                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       May 30, 1996
     
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 National AIDS 
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this 
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC 
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this 
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
     
     
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"Drug Companies Take Step Toward Settling Hemophiliacs' AIDS 
Lawsuits"
"Poz Magazine Sponsors Trade Fair Aimed at Consumers With HIV" 
"A Racial Dispute Over 'AIDS Ride' Funds Is Resolved" 
"Elizabeth Dole: Her Power as Leader of Red Cross"
"A Patchwork of Compassion"
"Warning on Condoms"
"Revisiting the Issue of Crime, Dole Offers List of Remedies" 
"NIH Institute Limits Scope of 'AIDS Research'"
"Swallowing Shigella: Can Bacteria That Cause Food Poisoning 
Deliver Oral DNA Vaccines?"
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"Drug Companies Take Step Toward Settling Hemophiliacs' AIDS 
Lawsuits"
New York Times (05/30/96) P. D21;  Johnston, David Cay
     Four drug companies on Wednesday revised their settlement
offer to the estimated 6,000 Americans who were infected with HIV 
through contaminated blood products.  The plaintiffs rejected the 
companies' previous offer because it restricted the number of 
people who could pursue separate lawsuits to 100.  Now, the 
companies say they will not limit the number of plaintiffs who 
reject their settlement, a move that a lawyer for the plaintiffs 
said was big step toward an agreement.  A lawyer for the four 
companies--Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Baxter International, Bayer A.G., 
and Alpha Therapeutic--said they would pay each plaintiff 
$100,000 and that legal and administrative costs would total 
about $40 million.
     
"Poz Magazine Sponsors Trade Fair Aimed at Consumers With HIV" 
Wall Street Journal (05/30/96) P. B10;  Kirkpatrick, David D.
     The first-ever trade fair targeting HIV-positive consumers
is planned for this weekend at New York's Javits Convention 
Center.  The fair, sponsored by Poz magazine, a bi-monthly 
publication for people with HIV or AIDS, will include exhibits by 
more than 100 companies, including HIV-drug manufacturers Merck, 
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Hoffmann-La Roche, and 
Glaxo Wellcome.  Marketing to the HIV-positive population has 
grown in recent years, and Sean Strub, the fair's organizer, says 
the event indicates the power of the HIV market.  James Learned, 
of New York's People With AIDS Health Group, claims he is 
offended by the event, saying it is exploitive rather than 
supportive.
     
"A Racial Dispute Over 'AIDS Ride' Funds Is Resolved" 
Philadelphia Inquirer (05/30/96) P. B3;  Collins, Huntly
     An agreement between Philadelphia AIDS groups has been
reached, settling a racial dispute that threatened to disrupt a 
Philadelphia-to-Washington, D.C. AIDS fundraiser.  The agreement 
gives 25 percent of the total bike riding-event proceeds, which 
could reach $5 million, to the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs 
Coalition.  The coalition will distribute this portion to AIDS 
organizations that serve minorities.  James Roberts, of the 
Minority AIDS Project, said he is pleased with the agreement, 
which he claims puts minority groups "on a level playing field 
with other AIDS organizations."
     
"Elizabeth Dole: Her Power as Leader of Red Cross" 
New York Times (05/30/96) P. A1;  Frantz, Douglas
     Elizabeth Dole, wife of Republican presidential candidate
Robert Dole, has gained influence in federal politics in her role 
as president of the American Red Cross.  If Bob Dole is elected, 
however, his wife's position would raise potential conflicts of 
interest because the Red Cross is closely regulated by the 
federal government.  The Red Cross has been under careful 
scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration since 1993 as a 
result of safety violations and shipments of blood infected with 
the hepatitis B virus and HIV.  Just before Elizabeth Dole took 
her leave of absence to campaign for her husband, she was 
involved in a controversy concerning an AIDS education program, 
which some Red Cross officials said she had toned down to please 
conservative groups important to her husband's campaign.
     
"A Patchwork of Compassion"
Baltimore Sun (05/30/96) P. 1E;  Smith, Linell
     A quilt panel made for the late Howard "Buddy" Gaguski, a nurse
and counselor for AIDS patients who died of AIDS last year, will 
become part of the national AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, 
D.C. this weekend.  Gaguski worked at Chase-Brexton Health 
Services in Baltimore and was an organist at Emmanuel Episcopal 
Church.  He suggested the quilt panel be added to the national 
quilt when he died.  The entire AIDS quilt, consisting of some 
45,000 panels, will be displayed in Washington on Oct. 11.
     
"Warning on Condoms"
New York Times (05/30/96) P. A28
     Certain brands of condoms from Malaysia, all made by Dongkuk
Techno Rubber Industries, should not be used because they might 
not adequately protect against disease and pregnancy, the Food 
and Drug Administration said Wednesday.  The condoms, which are 
sold under the brand names Pamitex, Magic, Black Jack, Maxi, and 
Ginza, were shipped to New York, California, Florida, Michigan, 
Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.
     
"Revisiting the Issue of Crime, Dole Offers List of Remedies" 
New York Times (05/29/96) P. A1;  Seelye, Katharine Q.
     During a speech outside of Denver, Colo., on Tuesday, 
presidential Republican hopeful Bob Dole outlined several 
proposals that he believes will bring crime rates back under 
control.  Some of the highlights included ending parole for all 
violent offenders, building more prisons, administering periodic 
drug tests for prisoners, and having all persons charged with 
sexual assault tested for HIV.  Dole also stressed the importance 
of toughening child pornography laws, suggesting that minimum 
sentences be imposed: 10 years for a first offense, 15 years for 
the second offense, and life for a third.
     
"NIH Institute Limits Scope of 'AIDS Research'"
Nature (05/16/96) Vol. 381, No. 6579, P. 179;  Wadman, Meredith
     In an attempt to refocus its AIDS research program, the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) has increased the proportion of 
AIDS funding directed to extramural scientists and has limited 
its definition of AIDS-related research.  This year's funding for 
external researchers increased from $37 million to $104 million, 
while funding for intramural research was cut from $102 million 
to $66 million.  The changes are in response to a report issued a 
year ago, calling for a more focused AIDS research agenda.  Under 
the new system, the only projects to be completely funded by NCI 
AIDS funds must involve HIV or HIV-infected patients.  Research 
otherwise related to AIDS, such as studies on Kaposi's sarcoma, 
will receive smaller proportions of the AIDS-allocated funds and 
be judged on an individual basis.  Other changes include a new 
AIDS Malignancies Working Group and a Center for AIDS Research.  
The changes are expected to make the institute less vulnerable to 
congressional Republicans who oppose setting aside money 
specifically for AIDS.
     
"Swallowing Shigella: Can Bacteria That Cause Food Poisoning 
Deliver Oral DNA Vaccines?"
Science News (05/11/96) Vol. 149, No. 19, P. 302;  Travis, John
     Several groups of researchers are seeking to develop oral
DNA vaccines against a variety of diseases, including 
tuberculosis, cancer, and AIDS.  Scientists earlier demonstrated 
that injecting genes that encode antigens into the body can 
stimulate an immune response which may be more protective than 
the response obtained by injecting the antigen directly. Vaccines 
based on this approach, known as naked DNA vaccines, are being 
tested in clinical trials against AIDS and cancer.  One team, led 
by Jerald C. Sadoff, a bacteriologist at Merck Research 
Laboratories, is now working with the idea of using a bacterium 
known as Shigella flexneri to infect cells in the body as a way 
of delivering DNA.  "The bacteria don't mind delivering the DNA, 
and you get around the problem of forcing an artificial system," 
notes Sadoff.  To render the bacteria harmless, however, Sadoff 
and other teams working with S. flexneri have deleted specific 
genes necessary for replication.
     
     
