                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        June 5, 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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"Epidemiology: AIDS Vaccine Hope Raises Fear"
"Mother Theresa Visiting AIDS Hospice"
"FDA Can Improve Safety of Blood with Better Data"
"Celgene Gets FDA Orphan Drug Status for Mouth Ulcer Drug"
"Top Zaire AIDS Researcher Dies, State Radio Says"
"First AIDS Patient in Sri Lanka Rebel Stronghold"
"Across the USA: Montana"
"Reports Cite Deadly Parasite, Urge Tougher U.S. Water Standards"
"Counseling about Sex"
"$15.7 Million Awarded for AIDS Health Care Training"
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"Epidemiology: AIDS Vaccine Hope Raises Fear"
Washington Post (06/05/95) P. A2;  Brown, David
     A new study by N. Almond and colleagues at the National Institute
for Biological Standards and Control has found that a "live 
attenuated" virus vaccine may generate similar results in AIDS 
patients as it has in polio victims.  However, many scientists 
believe that this "defective" strain of simian immunodeficiency 
virus could mutate into a deadly strain and damage certain cells,
especially those in the brain.  Also, by disrupting the DNA, this
vaccination may cause other diseases.  In addition to these 
problems, the person would always test positive for HIV and the 
hazards of intentionally infecting people with HIV are enormous.
      
"Mother Theresa Visiting AIDS Hospice"
Baltimore Sun (06/05/95) P. 2A
     On June 12, Mother Theresa will attend a blessing of an AIDS 
hospice her charity established in Atlanta last year for 
impoverished women, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic 
archdiocese announced on Saturday.  "The blessing will be a 
private event," Monsignor Peter Dora said.  Related Story: 
Washington Post (06/05) P. C3
      
"FDA Can Improve Safety of Blood with Better Data"
Wall Street Journal (06/05/95) P. B3;  Zachary, G. Pascal
     According to a government report, the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) can increase the safety of the country's 
blood supply by doing a better job of collecting information on 
errors made by hospitals and blood banks.  The audit, which was 
conducted by the inspector general of the Department of Health 
and Human Services, found that the FDA is not requiring hospitals
and blood banks to submit error reports in a timely manner and 
that it has not received such reports at all from facilities that
handle about 10 percent of the country's blood.  Although the 
inspector general, June Gibbs Brown, did not blame the agency's 
practices for increasing the odds that a patient would receive 
tainted blood, the report urged the FDA to issue regulations that
would provide more timely data on accidents in handling blood 
products.  The FDA has significantly increased its regulations 
over the processing and collection of blood since the early 
1980s, when the spread of AIDS led to concerns about the safety 
of blood products.  Health officials said that the new changes 
should close a major loophole in blood safety procedures.
      
"Celgene Gets FDA Orphan Drug Status for Mouth Ulcer Drug"
Wall Street Journal (06/05/95) P. B3
     The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Celgene 
Corp.'s orphan-drug application for the use of thalidomide in 
treating mouth ulcers in people with AIDS or cancer.  According 
to the biotechnology company, orphan status is given for 
particular uses of experimental drugs that have not yet been 
approved for sale.  If the FDA approves the sale, Celgene could 
now have the exclusive right to sell the drug as a remedy for 
ulcers.  The company is also sponsoring clinical trials of 
thalidomide for the treatment of AIDS-related cachexia, or 
weight-loss.
      
"Top Zaire AIDS Researcher Dies, State Radio Says"
Reuters (06/02/95)
     Luruhuma Zirimwabagabo--Zaire's leading AIDS researcher, who 
claimed to have discovered a cure for the disease--has died, the 
state radio announced on Friday.  The cause of death was not 
mentioned.  In 1988, Luruhuma said that he had discovered a 
treatment for AIDS called MM1, a controversial treatment which 
was said to stem the replication of HIV.  Tests, however, found 
the supposed cure ineffective.
      
"First AIDS Patient in Sri Lanka Rebel Stronghold"
Reuters (06/05/95)
     The first case of AIDS in Sri Lanka's northern Tamil Tiger 
guerrilla stronghold of Jaffna was recently diagnosed, residents 
said.  A 38-year-old migrant worker, who had recently returned 
home to Jaffna on vacation after eight years in Mexico, was found
to have the disease after he became ill and was admitted to a 
hospital one week ago.  The detection of the first AIDS case was 
reported by the "Voice of Tigers," the clandestine radio station 
operated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, who are 
fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in north
and east Sri Lanka.
      
"Across the USA: Montana"
USA Today (06/05/95) P. 9A
     Officials in Butte, Mont., are attempting to locate people who 
stopped to assist HIV-infected motorcyclist David Rutan, who died
in a bloody accident on Friday.  These people should contact 
their physicians to discuss possible exposure to HIV.
      
"Reports Cite Deadly Parasite, Urge Tougher U.S. Water Standards"
Knight-Ridder (06/02/95);  Vogel, Nancy
     Environmentalists warned on Thursday that cryptosporidium has 
been detected before and after treatment in the country's water 
supply.  Because some cities do not test or filter their drinking
water, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the 
Environmental Working Group published reports that urge the 
United States to invest in better filtration and to start testing
for the microscopic parasite.  The reports' authors called for a 
national standard for cryptosporidium, which was blamed for 
sickening more than 400,000 people and killing 100 more--mostly 
people with AIDS--in Milwaukee two years ago.  Currently, the 
parasite is not regulated, in part because there is no reliable 
way to monitor it.  The parasite, which may cause flu-like 
symptoms in healthy people, is most dangerous to people with 
weakened immune systems--such as AIDS patients--as well as the 
elderly and the very young.
      
"Counseling about Sex"
Focus (05/95) Vol. 10, No. 6, P. 5;  Young, Rebecca
     There are significant challenges related to counseling about sex 
within the HIV environment, writes Rebecca Young in Focus.  Most 
people do not receive clear and comprehensive sexuality 
information, which makes effective counseling difficult and 
increases the discomfort related to sex.  For patients, such 
discomfort has many origins--such as the fear that talking about 
sex will be accompanied by punishment and that counselors will 
find their sexual practices deviant, boring, or titillating.  
There also may be issues of personal responsibility, particularly
for HIV-infected persons.  For counselors, the discomfort stems 
from concerns about the unknown, such as a lack of experience 
that seems relevant to their clients' sexual realities.  
Counselors may discover that they share societal disapproval of 
sexual activity and reproduction among HIV-infected people.  In 
the end, however, a counselor must provide the same support to 
HIV-infected clients as they offer to other clients.  Ethically 
and practically, the development of HIV requires that counselors 
develop skills for counseling about sex, the author notes.  Good 
counseling about sex is an opportunity to exploit the urgency of 
the HIV epidemic to help clients develop safe and satisfying 
relationships, Young concludes.
      
"$15.7 Million Awarded for AIDS Health Care Training"
Nation's Health (05/95-06/95) Vol. 25, No. 5, P. 16
     Fifteen AIDS Education and Training Centers in the United States 
will receive $15.7 million in federal funds this year to train 
health care workers to help prevent HIV transmission, and to 
counsel, diagnose, treat, and manage the care of individuals with
HIV or AIDS.  The grants will also help finance HIV/AIDS 
information dissemination activities at the centers.  In 
addition, the awards fund the National HIV Telephone Consultation
Service and the Clinical Conference Call Series, which provide 
recent HIV-related information to primary care physicians who 
treat people with AIDS.  The 15 regional centers--which serve the
50 states, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico--are located in 
cities and suburban areas with high numbers of AIDS patients.
      
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