                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       August 29, 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
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


"In San Francisco, Grim AIDS Cycle Poised for Encore"
Washington Post (08/29/94) P. A1;  Hamilton, William
     The community mobilization effort described in Randy Shilts' book
"And the Band Played On" was largely successful in combating the 
AIDS epidemic that ravaged San Francisco, which counted 8,000 
HIV-positive men in 1982 and 8,851 AIDS cases in 1992.  However, 
recent studies show the disease on the rise again, infecting 18 
percent of gay men under the age of 26 in San Francisco.  Dennis 
H. Osmond, an epidemiologist at the University of California at 
San Francisco, identifies young men as the primary group of 
victims, saying, "While older gay men have changed their 
behavior, a high proportion of young gay men are practicing 
unsafe sex."  Once again, the community is making an effort at 
AIDS education, but its endeavors are undermined by the relative 
youth of the people most at risk, who don't remember the horrors 
of the epidemic's beginnings and are often reluctant to admit to 
their homosexuality.
      
"Across the USA: Maryland"
USA Today (08/29/94) P. 6A
     The Maryland Health Department is conducting an audit of 
Baltimore's AIDS surveillance methods because the statewide tally
of AIDS cases appears to be higher than the reported 4,000 cases.
The failure of doctors and others to report new cases is being 
blamed for the low report, which could cause the state and city 
to lose federal money for treatment programs.
      
"Ashe Event: Many Stars, One Cause"
New York Times (08/29/94) P. C7
     Family, friends, and admirers of Arthur Ashe convened Sunday at 
the third annual Arthur Ashe AIDS Tennis Challenge at the 
National Tennis Center.  The Challenge is hosted by the United 
States Tennis Association and benefits the Arthur Ashe Foundation
for the Defeat of AIDS.  Established by Ashe in September 1992, 
the Foundation has raised more than $4 million for AIDS 
organizations around the world.  His widow, Jeanne 
Moutoussamy-Ashe, said, "He would have been honored that people 
were supporting the foundation and that players were still very 
active in the fight to defeat AIDS."
      
"FBI Probing Alleged AIDS Treatment Scam--Newspaper"
Reuters (08/29/94)
     According to an article in Saturday's edition of the Atlanta 
Journal-Constitution, the FBI confirmed its investigation of 
several area physicians affiliated with a home health-care 
company that has been accused of inflating the medical bills of  
critically ill people, including AIDS patients.  Michael Alan 
Booth filed suit last April against two physicians and 
Northbrook, Ill.-based Caremark International Inc., which 
allegedly inflated fees and services by 300 to 500 percent of 
fair market value, exhausting Booth's $1 million health insurance
policy.  According to the lawsuit, the physicians and a local 
pharmacy received kickbacks of up to 33 percent of their billings
to patients.  Caremark told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that
no illegal payments or inflated charges were made.
      
"Wellcome Group Opens China Offices"
Journal of Commerce (08/29/94) P. 8B
     Officials announced on Friday that Wellcome has opened 
representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, to 
pave the way for investments in China.  Wellcome will donate 1.5 
million yuan to a three-year AIDS education program in China.
      
"...As Japanese Taunt Comes Under Attack"
Nature (08/18/94) Vol. 370, No. 6490, P. 494
     Yuichi Shiokawa, head of the organizing committee of the 10th 
International Conference on AIDS, found himself in hot water 
after blaming the "Americanization" of Japanese sexual mores for 
the spread of AIDS in his country.  Shiokawa originally made the 
comment last month at a press conference, and was later asked to 
clarify the statement.  The "sexual behavior of the Japanese has 
become more open and free than the traditional one-to-one 
relationship," he responded.  The statement outraged participants
at the conference--because it linked the disease to sexual 
morality and because it is questionable whether Japanese sexual 
behavior has ever been traditionally one-to-one, but primarily 
because most AIDS cases in Japan stemmed from use of contaminated
blood products.  Shiokawa himself sat on a government AIDS 
committee in 1983 that stalled introduction of heat-treated blood
products.  The delay resulted in the infection of thousands of 
Japanese hemophiliacs, who today still account for the majority 
of the country's AIDS cases.
      
"Under Surveillance: The AIDS Awareness Day"
Advocate (09/06/94) No. 633, P. 18
     An AIDS Awareness Day sponsored by the San Francisco Giants on 
July 31 generated more than $50,000 for AIDS organizations.
      
"HIV Therapy: An Pharmacist's Guide to Understanding"
American Druggist (08/94) Vol. 210, No. 4, P. 53;  Tejani, Shamim
     As the rate of HIV infection continues to increase, it is 
becoming more important for pharmacists to contribute to public 
HIV/AIDS education.  Pharmacists should inform patients about HIV
transmission routes, safety precautions, disease progression, and
therapies.  One of the pharmacist's most important roles is to 
counsel HIV patients on proper use and monitoring of medications.
Presently, there are four FDA-approved antiretroviral agents: 
zidovudine from Burroughs Wellcome, didanosine and stavudine from
Bristol-Myers Squibb, and zalcitabine from Roche.  Zidovudine, or
AZT, appears to increase average survival after AIDS diagnosis 
from less than nine months to more than two years.  It is, 
however, associated with a number of side effects including 
anemia, nausea, vomiting, headache, and fatigue.  AZT may also 
increase the toxicity of drugs that are nephrotoxic, cytotoxic, 
myelosuppressive, or metabolized by glucuronidation.  Didanosine 
(ddl) is recommended for use in patients over 6 months old who 
have advanced HIV infection, cannot tolerate AZT, or have 
clinically deteriorated while on AZT.  This drug can cause 
peripheral neuropathy, potentially fatal acute pancreatitis, and 
hepatic failure, as well as GI disturbances, insomnia, rash, CNS 
depression, arthritis, dizziness, and seizures.  Zalcitabine, 
which is associated with peripheral neuropathy and pancreatitis, 
is indicated only in conjunction with AZT for patients who 
continue to decline while receiving AZT alone.  For patients who 
do not respond to, or are intolerant of other antiretrovirals, 
stavudine received FDA approval on July 4, 1994.  Finally, 
immunomodulators such as Wellcome's interferon alfa stimulate the
immune system's ability to fight HIV and, therefore, may help to 
stave off opportunistic infections.
      
"Firms Add Domestic Partner Benefits for Competitive Edge"
Corporate Cashflow (08/94) Vol. 15, No. 9, P. 6
     In quest of a better image and better talent, companies are 
increasingly seeking domestic partner benefits for their 
employees.  Blue Cross/Blue Shield MA-Inc. is currently the 
largest U.S. health insurer to provide domestic partner coverage 
to customers and employees.  Blue Cross's Susan Leahy explains 
that, "In a vastly competitive market for health services, 
companies are looking for ways to attract candidates and maintain
a workforce."  Many companies hesitate to insure same-sex couples
as Blue Cross does, worrying that it will increase AIDS claims.  
However, Andrew Sherman, vice president of the Segal Co. and one 
of the forces behind the Blue Cross and Lotus domestic partners 
coverage, says that gay couples may actually be less expensive to
cover because they are often younger and usually don't have 
children.  Sherman explains that domestic partners coverage is "a
recognition of human capital, wanting to have the best employees 
possible.  A lot of companies have already put non-discrimination
policies in place and see this as a continuation."
      
