                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 10, 1994


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD


"Jury Deadlocks in Delta HIV Discrimination Suit"
Reuters (05/10/94)
     Although a jury was unable to agree Monday on whether Delta 
Airlines discriminated against a former employee because of his 
HIV infection, it still awarded the plaintiff $275,000 for 
invasion of privacy and wrongful discharge on another issue.  
Joseph Sullivan, 39, said that in October 1991, the airline 
unfairly terminated his employment as a reservation sales agent 
at the San Francisco airport.  Sullivan had disclosed his 
infection to a supervisor one year earlier.  Delta said it 
dismissed Sullivan because he was undependable, was absent too 
frequently, and failed to attend two follow-up programs for 
alcohol rehabilitation in 1990 and 1991.  The jury deadlocked on 
whether Delta's actions amounted to employee discrimination, and 
Superior Court Judge Tom Stevens declared a mistrial on that 
cause of action.  The jury did agree that the airline invaded 
Sullivan's privacy when it listed his name on a roster of 
HIV-positive employees, which it argued was for medical purposes 
only.  For this, and for violation of a state law requiring 
employers to accommodate workers who attend substance 
rehabilitation programs, Sullivan was awarded $275,000 in general
damages.  The jury, however, rejected Sullivan's claim that his 
HIV infection subjected him to discrimination, harassment, or 
retaliation at work.
      
"Delco Official Assails AIDS Patients"
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/10/94) P. B5;  Frischling, Bill
     Saying that the "self-inflicted wounds [of AIDS patients] are 
starting to cost the society dearly," Delaware County Councilman 
Wallace H. Nunn effectively stalled the council in applying for 
more than $100,000 in state and federal funding for AIDS 
education and support.  Nunn objected to the money and said he 
would vote against it, even though no county money would be 
spent.  "My priorities are with children, the elderly and people 
who are otherwise true victims," Nunn said.  "I put at the bottom
of the list people who could have avoided it, [like] drug addicts
and AIDS patients."  He said he might be more receptive to AIDS 
funding if it were earmarked for those born with HIV infection or
who contracted the virus through blood transfusions.  The money 
consists of $20,278 from the state's Human Services Development 
Fund and $83,625 from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's 
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program.  It 
would provide additional rental and mortgage assistance, 
counseling, and early-intervention programs for people with AIDS.
Nunn, who said the money could be better spent in support of 
children or the elderly, was the only council member to vote 
against the AIDS funding.
      
"Addressing the Ethics of AIDS Vaccine Tests"
USA Today (05/10/94) P. 8D;  Manning, Anita
     AIDS researchers, community activists, and government 
representatives attending a two-day conference in Washington, 
D.C., are struggling to address the social, ethical, and 
political implications of testing a potential AIDS vaccine on 
thousands of healthy volunteers.  Although one or two candidate 
vaccines could be ready for large-scale testing in as early as 
one year, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of 
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), says steps for Phase III
testing cannot be taken until a large-scale trial has been 
designed that is safe, efficient, fair, and ethical.  Phase III 
trials would enroll "approximately 10,000 HIV-negative volunteers
from high-risk communities," according to Derek Hodel of AIDS 
Action Foundation, which is sponsoring the conference.  Some 
participants would receive the vaccine, while others would get 
only a placebo.  After two or three years, investigators would 
count the number of new HIV cases and determine the efficacy of 
the vaccine.  Hodel says this method would create problems in 
that volunteers would receive counseling on how to reduce the 
risk of HIV, which could make it more difficult to gauge the 
effectiveness of the vaccine.  Another concern is that volunteers
could mistakenly believe that their participation in the trial 
means that they are protected from HIV infection.  Finally, 
volunteers could test false-positive for the virus, making them 
subject to discrimination.
      
"Disease Strikes at the Heart of Business"
Financial Times: Kenya Survey (05/10/94) P. 8;  Jack, Andrew
     AIDS is quickly emerging as one of the most dangerous threats to 
economic growth and social stability in Kenya.  A recent report 
by the National AIDS Control Programme of Kenya estimates that 
one in every 18 adults over age 15 is HIV-positive and that more 
than 130,000 Kenyans have developed AIDS.  By 2005, the report 
projects, there could be as many as 1.9 million infected Kenyans,
and the cumulative number of AIDS deaths would increase from 
100,000 today to more than 2 million.  Just as alarming is the 
increasing number of children who are becoming infected through 
their mothers, during pregnancy or breast-feeding.  Those 
children lucky enough to escape infection will still be affected 
by the epidemic, for many will become "AIDS orphans" who are left
without parents by age 15.  Official estimates indicate that 
there will be nearly 1 million AIDS orphans by 2005.  This will 
strain extended families, boost demand for support services, and 
set off unstable social structures.  In a more general sense, 
companies may be threatened with survival and agricultural 
systems disrupted by AIDS, since the killer disease 
disproportionately affects the most economically productive 
segment of the population--adults aged 20 to 45.
      
"Swiss Ex-Official Charged Over AIDS Blood"
Reuters (05/09/94)
     A former official of the Swiss Red Cross has been charged for his
role in distributing HIV-contaminated blood in the mid-1980s.  
Geneva justice officials announced that 73-year-old Alfred 
Haessig, retired chief of the organization's central laboratory, 
is accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm for permitting use 
of blood thought to be tainted.  Haessig, who retired in 1986, 
has denied the charges.  The accusations emerged after the 
publication of a government report in February that charges the 
Swiss Red Cross with unethical and illegal behavior for failing 
to recall blood products suspected of being HIV-infected in 1986.
The report alleged that the laboratory continued to deliver blood
products to hospitals and clinics until late 1986 even though 
there was adequate evidence by August 1985 that some of the 
products were contaminated.
      
"Egypt Says 178 Die From AIDS"
Reuters (05/09/94)
     As of the end of April, 178 Egyptians have died from AIDS, 
according to Deputy Minister of Health Mohammed Aboul Nasr.  He 
said 167 Egyptians were infected, and that Egypt had deported 227
infected foreigners, although he did not confirm whether either 
group had HIV infection or full-blown AIDS.  The Egyptian 
government has mounted a health awareness campaign to educate its
largely illiterate population about the dangers of AIDS.
      
"Two-Year HIV-1-Associated Mortality in a Ugandan Rural 
Population"
Lancet (04/23/94) Vol. 343, No. 8904, P. 1021;  Mulder, Daan W.; 
Nunn, Andrew J.;  Kamali, Anatoli et al.
     Mulder et al. studied mortality in relation to HIV infection in 
15 rural South-West Ugandan villages.  HIV-1 serology results 
were attained for 9389 individuals, and deaths were ascertained 
over the next two years.  Mulder et al. calculated that mortality
among seronegative adults was 7.7 per 1000, but skyrocketed to 
115.9 per 1000 among seropositive adults.  Excess mortality 
rates, which are derived by subtracting the mortality rate of the
HIV-negative population from that of the total population, were 
also calculated.  The excess annual death rate associated with 
HIV infection was 5.3 per 1000 for all ages and, among adults, 
7.9 per 1000.  The highest excess mortality was 16.9 per 1000 in 
the 25-34 year-old category.  Among adults, 50 percent of all 
deaths and 80 percent of all deaths among individuals aged 13 to 
44 were attributable to HIV infection.  Mulder et al. conclude 
that the study demonstrates the strong influence of HIV infection
on mortality rates in a rural area of Uganda, where the overall 
HIV prevalence rate is below 10 percent--a rate lower than those 
found in many other parts of East Africa.
      
"Positive Images Focuses on HIV/AIDS Positive Outlook"
REHAB Management (04/94-05/94) Vol. 7, No. 3, P. 18
     Positive Images and Wellness, Inc., of Silver Spring, Md., has 
scheduled its first international conference on HIV/AIDS 
rehabilitation and education for Sept. 22-25 in the Washington, 
D.C., area.  "A Celebration of Survivorship" will focus on 
treating HIV/AIDS as a chronic illness, and working toward 
healthy life management.  Therapeutic touch training, pain 
management, exercise research, and neuromuscular and cognitive 
problems are among the topics to be discussed at the conference. 
Other issues include clinical programs, educating teenagers, 
innovations in rehabilitation, and coping with everyday tasks and
problems.  Health professionals, as well as the general public, 
are invited to attend the conference, which is co-sponsored by 
the National Center for Wellness and Health Promotion.
      
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