                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      August 16, 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
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Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


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"Deadly Parasite in Water Spurs Scientists to Improve Detection"
"Youngsters Take Disease's Effects in Stride"
"Israeli Robber Threatened Victims with AIDS"
"U.N. Says AIDS a Rights Problem in Cambodia"
"Romanian Villagers Stone AIDS Child"
"Indonesia Denies Condom Campaign Promotes Free Sex"
"HIV Scandal Hits Bombay Blood Centre"
"Infectious Disease Compensation Rules Eased"
"Cancer and AIDS Pain Management Services on WWW"
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"Deadly Parasite in Water Spurs Scientists to Improve Detection"
Wall Street Journal (08/16/95) P. B1;  Hsu, Karen
     The micro-organism cryptosporidium has attracted a great deal of 
attention in recent months, particularly because of the 
increasing number of deaths related to the parasite and the near 
inability of even the most complex filtration systems to track or
kill it.  The current test for the parasite is time-consuming, 
and not always precise.  Now, however, Dr. Victor Tsang, chief of
the National Center for Infectious Diseases' immunology branch, 
has a detection method that takes significantly less time and 
eliminates subjective judgments.  The process involves 
magnetic-bead technology, which has been used for years in 
studies of AIDS and leukemia, as well as identification of E. 
coli strains in meat products.  The "beads," plastic-covered iron
particles, bring together any parasites from filtered residue so 
they can be measured.  The research is in danger, however, 
because of dwindling funds.  Meanwhile, Tsang's colleague, 
scientist Patrick Lammie, is working to develop a blood test for 
cryptosporidium.  "Based on the number of infections found in an 
area, we can tailor a recommendation to the community on 
preventive measures," says Lammie, though he questions whether 
"the blood test will work as well on the AIDS population."
      
"Youngsters Take Disease's Effects in Stride"
USA Today (08/16/95) P. 1D;  Painter, Kim
     "There's been a major shift" in thinking in the past decade since
the nation first learned about HIV-infected babies who sickened 
and died as toddlers, says Dr. Arthur Ammann of the Pediatric 
AIDS Foundation.  It is now believed that only 25 percent of 
children decline so rapidly.  According to Ammann's foundation, 
at least two AIDS babies have lived to age 17.  Studies indicate 
that the average survival time is between six and nine years.  
Although this means that most children do not survive long as 
adults, it also means that many, including 11-year-old Hydeia 
Broadbent and 12-year-old Baron Jones, can beat the odds.  The 
two children recently attended Camp Heartland, Neil Willenson's 
getaway for infected children, their siblings, and others 
affected by the disease.  "I am seeing children who were nine 
when we started who are now 12," says Willenson.  "They're 
developing, they're growing, they're maturing emotionally and 
physically.  And it is exciting and inspiring to see."
      
"Israeli Robber Threatened Victims with AIDS"
Reuters (08/15/95)
     Police in Tel Aviv have arrested an Israeli art thief who 
threatened to infect gallery workers with HIV.  The man, 
described as a 28-year-old drug addict, held up two art galleries
by waving a syringe full of what he claimed was HIV-infected 
blood.  Although he was successful in his first heist, the robber
was tackled by the second gallery owner--who was jabbed with the 
syringe in the ensuing struggle.  The man was later arrested and 
confessed to the crimes.  He told police that he did not have 
AIDS, but was merely trying to frighten the people.
      
"U.N. Says AIDS a Rights Problem in Cambodia"
Reuters (08/15/95);  Dodd, Mark
     Cambodia's critical human-rights problems include AIDS, poor 
housing, and the sexual exploitation of children, said a United 
Nations (UN) rights official on Tuesday.  "The sexual 
exploitation of children is particularly offensive at a time when
Cambodia like so many other countries is facing the problem of 
HIV/AIDS," he added.  Special Representative for Human Rights 
Michael Kirby said ignorance about AIDS persists in Cambodia, and
he asked the government to address the problem.  Public health 
authorities estimate that the number of HIV-infected Cambodians 
could be in the tens of thousands.
      
"Romanian Villagers Stone AIDS Child"
Reuters (08/15/95)
     A Romanian doctor reported on Tuesday that villagers in his 
country stoned an eight-year-old AIDS patient and her family and 
tried to evict them from their home.  "We have never before heard
of families threatened with being banned from their homes because
one member" has AIDS, said Dr. Constantin Barabolski.  "Villagers
here regard them as a peril."  According to the doctor, the 
girl's mother had requested that her daughter be readmitted to 
the orphanage, from which she was released in June, to protect 
her from the villagers.  It is not uncommon for impoverished 
Romanian families to put their children under state supervision 
and then reclaim them years later when they can support them.  
Romania has the highest rate of juvenile AIDS in Europe--more 
than 90 percent of the nearly 3,000 cases are under the age of 
12.
      
"Indonesia Denies Condom Campaign Promotes Free Sex"
Reuters (08/15/95)
     The Indonesian government is not encouraging free sex by 
promoting the use of condoms, said an Indonesian minister on 
Tuesday.  "What we are trying to do is to tell people affected by
AIDS that they must protect their family from the disease.  They 
must use condoms because it is a very dangerous disease," 
explained Coordinating Minister of Welfare Azwar Anas.  The 
country's Council of Ulemas, an influential group of Moslem 
scholars, has requested that condoms be sold only to married 
people with prescriptions and not distributed freely to stem the 
spread of HIV because that would mean "we allow adultery."  The 
World Health Organization estimates that approximately 50,000 
residents of Indonesia are infected with the virus that causes 
AIDS.
      
"HIV Scandal Hits Bombay Blood Centre"
Nature (07/27/95) Vol. 376, No. 6538, P. 285;  Jayaraman, K.S.
     Following charges that it provided HIV-infected blood to 
hospitals between 1992 and 1994, a Bombay blood bank operated by 
the India Red Cross Society (IRCS) has been closed.  The scandal 
has caused widespread concern because the IRCS is supposed to set
national blood safety standards.  The center provides about 
one-third of Bombay's annual requirements for blood, and is one 
of the 16 testing sites that constitute the National AIDS Control
Organization (NACO), which was established with an $87 million 
grant from the World Bank.  The matter was discovered when an 
IRCS official examined the blood bank's records.  These indicated
that HIV-infected blood had been delivered to at least 10 city 
hospitals.  There have also been suggestions that blood bank 
employees have been selling tainted blood on the black market, 
rather than discarding it.  According to NACO, 30 percent of the 
blood collected comes from professional donors, many of whom have
HIV.
      
"Infectious Disease Compensation Rules Eased"
Federal Times (08/07/95) Vol. 31, No. 26, P. 9;  Rivenbark, Leigh
     New regulations from the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
(OWCP) no longer call for examiners to know how and from whom 
workers contracted such diseases as tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and 
hepatitis.  Claims examiners can now accept a claim for a 
communicable disease even if the source of infection is 
unidentified.  This may help employees who become infected on the
job to receive compensation payments.  If, for example, an 
accidental needle stick causes infection with HIV, a medical 
worker may not know which person was the source of the infection.
According to Thomas Markey, director of federal employees' 
compensation at OWCP, there were 52 claims filed for hepatitis B 
and approximately 25 claims for HIV last year.  Although he did 
not know how many hepatitis and HIV claims were accepted, Markey 
estimated that about half of the 312 TB claims were approved.  
The changes came in large part because the Marshals 
Service--whose employees protect courts and judges, and transport
inmates--told OWCP that some people were having problems getting 
their claims accepted because they could not identify the source 
of their infections.
      
"Cancer and AIDS Pain Management Services on WWW"
Information Today (07/95-08/95) Vol. 12, No. 7, P. 56
     A new World Wide Web site offers educational materials on cancer 
and AIDS pain management from Roxane Laboratories and the Roxane 
Pain Institute.  Users can easily obtain newsletters, clinical 
articles, and a schedule of future pain management seminars.  "We
consolidated information available to health care providers and 
designed a user-friendly program that provides up-to-date 
clinical information on managing pain in cancer and AIDS," 
explains Dr. Kirk V. Shepard of the Roxane Pain Institute and 
Roxane Laboratories.  According to Roxane, it is the first 
pharmaceutical company to develop an Internet program with the 
primary focus on pain management.  Other services the Roxane Pain
Institute offers include an 800 number for health care 
professionals to access its information program, and a scholars' 
programs to educate doctors, nurses, and pharmacists on the 
treatment of pain and the administration of analgesia.
      
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