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From: jrc@ritcv.UUCP (James R. Carbin)
Newsgroups: net.bio,net.med,net.motss
Subject: Re: AIDS Research - Antiviral Drugs (Query)?
Message-ID: <9201@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Dec-85 21:06:19 EST
Article-I.D.: ritcv.9201
Posted: Fri Dec 20 21:06:19 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 23-Dec-85 04:21:27 EST
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> In article <835@h-sc1.UUCP> shiue@h-sc1.UUCP (steve shiue) writes:
> >
> >	In addition, my roommate mentioned that mosquitoes might possibly
> >provide suitable vectors for the spread of the disease - I've heard that this
> >has been looked into in some towns in Florida with AIDS victims not in the
> >"high risk" groups.  Does anyone know anything about this?
> 
> 	Quote from Laurence,Jeffrey, 1985, The Immune system in AIDS,
> 		Scientific American,Dec.,vol.253,no.6,p.84-93.
> 
> 	"The groups at highest risk for infection have become 
> 	increasingly well defined; they include homosexual and
> 	bisexual men, abusers of injected drugs, the sexual
> 	partners of people in AIDS risk groups, and children born
> 	of mothers at risk. Recipients of blood transfusions and blood
> 	products have also contracted AIDS, but screening of
> 	donated blood for evidence of infection has drastically
> 	reduced their risk. The fact that the disease shows
> 	*NO SIGN* of spreading beyond those groups, except to
> 	predictable targets such as women who are artificially
> 	inseminated from infected donors, indicates that the
> 	virus is ONLY transmitted through the blood or through
> 	sexual intercourse. *ALL EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVIDENCE INDICATES
> 	THAT FOOD, WATER, INSECTS AND CASUAL CONTACT DO NO SPREAD
> 	AIDS."
> 
> 	This is a good article on how this virus affects the immune
> 	system in great detail. The one thing of note that has
> 	come out of the studies is that it "appears that the total
> 	collapse of the immune defenses in AIDS victims stems
> 	largely from a single defect : a reduction in the number
> 	and a change in the function of the T4 lymphocytes, one
> 	of the many distinct kinds of cells that make upthe immune
> 	system." Some how it seem incrediable how the bodies defenses
> 	can collapse from the failure of just one element.
> 
> 	P.M.Pincha-Wagener
> 
While this reply posting is quite informative, part of what is stated
can either be disputed or criticized as misleading.

From the document, "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 100 Questions
and Answers,"  published by the Department of Health, New York State,
Dr. David Axelrod, M.D. Commissioner, dated October 24,1985, the following
excerpts are extracted without permission.

"Who is at risk for AIDS?
During the five years in which AIDS has been recognized and studied,
approximately 95 percent of AIDS cases nationally have occurred among the
following groups of people:
73% - sexually active homosexuals and bisexual men *WITH MULTIPLE PARTNERS*
      (emphasis are mine - A nurse with the State Department of Health involved
       in the testing for the HTLV-III virus anti-bodies stated, 'We now feel
       that we have done a disservice to many homosexuals by automatically
       placing them in the high-risk category.  The high-risk category should
       have included some consideration of the sexual practices of the
       individual not just the fact that they are homosexual.')

From a separate document included with the first named publication,
(and again reproduced without permission),

                   GUIDELINES FOR PREVENTION OF HTLV-III
                            TRANSMISSION/TRANSFER

Reducing risk of transmission through altering certain sex practices.....

UNSAFE

     These activities involve tissue trauma and/or exchange of body fluids
which may transfer the HTLV-III virus or other microbes.  These practices
carry high risk:

     - Fellatio
          The swallowing of semen, which can contain the HTLV-III virus,
       is considered a high risk.
     - Vaginal intercourse  (as stated in the original posting)
     - Analingus (Oral contact with the rectum)
     - "Fisting"
     - Anal Intercourse (whether homosexual or heterosexual)
       (Included in the "100 Questions and Answers," 'Some cases of AIDS
       have been transmitted from an infected male to a female, and it is
       not known to what extent anal intercourse was involved.')

I would like to add that the State of New York has a multi-faceted program to
not only identify individuals who have been exposed to the virus (with
total and complete anonymity assured), but to reduce the incidence and
spread of the disease.  There is a State Health Department Hotline
(1-800-462-1884), which provides up-to-date information about AIDS.
Eight regional HTLV-III antibody test sites have been established by the
N.Y.S. Health Department to provide testing and counseling for persons
who wish to know if they have been exposed to the virus.  Testing is free
of charge at these sites, and strict confidentiality is maintained through
the use of a code system.  Persons seeking the the HTLV-III antibody test
need not give a name, address, or any other potentially identifying information.
N.Y.S. is spending $1.6 million annually to fund regional task forces and other
community service organizations that provide educational and outreach services
associated with AIDS.  In addition, N.Y.S. presently allocates annually more 
funding for AIDS research than for any other specific disease except cancer.

jr        {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!jrc