Agenda Packets - 1987/02/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Information on the AIDS epidemic. Two bills introduced by Rep. William Dannemeyer (Calif.) H.H. 345 and 11.R•338. Approximately 29,000 Americana have been diagnosed as having contracted AIDS, Of that number, 16,054 are already dead, the remainder are expect- ed to die within five years. A recent report by the (federal) Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta projects that by 1991 U.S. AIDS cases will total more than 270,000 and the number of deaths will exceed 179,000. And, it is estimated that up to 1.5 million people are infected with the AIDS virus, and are capable of transmitting the disease. Testifying before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources on Jan. 15, U.S, burgeon General 0. Everett Koop had no prescription for how to stop the rapidly spreading AIRS epidemic. But, in response to questions from committee members, Koop testified that he fully backed the Reagan White House proposal to withhold funds for 700 national biomedical research grants,on the grounds that the $325 mill- ion thus saved could be channeled into "safe sex" education. Testimony from David Baltimore of the Massachusetts Institute of Techno- logy and Sheldon 14. Wolff of Tufts University School of Medicine, the co- chairmen of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on a National Stra- tegy for AIDS. The message must be as direct as required to impress the target audiences of the peril of infection and how to avoid it. Target groups include homosexual men, intravenous drug users, sexually active heterosexuals,• and adolescents. Whatever veraculars it takes to reach them are the lang- uages the educators must employ. He called for spending $1 billion by 1991, David Baltimore, who won the 1975 Nobel Yrize for his work on the group of viruses to which the AIDS virus belongs. "At this stage in the research effort, time is on the side of the epidemic. A vaccine for AIDS will not be ready for five years and probably longer. Suitable drugs against HIV infection also are a number of years away. A better understanding of the basic biological processes of infection with HIV is required for the deve- lopment of vaccines and drugs. Fundamental research in virology and immun- ology should lead eventually not only to its control but also to the van- quishing of other diseases. However success in these ventures is not as- sured." Baltimore called for a $1 billion research budget by 1991. Dr. Jonathan Mann of the World Health Organization spoke on the problem in Africa, Stating that no area of the world in more affected by AIDS than Africa, he estimated at least 2 million infected persons and 10,000 to 20,000 cases annually, and he repeated WHO Director General Halfdan Mahler'e estimate of 50 to 100 million infected individuals worldwide by 1991.