                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      February 17, 1995

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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"HIV Risk from Health Workers Called Low"
"Ethnic Bias Charged at AIDS Foundation"
"San Francisco Station Ousts a Blunt Host"
"Penn State Researchers Make Progress on AIDS Drug Treatment"
"About 80,000 People HIV-Positive in Swaziland"
"Five More Vietnamese Die of AIDS-Related Causes"
"HIV Video's Debut Set at VCU"
"Sheffield Medical Technologies Files Response to FDA on HIV 
Therapeutic Application"
"AIDS Scientist Accused of Double Dipping"
"Cure du Jour"
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"HIV Risk from Health Workers Called Low"
Philadelphia Inquirer (02/17/95) P. A2;  Vedantam, Shankar
     There is virtually no risk of a patient contracting HIV from 
their dentists or other health-care providers who are infected 
with the virus, said researchers with the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday at the annual meeting of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  The 
researchers complimented the healthcare system for effectively 
protecting patients.  They also revealed, however, that 42 
health-care workers are known to have acquired the infection from
their patients, and another 88 might have as well.  Studies found
that as of July 1994, 13,420 health-care workers had AIDS--almost
5 percent of the AIDS population in the United States.  The risk 
of medically based HIV transmission was essentially limited to 
contact with infected blood while administering injections or 
suffering accidental cuts, the scientists said.  The researchers 
said that saliva appeared to be an effective barrier against HIV 
transmission, but the reason why is not known.
      
"Ethnic Bias Charged at AIDS Foundation"
New York Times (02/17/95) P. A22
     Alleging that the agency has treated them unfairly and, in some 
instances, passed them over for promotions, three Hispanic 
employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission against the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
The workers said that the nonprofit organization, which provides 
AIDS services and education, had a pattern of discriminating 
against minority employees.  One worker said he was fired after 
he was wrongfully accused of threatening another staff member.  
He also said that he was not selected to manage a trilingual hot 
line because he has an accent.  Another worker noted that the 
foundation has eliminated a multicultural program, and thus, did 
not serve women and members of minorities as well as it once did.
      
"San Francisco Station Ousts a Blunt Host"
New York Times (02/17/95) P. A14
     J. Paul Emerson, the broadcaster whose radio talk show has gained
attention because of his remarks about homosexuals and AIDS has 
been fired just six weeks after he went on the air.  "It hasn't 
worked out, and he is not returning" to the airwaves, said Julie 
Hoover, a spokeswoman for the owner of KSFO-AM radio, Capital 
Cities/ABC Inc.  Emerson was hired in January as part of the San 
Francisco station's switch to an all-conservative talk format.  
His comments that people with AIDS should be quarantined and that
homosexuals were "sick" and "pathetic" particularly stirred 
outrage.
      
"Penn State Researchers Make Progress on AIDS Drug Treatment"
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News (02/17/95);  Andron, Scott
     Researchers lead by Kenneth A. Johnson of Penn State University 
have discovered how an experimental class of AIDS drugs called 
nonnucleosides work.  Their findings were published in Friday's 
issue of the journal Science.  Johnson and his team found that 
nonnucleosides interfere with the enzyme that enables HIV to 
attach itself to DNA.  This discovery could lead to the 
development of more effective AIDS treatments with fewer adverse 
effects.
      
"About 80,000 People HIV-Positive in Swaziland"
Reuters (02/17/95)
     Approximately 80,000 people in the small African country of 
Swaziland are infected with HIV, Health Minister Derek von Wissel
announced today.  He estimated that about 9,000 people will die 
of AIDS in 1996.  "It seems few people in the country realize the
seriousness of AIDS," von Wissel told an AIDS awareness seminar 
organized for teachers.  He also said that one in five 
school-going children, between the ages of 15 and 19, was already
HIV-positive.
      
"Five More Vietnamese Die of AIDS-Related Causes"
Reuters (02/16/95)
     Five Vietnamese have died of AIDS-related causes during the last 
six weeks, official sources reported.  Their deaths, which 
include the first married couple in Vietnam to die from AIDS, 
raised the death toll in the country from the disease to 54.  "As
of February 11, the whole country has recorded 2,200 Vietnamese 
tested positive with HIV, of which 131 have been confirmed as 
suffering from AIDS and 53 have died of the disease," said an 
official with the national AIDS Protection Committee.  The 54th 
death, which occurred after the committee's statistics were drawn
up, was the first death from the disease in Hanoi, the capital.  
Most of Vietnam's AIDS deaths have occurred in Ho Chi Minh City, 
the largest city and a major port.
      
"HIV Video's Debut Set at VCU"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (02/16/95) P. B5
     "We Journey Together," a video about the impact an HIV-positive 
diagnosis has on a person and about the resources available for 
such people, will have its first showing on Feb. 21 at Virginia 
Commonwealth University (VCU).  The video focuses on the life of 
a young man recently diagnosed with HIV.  The video, which was 
primarily financed by the Richmond AIDS Consortium, the VCU 
HIV/AIDS Center, and the Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training
Center, will be distributed free of charge to AIDS service 
organizations, health care providers, and other groups that deal 
with HIV issues.
      
"Sheffield Medical Technologies Files Response to FDA on HIV 
Therapeutic Application"
Business Wire (02/16/95)
     On Thursday, Sheffield Medical Technologies Inc. filed its 
response to clinical hold issues raised by the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) on its RBC-CD4 Phase I/II Investigational 
New Drug (IND) Application.  The original IND was filed on Aug. 
19, and a clinical hold was placed on it 30 days later.  Harvey 
L. Kellman, the company's president and CEO, said that the FDA 
usually issues clinical holds to give its review committee extra 
time to evaluate an application, which is normally followed by a 
written response that details the clinical hold issues.  The 
company's clinical protocol calls for a 19-patient study to test 
for safety, tolerance, and activity at therapeutic doses.  
Sheffield projects include two HIV/AIDS therapeutics--the red 
blood cell-CD4 electroinsertion technology and a Liposome-CD4 
project--and an HIV/AIDS vaccine which is in preclinical animal 
studies at the French National Institute of Health and Medical 
Research.
      
"AIDS Scientist Accused of Double Dipping"
Science (02/10/95) Vol. 267, No. 5199, P. 779
     On Feb. 3, the Miami Herald reported that AIDS researcher Lionel 
Resnick resigned from positions at Mount Sinai Medical Center and
the University of Miami after his billing practices came under 
scrutiny last year.  The Department of Health and Human Services 
is investigating allegations that Resnick improperly used a lab 
supported by federal research funds to do outside contract work, 
netting him at least $250,000.  The institutions began 
investigating after they noticed that Resnick had requested that 
payments for work done at his Mount Sinai lab go to Vironc Inc., 
a business sharing his home address.  Resnick's attorney 
acknowledged that his client had used his Mount Sinai lab to 
moonlight, by doing virology tests for drug companies, for 
example.  He said, however, that the story has been blown out of 
proportion over "an accounting issue," that is, Resnick's 
misunderstanding of the government's direct cost reimbursement 
rules.
      
"Cure du Jour"
Advocate (02/21/95) No. 675, P. 36;  Downton, Joseph
     A growing number of HIV-infected people swear by the curative 
powers of kombucha tea, which is endorsed by advocates as a cure 
for ailments including eczema, memory loss, multiple sclerosis, 
and impotence.  Critics, however, argue that the effects of 
kombucha have not been scientifically studied.  Some--like Ruben 
Gamundi, a treatment education advocate at the service group AIDS
Project Los Angeles--are also worried about possible side 
effects.  "We have been alerted that mold sometimes grows on the 
kombucha culture and that this mold might contain a fungus known 
as Aspergillus, which can lead to a fungal infection that can be 
fatal in people with HIV," says Gamundi.  Betsy Pryor, co-founder
of Laurel Farms, a California supplier of kombucha, dismisses 
such fears and explains that the tea has a long history of use 
dating back thousands of years to ancient Manchuria, Japan, and 
Tibet.  She says that although the tea's medicinal benefits have 
not been documented in clinical trials, they are 
well-substantiated anecdotally.  The Food and Drug Administration
is examining the contents and preparation process of kombucha to 
assess potential health risks.
      
AIDS Daily News will not publish on Monday, February 20,
in observance of Presidents' Day.  Publication will resume
on Tuesday, February 21.
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