Iowa Students Look at; 101; Aids

The following is a rebroadcast of a program that was originally presented live on October 24th 1988. Major funding for the following program was provided by friends of Iowa Public Television. The following program contains explicit language which may be suitable for younger audiences and adult discretion is advised. I mean the subject is they're talking about it. You've got to be specific with a topic like this. I mean you can't just don't say I didn't warn you because they're talking about my. From the studios of Iowa Public Television students look at them. Here is your host Peter Jennings.

Hello welcome to the program. This is a first in a series that deals with topical issues that affect our today's teens. Now we're going to begin the series by talking about AIDS. And as the announcer said at the top of the show or didn't say. You see it's really hard to talk about. It's a lot of people feel that way but talking about it and understanding the disease is currently the only method we have of it's prevention. That's what we're here for today. We're going to answer these people's questions and we're going to try to prevent the spread of AIDS. A lot of people think it's not going to happen to them and it's not going to happen in their school but it's affecting many schools. And some of those schools are right here in Iowa.

As students parents and teachers prepared for this school year in La Mars Iowa. They found something had been added to their educational agenda. Meetings to answer questions about AIDS. The reason for this. A student attending school in the district has the disease. I think there are a lot of misconceptions and a lot of fears about AIDS and I think this is a good way of clearing it up so that people are more compassionate more understanding when the situation occurs. Are you worried that there's a child in the system or are you not worried. No. I'm worried but I don't think it will cause any problems. And it shouldn't be. It's a new thing that's really interesting. You know the things about it. Are you going to lie. No but my parents are OK. Why are they going. Because they're concerned about the welfare of the kids is gone. Are you worried. Not really. I'm just concerned about what. I just.

I'd like to know about it on our program today. We will answer questions about AIDS from our studio audience and from school. Call in studies from around the state to help answer these questions. We've selected a panel of experts Dr. Ralph Knudson from a physician here in Iowa. He has a family practice and he deals directly with the medical care of AIDS patients. James Williams the director of the natural Education Association Health Information Network. He's in Atlanta. Monica Eisen an AIDS information specialist from the Iowa Department of Public Health here in Des Moines. And Jim has been diagnosed as having acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Let's begin with a question from our studio audience. I would like to know how and when was AIDS discovered how and when was AIDS discovered. Doctor maybe you know. Well AIDS was first identified as an entity in and of itself.

Back in the. Late 70s in San Francisco. There were a number of unusual infections that were as were showing up in the gay community in San Francisco. And for a long time it wasn't clearly identified as being a particular disease entity in and of itself until a pattern was identified. I'm trying to remember the exact date of the date. Know what it was it was it didn't come to United States to win 80 81 81 OK and first cases in the United States were diagnosed in 1981 1981. Were patient zero came and came over in the United States. OK. Also joining our studio audience are eight phonons senators from around the state and the schools they were selected according to their size and they represent Iowa's educational system. We'll take our first call from MFL schools. I'm schools either.

Well go ahead what's your question. I. Want to know why some people test positive and others do not. James. Why did what do some people test what medical sure the method I guess in that whether to take the medical and then we'll establish what the difference differences HIV positive is is a term that refers to infection with the virus that we believe is the cause for for AIDS people who are infected. The virus that's infected them has has is a part of the actual white blood cells. A number of white blood cells in your system and these white blood cells that are infected or are responsible for coordinating their immune system. When a person is ruling in the course of infection those white blood cells are basically functioning well and in fact the infection can be very quiet

although they could themselves then in turn infect other people. If if those other people are exposed to blood or secretions such as sperm semen and vaginal secretions as the infection has been there for a long enough time then the white blood cells begin to become more and more affected or injured such as the immune system doesn't work any well as well anymore. And then when that happens a person can develop unusual infections that normally wouldn't wouldn't be a problem and there would be fighting them off until finally the immune system isn't working very well. And at that point when the immune system is not functioning well enough then a person becomes seriously ill with something that. Wouldn't bother anybody else that doesn't have a that has an intact immune system then they are diagnosed as having AIDS. So for example pneumocystis crania which is a type of parasite that we all carry right now in our lungs but doesn't bother us becomes a real

threat. For someone who has an immune system that isn't working well if they develop a pneumonia from that then they're considered having AIDS. We're going to we're going to there is no AIDS virus. It's an HIV virus. That's what the V stands for virus. So people may be infected with HIV but they may not get a full blown AIDS until five 10 perhaps even 15 years later or perhaps never. Perhaps never but they can pass it to somebody who will while they're infected. So they can pass it on to other people. OK. We're going to go to the audience for another question. I guess my first question is Prijedor and I was just curious. How did you cope with the emotional trauma of being diagnosed as AIDS and how has it affected you emotionally since then. Well I mean obviously I've devastated to get a death sentence. They I had a life support through the hospital social worker contacted me right

away and I had several friends that had died from it. So I had been through the emotional aspect of it before. But the support groups are strong here and in Iowa. And you can't put words on how you feel when the doctor says you know you have a terminal you know you're going to die eventually. Depression you know withdraw. There's a real isolation with this disease and you feel very lapper like an isolated planet. And you talked to me earlier about this buddy system I was very interested in. Explain. Yeah there's a support system in town called the buddy program. It's all over the nation and it matches people up to do do things for them live. And if you physically can't get out of a have to have to go get your medicine for you. And it's also an emotional support to get out of the house and get in contact with people cause you have a tendency to withdraw.

And then once you're diagnosed and there's a great loneliness we have we have another call from Davis County Community School and there was comment there was kind of you there question. Yes I had heard earlier and like a couple years ago in Europe that found. Vaccination that slow down process and that they're. Going to try to test the United States. And I was wondering if they've ever any I guess direct to the end anyway. Well you know see you know about the vaccine that he's talking about there's no doubt there is. There have been some attempts made I think he's referring to a French of our allergist who's who's injected himself with some of the antigen that is on the coding of the HIV virus to see if he could make antibodies to the virus. That's a very preliminary first step towards a very long complex process of trying to come up with a way to to provide a vaccine.

It's not really expected that that particular effort is going to result in a vaccine. Right now it's a it's a series of steps that would have to be made. Most any biologist is going to tell you that before we get a vaccine we're going to have probably had to go through around 10 years at least have some test of testing and making sure that I know that we talked earlier about the thing that prolongs it and doesn't let it go any worse. Once again the Centers for Disease Control tells us that we're at least 10 years away from a vaccine and probably never a cure. And that's that's why programs of this kind are so important that the only weapon that we have right now to prevent the spread of AIDS is education. Education of our young people. Well we can't we can't stress enough how important it is to have the good information and not be misled. You told me about a drug that make you nauseous but help to level off your ears.

As I say he called AZT and it keeps you at the level that you're diagnosed at. Well pretty much so. And you take it every every four hours around the clock one pill or two. And some people can get used to this and they end up not being it well what it is that's why they are taken off is because their blood levels can't be maintained. And it weakens the system more. OK. I think we have a foreigner. We have a question in the audience yes sir. I'd like to know what's the extent of the research being done on AIDS and how it's affecting the patients the extent of the research and how it affects the patients with the patients waiting for the research to come out. The patients they're being cared for by what's coming about by the research. OK. Well I think the answer to something to the fact that they're doing what they can except. When you want to address this.

It's a good question. A lot of people are asking that. What's being done now and I think probably implicit in that also is can we be doing more. And. I think. What is being done is that there is an awful lot of research currently going on looking at a large number of different medications that are are or thought that could inhibit the virus in one way or another. I guess I should back up a little bit. There are different ways of approaching age. One is to try to fight the virus. Coming up with medicines that will make it hard for that virus to to either infect other people or to make more of itself when it's in an infected person. And reinfect other white blood cells and continue to destroy the immune system. There's another set of medications that are being looked at that are ways of treating the what we call opportunistic infections or the infections that come along and take advantage of the fact that people's immune systems don't work very well. And coming up with better

medicines so that people who are already having AIDS and their immune system isn't working well can have some better medicines to protect them. And there are a lot of studies being done in both areas both. Anti-viral medications and also medications against the opportunistic infections. They're being done. One of the tricks about this is is before you can know if a medicine works well enough so that you say yeah this is good stuff. This is going to help a person more is going to hurt him. You need to be able to test a group of people were taking the medicine and then you need to follow a group of people who aren't taking the medicine that are pretty much the same. And then be able to look and say OK if people are taking medicine or doing better and that raises all kinds of questions about well is this the right thing to do. How about the poor people that aren't taking the medicine. And that's real hard to do because people who have AIDS are desperate and they'll do anything good to take a medicine that they think might help. And so that kind of study is hard to do but it's being done.

And it's slow because to be able to follow and see how well something works sometimes you have to follow people for a period of months and sometimes for years. This is a real slow virus. One of the original studies that was done through the medicine that Jim was taking AZT. They stopped it within a few months because they began to see such a big difference in how well it was working people who were taking it had obviously done much better than people who who weren't taking it. We're going to we're going to go to a phoner now hardly Melvin Sanborn high school hardly knew there was a question. Where it can take. What are they doing. Take an underdeveloped countries where. Underdeveloped countries don't have the kind of funding that we do to do the research. So I guess we're kind of relying on us to do and to do it for them. I know here locally in

Iowa. We know that in Africa that the AIDS is in is in the heterosexual population it's in 50 percent men and 50 percent women. So there is greater numbers of AIDS cases in Africa. We don't know about all of the other developed countries. Are they relying on us to do the research. I think the ages throughout this world. And I think that the researchers worldwide are looking at the problem as a whole. To go. The thing is that the HIV virus does not discriminate. It's not a black disease it's not a gay disease it's not a heterosexual disease. It can affect everyone and it's worldwide. It's just not in the United States and it is heterosexual primarily heterosexual in Africa. One in six mothers who are treated in the clinics there have HIV and are abstaining.

How are they doing with that locally. Well they're trying to deal with prevention just as we are here and that until we get a vaccine to stop the spread of the AIDS. The only hope is to reduce these high risk behaviors that cause the infection. And that's easy. It's transmitted sexually are through HIV sharing of needles. And in Africa they're trying to educate the folks there to abstain from unprotected sex and also from the sharing of dirty needles dirty dirty needles and unprotected sex. And then the third thing is from the mother to me I'm John John. Those are the three ways you get aids are HIV kill going to delay. And sir you have a question. Yes I've heard both ways that insects such as mosquitoes and ticks. Transfer the HIV virus. And I was wondering which one it is. Well we have I've heard I've heard this too.

I also heard mosquitoes I heard or saw heard drinking fountain toilet seats I think now. It's not true. I don't know if it was caught by casual contact ticklers by mosquitoes. More of us would have HIV. You can't catch it by eating after someone with HIV or AIDS. You can't catch it on a toilet seat. You can't catch it in a swimming pool. You can't catch it after drinking after someone on a water. At the same water fountain it can only be transmitted the way it is. I had just previously mentioned through sexual intercourse through the use of fire of a dirty needle. And from the mother to the unborn child a mother who has AIDS. This was one area where some research was done in Africa that really was very convincing about the fact that insects don't spread AIDS. They took a look at an area where there was a high incidence of AIDS. And what they noticed was age was only occurring in children that were under the age of eight and the AIDS had been

around for around eight years. And in and people who were under the age of being sexually active and the age between 8 and 16 or so where there wasn't very much sexual activity they found very little incidence of AIDS. And if there had been significant infection by way of mosquitoes those mosquitoes don't care who they land. And it would have been seeing a lot more AIDS in children who were in the non-sexually active agents. We want to encourage you to ask questions no question as to those who don't are stupid because the information that you have is your weapon. OK. So we've already established three ways to get it all safe because you've already been born. Right. So really good. You got to we to Bali now. Dirty dirty needles. And then the intercourse unprotected and of course we're going to go to Thomas Jefferson and Council Bluffs. Go ahead. Yes. You're talking about Kirchherr here. I have a

problem. I have it here right Jim. Jim Hollander you are. The question. Was how family and friends is meaningful to them. Well. It varied. The response was was different from different friends. There's a two two sided process. When you when you have a and you're telling someone that you have aids you also might be the first time that you're telling them about your sexuality and I can double sided issue. And some people pull away from me. Other people are very emotional about it. They make it hysterical. My family's been very supportive. I had no problem with them at all. And. That's about it. I myself when meeting you I realized. That I was going to meet somebody with AIDS. I don't think I've ever met and I don't know if I ever been involved with AIDS but I think you're the first person who was announced me that you had AIDS. And when I when I when I went to meet

you I said no don't act weird because great. And then that in itself was messed up because I'm thinking Don't act weird right. OK. We're going to go to the audience. What do you get. What do you got. What kind of course. I'd like to direct my question to Jen. This is a little bit bad scene for me to ask but how did you contract contract and sexually. Unsafe sex. Over the years. This is well this is what we're here to do about where to go or to break through all the taboos of this virus which is mousses one of the dangers of this disease because it is sexually transmitted. It's hard to talk about nuts and that's why we have that unpleasant pregnant pause. Right. It's transmitted sexually and it's transmitted through national sex through anal sex and through oral sex. But I think that the most dangerous type of intercourse is anal intercourse and that's a

cause that leaves the direct route of transmission for the infected AIDS virus to get into the blood system. What exactly is in. The Permian what direct connection how do you mean. OK if you have sex with a person who is infected the infected semen has a direct route into the blood system in an anal intercourse. And the cause of it is membrane is that many times during anal intercourse the rectum is torn. OK. During the process of of the sexual activity. And that leaves a direct route for the virus to get into the bloodstream whereas oral sex may not be easily transmitted because you need if you're going any type of sexual activity you need to make sure that that you use protection. I think for young people the first thing we need to look at is we need to say that abstinence abstinence is a very viable choice especially for young people. We

definitely need to stress abstinence. But if individuals are going to participate in a type of sexual activity they need to use protection and they need to use a latex condom and preferably a latex condom with a spermicide non-accidental 9 because that will kill the AIDS virus. So and then you stress latex because there are some prophylactics rubbers. Right. And the do not stop. That's correct. OK. This is important information. You shouldn't be over looking OK. Go to the audience what do you get. My question is directed to Jim. How did your family and friends react to you being you have ate. Well as I said before there was you know. Just an emotional gamut of emotions you know of of wanting to be near me but they were there. They were fearful of themselves. They need a lot of training and knowledge from me and from social workers and support people in the group that that they need

to to learn how to react to me. Let me add to that I think that the lesson here is that. A person with AIDS needs support just like anyone else who's sick and you can help them you can. You should visit them. You should listen to listen a lot. You should drive them because they get very exhausted and tired and help them in any way they can and provide a support system for these people. And at the same time treat them like the person. Exactly. When you go to Tompson community schools what would you get. Out of the corner. Well Ana Ana will they have. I didn't hear the question. There really isn't any if there's a student in your school who has has AIDS or is HIV positive there is really no special precautions that you need to take. You're not at risk from getting the AIDS virus

the HIV virus just by casual contact the only way you can come in contact with the virus is if you're having sex with that person or if you're sharing needles with an infected person so I don't wonder if there are other viruses or other diseases which are much more infectious than the HIV virus hepatitis. The common cold. So this is a decision that really should be made by the child's doctor and the parents of the child of this this person who has been diagnosed and has a bloody nose. What changes if I see them in pairs or I or I touch something that he bled on. What's the deal with that. Well the virus is very fragile and anytime you come in contact with any body fluids you should just go and wash your hands come in contact with with some of the blood of anyone you just go and wash your hands. The answer is to use common sense common detergent can kill the AIDS virus.

Thousands and thousands of health care workers that have that have been caring for people with AIDS and during that time have themselves come in contact with blood sputum vomit stool anything you can imagine as you're taking care of people. There hasn't there hasn't been one documented infection that's taken place when someone has handled or touched any in any fluid like that with intact skin. Well there have been but three where the blood directly got into the eye or was it got onto a sore. But the other infections that people have picked up by being around somebody with AIDS that haven't been because of of sexual intercourse have been if they happened to stick themselves with the dirty needle by accident. Those have been the main ways we're going to go to the audience what do you get. Hi. Hi. This question is directed to Dr. King. Can the thin thing be over. But you say the key. OK. I'd like to know.

During sexual intercourse when they're sweating if one partner's sweat drops in to another partner so are you get it that way. No and that's a good question. People started thinking well where can this be. There have been no documented transmissions via Swett. This is probably because the virus needs to be in great enough concentrations for infection to take place. And they're really best packaged in the very white blood cells they're infecting there can be literally thousands of virus particles and white blood cells. And there aren't any white blood cells and sweat there may be a very few free virus particles and sweat. But there have been none. No. Documented infections of sweat. So I think we can relax about that. Good. Good question. So we talk about body fluids we're talking about sperm and blood and vegetable fluids I guess.

And that you know fluids and blood and only body fluids that can affect someone. OK. We're going to Lisbon high school Lisbon you have a question. I know you have the facts or how you find out if you have facts. Well locally here in Iowa if you need to find out or you're wondering are you curious. We do have 11 alternate test sites around the state located in various areas of the state and you can get tests done there free confidential and anonymous. And the best way for you to find out about where those test sites are at are either to call the state health department or to call the 800 hotline which is 1 800 4 4 or 5 AIDS they would know the location of the various alternate test sites. OK we have we have a tape line to show you. It's about alternate testing sites around the state. Earlier this month they talked to a physician at one of these sites.

When a client comes into our clinic for some who is interested in having HIV antibody test done. We try and assess you know what's kind of brought them here to our client to have it done. What are their concerns. Why do they want to have the test done. And we have to first of all when we're asking such sensitive questions make sure that the patient understands that we're a confidential anonymous type of source for them in confidential and anonymous and this means we don't necessarily need to have their name. So we don't know who they are and confidential in that the information they tell us won't necessarily go to their parents go to their principal go to anybody that they would know after we've explained all that we like to get a feeling for what makes them think that they need the test and why the test now and different people have different concerns. People in a high risk group will often come in and share that they are in a high risk group and

Gameel are there an I.V. drug user and that they either have been tested before or never been tested. Other people come in with other concerns. They have a concern that maybe they had unprotected intercourse with a stranger or some have a concern that they have been traveling in another country and got sick and got a blood transfusion. Other concerns like that and we have to kind of assess is this a realistic concern. Is this a realistic risk for the AIDS virus or is this just kind of a fear of the person. And often we're able to put on the instant they're worried about in perspective and give them reassurance that maybe they need the test maybe they don't need the tests at all because the likelihood of them having picked up the virus is slim. OK we're going to go to the audience question you have a question. Yeah I was wondering why AIDS can't be cured. You're wondering why AIDS cannot be cured. I'll give it a shot. OK go get it. What happens when someone's infected with the virus as I explained is this this particular virus

gets into the white blood cells of the person that this is an unusual type of infections. The virus is bio is called a retrovirus and simply put. What it does is it takes chromosomal information that it carries and it actually manages to get that chromosomal information into the very nucleus of the cell. And it sits there with all the information the cell will carry that the rest of its life. And every time it. Makes another of itself ill ill you know carry that information in the next cells of how to make that virus. And so once its in the cell theres no way you can get the information out and its kind of like somebody has been a computer whiz and plugged the tape into a big computer bank about how to make to make some more of its own tapes and you just can't get it out. So once the virus is in there you can't get rid of it. All we can really do is we can try to keep it from being able to make more of itself. I mean we can screw up

the idea of the tape being able to replicate itself over and over again. At least we can we can follow up that system with some medications. And that's one of the things that that's being done with some of the medications that are being researched. So good. So good question. It's a great question and we're going to go to MFL schools but he got him a film to her fired because he told me what would happen. We're going to go to James with this with the I'm sorry the mother the mother is diagnosed as having AIDS and she's expectant she's going to have a baby. What are the percentages. What is the chance that the child is also going to have these very very high that the child will also be infected. There's about 50 50 to 60 percent chance that the child will be infected and if that child does is born in fact that they probably will die within two years of age. But it's not automatic. It's not not it's not 100 percent. I don't understand this because if it is if you can get it through the blood isn't the baby and

the mother showing the same blood. Dr. Knudson what you want to further discuss is how come the baby who shares the same blood doesn't get the AIDS virus somewhere that they're not sharing exactly the same blood the baby's circulation is separate the placenta. Is is the place where the mother's blood comes near the baby's blood and then the oxygen and nutrients and so on go back and forth. We're still learning when that virus infection actually happens. There have been some tests that have looked at fetuses that have been three months along in pregnancy and they're infected and then there have been others where they've learned that the infection takes place later on. So what might be happening is at different stages of pregnancy we know this with our age for example. There can be an occasional red blood cell that can break out of the mother system crossover into the placenta and get into the babies and cause infection. What about the possibility that it isn't infected. And when that when when you when you when the baby is born it's born it gets into the vagina that was looked at too and in fact people tried to prevent infection by doing so

Zarian sections to try to limit that potential and so far what I've read is that it hasn't made a big difference in the infection rate. That may not be a very major source of infection for babies is the trauma of going through the birth canal. OK. Have the question in the audience. Yes I'd like to know if there's only two ways you can get AIDS. Then why do people in ambulances wear gloves. Medical. Well go to medical. Well I think one of the things that's that's also going on is is this the universal precautions you'll hear about. That. There have been and we don't want to oversimplify this. There have been very few instances where we're talking about three or four in which health care workers have become infected because they handle large amounts of blood. And they they had one woman for example is an emergency room and there was somebody who was bleeding heavily and she put her hand on on a heavily bleeding artery

and she had very chapped hands and she became infected. So what's come of those kinds of things is saying look what even though it's a very minor risk we want everybody to take universal precautions to eliminate as much as possible even the minor risks of becoming infected. And so that's why health care providers if they are going to if they expect that they might be handling blood in any way or at all generally will put on put on gloves. That's also to protect people who are HIV infected from becoming identified. And then you walk in a room and you find out some of these HIV infected if that's the only time you put on gloves it's like a red flag. That's not fair to that person. OK we're going to the audience question. And my question is for Joe I wonder how often he's been diagnosed with AIDS and how he went about getting tested he purposely get tested because he thought there is a possibility the I was sick for several months beforehand and I was very weak and had

night what they call night sweats type sweat just profusely at night and I had an idea you know I had a feeling and I put it off for several months and I went in and was diagnosed in the hospital. And it was I was diagnosed with having AIDS immediately because I had an opportunistic infection. I had Crypta caucus meningitis. And that's an opportunistic infection so therefore I was slated as having AIDS. We talked with Dr. Fritchey at the Arms alternate test site about test results and exactly what they mean. I think it's important for them to know that the HIV test does not necessarily detect virus in the person's body. What it detects is the antibody to the virus in the body and antibody is the protein that comes that the body develops after the virus enters the body. There is a window period between the time that the virus enters

the body and the development of that protein or antibody so that if there has been a high risk exposure within less than three months perhaps the test will be negative when actually the virus is in their system even if the test is negative. However we strongly give them the message that this does not necessarily mean that they're immune to the virus. There have unfortunately been cases in the West Coast where people had a negative testing that great that must mean I'm immune to it. I can do anything I want and unfortunately then six months later had a positive test and couldn't understand why for the person that comes in that has a positive test. We send our HIV antibody test to the state of Iowa hygenic loud and they will do original screening tests calls and lines a test that's positive they repeat the Eliza screening test again and if it's positive then they do the more specific test which is called Western blood. If all three of those are possible positive there is an extremely high likelihood that the virus is in fact inside the system.

Cultural high school go ahead. Is it true that AIDS was first contracted through intercourse with animals. Go into the National Education Association on this one. No. Simple. I fought this myself I thought I'd heard the same rumors somebody had sex with a monkey. And I oh no but I I asked Jeeves and it's not true. What do they what is the theory on that. Well the theory you're referring to in Africa was where they thought it came from the monkey was their way some of the tribal ceremonies they actually eat the raw monkey meat with the blood and all in it. So if that theory is true which is in doubt if they would have eaten it from eating the monkey meat not from other things that they're doing with the monkeys. The important thing though here is that it's not where it came from it's here. And what are we going to do about it.

Right. So we don't know for sure what exactly started it but it's a very real problem we have to do that. Davies County Community School Good ahead. Yeah. OK what's your question. I was wondering out the people with HIV virus what percent of people get it. So people diagnosed with HIV at present won't get you won't get AIDS. I think we read in the literature today that perhaps 100 percent of those who are infected with HIV virus will eventually die from some some AIDS related symptoms but they don't know. All the years are involved. That's right. We could. We may be looking at something that will eventually become what kind of a chronic disease similar. Do you agree with that Dr. Knudson. You know I think so far I think it's I make sure to point out to my patients that this is a mathematical projection so far there are still people walking around right now who we know were infected in 1979.

And you know earlier there was some serum that was tested because of some hepatitis trials in the San Francisco area and they looked back and found that these people were infected back there. So there were people walking around now who are not sick and don't have AIDS. But we think that over a long enough time they may actually develop AIDS one another way of trying to get a fix on this is to say that around 6 to 10 percent of people who are infected will develop AIDS per year. Going to get some national statistics on that as of October 19th since 1981. The number of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. We have seventy five thousand seven hundred sixty eight people reported as having AIDS and 56 percent of those are over 42000 of those have died.

All right. Pretty staggering numbers there. Go to the audience. You have a question sir. Yeah I'd like to know if you know with people with AIDS it's like yes. Don't worry about it. Ask anything. We've we've already did the disclaimer you can ask anything are limited and the things they can do in public and so the things are restricted to the things you can do. Jim. I've been on disability since I was out of the hospital and having a weak immune system. I'm very I'm very tired. I get shorter BRAF. It just weakens your whole system and you just feel down and depressed and what have you all the time. What about government restrictions. James. Are there any restrictions or a law that says No nothing like that. We know citizens have to be about the rights of citizenship.

After being diagnosed you can't willfully go you can't have a behavior that that is degenerative spreading it can. Well there are some state laws where they're testing the law. The legal case is there now where it would be a crime for them to have sex and infect someone else if they know knowingly. Know that they have AIDS and they have sex with someone. OK we're going to go to another audience question. Yes. How does age affect your body. How does it medically or really great of the American system. It basically destroys your immune system and prevents you from being able to fight off other infections. And that's why. How come. Then after the new system is basically destroyed by the opportunistic infections develop and people become sick and actually die of the many opportunistic infections. Another thing that I think. We tend overlook is we talk about the immune system which is maybe going to become more and more of a problem because the virus also

affects the nervous system. And people who are infected. There are people who are infected and don't have opportunistic infections but can have problems with painful feet or hands numbness. They can have problems with forgetfulness mood changes depression confusion and that can become more and more a problem. The longer they live. And so that that in and of itself without infections can become a growing problem for those people who do survive who have aged for a long period of time. And I think an extension of that question though is because a lot of young people think well since I don't know anyone my age that has HIV or has AIDS. Well I think we told you earlier it takes seven 10 maybe 15 years before it shows up that you really know that you have full blown AIDS. So some some of the teenagers in your school may actually

be HIV infected but you wouldn't know this or they wouldn't know what's out for some seven 10 maybe 15 years from now. That would be no there was no visible signs physically. And a lot of teenagers think well they're not at risk. Let me tell you. Eleven point six million teenagers between 13 and 19 years of age have had sexual intercourse. That's the national statistics on that. And over 50 percent of teenagers have some type of sexual encounter before their senior year in high school. Just another little statistic today that two and a half million teenagers per year in essence sexually transmitted diseases. So far there's been gonorrhea and chlamydia that's one of the things that it could also be herpes. But that also could be an HIV infection and they wouldn't know about it unless they got tested for it right here in Iowa. You have AIDS here. Don't be fooled.

There is a denial we have a hundred nineteen cases presently in Iowa hardly more than seven school go ahead. With the economic. Claims. While it's very expensive to treat patients with AIDS I think the doctor can speak to that and it's going to become more so. Not so much now as in the future as more and more these cases that we talked about become full blown cases of AIDS. I'd like to comment as well is that that 90 percent of the cases in Iowa and nationally are in the age group between 20 and 50 years of age. And those are the productive years of our life. And so were you. We have a real loss of potential in our workforce because it's affecting that age group in particular yes. Ninety percent down from there in the ages from 20 to 50. Good for Thomas.

Thomas Jefferson the Council Bluffs you have a question why they would ask that. Say that again. To me it's a think tank. We have in the last legislative session there was a voluntary partner notification laws were passed. So when someone is identified as being positive for the AIDS virus they will be encouraged to allow or give the information about their sex partners to disease prevention specialists who will then in turn work with them and contact the sex partners encourage them to become tested. Also during the post test counseling and you saw some films of that earlier they struck work with those people who are positive for the AIDS virus and talked to them about practicing safe sex. And you know really prevent further spread spread of the infection.

We have a question. Yeah. What are some of the symptoms of AIDS. OK. Good question Jim. Jim. Jim I wonder what is some of this does that you know of. Well I was aside from you having the more witnesses some of the other symptoms that you know. Well just the weakness the night sweats wear were something else. And I was just very weak and feverish. And along with the I had the opportunistic infection along with that. So I what is opportunistic good at it. What does it mean when it's an infection that you can't get unless your immune system is low. OK. So I had that and then I had all of that the meningitis effects are on your brain your head your back. You know that type of thing. Very what you see happening with with these things some

very early symptoms of HIV infection that we'll oftentimes see can be as you mentioned the weakness there oftentimes can be some weight loss. There can be fatigue. Frequently people will go through a period of time where less nodes will stay enlarged and be somewhat tender for a period of of a number of weeks. They're diarrhoea I guess I mentioned and night sweats the the some of the specific symptoms of different opportunistic infections will vary according to the type of infection somebody has. Jim had meningitis there are different types of things that can cause meningitis. Frequently will be headaches. Another very common one can be a kind of quick kind of pneumococcal pneumonia caused by the cistus Carinthia and that can be a dry and productive cough.

And another thing that you might hear about and is probably most visible most visible kind of manifestation of AIDS is the cap of the sarcoma which can be spots that appear on the skin that look like bruises but don't blanch when you push them. Don't go away. And they're growing numbers in size. So those are the symptoms. OK so we go into the Thompson community school. THOMPSON You have a question. Yeah I've heard that you can get a blood transfusion. Is that true. We're going to the doctor on this one incident in 1985. We develop the test that you've heard about was developed to look for antibodies to the virus before that time that test didn't exist and we didn't know how to find that virus in blood. So before that time between about 1981 and 1985 there were people who didn't know they were carrying the virus were donating blood and there were people receiving that blood we didn't know they were getting the virus. So there are people. Who've got blood in that time who

are carrying the virus. Now. After 1985 all blood products are screened for evidence of the virus. And since that time there have been virtual al-Ansi completely. There have been about virtually no infections through blood transfusions. There have been I think about one per million transfusions or something like that is very very small number. So it's not a risk anymore it's that accurate. It's that accurate it's that accurate. Well no no. AUDIENCE QUESTION Yes I have. It's a financial question. I'm How much of the cost per year for AIDS to be true for AIDS patients to be treated medically with the drugs and all that. Yeah. OK Doctor. Well it varies depending on how you go about it. In most places where people are using hospitals and having people go in the hospital and stay and so on and they're still learning how to take care of people with AIDS it costs about 130

240000 dollars per person. That's changing for sometimes for greater numbers and sometimes for small numbers of dollars. In some places such as San Francisco they've learned how to take care of people on an outpatient basis and having them stay in a in a living situation that's not a hospital. And they've been able to do it cheaper so it's up down to 30 thousand dollars per person of course. Now the thing we're running into is people are living longer. And so as a result and per person it's taking more dollars. So it's hard to get an exact fix on it but it sounds like it's going to be around $100000 years. Very expensive. A lot of people on our own. Does does the money come from somewhere. We're going to Lisbon high school Lisbon go ahead. Hi hi. My question is for more and more TV shows have actors take characters with faith. I was wondering how do you feel about the way that the actors train them. Here they are being exploited.

Did the AIDS being the people with AIDS are being exploited or did the people who are selling their commercial on the AIDS thing that. No I don't. I feel that it's all an educational process. Most of the shows I've seen have been very good very well done. I don't I don't think I've seen any shows with misinformation and I don't I don't feel that they exploited. I think it's an educational process. Well you've got to get the word out you've got to you've got to educate the masses with the strongest medium in the world television. We're going to the audience. Yes. How do you think AIDS is going to escalate like in the next 10 years. What are the projections. Any you the projections are that it's hard to project but the projections from CDC are one and a half million to two million people will be infected by 1990 or the year 2000. Digressing just yes. And they told two friends and they told you. Well I can tell you what we presently we presently have 119 cases in Iowa and our first one was diagnosed in 1983

in 1987 we had it well basically and doubled every year. In 1987 we had 40 cases. We will not end up with 80 cases in 1988. We'll probably level off up somewhere right around 56. So I don't know if we can really project about what is going to happen in the future. I think we'll continually have people who test positive for HIV and they will go on to develop AIDS. But I think our estimates perhaps through from CDC or around 750000 to a million a half in the United States were are positive. Really sorry but we've run out of time. But that's good. It's good to know. Thank you very much all of you for volunteering your time to be here. I want to think of Dr. Drew Jr. James for helping to show Monaco for giving us the local view on everything. And Jim thank you very much for your time. All these people they volunteer their time to help you guys ask the questions which is what this show is all about asking questions.

And then your weapon is is your knowledge because this is a this is a disease with no cure and the only way to fight back is with this thing. OK. We've got a special treat for you at the end of this program. We had a contest. The Red Cross had a contest to Waterloo Red Cross had a contest and the winners are here to perform for you. So now from Waterloo. Here are. The. Tangibles. Now what I'm here to talk about is the corn. It takes a lot to believe. You but we're going to get it. I want you to think about it. No relationship going right now. Appreciate that. You got a goal. You go girl with goin on or you might have a break a fishing and a

good father. You don't have to say no. Yes. One day you'll have a kid. It's been a while but you just said the trust can be very serious as well. But listen closely is this a certain type of people across the bachelor. This bar was called a day to kill. Like I've been everywhere from here until we see the big bang. All you rappers up there. I'm not the one who don't speak to you. In fact you will if you have a condom or actually you don't even have or even do drugs. I'll tell you one thing that you can get bogged down with like a one night stand by a woman call girl oh go do something like get a college degree draw and goes. All right well what do we do with the subject you do so much. Thank you.

Take care of you. You can still it. Just take care. Go to college go. I hope I get all worked up and that will bring trouble to be correct it needs to be dealt with. LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA. That is what you see is a single word that I'm trying to tell you. Still with no drugs. It's a pleasure talking to you. Your baby joins that is trending. You know the man had given to one lady the lady gives a play they should be given to her baby. Age is a power that you just don't want to do. I hope the people here bitch. I'm here to tell the truth the body is not. What's wrong with the in cabbage. They always get up get a job go to court because it does bother that they can not keep to touch on talking to

somebody or most people when given night stand by. Up about this eight years all these books. Can I get A's from of course be a very serious artist. Q Are you people like died and their families off here. They don't just hope you don't do drugs and then you go with it. The reason is because I'm not stupid. If you think about doing drugs don't do it I tell you stop it. I know for sure. Oh wow that is going to be fine. You've got to get you from a public pool or treat good phone. Don't even watch all these polls. You can be very flippant but just remember this. ROCCA they should give to them. If. You need help and don't know where to turn. Called Team line.

Toll free for information. That's 800 4 4 3 8 3 3 6 4 4 3 team someone is there. So call major funding for Iowa students. Look at AIDS was provided by friends of Iowa Public Television the preceding program was originally broadcast live on October 24th 1988