VOLUME EIGHT, NO. 1--Jamuary 5, 1995--January 18, 1995--Issue 170 FREE Give the People Light and they will find their own way. V The Wisconsin Light Government PrideFest to Remain at Veterans' Approves Test for Park HIV Using Saliva for 1995 June Celebration Instead of Blood Washington, D.C.-AP- The first AIDS vi- Negotiations With Summerfest Continue for 1996 rus test that uses saliva instead of blood has (Milwaukee, WI)-- PrideFest announces that calendar includes events on all but one week- In been approved by the Food and Drug Admini- November, the Summerfest Board ap- it will remain at its Veterans Park site in 1995. end of June. proved a stration (FDA). plan to upgrade the grounds. In The organization is planning to negotiate a The Summerfest grounds will host four December a Board The test, called Orasure, is made by the Task Force decided that move to the Summerfest grounds in 1996. events in June 1995. PrideFest asked to use the amount of time biotechnology company Epitope Inc., in Bea- needed to complete the PrideFest had been negotiating to move the the grounds on June 10th and 11th. In Octo- upgrade meant that no verton, Oregon, and will cost about $2 to $4, a events could be sched- celebration to the Summerfest grounds begin- ber, PrideFest negotiators were told that uled on the fraction of the price of blood tests. grounds for the weekend of the ning in June, 1995. However, the Summerfest weekend was open. 10th and 11th. Although the test isn't as accurate as blood tests, Epitope expressed the hope following the Summerfest Staff and December 23 FDA approval that the test will Board members said they help more people learn whether they have needed to keep that weekend HIV. open to insure completion of "Whether they test positive or negative, they the improvements before the can take appropriate steps to protect them- start of Summerfest . selves and others and if they test positive, ob- Summerfest officials also tain early treatment for the disease," said Ad- expressed concern about olph Ferro, Epitope president and chief execu- their ability of to handle a tive officer. fifth event in June. The FDA said the new test will be available The Summerfest Board only from physicians and will be administered Task Force offered PrideFest only by people trained in its use. Epitope the opportunity to share the eventually hopes to offer it for sale directly to grounds with the Miller Ride consumers. for the Arts on June, 4th Dr. Jeff Lawrence, a consultant to the and 5th. American Foundation for AIDS Research, said Ride for the Arts Sponsor, the test could encourage people who would UPAF expressed a willing- avoid blood tests to be tested. ness to work with PrideFest. "As long as a positive test is followed by a But it also had concerns blood test and as long as there is appropriate about the safety of its bike counseling available, it is a reasonable thing to riders. To protect the riders, do," Lawrence said. every street leading to Sum- The FDA approval actually involves two merfest will be blocked systems: a way to collect and preserve the oral from early in the morning fluid, and a way to test the specimen in a labo- until 2:00 PM. ratory for the HIV virus. The street closings would The kit used to test the specimen in the lab is make it impossible for ven- made by Organon Teknika Corp., of Durham, dors, exhibitors, volunteers North Carolina, and is sold under the brand and entertainers to get on name "Oral Fluid Vironostika HIV-1 Mi- the grounds for PrideFest set croe I isa System." up. This would have delayed The test measures the presence in the saliva Civil War Era—(Clockwise) Trini Alvarado, Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, Kristen Durst and Winona the festival opening until of antibodies to the HIV virus. The virus itself Ryder star in the Louisa May Alcott classic "Little Women" which is now playing in selected theaters in- 3:00 or later on Sunday. has not been found in the saliva. cluding Milwaukee's Oriental. The only other options open to PrideFest To collect fluid for a test, a specially treated were to schedule the festival in August or cotton pad on a stick is placed between the Administration to Seek Boost in Funding September or to remain at its current site. lower gum and the cheek and allowed to ab- for There were serious concerns about what ef- sorb fluid. The stick is then placed into a plas- fect moving the event out of the traditional tic container with a preservative solution. AIDS Programs in 1995 month for Pride celebrations would have on At a lab, the specimen undergoes an revenue and attendance. (Washington, D.C.)- The Clinton Admini- pulled off the chopping block. It will still have "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay," or PrideFest Co-Chair, Bill Meunier says that stration, despite tight budget constraints, will to fight for survival in the Republican- ELISA, a test that is able to detect antibodies he knows many Gays and Lesbians will be as seek $91 million more in 1995 to care controlled Congress, to which the budget will to HIV. for disappointed as the PrideFest Board is. people living with AIDS, the White House an- be submitted in February. Positive tests are confirmed with a blood test "What it came down to," Meunier said, nounced on December 20. Sources in Washington told Wisconsin called the Western Blot, which is more sensi- "was deciding whether or not we wanted to Clinton, who has already boosted spending Light that the fact that the housing funds had tive than the ELISA. been take a gamble on what would happen if we cut on AIDS programs by 82%, will seek an in- put back in, was due "in no small part" The FDA said the test has a 2% error rate. to the "intense lobbying efforts" of the AIDS out our most profitable time, Sunday after- crease to $724 million, Administration offi- noon, or moved For instance, for every 100 people infected Action Council and "especially the member the entire celebration to a late cials said. That is $51 million more than his Summer or early with HIV, the saliva test will miss one or two. from the Midwest" who has been "working Fall weekend. We already health department requested. have a For every 100 people who are not infected, without stint." wonderful site that we know works well The Administration also has decided not to for us. A test results will be incorrectly positive for ap- Doug Nelson, Executive Director of the Summerfest site grounds would of- cut a special housing program for those suffer- fer many advantages. proximately two people, the agency said. AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is the We remain committed ing with the disease. to moving the festival there. However, we "That is much, much poorer than with a Clinton promised during his 1992 campaign only member on the AIDS Action Council standard blood test," Lawrence said. from the Midwest. will not gamble our ability to be financially vi- to fully fund the Ryan White Care Act, which able to get there. Under guidelines for approval, the saliva test The AIDS Action Council says that one-third We will have to wait until provides direct medical and social services to 1996." is strictly forbidden for home use and cannot to one-half of all people with AIDS "are either people living with HIV and AIDS. PrideFest moved be used to screen blood donors. homeless or in imminent danger of losing their to Veterans Park in 1994. Sources who asked not to be identified, said Its former site at homes," and the National Commission on Juneau Park had become too the $185 million housing program had been crowded. The AIDS once estimated that 15% of homeless new site was well received by people were HIV positive. those in attendance. "No matter Researchers Begin Studies of Antibiotic that The government spends almost $3 billion a where our site is, our commu- nity can look year on AIDS research, prevention and treat- forward to a fantastic festival," Could Extend Life for People with AIDS ment programs. TURN TO PRIDEFEST, Page 2 (Baltimore)- Researchers at Johns Hopkins said. About 50% of AIDS patients can't toler- University are beginning two studies on hu- ate the drug. AIDS Cases Break mans to test an antibiotic that some doctors The first study will concentrate on those consider one of the best for extending the life people. They will be given two other drugs, Million Mark of people living with AIDS. Dapsone and Atovaquone, and will be exam- Bactrim is used to treat a form of pneumonia ined at Hopkins every four months for as long Geneva, Switzerland-AP- The official number of AIDS cases worldwide has topped the that preys on people with severely damaged as four years, Feinberg said. million mark for the first time, though the true figure is more than four times as high, the immune systems and was at one time the first In the second study, AIDS patients who have World Health Organization (WHO) said, January 2, 1995. sign of the onset of AIDS in a majority of never taken Bactrim will be given gradually By December 31, governments had notified the U.N. health agency's Geneva headquarters of cases. increasing doses of the drug over three months 1,025,073 cases of the disease since the start of records in 1980, WHO said.