Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1983. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - May 17, 1983
Ronald Sullivan
The experts said that the number of cases involving the illness, known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, was doubling every six months. Since 1980, 1,400 cases have been reported nationwide and the experts said there could be as many as 20,000 within two years.
Nearly half of all AIDS cases have been reported in New York City - about 700 in the last six months. The possibility of having as many as 10,000 new cases here by 1985 was described by State Senator Roy M. Goodman, chairman of the Senate Investigations Committee, as "potentially a very grave medical threat."
The syndrome, which is largely confined to homosexuals and people who take drugs with contaminated syringes, has no known cause and no known cure. The syndrome has killed many of its victims. 'Do We Have an Epidemic?'
The hearing, at 270 Broadway, was conducted by Mr. Goodman, a Manhattan Republican, in an effort, he said, to measure the gravity of the threat and to see what state government could do about it.
"Do we have an epidemic?" Mr. Goodman asked the first witness, Dr. Frederick P. Siegal, chief of the division of clinical immunology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
"It seems we do," Dr. Siegal replied. "The number of cases is doubling every six months." He also said that AIDS is believed transmitted only through sexual contact or blood transmission.
Dr. Alvin E. Friedman-Kein of the New York University Medical Center said AIDS "is one of the most threatening public health problems in modern times." 'No Way to Cope With Problem'
Dr. David J. Sencer, the city's Health Commissioner, said that the number of AIDS cases in the city is now approaching 700. He called the syndrome "an extremely serious health problem which we have no way of coping with."
Dr. Sencer added that he and other health officials were trying to prepare hospitals in the city to handle the crisis. However, Dr. John Hanrahan, an epidemiologist from the National Center for Disease Control in Atlanta who has been assigned to help the city fight the syndrome, said there was a chance that the AIDS epidemic might level off, as has happened with other maladies.
Dr. Hanrahan also said it was unlikely that the syndrome "would jump into the general population." According to city health statistics, about 75 percent of AIDS victims are homosexuals and 17 percent intravenous drug users. The syndrome has also been identified in Haitians.
Mr. Goodman said he would ask the State Legislature to approve $5 million for AIDS research.
830517
NYT830504
Copyright © 1983 - The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved. All New York Times articles contained on the AEGiS web site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of The New York Times Company. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. However, you may download articles (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal, noncommercial use only.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1983. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1983. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .