                    AIDS Daily Summary
                      August 28, 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
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"A Monumental Man on Monument Avenue"
"Across the USA: South Carolina"
"AIDS Virus Spreading Fast in S.E. Asia--Paper"
"Italy's 'AIDS Gang' Has Imitators"
"333 Million New Cases of Sexual Diseases a Year"
"RiboGene Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant to Develop Novel Drugs
against HIV"
"AIDS from Vaccine?"
"New TB Respirators on the Way"
"Human Retroviruses in the Second Decade"
"Writing Wrongs"
************************************************************

"A Monumental Man on Monument Avenue"
New York Times (08/28/95) P. C2;  Berkow, Ira
     At the Fourth Annual Arthur Ashe AIDS Tennis Challenge on Sunday,
athletes and celebrities joined together to raise funds to fight
the disease.  During a break in the tournament, Jeanne
Moutoussamy-Ashe, the tennis great's widow, presented a $1
million check in the name of the Arthur Ashe Endowment for the
Defeat of AIDS to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
Comedian Bill Cosby, who participated in the event, said, "AIDS
is in the same position as polio was, and tuberculosis, and
cancer, when I was growing up in the 40's and 50's.  People still
want to keep it hush-hush."  Ashe dedicated himself to the
education and elimination of the disease, but he also took bold
stands on such issues as apartheid in South Africa and racism in
the United States.  His views, however, caused controversy
earlier this year when the Richmond Planning Committee proposed
erecting a statue in his honor.  Some critics claimed that the
statue should not be built because he left the city when he was
young--even though he left because he could not play on the
segregated courts--while others argued he was too good for
Monument Avenue where his statue would stand among those of
Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.  Despite the debate, ground
was broken last month for the statue of the man who died from
AIDS more than two years ago.

"Across the USA: South Carolina"
USA Today (08/28/95) P. 12A
     Sam Givens Jr.'s attorneys are considering appealing a judge's
decision that people with AIDS or HIV can be denied coverage in
South Carolina's high-risk insurance pool.

"AIDS Virus Spreading Fast in S.E. Asia--Paper"
Reuters (08/27/95)
     A paper released on Sunday estimated that by January 1995, 4.5
million people in southeast Asia had been infected with HIV.  In
that region, incidence of HIV "continues to soar and the first
peak of the epidemic is not yet in sight," said the paper, which
was presented at a recent Manila symposium by American AIDS
expert Daniel Tarantola of the Harvard School of Public Health.
According to the paper, the AIDS epidemic is spreading
dramatically from urban to rural parts of the region, and is
affecting people at younger ages, especially women.

"Italy's 'AIDS Gang' Has Imitators"
Reuters (08/26/95)
     Police announced on Saturday that a second group of men claiming
to be in the final stages of AIDS had been arrested after a
robbery in Turin.  "The AIDS gang has been successfully cloned,"
noted the city's daily La Stampa.  Antonio Lamarra, a member of
the original gang, said that the imitators should stop because
"ours was a provocative gesture...If everyone who is terminally
ill starts committing robberies it will be mayhem."  The
so-called AIDS gang robbed banks without concern because of a
1993 Italian law which prevents people in the final stages of a
terminal illness from being imprisoned.  Unlike the original AIDS
gang, which successfully made off with the money, the second
group left empty-handed when a security device inside the bag of
money went off, covering the bank notes in red dye.  The three
suspects were being held in prison over the weekend while
inquiries were made to see if they actually have advanced AIDS.

"333 Million New Cases of Sexual Diseases a Year"
Reuters (08/25/95);  Nebehay, Stephanie
     The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that many more
people contract sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) than was
previously believed.  In addition, it seems that such infections
"greatly increase the risk of contracting HIV," the organization
said.  A new study, "An overview of selected curable sexually
transmitted diseases," was conducted by WHO's Global Program on
AIDS and the Rockefeller Foundation.  The results suggested that
STDs are increasing in China and parts of the former Soviet
Union, while decreasing in recent years in Norway, Sweden, Chile,
Costa Rica, Thailand, and Zimbabwe because of safer sex.
However, "there is strong evidence that these curable STDs,
because they cause genital lesions or inflammation, greatly
increase the risk of sexual transmission of HIV," the report
said.  Antonio Gerbase, the study's leading author at WHO, added
that "The huge number of sexual infections sets the stage for the
amplification of HIV."

"RiboGene Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant to Develop Novel Drugs
against HIV"
Business Wire (08/25/95)
     A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant has been
awarded to RiboGene, Inc. to develop novel anti-HIV drugs.  The
grant, which is worth up to $750,000, will benefit the company's
program to discover and design such drugs.  The Small Business
Association-funded grants are distributed by the National
Institutes of Health to companies whose plans demonstrate strong
scientific merit and commercial possibilities.  "After receiving
four SBIR Phase I grants last year, we are delighted with this
further validation of our technology," said Chairman, President,
and CEO Charles J. Casamento.

"AIDS from Vaccine?"
Science (08/04/95) Vol. 269, No. 5224, P. 639
     A judge has instructed vaccine manufacturer American Cynamid to
take part in studies to determine whether a contaminated oral
polio vaccine (OPV) caused AIDS.  The order stemmed from a
lawsuit, which claims that American Cynamid's OPV infected an
Illinois girl with HIV in 1982.  The girl's parents filed suit in
early 1994 after learning of a 1992 Lancet article in which an
attorney suggested that HIV-1, HIV-2, or SIV might have infected
monkey kidney cells that are used to produce OPV.  Scientists
have dismissed the theory and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration believes it has no merit, but the judge ruled that
American Cynamid must allow the plaintiffs to test vaccine
samples for HIV-1, although he did reject their bid to test the
vaccines for SIV or HIV-2.

"New TB Respirators on the Way"
AIDS Alert (08/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 107
     Recently, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) began accepting tuberculosis (TB) respirators for
a newly-approved testing and certification process.  The
certification process will enable less expensive, more
comfortable respirators than those currently required.  Soon
after the NIOSH announcement, the U.S. Occupational Safety and
Health Administration announced plans to integrate the NIOSH
changes into a revised compliance document for health care
settings.  Due out no earlier than September, the "N95" series
respirators are expected to meet standards of TB protection, and
are close to the type C mask that is recommended by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.  Although the new
respirators' price is not yet known, manufacturers expect them
cost between $1 and $3.

"Human Retroviruses in the Second Decade"
Nature Medicine (08/95) Vol. 1, No. 8, P. 753;  Gallo, Robert C.
     In order to multiply and survive, human retroviruses have
developed new strategies, writes Robert C. Gallo in the journal
Nature Medicine.  Their success, however, has resulted in a
particularly diverse group of human diseases, including AIDS and
neurological disorders.  HIV, for example, is an infectious human
retrovirus whose survival relies on continuous high-level
replication and the steady destruction of the immune system.
Currently, there is no effective therapy for HIV-infected people,
and no vaccine with a high-degree of success is guaranteed for
the near future.  Human retrovirus research first centered on
their characterization, their connection to disease, and the
mechanisms involved. Now, however, research should focus on the
elimination of the retroviruses, as well as the treatment of
infected individuals, Gallo concludes.

"Writing Wrongs"
POZ (08/95-09/95) No. 9, P. 38;  Minkowitz, Donna
     Tory Dent, the instructor of a workshop called the "Poetry of
Adversity" at New York University, claims there is a taboo in the
United States about "speaking your pain."  Dent, however, has
been expressing all sorts of emotions in the seven years since
she learned she was HIV-positive.  "In 1988 if you tested
positive, you were going to die," she says.  The 37-year-old poet
felt an enormous sense of isolation, particularly because she
"didn't know any straight people who were positive who were
living long enough to create a supportive community."  Dent's
poems reveal a female and feminist point of view that is also
influenced by her HIV-positive status.  Her first collection,
"What Silence Equals," published by Persea Books in 1993, met
with great success.  Currently, Dent is working on an
autobiography that covers the last seven years.
.
