Subject: CDC Summary 2/3/93 Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1993 08:50:19 PST (241 lines) Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed. sold. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD Archive-Number: 88 AIDS Daily Summary February 3, 1993 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. Copyright 1992, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ======================================================================= "Haitians With HIV Stage a Hunger Strike at Base" Philadelphia Inquirer (02/03/93), P. G1 (Cole, Richard) The HIV-positive Haitian refugees who are being held at the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo base were participating in a hunger strike yesterday. Lt. Cmdr. Gordon Hume of Atlantic fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Va., said that about 270 refugees, including all the children except infants, have not taken food since Friday. The refugees' attorney, Michael Ratner, said his clients intended to end their legal limbo, which has lasted more than a year in some cases. Ratner said, "Two people fainted yesterday. But the hunger strike is continuing until we get some commitment from the administration that we are going to get these people out." Hume said physicians and nurses were examining the refugees' health but were not taking any action to interfere with the strike. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization spokesman Duke Austin said the refugees' demonstration would not change their status. "Dissident behavior will not be rewarded," he added. But an INS official speaking on condition of anonymity said the status of the Haitians on Guantanamo was being reviewed. The Guantanamo refugees are unlike most of the 40,000 Haitians repatriated from the United States after a bloody coup in September 1991, because they have been found to have a preliminary claim to political asylum. Several refugees were linked to the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted in the military coup. Typically that would allow them to make a formal asylum claim in the U.S., but because they tested HIV-positive, they are barred under U.S. immigration policy. Ratner said they were not requesting immediate release, but would settle for knowing a date when they could be let out. Related Story: Los Angeles Times--Washington Edition (02/03) P. A5 ======================================================================= "AIDS Leaflet Cleared--With Caution" Toronto Globe and Mail (02/02/93), P. A16 (MacLeod, Robert) An explicit brochure on AIDS prevention and sadomasochistic activity should be provided for the community with sensitivity, decided the Toronto City Council yesterday. The front cover of the controversial brochure, entitled "Safe S/M: Advice on AIDS Prevention," depicts a pair of handcuffs. The AIDS Committee of Toronto, which obtains about $300,000 a year from the city for its anti-AIDS campaign, distributes the brochure. Councilor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski was fired last month from his position the chairman of the city's board of health after stating an opinion that the pamphlet, with its references to "whipping, fisting" and "electric torture," is not the sort of activity the city should be seen as encouraging. Yesterday, Korwin-Kuczynski failed to convince the city council to stop the AIDS committee from printing and distributing the pamphlet. But the council did agree to a suggestion from Mayor June Rowlands that it ask the AIDS committee to take special precautions to guarantee that the S+M material is given only to the community for which it is intended. Councilor Peter Tabuns, who was Korwin-Kuczynski's predecessor as chairman of the board of health, said the pamphlet has been available since 1984. "We are engaged in a very profound struggle with a very deadly disease. And one of the tools we have, since we don't have a cure and we don't have a vaccination, is information put forward to people in a way that they understand and in a way that they're willing to accept." He argued that Korwin-Kuczynski is attempting to create a "moral panic." ======================================================================= "National Briefs: Patient Wins Case of Bias Over AIDS" Boston Globe (02/02/93), P. 15 A dentist was found by the New York State human-rights commissioner to have discriminated against a patient with AIDS when he discontinued her root-canal treatments. Commissioner Margarita Rosa ordered on Jan. 26 that Smithtown dentist Stanley Brottman pay Renee Allen of Freeport, N.Y., $25,000 for the mental anguish and humiliation he caused her. In addition, Rosa ordered Brottman to display posters that outline patients' rights. Brottman refused to comment, but his attorney, Kevin J. Murtaugh, said, "I was surprised at that high figure." Murtaugh added that Brottman probably would not appeal the ruling. ======================================================================= "Metropolitan Area News in Brief: Restaurants to Donate Proceeds to Fight AIDS" Philadelphia Inquirer (02/03/93), P. B2 Some Philadelphia-area restaurants will participate in the third annual "Dining Out for Life" benefit for AIDS tomorrow night by donating one-third of their food sales. The four AIDS organizations sponsoring the benefit are ActionAIDS, the AIDS Coalition of Southern New Jersey, the Delaware County AIDS Network, and the Fund for Living of Montgomery County. Jesse Milan, board president of ActionAIDS, said the goal was to raise $100,000, an increase from the $70,000 raised last year. He said that more than 100 restaurants are expected to participate. ======================================================================= "White AIDS Babies Have Earlier Symptoms Than Black Infants" United Press International (02/02/93) (Wasowicz, Lidia) San Francisco--White infants with AIDS experience more and earlier oral manifestations of the disease than black infants with AIDS, according to a researcher who spoke at the four-day Second International Workshop on the Oral Manifestations of HIV infection. Francisco Ramos-Gomez, assistant professor in the Department of Growth and Development at the University of California--San Francisco, conducted a study that showed the first mouth lesions were diagnosed at a median age of 3.2 months in the nine white children involved, compared to 8.1 months in the eight black children infected with HIV. Also, about 90 percent of the white infants experienced pseudomembranous candidiasis--a painful fungus on the tongue or back of the throat--by their first birthday, compared to slightly more than 60 percent for the black children. Ramos-Gomez said, "Since African- Americans tend to have worse results than whites in most studies, these were surprising findings." He believes the difference may be related to how the mother contracted HIV. Medical care was not a factor because the number and frequency of visits to the doctor were the same for the two groups. The sex of the child also did not make any significant difference. Ramos-Gomez observed 41 HIV-positive newborn to 13-year-olds at Children's Hospital in Oakland from 1991 to late 1992. A total of six of the children, ages 9 and older, were infected through tainted blood or blood products; the remaining 35 through their mothers before or at birth. Because oral lesions are among the first AIDS symptoms exhibited in adults, Ramos-Gomez said he thinks this will also hold true for children. ======================================================================= "Error Prompts Retesting for AIDS" United Press International (02/02/93) Fort Lauderdale, Fla.--Health-care workers started testing about 600 people again for HIV after learning that a Fort Lauderdale woman was falsely diagnosed as testing positive for the virus at a public health clinic. The initial 10 patients were retested Monday and the results are expected next week. Broward County health-care workers expect to inform and retest all those who had blood tests for AIDS at three public clinics in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach between July 1 and Jan. 20. The retesting follows a case where Susan Gibson, of Fort Lauderdale, said county health-care workers incorrectly told her she was infected with HIV. She went to the Fort Lauderdale clinic for a blood test July 24, thinking she had an iron deficiency. She agreed to have an HIV test, although she had been celibate for more than six years and she thought it was nearly impossible for her to be infected. She was told she tested positive for HIV a week later. After friends and relatives convinced her to be tested again, she tested negative at two independent labs. Because of Gibson's case, health-care workers are focusing first on retesting patients who had HIV tests at the same clinic the day Gibson was tested, and the day before and after. Dr. Clarence Smith, medical director for the county's Human Services Department, said, "She was the only one in those three days who tested positive. My concern is that there is a person out there who was given her test result, which is negative, and they are actually positive." ======================================================================= "Fashion Industry Celebrates Itself at an Awards Ceremony" New York Times (02/03/93), P. C3 (Morris, Bernadine) The Council of Fashion Designers of America held an awards ceremony Monday night honoring outstanding members of the industry. But the ceremony was not without AIDS awareness. Nearly everyone was wearing the red ribbon handed out at the door. Patrick J. O'Connell, who created the symbol for the Ribbon Project of Visual AIDS, an artists' group, received a special award for his efforts. Before the curtain lifted on members of the council arranged on bleachers, all wearing their red ribbons, O'Connell made a request for more AIDS support. The ribbons united the group, which was unusual. ======================================================================= "Why AIDS Policy Must Be a Special Policy" Business Week (02/01/93) No. 3303, P. 53 (Stodghill, Ron et al.) Although several American corporations have instituted AIDS policies aimed at preventing discrimination and accommodating infected employees, fear and mythology surrounding the disease can still be prevalent. Workers often fear contracting HIV from an employee through casual contact. In addition, the disease's association with homosexuals and IV-drug users can prompt scorn and prejudice that other diseases don't. What is most important in establishing an anti-AIDS program is that companies should not anticipate trouble before they take a stance on the issue. That means an extensive program should be endorsed from top executives on down the corporate ladder. Ignorance and secrecy are the most disruptive elements concerning AIDS in the workplace. AIDS experts say a policy of strict confidentiality is necessary to protect the privacy of an HIV-positive employee. This is particularly important since the virus can stay latent for years before affecting the employee's health or productivity. The main goal of an anti-AIDS program should be to foster an environment that makes HIV- positive employees feel comfortable to disclose their condition. Videos, seminars, and literature are effective forms of education. The concept is to dispel myths, present the company's policy, and address ways to prevent the spread of HIV. Also, companies should ensure that all points of view are represented in the AIDS education programs. The Centers for Disease Control and the American Red Cross both provide information and inexpensive counseling to help create successful anti- AIDS programs for businesses. ======================================================================= "Study Finds PCP, MAC, Are Common in Children With HIV" AIDS Treatment News (01/93) Vol. 8, No. 1, P. 5 Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) appear to be the most prevalent AIDS-related conditions among children with HIV infection in Los Angeles County, according to a study led by Laurene Mascola, MD, MPH, chief of U.S. Public Health Service at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Among 134 infants and children diagnosed between June 1982 and December 1991 who had 245 AIDS-defining illnesses, PCP was the most common condition, followed by MAC. Between 1982 and 1987 and between 1988 and 1989, 25 percent of the children had PCP, but from 1990 to 1991, 30 percent of them had PCP. A total of 8 percent of the children had MAC from 1982 to 1987, compared to 10 percent from 1988 to 1989 and 19 percent from 1990 to 1991. The study showed that the incidence of MAC, which was previously believed to be a problem in children, is rising, said Mascola. Several of the children studied in Los Angeles are transfusion recipients, who usually live longer than children who contract HIV perinatally, she said. "Therefore, the longer you live, the lower your CD4 counts go, and the more at risk you are for infection with MAC," said Mascola. She believes the increased incidence of PCP is a result of increasing numbers of children who acquire HIV perinatally in Los Angeles. She said, "The only way PCP prophylaxis is going to work is if we detect [HIV] at birth.... Basically, PCP is increasing because children still aren't being diagnosed at birth." ======================================================================= "Managing AIDS: How One Boss Struggled to Cope" Business Week (02/01/93) No. 3303, P. 48 (Stodghill, Ron) Although AIDS has been present for more than a decade, many companies still do not know how to address the issue. The Centers for Disease Control say that one in every 250 Americans is HIV-positive, while most are aged 25-44--the core group of the American work force. Frank Daloisio, an AIDS-infected sales person with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), had trouble telling his boss, Jean Lagone Smith, about his condition. DEC is renowned for its exceptional AIDS policy, but it is no panacea. Frank was diagnosed with HIV infection in 1983 and continued to work at DEC in Washington, D.C., because "I needed my benefits," he said. But because of frequent absences from the office for doctors visits and a research experiment in which he was a subject, his co-workers began to ask questions. By 1987, he decided to leave for DEC's office in Dallas because, he said, "I've seen people lose jobs, life insurance, health insurance, you name it." However, after six months in Dallas he became severely ill and moved back to the Washington office to be closer to family who lived in Pennsylvania. A year later, Jean hired him to work for her in Blue Bell, Pa. The first 18 months of his job in Blue Bell worked out well. But again his health began to deteriorate. He had to leave the office numerous times to treat his condition. Although Jean was annoyed by his absences, she soon found compassion for Frank once he revealed his condition. Also, the company created a new position for him that allowed for more flexibility. Jean said that while DEC's AIDS policy was helpful, it did not run the business for her. She added that she had to make the decisions that would affect everyone in the sales force.