Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!usc!ucla-cs!fran@wubios.wustl.edu
From: fran@wubios.wustl.edu (Fran Porter)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: AIDS in Rumania
Message-ID: <31684@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 7 Feb 90 12:57:41 GMT
Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU
Reply-To: fran@wubios.wustl.edu (Fran Porter)
Organization: Washington University (St. Louis)
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Approved: aids@cs.ucla.edu
Archive-number: 1677

I recently saw a piece on ABC news which stated that from
one-third to one-half of all sick hospitalized infants in Bucharest
have AIDS. One hospital alone currently has 53 infected infants.
The films of these infants were particularly graphic and gripping.
Unfortunately, I did not see the entire report, but I believe it was
said that this epidemic occurred because the 'leaders' believed that
AIDS was an exclusively 'Western' disease.

Two questions:
Have eastern bloc countries now 'awakened' to the reality of AIDS and
is this, at least in part, a product of recent opening of east/west
communication?

I assume the infants were infected in utero. What is the primary source
of maternal infection?