                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      August 30, 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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"Study Finds AIDS Risk to Addicts Drops if Sale of Syringes Is 
Legal"
"AIDS Virus Lives after Two Hours in Disinfectant"
"Pause in Life-Expectancy Gains Apparently Tied to Impact of 
AIDS"
"Negative Reactions Pound Stock of Univax, Buyer"
"Red Cross and Lab Fought for Blood Supply"
"Briefly: Elsewhere"
"AIDS Update: Keep Sharp with a Pencil"
"Bringing AZT to Poor Countries"
"Going On: The Post-AIDS-Play Play"
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"Study Finds AIDS Risk to Addicts Drops if Sale of Syringes Is 
Legal"
New York Times (08/30/95) P. A1;  Judson, George
     New studies show that needle sharing among drug addicts dropped 
40 percent after Connecticut approved a law three years ago 
allowing pharmacies to sell syringes over the counter.  The 
studies, published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency 
Syndromes, conclude that the increased availability of clean 
needles should, therefore, stem the spread of HIV.  "This is 
something that made a dramatic change in behavior at no cost to 
the public," said Beth Weinstein, director of the AIDS unit of 
the Connecticut Department of Health, which conducted the studies
with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  One year 
after the needle laws took effect, 83 percent of the state's 
pharmacies were selling needles over the counter, and injection 
drug users relied on them as their primary source of needles, 
according to the studies' authors.  A second study surveyed drug 
users at HIV counseling programs, prisons, and drug treatment 
centers in Connecticut.  The authors found that less than one 
year after the law went into effect, 78 percent of those surveyed
had bought syringes from a pharmacy in the previous month, while 
just 28 percent had purchased needles on the street.  In 
addition, 30 percent of the users who said they only bought 
syringes from pharmacies said they had shared a needle at least 
once in the previous month, compared to the 52 percent found in a
survey conducted before the law took effect.
      
"AIDS Virus Lives after Two Hours in Disinfectant"
Baltimore Sun (08/30/95) P. 3A
     A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine indicates 
that a chemical disinfectant used on some medical and dental 
devices may not kill HIV.  In the laboratory, the researchers 
discovered that the germ-killer glutaraldehyde did not kill the 
virus that causes AIDS in blood lodged in lubricants frequently 
used in dental equipment and in medical equipment called 
endoscopes.  Researcher David Lewis of the University of Georgia 
said, however, that none of the devices has ever been shown to be
the cause of HIV infection.  According to Lewis, the study 
highlights the need to sterilize dental equipment at very high 
temperatures and indicates that the standards for decontaminating
endoscopes should be raised.  However, Dr. David Fleischer--a 
former president of the American Society for Gastrointestinal 
Endoscopy--argues that the current decontaminating system is 
"extremely effective."  The experiment, he said, did not follow 
all the steps of the procedure used to decontaminate 
gastrointestinal endoscopes.
      
"Pause in Life-Expectancy Gains Apparently Tied to Impact of 
AIDS"
New York Times (08/30/95) P. C8;  Brody, Jane E.
     Newly published statistics from the Metropolitan Life Insurance 
Company reveal that the increase in AIDS-related deaths has 
basically halted the United States' century-long increase in life
expectancy.  Life expectancy at birth reached a peak 75.8 years 
in 1992, but fell slightly to 75.5 years the next year and 
remained the same in 1994, early data from the National Center 
for Health Statistics show.  "While stagnation for two 
consecutive years does not necessarily make a trend, it probably 
shows in large measure the impact of AIDS," said the group's Dr. 
Charles G. Hertz.  He warned of the dangers of focusing on just 
two years of data, but said it was important to keep track of 
small changes because they could be early signs of significant 
problems in health improvements.
      
"Negative Reactions Pound Stock of Univax, Buyer"
Baltimore Sun (08/30/95) P. 8C;  Mullaney, Timothy J.
     Stock prices of both Univax Biologics Inc. and North American 
Biologicals Inc. fell on Tuesday as investors reacted negatively 
to the two firms' merger plans.  North American's stock dropped 
$1.375 to $9 a share yesterday, while Univax's stock declined 
$0.75 to $7.25.  Supporters of the agreement, however, claim the 
deal will pay off for both companies in the end because Univax's 
scientific and clinical knowledge will add to North American's 
long-term growth, and because its leading drug to treat 
complications of AIDS is expected to earn at least $100 million 
in annual sales by 1999.
      
"Red Cross and Lab Fought for Blood Supply"
Toronto Globe and Mail (08/29/95) P. A6
     Two former officials of a Canadian government-owned company 
testified on Monday that the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) and their 
company struggled for control over blood products as HIV entered 
the country's blood supply.  The two organizations fought about 
who should make blood products for hemophiliacs, said Alun Davies
and William Cochrane, both ex-officials at Connaught Laboratories
Ltd.  Lawyers representing HIV-infected Canadians have claimed 
that the CRC and Connaught spent more time fighting over who 
should manufacture blood plasma than increasing the blood 
supply's safety.  At the public inquiry into the country's 
tainted blood scandal of the 1980s, Davies and Cochrane presented
their side of the story, testifying that the disputes began in 
1976 when the CRC decided it did not want Connaught supplying its
blood products anymore and began pushing for its own 
blood-processing plant.  Davies also said he had to fight a 
public-relations battle after the CRC alleged that Connaught 
wasted too much blood.
      
"Briefly: Elsewhere"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (08/29/95) P. A2
     AIDS researcher Dr. Eric P. Goosby has been appointed to the 
highest AIDS policy position in the U.S. Public Health Service.
      
"AIDS Update: Keep Sharp with a Pencil"
Men's Health (09/95) Vol. 10, No. 7, P. 48
     Approximately 20 percent of all HIV-infected individuals have 
some sort of memory problem, but there is a way to alleviate 
short-term memory and concentration difficulties.  According to 
Dr. Joel Levy of the Baylor College of Medicine, use of the drug 
Ritalin and a detailed "memory" notebook can lessen such memory 
problems.  Levy said that patients following this regimen 
improved their recall by as much as 80 percent.  The notebook 
contained such items as daily, monthly, and yearly calendars; a 
section for personal descriptions of new acquaintances, map 
routes of important places, and a programmable timer to remind 
the user to check the notebook.
      
"Bringing AZT to Poor Countries"
Science (08/04/95) Vol. 269, No. 5224, P. 624;  Cohen, Jon
     A new advertisement from the Pediatric AIDS Foundation will show 
an infant lying on a quilt with these words superimposed, "The 
only thing worse than losing a child to AIDS is finding out you 
didn't have to."  The ad is part of a campaign in response to 
last year's discovery that AZT can reduce the risk of 
maternal-fetal HIV transmission by nearly 70 percent.  This 
research victory means little, however, to HIV-infected pregnant 
women in developing countries.  Poorer nations cannot afford AZT 
or the laboratories that were used in the trial, known as 
Protocol 076.  In addition, many women do not know they are 
infected.  "There are many problems with the transition of the 
076 regimen to the developing world," says Lynne Mofenson of the 
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, a 
co-sponsor of the trial.  Yet many studies now being planned are 
trying to translate 076's results into a preventive strategy that
works in the developing world.  These researchers have had to 
decide whether it is ethical to test new treatments in developing
countries against placebos, rather than a treatment that is known
to work.  The first of these trials will soon begin in the West 
African nations of Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast.  The 
scientists note that they are not testing for efficacy, but for 
safety and acceptability, in part because AZT might cause anemia,
which is already prevalent.
      
"Going On: The Post-AIDS-Play Play"
Village Voice (08/29/95) Vol. 40, No. 35, P. 78;  Finkle, David
     The second decade of the AIDS epidemic has created a new style of
AIDS onstage, in which the disease is briefly mentioned or 
avoided.  For example, one character in Terrence McNally's "Love!
Valour! Compassion!" yells, "Anyone who mentions AIDS this 
summer--it'll cost them."  The characters end up discussing the 
disease, but neither it nor its effects are dwelled upon.  Other 
playwrights avoid the issue by setting their plays before 1981.  
However, the lack of AIDS in several recent plays does not mean 
that the issue has virtually faded from the stage.  It is more as
if AIDS has become yet another feature of the contemporary social
landscape.  Still, the disease has also become a convenient 
dramatic device.  Although the main couple in Chay Yew's "A 
Language of Their Own" have different diagnoses, AIDS is more a 
metaphor for the disparities that eventually force the lovers 
apart.  One reason for the change in style may be that many of 
the creators for whom the epidemic has been most compelling have 
died and that the survivors, while concerned, may have less to 
lose.  Another explanation could be that the authors are just 
tired of writing about AIDS.  Although the future of AIDS and 
homosexuality on stage are not clear, some new doors--such as 
including gay men in serious drama--have been opened.
      
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