From: Billi Goldberg <bigoldberg@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Cuba Article in SF Sentinel
Note: Copyright 1992, Dan R. Greening. Non-commercial reproduction allowed.
Archive-Number: 6674
Organization: unspecified
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 20:41:16 PST

The following article was printed in the San Francisco Sentinel on 
Thursday, December 24, 1992. It is being posted with the permission of 
the author, Charles R. Caulfield.
************************************************************************

               AIDS in Cuba - A First Hand Account
                    by Charles R. Caulfield

  After a monumental effort to circumvent the U.S. Immigration laws 
barring HIV positives from entering the United States, two Cuban PWAs 
were able to enter the U.S. to share their experience of being HIV 
positive in the Republic of Cuba.

  The two individuals, Juan Carlos de la Concepcion, a physician, and 
Raul Llanos, an economist spoke to a packed audience at New College, 777 
Valencia on Saturday, December 19. Concepcion and Llanos granted an in-
depth interview to the Sentinel prior to their formal presentation.

  Throughout the course of the interview, it was difficult to determine 
if the two men were representatives of the government of Cuba, as they 
spoke of the Cuban model of AIDS health care as a superior example of 
service delivery. This is despite the fact that all HIV positive Cubans 
are required to retire from public life and be domiciled in AIDS 
Sanitoriums. When asked whether or not this was tantamount to a 
quarantine, they stated that it was not, but was in the best interest of 
the internees, so that their health care could be better managed. Both 
men reside in an AIDS Sanitorium, which they described as self-
sufficient health care communities, which house the 863 known 
seropositives in Cuba.

  According to de la Concepcion, HIV antibody testing is routinely 
administered in certain circumstances, such as hospital admissions, and 
applications for marriage licenses. Should an individual test positive, 
they are immediately interred at a sanitorium.

  When asked if this consequence would be a deterrent against voluntary 
testing, they stated that it is not, since most HIV antibody tests are 
administered in the types of situations described above. There is little 
voluntary testing for antibodies to HIV in Cuba.

  The two gentlemen stated that the Cuban government places a high 
priority upon educating the populace on risk reduction, and that the 
Cuban people are generally well informed regarding how the disease is 
transmitted.

  They were asked if their was a treatment underground similar to that 
in the United States, in which alternative and experimental treatments 
are sought through the efforts of the PWAs themselves. In response to 
this, they stated that none as such existed among PWAs themselves, the 
Cuban government is exploring the use of Chinese herbs and other 
adjunctive treatments from outside the mainstream. During their visit in 
San Francisco, they were scheduled to visit Quan Yin Healing Arts Center 
on Valencia to discuss the use of Chinese herbal medicine as an AIDS 
treatment. Cuba has no indigenous herbal folk medicine of its own.

  Despite the fact that these two individuals were very well informed, 
it seemed unclear to this reporter exactly what their message to the 
American people was. It seemed that their purpose was to extol the 
virtues of the Cuban medical system, and to dispel negative perceptions 
of the status of PWAs in Cuba.

  Both men are actively involved in what is known as the Cuban AIDS 
Prevention Group, in which they participate in community based risk 
reduction education. Lobbying for exemption from the ban against 
immigration for seropositives was spearheaded by the Institute for 
Global Communications. The tour is being facilitated by Karen Wald, 
their regional coordinator for Cuba.

  One interesting treatment point made was that the Cuban health 
response is have some noteworthy successes in treatment using low dose 
AZT in combination with low dose alpha interferon. AZT was approved from 
use in Cuba prior to FDA approval in the United States.  The visitors 
were very interested in exploring what treatment options exist for 
people in the U.S., although they admitted that the U.S. trade embargo 
against Cuba would make it difficult for them to obtain pharmaceutical 
from companies which operate only in the U.S. Currently, AZT is obtained 
in Cuba by the British branch of Burroughs-Wellcome.

  Although the two Cuban visitors appeared to believe that they had a 
clear message to communicate to their American counterparts, it was 
difficult to determine just what this message was, even after 
interviewing them for over an hour, leaving this interviewer with the 
question of whether or not this was a propaganda tour, meant to assure 
their audience that all is well for people living with HIV in Cuba. 
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids