                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       June 17, 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

"Japan AIDS Conference Hit by Condom Ban"
Reuters (06/17/94)
     Just two months before Japan hosts the 10th International AIDS 
Conference, the country's Health Ministry is sparring with 
foreign participants over permission to bring in condoms for 
promotional purposes.  Japanese law prohibits anyone but licensed
importers to bring in more than two dozen condoms, with violators
facing stiff fines or imprisonment.  Several foreign groups 
attending the conference, including the World Health 
Organization, have asked to bring in their own condoms in order 
to demonstrate proper condom use and AIDS prevention.  The Health
Ministry's organizing committee says it would like to oblige the 
requests, but its Pharmaceuticals Affairs Bureau refuses to budge
on the issue.  The committee is exploring ways to circumvent the 
law.
      
"Prenatal Testing for H.I.V. Hasn't Worked in New York State"
New York Times (06/17/94) P. A30;  Abrams, Elaine J.
     Responding to an article about a New York state bill that 
proposes HIV testing of newborns, Dr. Elaine J. Abrams, director 
of the pediatric AIDS program at Harlem Hospital, says prenatal 
testing for HIV has failed in New York.  From 1989 to 1992, 
Abrams notes that intensive efforts to counsel and test pregnant 
women for the virus only identified about 30 percent of 
HIV-positive women delivering at Harlem Hospital.  Under a pilot 
testing program, however, pediatric counselors asked to test 
newborns for HIV antibody.  Of 93 babies identified by the 
state's anonymous testing program, 86 were found through the new 
program.  Abrams says only two women refused care upon learning 
their own HIV status, and all of the other children are receiving
care in HIV programs.  She argues, then, that identification of 
HIV-positive newborns has been a success at Harlem Hospital.
      
"Report MDs With HIV, Doctors Told"
Toronto Globe and Mail (06/16/94) P. A6
     In accordance with a precedent-setting policy adopted by the 
Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, physicians caring for
an HIV-infected colleague must now identify that doctor and file 
reports to the college on the infected doctor's medical status 
and whether his or her medical practice needs to be modified for 
patient protection.  According to the college's policy director, 
Janet Ecker, the protocol was established to balance the rights 
of doctors with those of patients.  The Toronto HIV Primary Care 
Physicians Group, which treats half of the province's HIV 
patients, has called on Ontario doctors to ignore the policy, 
saying it will cause physicians who discover their infection to 
forgo treatment.
      
"French Prosecutor Seeks Re-Trial in Blood Case"
Reuters (06/16/94)
     French state prosecutor Jean Perfetti asked that the supreme 
court throw out the fraud convictions of two former senior health
officials imprisoned in the country's AIDS blood scandal, and 
retry the officials on charges of poisoning--which calls for 
stiffer penalties.  Perfetti said he could not accuse Michael 
Garretta, former head of the national blood bank, and Jean-Pierre
Allain, former director of blood transfusion research, of 
intentionally trying to kill the more than 1,250 hemophiliacs who
became infected, 400 of whom have died.  He said Garretta and 
Allain did, however, know that they were inoculating a 
potentially lethal virus.
      
"Hemophiliacs' Families Torn Apart by AIDS"
Toronto Globe and Mail (06/16/94) P. A6;  Picard, Andre
     The Krever Commission, a national inquiry into Canada's 
contaminated-blood tragedy, this week heard testimony on how AIDS
created isolation and emotional pain, and destroyed relationships
within families of infected hemophiliacs.  Manitoba patients and 
their families told the commission that the 1,000 people who were
infected represent just the tip of the tragedy.  One woman, for 
instance, said that the virus wrecked her family's home and will 
probably destroy her children and grandchildren.  She is the 
mother of four daughters who are hemophiliacs, which means that 
their male children will likely inherit the blood disorder.  The 
Krever inquiry is scheduled to submit its final report by the end
of 1995--by which time most of the infected hemophiliacs and 
blood transfusion patients will already have died.
      
"Zimbabwe Seen With 500,000 AIDS Orphans"
Reuters (06/16/94)
     By the year 2000, half a million Zimbabwean children will have 
lost a parent to AIDS, according to National AIDS Programme 
Coordinator Everisto Marowa.  An estimated 800,000 of Zimbabwe's 
10 million people have contracted the fatal disease, as infection
rates continue to skyrocket, he said.
      
"HIV Carriers in Indonesia May Reach 1.5 Million"
United Press International (06/16/94)
     The number of HIV-infected Indonesians could reach 1.5 million by
1997 unless serious steps are taken to prevent the continued 
spread of disease, warned Azwar Anas, the Coordinating Minister 
for People's Welfare.  As of March, 213 people in Indonesia were 
identified as HIV carriers--about 50 of whom have died from 
AIDS-related diseases, he said.  Anas predicted that, without the
necessary prevention measures, the cost of treating AIDS could 
reach $14 billion, and foreign investors could be prompted to 
flee Indonesia--in a situation similar to what occurred in Africa
and Thailand.
      
"In the Works: AIDS Costs to Business"
Advocate (06/14/94) No. 657, P. 41
     The economic impact of HIV on business amounts to a maximum of 
$32,000 over five years per infected employee, or an average of 
$17,000 total, reveal the surprising results of the first major 
study on the matter.  The numbers signal better health, as well 
as changing treatment costs for HIV-positive employees.  They 
also indicate that the majority of the widely accepted 
$85,000-$100,000 lifetime costs of AIDS care is shouldered by 
society rather than by business.  The findings refute any 
reasoning for discriminating against infected employees.
      
"Healthcare Fuels Magazine Growth"
Advertising Age (05/30/94) Vol. 65, No. 23, P. S-4;  Kelly, Keith J.
     Following the emergence of several gay and lesbian lifestyle 
publications last year, the homosexual magazine sector would 
appear to be concentrating in 1994 on health-related titles, 
including POZ and AIDS Digest.  Sam Watters, the new owner of the
Advocate--the oldest gay publication in the country--wonders if 
people want to read about something so "grim."  But POZ founder 
and publisher Sean Strub notes that his magazine wants to focus 
not on death, but on life and the things HIV-positive people are 
doing.  AIDS Digest, on the other hand, is still in the planning 
stages, yet it has already attracted some major talent.  Although
both POZ and AIDS Digest anticipate largely homosexual 
readership, they insist that their goal is to reach the entire 
HIV population.
      
