
                          AIDS Daily Summary
                           January 23, 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
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Thousands Protest the Dismissal of a Leftist French Bishop"
"Chesco Man with AIDS Sues Doctors and Hospital"
"Uganda Imports Millions of Condoms to Fight AIDS"
"AIDS Complaints Filed"
"Bring Back Brothels, Say the French"
"Cost and Outcome of Intensive Care for Patients with AIDS, 
Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, and Severe Respiratory Failure"
"Factors Mediating Changes in Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among Gay
and Bisexual Male Adolescents"
"A Finger on the Culprit"
"Mark Barnes Wants AIDS Action Council to Be a 'Tough Presence'"
"The Backlash Against Victim Art"
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"Thousands Protest the Dismissal of a Leftist French Bishop"
New York Times (01/23/95) P. A9;  Whitney, Craig R.
     Thousands of people gathered in Normandy on Sunday to protest the
dismissal of the outspoken French Bishop of Evreux, Jacques 
Gaillot.  In his farewell address, Gaillot said he would submit 
to church discipline, after the Vatican recently took away his 
diocese in Normandy and named him to an inactive one in 
Mauritania.  His message was to take the gospel of hope for the 
poor and others Gaillot called "outcasts," such as AIDS patients,
homosexuals, and the unemployed.  "The church should be for the 
outcast, not a church that casts people out," he said.  Gaillot 
was dismissed just over a week ago after being repeatedly warned 
for going against church doctrine by advocating the use of 
condoms to prevent AIDS, calling for tolerance of homosexuality, 
and speaking in favor of allowing priests to marry.  Related 
Story: Wall Street Journal (01/23) P. A1
      
"Chesco Man with AIDS Sues Doctors and Hospital"
Philadelphia Inquirer (01/23/95) P. B1;  Bauers, Sandy
     Kenneth Brown, a man who received a blood transfusion at 
Phoenixville Hospital in 1988 and says he later contracted AIDS 
from it, has sued the hospital and several of its physicians, 
accusing them of malpractice.  Brown claims that the doctors 
refused to allow him or his family to donate their own blood and 
that the blood subsequently used was tainted with HIV.  The suit 
contends that the physicians "failed to inform themselves...as to
current medical and non-medical knowledge, data, recommendations,
and other information regarding the risks of AIDS virus 
transmission posed by the transfusion of blood."  Brown received 
three blood transfusions after being admitted for 
gastrointestinal problems on Jan. 18, 1988.  He alleges that the 
transfusions were unnecessary and that the doctors ignored or 
failed to respond to certain symptoms, delayed a diagnosis, and 
performed inappropriate tests.  The suit seeks $50,000 from each 
of seven defendants on each of three counts.
      
"Uganda Imports Millions of Condoms to Fight AIDS"
Reuters (01/22/95)
     As part of its efforts to fight AIDS, Uganda plans to import a 
record 33 million condoms this year, the AIDS Control Programme 
announced on Sunday.  Imports of condoms were "negligible" before
AIDS was reported in Uganda in the early 1980s, the agency said. 
Medical sources estimate that Uganda, with a population of 17 
million, has 1.5 million HIV-infected people.
      
"AIDS Complaints Filed"
Houston Chronicle (01/20/95) P. 21A;  Robinson, James
     After having its funding for AIDS housing rejected, the Brentwood
Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, filed three separate complaints
against the city.  The church claimed that the city violated fair
housing laws by giving in to neighborhood residents' fears of 
AIDS.  The Rev. Joe Ratliff said the complaints were being filed 
reluctantly, with the hope that they will help "reopen 
conversations" about the $625,000 the church would have received.
The church said neighborhood residents praised plans for the 
recreational center.  "Thus the opponents ask the church to 
provide health-oriented programs for themselves, but would deny 
the church's extension of health-oriented programs for persons 
with AIDS," the suit charges.  The neighbors of the predominantly
black area expressed concern about decreasing property values if 
the AIDS housing were built, and health fears--such as catching 
AIDS on a basketball court--even though the disease is not spread
by casual contact.  The church appears to have a strong case 
against the city, according to legal experts, because the Fair 
Housing Act prohibits discrimination against people with 
disabilities, such as cancer or AIDS.
      
"Bring Back Brothels, Say the French"
Reuters (01/21/95)
     A poll conducted to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 
closure of brothels found that an overwhelming majority of French
people want them legalized to reassert government controls over 
prostitution.  The poll found that 68 percent of those asked 
wanted the return of "closed houses," 28 percent rejected the 
proposal, and 4 percent had no opinion.  While 71 percent thought
that lifting the ban on brothels would help reduce the spread of 
sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, 28 percent believed 
the opposite.  The brothels were closed in April 1946, just after
World War II.  In Paris alone, the ban led to the eviction of 
prostitutes from 178 buildings and 6,000 hotel rooms.
      
"Cost and Outcome of Intensive Care for Patients with AIDS, 
Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, and Severe Respiratory Failure"
Journal of the American Medical Association (01/18/95) Vol. 273, 
No. 3, P. 230;  Wachter, Robert M.;  Luce, John M.;  Safrin, 
Sharon
     Researchers at the San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center 
studied 113 patients with AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii 
pneumonia (PCP) and severe respiratory failure to determine the 
costs and outcomes associated with intensive care unit (ICU) 
admission for such patients.  Only 25 percent survived to 
hospital discharge.  Post-ICU admission charges averaged $57,874 
for the entire group.  The cost of care for survivors was 
significantly more expensive than for those patients who died 
before discharge.  ICU admission and subsequent hospitalization 
cost an average of $174,781 per year of life saved.  It cost 
$305,795 for patients admitted to ICU from 1981 through 1985, 
$94,528 for those admitted during 1986 to 1988, and $215,233 for 
those admitted from 1989 through 1991.  The second group's 
improved cost-effectiveness was due to improved survival rates 
and shorter lengths of ICU stays.  The main predictors of 
hospital death in group three were low CD4 cell counts on 
hospital admission and the development of pneumothorax during 
mechanical ventilation.  Although the cost-effectiveness of 
intensive care for patients with PCP and severe respiratory 
failure improved during the first eight years of the epidemic, it
has dropped in recent years to levels below that of many accepted
medical interventions.
      
"Factors Mediating Changes in Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among Gay
and Bisexual Male Adolescents"
American Journal of Public Health (12/94) Vol. 84, No. 12, P. 
1938;  Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane;  Reid, Helen;  Rosario, 
Margaret
     To determine changes in sexual risk behaviors over one year and 
mediators of change among gay and bisexual male adolescents who 
are primarily African-American and Hispanic, researchers studied 
136 males between the ages of 14 and 19.  The participants were 
assessed at four points during the year-long study, and attended 
HIV preventive intervention sessions.  After one year, there was 
a significant reduction in the number of unprotected same-sex 
anal and oral acts.  The participants who had less risk in their 
sexual history, who did not engage in commercial sex, and who 
attended more HIV intervention sessions were more likely to 
reduce their sexual risk.  The most dramatic reduction of risk 
acts was among African-American youths.  Abstinence was more 
likely among younger youths and those who had been abstinent 
before enrolling.  Following the intervention, the youths 
significantly reduced the number of partners, which was 
maintained through the 12-month follow-up.  The researchers 
concluded that the efficacy of HIV prevention programs must be 
empirically evaluated.
      
"A Finger on the Culprit"
Nature (01/05/95) Vol. 373, No. 6509, P. 17;  Schulz, Thomas F.; 
Weiss, Robin A.
     Chang et al's discovery of a previously unknown human herpes 
virus should provide insights into the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma 
(KS) and into the way in which viruses contribute to the early 
stages of tumor formation.  More than a century ago, KS was 
described as a rare, slowly progressive tumor of elderly men.  
Now, it is most commonly associated with HIV infection and is 
characterized by rapid progression and a wide distribution which 
includes the viscera, lymph nodes, and skin.  Epidemiological 
data suggested the involvement of an infectious agent that is 
preferentially transmitted by sexual contact.  For example, KS is
common in HIV-infected gay men, but is virtually absent in 
hemophiliacs with AIDS.  The partial DNA sequence found shows 
some similarity to the Epstein-Barr virus and herpes virus 
saimiri.  While a region derived from a minor capsid gene can be 
amplified from almost all biopsies of AIDS-related KS and from 15
percent of non-KS tissue from AIDS patients, it cannot be 
obtained from tissue samples of non-AIDS patients.  The new virus
may be viewed as a sexually transmitted virus which is relatively
common in gay men and is an opportunist in HIV infection.
      
"Mark Barnes Wants AIDS Action Council to Be a 'Tough Presence'"
Washington Blade (01/06/95) Vol. 26, No. 1, P. 5;  Campbell, 
Kristina
     As of Feb. 1, former New York City and state public health 
official Mark Barnes will become the executive director of the 
AIDS Action Council--the largest organization in the country 
dedicated to AIDS lobbying at the federal level.  Barnes replaces
Daniel Bross, who resigned in August.  Barnes cites his two 
primary goals as strengthening AIDS Action's Congressional 
lobbying presence and pursuing a "very aggressive fundraising 
strategy" for the organization itself.  Federal AIDS funding 
faces an "immediate crisis," says Barnes, with several programs 
being threatened by budget reforms and Republican control.  The 
programs at risk include the Ryan White CARE Act--which will 
expire this year if not reauthorized by Congress--the Housing 
Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, and general 
AIDS prevention and research efforts.  AIDS organizations will 
persuade Congress to continue funding the war against the 
disease, Barnes predicts.  In response to criticism over his 
placement, Barnes he says he completely understands why people 
would want an HIV-infected person in the position, but 
"ultimately the test is whether one identifies with the risk 
groups."
      
"The Backlash Against Victim Art"
U.S. News & World Report (01/16/95) Vol. 118, No. 2, P. 22;  Leo,
John
     New Yorker dance critic Arlene Croce refuses to review 
choreographer Bill T. Jones' new mixed-media dance, "Still/Here."
She claims she is sick to death of "victim art" and "the new 
tribe of victim artists parading their wounds."  The AIDS-focused
works of Jones--who is black, gay, and infected with HIVJ--show 
sick and dying people on videotape, and dancers who present 
themselves, according to Croce, as "dissed blacks, abused women, 
or disfranchised homosexuals."  Deborah Jowitt, dance critic of 
the Village Voice, disagrees with some of Croce's arguments but 
says, "she's not alone in feeling her critical prerogatives and 
her power hobbled by art that prompts pity for the artists 
because of social oppression or the precarious state of their 
health."  Today, almost any victim complaint is being passed off 
as art.  The 1993 biennial show at the Whitney Museum, for 
example, included a large puddle of plastic vomit--a symbol of 
the outrage of the creator, a feminist, about female eating 
disorders in an oppressive patriarchal culture.  Croce compares 
"the defiant anticonventionalism of the Sixties, when you were 
manipulated into accepting what you saw as art," to today, with 
Jones, where "you were actually intimidated" into shutting up 
about what's on stage.
      
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