Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - FRI December 18 1987
Herald Staff
"There are a variety of circumstances that support the contention that the AIDS situation in Cuba is more serious than has been admitted," wrote Drs. W. Robert Lange and Sidney Kreider, AIDS researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
Among the circumstances: 200,000 Cuban troops have served in Angola, an AIDS-endemic country; Cuba has a large number of visiting students from AIDS-endemic countries; and Cuba has a high rate of hepatitis.
Dr. Antonio Gordon, a Hialeah internist, calls the Hopkins report a turning point. "Hopefully, it will lead to Cuba really coming out and telling the facts about their AIDS situation."
In April, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma said the government tested 677,000 Cubans and foreigners -- almost 7 percent of the population -- and found 108 people (0.02 percent) infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Two months later, Gordon held a news conference in Miami to dispute the Cuban report. He cited a study that found a 2.02 percent rate of AIDS infection among Mariel refugees.
Copyright © 1987 - Miami Herald. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Miami Herald, Permissions, One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132-1693 TEL: (305) 376-3719. http://www.herald.com.
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