                    AIDS Daily Summary
                     January 11, 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 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"FDA Uncovers Flaws in Abbott Labs' Diagnostic Devices, Including
AIDS Kit"
"Judge Rules AIDS Case to Be Heard"
"Researcher Reports Evidence of a New Type of Hepatitis Virus"
"Across the USA: Connecticut"
"Medivators, Inc. Develops Medical Waste Disposal Machine"
"Crystal Structure of the Catalytic Domain of HIV-1 Integrase: 
Similarity to Other Polynucleotidyl Transferases"
"Corporate Response to AIDS"
"Mood Swings"
A Guide to Your Sexual Health: HIV"
"Addressing AIDS"
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"FDA Uncovers Flaws in Abbott Labs' Diagnostic Devices, Including
AIDS Kit"
Wall Street Journal (01/11/95) P. B8;  Burton, Thomas M.
   The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has discovered several 
flaws in Abbott Laboratories' quality-assurance procedures used 
in assembling medical-diagnostic products, including hepatitis 
and AIDS test kits.  Because of the findings, the FDA has delayed
approval of some new medical diagnostic devices made at the 
company's Chicago manufacturing plants.  During the next few 
weeks, the agency will re-inspect Abbott's facilities to 
determine if the problems highlighted in recent correspondence 
have been corrected.  The blood-test kits at issue are used by 
blood banks to ensure that hepatitis and HIV do not contaminate 
blood donations used in surgery and transfusions.  Doctors also 
use the kits to test individual patients.  Some of the criticisms
stemmed from the larger-than-normal numbers of false positive 
results produced by some production lots of the blood tests, and 
from the quality-assurance procedures used to ensure that each of
the plastic beads used Abbott's blood test kit, called HIVAB, is 
uniformly coated.  The FDA also questioned both Abbott's 
"inadequate" efforts in checking the coating of the beads for the
Auszyme hepatitis B test kit, as well as the company's "failure 
to adequately investigate and follow up device failures," 
including one with the HTLV-1 leukemia test.
    
"Judge Rules AIDS Case to Be Heard"
Philadelphia Inquirer (01/11/95) P. B5;  Roche Jr., Walter F.
   A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit filed by a 
Philadelphia man claiming he was denied medical services in the 
state and federally financed HealthPass program because he tested
HIV-positive.  The judge concluded that a jury must decide 
whether a city doctor and the operators of the HealthPass program
violated federal laws designed to protect the handicapped.  
Attorneys for the defendants had asked that the case be thrown 
out, claiming that the federal Rehabilitation Act and the 
Americans with Disabilities Act did not apply to medical 
benefits.  They also said that the patient, John Woolfolk, had 
failed to prove he was denied care solely because of his 
disability.  U.S. Judge John R. Padova ruled that a physician 
"who receives federal funds to provide health-care benefits may 
not withhold medical benefits without reasonable accommodation." 
He also noted the key role played by a primary-care physician in 
a managed-care program.
    
"Researcher Reports Evidence of a New Type of Hepatitis Virus"
New York Times (01/11/95) P. A15;  Altman, Lawrence K.
   Dr. Harvey J. Alter of the National Institutes of Health 
announced on Tuesday that his research team had found preliminary
evidence of a new virus that is believed to cause a new type of 
hepatitis.  The newly reported virus apparently can be 
transmitted through blood transfusions.  Alter said that 
particles of the possible new virus were detected in one of the 
unexplained cases of transfusion hepatitis in the institutes' 
collection.  The researchers are now trying to further identify 
the virus by using the latest molecular biology techniques on 
blood and other tissues from additional cases.  Alter disclosed 
the information reluctantly because he was addressing a federally
appointed panel that had been summoned to hear all information 
concerning infectious agents that could be spread through blood 
transfusions.  "It is not a proven virus, and the finding could 
fall through," said Alter.  Although it is not definite because 
no test has been developed yet, preliminary evidence suggests 
that the newly reported virus is not a large public health 
threat.
    
"Across the USA: Connecticut"
USA Today (01/11/95) P. 8A
   Although denying the charges, a Connecticut dentist accused of 
refusing treatment to an AIDS patient has agreed to pay $20,000 
to the man's estate.  The dentist must also pay a $9,000 federal 
fine.
    
"Medivators, Inc. Develops Medical Waste Disposal Machine"
Business Wire (01/10/95)
   Medivators, Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has developed a 
biomedical disposal machine that destroys contaminants and 
creates an environmentally friendly package.  The DSI System 2000
offers hospitals and medical centers the opportunity to reduce 
costs while increasing safety.  The dangers of handling the waste
include possible contact with AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. 
More than 1 million needle injuries are reported by health care 
workers each year.  The DSI System 2000, an on-site disposal 
system that eliminates the removal and incinerating of hazardous 
waste, heats waste to temperatures greater than 500 degrees 
Fahrenheit.  AIDS and hepatitis are killed at less than 200 
degrees Fahrenheit.  In 105 minutes, the system compacts 
contaminated needles, blood-stained sharps, and hospital gowns 
into harmless bricks of solid waste.  No longer "infectious," the
bricks can be recycled on thrown away.
    
"Crystal Structure of the Catalytic Domain of HIV-1 Integrase: 
Similarity to Other Polynucleotidyl Transferases"
Science (12/23/94) Vol. 266, No. 5193, P. 1981;  Dyda, Fred;  
Hickman, Alison B.;  Jenkins, Timothy M. et al
   HIV integrase, the enzyme responsible for inserting the viral DNA
into the host chromosome, is necessary for HIV replication.  The 
central feature of the crystal structure of the catalytically 
active core domain of HIV-1 integrase is a five-stranded Beta 
sheet with two helical regions.  The topology shows that the 
domain of integrase is part of a superfamily of polynucleotidyl 
transferases that contains ribonuclease H and the Holliday 
junction resolvase RuvC.  The position of two of the conserved 
carboxylate residues critical for catalysis, which are found in 
similar positions in ribonuclease H, indicate the active site 
region.  The structure of the catalytic domain of HIV integrase 
should aide in the development of HIV integrase inhibitors.
    
"Corporate Response to AIDS"
American Management Association (01/95) Vol. 84, No. 1, P. 6;  
Jacobs, Heidi
   Representing an increase of 15 percent from 1991, 38 percent of 
794 companies polled in the American Management Association's 
(AMA) 1994 Survey on HIV- and AIDS-Related Policies reported 
having dealt with at least one case of HIV infection in 1994.  
While 26 percent of the companies who have dealt with HIV or AIDS
in the workplace have specific AIDS policies, only 17 percent of 
the respondents who have not faced the issue have implemented a 
policy.  "People wait until the first instance of AIDS or HIV 
infection before putting together policies," explains Eric Rolfe 
Greenberg, AMA's research director.  A majority of companies in 
either category, however, do not have a specific AIDS policy in 
place.  Compared to 42 percent in 1991, 53 percent of the 
respondents feel their companies are equipped to handle future 
HIV or AIDS cases.  The increase may be due to success in past 
cases.
    
"Mood Swings"
Advocate (01/24/95) No. 672/673, P. 35;  Bull, Chris
   Tim Westmoreland, former counsel to Rep. Henry Waxman's 
(D-Calif.) subcommittee on health and the environment, is just 
one example of the tremendous changes that Republican domination 
will mean for gays and lesbians in the nation's capital.  After 
House speaker Newt Gingrich ordered the dismissal of every 
Democratic staffer, Westmoreland and other key gay and lesbian 
Democratic congressional employees suddenly found themselves out 
of work.  "I've worked very hard for a long time to make AIDS a 
nonpartisan issue and get Republican support," says Westmoreland,
an expert on AIDS-related legislation.  The mass dismissals, 
however, betray the spirit of bipartisanship, says Westmoreland. 
"I don't see this as a productive way to change power in this 
country," he adds.  A. Cornelius Baker, an AIDS activist who 
served as a political appointee in the Bush administration from 
1989 to 1991, says that the political problems facing gay rights 
and AIDS lobbying groups are linked to the arrogance Democrats 
displayed when they controlled the House.  Rep. Barney Frank of 
Massachusetts, however, disagrees.  "We have talked to 
Republicans for years on any number of issues.  This is just 
Republicans engaging in victim blaming," he said.
    
"A Guide to Your Sexual Health: HIV"
Longevity (01/95) Vol. 7, No. 2, P. 37;  Ganske, Mary Garner
   A new type of HIV-fighting agents called sulfated polymers are 
being studied at the Population Council in New York City.  
Researchers hope that they will eventually supplement the 
spermicides on the market, which destroy healthy vaginal and 
cervical cells as well as HIV.  The sulfated polymers prevent 
HIV-infected cells from clinging to and infecting healthy cells. 
Although animal studies seem promising, it may take a decade for 
the product to reach the market.
    
"Addressing AIDS"
Internet World (01/95) Vol. 8, No. 1, P. 57;  Uretsky, Sam
   In 1986, when an AIDS patient began searching the Internet for 
information about the disease, he only found advice about a 
macrobiotic diet.  To fill the gap, several computer bulletin 
board began to offer information to the public.  One of the 
challenges revealed was that both true and false information can 
be transmitted.  While it is generally accepted that HIV causes 
AIDS, theories and cures such as ozone therapy and heat treatment
of blood have also been spread.  The Usenet newsgroup 
sci.med.aids is an open forum for discussion of AIDS treatment, 
news, and social issues.  The group, which is moderated by four 
volunteers, all of whom are experts in the field, is the only 
sci.med. newsgroup that focuses on a disease rather than a 
healthcare occupation.  As interest in the Internet and AIDS has 
increased, a growing number of FTP sites and discussion lists 
have appeared.  Many of the services are provided by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Recently, the U.S.
Department of Commerce opened a text and image database of 1,500 
AIDS-related patents.  An initial report said that 400 people had
been accessing the database an hour.  There are now dozens of 
resources available to anyone with a computer and modem.
    
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