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 22, 1983
Wayne Biddle and Margot Slade
Since 1980, 1,400 cases of AIDS, for "acquired immune deficiency syndrome," have been reported. Half have occurred in New York City, leading medical experts to tell state legislators last week that the city was suffering an epidemic. Scientists say the number of victims nationwide is doubling every six months and could reach 20,000 by 1985 if no effective treatment is found.
The syndrome's pattern of attack has pointed to a virus or other transmissible agent as the culprit. With that in mind, researchers at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx studied the regular female sexual partners of male AIDS victims. Of the seven participants, none belonged to known risk groups. One woman developed the disorder, another seemed to be in its early stages and four had abnormalities linked to AIDS.
Dr. James Curran, leader of AIDS researchers at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, warned that the findings did not necessarily mean the women were infected through sexual contact. "They could have gotten it by sharing razors," he said. In this sense, he added, AIDS could resemble hepatitis B, a liver infection spread by sexual contact, blood transfusions and other means.
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