All Americans May Need A.I.D.S. Shots—doctor (Press, 17 April 1985)

Dr. James Curran, the director of the United States Government's A.I.D.S. surveillance programme, indicated at an international conference on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (A.I.D.S.) held in Atlanta on 16 April 1985 that a future vaccine for the disease would likely necessitate vaccination for all Americans. Despite efforts to combat the disease, which has affected over 9,000 individuals in the U.S. since 1978, researchers have not yet developed a vaccine. Dr. Curran highlighted the limitations of current prevention methods, which primarily involve public counselling and education. He projected that another 9,000 individuals would contract A.I.D.S. in the next year, particularly among homosexual men, and suggested that preventing its spread within this group was becoming increasingly difficult. He noted a significant reduction in sexual partners among homosexuals, a change labelled as possibly the most important sexual revolution since the 1960s. However, he cautioned that this behaviour change had minimally impacted individual risk levels, as a greater proportion of their fewer partners had likely been exposed to the A.I.D.S. virus. The conference also addressed the anticipated rise of A.I.D.S. cases among heterosexuals. Dr. Curran mentioned that while the spread of the disease would not occur as rapidly in heterosexual communities as it has in homosexual communities, an increase among heterosexuals was "inevitable." Conflicting reports emerged regarding non-sexual virus transmission, particularly informed by studies from Zaire in Central Africa, which indicated that individuals living with A.I.D.S. victims had a higher chance of infection, regardless of sexual interactions. However, researchers from the United States have not found similar evidence to support non-sexual transmission, asserting that household contacts, except potentially spousal relationships, did not lead to significant A.I.D.S. transmission. Jonathan Mann, a Centre for Disease Control assistant for international affairs, noted the discrepancy between the findings in Zaire and those in the U.S., stressing that the Zaire research shouldn’t trigger alarm, as it may not reflect the patterns of disease transmission in developed countries. He pointed out that intimate long-term contact with A.I.D.S. cases had not resulted in widespread infection in households, suggesting that the virus is not highly contagious. Dr. C. A. Harris from New York presented findings highlighting an increased incidence of A.I.D.S. among heterosexuals, revealing that 72 per cent of the sexual partners studied from A.I.D.S. victims showed traces of the virus. Dr. Curran underscored the importance of understanding the dynamics of transmission, specifically whether a singular sexual encounter could transmit A.I.D.S., indicating that this area warrants further investigation.

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