AIDS Daily Summary November 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 Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Heroin Influx Ignites a Growing AIDS Epidemic in China" "Teen Sex Drama Ignores AIDS" "Obituaries: John Watters, 47, an Advocate of Needle Exchange Programs" "Experts Cite Prostitutes' Role in AIDS" "AIDS Fight Brings 2,500 to Vizcaya" "Across the USA: Washington" "Inside Art: A Seventh Day Without Art" "D.C. Area Residents Less Healthy on Average" "Quick Uptakes...AIDS and Human Rights" "The Glamorization of AIDS" ************************************************************ "Heroin Influx Ignites a Growing AIDS Epidemic in China" New York Times (11/28/95) P. A3; Tyler, Patrick E. The heroin trade that swept into China during the 1980s has undermined the stability of thousands of peasant villages and has helped spread HIV among the country's injection drug users. Although China's Ministry of Public Health reports that there are 2,428 cases of HIV infection, few people have been tested for the virus, and some health officials estimate that there could be up to 100,000 infected individuals in the country. The majority of the carriers are thought to be in Yunnan Province, which borders on Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam and where needle sharing and sexual intercourse has spread the deadly virus. In the Yunnan town of Ruili, for example, condoms have only been available for the past two years because China's birth control program had previously imposed intrauterine devices or sterilization on women. According to city residents, however, by the time the condoms arrived in Ruili, many people had already become infected through the brothels. Still, some of the area villages have now taken the initiative against drug addiction, and are no longer ignoring the problem. "Teen Sex Drama Ignores AIDS" Baltimore Sun (11/28/95) P. 1E; Zurawik, David Fox's made-for-television movie "The Price of Love" takes a look at the world of teenage runaways and male prostitution in Hollywood. According to the story, 16-year-old Bret--played by actor Peter Facinelli--is first abused and thrown out by his step-mother, and then ends up on Santa Monica Boulevard as a male hustler. But the film virtually ignores the AIDS problem, even though it focuses on a very risky profession. Bret is shown entering the cars of at least three men to have sex with them, and is also shown sleeping with a female runaway. The only point at which some mention of the consequences of such behavior is made is when an older hustler named Beau reproaches Bret for turning his first trick without first talking to him. "There's stuff you gotta know about cops, safe sex. You could get yourself hurt," Beau says. Bret is quickly arrested by an undercover policeman, yet there are no health consequences for him or his partners, and safe sex is never again brought up. "Obituaries: John Watters, 47, an Advocate of Needle Exchange Programs" New York Times (11/26/95) P. 50; Fisher, Lawrence M. Dr. John Watters, an advocate of clean needle exchanges to stem the spread of HIV, was found dead last Monday at the age of 47. The coroner's office reported that his death was being investigated as a possible drug overdose. Dr. Watters aggressively fought for programs that permitted injection drug addicts to exchange used needles for clean ones, and conducted studies that showed how such programs reduced HIV transmission without increasing drug use. Dr. Watters helped launch the first needle exchange project in San Francisco. He also played a role in the development in the "bleach and teach" outreach technique to get drug addicts to clean their syringes. Most recently, Dr. Watters was collaborating with Dr. Thomas Coates, director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, on a new study about needle exchanges. "Experts Cite Prostitutes' Role in AIDS" Los Angeles Times (11/26/95) P. A11; Hutzler, Charles Health experts say that prostitutes play a critical role in the transmission of HIV between cities and villages of China. A 1993 survey discovered that the majority of these women sold sex only part of the time. The work was used merely to augment their small incomes. Tang Weihong, the Beijing Union Medical College student who undertook the study, found that 66 percent of the 267 female prostitutes questioned believed that the risk of HIV infection was very low or nonexistent. Almost half had never used condoms, and an additional 30 percent said they used the prophylactics rarely or only sometimes. "The great majority see AIDS as a foreigners' disease; China doesn't have it and it's got nothing to do with them," Tang's report concluded. "AIDS Fight Brings 2,500 to Vizcaya" Miami Herald (11/27/95) P. 1B; Martin, Lydia About 2,500 people gathered at Vizcaya on Sunday to raise money for AIDS and praise advances that have been made in the war against the disease. One reveler, Phil Carpenter, noted, "We've lost 40 friends to AIDS. But it has not been in vain." The White Party was established 10 years ago to help the failing Health Crisis Network, Dade County, Fla.'s largest AIDS service organization. At that time, the disease as a cause was still stigmatized, though now corporate America has adopted it. This year, some 15,000 non-local residents traveled to participate in the week of festivities that surrounded the Vizcaya gala, at which people wear white as a symbol of hope and purity. AIDS organizers say 1995's White Party was the most successful ever, bringing in an estimated $500,000. "Across the USA: Washington" USA Today (11/27/95) P. 9A The cremation of a man who had died from AIDS was delayed when Spokane County (Wash.) Coroner Dexter Amend demanded an autopsy to prove the death was sodomy-related, the man's family claims. The autopsy request was rejected, with forensic pathologist George Lindholm calling it a "witch hunt." "Inside Art: A Seventh Day Without Art" New York Times (11/24/95) P. C30; Vogel, Carol The seventh annual Day Without Art on Dec. 1 is meant to increase public awareness of people living with AIDS and those who have died from the disease. This year, some 5,600 cultural institutions across the world are participating in the event in which televisions will go blank for one minute at 8:01 P.M, artworks in museums will be covered in black, and volunteers will distribute red ribbons. "The whole concept has taken on a life of its own independent of us," said Nick Debs, executive director of New York City's Visual AIDS, a nonprofit organization of arts professionals, which organizes the event. Visual AIDS sponsors lectures and covers artworks, hoping to spread the message that history should be preserved. The group's year-old Archive Project was established to document the work of artists with AIDS via photography, video, and written questionnaires. "Many artists don't have the resources to do it themselves, so it's crucial to help them insure that their art doesn't disappear," Debs explained. "D.C. Area Residents Less Healthy on Average" Washington Post (District Weekly) (11/23/95) P. D.C.1; Goldstein, Amy A new study reveals that the Washington, D.C. area has been harder hit by such diseases as AIDS and tuberculosis compared to the rest of the nation. The data, however, is imperfect--the AIDS information, for example comes from different time periods for each county. But Alexandria (Va.) Health Department Director Joshua Lipsman noted, "It brings attention to the important public health issues for our region." According to the study, which was prepared by the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association, AIDS represents the most substantial differences between the health of local residents and that of the U.S. population. The disease is significantly more prevalent in the D.C. area for all races, especially for blacks. AIDS has particularly taken its toll in the District and Alexandria. Furthermore, the metropolitan area also has higher rates of tuberculosis and colon cancer than the rest of the nation. "Quick Uptakes...AIDS and Human Rights" Journal of the American Medical Association (11/22/95-11/29/95) Vol. 274, No. 20, P. 1577; Voelker, Rebecca In observance of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO) will stress human rights and responsibilities. This year's theme--which, according to WHO officials, highlights "equality and solidarity in the global response" to AIDS--builds upon the multi-nation pledge made last year at the Paris AIDS Summit to fight discrimination, promote the rights of people with HIV and AIDS, and protect those individuals most at risk for HIV infection. Human rights will also be a focus of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which will replace the WHO's Global Programme on AIDS in 1996. UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot adds that the organization is considering the creation of an independent advisory council on human rights, ethics, and law. "The Glamorization of AIDS" Advocate (11/28/95) No. 695, P. 29; Simmons, Todd Some people claim that by glossing over the realities of HIV and AIDS with such images as flawless models in magazines and ad campaigns, the young or impressionable believe that they are safer than they actually are. Officials at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center were so concerned about what they considered the sanitization of AIDS that they launched an ad campaign that featured graphic pictures of people in the last stages of the disease. According to center spokesman Jim Key, the ads were meant to remind the public "what the disease actually is." Some media have used even bolder imagery. In the early 1990s, Italian clothesmaker Benetton drew sharp criticism for an ad campaign which featured a dying AIDS patient, body parts branded HIV-POSITIVE, and a doctored picture of Ronald Reagan that showed his face covered with Kaposi's sarcoma lesions. But in most advertising, people with HIV or AIDS are healthy, handsome, and happy. Michael Davis--a former coordinator of Rainbow's End, a support group for young gay men--claims that insecurity and a fixation on the importance of being attractive, can lead some men to associate HIV seropositivity with continued good looks. Still others say that this practice of depicting people with AIDS as healthy and attractive is empowering. That is the concept behind Proof Positive, a two-year-old agency for models who have HIV or AIDS, according to owner Keith Lewis. "It started because we noticed an increase in castings from companies marketing products to the HIV community," he explains. Furthermore, POZ founder and executive director Sean Strub notes that the magazine uses pictures of people who are obviously sick, but editors "respect the privacy of those who don't want to be seen on a respirator in a national magazine." Strub adds, however, that "like any magazine, we try to make everyone in POZ as attractive as possible," in part, because "we're talking about marketing products." Michael Isbell of the Gay Men's Health Crisis questions the validity of fighting over the depiction of people with AIDS as HIV continues its spread and temptations to participate in unsafe activities increase each year.