                     AIDS Daily Summary
                       June 10, 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

"AZT Not Linked to Higher Rate of Birth Defects"
Philadelphia Inquirer (06/10/94) P. D9
     Infants whose mothers took the anti-AIDS drug AZT while pregnant 
do not appear to suffer from birth defects as a result, according
to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Of
the babies born to mothers who took the drug during pregnancy, 
only about 2 percent had birth defects.  That rate was not 
significantly more than the general population, in which 3 
percent of all babies are born deformed.  Furthermore, there was 
no pattern among the babies born with defects to suggest that the
deformity was caused by AZT.
      
"Scientists Joust Over AIDS Research"
Baltimore Sun (06/10/94) P. 17A
     Two renowned scientific journals, Science and the Journal of the 
American Medical Association, have clashed over the validity of 
findings in a published report about an AIDS-related skin cancer.
The dispute revolves around an experimental compound regarded by 
leading AIDS researcher Dr. Robert Gallo as promising for the 
treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma.  Public debate exploded on 
Wednesday when JAMA printed a report by Dr. Marlys H. Witte et 
al. of the University of Arizona in Tucson, who attempted, but 
failed, to duplicate Gallo's experiments with mice and confirm 
some of the key findings.  The researchers say Gallo's work is 
flawed by systematic errors and omissions, and that their 
challenge of the findings' validity was foiled by another 
journal, Science.  Witte et al. had originally submitted their 
own report to Science, which had published Gallo's study, but the
journal called the Witte team's experiments "an extraordinary 
waste of time and effort" and rejected the paper.  When a second 
report including the comments of another researcher, Dr. H.J. 
Carroll, was again rejected by Science, the Tucson researchers 
decided to air the dispute through JAMA.  Related Story: Chicago 
Tribune (06/09) P. 1
      
"Aids on the Increase"
Financial Times (06/10/94) P. 29;  Crawford, Leslie
     The number of Ugandan AIDS cases continues to increase despite 
intense education and prevention efforts.  Recent medical studies
indicate that public health campaigns are not successful.  
Besides the usual task of convincing people to modify sexual 
behavior, Uganda must confront the additional issues of 
widespread polygamy and low societal status of women--both of 
which prevent women from exerting control over their own and 
their partners' sexual health.  While the government's AIDS 
program concedes it can do little for adults who are already 
infected, it is placing special emphasis on the education of 
children aged 5 to 15 in hopes of preventing them from ever 
getting infected.  Young girls between the ages of 15 and 19, 
however, are six times more likely to carry the disease than boys
of the same age group.  This is largely attributed to the fact 
that men increasingly prefer young sexual partners, whom they 
assume are free from infection.
      
"'Patience': An AIDS Musical, Lewd & Crude"
Washington Post (06/10/94) P. D6;  Kempley, Rita
     The mission of "Zero Patience," an AIDS musical written and 
directed by John Greyson, is to debunk scientific theories about 
the disease.  The title stems from Patient Zero, the promiscuous 
French Canadian flight attendant who supposedly introduced AIDS 
to North America.  Another theory ridiculed in the work is the 
notion that the virus originated in Africa with the green monkey.
Instead, "Zero Patience" blames the epidemic on homophobic 
governments, greedy pharmaceutical firms, and the public's 
Victorian prejudices.
      
"Russian AIDS Law Needs Looking At"
United Press International (06/09/94);  Barclay, William
     Russia's first proposed law designed to confront the threat of 
AIDS must be widely discussed before it can be enforced, admitted
a Russian parliamentary representative.  The draft law would 
allow police and physicians to require blood tests from 
foreigners and members of high-risk groups, and to do so without 
the guarantee of anonymity of those found to be infected with 
HIV.  AIDS activists were outraged and the foreign community 
concerned by the proposed legislation, which they called a 
violation of civil rights.  The groups claimed it would likely 
force AIDS patients underground, and leave foreigners at the 
mercy of Russian hospitals and their contaminated needles.
      
"State Police Warn of AIDS Infected Men"
United Press International (06/09/94)
     Michigan state police warned enforcement agencies to be on the 
lookout for two men who told border officials in Sault Ste. 
Marie, Ontario, that they wanted to infect other people with HIV.
The two California residents were arrested by the Canadian border
officials for possession of LSD as they attempted to cross the 
border into the United States.  While in custody, the men said 
that they were gay and--according to a log book they 
carried--they were traveling cross-country with the express 
purpose of infecting people with the disease.  In accordance with
standard procedure, the Canadian Customs agents confiscated the 
drugs, released the men into the United States, and notified 
Michigan state police.
      
"Paul Simon to Perform AIDS Benefit in Dallas"
Reuters (06/09/94);  Zakaria, Tabassum
     Singer Paul Simon announced that, out of respect and admiration 
for Mathilde Krim--chairwoman of the American Foundation for AIDS
Research--he will perform an AIDS benefit concert tonight.  More 
than $900,000 has been raised from the sold-out event, with 
proceeds benefiting AmFAR and local AIDS organizations.
      
"AAAS Criticized Over AIDS Sceptics' Meeting...As UK Prepares for
Mullis Encounter"
Nature (05/26/94) Vol. 369, No. 6478, P. 265;  Macilwain, Colin
     American AIDS researchers and public health officials have 
sharply criticized the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science for sponsoring a meeting at which speakers will debate
the link between HIV and AIDS.  The meeting, called, "The role of
HIV in AIDS: Why There is Still A Controversy" is to be held June
21 in San Francisco.  The featured speakers include polymerase 
chain reaction (PCR) inventor Kary Mullis, and Peter Duesberg of 
the University of California at Berkeley, and critics have 
complained that nearly all of the remaining speakers are known to
share Duesberg's skepticism about the role of HIV in AIDS.  AAAS 
Pacific Division executive director Alan Levitone says efforts 
are now being made to balance the panel.  Still, David Baltimore 
of Rockefeller University says he cannot comprehend why the AAAS 
would sponsor a meeting that fails to represent scientific 
opinion.  "This is a group of people who have denied the 
scientific facts," he says.  "There is no question at all that 
HIV is the cause of AIDS.  Anyone who gets up publicly and says 
the opposite is encouraging people to risk their lives."  The 
June meeting parallels an earlier one, this to be held by 
Britain's Sunday Times.  At that public meeting, Mullis is 
expected to argue that there is insufficient evidence that HIV 
causes AIDS.
      
"Pain Management"
Advocate (05/31/94) No. 656, P. 41;  Ricks, Ingrid
     In response to the AIDS crisis, dozens of service organizations 
have sprung up over the past 10 years to combat the problem.  
Many, however, are now plagued by severe financial mix-ups and 
mismanagement that could eventually lead to their downfall.  The 
reason these agencies are troubled, according to Michael Seltzer,
executive director of the New York-based Funders Concerned About 
AIDS, is understandable.  These organizations grew out of the 
grassroots efforts of motivated, caring members of the gay 
community who rallied to the cause because no one else would at 
that time.  The problems began to emerge as the organizations 
began to receive significant funding, because the people who got 
the groups going did not have the necessary financial and 
management skills to run the organization smoothly.  Seltzer says
AIDS groups must go beyond the networks of people they know 
personally, and seek out help in the homosexual community--not 
only for financial aid, but for the individual skills needed to 
run a nonprofit agency.  Continued public support, he concludes, 
may be one of the best techniques for rescuing these AIDS 
organizations from themselves.
      
"Home Testing for HIV"
Lancet (05/21/94) Vol. 343, No. 8908, P. 1293;  Mertens, Thierry 
E.;  Smith, George Davey;  Van Praag, Eric et al.
     Some researchers disagree with Frerich's proposal for home HIV 
testing kits.  Mertens et al. say Frerich embraces an old 
fallacy--that HIV testing alone may slow the spread of AIDS.  For
this to be true, they say, it must be established that HIV 
testing and any accompanying counseling lead to a reduction in 
HIV transmission.  A comprehensive review of the evidence in 1991
suggested that this was probably not the case.  Mertens et al. 
are also wary of Frerich's recommendation that tests be sent 
anonymously to labs.  Given the state of the post offices in many
developing countries, which would be targeted for home testing, 
the wait for test results would be long.  Also, in a world where 
women are often culturally and economically subordinate to men, 
Frerich's scenario of a woman quietly testing her partner is 
unreal, say Mertens et al.  The greatest evidence, they say, is 
that most people are not willing to undergo testing.  They 
conclude that the main challenge for prevention is to act before 
the HIV test becomes positive and not after.  Campbell et al. 
agree that there is little evidence to support the idea that HIV 
testing alone prevents infection.  They also add that unregulated
home testing is likely to be misapplied, and point out the 
costliness of such a venture.
      
