AIDS Daily Summary November 01, 1994 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "'Scott Doe' AIDS Lawsuit is Settled" "And Now for Something Completely Different" "AIDS Drugs Fail to Curb Dementia and Nerve Damage" "Lifeline: AIDS & Needles" "Insurance Rarer in AIDS-Ridden Southern Africa" "Grace and Fear Mark AIDS Epidemic in San Francisco" "7th on Sale Returns to New York; CFDA and Vogue Announce Fashion Industry AIDS Benefit for May 1995" "AIDS Drug Interactions Guide Available" "Washington Whispers: Hazardous Duty" "Crime, AIDS Money Rises; Heating Bill Aid, Transit Cut" ************************************************************ "'Scott Doe' AIDS Lawsuit is Settled" Philadelphia Inquirer (11/01/94) P. A1; Slobodzian, Joseph A. The AIDS discrimination trial of "Scott Doe" ended Monday with a secret settlement that lawyer onlookers suggest would have to be at least $1 million. Doe claimed that his employers dismissed him when they discovered that he was HIV-positive. He filed the suit in August 1993, and was later joined by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and attorney Alan B. Epstein. The EEOC lawyers made a separate agreement with Doe's former law firm, Kohn, Nast & Graf. While continuing to deny any wrongdoing, the firm agreed to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and will post in its offices for 90 days a notice describing the law's protections. "And Now for Something Completely Different" Washington Post (Health) (11/01/94) P. 7; Weiss, Rick In an effort to demonstrate his disbelief that HIV causes AIDS, a Florida physician pricked his finger twice last Friday with a needle that had just been inserted into the finger of an HIV-positive man. At an alternative medicine meeting in Greensboro, N.C., Robert Willner inoculated himself with the infected blood to draw attention to what he calls "the greatest scam ever perpetrated." Willner believes that AIDS is caused by malnutrition, recreational drug abuse, and modern medicines that include the AIDS drug AZT. Officials are troubled by Willner's actions, saying that they help perpetuate any lingering doubts that the public may have over the cause of AIDS. Robert C. Gallo, a co-discoverer of HIV said, "We'll never have data of a cause of a disease better than we have for HIV and AIDS..." Willner, however, is not alone in his beliefs. He is part of a small but vocal group that insist that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. Studies of injection drug users and health workers who accidentally inject themselves with an infected needle show that Willner has less than one-third of one percent chance of actually becoming HIV-infected. "AIDS Drugs Fail to Curb Dementia and Nerve Damage" New York Times (11/01/94) P. C3; Altman, Lawrence K. A study of six AIDS-related neurological conditions found that the incidence of infections that affect the brain and central nervous system is increasing among HIV-infected patients. Previous studies have found that AIDS drugs helped protect against such damage. The increase was due in part to the negative effects of drugs such as ddI (didanosine), ddC (zalcitabine), and d4T (stavudine). The conditions include toxoplasmosis, cryptococcal meningitis, and neuropathy. The six conditions affected about 40 percent of the 2,641 HIV-infected gay males who participated in the study. Dementia affected almost 20 percent of the patients. There is a debate in the scientific community as to whether there has been a decline in the incidence of AIDS dementia. A Dutch study suggested that the use of AZT led to a significant decrease in dementia, but others disagreed, saying that the dementia only seemed to disappear because it is frequently fatal quickly. Dr. Justin S. McArthur, head of the research team and a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said that the data underscores the need for the development of more effective AIDS drugs. He also said that while the survival rate after the development of opportunistic infections has increased, more people are living longer with severely suppressed immune systems--the period of vulnerability to neurological complications, especially opportunistic infections of the brain. "Lifeline: AIDS & Needles" USA Today (11/01/94) P. 1D; Vigoda, Arlene A new study sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research has found that needle exchange programs could reduce by half the risk of new HIV infections in intravenous drug users. The researchers observed a New York City needle-exchange program where clean needles were given to 22,000 drug users. The risk of infection was calculated to be approximately 2 percent. Some studies of addicts in New York suggest their HIV-infection rate to be about 5 percent. Related Story: Washington Times (11/01) A7 "Insurance Rarer in AIDS-Ridden Southern Africa" Reuters (10/31/94); Mdlongwa, Francis As AIDS spreads rapidly through southern Africa, medical insurance companies are questioning how they will survive. Old Mutual, one of South Africa's largest insurers, has added a clause to its life policies that allows it to refuse payment when a holder dies of AIDS. The firm estimates that it has lost almost US$1.25 million due to AIDS-related claims since July of 1993. Other companies request mandatory AIDS tests for policy holders and refuse to pay out benefits to those who die from AIDS. One angry client said, "Insurance firms give an impression they want only to make money and don't care about their customers." Insurers, however, claim the strict measures are an attempt to slow an alarming drain of their financial resources by families of AIDS patients. It is estimated that 16 percent of an estimated 40 million South African residents will be HIV-infected by 1995. In Zambia, officials predict that 1 million of the 8 million population will die from AIDS by 1998. In defense of insurers' actions, Barrie McCurdy, head of Zimbabwe's Life Office Association, said, "There is no doubt that if nothing had been done, the industry would collapse." "Grace and Fear Mark AIDS Epidemic in San Francisco" Los Angeles Times (10/30/94) P. B1; Tom, Dara Akiko The San Francisco health department recently announced that, for the first time in any U.S. city, AIDS was the leading cause of death among men in 1992. That was the same year that health officials celebrated reaching a plateau in the number of new cases. Many in San Francisco were not surprised by the high numbers. "Between 1981 and 1984, there were 8,000 new infections each year. Those were entirely among gay men. And now we're seeing, 10 to 12 years later, the consequences--the high rate of death," said Mitch Katz, director of San Francisco's AIDS office. Although AIDS cases in gay men have decreased, the numbers of HIV-infected intravenous drug users and youths are increasing. There are many poignant stories about those who are infected with HIV and how they are coping with the disease. For example, AIDS counselor Richard, who declined to use his last name, says that "if I didn't get HIV, if I didn't get tested, I wouldn't be here today." When he was diagnosed with HIV in 1985, he was a heroin addict. He has been clean for four years and will start graduate school in the fall. "7th on Sale Returns to New York; CFDA and Vogue Announce Fashion Industry AIDS Benefit for May 1995" PR Newswire (10/31/94) The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), in cooperation with the CFDA Foundation and Vogue Magazine, will hold 7th on Sale/The Return to New York on May 17-21, 1995. For four days, shoppers will be offered fashions at discount prices. Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Vogue's Anna Wintour are chairing the event, which is being underwritten by Vogue. The event was originally held in New York City in 1990 and raised a record-breaking $4.2 million, which was distributed to CFDA-Vogue Initiative/New York City AIDS Fund by the New York Community Trust. 7th on Sale/San Francisco in 1992 raised another $2.6 million. Funds from the San Francisco sale were distributed by DIFFA to AIDS organizations in the San Francisco Bay area. "AIDS Drug Interactions Guide Available" AIDS Treatment News (10/07/94) No. 208, P. 1 An 11-page fact sheet describing the interaction of frequently used drugs--including experimental ones--by HIV patients has been prepared by Project Inform. The list also includes suggestions for working with health-care providers--so that drug interactions receive attention--and a glossary of medical terms used in the fact sheet. "Washington Whispers: Hazardous Duty" U.S. News & World Report (10/31/94) Vol. 117, No. 17, P. 38; Stanglin, Douglas; Power, Samantha; Impoco, Jim et al The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will soon require that all people entering infectious areas at crash sites wear the protective suits that rescue workers wear. They will also have to go through safety training. People such as investigators, reporters, and photographers could be denied access to sites where there could be a risk of HIV or hepatitis infection, if they do not have the protective suits and training . After USAir Flight 427 crashed in September, the crash site was declared a biohazardous area. An NTSB official estimated that based on the prevalence of HIV, there was about a 50 percent chance that at least one of the 132 people on the fatal flight was HIV-infected. "Crime, AIDS Money Rises; Heating Bill Aid, Transit Cut" Crain's (10/10/94-10/16/94) Vol. 10, No. 41, P. 13; Lipowicz, Alice The appropriations bills passed in Congress will direct more federal money in New York City to AIDS education, crime-fighting, job retraining, and community block grants this year. The Ryan White AIDS services program will receive $110 million for its 250 programs--up from $78 million last year. New York state's share of subsidies for housing for people with AIDS is increasing as well.