                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       August 9, 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


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"Vitamin A and Infants with H.I.V."
"Robbers with AIDS Evade Jail in Italy"
"Across the USA: Tennessee"
"Show of Support"
"Rock for Research"
"Blocked in U.S., AIDS Kit Goes Overseas"
"Eastern Arctic Puzzle: Why HIV Is Still So Rare"
"Fighting AIDS, Getty 'Not Afraid of Death'"
"Justices Ask Clinton Administration's View of AZT Patent Issue"
"Agen Biomedical to Make AIDS Test Kits in China"
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"Vitamin A and Infants with H.I.V."
New York Times (08/09/95) P. C8
     A new study by researchers at Natal University in South Africa 
indicates that vitamin A could be a low-cost way to reduce some 
of the illnesses that HIV-infected babies contract.  The study, 
published in The American Journal of Public Health, found that 
moderately large doses of vitamin A helped infants fight off 
AIDS-related illnesses, particularly dangerous diarrhea.  A total
of 118 babies born to HIV-infected women were given either 
vitamin A or placebos.  Regardless of HIV status, all the 
children who received supplementation had fewer illnesses.  Among
HIV-infected infants, the vitamin supplements reduced diarrhea 
cases by nearly 50 percent, and reduced diarrhea cases that last 
more than one week by 56 percent.  In addition, diarrhea-related 
hospital stays were more than 75 percent shorter among the 
HIV-positive babies who received vitamin A.  Anna Coutsoudis, an 
author of the study, noted that the study followed the infants 
for just 18 months, so it could not be determined whether vitamin
A helped them live longer.
      
"Robbers with AIDS Evade Jail in Italy"
New York Times (08/09/95) P. A9
     In Turin, Italy, a group of robbers--called the "AIDS gang" by 
newspapers--has been released again after their fourth bank 
hold-up in three weeks.  The members, who are secure in the 
knowledge that they will not be imprisoned because they have 
AIDS, rob the banks in full view of security cameras and without 
covering their faces.  "They know they can't be imprisoned, so 
they take no precautions to hide their identities," a police 
spokesman said.  Under Italian law, full-blown AIDS patients 
cannot be jailed.  In the most recent robbery, the "AIDS gang" 
stole $12,000 and hid the money prior to their arrest.
      
"Across the USA: Tennessee"
USA Today (08/09/95) P. 5A
     An HIV-infected man in Gallatin, Tenn., may go to prison for 
spitting in a police officer's face.  Ronnie Todd was charged 
under a 1994 Tennessee law that makes it illegal to expose 
another person to AIDS.
      
"Show of Support"
USA Today (08/09/95) P. 3D;  Zimmerman, David
     Radio personality Chuck "Hoss" Burns this week became the first 
well-known person in the country-music industry to reveal that he
has AIDS.  Country music stars were quick to offer Burns their 
support.  "Garth [Brooks]'s people were the first to call," said 
Nashville's WSIX-FM general manager John King, after the station 
announced it will hold a day-long radiothon next week to support 
Burns and to raise money for the pediatric AIDS unit of St. Jude 
Children's Hospital.  Burns, who tested HIV-positive 10 years 
ago, said he made the announcement because he had "told my 
friends, told my family, told my work, and told my mother.  It 
was time to tell everybody else."  Although he is leaving the 
station, Burns will continue to host the weekly radio show 
"Country Hitmakers," which boasts more than 2 million listeners.
      
"Rock for Research"
USA Today (08/09/95) P. 4D;  Peterson, Karen S.;  Hellmich, Nanci
     This week's 13th Annual Rock 'N Roll Charity Celebration in Los 
Angeles will benefit research funds for AIDS, cancer, and other 
diseases.  The three-day affair--to which such stars as Glenn 
Frey, Little Richard, and Luke Perry are expected to 
attend--includes a silent auction, golf tournament, and bowling. 
Proceeds of the fundraiser will go to the T.J. Martell Foundation
and the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund, which finance research for 
cancer, AIDS, and leukemia.
      
"Blocked in U.S., AIDS Kit Goes Overseas"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (08/07/95) P. 1E;  Nolin, Robert
     According to Dr. Joseph D'Angelo, the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) is too strict when it comes to 
over-the-counter home test kits.  The Miami physician has 
developed a saliva-based HIV test kit that costs $9.23, compared 
to professionally administered ones that can cost as much as 
$200.  D'Angelo is marketing the Ana-Sal kit to foreign 
governments because the FDA makes "it very difficult to do 
something like this."  San Francisco's E.Y. Laboratories tested 
the product and found that in two out of 10 cases, Ana-Sal was 
more accurate than standard blood tests.  A study at Jackson 
Memorial Hospital in Miami confirmed the validity of the process 
for detecting HIV. A major problem for the kit, however, is its 
lack of counseling.  U.S. public health policy dictates that a 
person being tested for HIV must be counseled before and after 
the screening by a trained practitioner.  The kit only includes a
paragraph telling those who test HIV-positive to obtain a 
confirmatory test and medical treatment.
      
"Eastern Arctic Puzzle: Why HIV Is Still So Rare"
Toronto Globe and Mail (08/07/95) P. A1;  Feschuk, Scott
     Although Broughton Island in Canada's Northwest Territory has a 
population of just 530, the health center's nurse says that not 
one month has gone by in five years in which a youth has not 
tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease.  Infection 
rates in the region are as many as seven times higher than in 
Canada's southern communities.  No one on Broughton Island, 
however, has been infected with HIV, says nurse Theresa Joseph.  
To explain the lack of HIV in the Eastern Arctic region, some 
health workers have suggested that the resident Inuit population 
may have a kind of physiological factor that reduces their 
chances of becoming infected, although there is no scientific 
proof of this.  Others argue that HIV may be much more prevalent 
than is currently thought.  It is also possible that some Inuit 
who doubt the true anonymity of HIV testing in their closely-knit
community have gone to southern cities for testing, and that 
their statistics would be reflected there.  The majority of 
health care professionals, however, believe that it is just luck 
that has guarded the region against AIDS--luck that is bound to 
come to an end in the face of data that reflects a very sexually 
active population.
      
"Fighting AIDS, Getty 'Not Afraid of Death'"
USA Today (08/08/95) P. 2D
     Aileen Getty--granddaughter of J. Paul Getty--says that after 
living with HIV for a decade and AIDS for six years, she believes
she is prepared to die.  In the September issue of Ladies' Home 
Journal, Getty states, "When I'm no longer capable of giving my 
children anything more, I intend to take my own life.  I'm not 
afraid of death."  The former daughter-in-law of actress 
Elizabeth Taylor says she became infected with HIV in 1985 
"through unprotected sex during a brief, reckless affair."  
According to Getty, the man lied about his HIV status when he 
knew he was infected.
      
"Justices Ask Clinton Administration's View of AZT Patent Issue"
American Medical News (07/31/95) Vol. 38, No. 28, P. 8
     The Supreme Court has asked lawyers from the Justice Department 
to comment on an appeal by two generic-drug makers from a ruling 
that found Burroughs Wellcome Co. entitled to five patents for 
AZT.  The two companies said that Burroughs should not receive 
exclusive patents because some of the testing was performed at 
the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Burroughs, which 
received six patents after NIH found AZT to be effective against 
HIV, sued Barr Laboratories and Novopharm for alleged patent 
infringement after each company sought permission to sell generic
forms of the drug.  Barr said that two NIH researchers should be 
added to the patent.  The manufacturing of a generic product 
would then be possible because NIH awarded the company 
nonexclusive rights to do so.  Novopharm, however, claimed that 
the patents were not valid because the NIH researchers were not 
named.  After a series of appeals, attorneys for the two 
companies said that an invention must demonstrate its 
effectiveness before it can become eligible for a patent.  The 
NIH scientists, therefore, would be entitled to share the patent.
      
"Agen Biomedical to Make AIDS Test Kits in China"
Nikkei Weekly (07/24/95) Vol. 33, No. 1681, P. 20
     Australian medical-testing equipment producer Agen Biomedical 
Ltd. will establish a joint venture in Beijing to produce and 
market an HIV test kit that can provide results in a half an 
hour.  According to sources, the company will provide the 
necessary clinical data and production technology for the kit.  
Agen, which will be joined by partners Beijing Hua Yi 
Biotechnology Co. and Diagnotech Co., will have a 25 percent 
interest in the endeavor.
      
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