                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      December 3, 1993 


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS
Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public
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Copyright 1993, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD

 
"US Companies to Assist Thai AIDS Awareness" 
Journal of Commerce (12/03/93) P. 4A  (Corben, Ron) 
     U.S. companies, among Thailand's largest investors, are poised to 
help combat the AIDS epidemic in that country.  The disease is  
claiming increasing numbers within the middle class, including  
secretaries, marketing executives, assembly-line workers, and  
university graduates.  According to James Reinnoldt, managing  
director of Northwest Airlines in Thailand and co-founder of an  
anti-AIDS coalition, the spread of AIDS will have "dire  
consequences" for the local economy and for the companies  
conducting business there.  "AIDS is likely to have an even  
broader impact on the Thai economy, particularly on tourism,  
foreign direct investment, and labor remittances from abroad,"  
reported a study by Bangkok's Population and Community  
Development Association.  "A shortage of labor, both in quantity  
and quality, may occur with an increase in AIDS [and] high rates  
of absenteeism will certainly be disruptive to companies," it  
concluded.  With the support of the American-based National  
Leadership Coalition on AIDS, U.S. firms have united with Thai  
business houses and banks through the recently formed Thailand  
Business Coalition on AIDS in promoting AIDS awareness and  
education programs. 
       
"Africans Ignoring AIDS Message" 
Toronto Globe and Mail (Canada) (12/02/93) P. A11 
     In Africa, which claims more than half of the world's carriers of 
the AIDS virus, a general attitude of disbelief is causing  
Africans to ignore the AIDS message.  The African Development  
Bank, based in Abidjan, estimates that more than 7.5 million  
Africans have the AIDS virus, and that 1.2 million of them  
already have died.  By the turn of the century, the bank predicts 
that 14 million sub-Saharan Africans will be infected.  Despite  
these gloomy forecasts, the World Health Organization admits that 
lethargy about AIDS has stricken many countries.  Noting that the 
national AIDS commission no longer distributes posters, an  
Abidjan pharmacist agrees that the message is not getting  
through.  "The AIDS message seems to have lost steam," concedes  
Yeboua Konan.  Further evidence can be observed in television.   
Condom ads, educational pitches, and a commercial featuring an  
AIDS song by a popular performer all ceased one month ago.  Calls 
to the national AIDS hot line go unanswered as well, because  
government workers have not been paid since September. 
       
"CDC Recommends Female Condom in Fighting AIDS" 
Reuters (12/02/93) 
     Atlanta--The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  
has recommended use of Reality's female condom as a method of  
preventing sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.   
"Laboratory studies indicate that the female condom Reality--a  
lubricated polyurethane sheath with a ring on each end that is  
inserted into the vagina--is an effective mechanical barrier to  
viruses, including HIV," said the federal health agency.  The CDC 
warned, however, that there  is little proof of the device's  
effectiveness outside of the laboratory.  The female condom is  
manufactured by Wisconsin Pharmacal Co. Inc.  Also as part of a  
new series of treatment and prevention guidelines, the CDC  
implored physicians to explain male condom use to sexually active 
patients.  The agency began recommending male condoms as  
protection against AIDS in 1988, but at that time did not have  
statistical evidence that they could actually prevent HIV  
infection.  Several recent condom studies, however, show that  
"when used consistently and correctly, condoms are very effective 
in preventing a variety of sexually transmitted diseases,  
including HIV infection," said the CDC. 
       
"Israel TV Moans About Condom Ad" 
Knight-Ridder (12/02/93) 
     A condom spot was broadcast Wednesday on Israel's new commercial  
television station, but only after some forced adjustments  
intended to soften the ad's sexual suggestiveness, said an  
official.  Before it was changed, the 10-second commercial  
featured a jeans-clad banana sliding in and out of its peel to  
the sounds of an unseen, moaning woman.  According to Moti  
Weinberg, whose company produced the spot, the ad demonstrated  
that the German-produced R3 condom makes sex "safer and better."  
The revised adaptation of the commercial omitted the moans and  
rendered the banana immobile.  Weinberg contends that the edits  
make the ad less effective, and said his company will no longer  
produce TV spots as part of the R3 condom campaign.  The company  
will, however, continue nationwide billboard displays of the  
banana in its jeans. 
       
"Peace May Bring Israel More Tourists, More AIDS" 
Reuters (12/01/93)  (Sappir, Susan) 
     Kiryat Gat, Israel--Although Israel currently has a relatively  
low incidence of AIDS, experts say Middle East peace could create 
a surge in tourism and, with it, a greater risk of exposure to  
the virus.  Inon Schenker, head of the Jerusalem AIDS Project and 
author of a unique AIDS education curriculum, says that, among a  
population of close to five million, there have been 264 cases of 
AIDS--from which 188 people have died--as well as an estimated  
5,000 people thought to be HIV-infected.  But, he says, Israel is 
in a dangerous location--right between Asia, Europe, and Africa.  
"Just think what a flood of tourism we can expect when peace  
comes," Schenker speculates.  "We know the effect travel has on  
the spread of HIV and thus should expect a wider flow of the  
virus into Israel."  The curriculum, called "The Immune System  
and AIDS," is being taught in a dozen countries and emphasizes  
intensive training of educators, incorporating games, work  
sheets, and cartoons. 
       
"Foundation Proposed for German HIV Scandal Victims" 
Reuters (12/02/93)  (Christie, Michael) 
     Bonn, Germany--German deputies proposed Thursday that a  
foundation be established to compensate AIDS patients who  
contracted the virus through contaminated blood.  Under the  
proposal, both infected patients and their partners, if they  
contracted the virus through them, would be eligible for $200,000 
lump sum payments.  The proposal was made by a parliamentary  
commission of inquiry into the country's blood supply scandal.   
Gerhard Scheu, chairman of the inquiry, said that pharmaceutical  
companies, insurers and re-insurers, blood collection agencies,  
and Germany's 16 states have four weeks to decide whether to  
contribute to the foundation.  "If the parties decline to pay up, 
then the inquiry will be obliged to extend its brief and probe  
more deeply into the real responsibility of the plasma  
producers," said Scheu.  The pharmaceutical industry and its  
immediate insurers have indicated their willingness to  
contribute, but the re-insurers have refused.  The German Red  
Cross, the nation's largest blood collector, has also declined to 
participate in any program that covers only those infected  
through tainted blood, insisting that such a plan discriminates  
against those who contracted the virus through sex or drug use. 
       
"Secretary Files Suit Charging AIDS Discrimination" 
United Press International (12/02/93) 
     Columbus, Ohio--A 28-year-old Lancaster woman has filed a  
$400,000 suit against a law firm she says fired her because she  
is infected with the AIDS virus.  Dawn Springer, a legal  
secretary, says that one month after being hired by the Columbus  
firm of Howard, Harris and Mains, she informed members of her  
HIV-positive status.  Donald Mains Sr. "requested that, if the  
plaintiff experienced the symptoms of the disease to the extent  
that she was unable to perform her job, that she give at least 30 
days notice prior to resigning," asserts the lawsuit.  Springer  
claims she was fired the day after being hospitalized with  
flu-like symptoms and possible complications linked to her HIV  
infection.  Springer's attorneys say her condition makes her  
legally disabled and, under Ohio law, it is unlawful to  
discriminate against anyone because of a handicap. 
       
"Vatican Angry at Comments Over Pope's Virus" 
Reuters (12/02/93) 
     Vatican City--The Vatican criticized  Italian television  
personality Mino Damato, who suggested that Pope John Paul may  
have contracted AIDS from blood transfusions after he was shot in 
1981.  On "The Maurizio Costanzo Show" Wednesday, Mino remarked  
that the Pope had developed a virus "often associated with HIV  
and AIDS sufferers," although he stressed that he was not saying  
the Pope did have HIV.  Following an assassination attempt twelve 
years ago, the Vatican reported that Pope John Paul had  
contracted cytomegalovirus (CMV), an infection that affects as  
much as 80 percent of the population, said chief Vatican  
spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls.  "It appears to me that to  
present these facts now as news--while talking about another  
sickness that is clinically ... different--is superficial and  
forced," said Navarro-Valls.  "It is deplorable to  
formulate--with regard to someone who has the right to be  
respected--diagnostic hypotheses based on presumptions,  
especially by someone who does not have the scientific  
credentials to do so." 
       
"AIDS Victims Call on Bonn to Help All Sufferers" 
Reuters (12/01/93) 
     Bonn, Germany--AIDS activists in Germany, which has been shaken  
by a national blood supply scandal, warned the government not to  
discriminate against the majority of the AIDS-infected  
population.  Rainer Jarchow, head of the German AIDS Foundation,  
launched a cry for help for all AIDS patients by criticizing  
government plans to aid 1,800 hemophiliacs infected with the AIDS 
virus through contaminated blood products.  Jarchow denounced the 
plans because they ignore the plight of thousands of other  
sufferers who contracted the virus through other means of  
transmission.  He elaborated that more than 90 percent of  
Germany's HIV patients got the virus through sex or by sharing  
needles when injecting drugs.  "As much as we welcome the  
government's efforts to help the victims of tainted blood and  
corporate skullduggery, we must point out that there is a grave  
danger involved," explained Jarchow.  "There is the danger that a 
small group will be given special treatment because they are seen 
to be 'innocent' and good, while the larger group is dismissed as 
'guilty.'  He urged all AIDS patients to unite. 
       
"BRF--AIDS Refusal" 
Associated Press (12/01/93) 
     Los Angeles--An AIDS-infected man who was refused medical  
treatment has accepted an $85,000 settlement from his lawsuit  
against a physician.  Thirty-two-year-old Salvador Fuentes,  
suffering from a severe cut on his left hand, called the Ventura  
Urgent Care Center before going there to tell staffers that he  
was HIV-positive and to be certain that he would receive  
treatment.  When he arrived at the center, the physician in  
charge, Dr. Thelma Reich, refused to see Fuentes and sent him to  
the county hospital emergency room.  The resulting lawsuit  
accused Reich of violating state and federal laws mandating fair  
treatment of disabled persons.  The physician, who now operates a 
private practice, denied any wrongdoing.  "Dr. Reich simply made  
a clinical judgment that he was medically stable and referred him 
to an emergency room that was equipped to treat him," said  
Reich's attorney, Richard Castle.  Reich opted to settle for  
"economic reasons" on Thursday, just as the trial was to begin. 
       
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