Analysis of gonorrhea morbidity in King County, Washington, shows an increase in gonorrhea among homosexually active men in 1989. During the 1980s, substantial declines in the occurrence of gonorrhea in homosexual and bisexual men have been documented in the United States and other countries (1-3). These trends have been considered to reflect changes in sexual behavior in response to the epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is one of 20 national organizations that receive assistance from CDC to help schools provide effective health education programs to prevent the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NASBE has published a guide that CDC commends to its readers: Someone at School Has AIDS: A Guide to Developing Policies for Students and Staff Members Who Are Infected with HIV.
MMWR Weekly, August 25, 1989 / 38(33);572-574,579-580
Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) infection was first described in 1985 in asymptomatic West African prostitutes (1) and, in 1986, was reported in two West Africans with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (2). The first confirmed case of HIV-2 infection in the United States was reported in late 1987 in a West African woman with AIDS (3). Since then, six additional cases of HIV-2 infection have been reported to CDC--three from Massachusetts, and one each from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Florida.
In June 1981, the first cases of the illness now known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported from Los Angeles in five young homosexual men diagnosed with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and other opportunistic infections (1). Since then, state and territorial health departments have reported greater than 100,000 cases of AIDS and greater than 59,000 AIDS-related deaths to CDC. AIDS is now a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and young adults in the United States, ranking 15th among leading causes of death in 1988 (2). . . .
A new MMWR Recommendations and Reports entitled, "Interpretation and Use of the Western Blot Assay for Serodiagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infections" (1), was published July 21, 1989. The Association of State and Territorial Public Health Laboratory Directors and CDC collaborated in preparing this report; it describes various interpretive criteria associated with the Western blot test for human immunodeficiency virus type (HIV-1), evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of these criteria as tools for public health practice, and provides recommendations for using the Western blot and for reporting results.
MMWR Weekly, July 21, 1989 / 38(28);489-490,495-496
Despite the increased risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among intravenous-drug users (IVDUs), many IVDUs have not been counseled and tested for HIV infection. In the Boston metropolitan area, which has an estimated 14,000 IVDUs, only 473 persons who identified themselves as IVDUs were tested for HIV antibody at anonymous counseling and testing sites and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics in 1988. To increase counseling and HIV testing of IVDUs in the Boston area, Project TRUST (Teaching, Referral, Understanding, Support, and Testing).
All 50 states and the District of Columbia require health-care providers to report new cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to their state health departments. As of July 1989, 28 (56%) states also required reporting of persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Figure 1). In addition, 10 states (as of May 1989) have proposals on reporting currently before their legislatures, governors, or voting constituencies.
A new MMWR Recommendations and Reports, "Guidelines for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus to Health-Care and Public-Safety Workers," was published June 23, 1989 (1). This document provides an overview of the modes of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus in the workplace, an assessment of the risk for transmission under various assumptions, principles underlying the control of risk, and specific risk-control recommendations for employers and workers.
This report updates data for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection associated with heterosexual transmission and is based on national AIDS surveillance, HIV seroprevalence surveys, and studies of populations at varying levels of risk for heterosexual transmission. By March 31, 1989, 89,501 AIDS cases in persons greater than or equal to 13 years of age had been reported to CDC; 3962 (4%) of these were attributed to heterosexual transmission.
Among laboratories testing for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and participating in CDC's Model Performance Evaluation Program (1,2), responses from May and September 1988 survey questionnaires show that 40 (3.9%) of 1034 and 41 (3.9%) of 1052 respondents, respectively, heat-inactivate serum specimens before testing for HIV-1. Heat-inactivation is an effective means of destroying HIV-1 (3) and is used both to prepare therapeutic blood products and to produce certain laboratory quality-control testing materials; . . . .
This report describes two coordinated communitywide programs that provide education for intravenous-drug users (IVDUs) and their sex partners to reduce the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 1985, the University of California, Davis (UCD), detected HIV antibody in less than 1 (0.6%) of 178 IVDUs in two drug-treatment programs in Sacramento (S. Jain, UCD, personal communication, October 1988). Subsequently, UCD collaborated with the Sacramento AIDS Foundation, Sacramento's drug-treatment programs, the Sacramento County health and sheriff's departments, and the Sacramento Police Department to form a task force to slow the spread of HIV among IVDUs in the community.
This document is a response to recently enacted legislation, Public Law 100-607, The Health Omnibus Programs Extension Act of 1988, Title II, Programs with Respect to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), the most common presenting manifestation of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a major and recurring cause of morbidity and mortality for persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In recent years, important advances have been made in understanding which patient subpopulations are athighest risk for developing PCP and in the design of chemotherapeutic regimens that can reduce the frequency of this illness.
MMWR Weekly, May 26, 1989 / 38(20);353-354,357-358,363
Education and information can play an important role in preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission by reducing high-risk behaviors and encouraging safe practices. To collect information for developing and targeting new education programs, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) began in August 1987 to include specific questions to assess the public's knowledge about the transmission, prevention, and consequences of HIV infection; attitudes toward persons already infected; and awareness and utilization of the HIV-antibody test.
MMWR Weekly, April 14, 1989 / 38(14);229-232,234-236
In 1988, state and local health departments reported 32,311 persons (28,432 men, 3296 women, and 583 children (less than 13 years of age)) diagnosed with illnesses that meet the CDC case definition for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (1) in the United States and its territories. Excluding U.S. territories, these persons represent an annual incidence rate of 13.7 AIDS cases per 100,000 population: 31.2 cases per 100,000 men, 3.2 cases per 100,000 women, and 1.3 cases per 100,000 children.
MMWR Weekly, April 14, 1989 / 38(14);236-238,243-250
Tuberculosis (TB) and other mycobacterioses are well-recognized complications of immunosuppression. In the 1980s, the epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and its resulting immunosuppression in large numbers of persons have increased the incidence of mycobacterial diseases (1). Disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease has become an important medical problem; MAC is the most common mycobacterial species isolated from persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
In 1988, health departments of the 50 states and the District of Columbia reported 9752 cases, and U.S. territories reported 995 cases, of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in intravenous-drug users (IVDUs), their sex partners, and children born to mothers who were IVDUs or sex partners of IVDUs. These IVDU-associated AIDS cases represented 33.3% of the 32,311 AIDS cases reported in 1988 and included 5789 (53.9%) male heterosexual IVDUs, 1742 (16.2%) female IVDUs, 2055 (19.1%) male homosexual/bisexual IVDUs, . . .
This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.