quarter of the lawyers attending the meeting said 
they have been involved in divorce proceedings that involve 
HIV-infected spouses and/or children.  AIDS and HIV-related cases
entail special issues, such as child custody.  A survey of 
academy membership reported problems caused by a lack of 
sufficient knowledge by the courts and the bar about AIDS and 
HIV-infected spouses, as well as the problems posed by the 
depletion of assets due to medical costs and the visitation of 
children by HIV-infected ex-spouses in such cases.  Norma Trusch,
a Houston attorney who chaired the AIDS program, said that AIDS 
creates special ethical issues for lawyers such as representing 
clients with dementia and handling knowledge of unsafe sex 
practices.
      
"Sunset Boulevard to Close for Charity Fund-Raiser for Homebound 
with AIDS"
PR Newswire (11/03/94)
     On Nov. 13, Sunset Boulevard will close for The Race to Deliver, 
a five kilometer run/walk.  Men's Health Magazine and Polo 
Sport--the fitness fragrance by Ralph Lauren--are sponsoring the 
event, which will benefit Project Angel Food, an organization 
that brings hot meals to those in Los Angeles who are homebound 
because of AIDS.  Project Angel Food is the only Los Angeles 
group that is completely devoted to providing free, hot meals to 
homebound people with AIDS.  The new Sunset Boulevard kitchen 
will allow the organization to double its meal production to 
1,000 meals a day and cut costs by consolidating its operations. 
Project Angel Food makes accommodations for the special needs of 
immune-suppressed clients.  Both event sponsors are also 
sponsoring their employees who participate.
      
"Reduction of Maternal-Infant Transmission of Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 with Zidovudine Treatment"
New England Journal of Medicine (11/03/94) Vol. 331, No. 18, P. 
1173;  Connor, Edward M.;  Sperling, Rhoda S.;  Gelber, Richard 
et al
     Young children become infected with HIV-1 principally through 
maternal-infant transmission.  The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials
Group conducted a multicenter study in the United States and 
France to assess the efficacy and safety of zidovudine (AZT) in 
reducing such transmissions.  A total of 477 HIV-positive 
pregnant women with CD4+ cell counts above 200 were enrolled.  
Only 8.3 percent of the babies who received AZT tested positive 
for HIV, while 25.5 percent of the infants in the placebo group 
tested positive.  The researchers found that administering AZT to
the pregnant mother throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery and
giving it to the infant for six weeks reduced the risk of HIV 
transmission by about two-thirds.  The birth levels of hemoglobin
in infants in the AZT group were significantly lower than those 
in the placebo group but, by 12 weeks, both groups had similar 
levels.
      
"New Attitudes Boost Condom Sales"
Convenience Store News (10/16/94) Vol. 30, No. 14, P. 22;  
Carlin, Sybil
     Serious concerns about AIDS and other sexually transmitted 
diseases have brought condoms from behind the pharmacy counter 
and made them more acceptable.  In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court 
ruled that condoms could be sold in any type of outlet to 
consumers of any age--though it is up to the individual store 
whether and where condoms are sold.  Some stores place packages 
of condoms prominently on the checkout counter or on self-serve 
pegboards, but others still choose to keep them behind the 
counter.  "By 1991, most c-store[convenience store] chains 
decided that selling condoms was not only profitable, but they 
were doing the community a service.  It wasn't as big an evil as 
they may have thought," said Dave Harrington, national accounts 
manager at Ansell Consumer Products--maker of LifeStyles condoms.
Condoms are now often sold as novelty items--in single packs and 
in forms such as the shape of a lollipop or a key chain.  Along 
with the change in attitude are changes in packaging to make 
buying condoms easier and less embarrassing.  Wrap It Right 
targets women with its product "Soft Sax for Safe Sex," cloth 
drawstring pouches containing three condoms--women now make up 35
to 40 percent of all condom buyers.
      
