                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                     September 20, 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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"Report Backs Funding for Needle Exchanges"
"Researcher Kills Myth of Shared Syringes"
"Across the USA: Illinois"
"One Last Visit with Channon"
"A Sense of the Future"
"British Broadcast Watchdog Punishes 'Smutty' MTV"
"Halt to Brazil AIDS Campaign's Talking Penis"
"New US Head of HIV/AIDS Policy Appointed"
"HIV-Infected Women, Children Focus of Grants"
"Malegrams: Live and Learn"
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"Report Backs Funding for Needle Exchanges"
Washington Post (09/20/95) P. A3;  Schwartz, John
     Needle exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without 
promoting illicit drug use, according to a new report from the 
National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine.  In 
"Preventing HIV Transmission: The Role of Sterile Needles and 
Bleach," a panel from the two congressionally chartered private 
research groups reaffirmed the findings of several other 
bodies--including the American Medical Association, the General 
Accounting Office, and the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention--which have all urged the government to lift the ban 
on federal funding for programs that provide drug addicts with 
sterile injection equipment and bleach for sterilizing needles.  
However, according to legislation passed in 1992, the prohibition
on federal support must continue "unless the Surgeon General of 
the United States determines that such programs are effective in 
preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of 
illegal drugs."  The Surgeon General's position has been vacant 
since last December when Joycelyn Elders was fired, and officials
at the Department of Health and Human Services say it is unclear 
whether the specific wording of the legislation can be satisfied 
by any other public official's judgment.  Related Stories: New 
York Times (09/20) P. A1; Philadelphia Inquirer (09/20) P. A4
      
"Researcher Kills Myth of Shared Syringes"
New York Times (09/20/95) P. B10;  Goleman, Daniel
     The field work of Dr. Steven Koester, an anthropologist at the 
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, was cited as one 
reason for an expert panel's recommendation on Tuesday that clean
syringes be made available to heroin users to stop the sharing of
needles.  Koester studied Denver's heroin addicts and determined 
that they "were sharing because they had to--not because of some 
ritual for bonding," as had been previously suggested.  According
to Koester, the laws against possessing syringes make it too 
dangerous to carry them when trying to get heroin, so after 
buying the drug, users "go to the closest place where they can 
have privacy and get a syringe."  These needles, however, are 
generally contaminated from prior use, which may also result in 
blunting or clogging of the needles.
      
"Across the USA: Illinois"
USA Today (09/20/95) P. 6A
     The state of Illinois has increased from 16 to 110 the number of 
free drugs doctors can prescribe to HIV and AIDS patients who are
either underinsured or cannot be covered under Medicaid.
      
"One Last Visit with Channon"
Los Angeles Times (09/18/95) P. E1;  Wride, Nancy
     Channon Phipps, the first California student known to be barred 
from school because of infected  HIV infection, died last week at
age 20.  In 1985, Channon--a hemophiliac who contracted HIV from 
contaminated blood products--was asked to stay at home until his 
school district could create a formal AIDS admissions policy.  
District workers brought a computer and school supplies to his 
home wearing surgical gloves and masks.  In an interview, the 
then 10-year-old compared the event to a scene in the movie 
"E.T.," where the alien was captured by researchers and 
quarantined.  After the incident, Channon filed suit, and was 
quickly returned to class.  Since then, however, Channon withdrew
from the public school system and was tutored at home--tired of 
the problems and name-calling by some on campus.  Despite his 
young age, he had a matter-of-fact attitude about his mortality, 
noting, "If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen."
      
"A Sense of the Future"
Financial Times (09/19/95) P. 15;  Cole, George
     Although sensors are traditionally considered to be mechanical 
devices like those used in some washing machines, the most recent
sensors are semiconductors that convert physical phenomena such 
as humidity or temperature into an electrical signal, which is 
processed by a microprocessor.  A second growth area is 
bio-sensors.  For example, researchers are currently developing 
electronic sensors that detect HIV, although they are not 
expected to reach the market for another decade.  In this case, 
the sensor would be coated with an HIV antibody that reacts to 
the virus antigen.
      
"British Broadcast Watchdog Punishes 'Smutty' MTV"
Reuters (09/19/95)
     British broadcast regulators have fined MTV Europe almost $93,000
for broadcasting smut, an explicit show on safe sex, and a 
commercial that was said to condone destructive behavior.  MTV, 
however, claims the Independent Television Commission (ITC) is 
trying to make an example of the music-video station.  Peter 
Einstein, Business Director for MTV Networks Europe, defended a 
program called "Safe 'n Sexy," which the ITC ruled was "clearly 
aimed at sexually active viewers and included sections...unsuited
to young viewers."  But according to Einstein, "this is a 
carefully produced program which provides essential information 
on the risks of HIV and AIDS for MTV Europe's young adult 
audience."
      
"Halt to Brazil AIDS Campaign's Talking Penis"
Reuters (09/18/95)
     On Monday, Brazil's Health Minister Adib Jatene said he would ban
anti-AIDS television commercials that feature a talking penis 
named Braulio because people with that name have complained.  "I 
believe that the use of a name for the sexual organ has made many
people uncomfortable," he said.  The commercials show an actor 
talking with his penis about wearing a condom.  The 
campaign--which has also been criticized by the Catholic 
Church--has brought with it a flood of complaints and threats of 
lawsuits from people named Braulio, a fairly common name in the 
South American country.
      
"New US Head of HIV/AIDS Policy Appointed"
Lancet (09/09/95) Vol. 346, No. 8976, P. 692;  McCarthy, Michael
     According to Eric P. Goosby, the newly appointed head of the U.S.
Public Health Service's Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, the HIV 
epidemic can be controlled by providing adequate medical and 
social services to the infected persons in the often impoverished
minority communities which the virus affects.  It is possible, 
Goosby said in an interview, to get HIV-infected individuals to 
practice behaviors that will prevent HIV's spread.  "We are 
working on the assumption that we can build a perimeter of care 
and services around the already HIV-infected populations of our 
country," he said.  To stem the spread of HIV in minority 
populations, public health groups will have to alter the 
strategies they have used for the last 15 years because the 
disease is affecting more women, more children, and more people 
who do not have the financial or social resources to fight it, 
said Goosby.  In addition, public health programs need to 
establish stronger relationships with minority community-based 
organizations in order to win the trust of the specific 
population.
      
"HIV-Infected Women, Children Focus of Grants"
Nation's Health (09/95) Vol. 25, No. 8, P. 4
     The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has 
granted $1.1 million to programs in six states which offer 
prenatal medical care and discuss the value of HIV counseling, 
testing, and treatment in women of child-bearing age.  "This 
program will support efforts in key communities to provide women 
with the resources to deal with HIV and its effects," explained 
HRSA Administrator Ciro V. Sumaya.  The agency also announced 
awards totaling $23.3 million for improved access to HIV 
comprehensive care and clinical research trials for women and 
children with HIV and for their families.  The recipients of the 
grants--which are part of the Ryan White CARE Act--include the 
Family Planning Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the 
Washington University School of Medicine, and the Institute for 
Family-Centered Care located in Bethesda, Md.
      
"Malegrams: Live and Learn"
Men's Health (10/95) Vol. 10, No. 8, P. 48
     Research into why some HIV-positive persons continue to thrive 
after 10 or more years of infection could one day lead to more 
effective treatments.  There are three likely reasons to explain 
why about 8 percent of the HIV-infected population do not develop
AIDS, according to Dr. Susan Buchbinder, chief of the research 
branch of San Francisco's AIDS Office.  The first is immune 
response.  Nonprogressors' immune systems generally put up a more
aggressive fight against HIV than do the immune systems of 
progressors.  Finding out how to increase this response with 
drugs or other methods could help manage the infection.  A second
explanation is a person's genetic makeup, which could also offer 
additional protection.  Finally, some researchers have proposed 
that some individuals are infected with a weaker strain of HIV, 
which if isolated, could become a model for a vaccine.  In the 
mean time, "HIV is not an automatic death sentence," Dr. 
Buchbinder maintains.  "People need to try to keep themselves 
healthy after infection."
      
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