Wednesday, June 24, 1987AThe Battalion/Page 3 • Books • Gifts • Supplies it Health official: AIDS war ecoming U.S. priority By Kirsten Dietz Senior Staff Writer legatee the file, ivingwitl a promise [ gabouiti. ashman f 1991 about 270,000 cases of a. r libs will be diagnosed and about $37 billion will be spent on health He for these AIDS victims, a public are pro health adviser for the Texas Depart- leirhigr bent of Health said Tuesday, ifonlytlitHP 1 '• Thomas Walch, speaking to collegt a l ,0ut 60 people at a public health u j ~ foimm on AIDS at Bryan’s Brazos 1 Center, said these alarming statistics jiaye spurred the federal govern ment to make battling AIDS a high rtaui; priority. He said the government at- ething; [tack is three-pronged and consists of Hearch, patient care and educa- cnpwli tion Hfhis year, he said, $54 million is ‘ a H i * al3 l e ^ rom l 6e federal govern- eyjudgtijent to develop programs in six rentfroiHas: education of school children, cedintl drug abuse intervention, health edu- Hon/risk reduction, surveillance of Hnds, service demonstration grants lalisw he I don’t allege. Graphic by M. Rohsner and regional training center grants. Texas will receive a share of the money in each of these areas. The Reagan administration also has unveiled a plan to control AIDS, a plan which has received consider able opposition, Walch said. The plan centers around routine AIDS testing for prisoners, immigrants, aliens and marriage license appli cants. Opponents of the widespread routine testing argue that the results of the program are not likely to off set the logistics and costs involved in administering the program, he said. While the most conservative esti mates place the development of a vaccine more than 20 years away, Walch said that all the AIDS-related news is not bad. “Achievements made in protect ing the blood supply and the discov ery of new treatments for AIDS pa tients represent recent gains of considerable note,” he said. In addition, the Senate Labor Health and Human Services Com mittee recently recommended that appropriations for AIDS research in fiscal 1988 increase from $550 mil lion to $605 million, Walch said. He added that the recommendation had bipartisan support and that funding for all AIDS-related programs has increased by at least two-thirds. ealth expert: AIDS f 750,000 Americans by 1997 By Robert Morris Staff Writer ie!. n estimated 1.5 million Americans are infected with / HTLV-III, the virus that causes AIDS, and more than ^ hall of them will be dead within the next 10 years unless y acute is found, Dr. Thomas G. Betz said. I Hetz, the chief of the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases, gave the lecture on ^ the “AIDS epidemic” as part of an AIDS forum spon- f sored by the Brazos Valley Public Health Coalition. ■The HTLV-III virus remains in the white blood cells it attacks and is currently thought to spend four to nine lears in incubation, Betz said. However, it isn’t the in lection that kills, it is the ultimate breakdown of the im mune system that, in at least half the cases, will even tually cause death, he said. EAnd those that are infected but fail to develop any physical symptoms of the illness are able to spread the virus to others through sexual contact, including penis- Inna, penis-rectum, mouth-rectum, mouth-vagina, Huth-penis contact, and/or intravenous drug use, Betz said. RAIDS is a sexually-oriented disease, transmitted es- Hially well through homosexual anal intercourse, yet It also can be transmitted from heterosexual men to women and women to men with the latter being the post difficult manner of transmission, Betz said. About 70 percent of AIDS victims throughout the Emtry are male homosexuals and bisexuals. Intrava- leousdrug users make up 17 percent of the AIDS pop- ilation, with the heterosexual community making up percent. The infection of the heterosexual population has come from several areas, most of them centered on sex ual transmission, Betz said. Sexual activity with bisexuals, prostitutes, other in fected heterosexuals with multiple partners and the sharing of intraveneous needles are the only known causes of AIDS in the heterosexual community, he said. Yet, he stressed that AIDS is not an easy disease to catch. “AIDS outside the human body is very fragile, and casual contact does not cause AIDS,” he said. In support of this, he quoted a study of 1,758 ex posed health-care workers in which 1.5 percent tested positive for HTLV-III; of those, 23 belonged to a high- risk group. Betz defined high-risk groups as homosexuals, bisex uals, intraveneous drug users and heterosexuals with multiple sex partners. It is these groups, especially the first three, that are in the greatest danger. At this time, whites make up the majority of the cases currently detected. However, blacks and Hispanics have a disproportionate percentage, he said. Betz emphasized that the majority of AIDS victims are vital members of the community with an average education level of 17 years, and 68 percent of them fall into the 29 to 49 year age bracket. While Betz said that safe sex, or the use of condoms to prevent the exchange of body fluids, is an effective method of prevention, he emphasized that heterosex ual sexual relations with multiple partners is a danger ous practice and that homosexual activity of any kind is extremely risky. ;nca white Panel calls education key to stopping spread of AIDS nbe i, we’ve 1 got a By Kirsten Dietz Senior Staff Writer ducation of the public, including ildren, is the key to stopping the spread of AIDS, three county and state health officials agreed Tuesday during a panel discussion on the community impact of the disease. ■The panel was part of an af ternoon public health forum held at the Brazos Center in Bryan. In cluded on the panel were Dr. Thomas Walch, a public health ad- [viser with the Texas Department of Health, Dr. Thomas Betz, chief of the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases, and Allen Noah, a Brazos County Health Department counselor for people with sexually transmitted dis- jeases. Dr. Jack Marsh, director of the Brazos County Health Depart ment, was the moderator. |fBecause no cure for AIDS is ex pected to be developed in the next few years, people need to learn what AIDS is and how it is spread so they can practice prevention, the pan elists said. This includes those in [small communities, Betz said, who believe AIDS occurs only in larger cities. While the disease is prevalent in larger cities, he said AIDS is spreading. For example, he said Bfazos County, with a population of about 100,000, has 13 reported cases of the disease — only slightly lower than the state average of 15 reported cases per 100,000 people. ilBut because the AIDS virus can incubate up to five years before be ing detected, Betz said there is no wav of knowing exactly how many ( people currently are infected. l“We’re dealing with the tip of the iceberg, but it’s the rest of the ice- |berg we’re concerned about,” he said. ■Walch said children hear frank discussions about AIDS on television newscasts and other programs, both on private and public television. The /school system and parents need to match the educational efforts of the media, he said. “I personally see no reason why the school system shouldn’t take a systematic, K-through-12 (kinder garten through 12th grade) ap proach on a very factual, very non- emotional basis and do the same thing,” Walch said. “You teach pre vention all the way from abstinence to safe sex. “I understand the perspective about community values and com munity needs, but my personal feel ing is you might as well tell the kids about what they’re seeing on the TV or in the streets anyway. That way you reinforce the very best that can be taught about both worlds.” Betz agreed, saying, “I don’t think a lot of people are getting the messa- g e ” The panel also discussed manda tory AIDS testing. According to law, testing in Texas will become manda tory for couples applying for a mar riage license if the overall state AIDS prevalence rate reaches 0.83 percent of the population, Betz said. However, he said, “We have no idea how we’re going to determine that.” Current rates range from 0.04 percent in low-risk groups to 64 per cent in sexually transmitted disease clinics, Betz said. The statewide prevalence rate falls somewhere be tween the two, he said. In general, Betz does not advocate mandatory testing because he said it does not benefit the people being tested. “Even if they are found to be posi tive, there’s nothing you can do to treat their infections,” he said. “ Even if they’re found to be negative, they may be incubating the virus and the fact that they’re engaged in sex ual activities may affect transmission because they have been given a false sense of security in that window pe riod between the time of the infec tion and the development of antibo dies.” Walch and Betz also agreed the 1 PP ( patients who return to the commu nity and to the schools. Walch said AIDS patients need support services because, once the infection is discov ered, they incur tremendous finan cial burdens and a large number of the patients lose their jobs because they are fired or because they are too sick to work. “I think the community should be supportive and not try to put a tattoo on a person’s forehead, brand an ‘A’ on their chests and turn them loose in the streets,” he said. Betz said that while most people fear AIDS patients who return to the community, this fear is unfounded unless the patient begins to have un protected sex or to snare needles to inject drugs (two of the ways AIDS is spread). “Most people with AIDS are re sponsible,” he said; “They realize the risks involved. In fact, they probably represent less of a risk to the com munity that those with asymptomatic HIV (the AIDS virus) infections who don’t know they have it and who are out there thinking that they’re safe and are not putting anyone at risk. Yet they are.” Betz said many parents are wor ried about children with AIDS at tending school and infecting their children. In fact, he said, the in fected children are the ones at risk. Because they’re immune systems are damaged, they are susceptible to dis eases carried by the other children, he said. After the panel discussion, Dr. Charles Webb, director of Public Health Region 6 of the Texas De partment of Health, said the pur pose of Tuesday’s afternoon semi nar was to make community leaders aware that AIDS is an important problem, even in Brazos County. While Webb said 300 community leaders had been invited to the semi nar, only about 60 people were at the panel discussion. “Many of the people who should be here are not here,” he said. Hours: M-F 7:45-6 Sat 9-5 845-8681 Chimney Hill Bowling Center [ill "A Family . 0-:^ * Recrea ti on Cen ter*' lter OPEN BOWL Every night 40 Lanes — Automatic Scoring League & Open Bowling Bar & Snack Bar 701 University Drive East r..nl I VkI.'.u • i — 260 o/ A j Baron Frankenstein's creation is one of five electri fying, mesmerizing, tantalizing Broadway perfor mances in the all new Theatre Series of MSC OPAS. Five blockbuster Broadway performances including "Frankenstein ", "Cats", "Beehive", "Singin' in the Rain", and the world's greatest mime, Marcel Marceau — all for one shockingly low season ticket price. OPAS 15 also offers the Music Series of brilliant in ternational performers. Eight of the music world's brightest lights, from the Rotterdam Philharmonic to Canadian Brass to Tokyo String Quartet to Good OF Gershwin. OPAS 15 gives you a world of electrifying choices: Music or Theatre or both —at savings up to 40% off single ticket prices. Thirteen nights of great enter tainment in Texas A&M's Rudder Auditorium. This year join us for the memories. Stay for the fun —OPAS 15. We ll even let you charge it. The Theatre Series: "Beehive" September 30, 1987 "Joyful, top notch entertainment; it had the audience screaming with jol/.'—ABC-TV "Singin' in the Rain" November 17, 1987 "the production boasts every ingredient...lots of lively and energetic hoofing, brightly talented young cast...a handsome production and a genuine on stage deluge for the famous title song.—HOUSTON CHROniCLE Marcel Marceau February 24, 1988 "Me is simply superb...the best thing that ever happened to si/ence.'—CHICAGO "Frankenstein" March 30, 1988 "Bravo..."-LOS AHGELES TIMES "Cats" April 12 and 13, 1988 "...audiences of all ages have marveled at its furry flurry of cat people dancing and singing amid huge tires, trash cans, an old stove, an abandoned car and strings of Christmas lights.—THE ATLANTA JOURNAL The Music Series: Nikolais Dance Theater September 22, 1987 "...one of the most extraordinary theatrical wonders of the age.'—THE WASHINGTON POST Rotterdam Philharmonic, James Conlon, conductor with Bella Davidovich, pianist October 13. 1987 "The orchestra...digs in and plays with an almost aggressive enthusiasm and visible pride in its work..."-THE BOSTON GLOBE Peter Nero, Leslie Uggams, Mel Torme" starring in "The Great Gershwin" Movember 10. 1987 "...and then, of course, came Gershwin, with whom Peter Hero seems to have a special affinity that comes as a birthright."—TME TOLEDO BLADE The Canadian Brass "Christmas with The Canadian Brass" December 1, 1987 "One of the world's great ensembles."—THE WASHINGTON POST. Tokyo String Quartet January 28, 1988 "The Tokyo String Quartet belongs to the handful of ensembles that are the best of their kind...-BERLINER MORGENPOST, Berlin Christopher Parkening, Guitarist February 15, 1988 "Brilliant! He proved that neither his reputation nor his records are deceptive. The audience cheered him lustily."—TME CHICAGO DAILY NEWS Mr. Jack Daniel's Original Silver Cornet Band March 6. 1988 "exceptional in its sparkling articulation...A superior evening of entertainment!"— ENTERPRISE, High Point, North Carolina Music From Marlboro April 15. 1988 "You may be unfamiliar with these names, but the Music from Marlboro trademark is virtual guarantee of musical excellence."—TME WASHINGTON STAR S : h a • T-.A.',*. •'.2 V '4^ /\