New Clue To A.I.D.S. Cause (Press, 5 July 1984)

On 5 July 1984, researchers from the Federal Centres for Disease Control in the United States reported significant findings regarding the virus suspected of causing A.I.D.S. (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). They isolated the virus from a patient diagnosed with A.I.D.S. and a woman who contracted the disease after receiving a blood transfusion from him. This discovery, reported in the journal “Science,” implies that this virus may be the causative agent of A.I.D.S. The focus of the research centred on two possible retroviruses identified as leading candidates for the cause of this deadly disease, which severely weakens the immune system. Scientists believe that the Human T-cell Leukaemia-Lymphoma Virus 3 (HTLV-3), isolated at the National Cancer Institute, is likely identical to the Lymphadenopathy Associated Virus (LAV) discovered by French researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. The specific case involved a 38-year-old woman who had surgery for uterine bleeding and received transfusions from two donors. Two weeks post-surgery, she displayed symptoms resembling mononucleosis, which subsequently subsided. However, two months later, one of her blood donors, a 24-year-old homosexual man, was admitted to the hospital showing early signs of A.I.D.S. and pneumonia. The second blood donor was a healthy individual with no identified risk factors for A.I.D.S. Seven months after her surgery, tests revealed that the woman had a decreased count of helper T-cells, an essential component of the immune system. Thirteen months later, she was hospitalised with a rare form of pneumonia typically associated with A.I.D.S. The virus samples were taken a year into the donor’s A.I.D.S. symptoms and one month after the onset of symptoms in the woman. Since 1981, more than 4,900 A.I.D.S. cases have been reported in the U.S., with a troubling 45 per cent of those affected having died. While around 100 cases have been linked to blood transfusions, health officials indicated that the likelihood of such transmission remains rare. The predominant demographic affected by A.I.D.S. has been promiscuous male homosexuals, along with other high-risk groups such as intravenous drug users, Haitian immigrants, and haemophiliacs treated with blood products. Experts suspect that A.I.D.S. is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, including blood and semen. Dr. Paul Feorino, a researcher at the CDC, indicated that the isolated virus from the American blood donors and another unrelated A.I.D.S. patient was virtually identical to LAV samples obtained from France. Concurrently, French researchers announced advancements in cultivating LAV in large quantities for further research and testing. American scientists had also developed a new cell system aimed at growing their version of the virus. This research is critical in understanding and tackling the A.I.D.S. epidemic.

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