AIDS
AIDS is a baffling disease that has recently
attracted considerable attention. The name stands for "acquired
immune deficiency syndrome." It refers to a severe breakdown in the
body's immune system. A person with AIDS is vulnerable to a variety
of infections and tumors that would normally be attacked by the
body's white blood cells. As a result, the person becomes weak and
dies. The cause of AIDS is a virus. It was identified in 1984 by Dr.
Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, who called it LAV-
I, and also named by Dr. Robert C. Gallo of the National Cancer
Institute, HTLV-III. It is now known as HIV, or human
immunodeficiency virus. It is believed that the AIDS virus kills a
specialized type of white blood cell, called the helper T4 cell,
which normally protects the body from infection by destroying
foreign substances that enter it. The disease is believed to be
passed through blood and semen, but not passed by casual contact,
such as sneezing or using the same utensils. In the United States,
certain groups of people have the greatest risk of getting the
disease: male homosexuals, intravenous drug users who share
contaminated needles, and babies born to infected mothers. Before
1987, recipients of contaminated blood transfusions contracted AIDS.
In Central
Africa
where AIDS is prevalent the disease is also spread by heterosexual
contact. Heterosexual transmission is also becoming
more common in the world. Considerable research is being conducted
to develop a defense against the disease. In 1986, a drug,
azidothymidine (AZT), was found to be effective against a form of
pneumonia common among AIDS patients. It appears to interfere with
reproduction of the virus inside the body cells. In the near future,
it is hoped that research will produce a vaccine against the virus.
See also Health
and
Medicine.
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