A.I.D.S. Now A World-wide Problem — Report (Press, 21 May 1985)
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Summary: A.I.D.S. Now A World-wide Problem — Report (Press, 21 May 1985)
On 21 May 1985, the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) reported that A.I.D.S. (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) has become a significant global health issue, with cases doubling annually in the United States and Europe. The organisation highlighted a concerning death rate among A.I.D.S. victims, which currently stands at 40 to 50 per cent. However, this figure is predicted to rise above 90 per cent after subjects are monitored for two to three years. Since the disease's identification in 1981, approximately 11,000 cases have been reported worldwide. According to W.H.O., careful surveillance in the United States and Europe indicated that the number of A.I.D.S. cases was doubling every six months up to 1983, and has since shifted to an annual doubling. The United States has reported over 9,000 cases, while Europe has approximately 800, with additional cases in Africa and reports emerging from Asia and the western Pacific, especially Australia. Dr. Everett Koop, the United States Surgeon-General, speaking at the W.H.O. assembly in Geneva, stated that the development of a vaccine for A.I.D.S. is still a long way off, with a cure being even further in the future. Studies have suggested that as many as 400,000 individuals in the United States and 80,000 in Europe may have been in contact with the A.I.D.S. virus. The W.H.O. noted that over 70 per cent of reported cases in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia were primarily among homosexual men or drug users who used unsterilised needles. Moreover, the disease has been transmitted through contaminated blood transfusions and sexual relations. In Africa, the transmission dynamics appear to be predominantly heterosexual, with nearly half of the cases involving women.
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