AIDS: Profile of an epidemic
- Transcript
<v Speaker>Major funding for this program has been provided by a grant from Hoffman Laroche Inc. <v Speaker>A research-intensive health care company. <v Speaker>Additional funding has been provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious <v Speaker>Diseases and the National Cancer Institute. <v Edward Asner>Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS, is an epidemic of <v Edward Asner>staggering proportions. It has struck in more than 34 countries around the world. <v Edward Asner>In the United States, Gerald Borrell is a Haitian living in New York City. <v Edward Asner>Christopher Shahar, a gay man in Los Angeles. <v Edward Asner>Kenneth Brown, an intravenous drug abuser from Chicago. <v Edward Asner>David McKie, a hemophiliac living in rural Kentucky with his family. <v Edward Asner>Amar Hamilton, a six-year-old child in New York. <v Edward Asner>Five of the thousands struck by this disease, each without the natural immune <v Edward Asner>defenses to prevent deadly infections and rare forms of cancer, <v Edward Asner>all potentially fatal. <v Edward Asner>For the moment, AIDS is incurable. <v Edward Asner>The longer a patient has the disease, chances for survival dwindle dramatically
<v Edward Asner>in the absence of intensive media coverage. <v Edward Asner>Some might be led to believe that the disease is leveling off. <v Edward Asner>It is not. Many researchers would argue that the number of cases is actually <v Edward Asner>10 times higher than those reported by the Centers for Disease <v Edward Asner>Control. <v Edward Asner>When the AIDS alarm sounded four years ago, most people knew little or nothing about the <v Edward Asner>disease, much less knew anyone who had it. <v Edward Asner>Now as the number of cases doubles every six months. <v Edward Asner>That profile is changing and so is the profile of AIDS. <v Edward Asner>Research breakthroughs isolating the probable viral cause of the disease <v Edward Asner>give new leads to the scientific community, new information if not hope <v Edward Asner>for patients, loved ones and the growing number of people touched by <v Edward Asner>AIDS. I'm Edward Asner. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>You know, they should just come out and tell people what, uh...
<v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>What meaning light of day said through sexual intercourse or through <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>blood. But the way they're going on, they're figure if they touch a person they could <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>get AID. They all got everybody scared. <v Edward Asner>At first, the AIDS scare was identified with homosexuals. <v Edward Asner>The media called it the gay plague. <v Edward Asner>The homophobic point of view was that AIDS victims were getting what they deserved. <v Christopher Shahara>My initial reaction was that it's all over. <v Christopher Shahara>I mean, I'm gonna die. And that's cause the news media at that time was doing heavy <v Christopher Shahara>push on AIDS. It was just starting to. <v Christopher Shahara>And all you heard was the negative things that AIDS in statistics. <v Christopher Shahara>Nothing positive. And if you had AIDS, you are gonna die, and that was it. <v Christopher Shahara>If you lasted, or lived for another two years, you were really stretching it. <v Edward Asner>Tragic stories mount, family rejection, isolation, eviction, job <v Edward Asner>firing. Cops geared up as if ready to do battle. <v Edward Asner>Health care workers, ambulance drivers refusing to touch people with AIDS. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>In the very beginning, we had technicians that weren't interested in working with their
<v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>disease. There were stories in certain hospitals about physicians refusing <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>to treat patients, about, um, technicians standing up and refusing to deal with <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>blood samples. And because of all this, things became very difficult. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>And I think in the very beginning of this epidemic, uh, the full exerted effort <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>of a real team couldn't happen because of all of the concerns of a lot of people <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>working with this disease. <v Edward Asner>Even the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article speculating <v Edward Asner>that AIDS may be transmitted casually. <v Edward Asner>It is not. <v David McKee>There's just so many misconceptions about it. <v David McKee>And usually what makes the news is the worst, uh, the <v David McKee>most extreme cases. <v Edward Asner>In the United States some rare cases of AIDS in adults and children have been attributed <v Edward Asner>to blood transfusions. This heightens the threat. <v Edward Asner>Were the blood banks contaminated? <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>Problems have been identified with blood transfusions and patients have come down with <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>AIDS related to transfusions.
<v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>But the number of cases have been relatively small compared to the large <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>number of blood transfusions that have been given in the U.S.. <v Edward Asner>Some people started to stockpile their own blood. <v Edward Asner>The federal government issued strong statements of reassurance, but the public was <v Edward Asner>not easily convinced. At the same time, the national blood supply <v Edward Asner>fell to dangerously low levels as potential donors refused to give. <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.> Because, uh, there is a needle stick involved in the actual <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>blood donation itself. Many people have assumed that, well, maybe they could get AIDS <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>from donating blood. <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>The needles that are used, uh, in blood donors are actually sterile <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>and are only used in one donor and then discarded. <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>So, there is really no possibility of, uh, <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>being exposed to an infectious agent, whether it be AIDS or any other agent through, uh, <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>donation of blood. <v Edward Asner>In some cases, children acquire the disease from their mothers who have AIDS. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Most data points to an in utero transmission of the disease
<v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>so that the baby acquire the disease. Eh... <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>As a fetus, we can say. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>And was born already with the disease and then slowly evolved <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>and developed all the symptoms. <v Edward Asner>Amar Hamilton's mother is an I.V. drug abuser with AIDS. <v Edward Asner>Amar contracted AIDS from her. <v Edward Asner>He's in the custody of his grandmother. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>She had been in my house until she moved in her house. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>There, I used to make her eat. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>But when she's by herself, she doesn't, you know, she doesn't have <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>the willpower to do nothing. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>That's why I try to keep, you know, the kids away from as much as possible. <v Edward Asner>Amar struggles with one opportunistic infection after another and has lost most <v Edward Asner>of his hearing. Dr. Brian Novick is his treating physician. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Amar is, uh, almost 6 years old now and really that, that <v Brian Novick, M.D.>makes him one of the oldest children that has AIDS.
<v Brian Novick, M.D.>One of the first children that was probably diagnosed [Amar coughs] with AIDS. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Um, And in the first <v Brian Novick, M.D.>four years or so of his life, he had several [Amar coughs] severe infections, <v Brian Novick, M.D.>including meningitis. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Uh, he's had several episodes of pneumonia and, um, he's had other infections <v Brian Novick, M.D.>which have really debilitated him. <v Edward Asner>Doctors are trying to strengthen Amar's immune system with a course of intravenous gamma <v Edward Asner>globulin. Some children respond to this therapy. <v Edward Asner>So far, adults have not. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>There is a difference between what we're seeing in adults with AIDS <v Brian Novick, M.D.>and children with AIDS. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Um, really, the most obvious one is Amar, that Amar is 6 years old. <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Um, There are probably [Amar coughs] very few adults <v Brian Novick, M.D.>that have lived this long with AIDS, uh, whereas <v Brian Novick, M.D.>Amar is one of two or three children that are really around five and a half, six years <v Brian Novick, M.D.>that we're following who are still alive, um, and are <v Brian Novick, M.D.>clinically stable. This is much longer than many of the adults.
<v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>The social issue is, uh, as bad in children as in adults. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>If you, for example, have one child with AIDS in the family, with the other children, <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>it's often so that the other children are excluded from schooling because of their <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>contact with a sibling that has AIDS. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Uh, there are situations where families have to move- had to move from their apartments <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>because the neighbor's found out that they had a child with AIDS and they didn't want <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>their children to play with a child that has AIDS or with siblings of a child with AIDS. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>But when the teacher teaches him for the deaf, they have to use their hands. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>And other kids, they're set up to teach to you with their hand they figured that <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>something from him could, you know, all the kids would catch it. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>So I told them, I told them that was foolish. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I said, because... <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I said, the only way they could contract anything it have to be through sexual <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>intercourse or through blood. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>And then they said to me, well, we elect Amar stay home <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>and, um, we'll send a tutor for him.
<v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Currently, as you know, we are studying and treating 40 children with AIDS or with <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>AIDS related complex. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>We are studying all the members of the family of these children and especially the other <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>children in the family or in the foster family. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>And so far, we could not document in any one of these families a second child <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>that acquired the disease from the index patient. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I raised four kids on my own, and I know there's certain precautions you have to take. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I know every [stammers] well, all I can do is I use <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>a lot of disinfect around the house. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>And, uh, when a certaint time, I put on a glove. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>You know, certain things I put on a glove, and I don't, I don't feel I'm <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>gon' get it. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>The myth of the infectiousness of AIDS has also touched upon the children <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>in quite a... <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Sad form. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Most of the children, as I told you before, coming from families with a mother, often <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>also the father are drug abusers.
<v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Most of these families are broken families where the parents don't live together and <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>cannot care for the child with AIDS. <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>Some of the parents abandoned those children in the hospital, uh, and we have been <v Arye Rubinstein, M.D.>involved for a long time. In many of these children in the search for foster parents. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>?Eba? was taking care of this baby ever since he was born because I kept <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>him with me as he wasn't a well-baby and I didn't, you know, I wanted him to have the <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>best of care. And after I found out that he was sick, I <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>went for court. Now he is rewarded to me during court to make sure [Amar coughs] <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>that he gets his food the way he's supposed to get it. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>And I know he is well taken care of. <v Edward Asner>From the moment of birth, the body is assaulted by a barrage of foreign invaders, <v Edward Asner>viruses, microbes, chemicals, particles and substances of every kind. <v Edward Asner>Most are blocked from entering the body's tissues. <v Edward Asner>Outside, the body's tough elastic skin acts as a resilient shield.
<v Edward Asner>Inside, the fluids of the digestive system consume or expel many of <v Edward Asner>these dangerous substances. <v Edward Asner>And the mucous linings of the respiratory system also trap and eject them. <v Edward Asner>Foreign invaders that do get in as here, through a cut in the skin, are called antigens. <v Edward Asner>The immune system evolved to prevent antigens from taking over. <v Edward Asner>Without natural immune defenses, the body would lose the constant battle against <v Edward Asner>the microbial world. <v Edward Asner>David, the boy in the bubble, lost that battle. <v Edward Asner>He was born without any components of immune defense at all. <v Edward Asner>He died of what is called severe combined immunodeficiency disease. <v Edward Asner>It is inherited. It is not contagious and it is even more profound <v Edward Asner>than AIDS. Children with this disease must live from birth in a totally <v Edward Asner>germ-free environment for them, contact with even the most common <v Edward Asner>germs and antigens can be fatal.
<v Edward Asner>Normally, a healthy immune system responds to them in a complex and <v Edward Asner>elegant way that science is just beginning to understand. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>And immunology is a very young science and it's grown <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>exponentially since the, the first major discoveries of immunoglobulins <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>and a cellular immune system. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>But in fact, it's still a very young science. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>And for that reason, really, the, uh, research and investigation of AIDS <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>will parallel the growth of understanding of the human immune system. <v Edward Asner>This miracle of the human body has several remarkable characteristics. <v Edward Asner>When it is working properly, it is able to identify what is and what is not part of the <v Edward Asner>human body. It can combat infection and disease, and it can remember <v Edward Asner>how so that the next combat will be swifter and even more efficient. <v Edward Asner>When an immune system is not working properly, a wide range of diseases can <v Edward Asner>be unleashed. Allergies are an overreaction to a relatively harmless <v Edward Asner>invader, like a pollen.
<v Edward Asner>Rheumatoid arthritis, a more serious disorder, occurs when the body mistakes <v Edward Asner>its own tissues as foreign and attacks them. <v Edward Asner>The major organs of the immune system are stationed throughout the body. <v Edward Asner>Tonsils and adenoids, thymus, spleen, appendix, bone <v Edward Asner>marrow and lymph nodes laced along an elaborate network of lymph vessels <v Edward Asner>that merge with the bloodstream. <v Edward Asner>Strings of these bean-shaped structures can be found in the neck, armpits, <v Edward Asner>groin. The immune system deploys billions of immune cells. <v Edward Asner>Sharing combat duties, they patrol the body and are able to trap, kill <v Edward Asner>and remove invaders. <v Edward Asner>These lymphocyte immune cells play a major role in immune defense. <v Edward Asner>They are small white blood cells. <v Edward Asner>The T cell lymphocytes are the captains. <v Edward Asner>There are two types of T-cells, helpers and suppressors. <v Edward Asner>Together, these captains issue and revoke orders to their troops, <v Edward Asner>the B cell lymphocytes.
<v Edward Asner>When an invader is present, it is first identified by helper T cells. <v Edward Asner>Then these cells send out chemical alarms, drawing B cells to the invasion <v Edward Asner>site. B cells are chemical experts when ordered <v Edward Asner>into action by helper T cells. <v Edward Asner>They produce lethal antibodies to combat and kill the antigen invader. <v Edward Asner>Too much antibody can be harmful to the body. <v Edward Asner>That's why suppressor t cells are needed to regulate the battle. <v Edward Asner>Helper T cells issue orders for more antibody. <v Edward Asner>Suppressor T cells countermand those orders until the immune response is completely <v Edward Asner>shut down. When the battle is over, the immune system remembers. <v Edward Asner>The next time a similar antigen invades, defense can be faster and <v Edward Asner>more efficient. Here is the process once again. <v Edward Asner>Identification, alarm, antibody combat, <v Edward Asner>regulation, shut down.
<v Edward Asner>Normally, there are two helper t cells for every suppressor T cell. <v Edward Asner>The AIDS agent appears to be attacking helper T cells, reversing <v Edward Asner>the 2 to 1 ratio and preventing the body from combating <v Edward Asner>antigen invaders. <v Edward Asner>When a person has AIDS, the body becomes vulnerable to a range of cancers and <v Edward Asner>infections, which can be fatal. <v Edward Asner>People with healthy immune systems usually don't get AIDS diseases. <v Edward Asner>That's why these diseases are called opportunistic. <v Edward Asner>They take advantage of the weakened immune system. <v Edward Asner>The cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma and the parasitic infection pneumosystis <v Edward Asner>carinii pneumonia are the most common. <v Edward Asner>Opportunistic AIDS diseases like these can be treated with some success. <v Edward Asner>The earlier, the better. However, at present, the underlying immune suppression <v Edward Asner>of AIDS remains incurable. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I don't think we have a great deal to offer the, the patient in terms of,
<v Joel Weisman, D.O.>of magic medicines. There's no penicillin for AIDS. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I mean, there's no magic injection. <v Edward Asner>The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, a public health service of the federal <v Edward Asner>government, was among the first to document that something unusual was happening <v Edward Asner>on the east and West coasts. <v James Curran, M.D.>Back in, uh, early 1981, there were <v James Curran, M.D.>a few unusual requests for a drug called pentamidine diisethionate, <v James Curran, M.D.>the backup drug to treat this rare pneumonia, pneumocystis pneumonia. <v James Curran, M.D.>Uh, Some of these requests had come from New York City and there is an unusual group <v James Curran, M.D.>of three or four such requests from Los Angeles, from UCLA Medical Center. <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>In early 1981 at UCLA, we evaluated four patients with unexplained fevers <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>and marked weight loss. All four ultimately developed pneumocystis pneumonia, <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>an opportunistic infection which occurs only in individuals with compromised <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>immune systems. At this point, we thought we had discovered a new,
<v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>previously undescribed, immune deficiency condition. <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>All four of our original patients were gay males and thus we considered the possibility <v Michael Gottlieb, M.D.>that this was a transmissible immune deficiency. <v Edward Asner>Following the pattern of many infectious diseases, AIDS gradually spread from the coastal <v Edward Asner>areas to the center of the country. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>The slow start apparently is because of the onset of the epidemic and the coasts. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>And Chicago was, uh, had our first case really I think in 1982. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>But since then, we really are equaling the epidemic in the rest of the country. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>Well, it's very possible that AIDS has been around for a long time, but clearly <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>with just sporadic cases. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>When one looks back in the medical literature, one may find a case or two, <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>10, maybe even 20 years ago, that might now be diagnosed as AIDS. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>But clearly, something happened in 1979, 1980 that <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>caused this to really surface and which we now have a major epidemic.
<v Edward Asner>History is filled with accounts of diseases that wiped out masses of people. <v Edward Asner>They are often woven into myth. <v Edward Asner>The Bible tells fantastic stories of pestilence from the 14th century, <v Edward Asner>the bubonic plague, called the Black Death, killed 25 million Europeans <v Edward Asner>and left a lasting scar on the collective memory of that continent. <v Edward Asner>In the 1950s, polio was marked by the specter of the iron lung. <v Edward Asner>The March of Dimes burst upon the national scene and made its way door to door. <v Edward Asner>Funds collected by volunteers were used to track down the polio virus and develop <v Edward Asner>a vaccine. More recently, Legionnaires' disease was shrouded in an <v Edward Asner>aura of mystery. It wasn't until a new bacterium was discovered that <v Edward Asner>anyone knew what struck the Philadelphia conventioneers. <v Edward Asner>AIDS has its own myths. <v Edward Asner>The delays in finding the facts are attributed to prejudices against the groups AIDS <v Edward Asner>most often affects homosexuals, I.V.
<v Edward Asner>drug abusers, Haitians. <v Edward Asner>Candlelight marches across the country added the element of urgency. <v Edward Asner>They raised money for underfunded research and galvanized groups to respond with a <v Edward Asner>measure of sanity and concern. <v Patti Lupone>The purpose of this evening is support. <v Edward Asner>In April 1983, the New York Gay Men's Health Crisis filled Madison <v Edward Asner>Square Garden for a benefit performance of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey <v Edward Asner>Circus. In one night, they raised nearly $400,000. <v Edward Asner>Proceeds went to AIDS research and support programs. <v Edward Asner>As with all AIDS volunteer groups, the essential services and information they provide <v Edward Asner>are not limited to gay people, but to everyone touched by AIDS. <v Shirley Verrett>We don't really know where it's going to hit next. <v Shirley Verrett>So I think we all have to be very, very much involved in this. <v Patti Lupone>It's a disease that must be cured. <v Patti Lupone>Let us begin to find an end to acquired immunodeficiency <v Patti Lupone>syndrome. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>As far as the general public is concerned, I think they should realize that we are
<v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>dealing with a new disease. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>We don't have all the answers. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>And because of that, that doesn't mean there needs to be mass hysteria. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>This disease does not appear to be highly contagious. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Intimate contact diseases are, are transferred by blood <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>products and serum products, those containe d in semen and blood. <v Edward Asner>The exchange of body fluids during male to male sexual contact is suspected <v Edward Asner>to be the most common mode of transmitting AIDS in the United States. <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>This is a sexually transmitted disease, and that probably <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>rectal intercourse, the.. <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>The insemination of the rectum, is more likely to result <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>in trauma, which will open blood vessels for the <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>inoculation, direct inoculation, of, of the AIDS agent. <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>While vaginal intercourse is more protected structurally, <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>doesn't result in that trauma and probably doesn't result in the same inoculation <v Paul Volberding, M.D.>of, of infectious diseases.
<v Edward Asner>According to federal statistics, 72 percent of all people with AIDS <v Edward Asner>in the United States are homosexual or bisexual men. <v Edward Asner>No cases of AIDS in homosexual women have been reported so far. <v Christopher Shahara>And when the doctor did call me up and asked me to come in before office hours to have a <v Christopher Shahara>consultation, I assumed that it was something drastically wrong. <v Christopher Shahara>And when he said AIDS, my initial reaction was that it was nice knowing you. <v Christopher Shahara>That's what I said to the doctor. <v Edward Asner>Christopher Shahara's AIDS was confirmed when he was diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma <v Edward Asner>in November 1982. <v Edward Asner>So far, this cancer is mostly confined to gay men with AIDS. <v Christopher Shahara>I sensed that something is wrong for the previous year or so, I hadn't felt right and I <v Christopher Shahara>didn't know whether it was just exhaustion but my body didn't feel right. <v Christopher Shahara>When I first was diagnosed and started coming to the hospital, it used to be a really <v Christopher Shahara>terrifying experience. But now, after almost a year and a half, it seems like an everyday <v Christopher Shahara>occurrence. I can remember back the first time I was admitted as an inpatient <v Christopher Shahara>for my interferon treatments. I was put into the laminar flow room, which is basically <v Christopher Shahara>the room that they used in the movie like Boy with a glass bubble.
<v Christopher Shahara>And that was really terrifying. <v Christopher Shahara>I had no idea what was gonna be happening. <v Christopher Shahara>And here I was put in this clear plastic room. <v Christopher Shahara>And in order to do anything, I had to call the nurse. <v Christopher Shahara>I wasn't allowed out of the room. Everybody could see into the room, people would walk by <v Christopher Shahara>and kinda stop and look at you like what's wrong with him? <v Christopher Shahara>And it was really an awful experience. <v Edward Asner>Dr. Joel Weissman treats many AIDS patients in Los Angeles. <v Christopher Shahara>And by time you get into the second year of treatment, the <v Christopher Shahara>physical seems to be going smooth and the treatment is for the physical and then you have <v Christopher Shahara>the psychological like, where am I going? <v Christopher Shahara>How long is this going to take? <v Christopher Shahara>Am I better? Am I not better? <v Christopher Shahara>Um, Do I live? Or is death imminent? <v Christopher Shahara>I had a very close friend come over for dinner and my friend came in, he said. <v Christopher Shahara>Did you, you know? Can I catch it from the salad? <v Christopher Shahara>And I just started laughing and I kind of looked at him ready to throw him out, because I <v Christopher Shahara>didn't know whether he was serious or not. And he started laughing. <v Christopher Shahara>I said, it's funny because I just used gloves when I made the salad and he looked, did <v Christopher Shahara>you really? And yeah. I mean, it was just I mean, myself
<v Christopher Shahara>getting phobic about the whole situation, which I knew you're not going to catch AIDS <v Christopher Shahara>from tossing a salad, but yet at the same time I said, well, just in case I can't <v Christopher Shahara>live with the fact of knowing, or maybe it is. <v Christopher Shahara>I've gotten over that. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>But the reality is that's, that's not a factor in that, that it's <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>if we've gotten anywhere with the disease, we're, we're dealing with the fact that it's <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>not transmitted casually. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And that it's an intimate contact disease. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Uh, I don't know w-what it would be like to go home and not, <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>and not be hugged. I mean, and that I can't <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>always answer those- those questions. <v Christopher Shahara>It's not a good feeling. <v Edward Asner>Christopher is an outpatient at the UCLA Medical Center. <v Edward Asner>Despite reduced levels of energy, he's still very active. <v Edward Asner>So far, his cancer is being controlled with interferon treatments. <v Christopher Shahara>I'm not sure whether I have a fear of travel or not, but I definitely stay close to home <v Christopher Shahara>and find that there's that security in being in the house, which is- a lot of it
<v Christopher Shahara>is very psychological or all of it is psychological. <v Christopher Shahara>There's no physical reason for staying in the house or within a mile radius of the <v Christopher Shahara>house. And it's very difficult to deal with waking up one day and being a great <v Christopher Shahara>mood and two days later, ready to slit your wrists, so to speak, <v Christopher Shahara>in a figurative sense and not knowing what's going to happen. <v Christopher Shahara>And for that, I do use- need lots of support and get lots of support from friends <v Christopher Shahara>and go to therapy once a week for the emotional support, which I feel is real, real <v Christopher Shahara>important. <v Edward Asner>Nancy Cole is on the board of directors of the AIDS Project Los Angeles. <v Edward Asner>She and Christopher met on a candlelight march and have become close friends. <v Nancy Cole>I hate AIDS. <v Nancy Cole>The syndrome. The disease. What it does to people. <v Nancy Cole>I'm not necessarily thinking that a person going into a transition <v Nancy Cole>of life to death. <v Nancy Cole>That's not it. I hate the disease. <v Nancy Cole>I hate AIDS. I hate the fact that it's- no one has been able to really get a grip on what
<v Nancy Cole>this is and how to stop it. <v Nancy Cole>I mean, we're learning and everything. <v Nancy Cole>But I think that people, even within <v Nancy Cole>the gay community, that they're segmented. <v Nancy Cole>A lot of the gay community, some of them think that- they blame it on certain lifestyles <v Nancy Cole>within the gay community. It's not that at all. <v Nancy Cole>Everybody. It's it's a disease that's affecting human beings and people. <v Nancy Cole>I think what I hate most about it is the prejudice that- it has created <v Nancy Cole>for no reason. <v Christopher Shahara>I've gotten calls from some people that were just diagnosed. <v Christopher Shahara>And their biggest fear, which never entered my mind, was that <v Christopher Shahara>AIDS is, to quote, like a sleazy disease. <v Christopher Shahara>I mean, you have to be promiscuous. You have to be out on the streets. <v Christopher Shahara>And that's why you get AIDS. And I mean, it's so off the wall. <v Nancy Cole>And you don't have to be promiscuous. <v Christopher Shahara>Not at all. <v Nancy Cole>it can be the one contact in a sexual act that <v Nancy Cole>is done with risk.
<v Nancy Cole>Russian roulette. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I talk in terms of risk reduction, not, uh, not celibacy. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Not having no sex. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I don't think for most people, whether straight or gay. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>That that's a viable alternative. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And what we've developed with guidelines set up by many different <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>organizations as forms of risk reduction. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And basically they, they talk about decreasing the number of sexual <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>partners, uh, they talk about uh not transferring <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>body fluids generally in those terms talking <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>about semen or blood, possibly fecal matter which contains blood. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I don't think that that we worry in terms of saliva, because if <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>it was a saliva borne disease, we would probably be seeing a quite <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>different pattern than, than the pattern of intimate contact. <v Edward Asner>The New York Blood Center is studying the natural history of AIDS by tracking patterns <v Edward Asner>of 1000 gay men.
<v Edward Asner>Physical examinations, blood tests and elaborate questionnaires about sexual activities <v Edward Asner>are routine every three months for three years. <v Edward Asner>Dr. Cladd Stevens is in charge. <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>When these men, uh, come into our clinic, we will, uh, <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>examine them physically. <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>And we'll take blood samples, which will be tested in our laboratories, uh, <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>for evidence of infection with various viral agents, for example, <v Cladd Stevens, M.D.>and tests of their immune function as well. <v Edward Asner>Similar studies are underway in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh <v Edward Asner>and Baltimore. It will take years before these studies reveal exactly who <v Edward Asner>gets AIDS. To what degree and why. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Many of the people who I've treated are people that I've been socially <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>friendly with and have known over the course of eight years. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And I've had to deal with the death and dying of, of my patients <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>and friends.
<v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And it's- it takes it's toll. And I don't think any physician who does this <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>can do without therapy himself. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>And I- I've certainly sought out that form of therapy <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>in terms of dealing with the frustrations of, of, of the disease and not <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>having a cure and having to deal on a repetitive basis with the fact that <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>people are going to die from the disease. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>In essence, you, you know them quite well. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>You try to help them deal with their AIDS and then at the same time help them die. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>And it becomes a tremendous emotional burden for the physician. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>And I literally had to get away from it for a short time and just pull away, <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>literally leave the country to sort of escape it all, and come <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>back and deal with it again on a better level for myself and for my patients. <v Edward Asner>Doctors are convinced that exposure to the AIDS agent does not always lead to the full <v Edward Asner>blown, life threatening forms of AIDS.
<v Frederick P. Siegal, M.D.>Almost all infectious diseases are characterized by the fact that the majority <v Frederick P. Siegal, M.D.>of individuals exposed simply don't get sick. <v Frederick P. Siegal, M.D.>And one of the most fascinating problems in understanding infectious disease is <v Frederick P. Siegal, M.D.>understanding those things which determine who gets sick and who doesn't. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>Presumably, most people that are exposed to an AIDS agent actually don't <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>get the disease itself. If there were, there wouldn't be a few thousand patients with <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>AIDS. There would be tens of thousands of patients with AIDS. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>And that's important that there is probably something known as a herd immunity, that <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>people are exposed to a low level of the agent. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>Just as with any virus, they develop an immunity, following that exposure, <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>and aren't prone to going on and developing the devastating kinds of things that AIDS <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>could be. <v Edward Asner>People who do come down with AIDS are infected long before they know anything is wrong. <v Edward Asner>At the onset of the disease, these early warning symptoms may appear. <v Edward Asner>Fever lasting longer than a week or so. <v Edward Asner>Steady weight loss not caused by dieting.
<v Edward Asner>Swollen lymph glands, especially in the neck, armpits, groin. <v Edward Asner>Fatigue that will not go away. <v Edward Asner>Shortness of breath or a dry cough for no apparent reason. <v Edward Asner>Drenching night sweats. Fever during sleep. <v Edward Asner>Sudden changes in mood or personality. <v Edward Asner>Unexplained or persistent diarrhea. <v Edward Asner>These symptoms may appear in any combination over time, but a word of caution. <v Edward Asner>Any of these symptoms can be confused with the symptoms of common illnesses colds, <v Edward Asner>flu. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>A person just doesn't... <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Get this disease by waking up in the middle of the night with 103 fever <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>and the next day has pneumocystis pneumonia. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>Generally, you can trace back, uh, these other symptoms that have been <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>mild but progressive over a period of months. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>It's not a disease that you snap your fingers and it happens the next day. <v Edward Asner>Kaposi's sarcoma, the AIDS disease most often associated with gay men <v Edward Asner>is marked by purple or red lesions.
<v Edward Asner>Sometimes these lesions are internal, as in the case of Christopher Shahar. <v Christopher Shahara>The first sign that I had something is wrong was the lymph nodes in my groin had swelled <v Christopher Shahara>and I had to go down and have them removed. <v Christopher Shahara>And when they were biopsied, they came out positive as having campuses. <v Gerald Borrell>I usually catch a- a flu, at least once a year <v Gerald Borrell>that lasts about a week or two. <v Gerald Borrell>But this time, in spite of all the medication and antibiotics <v Gerald Borrell>that I took, you know, I seem to be- you know, I just kept <v Gerald Borrell>getting worse. <v David McKee>My first symptoms was that, uh, I had started having <v David McKee>night sweats and, uh, weight loss. <v David McKee>And I had- I had my foot operated on and I'd been, uh, <v David McKee>down for about six weeks. And I just started <v David McKee>having trouble breathing and I felt I had a little touch of pneumonia. <v Kenneth Brown>Our first symptoms were these spots in my arms, back, chest, <v Kenneth Brown>legs. I didn't know what they were.
<v Edward Asner>17 percent of all people with AIDS in the United States or intravenous drug abusers. <v Edward Asner>Four men to every woman. <v Edward Asner>AIDS can be transmitted by sharing needles contaminated with infected blood. <v Edward Asner>The drugs themselves can be lethal health hazards. <v Edward Asner>Kenneth Brown is hospitalized with AIDS in Chicago. <v Kenneth Brown>Well, I got TB when I came to the hospital <v Kenneth Brown>and I didn't know that either but they did a bone marrow dust and found <v Kenneth Brown>out. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>Of all of the risk groups I'd say that they are the least, least informed <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>on the whole subject. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>And, um, this is true and has been observed in our emergency <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>room where commonly I.V. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>drug abusers will come for various minor complaints and really will have little <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>idea when asked about AIDS and the implications of shooting <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>drugs and the possibility of contracting AIDS. <v Kenneth Brown>I've been doing drugs since I was 14.
<v Kenneth Brown>I started shooting heroin when I was 18. <v Kenneth Brown>When I was shooting heroin it was everything in my life, I couldn't stop. <v Kenneth Brown>I've ?inaudible? <v Kenneth Brown>you steal. <v Kenneth Brown>Support my habit. <v Kenneth Brown>It was very hard for me to stop taking drugs. <v Kenneth Brown>I did it for most of my life. <v Kenneth Brown>I really don't care if my friends are sharing needles. <v Kenneth Brown>If they might get AIDS. <v Kenneth Brown>I have to worry about myself. <v Kenneth Brown>It didn't ever bother me that I'd get AIDS from shooting- from shooting heroin. <v Kenneth Brown>You just don't care. <v Kenneth Brown>You don't care. <v Edward Asner>When cholera broke out in 1832, it was attributed to decadence and immorality. <v Edward Asner>Society blamed recent immigrants for the disease. <v Edward Asner>In New York, this burden was shouldered by poor Irish people until someone figured
<v Edward Asner>out that the public water supply was contaminated. <v Edward Asner>People with AIDS have also been stigmatized. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>In this illness there's an extraordinary amount of victim blaming, um, which <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>is a terrible thing in any illness, and it's particularly terrible <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>in A.I.D.S. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>That's where people are simply blamed for their having the illness. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>There still is quite a bit of homophobia prevalent in this country. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>It's a group most people don't understand. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>Most people are either afraid of or, um. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>Much like the Moral Majority fear are somehow acting against <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>God's will with their, their daily habits. <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>IV drug users are the second most commonly affected group, and there again is a group <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>that most people are fearful of, uh, have no understanding <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>of. I.V. drug abuse as a problem that people would simply like to blame on <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>isolated individuals who like to enjoy themselves by shooting <v Renslow Sherer, M.D.>drugs as opposed to seeing it as yet another disease of substance abuse.
<v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>Nurses will shun them, physicians will shun them. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>They'll put on masks, gloves, gear up as if they had the plague <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>and it's difficult to deal with. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>And then at the same time, they have to deal with dying. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>People respond to AIDS like people respond to the diagnosis of cancer. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>I mean, especially the way people responded to cancer ten or fifteen years <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>ago when I first started practice. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>They respond with fright, with denial, with hysteria. <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>It causes all kinds of crises for the, uh, for the homosexual <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>patient it brings about a crises that they can't separate <v Joel Weisman, D.O.>the disease, uh, from their dealing with their sexuality. <v Edward Asner>This gay man asked that his name be withheld in order to protect his legal action <v Edward Asner>against a former employer. <v Anonymous man>Six months ago, I was diagnosed with AIDS. <v Anonymous man>I had a job at that time, um, and as far as my <v Anonymous man>physicians are concerned, I am functioning as a normal individual and
<v Anonymous man>there is no reason for me not to work. <v Anonymous man>But the company physicians have, uh, rejected that <v Anonymous man>idea and I just want the opportunity to be, um, <v Anonymous man>productive again and to live a full <v Anonymous man>life. I do not accept the premise that I have to sit <v Anonymous man>home and wait to die. <v teacher>Do you read your English book every day Amis? <v Edward Asner> 4 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States are <v Edward Asner>Haitians. Men outnumber women 7 to 1. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>The Haitians are classified as a high risk group by the Center for Disease Control. <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>And unfortunately, the publicity from this has really had major adverse <v Margaret Fischl, M.D.>effect on the Haitian population. <v Roger E. Biamby>The percentage of Haitian employment has plummeted, uh, <v Roger E. Biamby>over the past few months since this AIDS issue surfaced. <v Roger E. Biamby>It is unfortunate that this has happened because it has
<v Roger E. Biamby>severely affected the financial and social life of the Haitians <v Roger E. Biamby>here in Dade County and elsewhere. <v Roger E. Biamby>Uh, It is utterly ridiculous to, to classify <v Roger E. Biamby>a nationality as a high risk group. <v Roger E. Biamby>Haitians are being used as scapegoats. <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>Emotionally it is now very difficult for anyone <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>to be Haitian. <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>If a Haitian would like something <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>to be done because there is a deep sense <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>of anger, frustration, shame, embarrassment. <v Donna Mildvan, M.D.>We don't understand whether the Haitian population really is, <v Donna Mildvan, M.D.>is a member of a different risk group, but not acknowledging it or in <v Donna Mildvan, M.D.>fact represent a distinct risk group with distinct, uh, risk factors <v Donna Mildvan, M.D.>that we just don't understand.
<v Robert Auguste, M.D.>The medical advice I would give to Haitians is the same advice <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>I would ve- I would give to every patient. <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>One, don't be promiscuous in your sex <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>life. And number two, <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>if you are addicted <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>to substance, do <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>everything possible to get help because you playing <v Robert Auguste, M.D.>with your life. <v Gerald Borrell>I feel like myself, I wish I knew where I got it. <v Gerald Borrell>I have no idea. I'm not an I.V. user. <v Gerald Borrell>My only connection is that I'm Haitian. <v Gerald Borrell's doctor>Gerald had no exposures that we're aware of that would put him <v Gerald Borrell's doctor>at risk for AIDS. And so he's an enigma to us as, as have been all the other Haitian <v Gerald Borrell's doctor>patients. <v Edward Asner>Gerald Burrill had been in and out of Beth Israel Hospital in New York several times <v Edward Asner>before his AIDS was diagnosed with the onset of tuberculosis. <v Gerald Borrell>When I first found out what it was. It was after a series of, uh, intensive
<v Gerald Borrell>testing that they found other, I had a... <v Gerald Borrell>Pulmonary tuberculosis. <v Gerald Borrell>And a couple days later, the came in and told me that I was also <v Gerald Borrell>anemic and that I had developed a, you know, a case of AIDS. <v Gerald Borrell>At the time, it was my very first time that I heard of AIDS. <v Gerald Borrell>I had no idea what it was. <v Gerald Borrell>Each time that I've come here I've gotten weaker. <v Gerald Borrell>And that's my main worry right now. It's just slowly getting weaker <v Gerald Borrell>and weaker. I don't have any symptoms right now, everything is fine, but still is this, <v Gerald Borrell>you know, a weakness, you know, that frightens me. <v Gerald Borrell>Uh, I've known AIDS patients that have died. <v Gerald Borrell>As a matter of fact, I know three of them. <v Gerald Borrell>The one that died recently while I was here, he died of the ?KS?. <v Gerald Borrell>Another one died of, uh, I believe he had a... <v Gerald Borrell>He just kept getting smaller and smaller.
<v Gerald Borrell>You die of dehydration. <v Gerald Borrell>At first, I didn't believe it. The first time I was here, I didn't believe it. <v Gerald Borrell>I didn't accept it. I didn't wanna accept it. <v Gerald Borrell>And I was very angry, you know. <v Gerald Borrell>I- I've gotten so angry that now I can hardly get angry anymore. <v Gerald Borrell>I can hardly cry. I haven't been able to cry like I <v Gerald Borrell>did in the beginning. <v Gerald Borrell>I've been very sad, very fearful. <v Gerald Borrell>And I feel very lonely, you know. <v Gerald Borrell>I feel like, uh, I've been dealt a bad <v Gerald Borrell>hand here. I'm hoping my landlord doesn't see this because I know for sure that <v Gerald Borrell>he will kick me out if he finds out. <v Gerald Borrell>That's one of my biggest fears. <v Gerald Borrell>We're not at fault for having AIDS. <v Gerald Borrell>That is just a misfortune. You know, God didn't give it to us neither, it just <v Gerald Borrell>something- a freak of nature. <v Edward Asner>Controversial issues affecting people with AIDS will continue until epidemiologists
<v Edward Asner>better understand the origin and spread of the disease. <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>The epidemiologist is the community's physician, and his <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>or her job is to think about the disease as it spreads <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>through the community, to count the number of cases, to count <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>where the cases occur. To count the circumstances under which the cases occur. <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>And by doing that, a pattern emerges, much as <v Richard M. Krause, M.D.>does the pattern emerge in a detective story. <v Edward Asner>Epidemiological detectives have turned to Central Africa. <v Edward Asner>There is an unusually high incidence of AIDS cases in Zaire, Burundi, <v Edward Asner>Rwanda and Chad. <v Edward Asner>And there was a growing consensus that this may be the point of origin of the epidemic. <v Edward Asner>At first, it appeared that AIDS was spread from major American cities to Europe <v Edward Asner>and Australia. <v Edward Asner>Then it appeared that AIDS was brought to this country from the Caribbean. <v Edward Asner>Now scientists speculate that AIDS may have spread first from Africa to
<v Edward Asner>Europe and to the Caribbean and then to the United States. <v Edward Asner>All these theories remain unproven. <v Edward Asner>New patterns emerge. <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>The, uh, United States model for high risk groups in AIDS <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>is not a, it's not- is not holding up in all countries. <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>It's quite- That model applies in any of the homosexual male, the drug addict, <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>the hemophiliac and so forth applies in place in some of the countries in Europe. <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>But it doesn't apply in a country like Haiti and it doesn't apply in Zaire, <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>where there are many more women diagnosed with the disease, whereas in the United States, <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>it's almost exclusively a disease of male homosexuals, in these countries many more women <v Ronald K. St. John, M.D.>have it-. <v Edward Asner>Some AIDS cases are linked to a contaminated batch of factor 8, a <v Edward Asner>substance used to prevent hemophiliacs from bleeding to death. <v Edward Asner>Less than 1 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States are people with hemophilia <v Edward Asner>a and inherited disorder confined to men.
<v David McKee>Well I'm, uh, 100 percent sure in my own mind, that that's why <v David McKee>I contacted that AIDS was from factor 8. <v Edward Asner>David McKee lives with his wife and two daughters in a remote corner of Kentucky. <v Edward Asner>Neighbors have been generous and supportive. <v Edward Asner>Many share his passion for racing dune buggies, a sport David pursued with success, <v Edward Asner>despite the risks involved with his hemophilia. <v David McKee>You know, it's something that I was borned with and, uh, <v David McKee>there's been a lot of limitations put on what I can do and what I can't. <v David McKee>And, uh. <v David McKee>As a rule, I stay in them limitations. <v David McKee>We talk about taking the factor eight and, uh... <v David McKee>uh. <v David McKee>Most people don't realize how that it's administered, that <v David McKee>it is intravenously and it puts the <v David McKee>clottin' factor back into my blood system. <v Edward Asner>Currently, Factor 8 is an expensive product derived from the blood of thousands
<v Edward Asner>of donors. <v Mrs. McKee>And we knew the risk. um, I had read up enough on AIDS that I knew he <v Mrs. McKee>was in a high risk group. <v Mrs. McKee>But the chances for him getting the AIDS from the factor was so low <v Mrs. McKee>that, you know, we didn't think it ever happen. <v Mrs. McKee>But no, I'm not angry. <v Mrs. McKee>You can't hate someone because maybe he's got a bad batch of blood <v Mrs. McKee>and you can hate someone because of that because maybe the donor didn't know <v Mrs. McKee>that he had AIDS at the time. <v Edward Asner>When David first showed signs of illness, the local hospital treated him for pneumonia, <v Edward Asner>not knowing that he had AIDS when his condition worsened. <v Edward Asner>He was referred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center nearly 100 miles away. <v David McKee>They had done a bronchostomy and took a biopsy of the lung and, <v David McKee>and found out that had pneumocystis and <v David McKee>well, pretty well the rest of the story.
<v David McKee>You know? You know- They knew the rest of the story when I had the, the pneumocystis <v David McKee>and, uh, so then they went head and done the <v David McKee>blood work. And two days later they diagnosed me as having <v David McKee>AIDS. <v David McKee>Oh, you know, I figured that at the time I went to Lexington that, uh, you know, as <v David McKee>bad a shape as I was in when I went on up there, that there wasn't much else left for it <v David McKee>to be. <v Edward Asner>Once his diagnosis was confirmed, David was treated for pneumocystis carinii <v Edward Asner>pneumonia. He has recovered from that episode of that opportunistic <v Edward Asner>infection. <v David McKee>But at the time that I was diagnosed, I- I- I <v David McKee>was so sick that I didn't really care. <v David McKee>And so then as I started feeling a little bit better, you know, and, and <v David McKee>really surveyed the situation and what was really taking place. <v David McKee>I had already learnt to accept it and deal with it. <v Edward Asner>David's 3 year old Jonah doesn't understand AIDS.
<v Edward Asner>Becky, who is 10, has her own definition of her father's condition. <v David McKee's daughter>Our ?pa? doesn't have any immune system. <v David McKee's daughter>And if you get around someone that has a cold or something, you'll catch the cold <v David McKee's daughter>and you could... die. <v Mrs. McKee>We knew that when I married David, that this hemophilia wasn't <v Mrs. McKee>curable. Uh, So they come up with the clotting factor, he <v Mrs. McKee>got along fine. <v Mrs. McKee>So now he has AIDS. <v Mrs. McKee>Uh, We hope that they will come up with a cure for the AIDS. <v David McKee>You know, I know that the morality rate on it is high, but, uh, <v David McKee>my main concern right now is, is if any of these <v David McKee>opportunistic diseases come along is deal with each one of <v David McKee>them individually. <v Mrs. McKee>The hardest thing for me is knowing that, uh, I would probably have to face
<v Mrs. McKee>the future with my children by myself. <v Mrs. McKee>Because with no cure, we know there's no cure <v Mrs. McKee>in the near future. <v Mrs. McKee>Um, as far as David getting these opportunit diseases, it could happen tomorrow. <v Mrs. McKee>You know, um, that's the hardest thing. <v Mrs. McKee>But again, I try not to think about tomorrow, because <v Mrs. McKee>we have David today and we hope we have <v Mrs. McKee>David tomorrow, you know? <v Edward Asner>In April 1984, the federal government announced that the probable cause of <v Edward Asner>AIDS had been found. <v Edward Asner>A variant of a known human cancer virus. <v Edward Asner>To tell us what this research means, I have with me Dr. Harold Jaffe, chief of <v Edward Asner>epidemiology for AIDS activity at the Centers for Disease Control. <v Edward Asner>And Dr. Jeffrey Laurence, assistant professor of medicine at New York Hospital, Cornell <v Edward Asner>Medical Center. Dr. Laurence, does this discovery of a probable cause
<v Edward Asner>of AIDS move us any closer to a cure? <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>Brings us a lot closer. If we start looking at the history of viral epidemics in the <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>United States and in the world, it's always been the ability to name the virus, <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>the ability to grow that virus, either in the test tube, or in an animal in large <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>quantities and then the ability to mount an effective vaccination program against <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>it or develop an effective antibiotic that have led to cures. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>And that's what we're aiming for in this disease. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>There'll be problems with that. However, part of the problem will be that if it's a <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>disease or a virus like polio, the most effective cure will be <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>truly a vaccine, a preventative measure and compulsive vaccination of large populations. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>If it's more a, a virus, say, herpes virus, we have very effective antibiotics <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>against some of the manifestations of herpes. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>So there are two ways now that scientific research is going to effectively try to combat <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>this disease. <v Edward Asner>How much time to a vaccine are we talking about? <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>If it's truly one virus and we have that to rely on with genetic
<v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>engineering methods today, we could probably have a vaccine within a year if there <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>are variants of this virus. If as the flu, the virus changes the way <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>that it looks to the body's immune system, it could take several more years than that. <v Edward Asner>Dr. Jaffe, what does the discovery of the probable cause of <v Edward Asner>AIDS mean for the national blood supply and the threat of <v Edward Asner>transfusion related AIDS? <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>In the last three years, about 10 million Americans have received transfusions, yet <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>only about 50 of them have had transfusion AIDS. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>So the risk is really quite small. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>In 1983, the Public Health Service and Blood Banks made recommendations <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>on limitation of donation by so-called risk group members. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>And we assume that that made the risk even smaller. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>Now that it's going to be possible to screen donated blood for evidence of <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>the AIDS virus, that risk should become, we hope, minuscule. <v Edward Asner>Is AIDS an automatic death sentence?
<v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>It's hard to generalize about the prognosis for AIDS because it takes probably several <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>different forms. For example, patients with the severe forms of AIDS clearly <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>don't do well. Patients diagnosed more than two years ago, at least <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>80 percent have died. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>Presumably, that's because their immune systems are profoundly depressed <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>and don't return to normal. And until there's a therapy available, we can assume <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>they won't do well. Patients with milder forms of the disease, however, do <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>seem to do well. How well people will do who've been exposed to the AIDS virus <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>and are clinically well, we really don't know. <v Edward Asner>What can we expect from the epidemic in the future? <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>I think we have to assume that the epidemic will not go away anytime soon. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>The number of cases continues to increase. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>The rate continues to increase. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>We do think that changes in behavior by certain risk group members can <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>slow the epidemic. But the ultimate control will probably require a vaccine. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>Absolutely correct. We're working on two fronts now.
<v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>We need an effective vaccine for the people who are at risk. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>We need an effective therapy, a way to bolster the immune system in people who have <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>the disease. We're going to learn a lot about the way that viruses cause cancer. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>The way the viruses cause various diseases in the immune system from this epidemic. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>And hopefully we're going to able to help people with the disease. <v Edward Asner>Doctors, let's lay it on the line. <v Edward Asner>Are we being overly optimistic? <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>It's a real problem here because truly, we could say if we know the protein on the virus <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>that we want to make a vaccine to, we can have one in a year by genetic engineering. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>We don't necessarily know that. We don't know that the virus isn't going to change. <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>And no one has ever prepared an effective vaccine against a retrovirus before, <v Jeffrey Laurence, M.D.>a virus as the virus that causes AIDS. <v Edward Asner>Jaffe. <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>I'd agree with Dr. Laurence. I think it's very difficult to predict when such a vaccine <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>might be available. And then even when it is available, it has to be shown to be both <v Harold Jaffe, M.D.>safe and effective. And that could be quite difficult. <v Edward Asner>Thank you, Dr. Laurence. Dr. Jaffe.
<v Edward Asner>AIDS has forced people with the disease to grapple with a life and death situation, <v Edward Asner>shattering their lives, often leaving them abandoned, that present with slim hope of <v Edward Asner>recovery. Science has conquered the microbial world before. <v Edward Asner>That takes time. As we've just heard, AIDS research will continue to yield <v Edward Asner>secrets and puzzle scientists for years to come. <v Edward Asner>In the meantime, a warning. <v Edward Asner>The AIDS epidemic is not over. <v Edward Asner>If you are among the risk groups, heed the precautions, exercise <v Edward Asner>good judgment in matters of human intimacy, seek help if you are abusing <v Edward Asner>drugs, protect your life and the lives of others. <v Edward Asner>If you are family or friend or lover or neighbor of someone who does have AIDS. <v Edward Asner>Keep a clear perspective. <v Edward Asner>AIDS is not a casual contact disease, nor is it the wrath of God. <v Edward Asner>To complete the AIDS profile, it must be said that each of us has the responsibility <v Edward Asner>to suspend prejudice and exercise rational behavior
<v Edward Asner>and informed thought until the threat of AIDS is eliminated. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I guess my emotion strength came- come from God. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>He gave it to me. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>The strength to help to take care of this baby. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I don't mind doing that. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>Because when I'm- when I'm doing- when I'm- what I'm doing for him. <v Amar Hamilton's Grandmother>I'm helping him, you know, because he is a sick child. <v Christopher Shahara>It's not time to give up. You know, There's hope out there for me and there's hope for <v Christopher Shahara>lots of other people. And you just have to keep a positive attitude. <v Christopher Shahara>Otherwise, you're not going to do well. <v Christopher Shahara>But with a positive attitude, at least it helps you to keep going. <v Christopher Shahara>And you never know. The cure might come tomorrow. <v Christopher Shahara>I want to be here tomorrow if the cure is here. <v Kenneth Brown>I got this disease from shooting heroin. <v Kenneth Brown>And everybody who does it is crazy. <v Gerald Borrell>The miracle... <v Gerald Borrell>Is just around the corner. All I have to do is hold on and be strong. <v David McKee>I'm still David McKeen. Except I've- uh, I've got AIDS now.
<v Speaker>As far as my physicians are concerned, I am functioning. <v Speaker>[voices overlapping] I do not accept the premise that I have to sit <v Speaker>home and wait to die. <v Speaker>[music plays] <v Edward Asner>This is Edward Asner at the time of broadcast the Centers for Disease report more than <v Edward Asner>five thousand diagnosed cases of AIDS. <v Edward Asner>More than two thousand ?for toddlers?.
<v Edward Asner>Young Amar Hamilton, Christopher Shahara in Los Angeles, and David McKee in Kentucky <v Edward Asner>are all reported to be in perfectly stable condition. Gerald Baril's condition is described as deteriorating by his physician in New York. Kenneth Brown from Chicago is deceased. <v Speaker>Major funding for this program was provided by a grant from Hoffman Laroche Inc. <v Speaker>A research intensive health care company. <v Speaker>Additional funding was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious <v Speaker>Diseases and the National Cancer Institute. <v Speaker>For information about a video cassette of this program, write AIDS <v Speaker>WNET. 356. West 58 Street. <v Speaker>New York, New York. 10019.
<v Speaker>For a transcript, send three dollars to the same address.
- Program
- AIDS: Profile of an epidemic
- Producing Organization
- WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- Contributing Organization
- PBS Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin)
- The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/29-085hqf2r
- Public Broadcasting Service Series NOLA
- APOE 000000
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- Description
- Program Description
- Profile of the AIDS epidemic.
- Asset type
- Program
- Topics
- Public Affairs
- Health
- Rights
- Content provided from the media collection of Wisconsin Public Broadcasting, a service of the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. All rights reserved by the particular owner of content provided. For more information, please contact 1-800-422-9707
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:57:59
- Credits
-
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Producing Organization: WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Wisconsin Public Television (WHA-TV)
Identifier: WPT0.1986.6 MA (Wisconsin Public Television)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Master
Duration: 01:00:00?
-
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the
University of Georgia
Identifier: 84013dct-arch (Peabody Object Identifier)
Format: U-matic
Duration: 1:00:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “AIDS: Profile of an epidemic,” PBS Wisconsin, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 5, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-29-085hqf2r.
- MLA: “AIDS: Profile of an epidemic.” PBS Wisconsin, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 5, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-29-085hqf2r>.
- APA: AIDS: Profile of an epidemic. Boston, MA: PBS Wisconsin, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-29-085hqf2r