                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       July 14, 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 Panel Votes 41-0 to Extend AIDS Project"
"House Panel to Draft Bill on AIDS Tests of Newborns"
"Panel Recommends Steps for Ensuring Safe Blood Supply"
"Selling Idea of HIV Test for Pregnant Women"
"New Guidelines to Prevent Fatal Illness in AIDS Patients"
"Mail Carrier Won't Deliver to Home of AIDS Patients"
"Control Board Meets--and Hears--the People"
"Across the USA: Washington"
"New Surveillance Tool Makes Surveys Easier"
"Toxic Transfusions"
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"House Panel Votes 41-0 to Extend AIDS Project"
Washington Times (07/14/95) P. A6;  Price, Joyce
     In a unanimous decision, the House Commerce Committee on Thursday
recommended five-year reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.
The measure would authorize $875 million in the first year for 
the care and treatment of HIV-infected individuals.  An 
Appropriations subcommittee, however, has recommended $651.36 
million in fiscal 1996 funding--a figure which is slightly higher
than this year's total, but far lower than the $723.5 million 
sought by the White House.  Although Senate Majority Leader Bob 
Dole (R-Kan.) said that a floor vote could be made on July 24, a 
House vote before the August recess is not likely, said a 
spokesman for Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas).  AIDS advocacy 
groups praised Thursday's decision.  "The fact that it was a 
unanimous vote...shows a bipartisan commitment" to the program's 
services, noted Mark Barnes, executive director of the AIDS 
Action Council.  Related Stories: New York Times (07/14) P. A15; 
Philadelphia Inquirer (07/14) P. A4
      
"House Panel to Draft Bill on AIDS Tests of Newborns"
New York Times (07/14/95) P. A15;  Sack, Kevin
     Leaders of the House Commerce Committee announced on Thursday 
that they will draft bipartisan legislation requiring HIV tests 
for newborns unless their mothers had been tested during 
pregnancy.  The decision increases the likelihood that Congress 
will pass a bill that would, for the first time, require states 
to conduct HIV tests on some infants.  The committee appeared 
ready to pass an amendment that would force states to require HIV
tests for newborns or risk losing funds provided under the Ryan 
White CARE Act--a concept which seems to have wide support in the
House from both sides.  However, in response to objections raised
by the National Governors' Association and others, some committee
members said they were not willing to support a measure that 
would impose new expenses on states.  The decision to provide 
federal funding for HIV testing will likely reduce state and 
local officials' fiscal concerns, but it has not lowered the 
vehement opposition of AIDS advocates and health authorities who 
believe that mandatory testing could keep some women from 
obtaining adequate prenatal care.  Related Stories: Washington 
Times (07/14) P. A6; Philadelphia Inquirer (07/14) P. A4
      
"Panel Recommends Steps for Ensuring Safe Blood Supply"
Wall Street Journal (07/14/95) P. B7;  Zachary, G. Pascal
     A committee of experts convened by the National Academy of 
Sciences' Institute of Medicine has called for the government to 
work harder at guaranteeing the safety of the U.S. blood supply. 
The panel studied a series of "missed opportunities" by U.S. 
blood bankers and health regulators in the early 1980s that led 
to the deaths of about 28,000 hemophiliacs and blood-transfusion 
recipients.  In a report released on Thursday, the Institute of 
Medicine said that caution, fear of criticism, and a "failure of 
leadership" were reasons why industry and government did not 
respond faster to the blood crisis.  The report recommended the 
creation of a Blood Safety Council, under the Department of 
Health and Human Services, that can make sure that the Centers 
for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration sound 
early warnings to potential blood safety issues and respond 
appropriately.  In addition, the Institute urged federal 
lawmakers to consider forming a "no-fault" compensation fund for 
people who are harmed by contaminated blood.  This fund would 
solve the major loophole in which blood suppliers are practically
exempt from liability lawsuits, so that HIV-infected persons and 
others cannot be compensated easily.  Related Story: Philadelphia
Inquirer (07/14) P. A1
      
"Selling Idea of HIV Test for Pregnant Women"
USA Today (07/14/95) P. 10D;  Painter, Kim
     Officials from several health agencies met in Atlanta this week 
to discuss issues related to the voluntary HIV testing of 
pregnant women.  Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC) came nearly a year and a half after 
researchers discovered that AZT could reduce maternal-fetal 
transmission of HIV.  "This is a real breakthrough.  This is the 
first time in the AIDS epidemic that a drug can prevent a large 
number of transmissions," said the CDC's Dr. Helene Gayle.  
Though studies suggest that most pregnant women advised about the
risks of HIV will take the test, no one knows how many physicians
will actually provide such counseling.  "I'm told anecdotally 
that it's not being done as frequently as we would like," said 
Dr. Michael Mennuti of the University of Pennsylvania and of the 
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
      
"New Guidelines to Prevent Fatal Illness in AIDS Patients"
Reuters (07/13/95);  Cooper, Mike
     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new 
guidelines on Thursday for the treatment and prevention of 
potentially fatal infections in AIDS patients.  "We've tackled 17
different opportunistic infections in a way that's never been 
done before," said Dr. Jonathan Kaplan of the CDC, which 
published a 34-page summary of recommendations.  Kaplan said that
preventing the infections can "give people more years and higher 
quality of life during those years."  The guidelines now 
recommend that patients with Pneumocystic carinii pneumonia who 
cannot tolerate the drug TMP-SMZ should be given dapsone or 
dapsone with pyrimethamine, instead of monthly doses of 
aerosolized pentamidine.  This regimen is also recommended for 
AIDS patients with toxoplasmosis.  The CDC also said that AIDS 
patients should use a condom during intercourse to reduce the 
risk of exposure to cytomegalovirus, herpes, and other sexually 
transmitted diseases.
      
"Mail Carrier Won't Deliver to Home of AIDS Patients"
Chicago Tribune (07/13/95) P. 1-8
     A mailman in Charleston, W.Va., has refused to deliver mail to 
the home of a couple that has AIDS.  The carrier said he is 
afraid of cutting himself on the couple's metal mail slot and 
coming in contact with envelopes and stamps they had licked.  
"It's not a matter of ignorance.  It's a matter of safety," he 
said.  Pat and Fred Grounds are the sole residents so far of a 
new home for AIDS patients.  Charleston Postmaster Richard 
Esslinger has not announced whether he will take any disciplinary
action against Tim Snodgrass, who has delivered mail for 10 
years.  Esslinger has, however, asked medical experts to speak 
with Snodgrass and other postal employees about AIDS.
      
"Control Board Meets--and Hears--the People"
Washington Post (07/14/95) P. A14;  Schneider, Howard;  Vise, 
David A.
     For two and a half hours on Thursday, the new D.C. financial 
control board heard complaints and recommendations about the 
city's government and finances.  While some argued over broad 
issues like democracy and self-determination, others were more 
personal--seeking AIDS funding, trash pickup, and help for the 
public schools.  Underlying it all was the shared perception that
the rules in the District of Columbia have changed--these people 
were coming to meet the new boss, instead of going to the mayor's
office or the D.C. Council.  "You go to where the power is," said
Steve Michael of ACT UP Washington, who attended the meeting to 
ask the board to increase funding for AIDS and to form an AIDS 
task force.
      
"Across the USA: Washington"
USA Today (07/14/95) P. 5A
     The first man in Washington state to be charged with murder for 
exposing an individual to HIV will not be tried.  Jeffrey Walker,
who infected his girlfriend with HIV four years ago, is not 
competent, a judge ruled.
      
"New Surveillance Tool Makes Surveys Easier"
AIDS Alert (07/95) Vol. 10, No. 7, P. 93
     This year, the Connecticut Department of Health will use a new 
surveillance tool--called a rapid assessment HIV survey, or 
RAP--to determine the prevalence of HIV in prisons.  RAP is being
pilot-tested at 11 sites across the nation.  "The RAP surveys are
designed to be used one time, and, hopefully, are simple enough 
that health department staff who are not trained in scientific 
methodology can analyze and interpret the data for community 
planning activities," says David Withum of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Until now, health 
departments have had to rely mainly on the CDC's continuing 
seroprevalence surveys in 20 cities to monitor trends in the AIDS
crisis.  The RAP surveys will augment the seroprevalence surveys,
which have been criticized as too general and diffuse to help 
specific communities, Withum adds.  The 11 test sites involve a 
variety of demographic and geographic characteristics.  Targeted 
areas include a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases, a drug 
treatment center, a sentinel hospital, and migrant workers at a 
community health center.
      
"Toxic Transfusions"
Maclean's (06/26/95) Vol. 108, No. 26, P. 57;  Fulton, E. Kaye
     Vic Parsons' new book, "Bad Blood: the Tragedy of the Canadian 
Tainted Blood Scandal," carefully chronicles the series of events
which led to as many as 1,000 Canadian hemophiliacs becoming 
infected with HIV after receiving contaminated blood supplies in 
the early 1980s.  "The tragic irony of this infection was that 
the blood transfused into the veins of those unfortunate patients
was intended to give life," writes Parsons.  The author claims 
that the catastrophe might have been contained--or 
avoided--earlier than it was.  He builds a steady case against 
blood bureaucracy--including the Canadian Red Cross and the 
federal regulatory Bureau of Biologics--which operated a system 
filled with flaws and false economies.  According to Parsons, 
safety was second to budget trimming.  The book also contains 
brutally honest stories of infected hemophiliacs and their 
families, including a chapter involving Parson's son, David--a 
hemophiliac who was 15 when he first learned he was HIV-positive 
in 1986.
      
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