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AIDS is a virus that attacks, mutates and destroys the
defense system against disease, leaving a person unprotected
against infection. There is no known cure tor AIDS.
The AIDS virus has been detected in blood samples froqlfinca
taken in the 1950s. Scientists estimate that the virus tflpnated in
eastern Zaire near the northern tip of Lake TanganyflqRnhe actual
genesis of the virus is still unknown. One theory suggests that the
virus was transferred to humans from the upMl monkey. People in
Africa live in close contact with this monHKBpause it tends to
forage in garbage and tends to bite or scratff when people try to
chase it away. People in this region also frequently eat these
monkeys.
AIDS now is found in almost every country of the It appears
to have spread from Zaire to the rest of Africa in tMMfirly 1970s
and from Africa to Haiti by the end of the decade,from Haiti the
virus was spread to the United States and Europ^fc-,#
Miow Is AIDS spread?
Any transfer of bodily fluids can spread th< virus. HIV has
been found in blood, semen, breast milk a I secretions.
The virus can be transferred by vaginal or x, contaminated
needles (including tattooing) and breast f< . There have been
no documented cases of transmission thri casual contact such
as coughing, sneezing, shaking hands di _ _ from water
fountains, using public toilets, kissing, crying or eating food
prepared by someone with HIV or AIDS.
How does AIDS UU? I & .MBWi
AIDS kills a person by gradually that person's immune
system and leaving the body open to ons. Because the body
has no defense against the infections,^ become fatal.
Con AIDS be edited a piastre? 11| |
In most countries of the world, AIDS is entially, i.e.
during each unit of time the incidence o' s doubling, 1,
2, 4, 8.16, 32. In doing this, ftp inciden of the disease was so
minuscule when it first occu ithin a country that it often was
overlooked. The disease the ad rapidly and became a major
problem before govemi re prepared to deal with it.
Because of this, several nt researchers have termed AIDS
a modern plague.
When does a person HIV
AIDS is a progressive disease. A person with HIV can live fa£^^
10 years before developing AIDS, depending on diet, physicm-g
condition and mental attitude. The newest definition desqdfc^fDS
as when a person's T-4 cell count fallabeiow 200. A norn(Bjnt
is about 1,500. T-4 cells are the cells VR tioftt i and Ire
what the HIV virus attacks.
Casas reported to the Nebra
Total number of cases are 21
I
Graphics by
Scott Maurer
Agency working to redefine AIDS
From Staff Reports
By redefining AIDS, the federal
Centers for Disease Control could
speed up prevention, treatment
and medical benefits for people
with HIV/AIDS, a CDC spokesman said.
Chuck Fallis, spokesman for the CDC,
said an AIDS definition change, sched
uled to take place in April, would give the
CDC a better idea of the scope of the
epidemic.
The current definition of AIDS requires
the presence of an AIDS indicator condi
tion such as wasting syndrome or Ka
posi’s Sarcoma before a physician can
make an AIDS diagnosis.
“There are many people who are im
paired,” he said, “but don’t have immune
system problems.”
The new definition would allow physi
cians to base their diagnoses on an indi
viduals’ CD-4 lymphocyte, or T-4 cell,
counts. The T-4 cell is the cell that helps
the body fight infection.
AIDS would be diagnosed if an individ
ual’s count was 200 or less. A healthy
person’s count is between 1,000 and 1,500.
Preparation for the increased caseload
was causing some delay in making the
definition change, Fallis said.
Fallis said he could not estimate
how many more AIDS cases there
would be after the change. ~
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ADC - AIDS dementia complex.
AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and
impairment of the body's ability to fight disease.
ARC - AIDS-related complex, precursor symptoms to AIDS.
AZT - Now called Zidvudine or Retrovir, an antiviral
medication taken by some people with AIDS.
Blood count - A laboratory test to determine the number of
red cells, white cells and platelets in the blood.
CD-4 colls - Cells that acts as a dock for HIV.
CDC - United States Center for Disease Control, which
handles all infectious diseases.
Epidemic - A disease that affects many people in a
particular area at the same time.
GLSA - Gay and Lesbian Student Association, student
group on the UNL campus.
HIV- Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a name for the AIDS
virus, created as a compromise between the different names
for the virus. Several types of HIV have been discovered,
but the most common is HIV-1.
Kaposi’s Sarcoma - Rare cancer of the skin found in about
one-third of AIDS patients.
Names Quilt - A touring quilt made of panels created in
remembrance of people who have died from AIDS.
NAP- Nebraska AIDS Project, a non-profit AIDS education
and support services agency.
PFLAG - Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a
support group.
Opportunistic Infection - What AIDS patients are
susceptible to, infection by a micro-organism that
may be common in the enviroment but causes disease only
in a host with a poorly functioning immune system.
PWA - People with AIDS, a name cregfltt btcau&e of the
stigma associated with being called a
patient or AIDS victim, when diw was neither i,
SSD - Supplementary Seanty disability, a feder am
to provide payments to the disabled who
have been employed and rove paid into Social Security.
SSI - Supplementary Security Income, a federal program to
provide payments to the indigent.
T-helper cell - Same as CD-4 cells.
T-4 cells - Same as CD-4 cells.
T-cells - White blood cells, including both T-helper and
T-suppressor cells, an immfknt part of the immune
system
Virus - A microscopic nonceJMBfcgaanism that
a living host cell for survival
such as the common cold, mea
pox.
. i iini
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Omaha
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Nebraska AIDS Project
3624 Leavenworth St.
. (402) 342-4233
Charles Drew Health Center
2201 North 30th St.
(402) 453-1433
Douglas County Health Dept.
1201 South 42nd St.
(402) 444-6875
Equilibria Medical Center
544 South 24th St.
(402) 345-2252
Lincoln-Lancaster Co. Health Dept.
2200 St. Mary's Ave.
(402) 471 8065
Multicultural Awareness Center
1100 Military Rd.
(402) 474-5231
Nebraska Dept, of Health
200 South Silber St.
(308) 535-8133
TSgSg*
3423 2nd Ave.
(308) 234-8709
SmahaCofSSDep?
1824 N St.
(402) 274-4549
Scotts Bluff Co. Health Dept.
County Administration Bldg.
(308) 635-3866
Scotts Bluff County Jail
County Administration Bldg.
(308) 436-7300
Homestead Halfway House
(Women) 513 W. 24th
(308) 635-2731
(Men) 1624 Avenue A
(308) 632-7484
Eppley Treatment Center
Regional West Medical Center
4021 Avenue B-South Unit
(308) 635-3866
Grand Island/Hall Co. Healthfijfe^
105 East 1st St. agt
(308)381-5175 ^F ▼
St. Francis Alcoholism g '
Treatment Center Jfl
640 N. Darr Ave. # % IU
(308) 389-5427 w ^
v
Hall County Jail *
131 South Locust
(308) 381 -5200
STD Clinic - ^'
217 West 2nd St. For more information on
(308) 384-7625 MV or AIDS, please contact:
MV/AIDS Program
Nebrsata^De^rtment of Health
Linnnln Math fiAKMLiSM?
mm. oooue-5007
Page 9
New AIDS virus
spreading to U.S.
SEATTLE (AP) — Only a few U.S.
blood centers are testing for a rare
but spreading strain of the AIDS
virus despite fears that it could
slip into the nation’s blood supply.
More than 50,000 people in Europe,
Africa, India, the former Soviet Union,
and North and South America are in
fected with human immunodeficiency
virus Type 2, the second virus known to
cause AIDS, according to the World Health
Organization. HIV-2 has been identified
in at least 37 countries.
The mutation is widespread in Africa,
where it primarily is spread heterosexu
ally and has had an incubation period of
up to 19 years. At least 43 cases of HIV-2
have been identified in the United States
and Canada. Though rare, many experts
say there is reason to believe HIV-2 will
spread.
“HIV-2 could be a bigger heterosexual
transmission threat” than HIV-1, the first
AIDS virus discovered, said Michael
Wandell, an epidemiologist and director
of regulatorv and clinical affairs for Genetic
Systems. The Redmond-based company
is the only federally licensed maker of
HIV-2 tests.
While U.S. blood centers are required
to test donated blood for HIV-1, testing
for the rarer HIV-2 is not required. Ex
perts disagree whether HIV-1 tests al
ways will detect HIV-2.
The federal Food and Drug Commis
c:on is evaluating a September recom
mendation by its Blood Products Advi
sory Committee that mandatory univer
sal HIV-2 testing be adopted nationwide
by June 1.
iviany fiiv-1 tests now used are cross
reactive with HIV-2, and the committee’s
recommendation is being considered
“purely for precautionary reasons,” FDA
spokesman Brad Stone said. “There’s no
reason to believe . . . that HIV-2 repre
sents a significant risk to the blood sup
ply”
The American Red Cross, the federal
Centers for Disease Control and the FDA
in 1990 said HIV-2 was too rare to spend
time and money on testing. The CDC
estimated testing every blood donor for
HIV-2 would cost $60 million annually.
“In view of the extremely low preva
lence of HIV-2 infections in the U.S.
population, there appears to be no public
health need at this time to screen donors
ofblood or source plasma for antibodies to
HIV-2 with this test,” the FDA told blood
centers.
Fewer than 20 of the nation’s 2,400
blood banks and plasma centers—repre
senting 5 percent, by volume, of all the
blood collected — test for HIV-2, accord
ing to Donna DeLong, Genetic Systems’
marketing and business development
director.
“I think it is very possible that HIV-2
infected people are donating today in the
U.S. and that blood has the potential to
slip through and be transfused into an
unsuspecting person,” Wandell said.
A person with either strain of HIV may
not show detectable signs of infection for
up to six months. The CDC found that
half of the reported HIV-2 cases in the
United States in 1989 tested negative for
HIV-1.
A 1991 study by Richard T. Schuma
cher, of Boston Biomedica Inc., with
Portugal’s National Health Institute
revealed FDA-licensed HIV-1 tests de
tected HIV-2 in only 8 percent to 62
percent of specimens.
“We have an opportunity to prevent a
public health problem. It might be in the
blood supply. Why wait?” asked National
Hemophilia Foundation Executive Direc
tor Alan P. Brownstein.
“When HIV-1 came to the U.S., we
didn’t know what it was,” Brown
stein said. “Now we see HIV-2 com
ing our way.... Haven’t we learned?”
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