AEGiS-UPI: 8 Years later, AIDS tally near 100,000 cases

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

8 Years later, AIDS tally near 100,000 cases

United Press International - Monday June 5, 1989

Atlanta - Eight years after the AIDS virus was first reported in the United States, the number of cases of the fatal disease is nearing the 100,000 mark, with more than 55,000 deaths. U.S. health officials still are uncertain how many Americans may be harboring the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS. Their best guess is that there are between 1 million and 1.5 million people infected with the virus who have not yet shown clinical signs of the disease. But in its latest assessment of the disease in this country, the national Centers for Disease Control said the AIDS virus does not appear to be spreading rapidly through the entire population. But AIDS cases "are expected to continue to increase, reflecting the lengthy interval between infection and onset of AIDS, . . ." the CDC said. The disease can take up to 10 years to develop. It was on June 5, 1981, that the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report contained a brief report of an unknown disease affecting homosexual males in San Francisco. It was the first mention in medical literature of the disease that became known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Dr. Peter Drotman, a CDC epidemiologist, estimated that AIDS cases now total about 97,500 in the United States, with more than 55,000 deaths.

Keywords: AIDS; STATISTICS; US
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