Unexplained A.I.D.S. Cases Reclassified (Press, 16 December 1986)

On 16 December 1986, researchers from the United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) reported a significant increase in the classification of AIDS cases as heterosexually transmitted. Approximately 600 previously unexplained cases were reclassified, leading to heterosexual transmissions now accounting for 4 per cent of all AIDS cases in the country. In the past year, there was a 232 per cent rise in cases among U.S.-born heterosexual individuals, with numbers moving from 120 to 279. This increase occurred amidst an overall 58 per cent rise in total AIDS cases, which stood at 28,098, with 56 per cent of those affected having succumbed to the disease. The report highlighted that the majority of AIDS cases continued to arise among homosexual men and drug users. Specifically, 66 per cent of reported cases involved homosexual or bisexual males, 17 per cent were heterosexual men and women using injectable drugs, and another 8 per cent were homosexual drug users. The report also noted that 3 per cent of cases remained unexplained, while 2 per cent involved recipients of contaminated blood. Dr. Tim Dondero, a CDC AIDS specialist, indicated that with continuing trends, heterosexual cases could account for nearly 10 per cent of all AIDS cases by 1991. The CDC’s reclassification primarily involved 571 cases from patients born outside the U.S., especially from regions such as Haiti and Central Africa, where heterosexual contact is the main transmission route. Key factors for this reclassification included the presence of other sexually transmitted infections in some patients and reported contacts with sex workers by male patients. Moreover, the CDC acknowledged the importance of tests designed to identify signs of exposure to the AIDS virus, which may prompt a revision of how the disease is classified. They indicated that some patients, who were symptomatic but did not meet the criteria for a definitive AIDS diagnosis or whose physicians opted against costly diagnostic procedures, could potentially be added to the AIDS list in the future. Despite the rising numbers, the CDC reaffirmed that no evidence suggested AIDS could be transmitted through casual contact, insect bites, or via food and water. The U.S. Government projected that by 1991, there could be as many as 270,000 reported AIDS cases, with scientists estimating that between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of the 1.5 million already infected individuals would likely develop the disease.

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