JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Highest AIDS Case Rates in Caribbean

FL1806114890 Bridgetown CANA in English
1517 GMT 17 Jun 90

[Text] Bridgetown, Barbados, June 17, CANA —Three
Caribbean countries—Bahamas, French Guiana, and
Bermuda—have the world’s highest AIDS case rates
based on population, according to the World Health
Organization [WHO].

In a country-by-country report on the fatal disease in
almost every nation and territory in the world, the WHO
said the Bahamas which had reported 437 cases by the
end of last December, had an AIDS case rate of 68.6 for
every 100,000 people in the country. Next was French
Guiana whose 191 cases gave it a rate of 68.2. Third was
Bermuda with 135 cases and an AIDS rate of 61.4.

“It should be noted that these figures are incomplete and
are subject to change,” said a WHO official.

The figures also show that Africa has high case rates. For
example, Malawi reported 7,160 AIDS cases and its rate
was 37.1 per 100,000 of population. Uganda, the nation
reporting the largest single number of AIDS cases on the
continent, has had 12,444 AIDS victims and a case rate
of 28.3 while the Congo’s 1,940 gave it a rate of 17.3.

In all, 64,745 AIDS cases have been reported to WHO by
African nations, much more than 35,161 reported in
Europe. Asia’s total was 647 but many experts say that
figure doesn’t reflect the true situation in that part of the
world. For example, six south east Asian states—
Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Maldive, Mongolia,
and Myanmar (formerly Burma)—have not reported any
cases.

In the Americas, a region which takes in the Caribbean,
South and Central America, the U.S. and Canada, the
AIDS picture looked worse than Africa. In all, some
160,619 AIDS cases were reported to WHO by the
Americas up to the end of March, with the U.S.
accounting for 132,436 of them. Brazil’s total was 10,510
while Mexico’s was 4,268 cases, and Canada’s 3,735.

In the Caribbean, Haiti’s AIDS cases amounted to 2,331
but its large population gave it a rate of only 5, much less
than half the U.S. figure of 12 per 100,000 people.
Jamaica’s 141 cases were much less than Trinidad and
Tobago’s 557 but slightly more than Barbados’ 122.

ARGENTINA

426 AIDS Cases Recorded in Eight Years
PY3006143290 Buenos Aires TELAM in Spanish
1851 GMT 29 Jun 90

[Text] Buenos Aires, 29 Jun (Telam)—Alberto Cormil-
lot, Buenos Aires Life Quality Department secretary, has

LATIN AMERICA 15

reported that between 1982 and 1990 there were 426
AIDS cases in the federal capital, of which 96.5 percent
were men.

Cormillot made this statement during a joint news
conference with Celia Wainstein, head of the municipal
program for the control of AIDS and of sexually trans-
mitted diseases.

BOLIVIA

AIDS Cooperation Agreement With EEC Signed

PY2606030290 La Paz Television Boliviana Network
in Spanish 0030 GMT 26 Jun 90

[Excerpt] Under Secretary for Public Health Guillermo
Cuentas has reported that the EEC has granted Bolivia
$300,000 through a cooperation agreement aimed at
implementing an AIDS prevention program. [recorded
passage omitted]

BRAZIL

New Type AIDS Virus Found in Sao Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro

PY0707125690 Brasilia Domestic Service in Portuguese
2200 GMT 6 Jul 90

[Excerpt] The Health Ministry has admitted the exist-
ence of another type of AIDS virus in Brazil.

Eduardo Cortes, the director of the AIDS Division of the
Health Ministry, today stressed that the second type of
virus that provokes the illness, (HIV 2), has been found
in four persons in Sao Paulo and in two in Rio de
Janeiro. [passage omitted]

CHILE

Country Diagnosed in ‘Initial Stage’ of AIDS
Epidemic

PY2306 134690 Santiago Domestic Service in Spanish
1100 GMT 23 Jun 90

[Excerpt] Dr. Rodrigo Hess, who is in charge of the
ministerial AIDS control program, states that 495 AIDS
cases have been reported so far in Chile. Based on
world-level figures, the number of AIDS cases in Chile
shows that our country is at the initial stage of an AIDS
epidemic. Hess attended the opening session of the
second international AIDS symposium at O’Higgins
hotel. The symposium, sponsored by the Health Min-
istry, is being organized by the 5th region’s branch of the
Chilean Society of Respiratory Diseases. [passage
omitted]



36 WEST EUROPE

of previously unreported cases. So it’s difficult to com-
pare the years,” says Hasselvedt.

Mostly Men

Up through the first quarter of this year, 153 cases of
AIDS had been reported in Norway: 139 men and 14
women. As many as !13 of the men were infected as a
result of homosexual or bisexual activity. Of the eight
- new cases of AIDS this year (through 31 March), all are
men. Seven are homosexual or bisexual, while one was
infected heterosexually.

Eight persons in the AIDS group are intravenous drug
users, while one was infected through a combination of
homosexual activity and intravenous drug use. Five are
hemophiliacs, while 11 persons were infected after
having received HIV-tainted blood or blood products.

Twelve were infected as a result of heterosexual activity.
There is one child among those sick with AIDS.

Explosion

While homosexuals and bisexuals make up the largest
group of AIDS sufferers, there are almost as many
intravenous drug users who are HIV-positive.

Of the 901 persons who are HIV-positive, 709 are men
and 192 are women. Three hundred forty-seven are
homosexual or bisexual men, 294 are intravenous drug
users, and 24 mention both homosexual activity and
intravenous drug use as possible sources of infection.

There are a total of 21 hemophiliacs—a figure which has
remained constant—in the HIV-positive group, while 20
persons have been infected by HIV-tainted blood or
blood products. There are five HIV-infected children,
born to HIV-positive mothers. In ten of the HIV cases,
the cause of infection is unknown.

Abroad

Of the 180 persons infected heterosexually, 59 percent
were infected in countries where the disease is
endemic—often central African countries where HIV
infection is much more common than here. In this group
there are both Norwegians and persons native to those
countries.

Nine of the 12 new persons infected heterosexually this
year were infected abroad: in Europe, in Latin America,
and in Central Africa. The development of heterosexual
infection in Norway has been slow.

HIV Increase Among Drug Addicts?

“Norway’s substance abusers are a thoroughly tested
group. We know a great deal about HIV infection in
substance abusers. Barely 300 HIV-positives have been
reported, while only eight have developed AIDS. Here
we can expect an explosive development.”

So says Viggo Hasseltvedt, medical director of the State
Institute for Public Health. But fewer HIV infectons

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

have also been recorded among substance abusers. Most
who visit treatment centers have long been known to be
HIV-positive.

“Our experience has been that HIV-positive persons live
longer as HIV-positive without being diagnoses as
having AIDS, and those who develop AIDS live longer
than we feared,” he says.

25 Percent Infected

Today there are 22 substance abusers at the Ullvin
Treatment Center in Oslo. Twenty-five percent are HIV-
positive. “They can stay with us regardless of whether
they start to get sick. There are enough rumors out
there,” says Center director Jan Lanesskog.

He thinks it is true that the epidemic has slowed down
somewhat. “It appears as if those infected with the HIV
do surprisingly well under normal conditions. They ‘last’
longer than we thought they would several years ago, and
they struggle more. The disease runs a chronic course,”
says Lanesskog.

On the Street

He fears that many HIV-positive substance abusers are
about to give up. “They deteriorate faster, and they have
it tougher. Many decide to hit the strects instead of
secking help at treatment centers.”

At Veksthuset in the Gaustad section of Oslo, 20 percent
of the clients are HIV-positive. Vekshuset has room for
30 residents, and the average age is twenty-six. A person
must be capable of rehabilitation in order to get in.
Veksthuset is not supposed to be a sick bay.

“We've had people who've had the discase a long time,
and only a few who were recently infected. Our residents
come here under their own steam and arc taken ‘right off
the street,” says medical director Christian Hartwig to
ARBEIDERBLADET.

None at Hov i Land

At the State Clinic for Drug Addicts (SKN) at Hov i
Land, however, there is not a single HIV-positive case
today among the 42 substance abusers. In 1989 the
number of HIV-infected persons was 25.8 percent. In
1988 the figure was 12.6 percent, while the figure for
1987 was 4.2 percent. “This is very surprising and isn’t
due to changes in criteria for admission,” director
Magne Engescth assures us.

27 Years Old

He thinks it may have something to do with the fact that
SKN cannot accept substance abuseres from Oslo and
that there is a tendency to admit whole families and
married couples. The average age of adults is 27 years.


32 WEST EUROPE

a hospital worker is by accidentally pricking the skin
with a needle contaminated with the AIDS virus.

But universal precautions used in hospitals to prevent
the spread of AIDS provide little protection against
needle injuries, said Dr. Susan Stock, of the community
medicine residency program at McMaster.

Instead, most of the three-year-old measures developed
by the U.S. National Centre for Disease Contro! and
adopted by Health and Welfare Canada involve using
gloves, masks, goggles and gowns to protect people
against splashes of blood or other bodily fluids from any
patient, whether or not they are known to have AIDS.

But Stock—whose study was published in this month's
Canadian Medical Association Journal—said health care
workers run a much lower risk of contracting AIDS from
a blood splash than from a needle injury.

She based her findings on six Canadian, American and
British studies involving 2,178 health care workers who
were exposed to blood and other body fluids of AIDS
patients.

Of the 1,394 workers who suffered a needle injury, five,
or .038 percent, contracted the HIV virus that causes
AIDS.

None of the 784 who were splashed with blood or other
bodily fluids contracted the fatal virus for which there is
still no known cure.

Nurses, housekeeping staff, laboratory workers and doc-
tors are at greatest risk of a needle injury, said Stock. She
said studies show up to 40 percent of the injuries occur
when a needle is being recapped, when it is left in linen,
trash cans or surgical trays.

Other injuries occurred during procedures such as
inserting intravenous lines, stitching skin or through the
use of scalpels or other sharp objects.

Stock said more research needs to be done to minimize
the risk of injury, such as redesigning sharp surgical
equipment and developing alternatives to stitching and
cutting with blades.

Victoria Prostitute

54200027 Vancouver THE SUN in English 4 May 90
pB7

[Excerpts] Victoria—A 20-year-old Victoria prostitute
infected with the AIDS virus could be taken off the
streets immediately, the president of the Victoria Med-
ical Society says.

The Health Act allows anyone known to be spreading a
communicable disease to be quarantined, Dr. John
McCaw said Thursday.

The woman had a one-year-old child who also is infected
with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

She has worked the streets in Victoria for months,
agreeing not to use condoms in exchange for morc
money from her customers.

McCaw said the woman is also an intravenous drug user
and is known to share her needles.

Dr. Shaun Peck, Capital regional district medical health
officer, said Wednesday the woman can’t be criminally
charged unless one of her clients will testify he had
unprotected intercourse with her. [Passage omitted}

John Garrison, regional district representative on the
AIDS Vancouver Island needle-exchange committec,
said there are 13 B.C. prostitutes known to be carrying
the AIDS virus.

Seven of them are also intravenous drug users, he said.

As of April 30, 3,747 AIDS cases had been diagnosed in
Canada, including 2,238 deaths.

Isolation Order for Prostitute

54200027 Toronto THE GLOBE AND MAIL
in English 11 May 90 p AS

[Article by Deborah Wilson: “Prostitute with AIDS
Evades Isolation Order”)

{Excerpt] A 20-year-old prostitute with the AIDS virus
was in hiding yesterday as police sought to enforce an
order by health officials to place her in medical isolation.

The isolation order issued by Victoria’s chief public
health official is the first ever used against a person with
the AIDS virus, but the woman, who is known as Renee,
is not the first prostitute with AIDS to work on the
streets in British Columbia, according to Vancouver
health officials.

Nor is she the first prostitute with AIDS to shun safe-sex
practices, such as the use of condoms, to prevent the
transmission of the deadly virus.

Dr. John Bardsley, medical officer of health for Vancou-
ver's North Health Unit, said another prostitute with
AIDS in Vancouver was refusing to use condoms more
than a year ago, but she died in hospital from complica-
tions of the illness not long after he learned of the
problem and spoke to her about it.

Dr. Shaun Peck, Victoria’s medical officer of health, said
that 113 people in British Columbia who have tested
positive for the AIDS virus are either drug users or
prostitutes or both. He said most prostitutes are intrave-
nous drug users, and many of them work as prostitutes to
support their addictions.

Dr. Peck issued the isolation order against Renee late
last week after learning that the woman, who he said is a
heavy intravenous user of cocaine, was continuing to
work as a prostitute and refusing to use condoms to
prevent AIDS transmission.



IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

contaceptives or other sanitary precautions in sexual
relations and to infection through needles and syringes.

At-Risk Groups

Most of thes cases are found in the at-risk groups of
intravenous drug addicts, 62.79 percent, and homosex-
uals, 17.38 percent: The death rates differ: 55.03 percent
in the first group and 20.88 in the second, which means
death rates of 31.80 and 43.60 percent respectively in
terms of [the relative size of] the group.

Recipients of blood transfusions and the children of
at-risk mothers are conspicuous among the figures pro-
vided by the ministry.

Seventy-one cases were discovered during the first years
of this period, 1.53 percent of them in the at-risk groups,
43 of whom died, representing 2.56 percent of the total
number infected with AIDS, or a death rate of 60.56
percent for the group.

There were 94 cases of children suffering from the
disease who were born of at-risk mothers, representing
2.03 percent of the total, 40 of whom, 2.38 percent, died,
which is equivalent to a death rate of 42.55 percent.

In Rafael de Andres’ opinion, the figure for patients who
acquired AIDS through blood transfusions or blood
derivatives “will not increase” due to the verificaiton
procedures that now exist in hospitals and blood banks,
and he expressed the hope that “the disease would tend
to diminish [in intensity and frequency]” in the rest of
the at-risk groups due to the new drugs and information
on how AIDS is contracted.

Between 1981 and 1989 the disease was diagnosed in 54
cases involving children under the age of one, 28 of
whom died, and in a total of 135 cases of children under
the age of 12, 61 of whom died.

WEST EUROPE 4

The Case of Ivan

Manuel Montero Gomez, a consultant to the Depart-
ment of Health of the General Council of Galicia,
assured Cerdedo Ivan Alejandro Garrido in writing that
it was impossible that his son had been infected with
AIDS since, according to the analysis to which he was
subjected, he was not suffering from it. In the same
communication he indicated that he “is in a position to
state that, according to the information received from
both the doctors and members of the family, Ivan is not
suffering from AIDS,” but he added that the child was
suffering from a primary “gamma globulin” immune
deficiency syndrome that had nothing to do with the
former disease and that he was being treated for it.

The consultant’s letter concluded with the affirmation
that the child was being treated at the Health Center in
Orense with gamma globulin, which he is deficient in, to
strengthen his defenses and prevent him from con-
tracting any infection.

Diagnosis and Mortality

Year Persons Diagnosed Deaths
1981 1 1
1982 4 4
1983 13 12
1984 46 39
1985 155 125
1986 403 291
1987 881 470
1988 1,706 509
1989 1,336 210

Cases and Deaths by Autonomous Communities

‘Autonomous Community Cases % Deaths 6

Andalusia 510 11.01 165 9.82
Aragon 719 L7L 36 2.14
Asturias o1 1.96 38 2.26
Balearic Islands 142 3.06 SE 3.03
Canaries 81 1.75 31 1.84
Cantabria 53 1.14 14 0.83
Castilla y Leon 103, 2.22 35 2.08
Castilla-La Mancha 59 1.27 25 1.49
Catalonia 1,335 28.82 473 28.14
Valencian Community 317 6.84 88 5.23
Extremadura 40 0.86 7 0.42
Galicia 180 3.89 66 3.93
Madrid 938 20.25 386 22.96
Murcia 51 1.10 25 1.49



IPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

thus paving the way for further research on the epidemic
pattern as well as infection rates in the border area.

The provincial government has allocated 1.6 million
yuan ($333,000) for the work on prevention and control
of AIDS. And the State Council and the Ministry of
Public Health have provided the province with some
relevant equipment.

After three years of efforts, the co-ordinated research
group for the development of medicines to prevent and
control the disease, consisting of scientists from various
research institutes and universities in the province, have
found a dozen Chinese traditional herbs to be effective
in the treatment of the AIDS virus.

The research group has also established animal matrices
for research into the disease, thus paving the way for trial
use of anti-AIDS medicines on animals.

At present, director Wu Kunyi said, the most important
and most difficult thing was to take good care of the
AIDS-virus carriers to control the further spread of the
disease.

Director Wu noted that none of the carriers in Yunnan
had the full-blown symptoms of the disease and that all
lived in a limited border area.

CHINA 9

AIDS Drug Results in Patient Stabilization

OW 2406232090 Beijing XINHUA in English
0033 GMT 24 Jun 90

[Text] Washington, June 23 (XINHUA)}—Preliminary
results from a 4-month trial of Chinese AIDS drug
Compound Q show that 38 of 46, or 82.6 percent, of the
patients tested experienced a stabilization or measurable
improvement in their condition.

Dr. Martin Delaney, who heads the San Francisco AIDS
organization “Project Inform,” released the results at the
6th international conference on AIDS Friday in San
Francisco.

He said the study showed a marked improvement in
patients tested with the drug, Compound Q, over the
first four months.

Compound Q, derived from a Chinese cucumber root
and used as an abortifacient in China for centuries, came
to prominence last year within the AIDS community
following positive laboratory experimental data, which
showed it to be highly effective in killing cells infected
with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

Researchers are currently conducting a conventional
study approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
tion to see whether steadily increased dosage of the drug
would cause dangerous side effects.



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

am very hopefully that a medication will soon be devel-
oped. As long as I can speak to someone and teach them
how the disease is transmitted, [words indistinct], I'll do
it. [end recording]

Gonzalez: That was an unpleasant testimony. I think we
have to provide more information on how the disease is
transmitted because it is not humane for people who
have this disease to feel so rejected.

Perez: Unfortunately, this is a very common thing
throughout the world.

Gonzalez: Yes.

Perez: Even though there are not a lot of cases like this in
our society, we unfortunately have testimonials like
these, which are painful and also shameful, because in
reality, there are a lot of patients who have been sub-
mitted to this type of discrimination and this is not fair.
It is not fair to them.

Gonzalez: Of course.

Perez: There are very great human values within these
patients, which, unfortunately, are affected by the devel-
opment of this disease.

Gonzalez: Of course. I would like to speak a little bit
about the sanitarium because we have had a lot of
questions on this.

Some people say that if all the AIDS virus carriers are
kept in a sanitarium, the population is protected and
they lose their fear of contracting the disease and, thus,
do not care about changing their sexual conduct.

Perez: That is an interesting question. In reality, the
purpose of the sanitarium is to protect our population,
but to primarily protect the people who are seropositive
and who have AIDS. They are provided with a number
of things that are better than what they can obtain from
our society. They have a special diet, very adequate
medical treatment, etc. Of course, some people may
falsely believe that all AIDS cases are in the San Antonio
de las Vegas sanitarium. This is important because we
are talking about the affect of education and news on this
matter. I think it is important. Like the name of the
program says: AIDS is faceless. Someone can have it at
any given time and he may not know it unless a test was
done at a certain time. Thus, it can be transmitted.

Many people think this way. When the population was
polled, many said that the seropositive cases were in the
sanitarium. In reality, this is not the way to avoid AIDS.
The way to prevent AIDS is for people to educate
themselves, to not be promiscuous, as we have said. Of
course, the sanitarium does give a certain degree of
security since the virus is not markedly spread. It is
important to realize that this does not guarantee 100
percent protection against AIDS and one could get a
false sense of security, which in reality should not exist.
The [words indistinct] education and promiscuity.

LATIN AMERICA 19

Gonzalez: It depends on everyone’s individual conduct. I
have several questions on the sanitarium which I will
read to you to see if you can give us a brief response
because we are running out of time. We were asked: Does
the sanitarium treat the virus carrier psychologically and
socially? Have there been any changes in the sanitarium?
Do the patients get passes [preceding word rendered in
English}? Could you explain the advantages of the sani-
tarium? These are the questions, more or less.

Perez: Those are a lot of questions all together.

Gonzalez: Yes, but they are all questions on the sani-
tarium.

Perez: Eh, I don’t know exactly where to start.
Gonzalez: Ok, shall I repeat them to you?
Perez: Yes, give me the first one again?

Gonzalez: Are the patients given psychological and social
care?

Perez: A group of psychologists work in the sanitarium.
That is clear. They have conducted studies and have
demonstrated that AIDS behaves like any other chronic
disease we have. People who have cancer confront their
disease in the same way and they are not greatly effected
visibly. You see them walking around and you think they
have something else wrong with them.

The patients at the San Antonio de las Vegas sanitarium
are included in social, recreational, and labor activities
in the sanitarium itself. Many of these activities are
outside the facility. In reality...

Gonzalez: [interrupting] But this isn’t the only sani-
tarium in the country?

Perez: No, besides this one, there are several others.
There is one in Sancti Spiritus, one in Santa Clara,
another one in Ciego de Avila, and another one in
Granma. There are several other sanitariums besides the
one in Santiago de las Vegas which have been built to try
1o keep the patients closer to their families so that they
can have direct contact with their families. These...

Perez: These patients receive daily visits. They go out to
their homes. They visit their families. If they have a
problem, they can go immediately to their homes. We
have made sure it will be this way. The patients who
want to work can do so at a number of workshops. There
are many jobs for mechanics, economists, and other
activities in the sanitarium itself. Of course, once they
are involved in these activities, any other kind of psy-
chological tension is reduced.

Gonzalez: They feel better then. Dr. Terry....

Terry: [interrupting] I have to say that we have to
improve the work done in the sanitariums. I don’t think



IPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

PORTUGAL

HIV-Infected Prostitutes Still Active

90WE0212B Lisbon EXPRESSO in Portuguese
26 May 90 p A2I

[Article by Orlando Raimundo]

[Excerpts] Prostitutes infected with the AIDS virus and
facing certain death according to physicians are con-
tinuing to ply their trade in nightclubs and the bars of
some of Lisbon’s main hotels, ignoring appeals by doc-
tors to stop their activity, according to what EXPRESSO.
has learned from experts on communicable diseases.

The fatal disease is therefore spreading uncontrolled,
and the situation is described as causing “great concern.”
Physicians, prevented by the rule of professional silence
from identifying people and locations, say they are
powerless to find a solution that will halt the “rampant
spread” of the virus.

Voluntary ‘Homicide’

The fact that those women are continuing their activity,
even though they have been told about the illness and its
consequences, constitutes, in the opinion of experts
consulted by EXPRESSO, the “crime of homicide.”

Difficult to identify on first contact because they do not
fit the classic pattern, they generally refuse to use con-
doms. ‘Some of them are pretty and well dressed and
blend in with relative ease,” explained one of our
sources. It is felt that, along with single men living a
bohemian life-style, many tourists also have direct con-
tact with the infection by that means. [passage omitted]

One physician told us: “Ignoring our advice, one of the
prostitutes working in one of those nightclubs decided to
get pregnant twice, thus sentencing her own child to
death the first time and forcing us to perform an abor-
tion the second.” Advised by the specialist to give up her
profession, the woman answered that she would do so
only if someone guaranteed her the 30 contos she was
earning every night.

Danger of Ilegality

When Salazar issued a decree in the late 1950's declaring
prostitution illegal, he made it impossible for the health
services to continue the control they had exercised until
then. Physicians, who flatly refuse to do any policing,
deplore the hypocrisy involved. They say: “Everyone
knows that prostitution is not eliminated by decree and
that it is a thousand times more dangerous when it takes
place secretly.”

But specialists fear the possibility that efforts will be
made to restrain those having the disease. They warn
that segregating such patients, restricting their freedom,
or confining them to special institutions would be “an
invitation to secret activity” and make medical knowl-
edge and clinical intervention impossible.

WEST EUROPE 37

In light of that principle, professional secrecy, which is
indissociable from trust in one’s physician, is considered
beyond discussion. One of our sources said: “If trust is
maintained, we will be able to intervene clinically;
otherwise, we will no longer know who has had sexual
contact with whom and will irremediably lose track of
how the infection is being spread.”

Besides being extremely difficult, the attempt to test
everyone who has had sexual contact with reported
AIDS patients, either directly or indirectly, does not
seem feasible because the principle underlying the
spread of the disease would make it necessary to keep
testing them forever. [passage omitted]

50,000 Cases in Portugal

Knowledge concerning the spread of the disease is still
imperfect in Portugal. One hospital specialist in commu-
nicable diseases told EXPRESSO: “It is generally
admitted that there are already 50,000 cases in our
country.” That estimate is a projection based on the
1,500 cases already reported, 600 of which are on file at
Santa Maria Hospital.

Strangely, however, the AIDS Group, probably out of a
concern to avoid “alarmism,” continues to present as
correct the information that only 500 cases have been
reported.

SPAIN

Reportage on 4th International AIDS Conference

Prejudice, Rejection
90WE0213A Madrid YA in Spanish 25 May 90 p 57

[Report by J. Rodriguez Fernandez: “AIDS Patients
Denounce Ongoing Ostracism”]

[Text] Madrid—Overcoming society’s unjustified fears,
seeking ways to integrate, and making society realize that
AIDS patients and carriers of the virus are entitled to a
normal life are the objectives of the Fourth International
Conference for People With AIDS, which opened yes-
terday in Madrid.

More than 600 AIDS sufferers and carriers of the virus
from 40 countries have gathered in a Madrid hotel to
exchange experiences and seek ways of integrating into
society while confronting increasingly intransigent social
attitudes. Spain’s minister of health, Julian Garcia Var-
gas, inaugurated the conference by extending a hand to
the AIDS sufferers and virus carriers, at a time when
polls indicate that one-fourth of the population of
Europe, where there are already more than 30,000 cases,
are openly spurning them.

Hector Anabitarte, the president of the Anti-AIDS Foun-
dation of Spain, told this newspaper that “the main
objective of this conference is to get those who are



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 July 1990 4 AIDS

Victoria Prostitute /Vancouver THE SUN, 4 May 90] .....
Isolation Order for Prostitute
[Deborah Wilson; Toronto THE GLOBE AND MAIL, 11 May 90]
‘Aids and Youth’ Conference Held in Toronto
Funds for Prevention Request
[Sharon Kirkey; Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, 16 May 90] .......
Effect on Social Services {Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, 16 May 90]

IRELAND

Increase in Heterosexual AIDS Cases

{Brian Dowling; Dublin IRISH INDEPENDENT, 9 Apr 90]. ......- . 34

ITALY

Parliament Approves Anti-AIDS Measures /Nedo Canetti; Milan L’UNITA, 17 May 90] essere. 34
NORWAY

AIDS Statistics Cited, Analyzed {Nina Johnsrud; Oslo ARBEIDERBLADET, 8 May 90] wees 35
PORTUGAL

HIV-Infected Prostitutes Still Active /Orlando Raimundo; Lisbon EXPRESSO, 26 May 90]... 37
SPAIN

Reportage on 4th International AIDS Conference 37

Prejudice, Rejection /J. Rodriguez Fernandez; Madrid YA, 25 May 90]

European Poll {Madrid YA, 25 May 90]
Incidence of AIDS, Deaths Reported

Catalonia Data [Jose Miguel Fc May 1990] ..

Basque Country /Juan F. Palomo; Madr ‘id DIARIO 16, 19 May 90)

Canary Islands [Cristobal Penate; Madrid DIARIO 16, 20 May 90] ..

Madrid Data /Madrid DEIA, 6 May 90) ....



30 SOVIET UNION

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Results of Sera Testing

Commercial test systems: 1—Organon teknika, 2—Antigen, 3—Bering verke, 4—Biochrom; 5—Wellcome, 6—Virgo,
7—Labistem, 8—Serodia, 9—Elvaia-2 Diagnostik Pasteur. Note + positive reactions, - negative reactions, +/- weak
immunoblot reactions

Key: 1.1. Number of sera. 2. Contingent 3. Test systems for screening* 4. Immunoblotting with components of
variable molecular mass, kilodaltons 5. Evaluation of results 6. African 7. Sex partner of an African 8. Person on
assignment in West Africa 9. Sex partner of a seropositive person 10. Donor 11. Drug addict 12. HIV-2 13. HIV-1 14.

Not infected

The remaining persons with antibodies to HIV-2 were
from West Africa where they had from three to fifteen
heterosexual sex partners and where each had received
from three to 40 parenteral injections in the last five
years.

All of the persons with HIV-2 antibodies did not exhibit
other clinical indications of HIV infection except a
moderate lympoadenopathy.

Thus, our studies have shown that HIV-2 induced infec-
tions tend to have the same propagation tendencies as
HIV-1 in which connection it is essential to undertake
measures to design and make more accurate test systems
for broad-scale testing for antibodies to both viruses.

Conclusions

I. The first case of HIV-2 infection in a Soviet female
citizen has been recorded.

2. Test systems for diagnosing HIV-2 infections must be
designed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Brucker, J., Brun-Vezinet, Rosenheim, M. et al.,
LANCET, Vol |, p 223C., 1987.

2. Clavel, F., Guetard, D. Brun-Vezinct, F., et al..
SCIENCE, Vol 233, pp 343-346, 1986.

3. Ferroni, P., Tagger, A., Lazzerin, A., et al., LANCET,
Vol 1, p 869C.

4. Werner, A., Staszewsky, Helm, E.-B. et al., Ibid, pp
868C-870C.


CUBA

Massive AIDS Testing in Pinar del Rio

FL1406210890 Havana Radio Reloj Network
in Spanish 1937 GMT 14 Jun 90

[Text] Some 7,000 residents of Candelaria Municipality,
Pinar del Rio, will be tested for AIDS, thus, resuming the
prevention tasks in the territory. Dr. Lei! Acosta, in
charge of the AIDS control program in Pinar del Rio,
stated that the testing will be conducted not only in the
Candelaria Community Polyclinic but also at mobile
vehicles in various work and education centers in the
territory.

All sexually active people between the ages of 15 and 65
will be tested this time. The results of the AIDS tests in
Candelaria, Pinar del Rio, will be given at the Municipal
Health and Epidemiology Center in San Cristobal. This
territory and Los Palacios will soon conduct a massive
testing.

Health Officials Discuss AIDS

FL0507113290 Havana Tele Rebelde Network in
Spanish 0100 GMT 3 Jul 90

[Open Agenda” program entitled, “AIDS is Faceless,”
with journalist Lucia Gonzalez; Dr. Hector Terry, Cuban
vice minister of public health; and Dr. Jorge Perez,
director of the Santiago de las Vegas AIDS Sanitarium,
in studio; panelists identified by caption; all figures as
heard—live]

[Excerpts] Gonzalez: Good evening. Currently there are
six to eight million people infected with the AIDS virus
throughout the world. By the year 2000, 15 to 20 million
people are expected to have the virus. [passage omitted
including indistinct portions]

It is a fact that this terrible disease exists and it can be
contracted by you and me. As the name of our program
says: AIDS is faceless. The purpose of this Open Agenda
program is to get you to think about yourselves, your
sexual and social conduct and—why not?—1o get you to
also think about the lives of those people who have
already been infected with this terrible illness.

During the program, the panelists will answer questions
the people have called in to the phone numbers provided
by the Public Health Ministry and to the phone numbers
that have been installed in our studio. We will also
present some testimonials. They are very valuable testi-
monials by AIDS carriers who are residents of the San
Antonio de las Vegas Sanitarium.

We will now speak with our panelists: Dr. Hector Terry,
vice minister of public health; and Dr. Jorge Perez,
director of the San Antonio de las Vegas Sanitarium.

Dr. Terry, the first question has to do with the situation
in our country. How many people are ill? How many are
carriers? How many have died?

LATIN AMERICA

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Terry: Since we began the program in 1986, between the
months of February and April, the country has con-
ducted, through 28 June 1990, 8,065,997 tests. These
tests have detected 458 people who are carrying or were
carrying the AIDS virus. Of these 458 people, 35 died
and, up to the moment, 423 are still alive. Some of these
seropositive cases have developed different stages or
clinical symptoms of the discase. We have a total of 73
people with AIDS, including those who died and those
who are still living with the disease. Up to 1990, 19 AIDS
patients died. Thus far this year, we have had 16 deaths.
In other words, one person has died from AIDS every 11
days. Of these 33 deaths—two died in accidents so they
are not included in the statistics of AIDS deaths—four
were women, 28 were men, and one was a little girl who
died recently.

These statistics reveal the current situation. The WHO
has reported that there are 266,000 AIDS patients. The
United States of America has the highest incidence of
AIDS. As of last weck, the statistics presented at the
international event in Los Angeles [as heard] indicate
that the United States has about 134,000 cases and it has
had more than 83,000 deaths.

Gonzalez: As we said at the start, we have some very
interesting video clips to show you of sanitarium
patients. In this case, the video is about a person who is
already sick. He was very interested in doing this inter-
view because he wants to make a contribution by
speaking on this program, even though he feels very ill. I
think we can see the video now. [Begin recording]

Gonzalez: Orlando, do you have any idea how and when
you were contaminated with the AIDS virus?

Orlando: [Patient identified only as Orlando] No, we
have not been able to determine that. We have not been
able to determine that because I have had a life that has
been a little... [docs not finish sentence]

Gonzalez: You were telling me that your life is limited.
What would you like to do the most now?

Orlando: | would like to finish my book. I want to make
that contribution. I want to leave that contribution to
society.

Gonzalez: In deciding to grant an interview to Cuban
television, you had a disagreement with your family.

Orlando: Yes, I have had a disagreement. They oppose it.
They opposed my giving this interview because they feel
people will act against them. They are afraid of being
rejected. I feel, however, that everything in life has a
beginning. There will always be pionecrs and there is
always someone who has to break with what is bad. If
there is bad propaganda and this “Open Agenda” pro-
gram can provide the rest of the country with news, if
journalists, the press, the mass media—moreso televi-
sion than the press because youths do not read newspa-
pers very much—f all the press unites throughout the
nation, because this is a problem for all of humanity...



2 LATIN AMERICA

unpleasant for me to be in a public place, for example,
and be rejected. That is why I do not want to be
identified.

Gonzalez: When you werc told that you were an AIDS
virus carrier, did you know anything about the disease
and why do you think you contracted it?

Man: At the time I was told I was HIV-positive, I had
been following the disease since the beginning, since the
first case appeared in Spring 1981 in New York. I tried to
follow the disease. Unfortunately, I had very little infor-
mation on it. I thought it was a disease for drug addicts,
prostitutes, homosexuals, for sexual deviants, and |
thought it couldn’t affect me.

I think I have been infected since 1983. When onc first
receives the news that he is seropositive, it has a tremen-
dous impact.

Gonzalez: How did it affect you?

Man: I thought: How can it be, if I’m not among those
risk groups cited by the press or the information in
general? How can that be? In addition, the possibility
that you will die in six months also has a tremendous
impact. You can hardly think of anything else. After
awhile, time passes and you realize that you cannot
continue to think about it. This is a disease that has a
very special characteristics. You can wait six months,
two years, four years, 12 years, I don’t know how long,
without a symptom. I feel fine. I don’t feel sick. I have
been in the sanitarium for three years, almost four, and
I have not gotten sick. I feel fine. I have all my mental
and physical facilitics.

I think that when one realizes he is a carrier, he has to
find a new meaning in his life. He has to begin to live
again and he has to find new meaning because it is not
easy to be in there [the sanitarium) without working.
You have to have a reason for living. You have to
integrate yourself.

As I said, there is a false idea on the street that AIDS is
locked up in the sanitarium. That is totally false. There
are a lot of people on the street who have not been tested
and who will not be tested or perhaps they were tested
last year and they were negative; but today, they are
positive. Nevertheless, people continue to have sexual
relations in a disorderly fashion. I think that is what we
must do: change the attitude of the people in general.
They have to have relations in a more responsible
manner. [end recording]

HONDURAS

Health Authorities Report on AIDS Cases
PA2606234090 Panama ACAN in Spanish
1546 GMT 21 Jun 90

[Text] Tegucigalpa, 21 Jun (ACAN-EFE)—The Hon-
duran Health and Social Aid Ministry informed the

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

community today that there are 291 people infected with
AIDS and freely walking around the country.

Jose Enrique Zelaya, president of the AIDS Control
Commission pointed out that the 291 cases have been
clinically confirmed but the whereabouts of the infected
people are unknown.

An unspecified percentage of infected people are prosti-
tutes who are constantly moving around the various
cities throughout the nation.

Zelaya said that there are 706 recorded cases of AIDS in
the public health files, 220 of which were reported in
1990.

Eighty percent of the infected people are between 20 and
39 years of age and the number of infected men is twice
the number of infected women.

In Honduras the AIDS virus is considered a “time
bomb” because there are 40,000 carriers of the disease
who have not developed the symptons yet.

According to Zelaya, every day two more people are
diagnosed as suffering from the so-called “illness of the
century.”

JAMAICA

Health Officials Report More AIDS Cases

FL2206234890 Bridgetown CANA in English
2014 GMT 22 Jun 90

[Text] Kingston, Jamaica, June 22, CANA—Eighteen
additional cases of the killer disease AIDS were reported
in Jamaica between January | and May 31, bringing to
155 the total number, health officials reported. Sixteen
of the 18 cases are adults and two are children. Health
Minister Easton Douglas told parliament that 94—or 61
percent—of the cases have died.

Of the total number affected, 107 were males and 48
females. Forty-eight cases were in the age group 30-39,
35 between 20 and 29 years, 29 in the 40-49 age group,
12 were over 50 years, and four were over 60 years.

URUGUAY

Health Minitry Reports AIDS Figures

PY1207172490 Montevideo LA HORA POPULAR
in Spanish 6 Jul 90 p 12

[Summary] The Health Ministry has reported that 129
AIDS cases have been detected as of the end of June
1990, of which 65 have been fatal. There are 625 AIDS
carriers throughout the national territory. During the last
three-month period, the number of AIDS cases grew by
15 percent.



18 LATIN AMERICA

sometimes difficult to accept it. I can say that I was
promiscuous at a certain time in my life. 1 no longer am.
When I contracted the disease, when it was detected, I no
longer was promiscuous. Nevertheless, I had to pay for
everything I did earlier. Everything was ruined. An
entire set of plans was ruined when the discase was
detected.

Gonzalez: When you were informed that you were an
AIDS carrier, what was the hardest thing for you? How
did you react?

Third unidentified man: The most difficult thing was the
change in my social life [words indistinct]. I had to begin
from scratch.

Gonzalez: Everything?

Third man: | had to start from scratch at work, in my
social life [words indistinct].

Gonzalez: Did this also apply to your friends?

Third man: Yes, it applied to my friends. [Words indis-
tinct]

Gonzalez: [Words indistinct] friends because of a lack of
information? Did they reject you?

Third man: It was because of a lack of information
because everyone wonders if the same thing can happen
to them.

Gonzalez: Do you have any idea how you were infected.

Third man: | was promiscuous. That is the basic thing.
It’s a viral infection.

Gonzalez: Were you infected in Cuba or abroad.
Third man: Abroad.

Gonzalez: Can you give us some information without
giving us any names?

Third man: I visited brothels. As everyone knows, these
do not exist in Cuba so I decided to visit one to see what
it was like. [Words indistinct]

Gonzalez: Are you married? Did you have a comrade or
a stable relationship in Cuba when you went abroad?

Third man: I wasn’t married but I had a stable relation-
ship.

Gonzalez: Did you infect her?
Third man: Yes, I did.

Gonzalez: How did that affect your relationship with
her? Did she reject you? Did you continue together?

Third man: No, she did not reject me because [words
indistinct]. I explained the situation, how I am. At any
rate, the damage has been done.

Gonzalez: She feels responsible?

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Third man: Yes, she fecls responsible for all the conse-
quences because she can’t have children. [Words indis-
tinct]

Gonzalez: You don’t have any children?
Third man: No. [end recording]
[passage omitted]

Gonzalez: One of the videos by AIDS carriers that we
have prepared includes a testimonial by a girl. We'll
show the video now. {Begin recording]

Gonzalez: When you were told you were a positive AIDS
carrier, that you were seropositive for the AIDS virus,
what did you think? How did you feel? Were you
surprised? How was it?

Unidentified girl: 1 was surprised. 1 knew absolutely
nothing about the disease.

Gonzalez: You were in school. Did you get any kind of
information on sexually transmitted diseases, including
AIDS?

Girl: | never received any kind of information on sexu-
ally transmitted diseases, especially AIDS, which is the
disease that has afflicted the entire world.

Gonzalez: Did you have a stable relationship?
Girl: Yes, I had a stable relationship?
Gonzalez: You were a couple?

Girl: Yes, we were a couple.

Gonzalez: When you had sexual relations with that
comrade, did you know him? Did you know him for
awhile before having sex with him?

Girl: I knew him but very little.

Gonzalez: Did your friends, neighbors, or your comrades
in school find out you carried the virus?

Girl: Yes, they did.

Gonzalez: And how did they act?

Girl: Some of them rejected me; others didn’t.
Gonzalez: How did your family react?

Girl: At first, they knew I had the virus and they did not
reject me at home. But now, there is a certain amount of
rejection on the part of my father and his wife.

Gonzalez: What form does that rejection take?

Girl: They won’t allow me to enter their room, share
their dishes or glasses, or give them a kiss. Before taking
a bath, they make me run hot water in the tub. They
won't let me get too close to my sister or lend her my
clothes. At first I felt bad, but now I am fighting for my
life. 1 am fighting for my life and I feel very optimistic. I


IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

CANADA

AIDS Incidence, Risk to Health Workers,
Infected Prostitute

National, Provincial Incidence

54200027 Toronto THE GLOBE AND MAIL
in English 1 May 90 p A4

[Article by Christie McLaren: “Canadian AIDS Cases
Fall Short of Prediction”)

[Text] More than 3,700 Canadians have developed
AIDS, according to the most recent federal statistics.

But visible cases of AIDS have not appeared in the
numbers that at least one senior federal health official
predicted five years ago.

In 1985, Dr. Alastair Clayton, head of the Federal Centre
for AIDS, predicted there would be 20,000 people with
AIDS in Canada by the end of the decade.

Untold numbers of cases may be hidden from view for
two reasons: first, many may be undiagnosed, and thus
unreported.

Second, thousands of people may be infected with the
human immunodeficiency virus and not yet show symp-
toms, and the government does not collect comprehen-
sive statistics on HIV infection.

A person is counted as having AIDS only after the
infection has progressed to physical symptoms.

In an informal survey of provincial laboratories, the
Globe and Mail reported in January, 1988, that more
than 10,000 Canadians (of 150,000 who sought the test)
were infected with the HIV virus.

Until recently, Ottawa has not kept track of how many
otherwise healthy people are infected.

Six studies are under way in four provinces to screen the
blood of anonymous men, women and children in order
to determine the prevalence of HIV in the population.

“We're right on the verge now of having extensive results
from two of the studies,” Betsy MacKenzie, an epidemi-
ologist at the federal AIDS center, said in an interview
yesterday.

One study already has surprised scientists with the high
rate of infection in women who gave birth to babies in
Montreal. It found that one in every 394 new mothers
was infected with the AIDS virus. This rate was higher
than San Francisco’s, but lower than New York City’s.

Similar studies are being carried out in British
Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.

WEST EUROPE 31

By the end of March, the total number of AIDS cases in
Canada reported to the federal government stood at
3,735, according to the monthly statistical update of the
Federal Centre for AIDS.

More than half those people—2,233 or 59.8 percent—
have died.

The figures show that in Canada, AIDS remains a
disease that primarily afflicts homosexual males.

The vast majority of people with fully developed
AIDS—93 percent—are men. Of these, 84 percent are
listed under a risk group of homosexual or bisexual
activity, the figures show. This figure has changed little
since 1986.

British Columbia continues to have the highest concen-
tration of AIDS cases, with 232.7 for every million
people. Quebec has the next-highest concentration, at
165.5 per million, and Ontario is a close third with 156.9
cases per million people.

Ontario, however, has more AIDS cases than any other
province, reporting 1,501 to date, followed by Quebec
with 1,107 and British Columbia with 711.

Ontario also has a far higher death rate than the other
provinces, according to the figures: 69.6 percent of the
reported cases have died. In British Columbia and
Quebec, 58 percent and 50 percent have died, respec-
tively.

Across Canada, at least 230 women reportedly have
developed AIDS.

New Brunswick has the highest proportion of women
with AIDS—S cases out of a total of 20, or 25 percent.
However, this figure may not be statistically reliable
because the numbers are so small to begin with.

Among provinces with many cases, however, Quebec has
the highest proportion of women with AIDS.

Alberta has reported 237 cases, followed by Nova Scotia
with 60, Manitoba with 44, Saskatchewan with 32, New
Brunswick with 20, Newfoundland with 15, Prince
Edward Island and the Northwest Territories with 3
each, and Yukon with 2.

Danger to Health Workers

54200027 Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN in English
2 May 90 p B8

[Article by Sharon Kirkey: “Needles Pose Greatest AIDS
Risk to Health Care Workers, Study Finds”)

[Text] Health care workers aren’t being appropriately
protected against contracting AIDS from patients, a
study suggests.

Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton found
the greatest risk of AIDS transmission from a patient to



SJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Amphetamines exert a great influence on youths in
Maha Sarakham Province. Some even “take” amphet-
amines by injecting the drug.

Injecting Amphetamines

KHAO PHISET followed the act: ies of several groups
of youths in Maha Sarakham Province, including stu-
dents who used amphetamines frequently. Instead of
taking the drug orally like truck drivers do, they took the
drug by injecting it into their blood vessels just as is done
with heroin.

“Some inject it into their arms. Others are afraid that
their teachers or parents will see the scars and so they
inject it at the top of the thigh. They tie a piece of rubber
around their thigh to make the blood vessels stand out,”
said one youth in Maha Sarakham, who did not want us
to reveal his name.

Another youth told us how amphetamine tablets are
used. “Most of the amphetamine tablets used have the
letter ’M* stamped on the tablet. The tablets are put in
boiling water and dissolved. After the water cools, the
water containing the dissolved amphetamine tablet is
injected into the bloodstream. The drug produces a
“high very quickly. Sometimes you can stay awake a
full 24 hours. Usually, a person takes four to five tablets
each time.”

“Amphetamine tablets cost 20-25 baht apiece. Imitation
amphetamines cost 15 baht apiece. During the periods
that officials crack down, the price rises, and the dealers
will sell only to regular customers. I know that this is a
dangerous drug, but J can’t stop using it because I have
been injecting this drug for four to five years. I’m
addicted. If I don’t take the drug, I get weak. And so I
have to get money to buy the drug,” said a youth, who
showed us the needle marks.

Conclusion: A Drug That Is Destroying People

“Petty theft takes place frequently. They steal such
things as ducks, chickens, television sets, radios, tape
cassettes, and so on. If you are careless, you may easily
have something stolen. This may stem from the use of
amphetamines, which are popular among youths in
Maha Sarakham. At the beginning of 1990, students
rented a room in the provincial seat. One hanged himself
and one died of an overdose of amphetamines,” said a
news source in the Maha Sarakham Provincial Police
Precinct.

But the rumor among students is that the death of those
two students at the beginning of the year resulted from
their injecting amphetamines. The drug affected their
nervous system. Their grades dropped, and their parents
scolded them. They became very depressed and decided
to solve the problem by killing themselves.

“I am very concerned about the ‘needles’ used to inject
the drug. The needles that they use in common could
spread AIDS,” said a police official who is responsible

EAST ASIA B

for eradicating amphetamines. Just prior to that, the
director-general of the Communicable Diseases Control
Department had said that “during the past 6 months, it
has been found that the percentage of AIDS victims who
are drug addicts has increased from 41 percent to 64
percent,” which is a very alarming figure.

At the same time, a college instructor in Maha Sarakham
Province said that “there are several reasons why people
take amphetamines. Some don’t know what they are
doing. Others just want to experiment. Some are urged
by friends to try the drug. Some have family problems.
Also, it is very easy to obtain amphetamines. Our college
is trying to provide advice and find ways to control this.”
[passage omitted]

Troops With AIDS Face Discharge, Drug Factor
Noted

90WE0218D Bangkok SIAM RAT in Thai 1 Jun 90
pp 1, 16

{Excerpt] [passage omitted] Statistics from the Army
Medical Department show that during the period April
1988 to April 1990, 512 soldiers contracted AIDS. Of
these, 226, or 44 percent, contracted the disease from
drug use; four, or 0.8 percent were both drug addicts and
homosexuals; and 74, or 14.5 percent, contracted the
disease from having sexual relations. In 208 cases, or
40.6 percent, the reason why the soldiers contracted this
disease is unknown. Of the 512 soldiers who have
contracted AIDS, four have full-blown cases of AIDS.
The other 508 have the AIDS virus but have not exhib-
ited any symptoms. In April 1988, there was only one
soldier with AIDS.

Of those with AIDS, 391 are enlisted men, 108 are
NCOs, and four are officers, whose ranks have not been
disclosed. The officers with AIDS are stationed in all
four army regions, that is, in each army region there is
one officer with AIDS. The province with the largest
number of enlisted men with AIDS is Bangkok, with 138
cases. This is followed by Chiang Mai with 80 cases.

The report revealed the measures that the army is
implementing to control AIDS. It stated that the army
will immediately discharge soldiers who contracted this
disease from drug use. As for those who contracted AIDS
in other ways, they will be asked if they want to remain
on active duty or return home. If they want to remain in
the army, they will be assigned jobs that will not affect
their health or spread the disease. As for soldiers who
contracted the disease from wounds or while providing
medical treatment, they will be provided treatment for
three to five years and then considered for discharge.
However, if an effective treatment for AIDS is found,
consideration will be given to allowing these soldiers to
return to military duty.

The report stated that the army will not allow people
with AIDS to enlist in the army. That includes men
registered for the draft, reservists, and military cadets.



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

in various provincial and kwaZulu hospitals while the
scholars are at various schools dotted around kwaZulu.

It is not known whether they have been adequately
counselled on their condition or whether they are taking
precautions by having safe sex.

Natal’s representative of the AIDS advisory group, Prof
Dennis Pudifin, said the followin HIV groups of infected
people had been identified by the Natal Blood Transfu-
sion Services during their routine donor and blood
testing operations since the beginning of the year:

—10 teachers, 118 scholars, eight nurses, four auxiliary
health workers, 12 transport drivers and 64 labourers.

Although the nurses were supportedly working with
patients they posed no risk to patients as AIDS was
transmitted mainly by sexual intercourse, said Prof
Pudifin.

They would obviously take precautions, for example, not
come into contact with a patient if they have a bleeding
cut,“ he said.

“The heterosexually transmitted AIDS situation is get-
ting rapidly worse with 100 new cases being positively
identified in Natal every month,” said Prof Pudifin.

He said two thirds of the cases were picked up by various
doctors, hospitals and clinics while the other third was
picked up by Natal, Blood Transfusion Services during
their routine testing.

There are now, according to Prof Pudifin, who has the
official figures, 2,000 HIV positive cases in Natal of
which 300 have been identified in the since April [as
received].

Natal’s MEC [Member of The Executive Council] in
charge of health, Dr Tino Volker, said: “It is most
worrying that so many people, including teachers and
nurses, as obviously disregarding the AIDS education
campaign. I can only urge people to take precautions and
to practice safe sex.”

‘Extensive’ Spread of HIV Virus in Urban Blacks

MB1906104090 Johannesburg BUSINESS DAY
in English 19 Jun 90 p 2

[Article by Daniel Feldman]

[Text] The AIDS virus HIV is occurring increasingly
among urban—mainly black—heterosexuals, and sug-
gests ‘‘a spread of infection far more extensive than the
relatively lower AIDS figures”, according to a new
research paper by local AIDS experts.

Entitled “Considerations on the Further Expansion of
the AIDS Epidemic in SA, 1990”, the paper was pub-
lished in the latest edition of the SA Medical Journal by
five Wits [Witswatersrand] University Virology Depart-
ment professors and two Johannesburg City Health
Department doctors.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 5

It said the “Extensive and continuing silent spread of
HIV in the urban black population is manifested by
doubling times—the time taken for the number of
reported cases to double—in male and female sexually
transmitted disease (STD) clinic attenders of 10,67 and
9.78 months respectively, a doubling time in female
family planning (FP) attenders of 6.55 months, and HIV
infection rates of 1:56, 1:37, and 1:91, respectively”.

The mean doubling time was calculated at 13.44 months
for the male homosexual compared with 10.21 for the
heterosexual.

The findings were based on HIV infection statistics from
SA’s seven blood transfusion services, blood specimens
from men and women attending STD clinics and women
attending family planning clinics, adult tuberculosis
patients, tests on Johannesburg municipality applicants,
and voluntary data solicited nationwide by the SA Insti-
tute for Medical Research. The figures were as of the end
of January. The researchers acknowledged that 63 per-
cent of SA AIDS cases remain in the white male homo-
sexual community. “However, the first case of AIDS ina
black heterosexual subject, reported in December 1987,
heralded the start of the heterosexual AIDS epidemic in
SA, which affects predominantly black male and female
urban populations while the rate of increase of the white
male homosexual epidemic has shown from early 1988,
some signs of levelling off.”

The research also found a relatively low penetration of
HIV infection in rural areas “in contrast to the high
prevalences found in urban active surveillance studies”.

The paper warned the samples were relatively small and
carried out mainly in the Witwatersrand area, and could
not be extrapolated to estimate national statistics.

Mines Not Renewing Malawian Contracts Due to
AIDS

Discriminatory Measures

MB1006 124590 Johannesburg SUNDAY TIMES
in English 10 Jun 10 p 12

{Article by Felicity Levine]

[Text] Malawian mineworkers in South Africa have been
told to stay away from work because more than a fifth of
their countrymen have been diagnosed HIV positive.

The Malawian government agreed to the screening of
recuits two years ago at the request of the SA [South
African] Chamber of Mines.

The chamber’s health spokesman Dr Daniel Pollnow
said the big AIDS scare occurred in 1986 when tests on
35,000 mineworkers in South Africa revealed that one in
30 of the 18000 Malawians employed was HIV positive.



28 NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA

But how did Manipur reach this dangerous mark? The
most important factor is its proximity to the Golden
Triangle of Laos, Thailand and Burma, where most of
the world’s opium fields and heroin processing units
exist. Following the strict checks carried out by the
Western nations on drug traffickers and trafficking
routes since the early 80s, and even stricter penalties,
smugglers in search of an alternate way to turned to
India.

Manipur shares a 352-km-border with Burma. There are
only five or six border posts run by the BSF on the Indian
side. Moreover, a government gazette notification in the
mid-Fifties allows a 20-km-stretch on either side of the
border in which tribals can roam freely with only permits
that just have to be renewed periodically. This facility

IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

was made available as many tribals have relatives on the
other side. With a little reward, the tribals could casily be
pursued to carry a few kilograms of heroin across to a
contact in India. [passage omitted]

On the emergence of the AIDS virus as late as January,
Dr Pal said it could easily have entered the state as far
back as 1988, when a smuggler-addict from Burma sat
down with an addict in India. Since the virus needs a
“build-up period” and screening till December 1989 had
been low-key, the probability of detection was low. It is
estimated that there are about 30,000 addicts in
Manipur, though the official figure is 10,000. Of this, 80
percent are mainline addicts, which spcaks volumes for
the danger ahead.



SJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

AL-AHRAM Reporter: But we still import some blood
derivatives.

Dr. Duwaydar: This is true, but we prohibit their use
until after they are analyzed for AIDS. We are not
satisfied at all with a certificate from their place of origin
attesting to their being free of it. We insist upon making
sure ourselves.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: And with regard to preventing
infection with contaminated needles?

Dr. Duwaydar: I think it is very obvious to everyone that
we have very quickly converted to the needle which is
used one time. In the last year alone we used 30 million
of them to vaccinate children, and there are three facto-
ries for producing them in Egypt now. In one year, in all
treatment and health care sites, we will not use a single
needle of the kind which is used repeatedly even once.
With regard to the criminal side, primarily the addicts’
needles, where the danger is more glaring because of the
repeated use of the needle, the matter is essentially
dependent on the exhausting efforts now being exerted to
clean out the dens of addiction and enlighten youths
about its dangerousness.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: What about the third cause,
having to do with the infection of the fetus with AIDS by
pregnant mothers who are sick with it?

Dr. Duwaydar: We cannot do anything about this except
to initiate the measure of testing infants as soon as they
are born and following their conditon, but without
isolating either them or the mothers.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: The matter of not isolating the
AIDS sufferer was questioned by many.

Dr. Duwaydar: The AIDS sufferer is not isolated and is
not treated as though he is an outcast of society. We are
fighting the illness of AIDS, but we are not fighting the
AIDS victims. They are in the beginning and ultimately
human beings and must be provided with humane treat-
ment, just like others. There is no need at all for
isolation, as is the case with those ill with fevers or the
plague, because infection absolutely cannot occur by just
living with AIDS sufferers, but happens only due to the
three causes previously specified.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: Perhaps we should finally meet
the demand also being made by many that those coming
from abroad must be examined at all of the country’s
entry points to prevent the threat completely, since you
are certain that all of the cases of AIDS are coming from
abroad.

Dr. Duwaydar: First, this measure has been forbidden by
international organizations. Second, no country in the
world has resorted to it. Third, it is impossible to
implement it with the tens of thousands who enter Egypt
daily, whether Egyptians or foreigners. Fourth, such a
measure as this certainly infringes upon the sanctity and
honor of the family. Fifth, all previous considerations
aside, if we assumed hypothetically that we tested all

NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA 25

those coming in, and all the specimens came back
negative on the day of the test, would that reassure us
totally that everyone is free of the disease? Perhaps some
of them might have gotten AIDS only days before they
arrived in Egypt. That is, there are circumstances where
the AIDS virus does not show up in testing because it
does not show up, as scientific fact confirms, until three
or four weeks after one is infected. In such cases as this,
what do we gain by testing upon arrival?

INDIA

Health Ministry’s Plan To Combat, Control AIDS
Announced

54500096 Bombay THE TIMES OF INDIA in English
13 May 90 p7

[Article by Sabina Inderjit]

[Text] New Delhi, 12 May (The Times of India News
Service)}—Alarmed by the increase in the number of
people carrying the AIDS virus, the health ministry has
prepared an ambitious Rs 32-crore plan for the preven-
tion and control of the Acquired Immuno Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) in the country.

The three-year plan beginning this year has been pre-
pared in consultation with the World Health Organisa-
tion (WHO). The proposal was first mooted by the WHO
in October 1988.

The plan will come into effect as soon as the donor
agencies finalise the formalities of providing the major
portion of funds (Rs 21.5 crores) at a meeting next
month.

The government has an annual budget of Rs 3.5 crores
for its national AIDS control programme but with this
plan it will be sending thrice the amount.

Though only 44 cases of AIDS have been detected so far,
clinical and sero-surveillance has over the years clearly
indicated that HIV infection (human immuno deficiency
virus which causes AIDS has gained a foothold in the
country. Moreover such cases have increased at an
alarming rate. The incidence is particularly high among
blood donors.

While in 1987-88 only 73 cases of sero-positivity were
diagnosed among 9,500 blood donors screened, in the
next six months 37 cases were detected. The latest figures
show that about 3,613 cases out of 352,470 blood donors
screened in the last one year tested positive.

The plan seeks to strengthen the AIDS programme of
sero-surveillance, health education and screening of
blood and blood donors. While the government will be
providing Rs 10.5 crores, the rest will be given by donor
agencies—WHO, other UN organisations and countries
like the United States, France, etc.



2 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

questionable, however, whether such penalties and
public condemnation will lead to success.

In some countries there are not enough condoms every-
where. For lack of funds, the clinics must use hypoder-
mics and vaccination equipment more than once and
cannot sterilize the instruments properly. As a result, the
scourge of AIDS will continue above all to pursue the
poorest African countries and rob them of manpower in
the most productive age groups, causing losses which
they can least afford. South Africa still has a chance to
avert a catastrophe because a common front beyond all
social barriers has since emerged in the fight against
AIDS.

LESOTHO

UN Program To Assist AIDS Prevention Efforts

MB0307084790 Maseru Domestic Service in English
1600 GMT 2 Jul 90

[Text] The United Nations Development Program,
UNDP, has approved nearly 1.25 million maloti to assist
Lesotho’s efforts in AIDS prevention and control.

The agreement for the financial support was signed in
Maseru by the principal secretary for planning, eco-
nomic, and manpower development, Mr. Tom Tiwane,
and the UNDP resident representative, Mr. (Chase Nor-
man), last month.

The money will assist in the establishment of a program
management unit in the Ministry of Health. The infor-
mation, education and communication, IEC, unit of the
inistry will also be assisted in promoting change of
public attitudes toward disease control.

The means of promotion will include broadcasting radio
spots, drama by local theater groups, panel discussions,
and competitions. The entire project will be executed by
the World Health Organization, WHO.

Official Details Number of AIDS Patients,
Carriers

MB2406130190 Maseru Domestic Service in English
1130 GMT 24 Jun 90

[Text] Eleven people have fallen victim to the killer
disease AIDS since 1986 while 30 have been identified as
carriers of the disease in Lesotho.

This was said by the director of health services in the
Ministry of Health, Dr. [name indistinct], this week. He
indicated that there is a high possibility that there are
more carriers of the disease in the country who have not
yet been diagnosed as yet. He quoted experts as saying
that for every individual AIDS case identified there
could be about 50 carrier cases.

The Ministry of Health and other health bodies are
currently conducting an anti-AIDS campaign geared
towards curbing the spread of the disease in the country.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

During the campaign, the public is reliably informed of
the dangers of the disease and ways of avoiding it. Sexual
contact is said to be about the only mode of infection in
Lesotho.

MAURITIUS

Study Shows Citizens Misinformed About AIDS

90WE0226A Port Louis LE MAURICIEN in French
6 Jun 90 pp 1, 4

{Article by Judex Acking: “AIDS: Mauritians’ Igno-
rance”; bulleted lead: Women suffer from a conspicuous
lack of information and religious and cultural taboos;
first two paragraphs are LE MAURICIEN introduction;
passages within slantlines published in English]

[Text] Mauritians misunderstand the different faccts of
AIDS. So found a study conducted last year whose
conclusions were submitted and discussed yesterday at
the Quatre-Bornes national workshop organized by the
Health Ministry’s AIDS Unit, the WHO, and the Uni-
versity of Mauritius. The survey polled a sample of 2,463
individuals representing urban and rural areas, both
sexes, several educational levels, and all communities
and religions. Whether the topic was causes and modes
of transmission, at-risk groups, or treatments, among
others, the report makes plain that our fellow citizens are
more familiar with the existence of AIDS and its associ-
ated taboos than with its significance for individuals and
society.

But Dr. Clement Chan Kam, the /National Aids Coor-
dinator/, mounted a counterattack against this ignorance
and fear by indicating a courageous road toward preven-
tion and the proper attitude toward patients. It may be
shocking to some, but we can only side with his attempt
to guide the people’s attitude toward AIDS, reflected in
their behavior toward seropositive individuals and the
dying, back to what it should have been from the start in
Mauritius. He stated that over the next few months we
will have to get used to the idca, if not the reality, of
providing care for these people in hospital wards, clinics,
and even at home.

Scrutiny of the results of the KAPB /(Knowledge, Atti-
tudes, Beliefs and Practices Survey)/ study, which will
shape informational and preventive programs, showed
that Mauritians, although they have heard a great deal
about AIDS, are still alarmingly ignorant of its many
aspects, including causes and means of transmission.

It is primarily women, rural dwellers, and people over
the age of 40 who know little or nothing of the disease.
Moreover, all of them confuse causes and modes of
transmission. Forty percent of those questioned claimed
they did not know what causes AIDS, and only 35
percent mentioned microbes and viruses.



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

INTER- AFRICAN AFFAIRS

Economic Consequences of AIDS Detailed

90WE0216A Vienna DIE PRESSE in German
30 May 90 p 3

{Article by Juergen Duenbostel: “AIDS-A Scenario for
Economic Horror for Africa”]

[Text] Gaborone—Graham Prentice, the chief statisti-
cian of South Africa’s Old Mutual Insurance Company,
is listened to by businessmen as a prophet of doom. “By
conservative estimate,” says Prentice, one-half of all
South Africans over 15 years of age, or 15 million people,
will be carrying the AIDS by the end of the nineties. The
consequences for the economy will be catastrophic. “If
one-half of the population is infected, it will hardly be
possible to find any foreign tourists willing to risk a visit
to South Africa. That might be one of the major eco-
nomic consequences.”

Keith Edelston, a member of a national research group
looking into the economic consequences of AIDS, goes
even further. “Assuming that there is a 100-percent rise
in AIDS cases in South Africa every eight months, then
the country might not have an able-bodied work force by
the year 1997.” Edelston suggests that production be
automated by means of robots and electronic controls.

Such forecasts may sound surprising because there are
many people out of work and comparatively few AIDS
cases in South Africa at this stage. Statistical data as of
mid-February 1990 show just 326 AIDS patients and
3,431 persons infected with the virus. Prof. Berry
Schoub, the head of the South African Institute for
Virology, calls these forecasts sensational and unscien-
tific. But the mortgage banks which have been giving out
life insurance policies to pay for the loans are adding to
their reserves to guard against future losses due to AIDS
deaths.

As for Edelston and Prentice, they have no desire to
cause a panic with their startling forecasts. They want to
raise awareness so that their forecasts will be proven
wrong. The fact is that the trend in Africa is alarming.
The number of persons infected with the AIDS virus
rises by 215 percent annually. As a result, the epidemic
could soon reach dimensions on the Cape similar to
those in Black Africa, unless quick countermeasures are
introduced.

Old Mutual has had some relevant experiences of its own
at its branch office in Malawi. As of right now, an
estimated 25 to 35 percent of the adult population of
Malawi are carriers of the AIDS virus. Since the Gov-
ernment of Malawi does not permit life insurance com-
panies to test for AIDS prior to issuing a policy, Old
Mutual has quit the risk life insurance business and only
offers interest-bearing savings programs there.

In neighboring Zimbabwe only government clinics may
test for AIDS. For this reason there are many who doubt

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 1

the accuracy of the statistics put out by the government.
But even according to the government statistics there
were some 10,000 known carriers of the virus in 1989.
When a blood donation program was conducted among
secondary school students, it was found that 20 percent
of them were infected with the AIDS virus. The assump-
tion is that 800,000 to 1 million persons have already
been infected with AIDS in Zimbabwe.

As questionable as the AIDS statistics in many African
countries may be, individual spot checks do arouse grave
concern. The AIDS Policy Research Center in South
Africa, for example, cites the following data: 19 percent
of the blood donors in Zambia are infected with AIDS,
the corresponding figure for Kampala, Uganda, is 70
percent. Of the blood samples at the Blantyre blood bank
in Malawi 29 percent contained the AIDS virus. Some 85
percent of Nairobi’s prostitutes have already contracted
the disease. Blood tests on Zambian soldiers showed that
20 percent of them were infected.

The WHO estimates that there are some 3 million
persons in Africa today who have been infected. In
Uganda alone it is estimated that one million persons,
i.e., one out of every 17, is a carrier of the AIDS virus.
The situation is said to be equally critical in Zaire. The
spread of the disease has also assumed crisis proportions
in Tanzania, Ruanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Malawai.

In the meantime, several African governments are
attacking the AIDS problem. In Nigeria, for example, the
government has started a $40 million campaign to help
nip the spread of the disease in the bud. Shortage of
money, however, may cause the information campaign
to fail.

Other countries tried at first to hush up the problem.
They resisted the attempt to have Africa serve as a
scapegoat for the spread of AIDS. Zimbabwe prohibited
its doctors to issue death certificates citing AIDS as the
cause. But the policy appears to be changing. At any rate,
President Robert Mugabe recently mentioned the AIDS
threat publicly in a speech for the first time ever.

In Zambia, too, AIDS was a taboo subject at first. But
after Masusgo Gwen, one of President Kaunda’s six
sons, died of AIDS, Kaunda himself became a
spokesman for the fight against the disease in Africa.

In a number of countries the words have been followed
by deeds. In Zaire, for example, contaminated plasma
was removed from the blood banks with the help of the
FRG Government. Tanzania is presently conducting an
extensive information campaign. In Uganda, condoms
are now placed on hotel night tables next to the Bible.

To prevent the spread of AIDS, the government has also
instituted stiff penalties now. Prostitution and sexual
intercourse prior to age 18 are to be banned and will be
punishable by seven years in prison. In Malawi, Dr. Alvit
Dlamini, a Red Cross adviser, has proposed that the
names of carriers of the AIDS virus be published. It is



14 EAST EUROPE

INTRABLOC AFFAIRS

Project to Fight AIDS in East Europe, USSR

90WE0199B Copenhagen BERLINGSKE TIDENDE
in Danish 8 May 90 p 7

[Article by Munk: “Help Against AIDS in East Europe”}

[Text] The East European countrics belong to the arcas
in the world where the fewest numbers of people have
become actively infected with AIDS. But the number of
sick here, as in other places, is only the tip of the iceberg.

Poland reports over 800 HIV-positive cases, the CSFR
800 to 1,000, while in Bulgaria the infection is spreading
rapidly via sailors who have been in Africa. In the Sovict
Union, an investigation of 5 million people revealed that
900 of them are infected with AIDS. But the figures are
growing, and there are more and more HIV-infected in
East Europe.

This is the conclusion of a report of the Danish Nursing
Council, which is working actively with AIDS problems
in East Europe, in cooperation with the WHO and the
Danish Institute for Health and Nursing Care Rescarch.
Together with the East Bloc countries they have pre-
pared publications on care, prevention, and control of
HIV infection for use in training at hospitals in those
countries.

Nurses and doctors from Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland,
the CSFR, Hungary, and the Soviet Union gathered in
Copenhagen, together with the Danish Nursing Council,
to report on conditions and discuss possi ities for
improving the situation. The Eastern countries fear that

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

their health care personne! are not capable of controlling
the infection. They will have difficulties caring for AIDS
victims because they do not know enough about the
prevention of infections and the ways that infections
spread. The health sector in these countries lack AIDS
such as disposable gloves, condoms, and ordinary
nursing supplies.

POLAND

AIDS Conference Recommends National Health
Strategy

90P200424 Warsaw GAZETA WYBORCZA in Polish
14 May 90 p 2

{Article: “A Need for a Strategy”]

[Text] “AIDS belongs to that category of diseases against
which it is necessary to establish a national strategy,”
stated Professor Zofia Kuratowska at the conclusion of
the scientific conference, “AIDS: A Health and Educa-
tion Problem”, in Krakow on 12 May.

In Poland there are 828 registered carriers of the HIV
virus and 36 ill. The ages of the infected individuals are
dropping—60 percent are people between the ages 20-29
years, for every five male carriers there occurs one
female carrier. Most of the infected, with regard to
permanent addresses, live in Warsaw, Katowice, and
Gdansk.

Participants of the conference proposed as a beginning of
educational activitics—the dissemination of knowledge
about AIDS already in elementary schools and instruc-
tional programs on television.



4 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

These were the two hottest issues raised in St Paul's
Cathedral in Victoria on Thursday evening at a packed
interdenominational gathering on the dreaded killer dis-
ease.

Organised by the information, education and communi-
cation sub-committee of the National Task Force on
AIDS (NTFA), the evening of discussions, vidco shows,
prayers and hymns brought together Icaders of the
Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in Seychelles,
representatives of the Health Ministry, NTFA members
and a large crowd which filled the Anglican cathedral
well before the service began at 6:30 pm.

Anglican Bishop French Chang Him welcomed the
event, the first of its kind, as an example of the State and
the Church working together on a problem afflicting
mankind in general, while Roman Catholic vicar-general
Father Edwin Mathiot pointed out the capacity atten-
dance and the questions raised showed the public were
concerned by the threat the killer disease posed to the
small Seychellois community.

One of the most hotly debated questions at the gathcring
was whether or not AIDS existed in Seychelles, as some
participants felt “the real answer was somehow being
avoided.”

Two nurses, Mrs Enid Savy and Mrs Christine Weber,
who were present to answer the public's questions,
reiterated that up to now no AIDS cases had been
discovered in Seychelles, although this did not mean
there was a 100 percent conviction the disease did not
exist here.

They maintained the main issue was not to worry about
whether or not the disease existed in Seychelles, but
rather to focus attention on what people must do to
avoid catching and spreading it.

Another issue which sparked off an animated debate was
whether it should be publicly announced when a person
fell victim to the disease.

One participant noted that should this happen, the
authorities would have to report the case to the World
Health Organisation (WHO) which, in turn, would make
it public.

“Therefore, it would not be fair in that case for it to be
known internationally before we know it ourselves,” she
argued.

The general feeling of people questioned by the
NATION is that the public have a right to know whether
such a deadly and infectious disease is among them, if
only to make people more careful about catching or
spreading it.

However, many people agree the identities of victims
should be kept confidential to prevent them, thcir fam-
ilies and relatives and other persons close to them from
being ostracised or “persecuted.”

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

The gathering, which lasted nearly two hours, was inter-
spersed with prayers, hymns and vidco films in which
AIDS victims abroad spoke out their at times heart-
rending feclings.

Bishop Chang Him, who talked on the Church and
AIDS, described the gathering as an “historic moment.”

It was touching to scc that all differences had been put
aside and that the Government and the Churches were
ready to work together combating a problem of not only
national, but international concern, he said.

He said the Churches would give all their support to the
Health Ministry and all families in their fight against the
disease. [passage omitted]

Father Wavel Ramkalawan of St Paul's Cathedral and a
member of the NTFA sub-committee, later told the
NATION he was very impressed by the turn-out and the
congregation’s participation.

“The questions the public raised showed there was a
need for such a gathering,” he said.

The sub-committee hopes to have another gathering, in
the Roman Catholic Church's Cathedral of the Immac-
ulate Conception, to be followed by others in district
churches.

Members of the congregation the NATION spoke to said
they welcomed such a gathering, although some felt a
church was not the right venue.

The NATION reporter covering the event felt some of
the questions put by the public were superficial because
some people did not feel at ease discussing a sexually-
transmitted disease in a church.

AIDS, the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is
spread mainly by sexual contact and contaminated
blood.

Father Ramkalawan said such unease stemmed from a
widespread traditional attitude that sex is a dirty word
and thus should not be discussed in a place like a church.

“As a priest, I believe that all things concerning reality
can be discussed in church,” he added.

SOUTH AFRICA

Medical Official Notes Natal/KwaZulu AIDS
Rate

MB0307121890 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1129 GMT 3 Jul 90

[Text] Durban July 3 SAPA—Eight nurses, four auxil-
iary health workers, more than 100 school pupils and 10
school teachers in Natal/KwaZulu are AIDS infected, it
was revealed on Tuesday [3 July]

Despite their HIV positive conditions, the teachers are
thought to be currently employed, the nurses are working,



20 LATIN AMERICA

we can ever say that everything is perfect. I think that in
these four years, we have learned many ways to create all
the conditions needed to convert the sanitariums into a
center to educate patients, to educate AIDS patients on
their social behavior to prevent the disease from being
transmitted to others. That work is being donc insuffi-
ciently and with deficiencies. However, there is no doubt
that we know much more about the sanitarium now than
we knew in 1986 and, with everything that was donc by
the sanitarium and also because of the work done by the
Tropical Medicine Institute and other scientific centers,
we have created new possibilitics for the institutions.

At this time, we are studying new possibilities and that is
why the technical commission that was created by the
ministry, which mects periodically, is analyzing cach
situation. We must also observe the results to determine
how the life expectancy is affected in the sanitarium.
This is an important problem because we are beginning.
We do not want to be sensational. We want to be
objective but I think we are progressing more in the area
of the life expectancy of our patients and I am sure that
with the new possibilities that are being promoted in the
scientific area, we will also find the likelihood of a
greatcr life expectancy.

However, I think we have good sanitariums. From the
time we had the AIDS program last year with Comrade
Resillez [Journalist Resillez, another host of the “Open
Agenda” program] through the present, we have made
much more progress in the work of these institutions. We
have incorporated a larger cadre of psychologists. The
psychologists play an enormous role in guiding all our
work with patients in the social area and we are looking
for new ways to integrate the patients into socicty, etc.
We will be adopting new ideas in the next few months.

Perez: We have made constant dialectic changes in the
sanitarium. You have visited the sanitarium several
times. I think you have also been able to observe this.

Gonzalez: Yes, of course.

Perez: In reality, things have changed in many areas and
we also believe that things must continue to change. We
must make sure it is an educational center, primarily for
the patients, a center for classifying and evaluating
patients, as well as a center that will allow us to deter-
mine which patient may have a certain kind of conduct
and which won't. We also want to try and integrate the
patients more each time into social activities, which is
fundamental. We want to integrate them into all kinds of
social activities. That is one of the goals of the Public
Health Ministry.

Gonzalez: Dr. Terry, how much does it cost the Cuban
State to care for an AIDS carrier or for someone who is
ill with AIDS in a one-year period, taking into account
his food, his [word indistinct], medications, salaries?

Terry: | think we would have to consider several things.
We would have to first consider the testing and subsc-
quent epidemiology work. This program, even though we

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

have national technology—we have three kinds of diag-
nostic systems: one is conventional and the others are
done by genctic enginecring—the country still needs to
obtain raw materials and some resources for laboratory
work. We still have to spend from $300,000 to $500,000
to buy material abroad to maintain the AIDS testing
program. As time passes, we will reduce these costs.
However, for laboratory work, we must invest between
$300,000 and $500,000 annually, depending on the kind
of technologies. For example, there is a new technology
that will allow us to get quicker serum results in certain
patients who have not given a positive response using the
antibody technology. There is a technology that will
detect particles of the antibody without the antigen in
the patient’s blood. The technology [words indistinct].
We already have it in the country but that also means we
have new expenses in using and developing this tech-
nology in the country.

Terry: When it comes to the work of the sanitarium, we
could say, for example, in the case of the San Antonio de
las Vegas sanitarium, which is four years old and which
we have been observing on a daily basis, with the
number of beds it has, it costs us [words indistinct] a
year. If we extend this to the hospital stage, then it’s
another thing.

Gonzalez: I would be much more.

Terry: In the United States and in other countries, for
example, treatment is very expensive because the labor
force—the internist, anesthetist, intensive care atten-
dant, etc.—is also paid highly in the hospitals that treat
AIDS patients. In these places, the patient incurs a lot of
costs.

Here, we are giving a group of paticnts AZT, a very
expensive medicine. Each tablet costs $1.80. We are
proposing. as Perez said, to provide this universally for
all patients who are ill or who are asymptomatic to
extend their life expectancies. For example, I brought
this little container. [Holds up plastic medicine pill
container] This little container holds a medication we
are buying. We have spent $30,000 on containers of this
kind. This little container holds 300 tablets of an antimy-
codermatitis medicine that was requested for onc of our
patients. Each tablet costs us $10. The treatment of this
patient required 500 tablets and we had to have them. It
cost us $5,000. AIDS is expensive. It is a very expensive
problem and it will create serious problems in all health
services in developed and underdeveloped countries.

Gonzalez: They ask us, considering the country’s eco-
nomic condition—which all our people are familiar
with—if we will be able to maintain this level of health
care with the growing number of seropositive cases.

Terry: What would happen if we didn’t maintain this
health care?

Gonzalez: No, I'm asking you a question.



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Foreicn
Broapcast
INFORMATION
Service

PRS Report—

Epidemiology

REPRODUCED BY
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE
SPRINGFIELD, VA. 22161 H

DIC QUALITY Inepacren gf

AIDS

- £60 1421866)



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

reported to the WHO in January 1988. The majority of
African countries last reported late last year or early this
year.

According to the latest issue of an international news-
letter on the killer diseases, AIDS Action, Swaziland last
reported her statistics to WHO on June 16, 1988. She is
third to Algeria and Liberia. Both Liberia and Algeria
reported their AIDS statistics in March 1988.

The newsletter is prepared by a team of medical experts
and is published by the London-based Appropriate
Health Resources and Technologies Action Group Ltd
(AHTRTAG) with the support of various organisations,
including WHO.

At the time Swaziland made her last report, she had had
14 AIDS cases. This figure is in sharp contrast to the last
figure of the people infected by the AIDS virus, HIV
announced by the Minister of Health, Dr. Fanny
Friedman last month. She put the figure of HIV positive
at 207. Thirty of these were said to have already devel-
oped the actual AIDS disease.

Attempts to get a comments from the Ministry of Health
on why it had not been submitting AIDS statistics to
WHO for such a long time, proved futile yesterday.

Uganda

1 Million Infected with HIV

54000070A Kampala THE NEW VISION in English
13 Jun 90 p 12

[Article by Alfred Wasike: “PM Advises on AIDS”]

[Text] The Prime Minister, Dr Samson Kisekka yes-
terday underscored the importance of health education
and re-examination of individual sexual habits as the
only effective weapons in the struggle against Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Speaking at the opening of a human immuno deficiency
viral (HIV) testing centre, called the AIDS Information
Centre (AIC) in Kampala, Dr Samson Kisekka observed
that AIDS is not only a recognised international public
health problem, but “today, it is the biggest public health
challenge of our time”.

Dr Kisekka noted with concern that for every 100
healthy-looking Ugandans, 6-10 are infected with HIV,
the virus which causes AIDS and “this means that for
Uganda which has a population of about 16 million
people, approximately | million or more Ugandans are
infected with HIV”.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 7

The Premier said that many people are clinically ill,
several tens of thousands are already dead, hundreds of
thousands are still asymptomatic without signs and are
unknowingly spreading AIDS.

Citing the late Ugandan musician Philly Lutaaya,
Kisekka appealed to the people of Uganda not only to
emulate his example of frankness but to exercise extreme
caution in personal sexual habits and help disseminate
information about the modes of transmission of HIV
infection.

In a speech read for him by the Director of Medical
Services, Dr Eriyabu Muzira, the Minister of Health, Mr
Zack Kaheru, warned the people of Uganda that the
impact of HIV infection and AIDS is going to be more
severe during the 1990s than it has been in the previous
years.

Kaheru said that a new and dramatic AIDS-related
situation has arisen.

ZIMBA)

E

‘Devastating Implications’ of AIDS Statistics

MB0507132290 Johannesburg SAPA in English
1009 GMT 5 Jul 90

[Text] Victoria Falls July 5 SAPA—The Confederation
of Zimbabwe Industries [CZI] congress in Harare on
Thursday heard that 90 percent of the Zimbabwean
workforce could be dying of AIDS- related diseases in 10
years.

ZIANA news agency reported a paper presented by the
CZI stated statistical evidence indicated that 10 percent
to 20 percent of the general population carried the HIV
virus.

The number of reported AIDS cases up to April had
trebled in the last six months, said the CZI.

“It is estimated that the incidence of HIV will double
every 10 months, and after a decade 90 percent of the
workforce could be dying of AIDS-related diseases.

“The devastating implications of the AIDS pandemic for
Zimbabwe cannot be over-emphasised.

“Suffice to say that AIDS has the undoubted potential of
destrying the very fabric of Zimbbawe’s economy—the
skilled workers and managerial experts who, unfortu-
nately, fall in the high risk bracket,” said the CZI.



6 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

“Considering that only one in 1,000 tested HIV positive
among the other 35,000 workers, we felt it was only right
to screen Malawian crecuirts before bringing them into
the country,” he said.

“Unfortunately the Malawian government now con-
siders our measure discriminatory and has put a stop to
our recruitment projects.”

Dr Pollnow said there were now only about 10 Malaw-
ians working on local mines compared with 18,000 two
years ago.

“We are allowing these men to terminate their contracts,
and we are not signing up others,” he said.

Dr Doug Mackenzie, acting medial adviser to Teba, the
mines recruting body, said R [rand]70-million a year in
salaries had been lost to the Malawian government as a
result of the diplomatic clash over AIDS.

Dr Mackenzie said recent statistics showed that AIDS
was spreading at an alarming rate in Malawi.

The Nationa! Union of Mineworkers [NUM] has blamed
mining companies for setting up migrant miners in
singles’ hostels away from their wives.

“Closing South African borders to foreign mineworkers
who depend on our mines for their very existence is no
solution,” said NUM health and safety officer Dr May
Hermanus.

In Malawi, 34 percent of women in pre-natal clinics are
shown to be HIV positive, as well as 92 percent of
Malawian truck drivers who regularly visit Durban.

Natal has the highest incidence of AIDS in South Africa,
with 550 registered positive in January this year.

Plans to Sue for Defamation

MB1506135590 Johannesburg THE WEEKLY MAIL
in English 15-21 Jun p 5

[Article by Kaathy Strachan}

{Text] A storm is brewing between the Malawian gov-
ernment and the South African Chamber of Mincs over
AIDS allegations made by the Chamber earlier this
week—and the Malawian authorities are planning to suc
for defamation.

At the centre of the controversy are almost 18,000
Malawian workers, who over the last two years have not
been able to continue working on South African mines.

The Chamber's health representative Dr Daniel Pollnow
said a survey to establish the prevalence of HIV—the
AIDS virus—in the mining industry had established that
“the prominence of HIV virus was vastly higher among
Malawians than among any other group”.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

The mining industry then decided to test all Malawians
re- entering South Africa on new contracts, in an effort to
reduce the spread of HIV infection to the work force.

Pollnow said the Malawian government objected to only
its citizens being screened and refused to allow the
Chamber to carry out the tests in Malawi.

The Chamber did not want to bring in untested
Malawian workers and stopped all recruitment from
Malawi.

Malawian government representative Southwood
Ng’oma denied that Malawi had refused to allow the
mines to test its citizens for HIV or that they had said the
practice was discriminatory. He said Malawi would sue
the Chamber.

“Malawi is an agricultural country and the reason why
we stopped the mines from recruiting in Malawi is that
we needed the men to go back and work on the land. The
Malawian government decided these people should be
working back home near their families and relatives.

“As far as we know they have all found employment in
Malawi and we still need more labour for the land,” said
Ng’oma.

He added that if Malawian workers chose to go back to
the mines they could arrange that on their own. “It’s
entirely up to them,” he said.

Chamber representatives John Imrie, however, said the
workers “would have to go through immigration proce-
dures and it would be a lot more difficult for them.” He
added that the wages they would be paid on the mines
would be “vastly higher” than what they were paid for
agricultural work in Malawi.

National Union of Mineworkers representative Dr May
Hermanus said it was unlikely that Malawian mine-
workers would have chosen to give up their jobs on the
mines.

“Traditionally Malawian workers, together with
Mozambican workers are the least militant groups of
workers because they are the most vulnerable. They have
little likelihood of finding alternative jobs,” said Her-
manus.

SWAZILAND

Last AIDS Report To WHO in 1988

MB0907103290 Mbabane THE SWAZI OBSERVER
in English 9 Jul 90 p 1

[Article by John Dlamini]

[Text] Swaziland last reported her AIDS statistics to the
World Health Organisation (WHO) more than two years
ago. She is one of three African countries which last



IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

such as that of Montse, the girl from Malaga, will become
common throughout Spain in the coming years. In this
connection, he announced the drafting of a European
Code of Conduct on AIDS, which is specifically designed
to raise the consciousness of the educational community.

Incidence of AIDS, Deaths Reported

Catalonia Data

90WE0214A Madrid DIARIO 16 in Spanish
10 May 90 p 12

[Article by Jose Miguel Fernandez: “Twenty of the 43
Children Infected With AIDS Through Transfusions and
Direct Transmission From Their Mothers Have Died in
Catalonia Since 1981”]

[Text] Barcelona—According to data revealed yesterday
by the Department of Health of the General Council,
over half of the children under 13 years of age infected
with AIDS in Catalonia have succumbed to the disease.
Since 198! 43 cases of AIDS in children have been
recorded in this community. In 34 of them the disease
was transmitted directly by the mother.

Half of the children under 13 years of age infected with
AIDS in Catalonia have died, according to data from the
Department of Health and Social Security of the General
Council of Catalonia presented during the conference on
psychosocial care for those infected with this disease,
which ended yesterday at Physicians’ College in Barce-
lona.

All told, the number of cases of children infected with
AIDS since 1981 in Catalonia has risen to 43, 34 of
which contracted the disease through direct transmission
from their mothers and nine through transfusions of
blood or plasma. Some 20 of these Catalonian children
with AIDS have died since data on the disease have been
recorded.

Last year Catalonian health officials uncovered 11 new
cases of AIDS in progress in the child population.

New Carriers of the Virus

Among adults 742 new cases of AIDS carriers were
verified in 1989, representing half of those recorded
since 1981 in Catalonian hospitals, whose number has
risen to 1,429. Thus along with the Basque Country,
Catalonia is the autonomous community in which the
highest number of cases of people infected with this
disease which destroys the immune system has been
recorded.

Organized by the University School of Social Welfare
and the General Consulate of Great Britain, for two days
the conference brought together all the professional
people—social workers, doctors, and psychologists—
who daily deal with AIDS patients from the time they
become carriers until they reach the terminal phase, and
their families. Thus some 20 specialists who carry on

WEST EUROPE 39

their work in health centers and prisons were able to
compare their experiences with carriers of the virus.

In Barcelona’s Modelo Prison over 40 percent of the
inmates are seropositive, which means that they could
develop the disease during their stay in prison, as Dr.
Andres Marco, the head of the prison medical depart-
ment, explained yesterday at one of the conference
sessions.

Nearly all of the infected persons—over 90 percent of
them—are heroin addicts and they contracted the dis-
ease through the use of contaminated needles.

Barcelona’s Clinical Hospital also contributed eloquent
data on the fear of being identified as carriers of the
AIDS virus. Despite the fact that it has a special depart-
ment for detecting the disease, the hospital normally
admits many persons to its blood bank who, using the
excuse of donating blood, really want to find out whether
they are carriers of the virus.

The efforts that have been made in the United Kingdom
to prevent AIDS and help those who are infected, where
it is anticipated that 750 people may die of this disease
this year and where over 40,000 cases of seropositive
individuals have been uncovered, were used as a basis
for the proceedings.

Psychosocial Support

The psychosocial support of specialists and the family
are of special importance for those patients who are in
the terminal phase. “The family, which is really afraid of
contagion, ought to assume responsibility for providing
the patient with social support, but with the moral and
financial support of the government,” DIARIO 16 was
told by Nuria Pellegero, a social worker and member of
the conference organizing committee.

For Pellegero it is important that psychological support
for the doctors who treat terminal AIDS patients not be
forgotten either “because, instead of seeing the process
of personal deterioration in mature adults, they witness
it in young people under the age of 30.”

During the conference the discrimination practiced
against schoolchildren with AIDS antibodies, a situation
that has recently been created in various Spanish
schools, was condemned.

Basque Country

90WE0214B Madrid DIARIO 16 in Spanish
19 May 90 p 16

[Article by Juan F. Palomo: “Number of Patients in
Basque Country Increased by 81 Percent This Past Year;
Spain Is European Country Where AIDS Has Increased
Most”)

[Text] San Sebastian—Spain is the European country
with the highest rate of growth in the number of AIDS
patients, according to an announcement made yesterday



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

However, six of his relatives were present at his burial in
the Mapusa cemetery on Thursday. His body was
wrapped in two layers of polythene in accordance wih
the regulations issued by the Indian Council for Medical
Research.

Mr Afonso is one of the 39 detected cases of AIDS’
carriers in Goa. While eight of these are of Goan origin,
the others are foreigners. Mr Jhalmi said a recent survey
by the government had identified foreigners, prostitutes
and truck drivers as high-risk groups.

AIDS Spreading Rapidly in Manipur

54500095 Calcutta THE TELEGRAPH in English
13 May 90 p9

[A time bomb has hit Manipur. As many as 64 persons,
the bulk of them intravenous drug users, have been
identified as carrying the AIDS virus. Amit Ukil reports
on the implications.]

[Excerpts] From the air, the picturesque state of
Manipur, famous for its colourful dances and handloom
and handicrafts, looks very inviting. Its people are lucky
to have a very congenial climate and a rich heritage of
culture and tradition. The government, in recent years,
has undertaken a number of projects to make the state
more attractive and prosperous.

But all this and much, much more are suddenly at stake.
The virus of the most dreaded disease the world knows
today—AIDS—has reared its head in the state, inflicting
an increasing number of people everyday. The AIDS
surveillance programme in Manipur was taken up in
September 1986, almost simultaneously with the other
states in the country, under central government guide-
lines. It was only in January this year that the first HIV
positive cases, or persons found to be carriers of the
AIDS virus, were detected.

Screening tests had been carried out since the inception
of the programme on high-risk groups—blood donors,
Prostitutes, those attending clinics for sexually trans-
mitted diseases and prisoners. The first six confirmed
HIV positive cases were jail inmates. And all of them
were intravenous heroin users, or mainlining drug
addicts.

When the preliminary Elisa tests carried out on their
blood samples at the Regional Medical College at Imphal
indicated positive, the samples were sent to the National
Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED),
Calcutta, for further tests by the Western Blot technique.
The reports returned and health officials in the state had
the greatest singular cause for concern ever. Manipur
had entered the AIDS map of the country.

The onslaught by the virus continued. In February, 15
more cases were confirmed, in March the number of new
inflictions was 23 and on 30 April 1990, a total of 64
persons were carriers of the AIDS virus, of whom as
many as 62 were intravenous drug users.

NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA 27

But the actual figure is well over a hundred. The omi-
nous fact was confirmed by Dr S.C. Pal, director of
NICED, where a third and larger batch of blood samples
has been sent from the northeastern state. “There are a
large number of persons in the high-risk group both in
the towns and districts whose blood is yet to be tested,”
he said. “Once it has struck, the virus is bound to
spread,” Manipur’s director of health services, Dr P.
Kumud Singh, said early this week.

As the number of HIV positive cases began growing, all
government departments in the state were put on alert.
The chief minister, Mr R.K. Ranbir Singh, was apprised
of the situation by Indian Council for Medical Research
officials, whose additional director-general, Dr S.P. Tri-
pathi, met him along with Dr Pal on 27 February. The
chief minister reportedly wrote to the Prime Minister’s
office seeking trained personnel, equipment and funds to
combat the spread of the virus through awareness pro-
grammes.

At the state level, the health department has geared up to
tackle the epidemic. A modal officer has been appointed
who is responsible for intensifying the screening of
high-risk groups. The district medical officers of the
eight districts in Manipur have been asked to collect
blood samples and send them to the Regional Medical
College in IMphal, which is also the only AIDS surveil-
lance centre in the northeast.

The Director General of Health Services in New Delhi as
well as the ICMR have been asked to urgently provide
trained staff and training programmes for the manage-
ment of HIV positive cases. In the face of resource
constraints, the two central organisations have been
asked to help out with any form of assistance from
wherever possible, including international bodies. [pas-
sage omitted]

Asked in Calcutta how many of the 64 infected cases will
become full-blown AIDS patients, Dr Pal said once the
HIV antibodies were detected, about 20 percent of the
cases become full-blown AIDS patients within two years.
“Within five years, about 50 percent of them will be
down.” Many among the 64 will be just carriers, where
the virus can stay dormant for an indefinite period, he
said. [passage omitted]

According to an ICMR update on the AIDS situation in
the country, 2167 persons have been found sero-positive
from a total of 4,61,118 persons screened between
October 1985 and 31 March 1990. Of these, 1,277 were
heterosexually promiscuous. Blood donors numbered
512 and recipients of infected blood totalled 50. The
number of intravenous drug users was only five.

Obviously, the recent findings in Manipur had not been
taken into account. The developments there have blown
the statistical evaluation to bits while exploding the
myth that in India the risk of AIDS infection through
drug addiction was relatively low compared to Thailand
and the United States, which have very high incidence of
AIDS.



26 NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA

Recently, a WHO team visited 14 states to study the
AIDS problem in the country. The UN is also playing a
central role in developing, coordinating and leading the
global response to AIDS. With its global programme on
AIDS the WHO is working with over 150 countries
helping them develop strong AIDS control programmes.

It facilitates and promotes bio-medical, social, behav-
ioural and epidemiological research in HIV infection
and AIDS. It designs strategies and provides guidelines
for health education and assists local, national and
international agencies in AIDS prevention and control
work.

In the proposed plan, a major portion of the funds, 16.8
percent, will be spent on prevention of transmission of
AIDS through blood.

As the existing 45 surveillance centres in the country are
only screening centres for AIDS cases, the plan proposes
to lay emphasis on epidemiological survey, trends in
high-risk groups along with case detection in 34 of the
centres. Though sample studies are conducted, sound
epidemiological data is essential to assess the gravity of
the situation.

A survey team of research officers, technicians and
medico-social attendants will be provided mini-vans to
carry out their work.

Though the government spends crores of rupees on
AIDS projects, voluntary organisations and citizens
working in the field have been seeking a realistic
approach by the government to tackle the problem.
There should be explicit assurance that HIV positive
people will receive proper follow-up care, treatment and
protection against discrimination and till that is done
testing for HIV virus should not be done, they have
urged.

A question which has been worrying those preparing
programmes in the field is what comes after surveillance.
After a person has been detected of carrying the virus,
what can the government and its agencies offer? In
Parliament there has been no mention so far on schemes
to prevent AIDS.

In its health education programme which is under the
Central Health Education Bureau (CHEB), the plan
proposes to strengthen the existing health education
bureau in eight states—Delhi, Maharashtra, West Ben-
gal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka and Meghalaya. A
periodical knowledge, attitude, belief and practice
survey among the public will also be undertaken with the
help of research organisations to get feedback on its
educational programme.

Though the CHEB educates people on AIDS through
posters and other forms of literature, their distribution is
a sore point. Voluntary organisations find it difficult to
get these. They hardly ever reach the high-risk areas like

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

the red-light area. The mass mcdia, effective medium for
educating the public and target audiences, has not been
put to use for the purpose.

The plan proposes to strengthen its 28 blood and blood
product screening centres. Training of personnel in this
field will be undertaken in 1 regional centres. Further,
37 more centres for screening blood will be set up in
various states and cities.

The government had set up these centres in 1987. In
January 1989 two samples of anti-D vaccines manufac-
tured by an Indian firm were found to be AIDS-infected.
While the blood product had been banned it was still
available with chemists even after a month.

One of Goa’s Three Diagnosed AIDS Cases Dies

54500098A Bombay THE TIMES OF INDIA
in English 14 May 90 p &

[Article: “First Goan To Die of AIDS”)

[Text] Panaji, May 13. Shunned by relatives and ignored
by friends, Mr Joaquim Afonso, 31, died an agonising
death of AIDS in the isolation ward of Asilo Hospital,
near Mapusa, early on Thursday.

He is the third victim of the disease in the state, but the
first Goan to have succumbed to it. The other two who
died during the last one year were forcigners.

Mr Afonso was isolated on April 6 when he began to
show symptoms of the full-blown disease and his family
reportedly washed their hands of him. Initially, sources
say, he was able to attend to his ablutions, washed his
clothes and ate without assistance.

However, the diarrhoea he suffered from, when he was
admitted, progressively became worse and he lost 28 kgs
within the first two weeks. In the next two wecks, Mr
Afonso reportedly dropped four more kilos. The health
minister, Dr Kashinath Jhalmi, said on Thursday that
Mr Afonso was being fed intravenously on fluids and
protein-rich nutrition, which he failed to retain.

The fear psychosis surrounding the disease only
enhanced Mr Afonso’s agony, it is learnt. Even the
hospital staff treated him with revulsions. His only
contact with the outside world was through a bell near
his bed that rang in the detoxification centre below the
isolation ward. However, struggling towards the bell one
night, he reportedly fell but no one heard his cries for
help.

Mr Afonso, who hailed from Santo Estevam village in
north Goa, is believed to have contracted the killer
disease when he was in Dubai and Hong Kong. Although
Goa’s former controversial Health Act was amended to
make isolation for AIDS’ carriers optional, Mr Afonso
was compelled to appeal to the director of health services
after his family refused to nurse him.



IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

The survey, which elicited both spontaneous and “stud-
ied” answers, indicates that AIDS is transmitted prima-
rily (92 percent) by sexual relations (men and women),
relations with several partners (85.6 percent), and with
prostitutes (91.9 percent). Next comes sharing of
syringes by drug addicts, transfusions (91.5 percent), and
mother-child physical bonds.

It was also found that although facts about AIDS are
known to most, it is primarily women, particularly
Hindu and Muslim women, and rural dwellers who seem
least well-informed.

Writers of the study’s conclusions say this ignorance can
be ascribed to the influence of education and religious
and cultural taboos, particularly where sexual transmis-
sion is concerned. The survey is patterned after one by
the WHO and should be useful in other countries,
enabling Mauritian data to be used to prevent other
sexually transmitted diseases.

There is another way the disease can be spread that is not
likely to be known to many, commented Dr. C. Chan
Kam. It is the one arising from the misconception that
sexual relations in which one partner is afflicted with a
virus-carrying illness, including AIDS, are safe as long as
there is no fluid discharge. He explained that the absence
of a discharge does not mean the disease has disap-
peared. This is called transmission by an asymptomatic
patient (read, seropositive).

The study showed it is television and radio, rather than
the written press and word of mouth, that are the
foremost sources of information on AIDS. While the
media has been drilling Mauritians in the facts of the
disease through frequent exposure, the extent of miscon-
ceptions about AIDS is striking.

For example, 62 percent of those questioned say AIDS
can and is caught by sharing food, kissing (54 percent),
mosquito bites (53 percent), sharing of clothing (43.6
percent), and touch (35 percent). All of which, of course,
is completely false.

Dr. C. Chan Kam declared that all informational cam-
paigns would be incomplete and futile unless the vicious
circle of ignorance-misconception-irrational fear-
intolerance was broken. The urgency of overcoming this
obstacle becomes apparent when you learn that the study
showed 48 percent of those questioned believe isolating
patients to be the best method for avoiding transmission,
followed by sexual abstinence, and taking medicines.
Only five percent mention the effectiveness of advice
about blood transfusions and only 1.5 percent recom-
mend using condoms.

We will have more to say, soon, about the other aspects
of the study and about the workshop.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 3

NAMIBIA

Jan-May AIDS Cases Increase to 122

MB0407052390 Johannesburg SAPA in English
0816 GMT 3 Jul 90

[Text] Windhoek, July 3, SAPA—Namibian_ health
authorities have reported 44 new AIDS cases in May,
bringing to 122 the total number of AIDS cases reported
in the country this year, NAMBC [Namibian Broad-
casting Corporation] radio news reports.

The chief epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health, Dr.
Steven Titus, said the latest reported AIDS cases brought
Namibia’s comulative total to 311, with 40 AIDS-related
deaths reported since 1986. Five of the deaths occurred
this year.

SENEGAL

Financial Backers Discuss Fight Against AIDS

AB1906131890 Dakar PANA in French 1805 GMT
13 Jun 90

[Excerpts] Dakar, 13 Jun (APS-SEN/PANA)—The fight
against the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,
AIDS, will demand more “efforts” on the part of the
Senegalese authorities and their financiers, the Minister
of Economy and Finance, Mr. Moussa Toure, stated
today.

Mr. Toure, who jointly chaired, with his counterpart of
the Ministry of Health and Social Action, Mr. Assane
Diop, the opening, in Dakar, of the financiers’ meeting
on “the reorganization of the AIDS program for 1990-
1991.” Mr. Toure said that “more efforts were needed in
view of the potential risk of the spread of the disease
although encouraging results have been achived in the
effort to contain the disease.” [passage omitted]

The pandemic outbreak of the disease in Senegal has
progressed rapidly over the past years, observers note.
From six AIDS cases detected in 1986 and 1988, by
March 1990 the number of AIDS patients stood at 307
cases. These statistics only represent “the tip of the
iceberg, as Senegal, like its West African neighbors, is
living in an endemic state, and is at risk from the HIV
virus two whose spread is unpredictable ,” Mr. Diop
said.

SEYCHELLES

Citizens Meet To Discuss AIDS; No Known
Cases

54000067 Victoria SEYCHELLES NATION in English
12 May 90 pp 1-2

[Excerpts] Is there AIDS in Seychelles and if there is,
should the people infected be identified?



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

[does not finish sentence] It is not a local problem. It is
not Cuba’s problem. It is a problem for all of humanity,
for the existence of humanity. [end recording]

Gonzalez: | think that this testimony by this AIDS
carrier... No, he is no longer a carrier. He now has the
disease. This makes this testimony doubly valuable
because he feels ill, very ill.

What he says about the program is true. This is the first
time that the “Open Agenda” program broaches this
topic in this manner, although we have discussed it on
previous programs. [passage omitted]

The primary form of transmitting AIDS in our country
continues to be through sexual contact.

Terry: Yes, it continues to be sexual contact. Hetero-
sexual relations are as risky as homosexual or bisexual
relations—people who have relations with others of their
own sex or with the opposite sex. For example, of the 458
seropositive cases we have, 126 of them are homosexual
and 125 of them are women. [passage omitted]

I think we could, taking into account the importance of
how the disease is transmitted, discuss how certain
chains of transmission have developed. I think it would
be interesting to see this. Can we see this now?

Gonzalez: Yes, we can see it.

Terry: Ok, let’s see the first case. [Terry holds up a flow
chart showing how the disease spread from one person to
several others] The first case is a heterosexual patient.
He was very promiscuous. He was infected through
sexual contact with foreign prostitutes. He later had
relations with 16 women in our country. He infected an
average of 10 people. We can see from the chart how that
chain of transmission developed starting with this
person. We detected a total of 118 sexual contacts from
this chain. This chain had 23 seropositive cases, zero
homosexuals, 16 women, 7 heterosexual men. Five
people who were declared to be seropositive contacts.
Three people are now ill. We have had no deaths from
this chain while 20 people remain seropositive.

We can now proceed to the second chain of transmis-
sion. [Terry holds up flow chart showing how the disease
was transmitted from one person to several others] This
chain belongs to a very promiscuous homosexual
patient. As you can see in the chart, it was determined in
the first study that this patient had 42 homosexual
contacts during the last three or four years. This patient
was very promiscuous. [words indistinct] 248 people had
relations. Twenty people in this chain of transmission
were found to be seropositive, 14 were homosexual or
bisexual men, four were women, and two of them were
heterosexual men. This chain gave us an average of 12.4
seropositive people. [Words indistinct] remain seropos-
itive, 16 are asymptomatic. The average number of
seropositive cases is 12.4. There are some individuals
who have had 42 contacts or 21, 16, or 47. We are talking

LATIN AMERICA 17

about an average but within that average, there are
people who have had 47 contacts.

Gonzalez: They have had 47 contacts?

Terry: They have had 47 contacts during their sexual
lives in a two-year period.

Gonzalez: That is a substantial statistic.

Terry: Yes, it is. We have a third chain. [Terry holds up
a flow chart showing how the disease was transmitted
from one person to several others] As you can see, the
two patients are homosexual. One declared 56 contacts.
The other said he had 19. This, up to now, has been the
largest chain of transmission we have had in the country.
They declared 362 contacts. We detected 23 seropositive
cases, 19 of whom are homosexual or bisexual men, three
are women, and one is a heterosexual man. The average
number of contacts declared by the seropositive cases in
this change was 15.7. That has been the highest average.
In this chain, nine people are now ill, four have died, and
10 people are carriers. [Words indistinct] Even though
the average is 15.7, some people have had 48 contacts in
their recent sexual lives. Some have had 56, 35, or more
contacts.

[Words indistinct] Transmission has been through
sexual contact. We have to provide as much information
as possible to all the population, to everyone so that they
can have an idea of the magnitude of the problem we
might have to face because of this type of conduct, if they
do not change their behavior or obtain the vaccine that
Dr. Perez was talking about. The only vaccine that works
against AIDS is individual conduct and education to
protect oneself from this and other sexually-transmitted
diseases.

Gonzalez: Of course. As we said earlier, we have a few
videos to present. We have another video by an AIDS
carriers who are living at the sanitarium. Although the
patients have different types of sexual conduct, the thing
they have in common is promiscuity. We can see the
video now. [Begin recording]

First unidentified man: My behavior was promiscuous,
very promiscuous. I had many sexual relations over
several years because I was immature. At that time, I was
not as mature as I am now. It was not the same then.
Now | am older. It is not because I now have AIDS; it is
that I have a different way of thinking now. I have a
different way of thinking and behaving, even though I
have AIDS.

What can I tell you of AIDS? Well, I can tell you that it
is not a disease that hurts, understand? What hurts is the
fact that someone made you sick.

Second unidentified man: I would say that I was promis-
cuous in all ways because I am bisexual. Anyway, I was
promiscuous. It was very difficult for authorities to
locate me. But in the end, from the history, when one
feels [words indistinct], you realize that your sexual
conduct was negative, promiscuous, even though it is



34 WEST EUROPE

And, he said, “Most of these were just one-line or
one-paragraph statements passed by a board of direc-
tors.”

Few of the agencies provided free condoms to sexually
active youth, Kossman found.

According to the study, half of the youths carrying the
virus were hemophiliacs infected from contaminated
blood products or born to mothers who carried the virus.
The other half contracted the virus through unprotected
sex or the sharing of needles and syringes.

Diane Carbonneau, a youth worker with a regional
testing and prevention program in Quebec City, said her
research shows “nobody in social services is really
talking about AIDS.”

Carbonneau said many social service staff in group
homes, rehabilitation programs and foster homes suffer
from a basic lack of information and awareness about
AIDS, and few are comfortable dealing with the issue of
sexuality.

IRELAND

Increase in Heterosexual AIDS Cases

54500092 Dublin IRISH INDEPENDENT in English
9 Apr 90 p 11

[Article by Brian Dowling]

[Text] Ireland could face a serious AIDS crisis among the
heterosexual population by the end of the decade unless
immediate action is taken a conference on family plan-
ning was told at the weekend.

The National AIDS coordinator, Dr James Walsh, said
that while the transmission of AIDS among homosexuals
was slowing down, about four percent of total cases now
come from the heterosexual community. This compared
with 1987 when there were no reported heterosexual
cases of AIDS.

Nurse Simeon Orr, chairperson of the Association of
Family Planning Nurses, warned that couples were
taking huge risks by not using contraceptives.

“It appears that many are unconcerned or, indeed,
oblivious to the risks they run in relation to the trans-
mission of the HIV virus and do not seriously consider
AIDS to be a concern for heterosexuals,” she told the
conference.

Ms Orr feared the four percent figure may only be the tip
of the iceberg, and she urged family planning doctors and
nurses throughout the country to use their position in the
community to increase awareness of the dangers of AIDS
among the general public.

She said women, in particular, did not seem to take full
account of the risks they faced by not using contracep-
tives, such as condoms.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Dr Walsh said there were now 140 cases of AIDS and
922 people who were HIV positive in Ireland. The
percentage of drug-related cases is now 36 percent of all
cases compared with 20.5 percent in 1986 in the 12 EC
countries.

ITALY

Parliament Approves Anti-AIDS Measures
90WE0206A Milan L’UNITA in Italian 17 May 90 p 5

[Article by Nedo Canetti: “New Hospital Beds and Labs
for AIDS Patients”—first paragraph is L'UNITA intro-
duction}

{Text] The programs for emergency measures for the
prevention and fight against AIDS are now law. Yes-
terday the Health Commission of the Senate gave the
final approval after the approval of the House of Repre-
sentatives. Favorable were the majority parties and the
Italian Social Movement, opposed were the Commu-
nists, the Independents of the left, and the European
Federalists. The Minister of Health Mr. De Lorenzo was
satisfied. The Communist representative, Imbriaco,
commented: “In the text the law is ambiguous and
unclear.”

Rome—Yesterday, during a resolution mecting, the
Health Commission of the Senate cast the final vote
approving the bill already accepted by the Chamber of
Deputies to establish “urgent” programs for the preven-
tion and fight against AIDS. Favorable were the majority
parties and the Italian Social Movement; against were
the Communist Party, the Independents of the left, and
the European Federalist Group.

The law allocates 2.1 trillion lire to build and refurbish
the hospital wards for infectious diseases and to open or
improve virology, microbiology, and immunology labo-
ratories in hospitals and clinics. This was recommended
by the national commission for the fight against AIDS in
accord with the Region and in view of the expected
epidemic and consequent need for health care. Assis-
tance for drug addiction and for sexual transmitted
deseases will also be increased. The program includes
home care (or care in halfway homes) for a maximum of
2,100 patients. In regard to the new hospital facilities,
each region must announce, within 60 days from the date
the law becomes effective. how many and where the
facilities are needed. During the following two months,
CIPE [Interministerial Committee for Economic Plan-
ning] must approve a plan and choose “one or more
companies among those qualified” to manage the orga-
nization. To get the program started immediately, the
Ministry of Health will sponsor regional meetings. Addi-
tional doctors and nurses will be employed in the hos-
pital wards to guarantee the assistance. The law also
requires “that the statistical studies of the illness must be
done so as not to reveal the identity of the patients, that
no one can be subjected without his consent to tests for
determining the HIV infection, unless they are needed


JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

for chemical reasons for the best interest of the patient,
and that a person testing HIV positive cannot be dis-
criminated against when applying to a school, taking part
in sport activities, and applying for or to retaining a job.”
The law clearly states that “public and private employers
are forbidden to investigate their employees or job
applicants to determine whether they test positive.”

According to the Communist Nicola Imbriaco: “The law
has some positive elements and qualities. There are,
however, some ambiguities and also some doubious
aspects, such as the use of excessive resources to obtain
a specific number of hospital beds. This could result in a
push to hospitalize and thus exclude or reduce preven-
tion and home care.” According to the PCI [Italian
Communist Party], other weak points of the law are a
certain isolation of the patients (the program is centered
expecially on highly specialized hospitals), and the
unclear procedure for awarding contracts of the works.
The Minister of Health De Lorenzo was very satisfied.
He defined the new law as “an act of great importance
that sets the pace for the national health plan.” For the
Christian Democrat Mario Condorelli, the law is posi-
tive but Parliament must carefully follow its application
because, he states: “We cannot yet foresee exactly what
will be the state of the epidemic, the number of those
testing positive, the number of patients, and the reported
cases of AIDS.” Sistino Zito, a Socialist, had some
concerns regarding the regulation for reporting the pos-
itive cases and for the screening process. He said: “These
concerns were set aside because it was urgent to vote and
avoid sending the modified text back to the Chamber of
Deputies. However, the argument is not closed and other
legislative initiatives can be taken, if necessary.” Franco
Corleone, Federalist, who also fears the dangers of over
hospitalization, feels tha is important “to start facing
the AIDS problem in its complexity and with the neces-
sary resources.”

In the meantime there has been a “special program” in
the lobby of the Chamber of Deputies provided by an
AIDS patient, M.L., who was infected through blood
transfusions. M.L. surprised everyone when he appeared
with a sign saying: “No to State AIDS, yes to the
protection of the patients.” The 38 year old man came
from Turin, where he lives with a woman also infected
with AIDS.

NORWAY

AIDS Statistics Cited, Analyzed

90WE0209A Oslo ARBEIDERBLADET in Norwegian
8 May 90 p3

{Article by Nina Johnsrud: “The AIDS Curve Flattens
Out”)

{Text] Only nine new cases of AIDS have been recorded
in Norway so far this year. The number of persons
recently infected with HIV is small in all high-risk
groups. “It’s too early to say that the danger is past, but

WEST EUROPE 35

in relation to the most pessimistic forecasts the number
of newly infected persons has stabilized and is lower than
feared.”

So says Viggo Hasseltvedt, medical director of the State
Institute for Public Health, to ARBEIDERBLADET.
Hasseltvedt works in the division of preventive medicine
and has just received recent figures on the course of the
HIV epidemic during the first four months of the year.

So far this year, 37 new cases of HIV infection have been
recorded altogether. That is roughly the average for the
last two years when the number of new HIV-positive
cases has been ten per month.

154 AIDS Cases

As of 2 May this year, 154 cases of AIDS had been
recorded in Norway. One hundred of these patients had
died. On the same date, 906 persons had been recorded
as seropositive for HIV. “We estimate that there are
600-700 Norwegians seropositive for HIV who haven’t
been tested—just under 1,500 persons HIV-positive
altogether,” says Hasselvedt.

We need only go back to September 1987 to read that
Norwegian authorities estimated there were 2,500 Nor-
wegians infected with HIV. At that time, 650 persons
altogether had been recorded seropositive for HIV.

“Even though the number of persons recently infected
with HIV has stabilized, we can count on a great increase
in AIDS cases in the future,” says medical director Viggo
Hasseltvedt.

One Million Tested

All told, roughly 440,000 Norwegians have been tested
for HIV. Not included in this figure are blood donors,
military recruits, and women who are pregnant or
seeking an abortion. They alone constitute an equally
high figure, and many have been tested several times.
This means that close to 1 million Norwegians have been
tested.

Eighteen of the 209,406 pregnant women have been
found to be seropositive for HIV. Three of the 55,458
recruits in basic training have tested positive for HIV. In
the blood donor group of approximately 145,000 only
two or three tested positive for HIV in 1985 and one this
year.

Ten Per Month

Every month 12,000-14,000 Norwegians have them-
selves tested for HIV. In this way, 10-12 persons have
been found to be seropositive for HIV during the last six
months. In late 1987 and early 1988, the test revealed
twice as many persons seropositive for HIV as today—
22 to 24 each month.

“Physicians have been required to report HIV and AIDS
since 1983, but the charting system didn’t get under way
until August 1986. For this reason we have a big backlog



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

BANGLADESH

First AIDS Carrier Found, Dhaka Comments

Man a “Healthy Carrier”

54500103 Dhaka THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER
in English 23 May 90 p 1

{Text} The first ever Bangladesh national found a carrier
of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is an unmarried man
in his 20's.

The National AIDS Committee, which has kept him
under observation, will not disclose his identity.

Prof $.G.M. Chowdhury, Chairman of the AIDS com-
mittee formed by the Government, told this correspon-
dent Monday the man is a “healthy carrier” with no
symptom of AIDS.

Prof Chowdhury said necessary precautions had been
taken to ensure that the HIV carrier does not spread the
virus.

He has also been ‘adequately counselled’ so that he can
lead a normal life without posing any danger to others.

It is important that he does not marry since sex is a
major mode of transmission of the AIDS virus. So the
man has been advised not to marry.

The man, while working abroad was found an HIV
carrier. So he had to come back home. On his return
here, his blood was tested at an AIDS screening centre
set up by government with WHO assistance. He was
found HIV antibody positive, confirming that he does
have AIDS-causing virus in his body.

He may remain healthy for years. For, HIV has a long
incubation period.

Official Statement

54500103 Dhaka THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER
in English 24 May 90 p 1

[Text] Government attention has been drawn to a news
item published in one of the national dailies referring to
a HIV positive carrier, says a PID handout on
Wednesday, reports BSS [Bangladesh Sangbad Sang-
stha].

In order to remove any misgivings, the government
wishes to make it absolutely clear that there is no ‘AIDS’
case in Bangladesh and the person reported to be a
carrier is not an ‘AIDS’ case.

NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA 2B

EGYPT

Health Minister Questioned on ‘True Scope’ of
AIDS Cases

90WE0217A Cairo AL-AHRAM in Arabic
18 May 90 p 17

{Interview with the Egyptian Minister of Health Dr.
Muhammad Raghib Duwaydar, first four paragraphs are
AL-AHRAM introduction; date and place not given]

[Text] Is it true that the Egyptian Ministry of Health is
concealing from Egyptian public opinion and from the
international organizations concerned the true scope of
the AIDS cases occurring in Egypt?

This was a serious charge, which Egyptian Minister of
Health Dr. Duwaydar confronted after the charge was
made repeatedly, vehemently and unequivocally, in an
international seminar held recently in a European cap-
ital. The eminent Egyptian expert who participated in it
carried that charge back to Cairo with intense bitterness
and did not wish to specify it.

It is the same charge which I have heard and hear from
many inside the country who claim that the Ministry of
Health is purposely hiding this, for political and eco-
nomic motives, in order to avoid alarming the people
and frightening the tourists.

The Minister of Health received the question involving
this serious charge with great confidence and replied:

Dr. Duwaydar: I want to say, first of all, two obvious
things which completely invalidate the charge. The first
is the matter of my character, for the responsible min-
ister is not portrayed as concealing truth from the
people. The second matter is my logic, since there is no
justification whatsoever for concealing the AIDS cases
we have while the highest percentage of cases are in
America and Europe, to the extent that the ratio has
reached four in every 10,000 in Switzerland, for
example. So why, when this ratio is publicized in the
advanced world, should we conceal the scope of the real
cases we have, which are, in Egypt as in every country in
the Middle East, extremely low and cannot be compared
to the high percentage in America and Europe?

AL-AHRAM Reporter: I think that in completing your
response to the charge you must announce in numbers,
like a responsible minister, the scope of the AIDS cases
in Egypt exactly.

Dr. Duwaydar: The scope of the AIDS cases in Egypt
from the time I assumed the responsibility in 1986 up
until now is 54 cases among Egyptians, of whom 10 have
died. Not a single infection has been transmitted by the
rest to an Egyptian or a foreigner, which is a matter of
profound importance to be recorded for Egypt—in fact,
it is almost without parallel. We discovered 93 cases of
AIDS among foreigners, of whom four have died and the
rest were sent back to their countries. This is an urgent



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 July 1990 3 AIDS

BRAZIL

New Type AIDS Virus Found in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
[Brasilia Domestic Service, 6 Jul 90] ..

CHILE

Country Diagnosed in ‘Initial Stage’ of AIDS Epidemic (Santiago Domestic Service, 23 Jun 90] .. 15
CUBA

Massive AIDS Testing in Pinar del Rio /Havana Radio Reloj Network, 14 Jun 90]
Health Officials Discuss AIDS /Havana Tele Rebelde Network, 3 Jul 90] ....

HONDURAS

Health Authorities Report on AIDS Cases {Panama ACAN, 2] Jun 90] 22
JAMAICA

Health Officials Report More AIDS Cases [Bridgetown CANA, 22 Jun 90] .... . 22

URUGUAY
Health Minitry Reports AIDS Figures {Montevideo LA HORA POPULAR, 6 Jul 90]
NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA
BANGLADESH

First AIDS Carrier Found, Dhaka Comments ....
Man a “Healthy Carrier” (Dhaka THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER, 23 May 90]
Official Statement /Dhaka THE BANGLADESH OBSERVER, 24 May 90] ....

EGYPT
Health Minister Questioned on ‘True Scope’ of AIDS Cases [Cairo AL-AHRAM, 18 May 90] ....... 23
INDIA

Health Ministry’s Plan To Combat, Control AIDS Announced
[Sabina Inderjit; Bombay THE TIMES OF INDIA, 13 May 90] ...

One of Goa’s Three Diagnosed AIDS Cases Dies
[Bombay THE TIMES OF INDIA, 14 May 90]

AIDS Spreading Rapidly in Manipur /Calcutta THE TELEGRAPH, 13 May 90]

SOVIET UNION

. 25

Computer Diagnosis of AIDS /Moscow MEDITSINSKAYA GAZETA, 15 Sep 89]
HIV-2 Induced Infection
[V.V._ Pokrovskiy, Z. K. Suvorova, et al; Moscow ZHURNAL MIKROBIOLOGII 1
IMMUNOBIOLOGII No 10, Oct 88] ....

WEST EUROPE
CANADA

AIDS Incidence, Risk to Health Workers, Infected Prostitute ...
National, Provincial Incidence

[Christie McLaren; Toronto THE GLOBE AND MAIL, | May 90]_....--

Danger to Health Workers /Sharon Kirkey; Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, 2 May 90] .. 31



JPRS-TEP-90-009
42 WEST EUROPE 18 JULY 1990

Cases and Deaths by Autonomous Communities (Continued)

Navarre St 1.10 25 1.49
Basque Country 472 10.19 163 9.70
La Rioja 18 0.39 7 0.42
Ceuta 6 0.13 3 O18
Melilla 2 0.04 1 0.06
Unknown 70 1.51 20 1AD
Other countries 35 0.76 22 131
Total 4,663 100.00 1,681 100.00

* The percentage of deaths refers to the total number of deaths recorded for all groups.



40 WEST EUROPE

by Jose Manuel Freire, a consultant to the Basque
Government’s Department of Health and Consumer
Affairs. The number of people infected with the acquired
immune deficiency syndrome doubled in our country
this past year (the rate is 2.13), whereas in France the
rate is 1.57 and in Italy 1.76.

In the Basque Country the number of AIDS patients rose
spectacularly this past year, according to the same
source. Thus while 345 cases were recorded in March
1989, the number of infected persons was 626 in the
same month of this year, which means an increase of 81
percent. Of this number 38 percent of them have already
died, which means a total number of patients at present
is no higher than 400.

The figures for the number of paticnts in all of Spain as
of 30 April 1990 total 5,295, making Spain the third
highes in Europe, after France and Italy, which are the
countries that have been most badly hit by the disease.

The Basque Country is the autonomous community with
the second highest rate, with more patients per million
inhabitants, 226 cases, exceeded only by Catalonia with
232 cases. Despite the spectacular increase in the figures,
Jose Manuel Freire pointed out that the Basque Depart-
ment of Health’s (Osakidetza) efforts to ease the effects
of the disease are focused on three points. These are: to
keep more people from being infected with the disease,
which, the consultant emphasized, is possible; to provide
patients with appropriate care; and to prevent discrimi-
nation against carriers of the virus.

On this last point, Freire underlined the fact that in the
Basque Country there is less social discrimination
against AIDS patients than in the rest of the country, as
is demonstrated by the fact that children who are carriers
of the virus of this disease do not have any problems in
the schools they attend.

As for the data on seropositive individuals—AIDS car-
riers not all of whom will develop the discase—
Osakidetza only has figures on Guipuzcoa, where 2,500
persons are carriers, 2,000 of whom are drug addicts and
the rest also maintain some sort of relations with this
group of people. Extrapolating these figures for the rest
of the Basque Country, it is estimated that 6,500 persons
are seropositive.

Canary Islands

90WE0214C Madrid DIARIO 16 in Spanish
20 May 90 p 13

[Article by Cristobal Penate: “Since This Disease Has
Been Discovered, Four Children Have Died Before
Their First Birthday As AIDS Victims in Las Palmas”)

[Text] Las Palmas—According to information from the
Department of Epidemiology of the Canaries Govern-
ment, at least four children under the age of one have
died in Las Palmas, the victims of AIDS, since this
disease was discovered in the Canaries six years ago.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

While three cases have been officially recorded, the
fourth could not be completely confirmed, although it
does figure in the statistics on the disease that have becn
recorded.

The four above-mentioned cases are in keeping with
diagnoses that were made involving the children of
mothers who are at risk for this disease. All the cases
were treated at the Island and Maternity and Infants
Hospitals in Las Palmas, Grand Canary. The first case
was uncovered in March 1987.

Epidemiologist Domingo Nunez, who is employed as a
consultant in the Department of Health, was of the
opinion that the fact that all of the cases officially
recorded in the Canaries come from the province of Las
Palmas is due to the fact that there has been a lower
incidence of AIDS in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Dr. Domingo Nunez indicated that the latest statistics
compiled by the Department of Health’s consultants
office show that a total of 96 cases have been recorded on
the islands over the past six years, which means that the
incidence of the disease in children under the age of one
year is somewhat more than four out of 100.

Madrid Data
90WE0214D Madrid DEIA in Spanish 6 May 90 p 3

[Article: “During the Period 1981-1989 the Highest
Number of AIDS Deaths Was in Madrid and Catalo-
nia”—first paragraph is DEIA introduction]

[Text] Catalonia and Madrid are the two autonomous
communities in which the highest number of deaths of
individuals suffering from AIDS in the period from 1981
to 1989 occurred, according to information from the
Ministry of Health.

Madrid—Rafael de Andres, the secretary general of the
National Anti-AIDS Program, has informed EFE [News
Agency] that 473 of the 1,356 persons diagnosed [as
having AIDS] died during this period in Catalonia, while
in Madrid 386 of the 938 identified cases died.

In the Basque Country 163 of the 472 diagnosed persons
died during this period, in Andalusia 165 out of 510, and
in the Community of Valencia 88 of the 317 diagnosed
persons. According to the Ministry of Health figures, the
diagnosed cases mean a rate of 203.51 per million in
catalonia, 202.10 in the Basque Country, 190.22 in the
Balearic Islands, and 174.49 in Madrid.

The number of deaths dropped in 1989 due to more
experience in diagnosing the disease and the appearance
of drugs that were unknown during the carly years of the
appearance of the disease; drugs that produce remission
of the effects of the disease, according to Rafacl de
Andres.

He did, however, admit that some 600 new cases are
recorded every quarter due to people's failure to use


10 EAST ASIA

CAMBODIA

VONADK on AIDS Cases in Phnom Penh, Koh
Kong

BK0807015890 Phnom Penh (Clandestine) Voice of the
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
in Cambodian 2315 GMT 90

[Text] According to reliable reports from Phnom Penh
city and Koh Kong Province, there are presently 25
AIDS patients in Phnom Penh city, 30 AIDS carriers,
and 15 dead from the disease. In Koh Kong Province,
there are 10 AIDS patients, 15 AIDS carriers, five dead
of the disease, and five others in serious condition.

This disease has been spread by Vietnamese prostitutes
who have come from Ho Chi Minh City to earn their
living in Phnom Penh and Koh Kong.

The Vietnamese aggressors and the traitorous Hun Sen-
Heng Samrin regime have concealed this matter from the
public for several months now. We have received this
news from our spies who have been working in Phnom
Penh city and Koh Kong Province, and from those
working in the Phnom Penh puppet regime’s Health
Ministry.

Our spies in various other provinces are keeping a close
watch on these developments.

UTH KOREA

USSR Offers Patented Technologies, AIDS Cure

SK0407074490 Seoul YONHAP in English 0723 GMT
4 Jul 90

[Text] Seoul, July 4 (OANA-YONHAP)—The Soviet
Union hopes to sell an AIDS cure and 24 other patented
technologies to South Korea, most of them judged suit-
able for commercialization, officials at the Office of
Patent Administration (OPA) said Wednesday.

Of the Soviet technologies, 21 are for medicines and
medical devices, including a cure for AIDS, they said.

Twelve technologies are for the production of medicines,
nine for medical equipment and diagnostic tools and
others are for insecticide, personal computer programs
and cigarette filters.

International patents have been sought for most of them,
the officials said.

OPA thinks the possibility for commercialization is very
high in 13 technologies, including the AIDS remedy.

Korean medical firms have shown great interest in
Soviet technology and OPA plans to provide local agen-
cies or firms with information on the technologies, they
said.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

THAILAND

AIDS in Tak, Lampang
90WE0218C Bangkok SIAM RAT in Thai 7 Apr 90 p 3

[Excerpt] [passage omitted] Dr. Somsak Worakhamin,
the under secretary of public health, said that he had
received a report from the Mae Sot Hospital in Tak
Province concerning controlling AIDS in Mae Sot Dis-
trict. The report stated that the hospital has been giving
blood tests to look for people with the AIDS virus since
December 1989. As of 28 March 1990, no AIDS victims
or people with AIDS related symptoms had been found.
But 48 people with the AIDS virus but without symp-
toms have been found. Of these, 33 are prostitutes, six
are drug addicts, one is a male homosexual, six are male
heterosexuals, and two contracted the disease while
being given blood transfusions. Blood tests have been
given free of charge to people in at-risk groups, including
prostitutes, drug addicts, and prisoners. Also, every
bottle of blood in the blood bank has been tested. Besides
this, people in other groups are being tested, too, such as
people with a venereal disease, people who will have an
operation, and pregnant women who will give birth at
the hospital.

The under secretary of public health said that it has been
found that the percentage of drug addicts with AIDS is
higher than that for other groups. But because the
number of intravenous drug users is not large, prostitutes
form the largest group of AIDS victims. Sixty percent
contracted AIDS before they became prostitutes. In Mae
Sot District, 1,362 prostitutes, 42 drug addicts, 3,319
blood donors, and 144 other people for a total of 4,867
people have been tested for AIDS. The hospital has
established a program to educate individuals and pros-
titutes about AIDS and ways to prevent contracting this
disease. The use of condoms has increased from 13.5
percent to 50.4 percent.

Dr. Somsak said that with respect to Lampang Province,
he has received a report from the Provincial Public
Health Office stating that the province has a total of 442
AIDS cases. Of these, 224 are prostitutes, 4 are homo-
sexuals, 18 are drug addicts, 24 are prisoners, 141 are
men who have had sexual intercourse with prostitutes,
and one is a woman whose husband has AIDS. In the
remaining 10 cases, the risk factor is not known. Only
315 of these people are still in Lampang Province. The
rest have gone elsewhere to live. The obstacle to pre-
venting and controlling the disease is the fact that
prostitutes with the AIDS virus move frequently. It is
impossible to follow them. To date, a total of 26,118
people have becn given blood tests. Every three months,
prostitutes and people in other risk groups are given
advice.


12 EAST ASIA

17,498 Cases

BK1706063790 Bangkok BANGKOK POST in English
17 Jun 90 p 3

[Text] The official total number of AIDS virus infections
in Thailand as of the end of May was 17,498, of which
17,328 were still alive, Public Health Minister's secre-
tary Ong-at Khlamphaibun said yesterday.

Of the total, 43 were of the full blown stage (11 still
alive), 142 at an ARC stage (119 still alive) and 17,313 at
an HIV stage (17,198 still alive).

The breakdown of AIDS patients by region was 9,710 or
55.49 percent in the Central, 2,915 or 16.66 percent in
the North, 2,110 or 12.06 percent in the South, 1,695 or
9.68 percent in the East and 1,068 or 6.10 percent in the
Northeast.

The causes of AIDS were 72.1 percent through intrave-
nous narcotic injections, 19.2 percent through sexual
intercourse, 0.2 percent through blood transfusion, 0.03
percent from mothers and 8.5 percent through unknown
causes.

Most or 91.2 percent of AIDS patients aged between 15
and 39. Of the total number of AIDS patients, 84.1
percent were male and 15.9 female.

Mr Ong-at said according to a World Health Organisa-
tion report as of May 31, the number of people having
full-blown AIDS in 156 out of 182 countries all over the
world was 263,051.

WHO estiamted the real number of AIDS patients all
over the world at 650,000 and the number is expected to
increase to 1.1 million in 1991.

WHO also estimated the number of AIDS victims at
HIV stage all over the world at 6.5 million.

Mr Ongz-at released the figures after a mecting of the
National Coordinating Committee for the Control and
Prevention of AIDS chaired by Public Health Minister
Marut Bunnak on Friday. [15 June]

The meeting discussed the present AIDS situation and
results of the operations of seven subcommittces
including the setting up of welfare and rehabilitation
centres for AIDS patients and measures to prevent and
control the spread of AIDS by forcigners.

37 AIDS Victims

BK0607095590 Bangkok Domestic Service in Thai
1200 GMT 5 Jul 90

[Excerpt] Dr. Thira Ramasut, dircctor general of the
Communicable Disease Control Department, reported
that, according to records in May, 647 persons in 25
countries of Asia have AIDS. The figure represents 0.2
percent of the number of AIDS victims globally. Thai-
land has 37 [full-blown] AIDS victims, or 0.06 percent.
from tests on every 100,000 of the population. Thailand
ranks 11th in Asia in the number of AIDS victims.

IJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

The director general of the Communicable Disease Con-
trol Department explained that, according to epidemio-
logical science, the percentage of AIDS victims is based
on tests on every 100,000 of a population, and not on the
total population of a country. This is because of the
different populations in various countries. The per-
centage is therefore based on the count on every 100,000
of a population.

The director general said the Public Health Ministry has
been conducting campaigns to fight AIDS. It has not
concealed facts or figures from the public, but is ready to
distribute information on AIDS in order to promote
better knowledge for effective prevention by the public.
The Public Health Ministry had a mecting with the
Bangkok deputy governor on 5 July to plan coordination
with other concerned agencies in conducting anti-AIDS
campaigns. [passage omitted]

Amphetamine Addiction Brings Crime, AIDS
Risks

901 'D0356B Bangkok KHAO PHISET in Thai
21-27 May 90 pp 33, 34

{Excerpt] [passage omitted] Amphetamines are well
known among people who drive at night, especially truck
drivers, and people who have to work hard. This is a
stimulant that helps keep people awake.

Sometimes, drivers who take this drug “sleep with eyes
half open” and they “start” suddenly when driving. This
causes accidents. People have been killed, and goods
have been destroyed. And many have been crippled for
life. Such stories appear in the press quite often.

“At least 1.2 million people a year are affected by
amphetamines and road accidents,” said a news source
in the Maha Sarakham Provincial Police Precinct,
making an estimate for the country as a whole. Amphct-
amines affect the nervous system. They affect people's
common sense. People talk a lot and become excited.
They are easily frightened, and their hands shake. They
lose their appetite, and their health deteriorates. Later
on, they develop nervous disorders,” said a doctor about
the consequences of using amphetamines.

He added that “amphetamines affect the nervous
system. But people who want to stay awake at night want
them, because they keep you awake. During the past 10
years, amphetamines have been sold everywhere,
because they have been used for medical reasons. But
recently, it was announced that amphetamines affected
the nervous system and so it was madc illegal to purchase
them without a doctor's prescription. That is why the
price of amphetamines has risen continually.”

“Amphctamines have to be bought and sold in secret. In
most cases, they are sold at gas stations,” said a truck
driver. He added that “we sometimes refer to amphet-
amines as “ma lai‘ [zebra].


SPRS-TEP-90-009

18 July 1990 2 AIDS
ZIMBABWE
‘Devastating Implications’ of AIDS Statistics (Johannesburg SAPA, 5 Jul 90] 7
CHINA
Public Health Official On AIDS Prevention /Beijing Radio Beijing. 5 Jul 90] 8
Yunnan Steps Up Fight Against AIDS /Beijing CHINA DAILY, 31 May 90]. 8
AIDS Drug Results in Patient Stabilization /Beijing XINHUA, 24 Jun 90] ... 9
EAST ASIA
CAMBODIA
VONADK on AIDS Cases in Phnom Penh, Koh Kong
[Phnom Penh Voice of the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea, 90] .... 10
SOUTH KOREA
USSR Offers Patented Technologies, AIDS Cure /Scoul YONHAP, 4 Jul 90] ..... 10
THAILAND
AIDS in Tak, Lampang /Bangkok SIAM RAT, 7 Apr 90] ... 10
AIDS Incidence in Uthaithani (Bangkok THAI RAT, 1 Jun 90] I
New AIDS Unit in Ministry /Bangkok THE NATION, 23 May 90] oo]
60 Percent of Health Budget May Go for AIDS Control /Bangkok Domestic Service, 29 Jun 90] I
Official Updates AIDS Statistics, Sets Objectives ... 11
Situation Growing Worse {Bangkok THAI RAT, 21 May 90] 11
17,498 Cases (Bangkok BANGKOK POST, 17 Jun 90) .. 12
37 AIDS Victims {Bangkok Domestic Service, 5 Jul 90] 12
Amphetamine Addiction Brings Crime, AIDS Risks /Bangkok KHAO PHISET, 21-27 May 90] 12
Troops With AIDS Face Discharge, Drug Factor Noted /Bangkok SIAM RAT, | Jun 90]... 13
EAST EUROPE
INTRABLOC AFFAIRS
Project to Fight AIDS in East Europe, USSR
{[Munk; Copenhagen BERLINGSKE TIDENDE., 8 May 90]. 14
POLAND
AIDS Conference Recommends National Health Strategy
[Warsaw GAZETA WYBORCZA, 12 May 90] 14
LATIN AMERICA
INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS
Highest AIDS Case Rates in Caribbean /Bridgetown CANA, 17 Jun 90] 15
ARGENTINA
426 AIDS Cases Recorded in Eight Years /Bucnos Aires TELAM, 29 Jun 90] .... 15
BOLIVIA
AIDS Cooperation Agreement With EEC Signed
15

[La Paz Television Boliviana Network, 26 Jun 90] .....



SJPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

The order was made under a 1987 amendment to the
Health Act that was intended to restrain tuberculosis
sufferers from spreading the disease.

Health and law enforcement officials had been at a loss
for a way to stop the woman from pursuing her trade. Dr.
Peck said that the Health Act amendment appeared to be
the best course of action after officials, including police
and Crown attorneys, studied provisions of the Criminal
Code and the Mental Health Act.

Dr. Peck said action could also be taken against the
woman concerning an alleged assault.

He had previously ordered the woman not to have sexual
intercourse without a condom and not to exchange
needles. He said that for a while it appeared that the
woman was complying with the order, but “she has a sort
of attitude that she doesn’t care.”

The medical officer said the prostitute’s clients know-
ingly take a risk by choosing to have sex without con-
doms, but he said that those clients’ spouses, lovers and
children are “innocent victims.”

Last week Renee was apparently chased off the street in
Victoria by other prostitutes. She is believed to have
gone to Vancouver with a boy friend. [Passages omitted]

‘Aids and Youth’ Conference Held in Toronto

Funds for Prevention Request

54200028 Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN in English
16 May 90 p AS

[Article by Sharon Kirkey: “Delegates Plead for Funds”]

[Text] Toronto—Canada’s youth must be given priority
in the federal government’s impending strategy on
AIDS, a national meeting of social and healthcare
workers agreed Tuesday.

About 500 delegates to the national conference on AIDS
and youth called on federal and provincial governments
to provide increased long-term funding for social service
and education programs aimed at preventing the spread
of AIDS among youth.

They want to see more AIDS awareness programs in
schools, starting as young as kindergarten, and easier and
possibly free access to condoms—one of the most effec-
tive ways of preventing the spread of AIDS.

They also want more funding for social service programs
for so-called high-risk youths, including street kids,
young offenders, drug users and prostitutes.

AIDS, or acquired’ immunodeficiency syndrome, is
passed through blood and semen. It attacks the body’s
immune system, rendering it incapable of fighting infec-
tion and disease.

‘e ‘

WEST EUROPE 33

Joan Anderson, of the Canadian AIDS Society, said
studies show the incidence of AIDS is doubling every 18
months among teens.

According to the Federal Centre for AIDS, there were 13
confirmed cases of AIDS among children aged 15 to 19
as of April 2. But researchers estimate hundreds more
are infected with the HIV virus.

Of the 3,735 known AIDS patients in Canada, 20 per-
cent, or 730, are in their 20s and likely contracted the
virus in their teens.

Federal Health Minister Perrin Beatty is expected to
release the government’s national AIDS strategy next
month.

Meanwhile, social service agencies told the conference
that foster parents have the right to know when a child
placed in their care is infected with the AIDS virus.

But so-called high risk children should not be forced to
test for the AIDS virus, Val Kinjerski, of Alberta’s
Ministry of Social Services said.

Because of their lifestyle or family background, many of
the children placed in foster homes have engaged in
behavior that puts them at risk of AIDS. Some have been
sexually abused by a parent or relative. Others are
sexually promiscuous, or experiment with injection
drugs.

Wendy James, of the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa-
Carleton, said her organization does recommend testing
for some high-risk children, but each child is considered
on an individual basis.

Effect on Social Services

54200028 Ottawa THE OTTAWA CITIZEN in English
16 May 90 p AS

[Text] Toronto—The number of children with AIDS
under the care of social service agencies is climbing, but
the agencies are ill-prepared to deal with the effects of
the disease, a national conference heard Tuesday.

A report by Central Toronto Youth Services, released at
Canada’s first national conference on AIDS and youth,
shows 10 social service agencies in Toronto cared for 19
youths with AIDS in 1989, up from six in 1988.

The agencies also cared for twice as many youths
infected with the virus that causes AIDS in 1989 than in
1988.

The findings suggest social agencies, every bit as much as
health services, will bear the brunt of the AIDS epi-
demic, said Karsten Kossman, AIDS project manager at
Toronto’s youth services.

Yet few youth agencies have written policies to provide
clear guidelines for staff and youth, he said.



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Terry: And I’m asking you another question and I will
answer you with a question. If we do not continue this
health care, what could possibly happen? How many ill
people would we have on the street? How much would a
patient cost us then?

I think that these things, the economy, must be viewed
from a macroeconomic point, as we said. What would
you do if these problems arose? The question would thus
arise: Why don’t we test everyone who goes to the dentist
for AIDS? In Cuba, 18 million visits are made to the
dentist. [Words indistinct] for each AIDS test at 50 cents
would cost us 9 million pesos just from conducting tests
at the dentist’s office. If we go to the other extreme, as
you said, we would have to test people at the barber shop
or the beauty shop. This problem must be viewed glo-
bally and I think that there would be a lot of pros and
cons.

However, we have an ethic we follow in our health
system. Our country has an ethic in public health. We
have to give a patient, regardless of what he has, the best
treatment he can receive.

Gonzalez: Exactly. I think that...

Terry: That is a challenge that we have to confront in the
country. That is the kind of ethic we have.

Gonzalez: Of course, health is more important. It is not
an ethical problem. It is a principle in our revolution.

Terry: And it is a principle of medical ethics.

Perez: Almost all medications for opportunistic diseases
are extremely expensive. All the antiviral, antimycoder-
matitis medicines are very expensive. All the antibi-
otic...

Gonzalez: [interrupting] Well, doctors, we have approx-
imately 10 minutes left in the program and we have a few
videos to see. I would like to ask you to be more brief
because the people keep calling and it seems that even
though the program has been extended...

Terry: program.
Gonzalez: Yes, | think we will.
Perez: I think we'll have to have several more programs.

Gonzalez: Yes, of course, I think so but we’ll have to try
and make do. We have a question here..

Perez: [interrupting] This is the only program that has
discussed AIDS on several occasions.

Gonzalez: Yes the “Open Agenda” program has done
this.

Perez: And a few more programs should be done on
AIDS so that we can discuss other things.

Gonzalez: That is true. We have received questions in
regard to the tests that are performed on anyone who is

LATIN AMERICA 2

admitted to a clinical-surgical or maternity-infant hos-
pital. They are: Are these tests mandatory? If someone
doesn’t want the test, can he still receive medical treat-
ment?

Terry: but care units perform routine analyses. When a
patient enters a hospital, the doctor routinely requires a
lot of tests and we routinely request the AIDS test, just as
we require an examination for parasites, a mammogram,
a hematocrit, a urinalysis, and other tests that are
routinely performed.

Gonzalez: Because of the importance of the problem we
have, we felt it was important to make the AIDS test a
routine health care procedure for hospitalized patients. I
don’t think that we can ask a hospitalized patient if he
wants a test or not. He is hospitalized and we must do
what the medical staff feels is needed for his best
treatment and recovery.

Gonzalez: One question we have heard a lot

Perez: [interrupting] We also have to consider that when
a person has surgery, the doctor also runs the risk of
infection so the doctor needs to know that this risk exists
and this is an important issue in any kind of surgery.
[passage omitted]

Gonzalez: We only have five more minutes. We have
another testimonial, well, we have four. We have four
other testimonials by AIDS carriers that we will not be
able to show. I think that these testimonies, the questions
the people have asked, have helped you think about the
problem, but I think that the most important thing is to
leave you with a video that will summarize this program.
[Begin recording]

Gonzalez: Why did you agree to grant this interview to
the “Open Agenda” program but with the condition that
your identity not be revealed?

Unidentified man: First, I think it is important to know
what is on the minds of the seropositive people who are
hospitalized in the San Antonio de las Vegas sanitarium.
I don’t think that there is anyone in the country who can
speak the truth on this disease better than we can.

On the other hand, I don’t think I should reveal my
identify because I have a family. Under other conditions,
I might have done so, but at this time, there is a lot of
misinformation, a lot of rejection toward the HIV-
positive patient.

Gonzalez: You’re talking about the people in general.

Man: Yes, the people in general are very misinformed.
They are actually disinformed. The people are still not
clear on how the disease is transmitted. Thus, it would be
very unpleasant for my mother, daughter, father, or
family member to go out on the street and hear someone
say, that is the child, the parent, or some relative of
someone who has AIDS. It would also be very



Epidemiology
AIDS

JPRS-TEP-90-009 CONTENTS 18 July 1990
[This EPIDEMIOLOGY report contains only material on AIDS.]

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
INTER- AFRICAN AFFAIRS

Economic Consequences of AIDS Detailed
[Juergen Duenbostel; Vienna DIE PRESSE, 30 May 90) .....

LESOTHO

UN Program To Assist AIDS Prevention Efforts /Maseru Domestic Service, 2 Jul 90] ..
Official Details Number of AIDS Patients, Carriers /Maseru Domestic Service, 24 Jun 90] ..

NN

MAURITIUS

Study Shows Citizens Misinformed About AIDS
[Judex Acking; Port Louis LE MAURICIEN, 6 Jun 90] .....

NAMIBIA

Jan-May AIDS Cases Increase to 122 [Johannesburg SAPA, 3 Jul 90] ...

SENEGAL

Financial Backers Discuss Fight Against AIDS /Dakar PANA, 13 Jun 90] .....

SEYCHELLES

Citizens Meet To Discuss AIDS; No Known Cases
[Victoria SEYCHELLES NATION, 12 May 90] ...

SOUTH AFRICA

Medical Official Notes Natal/KwaZulu AIDS Rate /Johannesburg SAPA, 3 Jul 90]
‘Extensive’ Spread of HIV Virus in Urban Blacks
[Daniel Feldman; Johannesburg BUSINESS DAY, 19 Jun 90]
Mines Not Renewing Malawian Contracts Due to AIDS. .....
Discriminatory Measures [Felicity Levine; Johannesburg SUNDAY TIMES, 10 Jun 10]
Plans to Sue for Defamation
[Kaathy Strachan; Johannesburg THE WEEKLY MAIL, 15-21 Jun]

Dunn s

SWAZILAND

Last AIDS Report To WHO in 1988
[John Dlamini; Mbabane THE SWAZI OBSERVER, 9 Jul 90]

Uganda

I Million Infected with HIV /Alfred Wasike; Kampala THE NEW VISION, 13 Jun 90]



JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Computer Diagnosis of AIDS

90WE0089 Moscow MEDITSINSKAYA GAZETA
in Russian No 111, 15 Sep 89 p 1

[TASS report, from Elista: “The Computer Makes the
Diagnosis”}

[Text] A specialized consultation, diagnostic and thera-
peutic center has begun to operate in the capital of
Kalmykia. The center is engaged with AIDS problems.
The center has already taken upon itself the organization
of all epidemiological examinations of the local popula-
tion, methodological and prophylactic work, and out-
patient observation. The center’s personnel have
acquired the latest medical equipment for its work,
including imported and domestic computers that enable
the personnel to perform efficient work in the identifi-
cation and treatment of infected persons.

UDC 616.98:578.828.6]-036. 1-07

HIV-2 Induced Infection

54001013 Moscow ZHURNAL MIKROBIOLOGII,
EPIDEMIOLOGII I IMMUNOBIOLOGII in Russian
No 10, Oct 88 (manuscript received 12 Apr 88) pp 18-20

[Article by V. V. Pokrovskiy, Z. K. Suvorova, T. N.
Mangushev, Central Scientific-Research Institute of Epi-
demiology, USSR Ministry of Health, Moscow: “HIV-2
Induced Infection in USSR”]

[Text] The HIV-2 virus was first described as an etiolog-
ical agent of AIDS in 1986 [1, 2]. In contrast to HIV-1
which has caused the current pandemic, HIV-2 was at
first described as a variation which was epidemic for the
countries of the western African coast. Later, however, it
was detected among inhabitants of France [2], Italy [3],
and the FRG [4] who belonged to the usual risk groups—
homosexuals and drug addicts who had no direct con-
nections with Africa.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the probable
penetration of HIV-2 induced infections into the USSR
and the effectiveness of using serological screening to
identify the virus.

Materials and methods.

In the test-systems Diagnostic Pasteur, Elavia-2, and
LAV-2 BLOT, we examined the sera of 20 persons with
atypical reactions to HIV-1 antibodies in the Dupont
immunoblot test system and for which variable results
were obtained in eight previous test systems for detecting
antibodies to HIV-I.

Results and Discussion

The results of sera testing in various test systems for
immunoenzyme analysis and immuno blotting with
HIV-1 and HIV-2 are given in the Table.

SOVIET UNION 29

Seven sera (Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 20) reacted with all
HIV-2 antibodies. Photographs of a typical immuno
blotting of such sera are given in the diagram.

These sera reacted with HIV-I in the protein region with
molecular weights of 24, 31, and 55 kilodaltons (kD),
yielded separate bands in the glycoprotein (GP) region
with a molecular weight of 41 kD and did not react at all
with GP with a greater molecular weight. The HIV-1
positive sera reacted in the protein (P) region with
molecular weights of 26 and 56 kD in the immuno
blotting test with HIV-2 and did not react in the region
of P 16 and GP 106.

A large part of the test systems yielded crossover reac-
tions as well as non-specific positive reactions. These
included the Elavia-2 test system for detecting HIV-2
antibodies.

A large part of the HIV-2 positive sera was not detected
by the Wellcome and Biochrom test systems which is
attributed to the highly specific nature of those test
systems, whereas such sera were detected by less specific
systems. This observation can probably be used for
differential diagnostics.

Serum No. I (taken in 1987) belonged to a student from
Mali. No. 2 (1987) belonged to a Soviet woman who had
many foreign sexual partners. No. 3 (1986) belonged to a
student from Burundi, and sera Nos. 4, 7, 8, and 20
(1987) were from citizens of Guinea-Bisau.

The test results for one other serum (No. 6) which
belonged to a student from Guinea-Bisau was considered
doubtful, although it is quite probably that he had an
HIV-1 infection. The remaining sera belonged to persons
infected with the HIV-I virus or who reacted positively
to the HIV-1 antigen. In two doubtful infectious cases
(Nos. 14 and 15), we noted non-specific reactions: The
antibodies disappeared in three months in patient No.
14, and the immunoblotting picture in patient No. 15
did not change after three months which confirms the
non-specificity of the reaction. Both patients remain
under observation.

Upon a second interrogation, the Soviet woman in
whom we detected HIV-2 antibodies informed us that
one of her partners in 1983 was from Ghana, i.e., from a
country which was in the HIV-2 endemic zone, and
probably the source of her infection. Her only sexual
partner from the USSR whom we succeeded in exam-
ining four and nine months after their initial contact, did
not have any antibodies to HIV-2. In May 1988 a
daughter was born'to them in whom HIV-2 antibodies
were detected. In consideration of the fact that these
could be maternal antibodies, the child was not diag-
nosed as being infected by the HIV-2 virus.

The twenty-three year old student from Burundi left his
homeland for the first time and claimed that he had only
one female sexual partner and received up to 10 paren-
teral injections between 1981 and 1985.



38 WEST EUROPE

suffering from the disease to organize themselves, sup-
port each other, reflect on their situation, learn to protect
themselves, stay healthy, and decide on a strategy for
dealing with a society that is ostracizing and discrimi-
nating against them.”

At present there are some 600 people from everywhere in
Madrid, representing around 150 self-help groups. Most
of these associations are just beginning to organize
themselves, explained Hector Anabitarte, but in a
number of countries these groups have been in operation
for several years and can thus convey their experience to
the other organizations that are still getting started.

“This is going to be a very important international
event,” remarked the president of the Anti-AIDS Foun-
dation of Spain, “inasmuch as 5 or 10 million people
worldwide are estimated to have AIDS. Unfortunately,
this issue is not yet normalized because society does not
see an AIDS sufferer for what he is, a person with a
disease; rather, he is viewed with fear, prejudice, and
unjustified rejection.”

As far as the spokespersons of the international anti-
AIDS movement are concerned, the main thing during
this period is to sce to it that people with AIDS become
the masters of their own situation and raise society’s
awareness so that it learns to live with AIDS, just as
people with the disease have.

“When there are specific instances of rejection,” Anab-
itarte went on to say, “like the girl in Malaga or the
children in Zaragoza, such prejudice becomes news and
is covered by the mass media. But many other such
children have had no trouble integrating into their
schools or day-care centers; so one of our objectives must
be to try and give as much publicity as we can to these
examples, because in these cases reflection and informa-
tion have enabled these persons, or these children, to
lead normal everyday lives like anyone else without
problems on top of their condition.”

There have also been cases in which understanding has
been lacking among adults. “There have been some cases
of discrimination in the workplace. The AIDS problem
has been normalized in the public health system, but
troubles reemerge when patients need care that is not
strictly medical but collateral to their condition. Cases of
rejection tend to arise here. This has forced Caritas of
Madrid to set up a home to take in these patients, in
which the Anti-AIDS Foundation cooperates in every
way. There’s another center in Bilbao, but the one in
Madrid is a real home in which patients can live and
continue to lead a normal daily life.”

Another of the major goals of the Fourth Conference is
to dispel once and for all the idea that an AIDS sufferer
comes from the fringes [of society]. “When a person is
identified as carrying the virus, the general reaction is to
single him out. But because of the lack of information in
years past, AIDS can be dormant in anyone, in spite of
the obvious difficulties in spreading it. People still think

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

that only someone abnormal, someone odd or on the
fringes can have AIDS, and this is really no longer truc.”

TV Cameras Not Present

Madrid—TV cameras and newspaper cameramen were
not able to cover the opening of the Fourth International
Conference for AIDS Sufferers because those with the
virus feared being recognized by their relatives and
friends. Manuel Trillo, a member of the organization
sponsoring the gathering, described the participants’
stance as logical.

“At present,” Trillo added, “some people are under
heavy social pressure to ostracize themselves. What is
more, if they ever admitted that they have AIDS, they
would automatically lose their jobs and would be ousted
from their social environment.”

European Poll
90W’E0213B Madrid YA in Spanish 25 May 90 p 57

[Text] Madrid—A recent poll commissioned by the
European Commission reveals that one-fourth of the
citizens of the EEC think that AIDS can be transmitted
just by shaking the hand of someone who has the
antibodies.

At a press conference after the opening session of the
Fourth International Conference of People With HIV/
AIDS, Alexander Berlin, the director of public health of
the European Commission, expressed his concern over
this piece of information and others, such as that two of
every three Europeans feel that it makes sense to force
someone who has AIDS to acknowledge as much or that
more than half do not know exactly how the disease can
be transmitted and think that AIDS can be contracted by
sharing a bathroom or caring for a paticnt.

Some 2.5 percent of the respondents said that they knew
someone with AIDS in their social environment. Twenty
percent of them said that they had told others of this; 70
percent said that there was no change in how they treated
that person, while 13 percent remarked that they felt
more sympathy for him, and 10 percent chose to dis-
tance themselves.

According to the most recent data of the Foundation
Against AIDS, there are 31,937 recorded cases in
Europe. This figure should be multiplied threefold to
estimate the actual cases (95,811), and the latter number
should be multiplied by 10 to calculate the number of
serum-positive individuals, of whom there could be
around | million, only 300,000 of whom know they are
carriers. There could be some 120,000 carriers in Spain,
which would make it the European country with the
fourth highest incidence.

Alexander Berlin said that between four and five percent
of the serum-positive individuals are children. In his
opinion, the school-enrollment problems of these chil-
dren will spread in the years to come, because the
overwhelming majority of them are very young. Cases


24 NEAR EAST & SOUTH ASIA

measure we are taking with forcigners when the blood
analysis proves them to have AIDS.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: Pardon. The word “when”
prompts me to ask obtrusively: Does the analysis happen
by chance or according to a specific plan?

Dr. Duwaydar: Certainly we do not wait for chance to
uncover a case for us. There is a precise plan for
performing the analyses from which we do not deviate.
With respect to foreigners, we require AIDS analyses to
be carried out for every foreigner who comes to the
country to work or train or teach at the universities, or
for any similar purposes, for a period longer than a
month. Anyone whom we find to be infected with AIDS
is sent back to his country immediately. In this way, we
have discovered the cases of the 93 foreigners whom I
mentioned previously and deported them.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: And with respect to the Egyp-
tians?

Dr. Duwaydar: A random analysis is performed monthly
on 1000 samples, at least, taken from the highest-risk
groups for infection with the disease from all parts of the
republic. Among them, for example, are convicts and
those who work fighting moral crimes. Until now, 21,000
samples have been analyzed, not one of which has turned
out positive. This operation is what is called “epidemic
detection.”

AL-AHRAM Reporter: Perhaps the skepticism of some
is aroused as to the extent of the soundness of the testing
equipment or the chemical solutions themselves?

Dr. Duwaydar: I have one categorical response to this
skepticism: We perform every analysis in two places at
the same time, in the Egyptian laboratories and in the
American organization. We do not accept any results
unless there is consistency between the laboratories of
the two parties.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: And if the results differ?

Dr. Duwaydar: We retest until we get two consistent
results . Can there be less reason for skepticism after
that?

AL-AHRAM Reporter: In light of analyses going on,
what is the average number of cases monthly?

Dr. Duwaydar: Not more than three cases a month. All of
the Egyptians afflicted at present contracted it outside
the country.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: Is every case discovered sub-
jected to a study of why it happened?

Dr. Duwaydar: Definitely, so that we may exert our
utmost efforts to define the causes and contain them.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: Then the question now automat-
ically on the tongues of millions must be, “What are the
causes of the AIDS cases precisely?”

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Dr. Duwaydar: First, sexual relations. What was meant
by that when AIDS was first discovered was deviant
relations, but now it has become any sexual relations
between a sick and a well person, exactly like the
syphilis.

Secondly, the transmittal of contaminated blood,
whether during surgery or via contaminated needles. By
God’s mercy, the AIDS virus is not found in large
amounts in blood and one contaminated necdle docs not
bestow it. It only happens through repeated injections
with a contaminated needle. Were it not for this blessing
from God, every drug addict who uses needles would be
afflicted with AIDS from the first needle, for most of the
needles with which they inject themselves, if not all, are
contaminated. Because the addicts use these necdles
more than others, the percentage of AIDS cases among
them is rising more.

Thirdly, the transmittal of the disease from the pregnant
AIDS victim to the fetus. This occurs at a rate of 50
percent, but not always and not in all cases.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: What was said about the possib-
liity of the disease being transmitted through public
baths and swimming pools?

Dr. Duwaydar: There is no truth to that whatsoever.
There are only the three causes which I mentioned for
the transmittal of AIDS. I want to reassure the people
fully of the impossibility of getting AIDS from someone
sick with it through mingling with him in the waters of a
public bath or a swimming pool, by shaking hands with
him in an office, or through spray diffused from his
mouth or through his saliva. He is a sick person who
remains a very ordinary person. There is nothing what-
soever to fear from him if the three causes of the disease
are avoided.

AL-AHRAM Reporter: The three causes of affliction
which you mentioned specifically and which you said
that you were specifying in order to contain and prevent
them lead us to an inevitable question: How do you bring
about this kind of prevention?

Dr. Duwaydar: With regard to the first cause, connected
with the infection of a sound body by a sick body
through sexual relations, we need no more than enlight-
enment. Egyptian society, by custom, traditions, and
behavior and within the framework of the teachings of
its religions, is totally immune to infection with AIDS
through sexual relations.

With respect to preventing the transmittal of contami-
nated blood causing AIDS, we no longer import blood at
all. From another standpoint, we have completed sup-
plying all the Egyptian laboratories and blood banks with
very modern equipment to discover AIDS in blood. Not
a single vial of blood is sent now from any part of the
country until it is analyzed and we are absolutely certain
that it is safe. This operation has cost us $5 million, in
cooperation with the American AID Organization and
the World Health Organization.



8 CHINA

Public Health Official! On AIDS Prevention

0W 1007191090 Beijing Radio Beijing in English to
North America 0400 GMT 5 Jul 90

[Text] Just recently, 12,000 people from all over the
world met in San Francisco, California, in the United
States for a common purpose—to fight a new worldwide
epidemic, AIDS. A Chinese public health official who
attended the Fifth International AIDS Conference talks
with Radio Beijing’s Li Ping about how China should
join the world in combating this fatal disease.

AIDS has affected many nations in the world, but it has
not become a serious problem in China. However, Sun
Qinghua, an official from the Ministry of Public Health
warns that China must take early precautions. Sun
explains that some Chinese people engage in behaviors
that can lead to the spread of the human immunal
deficiency virus, a virus that causes AIDS. Among the
190 virus carriers discovered so far in China, most were
intravenous drug users. A few also caught the infection
through unsafe sexual practices and unchecked blood
transfusion. Sun Qinghua says that China is at an earlier
stage of the problem, and Sun says that no cure is for
AIDS right now. The Ministry of Public Health empha-
sizes prevention.

Sun Qinghua says that education and monitoring of high
risk groups are the focus of the prevention work. Educa-
tion is targeted at health workers and the public. Many
Chinese people have heard of AIDS, and understand that
it is a deadly disease. But there is still a lot of misinfor-
mation as to how the virus spreads. For example, he says
many people still believe mosquitoes transmit the virus
and living next door [to someone] infected by HIV can
be dangerous, both of which are false beliefs. The mass
media is the major source of information for most
people, and it should offer more coverage on AIDS
before the disease becomes a major health problem in
China. But Sun Qinghua points out that people in
remote areas have little educational background and
poor access to the media. He says this is especially true in
areas like Yunnan, which has the highest number of HIV
carriers. The Ministry of Public Health plans to prepare
pamphlets and picture posters for these areas so that the
information can reach the groups with limited education
and the lack of media resources.

Besides the educational campaign, Sun Qinghua is also
concerned about the sterilizing technique in some Chi-
nese hospitals. Hospitals in major cities have just started
to use disposable needles, but many hospitals still use
their needles over and over. On this issue, he urges health
workers to follow strict guidelines in sterilizing syringes
and needles. Monitoring the high risk groups will also
give health officials a more accurate picture of the HIV
infection and AIDS problems, and this will help keep the
virus from spreading. This public health official believes
that if these prevention measures are taken scriously,
China won't have to confront AIDS the way some
countries are doing, where the disease has turned into a
big political, economic and social problem.

JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

Yunnan Steps Up Fight Against AIDS

54004814B Beijing CHINA DAILY in English
31 May 90 p3

[Text] Kunming (Xinhua}—Yunnan Province in South-
west China, where AIDS virus carriers account for 95.4
percent of the total on the Chinese mainland, is strength-
ening efforts for prevention and control of the killer
disease.

Afier 146 people in the province were found late last year
to have been infected by the AIDS virus—though none
of them has any obvious symptoms—Governor He Zhi-
qiang convened several special meetings on the problem.

The provincial government soon established a special
committee in charge of prevention and treatment of
AIDS with Deputy Governor Chen Liying as head and
Wu Kunyi, director of the Department of Public Health,
the deputy head.

With the help of the World Health Organization, a
three-year plan to combat AIDS has been worked out
and put into operation.

All the diagnosed AIDS virus carriers in the province
have been put under local quarantine for medical care.

A large-scale publicity campaign has been launched
throughout the province. Various training classes are
being held and all the mass media are being uscd to
spread information on the prevention and control of
AIDS.

More and more local people have thrown themselves
into the struggle against unhealthy activities—such as
drug addiction and prostitution—which lead to the
spread of the disease.

The departments in charge of public health and epidemic
prevention have started examining more high-risk
groups of people in a larger area, including Kunming,
capital of the province, and the prefectures of Dali,
Baoshan and Lincang.

They have so far collected serum samples from more
than 7,000 people and some new suspected carriers have
been discovered. Work is underway to determine
whether these suspects are actually infected by the AIDS
virus.

Fortunately, their location is still limited to the Sino-
Burmese border counties and cities, where the AIDS-
virus carriers discovered last year live.

The departments in charge of public health and epidemic
prevention in the province issue individual registration
cards for these AIDS-virus carriers to trace their move-
ments.

Meanwhile, they have completed a survey on epidemi-
ology and aetiology in Ruili, a border county which was
found to have most of the AIDS-virus carriers in China,


JPRS-TEP-90-009
18 JULY 1990

AIDS Incidence in Uthaithani

90WE0218B Bangkok THAI RAT in Thai I Jun 90
pil

[Excerpt] Dr. Banyong Phanthuwasi, a public health
official in Uthaithani Province, said that Uthaithani
Province now has 37 people with the AIDS virus,
although they do not yet have any symptoms. The first
AIDS case in the province was discovered in 1988. To
date, a total of 37 cases of AIDS have been reported.
Most of these AIDS victims, who do not exhibit any
symptoms, are between the ages of 18 and 25. Of these,
24 are men and 13 are women. Of the 24 men, four are
heterosexual, 17 are intravenous drug users, and one was
a blood donor. The risk factors for the other two are not
known. As for the 13 women who have contracted AIDS,
all are heterosexual.

Dr. Banyong said that all 37 of the AIDS patients in
Uthaithani Province are still alive. Five of these people
are in prison at the Uthaithani provincial prison. All 13
of the women patients have changed jobs and returned to
their native homes. The other 19 continue to live their
lives as AIDS carriers who do not exhibit any symptoms.
All of them live in Uthaithani Province. [passage
omitted]

New AIDS Unit in Ministry

54004310 Bangkok THE NATION in English
23 May 90 p2

[Text] The government yesterday approved a proposal
by the Public Health Ministry to set up a new division to
deal only with AIDS.

Deputy Public Health Minister Suthas Ngernmuen said
after a Cabinet meeting yesterday that the new division
would cooperate with the National Anti-AIDS Com-
mittee and other government and private agencies in
trying to check the spread of the fatal AIDS virus.

He said the new division would also provide advice and
rehabilitation to people who are infected with AIDS.

60 Percent of Health Budget May Go for AIDS
Control

BK2906072490 Bangkok Domestic Service in English
0000 GMT 29 Jun 90

[Text] Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr.
Somsak Worakhamin says the government may spend 60
percent of the total public health budget on AIDS control
projects in the next 5 years if prevention of the disease
does not produce satisfactory results. Dr. Somsak says
the ministry is aware of the problem, so it has launched
many activities to prevent the spread of the deadly
disease in Thailand. It has conducted education and
training sessions for health officials, who will dissemi-
nate the AIDS prevention information at the local and
national levels. The ministry has instructed a total of 137
general and community hospitals throughout the country

EAST ASIA il

to provide treatment for patients who are infected with
the AIDS virus. It has also set a national coordinating
committee for AIDS control and prevention comprising
representatives from related government agencies and
private organizations.

Dr. Somsak says Thailand has been praised by the World
Health Organization for its strong efforts in launching
campaigns against the disease. The commendation was
made when the permanent secretary attended the
meeting on AIDS held recently in the United States.

Official Updates AIDS Statistics, Sets Objectives

Situation Growing Worse

90WE0218A Bangkok THAI RAT in Thai 21 May 90
pp 1, 22

[Excerpt] [passage omitted] On 20 May, Dr. Thira Ram-
masut, the director-general of the Communicable Dis-
eases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health,
discussed the AIDS situation, which is growing worse in
Thailand. He said that the Ministry of Public Health
now has 148 AIDS testing sites. About 2 million people
have already been tested for AIDS. Of these, 15,520 have
tested positive for the AIDS virus. During the period
January-April 1990, a total of 1,036 people, or 345
people a month, have been found to have the AIDS
virus.

The director-general of the Communicable Diseases
Control Department said that from monitoring the inci-
dence of AIDS in various groups last year, it was found
that the percentage of prostitutes with AIDS increased
from 3.5 percent to 6.8 percent. In particular, in the
northern provinces, the percentage has increased to 42.5
percent. The percentage of prostitutes with AIDS has
increased from 2.7 percent to 3.3 percent, the percentage
of drug addicts with AIDS has increased from 41 percent
to 46 percent, and the percentage of male prisoners with
AIDS has increased from eight percent to !2 percent.

Dr. Thira said that the target set by the Ministry of
Public Health is to keep the number of AIDS cases below
24,000 by the end of the 6th Public Health Development
Plan in 1991 and below 100,000 by the end of the Public
Health Development Plan in 1996. However, unless
steps are taken to control the situation well in these
years, there may be 240,000 cases of AIDS by 1991, 10
times the target number. And by 1996, the number of
people with AIDS may increase to 2 million, or 20 times
the target figure.

Dr. Thira said that because there is still no medicine to
treat AIDS, the best way to fight this disease is preven-
tion. People should not be sexually promiscuous. If
necessary, people should use a condom. They should not
use needles or other implements that could transmit the
disease through the blood. Unless the spread of AIDS
can be halted, the number of AIDS cases will continue to
increase, and this could pose a danger to people in
general.