                     AIDS Daily Summary
                      December 6, 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
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"H.I.V. As a Defense in a Murder Trial"
"SEPTA Loses AIDS Privacy Judgment"
"Two Similar Cases of Dentists, AIDS"
"In Romanian Port, Orphans Suffer with Poverty, Neglect and AIDS"
"Clean Needles Slow AIDS"
"AIDS Victim's Parents, Friend at Odds over Burial"
"NZ Court Puts Kenyan on Trial in AIDS Case"
"On Shaky Ground"
"Manager Training"
"Books: Amazing Grace"
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"H.I.V. As a Defense in a Murder Trial"
New York Times (12/06/94) P. A14;  Dunlap, David W.
     An approaching murder trial in Laurel, Miss., has many gay 
organizers worried that the case may be decided on whether the 
two homosexual victims were infected with HIV.  J. Ronald 
Parrish, the lawyer for the defense, said he will argue that the 
accused shot the two men when they tried to sexually assault him.
Parrish said the case is not about whether the accused thought 
the men might be infected with HIV.  Instead, he said it is about
whether the men had the virus and had gone out seeking sex, in 
which case their behavior would have been comparable to that a 
man carrying a loaded gun--and could therefore be considered an 
"aggravating factor."  The judge ordered HIV testing of the two 
men's blood, but has not disclosed the results or whether the 
results will be admissible in the trial.  April Richards, 
president of the G.L. Friendly Community Center in Biloxi, Miss.,
said "If these tests are allowed in court and the accused is 
released for 'justifiable homicide,' we will be setting a legal 
precedent: that killing someone with H.I.V. or someone who is 
presumed to be H.I.V.-positive, will not only be acceptable but 
excusable by the law."  The accused has been charged with two 
counts of murder, each carrying a maximum sentence of life in 
prison.
      
"SEPTA Loses AIDS Privacy Judgment"
Philadelphia Inquirer (12/06/94) P. B1;  Slobodzian, Joseph A.
     A federal court jury concluded that a SEPTA manager's 
constitutional right to privacy was violated when an 
administrator discovered he his illness with AIDS during a review
of employee prescription claims.  The jury also found that the 
administrator, Judith Pierce, violated the manager's privacy.  
Although Pierce was not dealt any punitive damages, she plans to 
appeal the verdict.  SEPTA was held liable for failing to train 
Pierce and others about the privacy rights of employees.  "John 
Doe" was awarded $125,000 in damages for "mental and emotional 
distress."
      
"Two Similar Cases of Dentists, AIDS"
Washington Post (Health) (12/06/94) P. 5;  Boodman, Sandra G.
     Two Florida dentists are suspected on infecting their patients 
with HIV.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
concluded in the first case that Dr. David Acer somehow 
transmitted HIV to six of his patients during dental procedures. 
In the second case, the CDC decided that the dentist in question 
did not infect 28 of his patients who contracted HIV.  He worked 
in a poor Miami neighborhood and sometimes reused disposable 
equipment, but most of the patients had sex or drug habits that 
put them at high risk for HIV, the investigators concluded.  Both
cases were decided on the similarity of DNA viral sequences.  
Acer's patients had very similar strains, while the other dentist
and his patients were infected with different viral strains.  The
Acer case is the only documented instance of HIV transmission 
from an infected health care worker to patients.  During the past
year, media reports--including one by Mike Wallace of "60 
Minutes"--raised questions of Acer's guilt and the CDC's use of 
DNA viral sequences.  Wallace suggested that the six patients had
other AIDS risk factors that the CDC ignored or was unaware of.  
During Wallace's broadcast, a virologist called the sequencing 
technique inconclusive.  Harold Jaffe, head of the CDC's AIDS 
division, accused "60 Minutes" of omitting information that 
contradicts the program's conclusions.  Related Story: Houston 
Chronicle (12/02) P. 4A
      
"In Romanian Port, Orphans Suffer with Poverty, Neglect and AIDS"
Journal of Commerce (12/06/94) P. 7B;  Dascalu, Roxana
     In Romania, children have been the worst hit by AIDS.  More than 
90 percent of all known cases of HIV-infection are in children 
under the age of 12.  The source of infection is believed to be 
blood sold by poor sailors, which went immediately to the areas 
of greatest need, such as hospitals and orphanages.  One half of 
the HIV-positive children in Romania were infected through 
unscreened blood and lack of disposable syringes before the 1989 
revolution that ended the rule of communist dictator Nicolae 
Ceausescu.  Rodica Matusa, the AIDS coordinator for Constantza-- 
the port with the highest number of HIV-infected children in 
Europe--said that most of the HIV-infected children are orphans 
or were abandoned at birth.  There has been a shift, however, and
now most new cases are being sexually transmitted to mothers.  
Foreign aid groups have tried to establish places where the 
children can live "like normal children," but still receive 
treatment.  Matusa said that while "life expectancy was only a 
few months in 1989," because of the love and treatment found in 
the AIDS hospices, "now I have children who have lived for more 
than five years."
      
"Clean Needles Slow AIDS"
New York Times (12/06/94) P. A22
     The evidence that researchers in New York City found that 
providing clean needles to drug addicts can slow the spread of 
HIV strengthens the case for needle exchange programs in New York
and all other cities with injection drug users at risk, write the
editors of the New York Times.  Thus far, no study has measured a
notable decline in AIDS infections among addict.  The most 
significant finding was that only 1 to 2 percent of the enrollees
became HIV-infected each year, compared to 4 to 5 percent among 
those not enrolled.  The study also found that needle exchange 
programs do not increase or encourage drug use--two of the main 
fears in the opposition to such programs.  Although the lower 
rate of infection may be explained by participants who are more 
highly motivated than other addicts to avoid risky behavior, the 
provision of clean needles and the support provided by the 
programs' staff members were also significant.  If the findings 
that regular participation in needle exchange programs can reduce
the risk of infection by 50 percent can be confirmed, all states 
should use exchange programs to fight AIDS, conclude the New York
Times editors.
      
"AIDS Victim's Parents, Friend at Odds over Burial"
Chicago Tribune (12/05/94) P. 1-3
     A legal battle has erupted between the parents of a Michigan man,
O'Jay Bewley, and the man's lover of 12 years.  The man, who died
of AIDS-related complications, left a will but did not indicate 
where he wanted to be buried.  The parents want him buried near 
their home in Texas, but their son's longtime companion wants him
to be buried in Michigan.  He contends that Bewley wanted to be 
buried in Michigan and that they had bought burial plots 
together.  A decision will be made at a hearing on Dec. 12.
      
"NZ Court Puts Kenyan on Trial in AIDS Case"
Reuters (12/04/94)
     The trial of a Kenyan musician who is charged with willfully 
infecting a woman with HIV began in New Zealand on Monday.  The 
man pleaded not guilty to charges of transmitting the virus that 
causes AIDS to one women and endangering the lives of another 
four.  If convicted, he will face up to 14 years in prison.
      
"On Shaky Ground"
Advocate (11/29/94) No. 669, P. 36;  Gallagher, John
     Although San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 5A is 
internationally known for the AIDS care it provides, it faces 
many problems because of government cost-cutting and the changing
economics of the health care industry.  San Francisco General, 
like other public hospitals across the country, must keep its 
costs low and compete with private institutions for patients 
while providing care to an increasing number of indigent, 
undocumented, and unprofitable patients.  Also, California has 
mandated that if public hospitals in the state's 13 largest 
counties wish to continue participating in Medi-Cal, they must 
initiate managed health care plans by early 1995.  "With managed 
care you have to luck out again and hope that your gatekeeper is 
willing to do aggressive advocacy for your care for very little 
money," said Gary Rose, associate director for legislative and 
regulatory affairs for the National Association of People With 
AIDS.  Many AIDS patients, because they are tired of dealing with
San Francisco General's bureaucracy, have left Ward 5A in favor 
of private hospitals that have their own AIDS units.  
Increasingly, those who remain suffer from AIDS-related 
complications, mental problems, and substance abuse.  With a more
conservative Congress ready to emphasize cutbacks next year, Ward
5A and AIDS units at other hospitals will have to cope as best 
they can.
      
"Manager Training"
Federal Times (11/14/94) Vol. 30, No. 40, P. 43
     HIV and AIDS education programs are being offered to agency 
managers by the Agriculture Department Graduate School .  
"Special Issues for Supervisors and Managers" targets managers 
who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses among staffers.  
It covers subjects such as legal issues, federal policy, and the 
emotional psychological problems faced by sick workers.  "HIV and
TB: the Twin Epidemics," a related course, discusses the effects 
of AIDS and tuberculosis on the workplace.
      
"Books: Amazing Grace"
Advocate (11/15/94) No. 668, P. 88;  Pela, Robert L.
     Queer and Loathing: Rants and Raves of a Raging AIDS Clone, by 
the late David B. Feinberg, is a collection of previously 
published magazine articles and speeches, as well as new 
autobiographical essays.  The pieces demonstrate with humor 
Feinberg's struggle with his own infected status and the forces 
behind his novels.  For example, his list of "100 Ways You Can 
Fight the AIDS Crisis" contains plans for assassinating Jesse 
Helms, and his account of a visit to the Names quilt describes a 
makeout session.
      
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