Miami Herald, - Tuesday, October 7, 1986
Ellyn Ferguson, Herald Staff Writer

Health investigators, who have finished six months of testing and interviews in Belle Glade and now have turned to an analysis of their results, cite that finding in disputing a theory that environmental conditions rather than sexual contact or use of dirty hypodermic needles among drug users are responsible for AIDS transmission.

If environmental factors such as mosquitoes and poor sanitation play a role in the spread of AIDS, the state and federal health researchers believe they would have had at least some positive results for AIDS antibodies among children.

The first information from the study was released last week when researchers outlined findings to support their own theories about Belle Glade, a small town with the nation's second-highest per-capita rate of the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Before the February-to-September study began, the CDC and state investigators suspected that most AIDS cases in Belle Glade resulted from infected females passing the virus to males through heterosexual intercourse.

Their theory conflicted with one advanced by a pair of North Dade physicians who first noticed a clustering of cases in the small town on Lake Okeechobee. The physicians, Dr. Mark Whiteside and Dr. Caroline MacLeod, believed that filth, poor sanitation and poverty played a role in the transmission of AIDS in western Palm Beach County.

Whiteside called health officials' conclusions about the blood tests on the 121 children "the only half-way rational conclusion of the whole study." But Whiteside said time may change that finding, because AIDS has an incubation period of a few months to five years.

"I think it's only a matter of time," he said.

However, state and CDC investigators have been skeptical of Whiteside's theory, and now believe they have the numbers to support their skepticism.

"I think we have an excellent handle on HIV infection (in the Belle Glade area)," said Spencer Lieb, the state health official who worked closely with CDC investigators on the two studies of Belle Glade. "It doesn't mean we have all the answers. I'm reluctant to throw any hypothesis out the window based on one or two studies."

Lieb doesn't totally discount environmental factors. He believes they could affect the types of infections a person develops once he has contracted AIDS.

"At this point, I'd say we have a better idea of what's going on in Belle Glade than in other Florida cities," Lieb said.

Whiteside doesn't accept that.

"I feel very frustrated and angry," he said. "Our objections remain the same (to the CDC study). The study is biased."

He said the CDC went into the study insisting environmental factors weren't involved and only grudgingly asked a few environmental questions.

Whiteside and MacLeod, both of the North Dade Institute for Tropical Medicine, first noticed Belle Glade's high number of AIDS cases. In 1985, Belle Glade had the highest per-capita rate of AIDS in the United States. This year, San Francisco nudged the smaller city into second place.

The two Dade County physicians theorized that AIDS occurs in Third World regions historically plagued by mosquito-borne epidemics. They noted that the living conditions in black Belle Glade and surrounding areas parallel those of the Third World.

Whiteside said the CDC and the state are misinterpreting the results of the blood tests on the 630 Belle Glade residents that show AIDS patients have no higher incidence of antibodies to arboviruses (mosquito-transmitted viruses) than people without AIDS.

The state and the CDC expected to find a higher level of antibodies to arboviruses in people with AIDS, but Whiteside said AIDS patients are too weak to produce the antibodies.

Western Palm Beach County, which includes Belle Glade, had 82 of the county's 203 cases as of Thursday, rsday. The area has roughly 8 percent of the county's population and 40 percent of the county's AIDS cases.

In the coming months, Lieb will spearhead an AIDS education project in Palm Beach, Broward, Dade and Monroe counties to reach people in high-risk groups. Belle Glade will not be treated any differently from the rest of South Florida, he said.

"It's very important for this state to counter the problem. There are specific plans to study risk reduction and education in South Florida," Lieb said.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1986. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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