IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

The Ministry of Public Health appears to be very con-
cerned about AIDS but does very little to combat it both
with regard to control and providing information. [pas-
sage omitted]

Yes, I say that we need a new law to control prostitution
more closely. We can not allow this kind of freedom.

The feminists who oppose a law on prostitution should
review their role and not support allowing women to
continue to sell themselves freely like this.

EAST ASIA 15

Prostitutes who roam about or do not have a set location
should not be allowed. Prostitutes must have a definite
location and must have close supervision of their health
by the Ministry of Public Health.

There must be control of male prostitution, which is a
profession of young males now. Homosexual acts are a
source of the virus, which can then be spread to other
homosexuals.

This is as dangerous as [female] prostitution. [passage
omitted]



32 WEST EUROPE

“Obstetricians pay a lot of attention to women who have
moved here from Africa, for example. Expectant
mothers are offered an HIV test in all circumstances,”
said Brith Christenson, chief of infectious diseases at the
Karolinska Hospital.

224,000 so-called HIV antibody tests have been per-
formed at the county’s obstetrics centers in the past four
years. 21 persons were found to be infected. Ten of the
women were immigrants from Africa, three were intra-
venous drug users, and seven had been infected through
heterosexual partners. One person had contracted HIV
through a blood transfusion.

These results make it necessary to examine mass testing,
Christenson believes.

“When resources are tight, we cannot just let such
activity continue. I wonder whether it’s necessary to test
all expectant mothers.”

Brith Christenson suggests general testing should be
halted within two years.

“It’s easy to start mass testing but even harder to call a
halt to it. The issue is a sensitive one but must be
discussed.”

Performing one HIV test costs the Stockholm county
council approximately 100 kronor. The test is offered to
all pregnant women and 99 percent of them take it.

Up through and including last year, 77,500 expectant
mothers had had the test at the county’s obstetrics
center.

“We could have discovered the few cases of HIV infec-
tion even without the general testing,” Brith Christenson
said. Last year, for example, five cases of HIV infection
were detected among pregnant women in Sweden—all
were immigrants from high-risk countries and for that
reason the test would have been offered to them.

But mass testing can be valuable too, Christenson
pointed out. It gives a good picture of which individuals
in a society get infected, and it acts as an alarm clock if
any new group gets affected by the infection.

The county council’s health and health care committee is
of the same opinion. In a report last spring, the com-
mittee wrote that general testing within the obstetric care
network should be maintained. In the long run, however,
testing should be directed at those groups with high risk
behavior, the health and health care committee stated.

Of the 77,500 women who have had the test in Stock-
holm county, nine were infected. Six of these were
already known to the obstetric care system as being HIV
infected.

SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Scholar Argues Free Syringes Reduce HIV Rate

90WE0282A Stockholm SVENSKA DAGBLADET
in Swedish 23 Jul 90 p 3

[Guest commentary by Kerstin Tunving, a lecturer in
social psychiatry at the University of Lund: “While
There Is Still Time, Clean Syringes Can Save Lives”;
first paragraph is SVENSKA DAGBLADET introduc-
tion]

[Text] [Excerpts] It is cynical not to want to use every
means at our disposal to fight AIDS, Kerstin Tunving
believes.

In SVENSKA DAGBLADET’s 13 July issue, Anna
Lindh attempts to portray me as a liberal on drugs. So
she links me with the well known drug liberal Christian
Gergils and states that both of us want to have “free”
syringes. Furthermore she states that both of us defend
countries which have a more liberal narcotics policy than
Sweden.

Gergils will answer for himself, but as for me, I will say
only: “pure damned fiction.”

I have never “defended” the narcotics policies of other
countries; on the contrary, I pointed out to Anna Lindh
(in SVENSKA DAGBLADET) that her examples from
other countries were not particularly well chosen. I wish
neither to liberalize drug policies nor to have “free
syringes.” What I do want is for the approximately
15,000 intravenous drug users we have in this country to
be given the opportunity to avoid the HIV infection via
special medical efforts of the dispensary model so that
they learn that they cannot use other people's hypoder-
mics which could infect them. Thus it is merely a
question of doing things under medical supervision, e.g.
supplying clean syringes to known intravenous drug
users. At issue is a complement to the health care given
to drug users. How often does this have to be pointed
out?

At drug treatment facilities in Lund we have always
taken a firm stand against drugs and in favor of therapy
and have obstinately refused to sail on different waves of
public opinion, be they called restrictive or liberal.
[passage omitted]

Swedish Conditions

Yes indeed, there are [other conclusions to be drawn
from the fact that Sweden currently has fewer drug and
HIV/AIDS problems than the rest of the world], but at
the same time she [Anna Lindh] refuses to draw any
conclusions on the basis of local Swedish conditions. In
the Lund public health system, which has one of the
country’s highest percentages of drug users, we have not
had a single HIV-infected intravenous drug user since
the syringe exchange program began in 1986. During the
same time period only eight drug users in all of Skane
were infected. However, in the Stockholm area, where it
is forbidden to distribute clean syringes, the epidemic is
spreading at the rate of one infected drug user a week.


SPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

according to the latest issue of the CHEZIYA GOKWE
POST, which was monitored by the ZIANA National
News Agency.

District Medical Officer Johnson Dongijena told the
monthly newspaper that the number of AIDS cases in the
district was likely to double by the end of this year.

“By the end of this year, we may have something like 200
cases, unless we do something about AIDS as a district,
and do not leave everything to the Ministry of Health,”
said Dr. Dongijena.

He said AIDS cases in Gokwe were low in the past, but
could rocket “if residents do not change their highly
promiscuous behaviour”.

“The situation is really getting out of hand and we call
upon everyone to help us in creating an awareness of
AIDS.”

Many people did not believe the killer disease existed as
they did not know who had died of AIDS.

An AIDS action committee has been formed in Gokwe
to organise AIDS-awareness campaigns.

“The district AIDS committee will be spearheading the
AIDS-awareness and control programmes for the district
and it will be supported by Ministry of Health AIDS
experts,” said Dr. Dongijena.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 9

Welfare Worker Warns AIDS Will Kill Youths by

MB0808 133490 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1157 GMT 8 Aug 90

[Text] Harare—If Zimbabwean AIDS figures and pro-
jections proved correct, the country’s young population
would have died from the disease by the year 2000 and
old people would have to control the economy, a Roman
Catholic cleric said in Harare on Tuesday.

Fr. Ted Rogers, the executive chairman of Helpage
Zimbabwe—a welfare organization for the aged—said
government was not doing any proper planning for this
eventuality, ZIANA National News Agency reported.

“By the turn of the century Zimbabwe will have a
problem of old people. Most young people are going to
die from AIDS and the old will have to look after the
economy,” he predicted.

Health Minister Timothy Stamps confirmed Fr. Rogers’
fears, saying government was concerned at this alarming
eventuality and was compiling its own figures and map-
ping out a strategy based on these projections.

Random testing of patients had revealed an infection
rate of 51 percent in high risk groups, especially among
those who came for treatement to cure sexually trans-
mitted diseases.

“One has to plan for the worst, but hopes for the best,”
Mr. Stamps said. .

Fr. Rogers agreed the problem was terrifying, but
declined to confirm Mr. Stamp’s message that “those
who cannot curb their sexual appetite must use con-
doms”.



SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

and claim that the official figures have been manipu-
lated.” Manuel Schettman points out that the 16 percent
official figure resulted from “several scientific investiga-
tions of the prison system”; but he admits that the
numbers have increased. According to his findings, a
year ago the AIDS incidence in the system was 12.5
percent, but has now jumped to 16 percent. He claims
that there are in the police station lockups and public
jails administered by the Public Security Secretariat over
20,000 inmates, 4,000 of whom have AIDS. “Those
police station lockups send an average of 100 prisoners
per week to the prison system administered by the
Justice Secretariat, and 20 of them arrive with AIDS.”
Schettman also maintains that he has been concerned
about the rise in AIDS among women who, he claims, go
from police station lockups to the house of detention
with an infection rate of one out of every four detainees.

Darcy da Silva says that examinations should be made
by physicians in the house of detention on wives of
inmates who visit them on Sundays. “A doctor’s written
statement is required of them, saying that they are not
infected. But this kind of document can also be forged,
and we don’t know whether or not the visitors have
AIDS.” The charges are increasing. Officials from the
state’s house of detention and penitentiary have
observed that there are AIDS victims working in the
kitchens: something that is officially denied. The direc-
torate of the two prisons claims that the infected inmates
are sent to the Sao Paulo Prison Hospital, also in the
northern zone, the construction work on which has not
been completed.

COLOMBIA

Incidence of AIDS Cases Overviewed

Effective Program Lacking

90WE0263A Bogota EL TIEMPO in Spanish
8 Jul 90 pp 9-10

[Excerpt] Talk of AIDS has a little of everything, but
what it has the most of is ignorance and fear, some
justified, the rest not.

AIDS, a disease the World Health Organization classifies
as the worst epidemic of the 20th century, is capable of
killing more people than epidemics in medieval times, a
threat which terrifies the world but which in Colombia is
ghostlike,

This is so, perhaps, because that is how the disease is
depicted in official statistics. According to the Ministry
of Health, between 1983 and June 1990, 711 cases were
registered and of these 357 died. On that same date (June
1990), 781 carriers of the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) were registered, most of them males.

But doctors say these figures are laughable. According to
their estimates, between 50,000 and 100,000 Colom-
bians reportedly carry the virus. World seroprevalence

LATIN AMERICA 19

studies (how many persons are infected at a given time),
show that one out of every five persons in high-risk
groups carries the virus. When one extrapolates this
percentage in the case of Colombia and if one will allow
that Bogota has from 100,000 to 200,000 homosexuals,
then between 20,000 and 40,000 of them are infected.

The National Institute of Health also has partial studies.
Among patients examined, tests of 22 percent of all men
and 6 percent of all women were positive. Another
sampling of Bogota’s prostitutes yielded positive results
of 4 percent.

On the community level, National Blood Bank studies of
healthy donors show an incidence of the virus of .08
percent, which would mean that one out of every 1,000
Colombians is an HIV carrier, according to Dr. Guill-
ermo Prada, an expert on infectious diseases and
director of Bogota’s Santa Fe Foundation’s AIDS pro-
gram.

Overall figures may not be as alarming as those of other
nations, but they are nevertheless disturbing. Colombia
is in fourth place in Latin America, but the country has
not even entered the first phase of its fight against AIDS,
the phase of awareness, education, and prevention, says
Dr. Camilo Palacio, researcher and professor at the
University of Pennsylvania in the United States. AIDS is
still spoken of in a whisper, in half truths. Warnings do
not teach. Rather, they distort reality, giving the impres-
sion of having said something without saying anything.

In addition to providing no explanations, sexuality
evolves in an atmosphere of sin, forbidden pleasures,
death. This is the impression conveyed to young people.
[passage omitted]

In Colombia, society is keeping its doors and eyes closed.
While the disease continues to be shrouded in secrecy, its
victims are the target of discrimination. There is no
labor or health legislation, no system of social security to
help patients. Although it has been approved by the
Ministry of Health, Retrovir can only be obtained ille-
gally and the cost (about $150 or 70,000 pesos a week)
puts it out of reach for most.

Nor are people aware of how the disease is spread, Dr.
Prada says. “They still think someone who has two or
three relationships a year is not promiscuous and that
this is not how one gets the disease. People believe that
being fat and apparently healthy is guaranteed protec-
tion that one is not a carrier.” [passage omitted]

Although doctors label the government’s offensive as
inadequate, it is admitted that the best control takes
place in the blood banks. However, this is not enough.
The country has the highest percentage of victims among
homosexuals and bisexuals (one homosexual in five has
bisexual relations). AIDS has not yet hit the heterosexual
group.

In Colombia, the proportion of seropositive men is ten
or even twenty times greater than among women. The



JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUGUST 1990 4 AIDS
SOVIET UNION

Official Urges Further Assistance in Anti-AIDS Fight
[Moscow ARGUMENTY I FAKTY No 29, 21-27 Jul 90]

WEST EUROPE
CANADA

Health Minister’s New AIDS Strategy Criticized

[Sharon Kirkey and Chris Hall: Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, 29 Jun 90)

AIDS New Center, Health Workers’ Protection, HIV Study .....

New Treatment Registry Center [Kelly Toughill: THE TORONTO STAR, 28 Jun 90]
Health Care Workers’ Protection (Vancouver THE SUN, 3 Jul 90) ..

HIV Incidence Project {Windsor THE WINDSOR STAR, 12 Jul 90) .

DENMARK

Anonymous Register For HIV-Infected _/Copenhagen INFORMATION, 27 Jun GOP esse
Sex Habits Of HIV-Infected Studied /Ritzau; Copenhagen LAND OG FOLK, 23-24 Jun 90)

FINLAND

Soldiers Returning From Namibia Boost AIDS Figure
[Helsinki HELSINGIN SANOMAT, 19 Jun 90]

SWEDEN

Researcher Defends Isoprenosin in HIV Treatment

[Lars-Ingmar Karlsson; Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER, 21 Jul 90]...
Only 1 of 32,000 Pregnant Stockholmers HIV-Positive

[Pia Skagermark; Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER, 13 Jul 90]
Scholar Argues Free Syringes Reduce HIV Rate

[Kerstin Tunving; Stockholm SVENSKA DAGBLADET, 23 Jul 90] .......



30 WEST EUROPE

Also, many infected people don’t have themselves tested.

Clayton said the best way to discover how many people
are infected would be to test five or 10 percent of
Canadians.

But that’s impractical so researchers must conduct tests
on target groups and try to piece together who is infected,
he said.

“If you get enough pieces of the jigsaw you can put them
together and get an understanding of the overall (infec-
tion) rate,” said Clayton.

The number of new cases has levelled off in the past
couple of years.

So far 919 new cases have been reported for 1989,
although there could be more reports from that year still
to be filed with the AIDS center.

DENMARK

Anonymous Register For HIV-Infected

90WE0257A Copenhagen INFORMATION in Danish
27 Jun 90 p4

[Article: “HIV-alert: Anonymous Register for HIV-
positive”’]

[Text] From August 1, all persons who are found to be
HIV-infected will be registered at the State Serum Insti-
tute. The HIV-infected persons will be entered anony-
mously in the register which will only contain informa-
tion about sex, age, place of residence, county, and the
way the person became infected if known.

The anonymous registration of the HIV-infected is the
most recent initiative of the health authorities to gain a
broader overview over the way this feared HIV-virus is
transferred. So far, all infected persons have developed
AIDS.

Sex Habits Of HIV-Infected Studied

90WE0257B Copenhagen LAND OG FOLK in Danish
23-24 Jun 90 p 6

[Article by Ritzau: “Unsafe Sex”]

{Text] Not all HIV-infected persons follow the message
about safe sex. In 1989, 31 HIV-infected persons at the
Rudolph Bergh Hospital Clinic for Venereal Diseases in
Copenhagen were treated for a new sexually transmitted
disease after they had been diagnosed infected with the
HIV-virus which causes AIDS.

The survey is discussed in the magazine AIDS-News
which is published by the Health Administration’s AIDS
Secretariat.

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

For at least two years, 23 of the 31 persons had known
that they were HIV-infected. Of the 31, 27 were homo-
sexuals, and three men and one woman were drug users.

After the HIV-infection, they contracted gonorrhea,
syphilis or chlamydia which all are bacterial infections
transmitted sexually. The clinic continues to diagnose
one to two new HIV-infected persons a week.

FINLAND

Soldiers Returning From Namibia Boost AIDS
Figure

90WE0252A Helsinki HELSINGIN SANOMAT

in Finnish 19 Jun 90 p 10

[Article: “Every 10th Namibian Soldier Contracted
Some Venereal Disease”

[Text] The venereal disease instruction issued by the
Armed Forces does not reach or have an effect on
soldiers on peacekeeping missions because about 10
percent of the men contracted some sexually transmitted
disease during a tour in Namibia.

Of the 900 men who served in Namibia, three were
infected with the HIV virus and nearly 100 with other
venereal diseases, most with chlamydia and a few with
gonorrhea.

Most of those who contracted chlamydia or gonorrhea
were treated right at their places of service.

According to the head of the Finnish UN office, Lieu-
tenant Colonel Bjarne Ahlqvist, the defense forces have
done all they could to enlighten the men. Instruction is
given both in Finland and at the places of service. The
men can also obtain as many condoms as they want free
of charge from the health care points in each unit.

“If a man’s head is so thick that knowledge will not go
into it, what can we do?” said Ahlqvist.

According to Ahlqvist, what the soldiers brought back
from Namibia, with the exception of AIDS, is not even
the worst case. Sometimes among UN troops who have
served in the Middle East, as many as seven to 10
venereal disease cases are found per month for each 500
men.

In the first years of the last decade, at times leave trips to
Bangkok and Kenya were totally prohibited for the
peacekeepers when it was found that a large proportion
of those returning from “sex leaves” contracted venereal
diseases during the trips.

The chief epidemiologist of the Armed Forces, Lieu-
tenant Colonel Erkki Visakorpi, for his part believes that
the Armed Forces can still improve their instruction.
They intend to distribute more information about vene-
real diseases than at present to new peacekeepers, espe-
cially before they travel abroad.


16 EAST EUROPE

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Supplementary AIDS Test Developed

AU1408115390 Prague HOSPODARSKE NOVINY
in Czech 10 Aug 90 p 8

[CTK report: “New Test for AIDS”}

[Text] Bratislava—After efforts lasting for more than
three years, an alternative laboratory test for the AIDS.
virus has been developed at the National Reference
Laboratory in Bratislava. The laboratory operates within
the framework of the Joint Scientific Workplace for
Viral Infection of the Virology Institute of the Slovak
Academy of Sciences at the Slovak Republic’s Ministry
of Health and the medical department of Comenius
University.

The basis for the newly developed test are materials that
were acquired by genetic engineering. The test is used as
a confirmatory test in the laboratory along with
imported standard tests (one test costs approximately 50
U.S. dollars) and thus increases the reliability of the
diagnosis.

POLAND

Hosts for AIDS Meeting

LD1607183890 Warsaw Domestic Service in Polish
1800 GMT 16 Jul 90

[Text] Experts from the World Health Organization
[WHO] have taken part in an extraordinary meeting of
the AIDS committee. During their two-week stay in our
country, they assessed the Polish program for fighting
this disease. The assessment was positive. An expression
of this is the obligation by the WHO to transfer to
Poland $300,000 by the end of September 1991, for
activity connected with the fight against AIDS. Around
1,000 people in Poland are infected by the HIV virus. It
is expected that there will be around 8,000 in the next
few years.

ROMANIA

More Than 700 AIDS Cases
AU0208171399 Bucharest ROMPRES in English
1600 GMT 2 Aug 90

{Text] As many as 741 cases of AIDS—of which 687 in
children and 54 in adults—were registered in Romania

IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

until August 2, 1990. In the case of Romania the AIDS
virus was transmitted through blood transfusions. That
is why, the major concern of the Health Ministry is to get
equipment and the reactives needed to test donated
blood. Owing to the efforts that have been made and to
the currency received from the government, such equip-
ment was bought and distributed to 13 blood centres. To
fully attain that target, which is also enshrined in the
national AIDS programme, the Health Ministry signed a
contract with “Welcome,” a British Company, for 40
pieces of laboratory equipment, 1.5 million AIDS tests
and 1.5 million B hepatitis tests.

YUGOSLAVIA

Belgrade ‘Most Affected’ by AIDS

AU2007105790 Belgrade BORBA in Serbo-Croatian
12 Jul 90 p 16

[Article: “Belgrade ‘At Medium Risk’”]

{Text] From the time the HIV-virus was discovered until
1 July this year, 134 Yugoslavs have contracted AIDS
and 81 have died from the disease. At the moment,
Belgrade has been most affected by the disease in Yugo-
slavia. There have been 65 registered cases of Belgrade
citizens contracting the disease and 37 have died from it.

According to the number of patients, Yugoslavia is
among the countries with a low percentage while Bel-
grade has “risen” to be one of those at medium risk. This
was said by Dr. Spiro Milic, president of the Belgrade
Commission for AIDS in the city Institute for Health
Protection.

At the moment, AIDS in Yugoslavia most frequently
“attacks” men. One hundred and fourteen members of
the “stronger” sex have so far contracted it and 20
members of the “weaker” sex. They have mostly been
between the ages of 20 and 40 and drug addicts have
been most at risk with 49 patients who have been
addicts. There have also been 30 homosexual or bisexual
patients and 27 hemophiliacs. There has also been one
case of so-called vertical infection when the disease was
transferred from a mother to her child.


22

First in Latin America

AIDS is one of the most worrisome international issues.
Since it appeared, the disease has claimed an important
place in all of the media, bringing with it the information
and disinformation this entails.

According to PAHO/WHO [Pan American Health Orga-
nization/World Health Organization] reports dated 20
March 1990, Honduras is the Central American country
which has the highest percentage of AIDS cases,
accounting for 48.2 percent of the total. It is followed by
Costa Rica, with 14.2 percent; El Salvador, with 15.5
percent; Panama, with 14.6 percent; Guatemala, with
6.1 percent; Beliz, with 1.0 percent; and Nicaragua, with
0.4 percent.

Dr. Zelaya said that the majority of the Hondurans who
are infected are male.

“Unfortunately, homosexual and bisexuals in many
instances, are the ones who carry the infection to other
groups,” he said.

According to Zelaya, the epidemic in Honduras appar-
ently began in the homosexual community and among
those individuals using drugs intravenously.

A large number of bisexuals took the disease to the
heterosexual community by having relations with per-
sons of the same and of the opposite sex.

Zelaya said he has no doubt that men have been the main
contributors to spreading the disease in Honduras.

“TI would like to point out that the notion that prostitutes
as responsible for propagating the virus is erroneous,
since prostitutes, rather than being major agents in
transmitting the disease, are instead victims of the
individuals who patronize them,” he said.

Distribution of AIDS Cases

According to Zelaya, more than 70 percent of the indi-
viduals affected are heterosexuals and bisexuals, and 6
percent were infected through transfusions of blood and
blood products.

“However, the transfusion problem has ceased to con-
cern us, since the IHSS [Honduran Social Security Insti-
tute], the Red Cross, and the Ministry of Public Health
are handling more than 90 percent of the blood in the
country, and are taking care to administer the proper
tests to donors,” he said.

LATIN AMERICA

SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Cases Among Children

Zelaya said that the greatest concern of the public health
authorities and the National Commission for Combating
AIDS is the fact that the percentage of children of
infected mothers suffering from the disease is increasing.

“We are seeing that this group has been increasing in
recent years. Since 1987, when the first infected child in
the country was identified, there has been a yearly
increase, to the point that in 1989, 17 cases of the
infection in minors were confirmed,” he said.

Of the total of 30 children in this country who have been
infected, 19 had mothers who were infected, possibly by
their spouses or by promiscuous partners, while 11
acquired the disease through transfusions of blood and
blood products.

The majority of these children have already died.

The 706 current cases of AIDS are found in individuals
who were infected prior to 1987 and have now developed
the disease.

“Of this total, we know of the situation of 60 percent,
including 20 percent who are alive, while another 38
percent have died. The National Commission for Com-
bating AIDS has no knowledge of the situation of 40
percent of the patients, since many of them may have
gone abroad, or changed their residence, or concealed
their identity,” he explained.

Limited Educational Impact

The public health authorities say they are concerned
about the high level at which the AIDS virus is being
propagated, despite the fact that mass campaigns have
been sponsored to inform and educate the population.

Apparently these campaigns are not having the desired
impact, and despite the efforts to inform and educate the
people about the virus and to follow up with control, the
people have not realized that AIDS is a deadly disease
which cannot be cured, and that even though vaccines
and medicines may be discovered in other countries,
Honduras may not have access to them in the next half.
century because of the high prices they may cost or
because of the prolonged nature of the future treatments.

As a result, sexual activity in the AIDS era has become a
high-risk phenomenon, forcing men and women to take
Precautions which many feel limit their erotic impulses
and pleasure.

Percentage Distribution of AIDS Cases by Age and Year

Age 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 %
0-9 : - - 3 8 17 - 3.9
10-19 : - - 9 10 HW 1 44
20-29 1 1 in 47 100 120 14 416
30-39 : 1 5 39 59 109 6 31.0



18 LATIN AMERICA

that HIV 2, a virus discovered in Africa in 1986, has now
been detected in four patients in Sao Paulo, and two in
Rio.

There has been evidence of the presence of HIV 2 in
Brazil since 1987, when a group of researchers, including
Eduardo Cortes, discovered antibodies of the virus in
four AIDS victims in Sao Paulo, and one in Rio. How-
ever, the government did not admit this fact. At the
International Congress on AIDS held in the U.S. in June,
researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the
Federal University of Rio de JAneiro, and other coun-
tries submitted a report attesting to the presence of HIV
2 in Brazil.

According to Cortes, the percentage of AIDS victims
showing HIV 2 is very small. In Sao Paulo, four cases
were found among 140 patients; and in Rio, two cases
out of 150, All have HIV 1 and HIV 2. No AIDS patient
has yet been discovered to be infected only by the new
virus.

The transmission of HIV 2 is the same as that of HIV 1:
sexually, or through a blood trnsfusion. The studies on
HIV 2 are still incipient, but they show that the AIDS
caused by that virus is “less serious,” according to
Cortes.

From 1980 to date, 11,897 AIDS cases have appeared in
Brazil; but ‘half of those patients have already died. In
Brazil, there is only a test for detecting HIV 1, but Cortes
claims that the same examination also proves the pres-
ence of HIV 2. Nor are there any studies on the effects of
AZT (a drug that prolongs the patient’s survival) on
those infected with HIV 2.

Cases of AIDS on Rise in Armed Forces

90WE0271A Sao Paulo O ESTADO DE SAO PAULO
in Portuguese 17 Jul 90 p 16

[Text] Brasilia—The number of AIDS cases in the
Armed Forces has risen significantly during the past few
years. Between November 1983 and December 1988, 54
cases were recorded at the Army’s Central Hospital in
Rio de Janeiro alone. This is the last official statistic
available, but it is estimated that the number of those
infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, in the ground forces
alone may exceed the record of 200 cases for the entire
country. The situation is no different in the other
branches of service. The Navy has 89 members who are
infected, and the Air Force reported 18 cases as of the
first half of this year.

Sources from the Army’s health service note that the
universe of victims may be even larger, inasmuch as not
all are confined in military hospitals. The Army Minis-
try’s health director, General Aureliano Pinto de Moura,
maintains that the number of AIDS cases is quite small
in proportion to the force’s total personnel: nearly
196,000 men.

SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Statistically, however, the opposite is proven. Whereas
0.01 percent of Brazilians out of a universe of 140
million persons have the disease, in the Armed Forces
the proportion rises to 0.1 percent victims out of 307,000
members of the military, combining the personnel from
all three branches. This means that, in the military area,
the incidence of AIDS cases is 10 times greater than
among the country’s population.

The Navy Ministry has not specified the ranks of its
infected personnel, but in the Aeronautics Ministry it is
known that, of the 18 cases recorded, there are two
officers, eight sergeants, four corporals, and four pri-
vates. According to the information disseminated last
October at the Conference on Military Medicine held in
Brasilia, of the 54 cases recorded as of that date, 57.41
percent were on active duty and 20.37 percent were in
the reserves. The largest group of carriers of the virus
consisted of recruits (57.61 percent), with 25 percent of
the cases occurring among sergeants and second lieuten-
ants, 10 percent among higher ranking officers, and six
percent among former corporals and privates, Based on
the statistics, between 17 and 20 percent of the cases
recorded in the Army were caused by blood transfusions.

According to the Army’s health director, the guidelines
for the care and treatment of these cases are the same
ones adopted by the Health Ministry, including cam-
paigns for guidance and prevention of the disease. ‘‘Lec-
tures are given on the subject,” claims General Aureli-
ano. He adds that, once the virus has been detected,
there is a complete monitoring of the case at the hospital,
and the patient is transferred to the paid reserves.

In the case of aviators, as soon as the virus is detected
there is immediate removal from duties considered
hazardous. The FAB’s [Brazilian Air Force] health direc-
torate neither confirms nor denies this report. Unoffi-
cially, the military in the Aeronautics Ministry justify the
removal of HIV carriers for security reasons. Ministry
officials comment: “We cannot assign a man known to
be infected with the AIDS virus to pilot an airplane.”

68 Percent of Sao Paulo Inmates AIDS-Infected

90WE0271B Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO
in Portuguese 5 Jul 90 p C-4

[Text] The head of the State Union of Prison System
Employees, Darcy da Silva, 44, claims to have data
showing that 68 percent of the inmate population in Sao
Paulo prisons is infected with the AIDS virus. The
director of the State of Sao Paulo’s prison system health
department, Manuel Schettman, challenges this asser-
tion. “That number is unreal. The infection index,
ascertained through scientific methods, amounts to 16
percent as a maximum.” There are nearly 20,000 persons
incarcerated in the entire state. According to Darcy da
Silva, the 68 percent figure was obtained through a “one
by one” count made by members of the health team, who
asked the inmates whether or not they had AIDS. Silva
remarks: “Those members do not wish to be identified,


SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

At present, about 1,000 men work as peacekeepers in
UN assignments in the Middle East and Golan. Most of
the infantrymen are about 25 years old, and 80 percent
of the peacekeepers are single.

According to week-old statistics, 23 new AIDS cases
have been found in Finland this year. The figures include
the Namibia soldiers. A large part of the infections had
their origins abroad.

In all of Finland, 304 AIDS cases have been registered to
date, of which 40 new ones were discovered last year. A
good half of the AIDS cases are estimated to have their
origins abroad.

The development of the HIV infection into AIDS takes
seven to eight years. Before the onset of actual AIDS, the
infected person may be completely symptomless.

Last year about 13,800 chlamydia cases were recorded in
Finland, of which six to eight percent had their origins
abroad.

Over 2,600 gonorrhea cases were found last year, of
which 12-15 percent were acquired abroad.

The Helsinki City Epidemiologist, Timo Rostila, con-
siders the UN soldiers who “only” caught chlamydia or
gonorrhea on their Namibia trip to be lucky because it
would have been just as easy to catch the HIV virus from
unprotected sexual relations.

From the standpoint of venereal diseases, the riskiest
area at present is Thailand. Finns bring back from
Thailand about 2,000 venereal-disease infections per
100,000 tourist weeks. In a trip to Spain, the risk is 100
infections per 100,000 tourist weeks.

SWEDEN

Researcher Defends Isoprenosin in HIV
Treatment

90WE0282C Stockholm DAGENS NYHETER
in Swedish 21 Jul 90 p 6

{Article by Lars-Ingmar Karlsson: “Drug Can Help HIV
Positives”]}

[Text] The drug isoprenosin can delay the onset of AIDS
in HIV positive patients. This is the conclusion reached
by a study done on nearly 900 patients in Sweden and
Denmark.

Out of the approximately 400 patients who received
isoprenosin for six months, two developed AIDS. The
second group, with about the same number of patients,
received no drugs and 17 people in that group came
down with AIDS.

Isoprenosin is not yet approved in Sweden. However the
drug can be obtained by special prescription to
strengthen the body’s immune system.

WEST EUROPE 31

It was this property which led researchers to try the drug
on HIV positive patients. When HIV positives develop
AIDS, this means that their immune system has been
weakened.

Many Questions

Isoprenosin now gives new hope of finding ways to treat
HIV positives and persons with AIDS. But there are still
many questions about the preparation.

“We don’t know how isoprenosin works in the body. The
only thing we know is that patients who have taken the
drug do not develop AIDS at the same rate as those who
have not taken the preparation,” said Gunnar Norkrans,
a lecturer at the Ostra Hospital in Goteborg. He was one
of the researchers who participated in the project.

“Patients who have not yet developed AIDS can get
isoprenosin if they request it. However for persons with
AIDS, we prescribe AZT. We know for sure that it works
on persons with AIDS,” Gunnar Norkrans said.

The Swedish-Danish study was published in the highly
respected medical journal THE NEW ENGLAND
JOURNAL OF MEDICINE. The journal commented on
the Nordic study in its editorial and pointed out that
isoprenosin had also been studied by American
researchers. They had not found that isoprenosin could
delay the onset of AIDS. They could not explain why the
studies, which had been conducted in slightly different
ways, had come to different conclusions.

Results in the Fall

“We believe our study clearly shows that isoprenosin is
really effective. It can hardly be a coincidence that only
two people treated with isoprenosin developed AIDS
while 17 who did not developed the disease,” said
Gunnar Norkrans.

The next step in the study is to see how patients have
been affected after one year of treatment. Those results
are expected to be ready in the fall.

Only 1 of 32,000 Pregnant Stockholmers
HIV-Positive :
90WE0282B Stockholn DAGENS NYHETER
in Swedish 13 Jul 90 p B 1

[Article by Pia Skagermark: “One Out of 32,000 Preg-
nant Stockholmers HIV-Positive”]

[Text] Last year 32,000 pregnant women were tested for
HIV in Stockholm county. The tests cost over three
million [kronor] to perform.

Only one infected person was discovered.

The infected Stockholm woman is an immigrant from a
country which is viewed as being a high-risk area for
AIDS.



JPRS-TEP-90-012
“28 AUG 1990

people. The government should encourage industry
which uses labor, and this industry should get special
privileges. At the same time these people should be
encouraged to work in outlying areas so that they do not
have to come to Bangkok to work. [passage omitted]

As regards what we had to do to solve the problem now,
we had to bring understanding to the people in all areas,
including villages, schools and factories because there
had not been enough teams to do this—there were only
17 teams from private organizations doing this, Mr
Michai said. [passage omitted]

It was estimated that there were no fewer than 2 million
people with the AIDS virus. If the problem could be
solved, there would just be 2 million people with AIDS
who would gradually be gone, and the new generations
would come up to take their place. In any case before this
is over we will see what the various losses are, Mr.
Michai said in closing.

Health Official on AIDS Budget, Lamphun
Morbidity

90WE0233B Bangkok DAO SIAM in Thai 22 Jun 90
pp 1,7

[Excerpts] [passage omitted] Dr Somsak Warakhamin,
the Deputy Minister of Public Health told reporters that
at present we see that the drug, AZT, which is used to
treat AIDS patients, costs 160,000 baht per person. This
is felt to be very high. Although in the future we will
actually be able to cure AIDS, it will be expensive. We
will probably not have the funds to buy the medicine for
AIDS.

The deputy minister also said that the battle over AIDS
was very important and he requested that province
officials carry on with this battle without let-up including
officials at the province level, the district level, the
subdistrict level and the village level so that the people
could have a better understanding of the problem. He
asked that the provinces consider this important as it
was the basic policy of the ministry. Similarly they were
to continue on with family planning. If there were budget
problems, he asked that they inform the ministry, which
would seek assistance funds for them. [passage omitted]

Dr. Somsak said that he had received a report con-
cerning AIDS in Lamphun Province where there had
been 376 cases. There were only 266 cases left as seven
had died and the rest had fled to live in other provinces.
The causes of the AIDS cases were: sexual relations, 117;
female prostitution, 211; pregnancy, 11; homosexuality,
2; drugs, 27; blood transfusions, 2; received the virus
from the mother, 3. These cases involved 139 men and
237 women. Generally they were between 15 and 24
years and between 25 to 34 years. There were only three
cases in the 0 to 4 years group and only two in the 45 to
55 years group. [passage omitted]

EAST ASIA 13

Paper Comments on AIDS Incidence by Risk
Group

90WE0233C Bangkok DAO SIAM in Thai

21 Jun 90 p5

{Editorial: “AIDS Situation”)

[Excerpts] [passage omitted] We asked that the reports
and the data about AIDS which Dr. Thira Ramsut, the
director of the Department of Communicable Disease
Control, had collected be made public. These came from
the department’s program to combat the problem which
involved health education and a mobile public relations
effort concerning AIDS and venereal disease.

The program for the female prostitutes of the Thaniya
and Phatphong sections lasted from 23 January to 27
March 1990 and involved health education, a public
relations effort for preventing and controlling AIDS and
blood tests for syphilis and AIDS in 52 locations. They
tested the blood of 1,074 female prostitutes. They dis-
covered six with the AIDS virus who showed no symp-
toms, and 41 with syphilis. The blood tests of 98 men at
the Reungrom location revealed two with the AIDS virus
who showed no symptoms and four with syphilis. [pas-
sage omitted]

It was learned that 91.12 percent understood that the
reason for the blood tests was to find AIDS and syphilis.
There were 98.18 percent who knew that a virus caused
AIDS and that it was communicated in three ways,
namely, by blood, by sexual relations and from a mother
to a child via the placenta. And 95.22 percent of the
female prostitutes wanted to use condums every time
they had sex with a customer. However although these
prostitutes wanted their customers to use condums, their
customers did not like them and so condums were not
used as much as they should. This affected the preven-
tion of AIDS, which was being spread by both high class
and low class prostitutes.

In addition the incidence of AIDS among the low-priced
prostitutes had doubled; it had gone from 3.5 percent to
6.8 percent. The incidence among drug addicts who
shared needles had risen from 41 percent to 46 percent.
Among male prisoners it had risen from eight percent to
12 percent. Those who used high-class female prostitutes
and male prostitutes should consider that AIDS was
spread by sex, blood, sharing needles and through the
womb and that the incidence of AIDS had doubled.
[passage omitted]

AIDS in Army Region 3

90WE0233D Bangkok NAEO NA in Thai
6 May 90 pp 1, 2

[Excerpt] [passage omitted] Mr. Michai Wirawaithaya,
the director of the Organization for Human Develop-
ment said that there were many able-bodied men of draft
age (21 years old) with the AIDS virus, especially in the
upper part of the North where 56 percent of the cases
had been found; the average incidence of those with the



IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

SENEGAL

Pilot Program for AIDS High Risk Group

90WE0236C Dakar LE SOLEIL in French
14 May 90 p 3

[Text] Participants in the workshop-seminar on “‘pro-
moting health in the fight against AIDS” were particu-
larly interested in Senegal’s experiment managing a
high-risk behavior group. The institutional framework
for the experiment, which is under way in Kaolack, is a
project financed by WHO and the Ford Foundation with
the technical support of the Dakar-Tours-
Limoges-Harvard Interuniversity Agreement. It aims to
retrain and socially reintegrate prostitutes. The goal is to
“improve the physical, psychological, emotional, and
sociological condition of these women through primary
health care and family life education.”

The choice of Kaolack was justified by the high, 28-
percent rate of AIDS-virus carriers among prostitutes
there (the rate is under 1 percent among the general
population) and by the growing number of unwed
mothers without incomes readily turning to prostitution.
In addition, Kaolack offered more chances to collaborate
with health facilities already in place. The region, which
is a peanut- and millet-growing basin, also provides
opportunities for retraining income-generating produc-
tive activities.

A procedure for reaching stated objectives was defined.
Initial tasks included identifying target groups, studying
environmental conditions, educating the women, moni-
toring their health and psychological state, and that of
their children, and providing medications and condoms.

The second phase was to be devoted to the formation of
women’s groups, to choosing income-generating activi-
ties with them, to training them in the work, and to
setting up the equipment and necessary resources to get
them started.

To ensure the survival of the project, a system of
symbolic financial participation by the prostitutes was
instituted, ranging from 10 to 50 percent of the cost of
the medicines. The sums collected are deposited in a
frozen bank account whose funds will eventually make
the project self-financing.

Medically, the project was to enable an epidemiological
study of mother-child and heterosexual AIDS transmiss-
sion to be conducted. The purpose of the health-
education component was to instill in prostitutes the
habit of managing their own health through hygiene and
sanitation, prenatal consultations in case of pregnancy,
vaccination of children, treatment of illnesses, family
planning, nutritional monitoring, and so forth.

The manufacture and sale of peanut paste was used as a
test case of an income-generating activity. According to
estimates, this line of work can bring in between 600,000
ET and 1,200,000 CFA [African Financial Community]
francs monthly depending on whether the product is sold

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 5

in Kaolack or Dakar, where the price of a kilo of peanut
paste is 350 to 500 francs, respectively. These estimates
are valid for 2,000 kilos of paste distributed monthly and
for a raw-peanut purchase price of 70 francs a kilo.

SOUTH AFRICA

AIDS in Children on the Rise

MB1707173190 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1438 GMT 17 Jul 90

[Text] Twelve infants between the ages of one month and
2-1/2 years have died of AIDS in the past year at
Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, reports SABC [South
African Broadcasting Corporation] radio news.

A pediatrician at the hospital, Dr. Ian Friedland, said
more than 30 babies with HIV-infection had been diag-
nosed at the hospital since May last year. Twelve had
died, but he was uncertain about the condition of the
other babies as they were no longer brought to the
hospital.

Dr. Friedland said the infants had contracted the disease
from their mothers and ruled out the possibility that they
could have contracted it through blood transfusions.

He said specific treatment for HIV-infection in infants
was not available at Baragwanath Hospital and that only
symptoms could be treated.

Dr. Friedland said there was an increase in the incidence
of HIV- infection in children with seven cases having
been diagnosed at the hospital last year and 25 this year.

Health Department Reports Number of AIDS
Cases on Rise

MB1807175290 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1642 GMT 18 Jul 90

[Text] Pretoria, July 18, SAPA—This year has seen the
total number of South African AIDS cases rise to 430,
according to the Department of Health and Population
Development.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the department
said that as of June 21 there were 430 notified South
African cases of AIDS. In 1982 there were two.

There had been 17 deaths from the syndrome this year,
the statement said.

With regard to the geographical distribution of the
syndrome, the department listed 34 cities, towns and
areas. Johannesburg had the highest number—179 cases.
Cape Town had 71, Durban 61, Pretoria 20, kwaZulu 20,
Pietermaritzburg 14, Bloemfontein 10, East London
three and Port Elizabeth two.

The statement noted the change from a predominently
homosexual pattern in the country (pattern I) to a



28 WEST EUROPE

CANADA

Health Minister’s New AIDS Strategy Criticized

90WE0260 Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
in English 29 Jun 90 pp Al, A2

[Article by Sharon Kirkey and Chris Hall]

[Excerpts] Critics Thursday accused the federal govern-
ment of taking a year to produce a national AIDS
strategy that does little to fight the disease.

Health Minister Perrin Beatty’s long-awaited policy con-
tains no new federal funding.

Medical experts and front-line workers are warning that
if Canada doesn’t commit more money to fight AIDS
now, the country will spend millions more on treating
and caring for patients in the future. [passage omitted]

The $112 million discussed in the strategy is part of the
$168 million the government set aside for AIDS projects
in 1988.

The policy was also criticized for failure to address
important issues such as rising hatred of homosexuals,
immigration restrictions and the lack of programs for
prison inmates. [passage omitted}

The strategy, unveiled at a national public health con-
ference in Toronto Thursday, calls for a secretariat to
co-ordinate the government's fight against AIDS, a new
research network and directing more money to AIDS
organizations.

Dr Ian Gemmill, Ottawa-Carleton’s associate medical
officer of health, said the strategy holds out strong hope
for the region’s proposed $300,000 needle exchange
Program,

A spokesman for the Canadian AIDS Society, which wil!
see its annual funding rise by 50 percent to $7 million
each year, called the strategy a step forward.

“The minister has brought us to where we should have
been four years ago,” said Joan Anderson, chairman of
the AIDS Society.

But Anderson said the policy lacks “concrete action and
direction.” [passage omitted]

There have been 3,824 cases of AIDS reported in
Canada. However, it’s estimated that the number of
Canadians currently infected with the virus that causes
AIDS could be as high as 50,000.

Health critic Chris Axworthy said the strategy rejects a
call by the Royal society of Canada for the government
to amend human rights legislation to prohibit discrimi-
nation based on evidence of HIV infection, perceived
infection or sexual orientation.

But, saying there is “no threat to public health posed by
visitors infected with HIV,” Beatty said he has asked the

IPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Immigration Medical Review Board to review regula-
tions on medical inadmiss' y in Canada.

Beatty called the present immigration policy “unneces-
sarily restrictive and serves no useful purpose in the
control of the disease.”

He also vowed to return to the cabinet for more money
before the three-year strategy expires.

AIDS New Center, Health Workers’ Protection,
HIV Study

New Treatment Registry Center

90WE0277 Toronto THE TORONTO STAR in English
28 Jun 90 p A6

[Article by Kelly Toughill]

[Excerpt] A major new program is designed to tackle two
of Canada’s toughest AIDS problems—overworked phy-
sicians and rural patients who cannot find care.

The program sets up what is touted as the world’s first
comprehensive AIDS treatment registry, giving doctors
and the public up-to-date information about things
ranging from acupuncture to experimental vaccines.

Ottawa has pledged $6 million to the registry for its first
three years.

The registry will be based at the University of Toronto
and should be operating within a year.

It will include information about virtually every AIDS
therapy being tested around the world, said its designer,
Dr Kathryn Taylor, of the physician behavior research
unit at the University of Toronto.

Information will be collected from journals, news reports
and individual doctors around the world and then
reviewed by a panel of experts.

Doctors, patients or the public will be able to find out
information about the therapies through a regular news-
letter, computer hookup or from a toll-free telephone
number she said.

Health Minister Perrin Beatty predicted yesterday that
the program will encourage thousands more doctors to
get involved in treating people with AIDS, thereby
relieving overworked specialists and allowing patients to
get treated outside major cities.

“It significantly advances our ability to make common
cause in fighting AIDS and to provide the best possible
medical care for Canadians who are forced to live with
this disease,” Beatty told a Toronto news conference.

The program was immediately hailed by AIDS activists
and physicians.

Because the epidemic is only a decade old, most treat-
ments used on patients are still experimental and new


IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

INDIA

More Possible, Confirmed AIDS Cases

Cases in Manipur

54500107 Calcutta THE STATESMAN in English
31 May 90 p4

[Text] Imphal, May 29—At least 221 persons in
Manipur are suffering from AIDS, according to Dr Y.
Ibotomba Singh, head of the department of microbiology
of the Regional Medical College Hospital, here, reports
PTI.

Dr Singh told reporters on Saturday that a total of 3,774
persons were tested, out of which 221 were confirmed.

AIDS Among Prostitutes

54500107 New Delhi SUNDAY MAIL in English
10 Jun 90 pI

[Article by Jaya Menon: “Rescued Prostitutes Have
AIDS?”]

[Text] Madras: About 530 of the 749 “Bombay girls”,
rescued from brothels recently, may have contracted
AIDS.

They tested positive when the preliminary ELISA test
was conducted as part of a routine health check.

This test, however, is not conclusive. The ELISA positive
women are undergoing the Western Blot test, which
could confirm the presence of HIV, which causes AIDS.
“But the chances are 50 percent of those who tested
positive in ELISA may be confirmed by the Western Blot
test,” according to an expert consulted by the state
government.

The ELISA—short form for Enzyme-Linked Immuno
Sorbent Assay—test is an initial screening of the blood
sample for detecting antibodies of HIV. Whereas, the
Western Blot test involves the detection of particular
band patterns in the blood sample confirming AIDS.

NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA 25

The state government conducted high-level meetings
throughout the week. A meeting, mainly of experts in
AIDS detection, was held at the secretariat on Tuesday
afternoon, where the Union Health Secretary was also
present.

However, as no details of AIDS victims were available,
the meeting wound-up after “discussing preventive mea-
sures and safety methods,” according to a reliable
source. Other than confirming the existing ban on
accepting blood from professional donors, proposed as
an anti-AIDS measure last November, no policy deci-
sions were taken at the meeting. Nor could any positive
suggestions be made in the absence of the Western Blot
test.

A suggestion was also mooted at Tuesday’s meeting for a
law to restrain free movement of AIDS victims. But
questions like who would provide for them, feed them
and rehabilitate them, all remained unanswered, with
the result no serious thought was given to the suggestion.
“If the Government can give us Rs 1500 for each of the
AIDS victim, if it comes to that—each month, we can
help rehabilitate them all,” says Mahesh Khandalwal,
Tamil Nadu unit Secretary of Savdhan, the Bombay-
based social welfare organisation instrumental in the
rescue of these women.

PAKISTAN

Spread of AIDS Cases

BK1808131890 Islamabad THE MUSLIM in English
18 Aug 90 p 8

[Excerpt] Islamabad—AIDS, the deadly disease,
unknown till a few years back has assumed an alarming
proportion in Pakistan.

Official sources say that the number of AIDS patients
had shot up from 37 to 57, which they thought was an
alarming portent. Experts are of the view that the
reported cases represent only a tip of the iceberg. AIDS
virus is much higher than reported.

Just three months earlier, there were 50 AIDS patients of
whom 13 died. [passage omitted]



Breakdown of AIDS Cases by Age, Sex

90WE0235B Yaounde CAMEROON TRIBUNE
inFrench 12 Apr 90 p 4

[Article by Waffo Mongo: “Inform and Educate Above
All”; first paragraph is CAMEROON TRIBUNE intro-
duction]

[Text] In health, AIDS is still public enemy number one.
The only weapon against this social scourge for which
there is still neither cure nor vaccinal preventive treat-
ment is information and education.

It was with this in mind that the governor of Central
province, Mr. Namvou Benoit, kicked off a provincial
seminar on AIDS information, education, and commu-
nication yesterday at OCEAC (Coordinating Organiza-
tion for Great Endemic Diseases of Central Africa). In
Mr. Namvou’s view, the seminar aims to achieve precise
goals for the province. These include spurring health
officials, in collaboration with other partners, to plan the
AIDS information, education, and communication
(IEC) activities throughout the province, updating the
knowledge of participants in the provincial anti-AIDS
committee, making them understand the importance of
information, education, and communication in the fight
against AIDS, and drafting a program of IEC activity for
the province.

According to seroepidemiological studies done in 1988,
the virus-carrier prevalence rate is 0.5 percent in the 15-
to 44-year-old age bracket. Among prostitutes the sero-
prevalence rate ranges from 7.1 percent in Yaounde to
8.1 percent in Meiganga; the rate is 1.3 percent among

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

pregnant women. Moreover, the latest studies show that
the national prevalence rate has jumped from 0.5 to 1
percent. This is very important. For in the estimation of
Dr. Roger Salla, who presented the seminar’s first topic,
this ! percent means that about 70,000 people are
carriers who are healthy but spreading the HIV virus.
And in the near future, in five or six years, we may have
thousands of people in whom the disease has developed.
As the capacity of health facilities is very limited, the
problem could become dramatic. This underscores the
importance of AIDS, against which we must redouble
our fight lest we be overwhelmed.

The seminar’s menu includes several presentations
whose topics were judiciously chosen by officials of the
anti-AIDS committee.

The seminar, coordinated by Dr. Ze Mvondo Emman-
uel, the Central province’s provincial public health del-
egate, was organized by Nwatsok’s Dr. Kedi, chief pro-
vincial physician of Central province’s preventive and
tural medicine. Sessions end today.

Status of the Disease in Cameroon

1. Total Number of Clinical Cases on Date of Report:
155 cases as of 15/3/1990.

Il. Distribution by Period:

1985-1986 Dec—21; 1987 Jan-Jun—4; 1987 July-
Dec—16; 1988 Jan- Jun—15; 1988 July-Dec—18; 1989
Jan-July—23; 1989 July-Dec—37; 1990 Jan-Mar—21:
Total [number of] cases, 155.

ILDistribution by Age, Sex, Deaths [see table]:

Age Years 04 514 1419 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+ Total
Male Cases 7 1 2 15 18 9 8 2 62
Deaths 6 0 1 it 10 7 6 2 43
Female Cases 9 0 7 24 30 13 8 2 93
Deaths 9 0 6 20 20 9 8 2 4
Total Cases 16 1 9 39 48 22 16 4 155
Deaths 15 YJ 7 31 30 16 4 44 17

IV. Eight [as published] Risk Factors:

A. 18 imported cases

B. 11 cases involving prostitutes (6 Cameroonians plus 5
from Central Africa)

C. 1 Cameroonian homosexual

D. 5 cases due to probable transmission via transfusion
E. 16 cases of maternal-fetal transmission

F, All others: heterosexual

Public Health Minister on Kenyan AIDS Drug

ABO0208201990 Yaounde Domestic Service in English
1800 GMT 2 Aug 90

[Text] The Kenyan-made drug, Kemron, which has been
produced as a cure for the Acquired Immune Deficiency

Syndrome, AIDS, is currently being studied by authori-
ties of the World Health Organization for efficacy. This
morning in Yaounde, Public Health Minister Joseph
Mbede, addressing the national media, said it is only at
the end of the experiments that the drug will be adopted
for public use or rejected. Meantime, last week in
Nairobi, Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, while
handing over the [word indistinct] to the WHO, said it
had cured 52 people suffering from the AIDS disease.
However, he added that the discovery was not an end in
itself, but should serve as a spur to other scientists to
pursue research on the cure of AIDS.


IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

BOTSWANA

Official Details Mahalapye AIDS Situation

MB1208141690 Gaborone Domestic Service in English
1125 GMT 12 Aug 90

[Text] The technical head of the Mahalapye AIDS com-
mittee, Dr. Kgwazi Islam, has appealed to various orga-
nizations, committees, and Botswana in general to help
combat the spread of the disease.

In an interview with BOPA last week, Dr. Islam dis-
closed that in the Mahalapye area alone 47 people have
tested HIV-positive. He said the ages of the victims
range from 17 to 37 years. Four children under the age of
two have already tested positive, and one of them is
already dead.

Out of the 47, 23 are females. He appealed to politicians,
nongovernmental organizations, and churches to assist
health personnel and the government in curbing the
spread of the disease through an education campaign.

Dr. Islam pointed out that the burden of AIDS could not
be left on the shoulders of health workers alone, as the
disease is a worldwide problem.

He stressed that people should change their sexual
behavior, practice safe sex, and should abandon promis-
cuity to prevent the disease from spreading at a high rate.

Dr. Islam called on Botswana to accept people suffering
from AIDS as part of them, and should not feel that the
victims should be quarantined.

He said the Mahalapye hospital has a counseling mech-
anism for AIDS victims, and information dealing with
people with AIDS and the affected relatives.

BURUNDI

3,000 AIDS Cases Detected

EA2507074090 Bujumbura Domestic Service in French
1800 GMT 24 Jul 90

[Summary] The director of the national AIDS program
met Burundian chemists yesterday to discuss AIDS in
the country. The latest official figures disclosed during
the meeting show that Burundi has 3,000 cases,
excluding those who are seropositive. Three units of
condoms, usually sold at 200 francs, are now to be sold at
20 francs and are to be made permanently available in
bars, restaurants and night clubs.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 1

CAMEROON

Inaccessibility ‘Perhaps’ Raises AIDS Count

90WE0235A Yaounde CAMEROON TRIBUNE
in French 17 Apr 90 p 3

[Article by Wafo Mongo: “AIDS in the Spotlight”; first
paragraph is CAMEROON TRIBUNE introduction]

[Text] UNESCO Inter-club’s Cultural Week, whose
activities ended last Friday afternoon, was dominated by
a conference on the fight against AIDS.

The Chinese lanterns at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel went
out Friday evening on the Yaounde UNESCO Inter-
club’s cultural week. Sessions began with a conference
whose theme was “the fight against AIDS.” Starting at 3
PM last Wednesday, the many conference participants
listened from start to finish to the explanations of the
different speakers concerning the terrible disease. The
speakers included Dr. Leopold Zekeng, a physician at
the Yaounde University Hospital Center (UHC) repre-
senting Professor Kaptue Lazare, president of the
National Committee to Combat AIDS, who was unable
to come, and Miss Sylviane Ranoro, WHO adminis-
trator and chief physician of the worldwide program
against AIDS.

They defined in turn what AIDS is, the different ways it
can be transmitted, prevention of the scourge, its clinical
manifestations and symptoms, and the local situation.
155 cases already have been reported locally and over
half the patients are dead, according to Dr. Zekeng. “It is
not a very reliable figure and may even fall short; it must
be multiplied by at least two or three because of remote
areas that have not yet been counted,” he said. For those
who are skeptical, the disease is indeed with us. We must
redouble our efforts to avoid it.

As far as Miss Ranoro is concerned, AIDS can only be
prevented by information, education, consciousness-
raising, training, and communication, not to mention
changes in behavior.

On Thursday, the presidents and members of all the
Yaounde UNESCO clubs had already met in committee
in the University of Yaounde UNESCO club room, to
take an initial stock of their association’s activities.
During this first year, the Inter-club worked nonstop to
create new clubs in the city, organize cultural weeks such
as music week and anti-AIDS week, and strengthen
collaboration with foreign federations.

That, moreover, is what emerges from the report pre-
sented by Mr. Eric Tchabou, president of Yaounde’s
UNESCO Inter-club and a student in the schools of law
and economics at Yaounde University. With a view to
exchanges between foreign federations, the presidents of
Yaounde city UNESCO clubs will travel to Chad, Togo,
and Nigeria next July and August.



14 EAST ASIA

AIDS virus in Army Region 3 was 2.5 percent. If
able-bodied men throughout the country should have an
incidence of five percent, Thailand would be in trouble.

Mr. Michai said concerning this problem that they would
have to struggle urgently to find a way to prevent this
from happening. Every ministry, bureau and department
would have to provide full assistance because it was felt
that the spread of AIDS was a social problem which had
to be solved urgently. Therefore on 18 May officials of
Army Region 3 will get together with officials of Phit-
sanulok Province to organize their efforts to combat
AIDS. Then their will be efforts made in all other
provinces in Army Region 3,

Major General Anan Bamrungphruk, the deputy com-
mander of Army Region 3, reported that there were three
soldiers in Army Region 3 with the AIDS virus who had
definite symptoms of AIDS. This was discovered with a
blood test. Their symptoms were not severe. Army
Region 3 had sent them for care to Phramongkutaklao
Hospital. As for the number of draftees thought to have
the AIDS virus, they still had not been able to test for it
and so did not have a definite figure.

Major General Anan said that AIDS infection of draftees
had not affected the general status of Army Region 3
because there were still few draftees with the virus.
Officials of Army Region 3 had had training in this, and
the soldiers of the region were not concerned by reports
of the spread of the virus but were more interested in
prevention.

Chiang Mai AIDS Statistics

90WE0230A Bangkok NAEO NA in Thai
30 May 90 p5

[Excerpt] Mrs. Pathiphon Bunkla, the president of the
Northern Nursing Association, discussed the AIDS situ-
ation in Chiang Mai Province. She said that the number
of AIDS cases is increasing at an alarming rate. Statistics
up to June show that 1,591 prostitutes and men who use
the services of prostitutes have contracted the disease. A
total of 431 drug addicts, six pregnant women, two blood
donors, and 522 other people have contracted the dis-
ease.

“This rapid increase in the number of people who have
contracted AIDS is very alarming, because in the near
future, the hospitals and clinics will have to deal with a
very large number of AIDS patients,” said Mrs. Pathi-
phon. [passage omitted}

Columnist Asks More Government Action, Law on
AIDS

90WE0232A Bangkok BAN MUANG in Thai
17 Jun 90 p 5

[Column by Ta Ma Lo: “Pushing the Minister of Public
Health”)

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

[Excerpts] The spread of AIDS in Thailand is fright-
ening.

Mr. Suthat Ngeunmeun, the Deputy Minister of Public
Health, reported that AIDS cases showed a rapid upward
trend.

It has been learned that throughout the country an
average of 500 Thai people per month were catching
AIDS.

It will not stop there. This figure will double. It might
become 1,000 or 10,000 cases per month. Do not under-
estimate it.

Mr. Suthat revealed that there were 17,313 with AIDS.
All 17,313 will die. No one has survived.

The important problem is that we have not been able to
stop the spread or the increase of AIDS. Its incidence is
increasing rapidly. [passage omitted]

The second group in order with a role in spreading the
AIDS virus is intravenous drug users who share needles,
This fatalistic group is only interested in drugs and so its
members catch the virus easily. And when they have it,
they pass it on to prostitutes. And prostitutes pass it on
to the men who sleep with them later. It is an endless
cycle.

The intent of the Ministry of Public Health’s plan is to
inform the people about AIDS. However it appears that
informing the people will not help a great deal because
the members of these groups are not willing to use the
information.

The intravenous drug users still share needles. The
Prostitutes with AIDS still continue to work, and the
men with AIDS are not willing to use condoms.

I say that the Ministry of Public Health must concentrate
on these three groups. It must deal with them resolutely
just as a doctor operates and cuts away the bad flesh in
order to save a life or the good flesh.

If doctors set standards to contro! AIDS by controlling
the movement of those with AIDS and not allowing them
to spread it further, there would be an angry outcry from
civil libertarians that it violated civil liberties.

Yes, those with AIDS have the right to pass it to others,
which I feel is not just.

Those with AIDS do not just need care, their movements
should also be controlled to prevent their spreading it.

We will need to control their movements just as we do
those with leprosy (even though leprosy is a lesser
danger).

We will have to have AIDS colonies.

However it is very uncertain how far the government will go.


4 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Ladies and gentlemen, AIDS is a very disturbing, bewil-
dering, and devastating disease. One of its most vicious
and horrifying aspects is that, by its very nature of
transmission, it strikes mainly at those members of the
human society who are economically active and useful,
thereby unleashing catastrophic consequences in all
fronts of human progress. Nasty as it is, the reality must
be squarely faced and all possible solutions sought to
combat the disease.

It is commendable the way the global community has
risen up to this challenge and continues with resolve to
search for a cure for the disease. We are happy to be part
of the global campaign in the campaign against AIDS.

As soon as the ravages of the disease became known to
us, we embarked on a vigorous campaign through public
education and information on one front. Clinical surveil-
lance and scientific research on the other to control the
spread of the disease. I am gratified that all our efforts in
all these fronts have yielded good results.

Today, our national AIDS control program is one of the
best programs and a model for many other countries in
the world. In the clinical field we continue to monitor
closely all those who have tested positive for AIDS as
well as to screen all donated blood to ensure that it is free
from contamination by the AIDS virus.

On the research front, we are grateful to the Kenya
medical Research Institute (Kemri) for its unique con-
tribution in the development of the anti-AIDS drug, now
popularly known as Kemron. When the director of
Kemri announced in December last year that Kemri with
its collaborators, had developed a drug against AIDS,
some people could not believe that a country like Kenya
with its limited resources, had the human resources and
the scientific ability for such a breakthrough. We may
not have all the resources at our disposal but we have the
courage and determination to direct all our energy and
talent to a noble cause that serves to improve human life.

In view of wide and closely monitored clinical trials both
in Kenya and in other parts of the world, Kemron has
Proved to be an effective and safe drug in the treatment
and management of AIDS. Used correctly, the drug has
minimum side effects of no adverse consequences to
human life, and arising from the very encouraging and
Positive results obtained in the clinical trials, my govern-
ment has already registered the drug for clinical use.

Ladies and gentlemen, the registration of Kemron for
clinical use is a very bold and practical move, Kemron
may not be the all out cure for AIDS, but, since it has
Proved to successfully alleviate the signs and symptoms
commonly associated with the disease, we would be
doing humanity a disservice if we did not act fast enough
and make the drug available for those who need it.

A touch of human compassion should embrace any
human mission. We cannot, therefore, afford to wait for
an eventual cure or perfection of Kemron when thou-
sands of our fellow men, women, and children are

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

suffering from the disease and when by the grace of god
we have a drug that alleviates their suffering and gives
them a new lease of life.

As I launch the drug, I would like to express my most
profound gratitude and appreciations to Kemri, all the
institutions and individual scientists who have partici-
pated in the development of Kemron. In particular, I
would like to thank the Amarillo Cell Culture Company
based in Texas and the Hayashibara Biochemical Labo-
ratories of Japan for their invaluable contribution in the
development of the drug. [passage omitted]

You have all done a commendable job, but the struggle is
not yet over. And I would like to advise everybody not to
get loose simply because Kemron is now available. You
must not be complacent, but must continue to fight in
the noble task of eradicating this dreaded disease.

Even when the most fulsome cure is found, the saying—
prevention is better than cure—will continue to be the
surest safeguard against infection. I therefore appeal to
all Kenyans that even with Kemron being available, they
must not take chances but instead should follow the
Precautionary guidelines routinely issued by the Min-
istry of Health in order to protect themselves from this
scourge.

NAMIBIA

Nujoma Calls For All To Help Fight AIDS

MBO0507090290 Windhoek Domestic Service
in Afrikaans 0600 GMT 5 Jul 90

[Text] President Sam Nujoma has called on all institu-
tions, organizations, and especially individuals, to help
the Ministry of Health and Social Services in its efforts
to prevent the spreading of AIDS.

Speaking at the launch of Namibia’s first national AIDS
control program last night, Mr. Nujoma said the only
weapon against the disease is to inform and educate the
public in order to encourage a changed attitude toward
intimate relationships, and to bring to their attention
that there is no medical cure for AIDS.

The WHO representative in Namibia, Mr. David Tembi,
says a worldwide effort similar to the one launched
against smallpox in the seventies, is required to combat
AIDS, if a human tragedy is to be averted. According to
Mr. Tembi, one out of every 50 people in African
countries south of the Sahara is already infected with the
AIDS virus, while close to 400,000 babies were born with
AIDS in Africa during the first half of the current year.

He confirmed that the WHO was giving its full support
to Namibia’s AIDS control program, and would be
contributing financial and technical aid.


20 LATIN AMERICA

risk among drug addicts and stemming from them has
not yet reached major proportions in the meager statis-
tics.

However, Colombia is beginning to see its first cases of
babies infected by their mothers either during pregnancy
or by nursing.

Inadequate Care Described

90WE0263B Hubert Ariza; Bogota EL TIEMPO
in Spanish 8 Jul 90 p 12

[Article by Hubert Ariza]

[Excerpt] AIDS victims in Colombia have little protec-
tion. Family, friends, partners, and, what is worse, the
very institutions responsible for providing care reject
them.

This is the observation of Dr. Carlos Sanchez David,
head of the Department of Internal Medicine of San
Pedro Claver Hospital in Bogota, one of those desig-
nated to handle persons, covered by the Institute of
Social Security (ISS), who are infected with AIDS.

“There is no medical or social awareness of what the
disease truly means,” he says.

Since 1986, San Pedro has cared for blue-collar workers,
professional people, military personnel, artists, house-
wives, and actors, men, women and even one baby
suffering from the disease, at a cost of 40,000 to 50,000
pesos a day for in-patient care.

According to hospital director Hernan Santos, a great
deal has changed from the time the first AIDS patient
was seen. “Physicians and nurses initially demonstrated
an attitude of rejection, but thanks to courses offered for
the medical community, understanding of the disease
was achieved and fear of possible contagion dissipated.”

According to Santos and Sanchez, the attitude of the
medical staff at the hospital is positive, but this is not
true of other private clinics in the capital, which refuse to
admit patients suffering from AIDS which have been
referred by the ISS.

“They claim not to have beds for these patients, but we
know they do,” Santos emphasizes.

Although San Pedro is one of the most progressive
institutions in the country, it is forced to refer terminal
AIDS patients with psychiatric complications, for
example, to private clinics because it needs the beds for
patients with other diseases.

Santos thinks the attitude of such clinics stems from a
lack of awareness about the disease. Sanchez believes it
has to do with the dehumanization of medicine.

But if some doctors are guilty, what is worse, Sanchez
warns, is that Colombian society is not aware of the
disease. “There is no AIDS education. There is irrespon-
sibility. For ‘moral’ reasons, the disease is not handled

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

properly, out in the open, free of myth. We must educate
in order to control the disease,” he said.

Statistics

Hospital medical staff are concerned. In 1986, there were
three cases of AIDS, 17 by 1987, 49 by 1988, 52 by 1989,
and 43 so far this year. Some 200 persons have already
received care, of which 191 are men and nine women. A
total of 36 have died, 99 are alive, and there is no
information on 29 who disappeared from work but still
are in the statistics.

Experts like Sanchez and Santos are alarmed that AIDS
in Colombia has ceased being a discase of homosexuals
and turned into a malady afflicting heterosexuals, as
proven by 31 percent of the patients being cared for at
the hospital.

A total of 121 contracted the disease through sexual
relations, nine from blood transfusions. There is no
information on 69 along with the six month-old baby
who was given the disease by his mother, infected by a
transfusion.

The incidence of contagion is rising. Statistics show that
between 1989 and now, the incidence of infection every
month has gone from 4.3 to 8.4 percent.

Sanchez maintains that despite progress, there has been
no change in attitude in the face of death. People still
think the disease is divine punishment and reject vic-
tims. In the Middle Ages, lepers were isolated to the
point of being forbidden from drinking in public wells.

He added that the terror of AIDS is so great that one
American expert proposed marking victims to distin-
guish them from the healthy population.

“We must change the attitude of the doctor, the patient,
and society. AIDS is not a punishment; it is a disease for
which we do not yet have a cure.” [passage omitted]

HONDURAS

Survey Discloses ‘Alarming’ AIDS Increase

90WE0251B San Pedro Sula TIEMPO in Spanish
28 May 90 p9

[Excerpt] Tegucigalpa—At least two cases of AIDS are
reported at the Teaching Hospital every weck, the offi-
cial in charge of infectious diseases, Tito Alvarado, has
stated. [passage omitted}

The number of AIDS cases in children has increased in
the last six months. Since the first case was confirmed in
1987, 26 infected children have been reported, the
majority having been infected by their mothers. [passage
omitted]

In addition, this official said that the increase in AIDS is
alarming, since in a group of 7,000 individuals chosen at


JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUGUST 1990

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SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

AIDS Figures Growing ‘More Than’ 100 Percent
Year

MB1808 104690 Johannesburg SATURDAY STAR

in English 18 Aug 90 p 7

[Text] Cape Town—The HIV virus is now growing by
more than 100 percent a year in South Africa, according
to Sanlam [South African National Life Assurance Com-
pany] general manager Mr. Francois Marais.

Incidence of the infection doubled every 8 2 months.

Presenting a R{rand]50,000 cheque yesterday to the
Planned Parenthood Association for AIDS information
campaign, Mr. Marais said while homosexual infection
was decreasing, heterosexual action was increasing and
even overtaking it.

Recent research showed the most significant growth of
AIDS infection was among black urban heterosexuals.

“It is alarming a recent survey indicated the majority of
urban blacks oppose using condoms,” Mr. Marais said.

However, the present spread of information was not
proving enough to make people change their habits.
Better programmes were needed.

About 10,000 copies of AIDS Scan, a booklet on the
virus, and 22,000 other brochures have been distributed
by the Sanlam AIDS Education Center in Cape Town.

AIDS More Frequent in Transvaal
MB1708115890 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1100 GMT 17 Aug 90

[Text] Pretoria Aug 17 SAPA —A total of 228 cases of
AIDS from the 455 cases reported since 1982 in the
country, have been reported in the Transvaal.

According to statistics from the Department of National
Health and Population Development 187 cases were
recorded in Johannesburg.

In the Cape 82 cases, in Natal 132 cases and 13 cases in
the Orange Free State were recorded up to 8/8/1990,

Altogether 245 cases were transmitted homosexually and
153 heterosexually.

TANZANIA

Comment Reveals Widespread AIDS Cases

90WE0245 Dar es Salaam DAILY NEWS in English
3Jul 90 pl

[Article by Milan T. Makoye]

[Text] The story carried by your newspaper, on June 20,
1990 with a headline: AIDS gets worse, no cure yet,
cannot pass without my comment.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 7

In that story Professor Mwakyusa is quoted as saying
that Tanzania is estimated to have 40,000 people suf-
fering from the AIDS syndrome.

This is likely to be a very conservative figure. People
carrying HIV—and particularly at early stages of the
disease, are “healthy”. Those with full-blown AIDS or
those approaching that stage could be the ones to be said
to be about 40,000 people. So the number is certainly
much much bigger.

The Professor also said the most hit regions in the
country are Kagera, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Arusha
and Mbeya. It means there are regions which are less hit
and those least hit!

The problem is that we are not straight forward on this
problem. We are not honest to ourselves. AIDS is here
with us. We have to find ways of fighting the syndrome
and eradicating it from this country.

If Tanzanians will fail to fight the syndrome, others will
and we can only wait for the consequences.

UGANDA

AIDS Program Director Addresses Workshop

£A0408093790 Nairobi KNA in English 1030 GMT
3 Aug 90

[Text] Kampala, August 3 (PANA)—The number of
people infected with the AIDS virus in Uganda is esti-
mated to be between one and three million, the director
of the country’s AIDS programme, Dr Samuel Okware,
has revealed. Speaking Wednesday [1 August], during an
AIDS workshop held at the Uganda Breweries, in the
outskirts of Kampala, Okware also said that about
500,000 new cases will come up in 1990. He further
revealed that there were more women dying of AIDS
than men, the ratio being 53 to 47.

The level of infection among ante-natal mothers in
Kampala, the capital, had soared up to 74 and 30 percent
bore infected children. Between 15 percent and 24
percent of mothers in the city were infected with HIV.
Between 15 percent and 30 percent of blood donors in
the country had the virus.

He said to date there were 17,000 voluntary reported
cases of AIDS sufferers as compared to 12,144 in 1989.

ZAMBIA

AIDS Increasing Number of Orphans

540000464 Lusaka TIMES OF ZAMBIA in English
23 May 90 p7

[Article: “AIDS Increases Orphans, Says Expert”’]

[Text] Zambia might have a large number of orphans in
five years because of the impact of AIDS on society,



6 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

predominently hetorosexual pattern (pattern II), which
predominated throughout Africa.

Correct education about sex was essential in the fight
against AIDS, the department said. It was not a purely
medical problem.

“There is no cure for AIDS nor vaccine against HIV
infection yet,” the statement said. “The only way to
prevent the spread of the virus is through education of
the population.

“It is only when individuals adhere to safe sex practices,
or stick to one-partner relationships, that the tide of the
pandemic will be stemmed,” the department said.

Western Cape AIDS Figures ‘Doubled’ in 1990

MB0408 145190 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1251 GMT 4 Aug 90

[Text] Cape Town Aug 4 SAPA—The rate of HIV
infections—which could lead to AIDS—has doubled
among the black population, as well as among heterosex-
uals, in the western Cape.

According to the latest figures released by the Cape
Town City Council Health Department and the Univer-
sity of Cape Town’s [UCT] virology department:

—There were 168 HIV-infected cases last year, while 149
cases were recorded in only six months this year.

—wWhile only 19 cases (nine deaths) of full-blown AIDS.
were recorded last year, 20 cases are already being
treated since January this year, with nine deaths.

—It was also found that the number of virus infections
was now doubling every nine months.

“The spread of the HIV disease in the western Cape is
following the same pattern as the rest of the country,”
said Dr Michael Popkiss, Cape Town’s medical officer of
health,

“It is almost certainly spreading by heterosexual sexual
transmission and is increasing in the black population,”
he said.

Dr Popkiss emphasised however that the method used to
obtain the figures was “biased” as it was taken only from
self-referrals, people suspected of diagnosis and pris-
oners,

According to a spokesman for the UCT virology depart-
ment, “good networking” among the homosexuals in
Cape Town could have been the result of lower AIDS
figures among that group.

A breakdown of the figures from the department shows
that of the 593 infectious HIV-positive people tested in
the western Cape since 1985, 138 were in the homo-
sexual category and 301 were ‘“tunknown risk factors.”

The department declined to break down the figures into
race groups because of the sensitivity of the subject.

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

He said the lower figure among homosexuals could
perhaps also be attributed to “a withdrawal from test-
ing.”

Academics Note Natal AIDS Statistics

MB0908 134890 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1327 GMT 9 Aug 90

[Text] Durban—There are at least eight AIDS infected
prostitutes presumably still “soliciting” around Natal,
while the highest incidence of AIDS has been detected in
11 percent of black woman aged between 15 and 25
years.

These statistics, confirming a spiraling increase of HIV
infection in the heterosexual black population, come
from the Department of Medicine and Virology at the
Natal University Medical School.

After testing 94 prostitutes between January and March
this year, it was found that 8.51 percent of them were
HIV positive. These women would have been cautioned
and counseled, but there is not necessarily any further
contact with them or surveillance after the AIDS test.

Data derived from surveys done at the sexually trans-
mitted diseases (STD) clinic at King Edward VIII Hos-
pital in Durban give an indication of the AIDS pattern.

“The highest incidence (11 percent HIV positivity) has
been detected in African women between the ages of 15
and 25 and in African men between 25 and 35 years (7.5
percent HIV positivity),” says Natal virologist, Dr Isobel
Windsor.

Four key groups have been identified (in terms of a
WHO recommendation) and constant surveillance by
Natal’s Department of Virology is conducted in these
groups. They are healthy women attending antenatal
clinics, newly detected tuberculosis cases, people
attending STD clinics and commercial sex workers
(prostitutes).

“Over the past three to four years the Natal regional
virus laboratory has gradually established surveillance
surveys in each of these areas with a total of 510
confirmed infections between January and June this
year—the majority occurring in the heterosexual black
population,” says Professor Dennis Pudifin and Dr
Isobel Windsor (both from the department of medicine
and virology at Natal’s medica! school).

From these surveillance programs it has been established
that two percent of tuberculosis sufferers are HIV posi-
tive, between 2.4 and 4 percent of STD clinic attendees
between March 1989 and March 1990, with rates of 5.13
percent in African women compared to 3.32 in African
men.


IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

vaccine in the USSR and in the United States no sooner
than the year 2000. In addition, this research enjoys the
broad support of the government and private firms in
the West, while with us practically everything relies on
the enthusiasm of scientists.

Sigov: The problem of the fight against AIDS is acquiring
truly global proportions. Judging from everything, how-
ever, our government looks upon it as something second-
ary...

Sorokin: As early as 1985, academician R. Petrov spoke
at a session of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of
Medical Sciences and stressed the importance of AIDS-
related work, but he was not understood. Unfortunately,
judging from the funding being allocated to us by the
government, this understanding is still absent. And the
AIDS problem on the planet has long since passed out of
the category of the medical and into the political sphere.

Sigov: And so we are lacking the most necessary things in
the fight against AIDS—drugs and funding. Today our
prominent political and state officials, various philan-
thropic organizations are purchasing single-use syringes
abroad. To what degree will this help solve the problem
of HIV-infection in the USSR?

Sorokin: The public health care experience of many
countries of the world shows that even a full supply of
individual protective means, single-use instrumentation
and equipment by medical institutions and the popula-
tion, has no decisive influence on the rate and nature of
spreading the epidemic. We do not only lack single-use

SOVIET UNION 2

syringes, but blood transfusion systems, chain [kol-
chuzhnyy] gloves for protecting surgeons’ hands, and
much more. It is shameful to admit, but imported
condoms cost R10 on the black market, and ours in drug.
stores have simply disappeared. But this is a funda-
mental means of AIDS prevention! And we do not have
them.

Sigov: So what must be done to stop the spread of the
AIDS epidemic in our country?

Sorokin: First of all it is necessary to unite and coordi-
nate the efforts of state and social organizations in the
fight against AIDS. This is presently the job of a govern-
mental commission headed by a deputy chairman of the
USSR Council of Ministers, but it is evident that it will
not have all the authority necessary to solve the problem.
I would remind people that a similar commission in the
United States was headed by President Reagan. We
should establish a state foundation for the fight against
AIDS, develop international cooperation in combating
this disease, and sharply increase financing for funda-
mental AIDS research, including hard currency
financing. Additionally, preventive measures, AIDS edu-
cation, beginning in the classroom, and the observance
of moral standards and rules of conduct should also
assist in preventing the spread of the AIDS epidemic in
the USSR.

If we continue to fight AIDS as before, using only
appeals, then the USSR will get the chance for the first
time in history to catch up with America and overtake it
(in numbers of HIV-infected cases).



26 SOVIET UNION

Official Urges Further Assistance in Anti-AIDS
ight

90US1186A Moscow ARGUMENTY I FAKTY

in Russian No 29, 21-27 Jul 90 p 5

{Report on interview with A. Sorokin, academic secre-
tary of the Interdepartmental Council on AIDS Scien-
tific Problems, by ARGUMENTY I FAKTY correspon-
dent Yu. Sigov: “AIDS: From Medicine to Politics”;
place and date not given]

[Text] As of June 1990, 512 HIV-infected individuals
were registered in the USSR.

According to data of the World Health Organization
(WHO), over 263,000 individuals on the planet are cur-
rently registered as being ill with AIDS, and this number
continues to increase. Is there a real possibility we will be
able to stop the “20th century plague”? This is the subject
of discussion between ARGUMENTY I FAKTY corre-
spondent Yu. Sigov and A. Sorokin, academic secretary of
the Interdepartmental Council on AIDS Scientific Prob-
lems.

As of this June, data shows that the AIDS epidemic has
encompassed 156 countries, including the USSR. In this
regard, the WHO report published at the 6th International
AIDS Conference recently held in San Francisco noted
that the true figure for people in the world ill with AIDS
exceeds 600,000, and that the number of HIV-infected
individuals is expected to reach 20 million by the year
2000 (presently they amount to about 8 million).

AIDS has struck all continents except Antarctica. Most of
those ill with AIDS are in North America—160,000 cases
(130,000 of which are in the United States), Africa—
65,000, and Europe—35,000 (France—9,000, Italy—
6,000, Spain—5,500, etc.). A small number of people ill
with AIDS are to be found in the countries of Asia and
Australia.

Sigov: What is the latest data on people ill with AIDS in
the USSR?

Sorokin: The first person ill with AIDS in our country
was registered in March 1987. As of June of this year,
512 HIV-infected cases were registered, of which 39 were
ill (22 people died, 14 of whom were children). In
general, about half the HIV-infected cases in our country
are children. Cases of infection have been identified in
12 Union republics; most of the infected individuals are
in Moscow (25 percent of the total) and the majority of
these exhibit a combination of HIV-infection and syph-
ilis.

Predictions for the spread of the infection in our country
are distressing—by the end of 1990 we are expected to
have 1,600 cases of HIV-infection, by 1992—24,000,
and by the year 2000—about 1.5 million cases.

Sigov: Who in our country is engaged in the fight against
AIDS and what funds are being spent by the state to cure
this dangerous illness?

IPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Sorokin: In addition to the USSR Ministry of Health and
the USSR Ministry of Medical Industry, 10 various
councils, commissions, and associations in the country
are engaged in the fight against AIDS: the All-Union
Extraordinary Anti-Epidemic Commission, and a gov-
ernmental commission established in accordance with
the law recently adopted by the USSR Supreme Soviet
“On the Prevention of AIDS.” Their actions are not
being coordinated, however, and they lack financial
support. For example, it was not until April of this year
that RI.5 million were allocated to our council for
fundamental research. And funds have not been allo-
cated at all for the “main” sectors of the fight against
AIDS, in spite of appeals to the government. Nor do we
have hard currency [valyuty]. For comparison purposes I
will state that the cost of eliminating just one in-hospital
outbreak of HIV-infection came to R1.5 million.

Sigov: And how is the fight against the AIDS epidemic
going abroad, particularly in the United States?

Sorokin: As the country with the greatest number of
AIDS cases, the United States is devoting a tremendous
amount of attention to this problem. Expenditures for
fundamental AIDS research alone will amount to $2
billion in the United States in 1991. About $16 billion
will go to treatment and $388 million will be spent on
providing AIDS education to the public. Significant
funds are expended on the fight against AIDS in other
countries: | billion francs in France, 80 million marks in
the FRG, etc.

Incidentally, discrimination or victimization directed
against individuals ill with AIDS is punishable by law in
countries abroad. Thus, an employer in France will be
fined 40,000 francs for refusing to accept an HIV-
infected individual for employment. We sometimes see
cases where infected people are not accepted for employ-
ment and are refused treatment and hospitalization.
Unfortunately, the law recently adopted “On the Preven-
tion of AIDS” makes no provision for specific sanctions
against discrimination directed towards AIDS victims.

Sigov: What methods are now being used to treat AIDS
in the USSR and abroad?

Sorokin: The main drug used to treat AIDS here and
abroad is azidotimidine [name as published], whose
original synthesis technology was developed in the USSR
Academy of Sciences. It was never introduced for mass
production in the country, however. We are presently
forced to purchase it abroad since we lack the raw
materials, production capacity, and technical equipment
to produce it.

Our scientists have also developed means of diagnostics
as good as what is seen abroad (“‘Peptoskrin-2” [name as
published], for example), but their broad-scale introduc-
tion has run into the same difficulties. Vaccines and
preparations which suppress reproduction of the HIV
virus are being developed in institutions of the USSR
Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Health, but even
the most optimistic predictions foresee for creation of a


JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

GABON

Study Shows 1,000 New AIDS Cases Annually

90WE0268B Libreville L’UNION in French
21 May 90 p3

[Text] The latest survey study done in Libreville and the
interior of the country provided an estimate of. the
number of clinical cases of seropositivity in Gabon.
Libreville’s study, which involved 386 adults aged 15 to
44 years, showed an HIV-1 seropositivity rate of 2.2
percent, or an increase of 0.4 in 3 years (1.8 percent in
February 1986). Since the capital’s adult population is
estimated at 175,000, there are thus approximately
4,000 seropositives.

In the interior, an average of 0.6 percent of subjects in
the adult population, estimated at 500,000, are seropos-
itive, or around 3,000 individuals.

Thus, the incidence in Libreville is 0.13 percent a year.
Hypothesizing an identical incidence in the provinces,
researchers estimate that the number of new seroposi-
tives each year is 250 for Libreville and 650 for the rest
of the country. [This makes] a total of 1,000 new
seropositives a year: 1990 (8,000); 1991 (9,000); 1992
(10,000); 1993 (11,000); 1994 (12,000); 1995 (13,000).

GHANA

AIDS Cases Rise From 26 to 1,226 in Three
Years

‘AB1608152690 Accra Domestic Service in English
1300 GMT 15 Aug 90

[Excerpt] A National Advisory Council on AIDS was
inaugurated in Accra today by the PNDC [Provisional
National Defense Council] secretary for health, Nana
Ekuaku Sarpong. It seeks to bring new impetus to the
program of AIDS control in the country by identifying
tesources for the prevention and control of AIDS and
encouraging research activities relating to AIDS. Nana
Yaa Agyeman reports on the inaugural ceremony.

[Begin Agyeman recording] Between 1986 and the end of
1989, reported cases of AIDS have increased from 26 to
1,226. This means that nine out of every 1,000 people in
this country have AIDS. In spite of this alarming figure,
people appear to be more and more uninterested in the
public education campaign against AIDS. That, among
other reasons, led to the formation of the National
Advisory Council of AIDS representing a broad spec-

trum of bodies and institutions, both official and unof-
ficial. [passage omitted] [end recording]

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 3

KENYA

Kemron Drug Test Results Termed ‘Inconclusive’

90WE0255 London AFRICA ANALYSIS in English
8 Jun 90 pI

[Text] Geneva—The World Health Organisation is pre-
paring a report on the five-nation test of the Kenyan-
developed AIDS drugs, kemron (AFRICA ANALYSIS
No -93),’which President Daniel arap Moi last week
announced would be on sale in August. The report,
which should be published by next month, covers trials
in Nairobi, Abidjan, Brazzaville, Harare and Yaounde—
and states that the results were ‘inconclusive.’

Although the WHO is maintaining a diplomatic silence
over Moi’s announcement that kemron is probably the
first effective anti-AIDS drug,’ officials are known to be
furious.

Of particular significance is the fact that scientists in
Harare decided on their own initiative to conduct
‘double blind’ testing, giving one group of patients a
harmless placebo and another the recommended dosages
of kemron. There was no sign of any dramatic break-
through.

According to the Kenyan developers of the drug, an
interferon which is administered in small doses, there is
a ‘significant clinical improvement’ in most patients
after four to six weeks, with signs of a reversal of the
disease. The test reports so far submitted—it is under-
stood that Brazzaville has still to report—do not bear out
this optimism.

Moi Launches Anti-AIDS Drug

EA2707155090 Nairobi Domestic Service in English
0715 GMT 27 Jul 90

[‘‘Live Relay” of speech by President Daniel arap Moi at
the Kenyatta International Conference Center in
Nairobi]

[Excerpts] Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, as
you may recall, during this year’s Madaraka Day [1
June], I announced that I would be launching the anti-
AIDS drug later in the year. That day has come and it is,
therefore, with immense joy that I preside over this
auspicious and historic event, in itself a remarkable
milestone in the development of science and technology
in our land. [passage omitted]

Over the ages, man has, through his unique mental
ability and other endowments, realized tremendous
achievements for his comfort, welfare, and sustenance of
life, but with the advent of the disease AIDS, the clock
seems to have been wound backwards, AIDS has struck
and assumed epidemic proportions, leaving a trail of
death, helplessness, and despair to its victims. It
threatens the foundation of human civilization and the
existence of mankind, showing how vulnerable man is
even with his modern technological advancements.



JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Caricom Health Ministers Begin Two-Day
Meeting

FL2007000190 Bridgetown CANA in English
1913 GMT 19 Jul 90

[Text] Bridgetown, Barbados, July 19, CANA—
Caribbean Community (Caricom) health ministers
began a two-day meeting here on Thursday, noting the
region had achieved significant progress in providing
adequate health care for its people. But speakers at the
opening session of the 12th ministerial meeting said
further progress was being hampered by the region’s
fragile economic base and the outbreak of various dis-
eases, including the deadly Acquired Immune Defi-
ciency Syndrome (AIDS).

«The evidence is slowly mounting to indicate that we
are meeting at a time of an emerging crisis in our health
services,,” said Rudolph Collins, director of functional
cooperation at the Caricom secretariat. “There is
increasing concern, certainly among our health profes-
sionals, that we are at the edge of a decline in health
standards and health care.”

Collins said the evidence of the crisis facing the region
could not be found in the formal statistics, “but in such
indicators as the increased hospital admissions of
patients suffering from poor health care, the increasing
inadequacy of our primary health care systems, and the
increased migratory flow of our trained professional staff
including medical and paramedical personnel.”

He warned that unless the situation confronting the
health sector is dealt with promptly and with imagina-
tion, “the crisis... will serve to negate all our collective
achievements and deny us our confident hopes for the
future.”

Matters to be discussed at the two-day meeting include a
review of the Caribbean Cooperation in Health Initia-
tive, agreed to in Guyana four years ago. That initiative
calls for authorities to give priority to seven areas,
including maternal and child care, AIDS, and the envi-
ronment.

Barbados Health Minister Branford Taitt said AIDS
posed a problem which “threatens to retard the develop-
ment of other aspects of our health care system.” He said
the health sector in the region was facing other problems,
including the migration of nurses and economic con-
straints.

“Financial and human resources seem to be contracting
while, spurred by their easy access to the international
communications network, our population continues to
expand their expectations,” Taitt said.

The ministers are expected to vote on a proposed system
of regional examinations for Caribbean nurses, and
discuss a document related to the crisis confronting the
nursing profession, whose members are migrating to

LATIN AMERICA 17

better paying positions in the United States. The need
for an expanded programme of immunization, disaster
preparedness, and allied health training will also be
examined.

Reports and budgets for regional agencies, including the
Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, the Caribbean
Epidemiology Centre, the Commonwealth Caribbean
Medical Research Council, and the Caribbean Environ-
ment Health Institute will also be discussed during the
two-day ministerial meeting.

ARGENTINA

Hospital Director Reports AIDS Totals

PY0208001290 Buenos Aires Domestic Service
in Spanish 1600 GMT I Aug 90

[Text] Del Milagro Hospital Director Raul Rania has
said in Salta that 710 AIDS cases have been detected so
far in Argentina [no time span given}. He also noted that
there is an AIDS carrier for every 50 or 100 people
infected with AIDS and that it is estimated that there are
approximately 35,000 to 70,000 people infected with
AIDS. He said, however, that the figures are not accurate
because there are some incorrect reports.

BRAZIL

AIDS Incidence in Federal District

90WE0234E Brasilia CORREIO BRAZILIENSE
in Portuguese 26 Jun 90 p 17

[Text] From the discovery of AIDS to date, 571 persons
from the DF [Federal District] have become infected
with the HIV virus. Only 107 of them showed symptoms
of the disease, and the other 464 are undergoing moni-
toring at the FHDF No 8 Health Center. According to
the DST [National Division of Sexually Transmittable
Diseases] AIDS coordinator, Luis Antonio Bueno, the
alarm caused a few years ago regarding an explosion of
cases was not based on reality. He claimed that the
disease is disturbing, and an incentive must be given for
progress in research, but that sensationalism should be
avoided, so that people will not be prompted to assume
extreme attitudes.

Based on these figures, the Federal District currently
ranks fourth in Brazil for AIDS incidence, following Sao
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Roraima.

Government Admits Presence of HIV 2 Virus

90WE0248B Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO
in Portuguese 7 July 90 p C-4

[Text] For the first time, the Brazilian Government has
officially admitted the presence of a second virus trans-
mitting AIDS, besides HIV 1, in Brazil. Yesterday the
director of the Health Ministry’s Sexually Transmissible
Diseases-AIDS Division, Eduardo Cortes, 38, claimed



IJPRS-TEP-90-012

28 AUG 1990 LATIN AMERICA 23
Percentage Distribution of AIDS Cases by Age and Year (Continued)
Age 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 %
40-49 - : : 6 42 32 3 118
50-59 1 - 3 9 9 12 1 5.0
60 or older - - - 1 4 3 1 1.6
Unknown’ : : : 2 - 0.7
Health Region
Risk Metropol- 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Unknown | Total
Group itan
Homo- 6 2 41 1 2 6 - 38
sexual
Bisexual 14 5 3 28 2 3 4 : : 39
Hetero- 62 15 26 314 14 32 46 3 1 513
sexual
a) Male 39 u 13 190 10 19 19 2 1 304
b) Female 18 3 9 95 2 8 16 1 - 152
©) Prosti- 5 1 4 29 2 5 im - 192
tutes
Transfu- 9 2 3 17 : 5 $ 1 - 37
sions
Drug 1 : - 1 : - - - - 44
addiction
Infected 2 - 1 9 - 2 5 - - 19
mother
Unknown’ 2 - : $ - 2 2 : - ut
Total 96 22 37 15 17 46 68 4 1 706
PERU Discrimination Described

90WE0246B Lima EL COMERCIO in Spanish

19 Jun 90 p DI
AIDS Developments Reported

[Text] Concern over the rising number of AIDS cases in

250 Cases in Country the work place was expressed yesterday by Dr. Alberto
. ‘ A Yuen, head of the intrahospital committee set up at

atari ima EXPRESO in Spanish Guillermo Almenara Hospital to prevent and fight

[Text] A total of 50 persons have died of AIDS in Peru
and 250 cases have now been reported throughout the
country.

This information was made public yesterday by the
director of the Central Police Hospital, Dr. Alfredo
Altamirano Cordero, who also announced the launching
of an education campaign aimed at preventing the dis-
ease.

Dr. Altamirano revealed that as part of the celebrations
honoring the institutional anniversary of the National
Police Health Service, two symposia on AIDS and drug
dependency will be held on 27 and 29 June. “The two
conferences will provide a forum for discussion of the
current state of AIDS research,” Dr. Altamirano said.

AIDS.

“Of the 158 cases we have, 113 are from small and
medium-size enterprises, but there are also infected
persons from large companies,” he said.

To remedy the problem, he stressed the need for educa-
tion campaigns in work places so as to provide accurate
information about the disease and thus enable workers
to adopt a responsible attitude.

Concerning covered workers infected with the fatal
virus, he asked for more resources for treatment of the
disease.

“Patients at this hospital cannot receive AZT, a drug
which, while not a cure, nevertheless slows down pro-
gression of the virus. The answer to our requests is that
the drug is not on the list of medicines paid for by the
Health Service,” he said.



IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUGUST 1990 3 AIDS

POLAND

Hosts for AIDS Meeting /Warsaw Domestic Service, Jul 90] .....
ROMANIA

More Than 700 AIDS Cases /Bucharest ROMPRES, 2 Aug 90]
YUGOSLAVIA

Belgrade ‘Most Affected’ by AIDS [Belgrade BORBA, 12 Jul 90] .....

LATIN AMERICA

INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Caricom Health Ministers Begin Two-Day Meeting [Bridgetown CANA, 19 Jul 90]
ARGENTINA

17

Hospital Director Reports AIDS Totals /Buenos Aires Domestic Service, 1 Aug 90] ...
BRAZIL

AIDS Incidence in Federal District [Brasilia CORREIO BRAZILIENSE, 26 Jun 90] .... . 17
Government Admits Presence of HIV 2 Virus /Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO, 7 Jul 90] 17
Cases of AIDS on Rise in Armed Forces /Sao Paulo O ESTADO DE SAO PAULO, 17 Ju 90] . 18
68 Percent of Sao Paulo Inmates AIDS-Infected
{Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO, 5 Jul 90) ....

COLOMBIA
Incidence of AIDS Cases Overviewed
Effective Program Lacking /Bogota EL TIEMPO, 8 Jul 90]
Inadequate Care Described /Bogota EL TIEMPO, 8 Jul 90]
HONDURAS
Survey Discloses ‘Alarming’ AIDS Increase [San Pedro Sula TIEMPO, 28 May 90] ...
Health Ministry Warns of AIDS in Armed Forces [Panama City ACAN, 16 Aug 90] ..
220 Additional AIDS Cases /Covadonga Lastra; San Pedro Sula LA PRENSA, 1 Jul 90]

PERU

18

AIDS Developments Reported
250 Cases in Country (Lima EXPRESO, 26 Jun 90]

Discrimination Described (Lima EL COMERCIO, 19 Jun 90] 23
Huacho Reports 28 Cases [Pedro Yauri; Lima EL NACIONAL, 18 Jun 90] 24
Trujillo Reports 12 Cases [Santiago Lopez; Lima EL NACIONAL, 20 Jun 90] .. 24

NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA
INDIA
More Possible, Confirmed AIDS Cases
Cases in Manipur [Calcutta THE STATESMAN, 31 May 90]
AIDS Among Prostitutes (Jaya Menon; New Delhi SUNDAY MAIL, 10 Jun 90]
PAKISTAN

Spread of AIDS Cases [Islamabad THE MUSLIM, 18 Aug 90) ....



10 CHINA

Shandong AIDS Prevention Committee
Established

SK1407075590 Jinan Shandong Provincial Service
in Mandarin 2200 GMT 13 Jul 90

{Text] The Shandong Provincial Specialists Consultative
Committee for Prevention and Control of AIDS was
established in Jinan on 13 July. As a cooperation project
of Shandong Province with the World Health Organiza-
tion, this committee consists of 28 medical specialists,
and will conduct its work by dividing itself into three
groups—epidemiology, aetiology, and clinical medicine.

It is reported that our country has thus far discovered
194 AIDS patients and persons infected by the AIDS

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

virus. At present, the province has not seen any AIDS
patients. However, because the province is located along
the coast, and there are increasing contacts with for-
eigners, the prevention and control of the introduction,
occurrence, proliferation, and spread of AIDS have
already become an extremely urgent task of the prov-
ince’s public health work. It is reported that in the
coming three years, eight cities and prefectures in the
province will establish their AIDS monitoring centers to
monitor the group of people with high a possibility of
being affected by AIDS, to conduct health education,
and to conduct scientific research. The provincial AIDS
monitoring center, located at the provincial epidemic
prevention station, has already been established.


12 EAST ASIA

SOUTH KOREA

Update on HIV-Positive Cases So Far This Year

SK0708050690 Seoul YONHAP in English
0454 GMT 7 Aug 90

[Text] Seoul, Aug. 7 (YONHAP)—Twenty-seven people
have tested positive for the AIDS virus in South Korea
this year, raising to 100 the number of Koreans con-
firmed HIV positive, the Health and Social Affairs
Ministry said Tuesday.

Of the 82 males and 18 females, a full 50 percent
acquired the deadly disease from foreigners abroad, 28
percent from Korean nationals, 14 percent from for-
eigners in Korea and the remaining 8 percent through
blood transfusions.

It said 46 were in the 21-30 age group (37 males and nine
females), 31 were 31-40 (23 males and eight females), 15
were 41-50 (14 males and one female), four males were
51-60, two under 10, one above 60 and one from 11-20.

It said 50 had worked abroad, 11 had worked in the
entertainment industry and four lived abroad.

The first Korean tested HIV positive in 1985, the
number rose to four in 1986, nine in 1987, 22 in 1988
and 37 in 1989. About 200 are expected to test positive
this year.

Most of people infected by Koreans are homosexuals.

KCNA on ROK AIDS Caused by ‘American Way
of Life’

SK1308053590 Pyongyang KCNA in English

0529 GMT 13 Aug 90

(Text] Pyongyang—Two more AIDS cases have been
reported from South Korea.

This year, more than 100 AIDS cases have been detected
in South Korea where the corrupt and ailing American
way of life is prevalent, causing public concern.

THAILAND

20,200 AIDS Carriers Nationwide

BK1608030190 Bangkok THE NATION in English
16 Aug 90 p 2

[Text] More than 140 Buddhist monks, some 60
policemen and 130 civil officials across the country
tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) that causes the killer disease AIDS, a senior health
official said yesterday.

Dr Thira Ramasut, the Communicable Disease Control
Department’s director general, revealed the records
during a speech delivered at an AIDS conference of
district chiefs and their deputies from all the 14 southern
provinces in Phuket yesterday.

IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Thira said that at present a total of 20,200 people
countrywide have been confirmed positive AIDS car-
riers. He said 144 Buddhist monks, 68 policemen and
130 civil servants tested positive for HIV.

The AIDS carriers also included house maids, beauti-
cians as well as waiters and waitresses, Thira added.

The conference was held to create an awareness of AIDS
and to urge the people to acquire information and
knowledge on AIDS and ways to prevent it.

All the district officials who attended the conference
were asked to bring along material about AIDS—
including slides, posters, booklets and cassettes dealing
with the AIDS virus—to inculcate an awareness of AIDS
in the people in their localities.

Rapid Spread of AIDS, Preventive Measures
Discussed

90WE0233A Bangkok BAN MUANG in Thai
27 May 90 pp 1,20

[Excerpts] [passage omitted] In the afternoon of 26 May
at the Asia Ratchathewi Hotel there was a mecting of
Thammasat University alumni of the 19th MBA class.
Mr. Michai Wirarawaithaya, a former government
spokesman, gave a talk about the problem of “AIDS”.
After the talk he was interviewed by reporters about the
AIDS situation at present. He said that the situation was
very serious and that the rate of increase was the highest
in the world. In particular in the North the rate of
increase was four times what it had been, and about 44
percent of the AIDS cases were there. Of the prostitutes
in the 30 to 50 baht range 72 percent had the virus. In
Bangkok where the situation was evaluated according to
the people giving blood to the Thai Red Cross, the rate of
increase was eight times what it had been. This was very
frightening because there had been no real attempt to
provide information about it.

Mr. Michai said of activities in this area that the aware-
ness was increasing but it was still not sufficient. There
was only one governmental unit, the Ministry of Public
Health, which was involved in preparing for the
problem. He said that we would have to be prepared
becai if we were not Thai society would certainly end
including all aspects of the society and the economy. It
might be that it was too late to persuade adults to change
their behavior.

“Therefore it may be that we should change our focus to
children between the ages of five and 15 in whom we
could establish patterns of behavior different than those
of the present. They must at least understand that they
can not be involved in prostitution,” Mr. Michai said.

In response to the question of whether the problem could
be solved by persuading prostitutes to quit their profes-
sion, he said that the government should change its
Position to that of providing assistance especially
regarding places which could provide jobs for these


JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUGUST 1990 2 AIDS

TANZANIA

Comment Reveals Widespread AIDS Cases
[Milan T. Makoye; Dar es Salaam DAILY NEWS, 3 Jul 90]

UGANDA

AIDS Program Director Addresses Workshop [Nairobi KNA, 3 Aug 90]

ZAMBIA

AIDS Increasing Number of Orphans /Lusaka TIMES OF ZAMBIA, 23 May 90]
Age Figures on AIDS From 1986-1990 /Lasaka TIMES OF ZAMBIA, 20 Jun 90]

on

ZIMBABWE

AIDS Cases Now Total 3,134 (Johannesburg SAPA, 18 Jul 90]
AIDS Council Chairman Cites Incidence of Disease

[Johannesburg International Service, 5 Aug 90] .....
District Doctor Warns on Spread of AIDS (Johannesburg SAPA, 7 Aug 90]
Welfare Worker Warns AIDS Will Kill Youths by 2000 /Johannesburg SAPA, 8 Aug 90]

120000 oo

CHINA

Shandong AIDS Prevention Committee Established {Jinan Shandong Provincial Service, 13 Jul 90) ...... 10
EAST ASIA

FIJI

6 Exposed to AIDS; Victim Count in Pacific Islands /Hong Kong AFP, 16 Aug 90]

HONG KONG

Research Center for New AIDS Drug
[Caitlin Wong; SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 19 May 90) ....

SOUTH KOREA

Update on HIV-Positive Cases So Far This Year /Seoul YONHAP, 7 Aug 90) .....
KCNA on ROK AIDS Caused by ‘American Way of Life’ {Pyongyang KCNA, 13 Aug 90]

THAILAND

20,200 AIDS Carriers Nationwide /Bangkok THE NATION, 16 Aug 90] ..

Rapid Spread of AIDS, Preventive Measures Discussed {Bangkok BAN M. 12
Health Official on AIDS Budget, Lamphun Morbidity [Bangkok DAO SIAM, 22 Jun 30). 13
Paper Comments on AIDS Incidence by Risk Group /{BangKok DAO SIAM 21 Jun] 13

AIDS in Army Region 3 [Bangkok NAEO NA, 6 May 90) ..
Chiang Mai AIDS Statistics /Bangkok NAEO NA, 30 May 90]
Columnist Asks More Government Action, Law on AIDS

[Ta Ma Lo; Bangkok BAN MUANG, 17 Jun 90]

EAST EUROPE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Supplementary AIDS Test Developed /Prague HOSPODARSKE NOVINY, 10 Aug 90) ....



SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

Despite all efforts by the public health system, there are
close to 80 drug addicts considered by the welfare
authorities to be carriers. In practical terms, all the
heroin addicts who are now being put on methadone are
already considered as HIV-infected. Are there no con-
clusions Anna Lindh can draw from this comparison?

Next, on to Anna Lindh’s assertion that handing out
syringes is incompatible with science and empirical
experience. Her support for this claim is “the medical
expertise in the Medical Society and the National Social
Welfare Board.” What sort of expertise is this? In 1988
and 1989, both the Medical Federation and the Medical
Society, as well as important client organizations such as
the National Federation for Assistance to Drug Abusers
[RFHL], the National Organization of People with
Alcohol Problems [ALRO], Verdandi, and Noaks ark/
Red Cross expressed their support for a syringe exchange
along the medical lines we are using. But it was clearly
difficult for the National Social Welfare Board. In this
instance it would be more precise to talk of not knowing
what leg to stand on.

Contrary to Anna Lindh’s assertions, our program has
had huge support among Swedish physicians. This is due
to the fact that our model is precisely a Swedish model.
In fact the syringe exchange program has been adapted to
the restrictive Swedish model, and offers clean syringes
only in combination with medical help. There is a big
difference between this and the public syringe dispensers
of the sort used abroad. With the exception of Sweden,
every country in Europe has over-the-counter sales of
syringes in pharmacies. This is done in line with WHO
recommendations about making clean syringes more
accessible.

That such should be the case has been obvious for several
years.

WEST EUROPE 33

Anna Lindh now makes much of the fact that WHO has
said that syringe exchange programs should be imple-
mented “where appropriate,” which I did not quote.
Anna Lindh thinks that “appropriate” areas would mean
Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where they have already
lost control over drugs and the HIV epidemic. In Sweden
such a program would not be desirable or appropriate
because here we have everything under control.

Quite the contrary, I say. Sweden is an extraordinarily
appropriate country in which to have clean syringes
precisely because the infection has not yet begun to run
amok. Once it has started, it is practically impossible to
stop it. In Sweden we are in a privileged position, and
preventive attitudes can pay off. On the other hand, if we
follow the Stockholm line (banning clean syringes),
Sweden runs the risk of landing in just such an uncon-
trollable situation.

Distributing clean syringes to well known intravenous drug
users to save them from a deadly disease is not—as Anna
Lindh asserts—sending out mixed signals. Every school
child in this country knows it is forbidden to sell drugs.
These youths are also well enough informed and clever to
understand what is at issue. They do not misinterpret the
signals any more than the drug users do. No one but Anna
Lindh and those who share her outlook do.

Cynical and Inhumane

Once again: It is cynical and inhumane not to want to use
all the means at our disposal to fight the deadly and thus
far incurable disease of HIV/AIDS. We cannot in good
conscience write, as former Minister of Social Affairs
Gertrud Sigurdsen did in the above-mentioned
DAGENS NYHETER article [11 November 1989]:
“The fight against HIV/AIDS among drug users will be
fought on many fronts—thought not by distributing
clean syringes.” Clearly this is just what Anna Lindh
believes too.



JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

random for testing for this disease, 1.7 [percent] tested
positive. This test was administered on the country’s
northern coast.

Among 2,000 prostitutes in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro
Sula, it was found that almost 17 percent were infected.
The majority of them were from the northern zone,
according to analyses which were carried out. [passage
omitted]

Health Ministry Warns of AIDS in Armed Forces

PA2208034590 Panama City ACAN in Spanish
1900 GMT 16 Aug 90

[Text] Tegucigalpa, 16 Aug (ACAN-EFE)}—A high
Public Health and Social Aid Ministry official disclosed
today that AIDS had reached the Army barracks where a
“considerable” number of members of the military are
infected.

Enrique Zelaya, head of the epidemiology division at the
Public Health and Social Aid Ministry, has stated that
the virus had been detected among “lower ranking”
soldiers, including sergeants, corporals, and privates.

Zelaya regretted that the Military High Command had
chosen to ignore the problem and forecast that if ade-
quate preventive measures are not enforced “the internal
situation will worsen in the future.”

Although he does not have precise statistics on the
problem, Zelaya stated that the spreading of AIDS is
facilited by the “promiscuity amid which the soldiers
live.”

According to the doctor, on their days off, many soldiers
have sexual relations without taking any precautions,
despite the fact that many official reports disclose that in
some cities—such as San Pedro Sula (northern region)—
five out of every 10 prostitutes are AIDS carriers and a
permanent source of infection.

Zalaya explained that some unit commanders have
requested help from the Public Health and Social Aid
Ministry to control and prevent the disease among their
soldiers, but these remain isolated actions.

The Honduran Army has approximately 27,000 mem-
bers, distributed in the Infantry, Police, Aviation and
Naval Branches.

This country, with a population of 4.5 million, has the
greatest incidence of AIDS cases in Central America,
with a total of 780 confirmed cases, of which 282 have
died, 195 receive medical treatment, and 303 have no
control whatsoever.

Likewise, the Public Health and Social Aid Ministry
estimates that between 40,000 and 90,000 Hondurans
carry the so-called “disease of the century,” although
they have not yet developed the symptoms.

LATIN AMERICA a

220 Additional AIDS Cases

90WE0251A San Pedro Sula LA PRENSA in Spanish
1 Jul 90 p2

{Article by Covadonga Lastra]

[Text] Tegucigalpa—The reports on the number of Hon-
duran citizens infected with AIDS in 1990 are fright-
ening, the authorities at the Ministry of Public Health
say, because in the five months of this year which have
elapsed, 220 cases of the disease have been reported and
have now been clinically confirmed.

This information was provided by Dr. Jose Enrique
Zelaya, director of the National Commission for Com-
bating AIDS. He added that in May, 39 individuals
tested positive for the virus.

This physician explained that the figures on carriers of
the virus and individuals presenting the symptoms in
May are not yet complete, since Health Region No. 3,
which has its headquarters in San Pedro Sula, did not
send in its monthly report on time. That report is needed
in order to compute the overall number affected by this
“disease of the century” on time.

The Ministry of Public Health has divided the country
into eight health regions. Health Region No. 3 includes
the departments of Cortes, Santa Barbara (with the
exception of the municipalities of Naranjito and Protec-
cion), and Yoro (with the exception of Olanchito, Jocon,
and Arenal).

These 39 cases were identified in the Metropolitan
Region and in Regions 2, 5, and 6.

The Metropolitan Region includes Tegucigalpa, while
Region No. 2 includes the departments of Comayagua,
Intibuca, and La Paz. Region No. 5 includes Copan and
Ocotepeque, and Region No. 6 includes Atlantida, Islas
de la Bahia, Colon, and some municipalities in Yoro,
Gracias a Dios, and Olancho.

Serious reports of an official nature issued by the public
health authorities point to Region No. 3 as that with the
highest incidence of AIDS. About 60 percent of all of the
cases in the country were reported in this zone.

San Pedro Sula, the most important city on the northern
coast, still leads with the largest number of individuals
affected.

Of the total of 706 cases confirmed in Honduras, 289 are
concentrated in the industrial capital of the country,
which has a population of 326,943, according to the
1988 Population and Housing Census.

Tegucigalpa is in second place, with 68 cases, followed
by Comayagua, La Ceiba, El Progreso, Puerto Cortes,
Santo Rosa de Copan, La Lima, and Chamelecon.

There are AIDS cases in all 18 departments of the
country, although those least affected are Intibuca, Lem-
pira, and Olancho, which has the lowest incidence.



Epidemiology
AIDS

JPRS-TEP-90-012 CONTENTS 28 AUGUST 1990

[This EPIDEMIOLOGY report contains only material on AIDS. Other epidemiology topics will be published in a later
issue.]

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
BOTSWANA

Official Details Mahalapye AIDS Situation /Gaborone Domestic Service, 12 Aug 90]

BURUNDI
3,000 AIDS Cases Detected /Bujumbura Domestic Service, 24 Jul 90]
CAMEROON

Inaccessibility ‘Perhaps’ Raises AIDS Count
[Wafo Mongo; Yaounde CAMEROON TRIBUNE, 17 Apr 90] ....
Breakdown of AIDS Cases by Age, Sex

[Waffo Mongo; Yaounde CAMEROON TRIBUNE, 12 Apr 90]_... 2

Public Health Minister on Kenyan AIDS Drug /Yaounde Domestic Service, 2 Aug 90] 2
GABON

Study Shows 1,000 New AIDS Cases Annually Libreville L'UNION, 21 May 90] 3
GHANA

AIDS Cases Rise From 26 to 1,226 in Three Years [Accra Domestic Service, 15 Aug 90] 3

KENYA

Kemron Drug Test Results Termed ‘Inconclusive’ /London AFRICA ANALYSIS, 8 Jun 90]
Moi Launches Anti-AIDS Drug [Nairobi Domestic Service, 27 Jul 90]

NAMIBIA

Nujoma Calls For All To Help Fight AIDS /Windhoek Domestic Service, 5 Jul 90]
SENEGAL

Pilot Program for AIDS High Risk Group /Dakar LE SOLEIL, 14 May 90] ....
SOUTH AFRICA

AIDS in Children on the Rise (Johannesburg SAPA, 17 Jul 90] ......
Health Department Reports Number of AIDS Cases on Rise {Johannesburg SAPA, 18 Jul 90]
Western Cape AIDS Figures ‘Doubled’ in 1990 [Johannesburg SAPA, 4 Aug 90] .
Academics Note Natal AIDS Statistics (Johannesburg SAPA, 9 Aug 90] ....
AIDS Figures Growing ‘More Than’ 100 Percent Year

[Johannesburg SATURDAY STAR, 18 Aug 90]
AIDS More Frequent in Transvaal /Johannesburg SAPA, 17 Aug 90]

a2 aaUuDH



IJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

treatments are constantly being developed. In addition
to drugs created by university scientists and drug com-
panies, non-traditional therapies such as herbal remedies
are also being tried.

Keeping track of all the treatments being tested requires
reading dozens of journals every month, something few
doctors have time to do.

Health Care Workers’ Protection

90WE0277 Vancouver THE SUN in English

3 Jul 90 p A&

[Text] Winnipeg—Governments are needlessly spending
hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive and
ineffective measures to protect health care workers from
AIDS, a new study says.

The conclusions of the study done at an unidentified
450-bed hospital in Hamilton, Ont., were published in
the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The review, conducted by Dr Ralph Bloch, Dr Susan
Stock and associate professor Amiram Gafni of
McMaster University, estimated that precautions
against the fatal disease cost $315,000 a year at the
hospital.

The methods now in use, developed by the United States
Center for Disease Control and adopted in Canada and
elsewhere, focus mainly on the use of latex gloves and
impermeable gowns, goggles and masks.

The analysis suggests their use is meant to calm fears of
hospital workers who are afraid of catching acquired
immune deficiency syndrome.

“That’s because AIDS is a very emotional thing,” Gafni
said recently.

The study found the risk of infection by the HIV virus is
0.36 percent for needlestick injuries and even less for
other means of exposure.

The year-long analysis included a review of literature on
the subject as well as the study at the Hamilton hospital.

AIDS is a virus which attacks the body’s immune system,
making it difficult to fight diseases. It’s spread mainly
through sexual contact and blood.

As of June 25, there were 3,834 cases of AIDS reported
in Canada. There were 2,886 known deaths reported.

Medical spokesmen agreed the costs are high and risk of
transmission is low, but they said it will take more than
one study to change the rules.

Alan Meltzer, senior medical adviser at the federal
Center for AIDS, said the federal government will con-
tinue to support the current precautions.

“You can jab yourself with a needle and it will go right
through the glove so we all agree that they are no
protection,” Meltzer said.

WEST EUROPE 29

HIV Incidence Project

90WE0277 Windsor THE WINDSOR STAR in English
12 Jul 90 p C12

[Text] Canada will likely record its 4,000th case of AIDS
this month.

But knowing that fact is of small comfort—and little
use—to researchers trying to uncover the extent of what
they call a hidden epidemic.

More than a decade after a case of acquired immune
deficiency syndrome was discovered in Canada, deter-
mining how many people could get the disease remains a
guessing game.

Federal researchers estimate up to 50,000 Canadians are
infected with HIV, the virus that causes the disease.
AIDS cripples the immune system’s ability to ward off
life-threatening infections and illnesses.

But estimates of the number of HIV infections in
Canada have ranged from 10,000 to 100,000 over the
past five years.

Earlier predictions about how many people would get
AIDS have proven wildly inaccurate—in the mid-1980s
some researchers speculated there might be 20,000 cases
by 1990.

“There really is a lot of guesswork, a lot of seat-
of-the-pants stuff,” said Dr Alastair Clayton, director of
the Federal Center for AIDS in Ottawa.

“It’s very imprecise, which is why we want to do it
properly.”

Figuring out how many Canadians have HIV is one of
the research priorities of the federal government’s
national AIDS strategy, which Health Minister Perrin
Beatty announced last month.

Determining who is HIV-infected will help identify
high-risk groups and how the disease is spreading, focus
prevention programs and tell policy-makers how much
of a future burden AIDS will be on the health-care
system.

The extent of AIDS is now monitored by reporting cases.
Since 1979, 3,950 cases have been reported to the federal
government and 2,321 of those AIDS patients have died.

Doctors across Canada are required to report fully
developed cases of AIDS to the center.

But AIDS statistics don’t reveal who is HIV-infected.
People who develop AIDS could have been infected five
to 12 years earlier.

About 20,000 blood tests in Canada have shown HIV
infection. But many of the tests could have been repeats
on the same person and some provinces, such as Quebec,
don’t require doctors to report HIV infections, said
Clayton.



24 LATIN AMERICA

Yuen said that campaigns should be directed at workers
and officials in order to prevent rejection, discrimina-
tion, and firings, and added that some companies have
asked that health officials hold talks with management
and employees.

“In particular, we must address young workers who tend
to frequent prostitutes. They must be warned about the
risk of maintaining homosexual and bisexual relations or
of buying blood when transfusions are needed,” Dr.
Yuen said.

He also expressed concern over harmful consequences to
the worker.

“We have ten patients who in various ways were sub-
jected to pressure to leave their jobs,” he revealed,
emphasizing that the law protects such employees but
that they are still the victims of pressure.

“We have had to hold lengthy discussions with manage-
ment and convince company officials of the harm done
to the worker. Fortunately, some have responded posi-
tively, as in the case of one finance company that even
bears the cost of the drug AZT, amounting to $200 a
month,” he said.

“One important aspect is respect for confidentiality. If
the patient does not wish to inform his employer, he
cannot be forced to do so,” Yuen pointed out.

Huacho Reports 28 Cases

90WE0246C Lima EL NACIONAL in Spanish
18 Jun 90 p8&

[Report by Pedro Yauri]

{Excerpt] Commercial ships docked in this port arrived a
week ago to take on loads of fish flour bound for markets
in Europe and Central America.

Their crew members, particularly Panamanians infected
by prostitutes in that country, engaged in sexual relations
with prostitutes and homosexuals who “work” areas
close to the port and even in the downtown area of the
city and, according to the results of analyses done at the
Huacho Regional Hospital, infected 28 of them.

The analyses were done by medical personnel at several
health clinics at the request of provincial subprefect
Felix Minaya Sanchez after rumors began to circulate
concerning symptoms of a rare disease in all women in
“the life.”

Some women initially refused to accept the fact that they
carried the virus. For Huacha residents, the AIDS virus
had previously been no more than a myth invented by
other societies for undisclosed purposes.

However, when the symptoms in question refused to
disappear, a group of 20 [prostitutes] consulted special-
ists at the Regional Hospital and were astonished to
learn that they had indeed been infected by the foreign
crew members.

SJPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

The news, which came as an enormous shock, reached
the ears of provincial officials, who ordered that all
prostitutes without exception be examined. A total of 28
women were found to have AIDS.

The same 500 crew members of ships docked in the port
will also be subjected to thorough examinations aimed at
determining in which country the disease originated.

Unofficial sources reported that the Panamanians were
the only carriers of the virus, but the possibility of crew
members from other ships being infected has not been
tuled out.

Subprefect Felix Minaya lamented the fact that prosti-
tution has proliferated uncontrollably in the province.
“Until only a year ago, very few women were involved.
Now one sees them in the most heavily frequented areas
of the city.”

The issue is of special concern now that many of the
women have been found to be infected with AIDS.
[passage omitted]

Trujillo Reports 12 Cases

90WE0246D Lima EL NACIONAL in Spanish
20 Jun 90 p 13

[Report by Santiago Lopez]

{Excerpts] Twelve cases of AIDS have been confirmed in
this city as a result of the continuous visits of hundreds
of infected foreign sailors who frequent local prostitutes.

This warning was issued yesterday morning by depart-
mental health director Dr. Luis Otiniano Diaz, who said
that 12 women from “the life” infected with the fatal
virus are being treated at different clinics in the city.

“They had sexual relations with foreign sailors and
fishermen, particularly from England, Brazil, and the
United States, whose ships dock in Salaverry Port in this
city,” the expert said.

“They come ashore and roam the city, sleeping with
women in the trade, who also actively solicit their
business because they pay in dollars,” he added. [passage
omitted]

Control

Dr. Andres Sunez Andonaire, head of the IPSS [Peru-
vian Institute of Social Security] in this city, said it is
most unfortunate that such a thing is occurring and that
Lima’s health authorities absolutely must do something.
“It would even be appropriate to order the Merchant
Marine to exercise strict control over the entry of such
vessels and examine sailors because they not only bring
AIDS, but many other infections which they spread in
our city.”

He also confirmed that Trujillo has eight cases of pros-
titutes with the terrible virus, but that due to the delicate
nature of the matter, the victims’ relatives have pre-
ferred to care for them at home until their death.
[passage omitted]


8 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Dr
Eric van Praag warned in Lusaka yesterday.

As at March Zambia had 3,000 reported cases and
10,000 AIDS-related diseases but the figure could be
much lower than the actual incidence of the disease.

He said this is a technical update at Kara house, a session
attended by medical personnel and other professionals in
Lusaka Urban, Lusaka Rural and Luangwa districts.

Noting that tuberculosis cases have shot up with the
advent of AIDS, as one of the first symptoms of AIDS,
Dr van Praag urged Zambians to think more of the
consequences of AIDS in the family.

The disease was prevalent among the upper middle class
but over-reporting caused by people changing names and
complaining of the same suspected cases at various
health centres distorted figures. In the West there were
cases of under-reporting.

Dr van Praag who said HIV-infected persons could not
test negative for the first eight to 12 weeks (window
period), said AIDS was a reality that Zambia now had to
adjust to and live with alongside the rest of the world
since it would be present for many years to come.

Co-factors enhancing the spread of AIDS were alcohol
drinking which led to high sexual contact, genital ulcer-
ations and abrasions.

These co-factors accounted for 70 percent of the spread
while blood transfusions accounted for ten percent and
antenantal or pregnancy infections (mother to child) 20
percent.

No transmission occurred via insects, clothing, food,
water, skin contact, faeces and urine. Only through
vaginal fluids, semen and blood did infection occur.

Age Figures on AIDS From 1986-1990

90WE0267B Lusaka TIMES OF ZAMBIA in English
20 Jun 90 p 9

{Excerpt] The Ministry of Health recorded 3,000 AIDS
cases for the period 1986 to April 20, 1990, an epidemi-
ologist in the ministry, Dr Henson Himonga, said yes-
terday.

Dr Himonga could not give the latest data regarding
deaths from the AIDS virus as some hospitals did not
provide statistics but said 2,794 of the 3,000 cases
Teported had contracted AIDS through heterosexual
activity.

He said 166 had contracted the virus through blood
transfusions and unsterilised syringes while 31 children
had contracted it from their mothers.

Giving the breakdown of AIDS cases in age groups, Dr
Himonga said that during the period under review, 185
cases had been reported for children between the ages of
0 to four years. Five and 14 years—1!2 cases, between 15

JPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

and 19 years—143 cases, between 20 and 29 years—903
cases, 30 and 39 years—1,043 cases.

The 40 and 49 years group reported 400 cases, between
50 and 59 years—64 cases and 60 and above—17 cases.

Those whose age was not specified numbered 224 cases.
[Passage omitted]

ZIMBABWE

AIDS Cases Now Total 3,134

MB1807184190 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1740 GMT 18 Jul 90

[Text] Harare July 18 SAPA—Another 777 AIDS cases,
181 of them in children up to the age of four, were
reported by the Zimbabwean government on
Wednesday, bringing Zimbabwe's AIDS total by the end
of June to 3,134, ZIANA reports.

The latest figures are for the second quarter of this year,
ending on June 30. A total of 725 cases were reported for
the first three months.

The statistics, released by the AIDS programme contro!
coordinator, Dr. Sylvester Marowa, said 229 of the
sufferers were in the 20 to 29 age group and 231 were in
the 30 to 49 bracket.

A breakdown for all age groups said 349 were women
and 421 were men. The sex of the seven others was
unspecified.

AIDS Council Chairman Cites Incidence of
Disease

MB0508133990 Johannesburg International Service
in English 1100 GMT 5 Aug 90

[Text] The chairman of Zimbabwe's national AIDS
council, Dr. McLeod Chitoyo, says Zimbabwe is one of
the countries with the highest number of AIDS cases,
with 263 out of every million people suffering from the
disease. He said this meant that out of a population of
nine million, 2,367 Zimbabweans were suffering from
AIDS by the first quarter of this year.

In addition to this, more than 450,000 Zimbabweans
were carriers of the AIDS virus. Dr. Chitoyo said that in
the past six months 1,723 new cases of AIDS had been
reported in Zimbabwe, a figure higher than the total
number of cases reported in the country last year.

District Doctor Warns on Spread of AIDS

MBO0708 125890 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1142 GMT 7 Aug 90

[Text] Gweru Aug 7 SAPA—Five people have died of
AIDS this year in the Gokwe District, in Zimbabwe, and
about 80 others have been tested HIV positive,


IPRS-TEP-90-012
28 AUG 1990

FIJI

6 Exposed to AIDS; Victim Count in Pacific
Islands

BK1608102090 Hong Kong AFP in English 0915 GMT
16 Aug 90

[Text] Suva—Fiji authorities confirmed Thursday that
six people had tested positive for AIDS.

Acting government director of primary health and pre-
ventive services, Dr. Salik Govind, said the six were aged
19 to 56.

They had been exposed to the AIDS virus by sexual
contact “‘as none of them have ever been out of the
country,” he said. Doctors were monitoring the cases.

“The victims are at risk if they are identified. They are
living like normal people because they are healthy and
don’t have to be admitted to a hospital,” Dr. Govind
said.

A seventh victim, a married woman who contracted the
virus from a sexual partner who had been exposed to it
after a blood transfusion overseas, died in April.

Dr. Govind said the six were identified from a random
survey of 15,000 tests performed since 1986.

Fiji and Pacific Island Governments have formed a
regional effort to coordinate the fight to stop the spread
of the disease which World Health Organization officials
here believe could be controlled in this region.

Fewer than 50 positive tests for AIDS have been
reported in the Pacific Islands—23 in Papua New
Guinea, between eight and 12 in French Polynesia, four
in Western Samoa, six in Fiji and one in Tonga.

Meanwhile, the Suva City Council in the Fiji capital
released a report Thursday raising concern over a 36
percent rise in sexually transmitted diseases in the coun-
try’s main metropolitan center over the past year.

It said the diseases have become a major social medical
problem.

HONG KONG

Research Center for New AIDS Drug

54004071 Hong Kong SOUTH CHINA MORNING
POST in English 19 May 90 p 2

{Article by Caitlin Wong]

[Text] Hongkong has been chosen as a manufacturing
base for an unproven anti-AIDS drug to be tested in HIV
carriers in Uganda.

The manufacturer, United States-based Washington
Biolab Inc (WBC), is applying to the Hongkong Govern-
ment for a licence to set up a research centre to produce

EAST ASIA 11

retrogen, a chemical compound it claims can effectively
combat the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

The president of the company, Dr Paul Ki, said yes-
terday that the company had chosen Hongkong as its
manufacturing base in Asia because it provided good air
links and a pool of medical personnel.

While retrogen would not be marketed in Hongkong, the
Ugandan Government agreed to the drug being used on
some of the country’s HIV carriers, Mr Ki said.

He said retrogen had been researched for three years and
laboratory tests had proved it to be non-toxic.

Dr Ki said test results on retrogen would be submitted to
the US food and Drugs Administration for approval.
Rudimentary tests carried out by the Pasteur Institute in
Belgium on the drug had yielded good results, he added.

Dr Ki said WBI was a registered research laboratory
financed by private investors. It was set up three years
ago and comprises a team of 10 researchers.

Retrogen is one of the pharmaceutical products WBI is
researching. Dr Ki claimed the drug was able to kill the
HIV virus as well as strengthen the immune power of the
human body by inducing it to produce interferons, a
substance that fights viruses.

Comparing retrogen to AZT, an oral drug now generally
used to treat AIDS, Dr Ki said the former had few side
effects except for a slight fever after every application,
while AZT had been found to cause anaemia and cancer.
It was also more expensive than retrogen, and required
more frequent and larger doses.

The head of the AIDS Counselling and Education Ser-
vice, Dr Patrick Li Chun-ki, said it was too early to draw
conclusions about retrogen’s success as its effects on the
human body were still not known. “A lot of drugs which
proved positive in the laboratory proved otherwise when
applied on human beings,” Dr Li said.

He has had discussions with Dr Ki about retrogen and
said there were still many things not known about the
drug. Dr Li said users might suffer chronic fatigue as a
result of a high incidence of fever.

“But we are very interested in it and will be closely
observing research progress of it. If it is proved to be
effective, we might use it,” he said,

In Hongkong, AZT is being used on AIDS victims and
people suffering from AIDS-related complexes.

Dr Li said the benefits of AZT outweighed its risks and
there was no proof it could cause cancer.

“It has only been found to be carcinogenic in animals in
the laboratory but then the dosage is different,” he said.