Miami Herald - Wednesday, JAN 16 1985
Patty Shillington, Herald Staff Writer

Allan O'Hara, coordinator of the AIDS Education Program at Florida Keys Memorial Hospital, told the mostly male group that kissing, hugging and intimate touching are "safe" sexual activities for gays, identified as one of the groups at high risk to contract the life-threatening disease.

"There's nothing to show it (AIDS) is spread by saliva," O'Hara said. "Absolutely nothing."

But sexual activities in which blood and semen are exchanged are considered "unsafe" because germs are transmitted through body fluids.

"Germs cause disease, not activities," O'Hara told the group at the Monroe County Library. " . . .Generally, exposure to semen and blood you want to avoid."

In the 90-minute discussion, audience members asked candid questions and got candid answers about gay sex and AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, for which no cure is known.

According to the latest figures from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, 24 persons who listed Monroe County as their residence at the time of their diagnosis have AIDS. O'Hara, who organizes free AIDS screenings and circulates the latest information about the disease, said the 3,000-6,000 gays in Key West need to choose their lifestyles after learning about the disease.

"I was delighted there was such a good turnout," O'Hara said Tuesday. "The information is there. People can make an informed decision."

AIDS, which causes the collapse of the body's disease-fighting immune system, is manifested by deadly infections the body can no longer fend off. That's why it's so important to stay in shape, O'Hara said, and consider eliminating or reducing unhealthy activities, such as heavy drinking and drug use.

"We know if you don't get enough sleep, it's going to affect your immune system," O'Hara said. "We know if you don't eat right, it's going to affect you immune system. And the better state the immune system is in, the better able the body is to fend off disease it is exposed to, including AIDS."

O'Hara said 65 percent of the gay men tested are believed to have been exposed to HTLV III, which is generally agreed to cause AIDS.

"It isn't known what that means," O'Hara stressed. "Those who have been exposed may or may not get AIDS. There are people with lovers who have AIDS who don't get AIDS. It's a very individual thing."

O'Hara hopes his education program will squelch rumors, including an old one discussed Monday night, that a doctor in Paris has discovered a cure for AIDS but U.S. disease control officials won't let it into the country.

"There is not one documented case of anyone (who has AIDS) recovering their immune system," O'Hara said. "It seems to be a permanent state.

"But," he added, "there's always hope."

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