                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      July 12, 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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"House Republicans Move on Spending Bills"
"U.S. Judge Seizes Control of D.C. Jail Medical Care"
"Rise in Sexual Disease Worries UN Body"
"Chronicle: Hugh Grant"
"...But Why Is There So Much for AIDS?"
"AIDS Patient Fights Disease with Fervor"
"HIV Clearance in an Infant?"
"AIDS Orphans"
"Archaic Leprosy Law Under Attack"
"Notice of Public Meeting"
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"House Republicans Move on Spending Bills"
New York Times (07/12/95) P. A12;  Gray, Jerry
     House Republicans moved quickly on Tuesday to complete committee 
work on next year's appropriations bills.  Several of the cuts 
are the same ones found in a reductions package for current-year 
spending that prompted President Clinton to use the first veto of
his administration, including elimination of a youth employment 
program and major cuts to Head Start and other assistance to the 
poor.  The Republican plan would give the National Institutes of 
Health $11.9 billion, a $642 million increase over its present 
budget and $200 million more than the Administration requested.  
The subcommittee also kept spending at current levels, or $632 
million, for the Ryan White AIDS program.  White House Chief of 
Staff Leon E. Panetta, however, said that if the series of 
appropriations bills for 1996 that the 13 subcommittees of the 
House Appropriations Committee have approved during the last 
month reach President Clinton in their current form, "he will 
veto them."  Related Story: Wall Street Journal (07/12) P. A3
      
"U.S. Judge Seizes Control of D.C. Jail Medical Care"
Washington Post (07/12/95) P. B1;  Locy, Toni
     A federal judge took control of medical and mental health 
services at the Washington, D.C., jail on Tuesday, saying that 
some District corrections officials "don't give a damn" about the
inmates.  Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Bryant rejected 
the city's request for additional time to comply with a court 
order to improve filthy and hazardous conditions at the jail.  
The receiver, Bryant said, will have the power to hire, fire, and
spend money for medical and mental health services at the jail 
for up to five years.  His announcement came as public outrage 
increased over the death of Richard C. Johnson, an inmate with 
AIDS who died while tied to a wheelchair with a urine-soaked 
sheet.  Soon after Bryant's decision, several AIDS and human 
rights advocates gathered in front of the courthouse to praise 
the judge's decision.  Related Story: USA Today (07/12) P. 9A
      
"Rise in Sexual Disease Worries UN Body"
Financial Times (07/12/95) P. 4;  Harding, James
     According to the United Nations (UN) Population Fund, the 
incidence of sexually transmitted disease (STD) is increasing 
globally as people marry later and have more casual premarital 
sex.  In its annual report, the UN emphasizes and analyzes the 
importance of reproductive health care provision, but also argues
that equal attention should be paid to the problems of STDs and 
the quality of contraception and abortion.  The report notes that
"young women today are marrying later than in the past...as the 
interval between the onset of sexual maturity and marriage 
increases so does the risk that young people will engage in 
premarital sexual relations and be exposed to unwanted pregnancy,
HIV/AIDS, and other STDs."  In addition, the report focuses on 
"the AIDS pandemic," estimating that although figures for 1994 
show that 1 million people were reported to have AIDS, the actual
number--which includes undiagnosed cases--was likely 4.5 million.
      
"Chronicle: Hugh Grant"
New York Times (07/12/95) P. A15;  Brozan, Nadine
     Actor Hugh Grant pleaded no contest on Tuesday to charges of lewd
conduct in public with a prostitute.  Grant must pay $1,180 in 
fines and court costs and was placed on two years' unsupervised 
probation.  Under his probation, Grant must complete an AIDS 
education program by mid-November, a spokesman for the city of 
Los Angeles' attorney's office said.  Related Story: Washington 
Post (07/12) P. D3
      
"...But Why Is There So Much for AIDS?"
Boston Globe (07/11/95) P. 13;  Jacoby, Jeff
     Sen. Jesse Helms' (R-N.C.) execration of homosexuals obscured his
real point--that government spends too much on AIDS, writes 
columnist Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe.  The federal debt is 
enormous, Jacoby notes, and it is difficult to see justification 
in raising AIDS to a privileged status, as though it is more 
dangerous than diseases that kill far more people.  Helms is 
focusing on the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, a 
measure that would provide $3.6 billion for the treatment of AIDS
over the next five years.  Medicare and Medicaid take care of 
sick people who are elderly or poor, Jacoby asserts, while Ryan 
White funds are reserved only for AIDS patients.  What Helms 
should have said, Jacoby concludes, is that AIDS patients deserve
compassion and help, then added that those who claim that AIDS 
patients are entitled to special compassion help bear the burden 
of explaining why.
      
"AIDS Patient Fights Disease with Fervor"
Washington Times (07/10/95) P. A5
     AIDS activist Jeff Getty hopes to become the first human to be 
injected with a baboon's bone marrow.  He believes he is still 
alive because of an aggressive style of negotiating he learned at
the Mexican border seven years ago when U.S. border guards caught
him coming from Tijuana with a pinata filled with illegal AIDS 
drugs.  At the time, U.S. residents were allowed to import drugs 
that lacked federal approval if they were for personal use.  The 
guards were aware of the uses of isoprinosine and ribavirin, but 
insisted Getty explain himself anyway.  "Because I have AIDS," he
shouted.  Since then, Getty has successfully fought the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration and drug companies for the opportunity to
use experimental AIDS drugs, which doctors say have kept him 
alive for 15 years.  Now, however, his immune system is so 
ravaged that they estimate he has only one year more to live, and
Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of the University of Pittsburgh Medical 
Center believes the bone marrow transplant is his last chance.  A
successful transplant could boost Getty's immune system, as well 
as indicate progress toward cross-species transplants for a 
variety of diseases.
      
"HIV Clearance in an Infant?"
Nature (06/22/95) Vol. 375, No. 6533, P. 637;  Bryson, Yvonne;  
Chen, Irvin S.Y.
     In response to a letter to the editor published in the Lancet, 
Bryson and Chen disagree with McClure et al.'s interpretation of 
their recent paper on the clearance of HIV infection in a 
perinatally infected infant, citing that McClure et al's criteria
for the diagnosis of such infection are not typical of those used
for most pediatric diagnoses.  Bryson and Chen note that their 
HIV diagnosis was based on the presence of cultured virus from 
the baby on two separate occasions.  This procedure, they insist,
is consistent with guidelines established by the NIH AIDS 
Clinical Trials Group Virology Committee and the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
      
"AIDS Orphans"
Journal of the American Medical Association (06/28/95) Vol. 273, 
No. 24, P. 1960;  Callan, Monnie B.
     "AIDS and the New Orphans: Coping With Death," edited by Barbara 
O. Dane and Carol Levine, offers a new perspective on the issue 
of children orphaned by AIDS.  The book is a compilation of works
by several authors who examine the different developmental stages
in relation to coping with death.  They include step-by-step 
recommendations on how to prepare children for parental loss, 
with particular understanding of the additional burdens of 
AIDS-related secrecy and stigma.  Each chapter offers Latino and 
African-American cultural coping mechanisms, as well as the 
spiritual side of childhood loss.  Both this publication and its 
predecessor--"A Death in the Family: Orphans of the HIV 
Epidemic," also edited by Levine--sensitize the reader the 
challenges of the children and families orphaned by AIDS, and 
open the door to policies and programs that might alleviate the 
full impact of these problems.
      
"Archaic Leprosy Law Under Attack"
Nature Medicine (07/95) Vol. 1, No. 7, P. 617;  Nathan, Richard
     Japan is considering whether to repeal its Leprosy Prevention 
Law, which was introduced in 1907.  Many people feel that the 
law, which now confines more than 5,800 people to a life of 
isolation, could mark a turning point for patients rights in 
Japan--particularly among groups that have experienced 
discrimination, such as people with AIDS.  The renewed interest 
in abolishing the law came in part from the media and human 
rights groups, following a debate in the late 1980s on how to 
deal with AIDS in Japan.  At that time, some people called for 
all HIV or AIDS patients to be  isolated.  In April, the Japanese
Leprosy Society made a public apology for failing to act sooner, 
and called for an immediate repeal of the law.  A recent 
editorial in the Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan' leading 
newspapers, cautioned, "Our harsh and ignominious experience with
lepers in our midst should not be repeated as we address the 
rising challenge of AIDS."  A senior government official says the
government is creating a special committee to consider if and how
the leprosy law should be changed.
      
"Notice of Public Meeting"
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (07/06/95)
     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will
host a public meeting to discuss the implementation and
evaluation of U.S. Public Health Service recommendations for
counseling and testing pregnant women.  The purpose of this
meeting is to obtain individual comments on the following: 
strategies to prevent HIV infection among women and children;
strategies to ensure that women and newborns who are infected are
entered into a continuum of services; and the considerations
involved in monitoring the epidemic in women and children in
general.  The meeting will be held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza
Hotel, 210 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta Georgia, on July 11 and
12, from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.  To make hotel reservations, please
contact the Westin Peachtree Plaza at (404) 659-1400.  For
additional information, call Francess Page at (202) 690-6373. 

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