                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      October 11, 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

"Children's Hospital to Join Study of Teens with HIV"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/11/94) P. B2
     The federal government has granted Children's Hospital of 
Philadelphia $500,000 to study teenagers with HIV, and teenagers 
in danger of becoming infected with the virus.  Children's 
Hospital, the first in the country to receive a federal grant 
that targets teens with HIV, is one of a dozen locations across 
the country that will be funded under the federal program.
      
"Annual Walk to Raise Funds to Fight AIDS This Sunday"
Philadelphia Inquirer (10/11/94) P. B2
     A 12-kilometer AIDS fund-raising walk will be held in 
Philadelphia on Sunday, Oct. 16.  Organizers of the eighth annual
"From All Walks of Life" event hope to raise $850,000 for 43 
regional AIDS organizations.  More than 14,000 walkers 
participated last year, raising $625,000.
      
"Elton John AIDS Charity Boosted by Disney Film"
Reuters (10/07/94)
     A total of $238,000 was raised at the London premiere of the Walt
Disney movie "The Lion King" for the AIDS Foundation created by 
singer Elton John.
      
"Mitterand Hat Tops Crawford Bikini at AIDS Sale"
Reuters (10/06/94);  Yanowitch, Lee
     More than $190,000 was raised last Wednesday at a Paris auction 
of celebrity paraphernalia to benefit the fight against AIDS.  
The black felt hat of French President Francois Mitterrand--which
raised $6,600--and model Cindy Crawford's autographed 
bikini--which sold for $1,320--were among the items auctioned.  
Attendance is high at AIDS benefits in France, which has the most
AIDS cases of any European country, for members of the arts and 
entertainment world, where many lives have been claimed by the 
disease.
      
"Red Cross Faces Another Suit Over HIV Transfusions"
Washington Business Journal (09/30/94-10/06/94) Vol. 13, No. 20, 
P. 17;  Lombardo, John
     The American Red Cross is being sued for $10 million by a general
practitioner who received a blood transfusion with HIV-tainted 
blood.  Robert Baxter, who now has full-blown AIDS, had a 
successful kidney operation at the University of Virginia Medical
Center in 1984.  He was unaware of any problems until he received
a letter in 1992 from the Washington, D.C.-based Red Cross 
informing him that the blood he had received was HIV-infected.  
Baxter now alleges that the Red Cross' negligence led to his 
infection with HIV.  In defense, the Red Cross claims there was a
lack of available HIV tests in 1984--Red Cross attorneys say that
the current AIDS antibody test, currently used on all donors, was
not developed until after 1984.  Although the Red Cross would not
specify the exact number, a Washington, D.C., attorney said that 
there are 12 similar cases currently pending in the District.
      
"Injection Drug Users' Needle-Cleaning Practices"
American Journal of Public Health (09/94) Vol. 84, No. 9, P. 
1523;  Siegal, Harvey A.;  Carlson, Robert G.;  Falck, Russel et 
al
     The effectiveness of bleach in inactivating HIV in drug users' 
injection equipment is in question.  In a letter to the editor 
published in the American Journal of Public Health, Harvey Siegal
et al respond to the report by Shapshak and his colleagues that a
minimum of 30 seconds in bleach is needed for sufficient cleaning
of the equipment.  Through their own observations of 77 
intravenous drug users, Siegal et al noted a great disparity in 
the amount of bleaching time--from 1 to 75 seconds--as well as in
the methods of cleaning of the equipment.  Despite the fact that 
the study was conducted in project offices, the results provide 
some evidence of how drug users really use bleach when cleaning. 
It is important to clearly state disinfection techniques in 
prevention messages that target drug users, because a few 
seconds' difference can make all the difference between becoming 
infected with HIV or remaining uninfected.
      
"Behavior Change"
Focus (09/94) Vol. 8, No. 9, P. 7
     During an 18-month period of intense media coverage of AIDS, 
lesbian bar patrons increased their AIDS knowledge and reduced 
their high-risk behaviors.  Questionnaires distributed in 1986 
and 1987-1988 showed that casual sex decreased between the first 
survey and the second one.  While 33 percent of lesbians from the
first survey said that AIDS had not changed their thinking or 
behavior, only 3 percent in the second survey said they were 
unaffected.  Other behaviors, such as monogamy and knowing a 
person's sexual history before having sex, did not change between
the surveys.
      
"Asian Briefs: WHO Warns Conference of AIDS Threat"
Nikkei Weekly (09/26/94) Vol. 32, No. 1639, P. 32
     The World Health Organization said that Cambodia is set to become
the next location of an HIV-epidemic, even though no AIDS cases 
have been reported there yet.  Officials made the prediction at 
the 45th session of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Committee in
Malaysia.  A WHO director said that Cambodia could become a new 
danger zone because of its proximity to Thailand and its growing 
sex industry.
      
"Medical Briefs: Stavudine Approved"
Advocate (09/20/94) No. 664, P. 26;  Cohan, Gary R.
     The Food and Drug Administration has approved stavudine, or d4T, 
which is available by prescription.  Before approval, stavudine 
and AZT were compared in HIV-infected adults that had CD4 cell 
counts between 50 and 500 and who had no less than 24 weeks of 
prior AZT therapy.  The drug's primary side effect of peripheral 
neuropathy appears to be dose-related and may be reversed by 
withdrawal from treatment.
      
"AIDS: Case: Jeanne v. The Hawkes Hospital of Mt. Carmel"
National Law Journal (09/26/94) Vol. 17, No. 4, P. C3
     In 1985, Holly Lalonde was infected with HIV while undergoing a 
blood transfusion.  Prior to surgery, Lalonde had donated her own
blood, out of fear for AIDS, to be used if needed.  A second unit
of blood, however, was required and 15 months after the surgery, 
she tested HIV-positive.  Lalonde, under the alias Judy Jeanne, 
sued Ohio's Mt. Carmel Hospital for negligence and unauthorized 
transfusion.  She was awarded $12 million which, on appeal, was 
reduced to $8.5 million.  Mt. Carmel appealed because the award 
exceeded the state's limit on medical malpractice non-economic 
damages and settled in 1991 for an undisclosed amount.
      
