                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 26, 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


"AIDS Home Struggles on 2 Fronts"
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/26/94) P. B1;  Collins, Huntly
     Betak, Philadelphia's only nursing home exclusively for AIDS 
patients, is struggling with two crises as protesters fast to 
protest the facility's threatened closing and the search 
continues for increased funding to keep it open.  A dozen 
protesters, most of them HIV-positive and all of them members of 
the local activist group We the People Living With AIDS/HIV, have
embarked on the third day of their hunger strike.  Dr. Nicolas 
Ifft, a local AIDS physician, said that fasting could seriously 
weaken people in the advanced stages of the disease, but the 
protesters said it is a risk they are willing to take to keep 
their home open.  Meanwhile, City Health Commissioner Estelle 
Richman has promised that Betak will remain open for the next two
weeks.  The facility needs more state funding to remain open past
that time, according to Betak president Rev. Arnold Tiemeyer.  
The nursing home must find a way to plug a $768,000 hole in its 
$2.8 million annual budget.  City officials are negotiating with 
the state for more money.
      
"Gebbie's Reception Falls Flat After HIV Carriers Are Barred"
Washington Times (05/26/94) P. A6;  Price, Joyce
     A reception held by federal AIDS policy coordinator Kristine M. 
Gebbie to commemorate Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS Week and AIDS
Watch--two days of intense congressional lobbying by AIDS 
advocates--flopped when nine invited HIV-positive, homeless 
guests and 20 other invitees were denied entrance to the event.  
The resulting commotion and confusion spawned accusations of 
racism and discrimination against homeless people, and many 
guests who were admitted to the reception walked out in protest. 
They did so at the urging of a black client of Housing Works, a 
New York group that shelters homeless AIDS patients--including 
the nine who were admitted.  According to Justin Henderson, a 
nurse at Housing Works, and Keith Cylar, co-director of the 
agency, about a third of the people inside the reception area at 
the Old Executive Office Building walked out.  But John Gurrola, 
a spokesman for Gebbie, said that only about 10 percent of the 
guests walked out.  He also denied allegations of racism, and 
said that ultimately only three people--all whites--were barred 
from the event.  The incident mounted further criticism of 
Gebbie, who activists say has not done enough to fight AIDS.
      
"A Fierce Debate Over Testing of Two AIDS Vaccines"
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/26/94) P. A1;  Collins, Huntly
     The government faces a tough decision over whether to proceed 
with human testing to determine if two vaccines, now deemed safe,
effectively protect people from AIDS.  In three weeks, a federal 
advisory panel must decide whether to recommend moving ahead with
large-scale field trials--a decision that is complicated, with 
far-reaching implications.  The two vaccines are among several 
dozen in development.  They may not necessarily be the best, but 
it will be several years at least before something better comes 
along.  And if the government waits for better products, it may 
waste precious time.  On the other hand, if the government gives 
the thumbs-up for vaccine trials and they don't work, future 
trials of more promising vaccines will likely be undermined.  In 
addition, there are a number of ethical, social, and political 
issues concerning large-scale testing of any AIDS vaccines.  For 
example, volunteers enrolled in trials may face discrimination 
because they would be perceived as being at high risk for 
infection.  These sticky issues have convinced some that the 
tests should not be conducted, sparking an intense debate among 
scientists, activists, and public health figures.  In mid-June, 
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of 
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will be asked to advise the 
government about which path to take.  Fauci will then make the 
final decision.
      
"A Teenager With HIV and a Message"
Washington Post (05/26/94) P. D.C.1;  Young, Vincent
     Although 18-year-old Michael Hodges of Washington, D.C., is not 
yet showing AIDS symptoms, he knows this reprieve will not last 
forever--so he spends the time he does have warning other 
teenagers about the deadly disease.  Hodges, who is gay, was 
diagnosed with HIV at the age of 15.  The D.C. Commission of 
Public Health Agency for HIV/AIDS reported last September that 
one in every 45 District teens may be HIV-positive.  Still, 
according to Aiyshen Stanley, program assistant for the 
Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), adolescents are not 
absorbing the safe sex message.  WRAP recently invited Hodges to 
speak to several hundred high school students.  "Michael's story 
is shocking--and when the young people he talks to hear it, they 
can't ignore the message," says Stanley.  "They learn from him." 
Since 1992, Hodges and Gregory Hutchings, director of the 
Lifelink AIDS outreach center and a mentor, have scheduled a slew
of speaking engagements.  "I think Michael is in demand because 
there's a rapid rate of HIV/AIDS among teenagers," says Howard 
Whitfield, coordinator of the speaker's bureau of the National 
Association of People With AIDS.  "And it's hard to reach 
teenagers because they aren't open about their sexuality and HIV 
status."
      
"Russia Plans AIDS Tests for Foreigners--Activists"
Reuters (05/25/94)
     The Russian government plans to require foreign residents and 
visitors to undergo HIV testing and deport those who are 
infected, according to Aesop, an AIDS pressure group.  The group 
said the provisions were included in a new AIDS prevention law to
be debated by the lower house of parliament in June.  Aesop 
denounced the proposed legislation, which it said would also 
mandate compulsory testing of people thought to be at high risk 
for infection.  The law violates international human rights 
norms, said the group.  Government health officials were 
unavailable to comment on Aesop's statements.
      
"French Prisoner With AIDS Wins Pardon"
Reuters (05/25/94)
     A French prisoner serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery 
was granted a presidential pardon because he is dying of AIDS, 
announced Justice Minister Pierre Mehaignerie.  "When someone is 
sick, we try to make sure he can live with his family during his 
last few weeks," he said.  Following Mehaignerie's 
recommendations, President Francois Mitterand pardoned 
42-year-old Gerard Boucher after about 200 inmates in the city of
Nantes signed a petition on his behalf.  Bouchez, who is in the 
terminal stages of AIDS, contracted the disease before going to 
jail.  He served four years of his prison term before being 
released on Tuesday.
      
"Sex Happens in Refugee Camps, Too"
Washington Post (05/25/94) P. E19;  Mann, Judy
     As hundreds of thousands of Rwandans pour into Tanzanian relief 
camps, they emphasize the need for the international relief 
community to provide new services, such as family planning 
information and condom distribution, in addition to basic needs. 
This is especially crucial to Rwandan refugees who are gathered 
in an area that fosters the highest AIDS infection rate in 
Tanzania, says Naomi Bakunzi Katunzi, head of UMATI, the largest 
nongovernmental family planning agency in Tanzania.  The idea 
that people in refugee camps don't have sex, according to Jack 
Bode of the International Rescue Committee, simply is not true.  
"Even if you're not talking about pregnancy, you are talking 
about AIDS prevention," he says.  Although family planning 
services are now part of disaster relief policy, that policy 
needs to be made a reality.  For Rwandan refugees in the 
AIDS-ravaged areas of Tanzania, there is no time to waste.
      
"A Tough Judge in Ohio"
Advocate (05/17/94) No. 655, P. 22
     A common pleas judge in Ohio took no mercy in sentencing a 
Columbus man with advanced-stage AIDS who was convicted of 
assault for spitting blood in the face of a police officer.  The 
incident occurred in the emergency room of a hospital where 
37-year-old Jimmy Bird was taken in October after being found 
drunk and bleeding at a restaurant.  Although prosecutors said 
they would not object to probation for Bird, Judge Deborah 
O'Neill handed down an unusually harsh sentence of three to 15 
years in prison.  She noted that Bird was a repeat offender "with
indifference [about] exposing another human being to this 
disease."  The judge said she may grant Bird probation after he 
serves 60 days of his sentence.
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