Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Aids: Prophecy And Present Reality, Victor De Gruttola, William Ira Bennett

New England Journal of Public Policy

Mathematical modeling of the AIDS epidemic can be useful for policymakers even though precise projections are not possible at this time. Models are useful in establishing ranges for current and future prevalence of HIV infection and incidence of AIDS, as well as in predicting the effect of a given intervention strategy. Most decision makers are using models implicitly when they use epidemiological information as a basis for policy; formulating a model explicitly permits examination of the underlying assumptions. By creating and testing a variety of models, an investigator can determine whether the models reflect more the underlying assumptions or the …

The Quest For An Aids Vaccine, Robert T. Schooley

New England Journal of Public Policy

More than fifty thousand cases of AIDS have been reported in the United States since the disease wasfirst described in 1981. Many times this number of people are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which has been identified as the agent responsible for the illness. The seriousness of the disease, coupled with the relatively rapid spread of HIV, has fueled the effort for development of an effective vaccine.

Much is now known about the life cycle of the virus, and about its structural components. This information, and information about methods of transmission of the virus, form the basis for a …

Medical Care Of Aids In New England: Costs And Implications, Stewart J. Landers, George R. Seage Iii

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents an overview of cost issues related to AIDS. Data from the Massachusetts Cost of AIDS Study are combined with epidemiological projections to estimate the cost of treating people diagnosed with AIDS in New England. Aggregate inpatient, ambulatory, and home care costs are estimated to be $96.9 million and $524.8 million through 1987 and 1991, respectively. These estimates represent a relatively small percentage of total health care costs for all illnesses over the same time period.

The authors find that the cost of treating AIDS does not affect all health care providers uniformly and therefore argue that appropriate …

Introducing Aids Education In Connecticut Schools, William Sabella

New England Journal of Public Policy

Most of the nation 's schoolchildren are not infected with the AIDS virus (HIV). Since AIDS is a preventable disease, no one need become infected. In order to protect themselves, everyone, including children, must understand exactly how HIV is and is not contracted. The message of prevention, however, is controversial, since it must include advice on safer sex and drug use.

In 1984, Connecticut was forced to face the issue of a child with HIV infection entering school. The state responded by creating guidelines for prevention of disease transmission in schools and by subsequently developing an AIDS curriculum. Obstacles to …

Hiv Antibody Screening: An Ethical Framework For Evaluating Proposed Programs, Ronald Bayer, Carol Levine, Susan M. Wolf

New England Journal of Public Policy

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) poses a compelling ethical challenge to medicine, science, public health, the legal system, and our political democracy. This report focuses on one aspect of that challenge: the use of blood tests to identify individuals who have been infected with the retrovirus human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this article, we follow the terminology recently proposed by the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses; that is, we use the term human immunodeficiency virus. This replaces the more cumbersome dual terminology of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV).

The issue is urgent: the tests are …

Behavioral Change In Homosexual Men At Risk Of Aids: Intervention And Policy Implications, Suzanne B. Montgomery, Jill G. Joseph

New England Journal of Public Policy

With more than fifty thousand cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosed since its initial recognition in 1981 and no cure or vaccine in sight, experts agree that prevention is of the utmost importance. Yet very little research has investigated how existing social-psychological and health behavioral knowledge can be applied to the special circumstances of programmatic responses to AIDS. One of the central aims of our own research group has been to describe the psychosocial determinants of successful behavioral risk reduction among homosexual men, the largest affected group. This work is reviewed and its implications for the development of intervention …

Aids Initiatives In Massachusetts: Building A Continuum Of Care, Nancy Weiland Carpenter

New England Journal of Public Policy

The Health Resource Office was officially established within the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in August 1985 to coordinate policy, education, research, and service response to the AIDS epidemic, and to focus attention on the social and economic impact of the disease. The actual work of the office was begun earlier, in October 1983. This article reviews the activities of the Health Resource Office from October 1983 through June 1987 in allocating resources for AIDS and ARC programs and services. It then describes the conceptual model that evolved during this period for the continuum of services needed to reduce HIV …

The Role Of Education In Aids Prevention, George A. Lamb, Linette G. Liebling

New England Journal of Public Policy

The severity of the current AIDS epidemic, combined with the lack of successful biological interventions, necessitates an active educational program as the primary intervention strategy. Health education theories abound, but relatively little definitive application of these theories has been made to the issues involved with HIV transmission: sexual behavior and the sharing of intravenous drug apparatus. Significant behavior changes have occurred in some people, but the consistency of the behavior change may be difficult to sustain. Thus, the authors suggest that health education should be delivered repeatedly in culturally acceptable language and format, by community leaders, and through many different …

U.S. Women And Hiv Infection, P. Clay Stephens

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women are inadequately provided with HIV services and education and are differentially denied access to these. Divisions of race, ethnicity, economic class, and religion, among others, are compounded by sexual discrimination within each of these categories.

Review of current data on women with AIDS reveals that the reporting methods used convey a false impression that women are not at significant risk. Moreover, the persons indirectly affected by AIDS are predominantly women — mothers, sisters, partners, family members, teachers, and human service workers. Thus, AIDS is more of a women's issue than the statistics imply.

Women, as a gender-defined class, face …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

On occasion, the New England Journal of Public Policy will devote an entire issue to consideration of a public policy matter of major importance. The AIDS epidemic is such a matter, with a likely impact of overwhelming consequence well into the twenty-first century. The epidemic raises fundamental questions regarding the nature of individual freedom, our responsibilities to others, the always delicate balance between private rights and the public interest, and society's obligation to its "out" groups — whose members it has stigmatized, discriminated against, ridiculed, and treated as less than full and equal citizens. Indeed, it requires us to ask …

Human Retroviruses: Illustration

New England Journal of Public Policy

An illustration of human retroviruses and the life cycle of retroviruses.

Aids In Children: An Overview Of The Medical, Epidemiological, And Public Health Problems, Ellen R. Cooper

New England Journal of Public Policy

Cases of AIDS in children under thirteen years of age have been described since 1982. Diagnosis is more difficult in children than in adults, owing to the more varied clinical presentation and the difficulty in interpretation of laboratory tests. Current diagnostic criteria of HIV infection are reviewed, as well as symptomatology, natural history, and controversies surrounding management and therapy. Without a full appreciation of the transmissibility of HIV, issues including school and day-care attendance and foster family placement remain emotionally charged. Conflicting public policies contribute to fears on the part of the general public. Because ofthe unique implications for the …

Hiv Antibody Testing: Performance And Counseling Issues, Michael Gross

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article assesses the performance of currently used tests for exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the infectious agent associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); suggests, in view of that information, guidelines for counseling people seeking HIV antibody testing; and evaluates the claim that because antibody test results will effect behavior change in those who are infected, all members of high-risk groups should be tested.

HIV testing is likely to yield a high proportion of false-positive results in low-risk populations and infants born to infected mothers. A negative result may not establish freedom from infection in high-risk groups or the …

Aids And A-Bomb Disease: Facing A Special Death, Chris Glaser

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1979 it was called "gay cancer," and it took the life of an acquaintance. Then "gay-related immune deficiency," or GRID, claimed neighbors, friends of friends, fellow activists. I began grief and death counseling with a segment of the population ordinarily concerned with life's ambitions and enjoyments: men in their twenties and thirties. Hospital visits and memorial services became more frequent.

By 1983, when it had come to be called AIDS, my own friends began to be affected. One was a man I dated in seminary, and I was devastated to learn of his illness only upon receiving a notice …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus In Intravenous Drug Users: Epidemiology, Issues, And Controversies, Donald E. Craven

New England Journal of Public Policy

Intravenous drug users are the second most common risk group for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States, and they account for approximately 25 percent of the cases. Drug users may spread human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by sharing contaminated drug injection paraphernalia and through sexual contact; women who use drugs can transmit the virus to their children. The rapid spread of HIV in this risk group and the fact that intravenous drug users are a source for heterosexual and perinatal transmission underscore the need for immediate intervention. In addition, many drug addicts are poor, have limited career possibilities, and …

New Hampshire: The Premarital Testing Debacle, Susan D. Epstein

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1987, the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services had a bill introduced in the legislature to improve contact tracing and establish statewide public education on HIV infection, transmission, and disease control. This article traces the bill, and issues surrounding the bill, through the legislative process and focuses on an unexpected intervention by the governor through a proposed amendment to add mandatory premarital testing. Its conclusions offer advice to other states on how best to avoid political exploitation of AIDS/HIV issues.

By the summer of 1987, the AIDS issue in New Hampshire had become devoted to everything but AIDS. …

Helminth Remains From Prehistoric Indian Coprolites On The Colorado Plateau, Karl J. Reinhard, Richard H. Hevly, Glenn A. Anderson

Karl Reinhard Publications

Examination of coprolites excavated from archaeological sites in the Americas demonstrates excellent preservation of helminth eggs and, in some cases, larvae. To gain an understanding of helminth parasitism in prehistory on the Colorado Plateau of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, 319 coprolites from 5 archaeological sites were analyzed. Helminth eggs and larvae were recovered after the coprolites were rehydrated, screened, and sedimented. At a sixth site, soils excavated from 5 rooms used as latrine areas were processed with palynological techniques. The results indicate that all but 1 of the prehistoric populations examined were infected with intestinal worms. The helminths implicated …

Recovery Of Helminths From Prehistoric Feces: The Cultural Ecology Of Ancient Parasitism, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Several helminth parasites have been recovered from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau. These include Ascaris, Trichuris, Enterobius, Moniliformis, and tapeworms in the families Hymenolepidae and Taeniidae. The recovery of these animals demonstrates that cross-temporal: comparison of parasitism between different prehistoric lifestyles is possible. Such comparison might elucidate the effects of changing lifestyle and subsistance pattern on human parasitism.

Desiccated feces recovered from archaelogical deposits were studied. Hunter-gatherer feces were selected from Dust Devil Cave in southeastern Utah. Agriculturalist feces were studied from Antelope House, a cave site in northeastern Arizona, and Salmon Ruins, a Pueblo …

Effect Of Membrane Filtration Of Antimalarial Drug Solutions On In Vitro Activity Against Plasmodium Falciparum, J. Kevin Baird, C. Lambros

United States Public Health Resources

Antimalarial activities ofchloroquine, mefloquine, amodiaquine, and quinine in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum were diminished as a consequence ofmembranefiltration. Filtered drug solutions gave ID₅₀ values up to 25-fold greater than those of non-filtered (ethanol-sterilized) drug solutions. Loss ofactivity byfiltration was overcome by increasing the drug concentration prior to filtration. Water solutions filtered through Millex-GSfilter units consistently showed an absorbance maximum at 277 nm, accompanied by a lesser peak at 225 nm. Water filtrates from Nucleopore and Millex-G Vfilters showed no absorbance at 277 nm and only slight absorbance was evidentfor the Gelmanfilter unit. Activity losses were attributed to extractable contaminating …

United States Naval Medical Research Unit Number Three, Cairo, Egypt, Medical Zoology Department Translation List, Harry Hoogstraal

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

List of translations of medical parasitology and medical entomology papers prepared by the United States Naval Medical Research Unit Number 3 in Cairo, Egypt. The papers were translated from numerous languages, such as Russian (most were translated from Russian), Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, French, German, and Japanese, into English. The publication dates of the original papers ranged from about 1915 to 1983. Harry Hoogstraal translated some or all of the papers.

The Multi-Individual Cremation Phenomenon Of The Santa Cruz Drainage, Karl J. Reinhard, T Michael Fink

Karl Reinhard Publications

Multi-individual cremation deposits found in the upper Santa Cruz River drainage were previously interpreted as the result of hypothesized cultural contact in the area. A review of 50 cremation deposits for which detailed analyses are available indicates that mulii-individual cremation deposits are the result of incomplete gleaning practices and have doubtful cultural significance. Hypotheses are generated from the present data which account for the apparent variation in cremation practices within the study area.

Prehistoric Cremations From Nogales, Arizona *, Karl J. Reinhard, Jeff H. Shipman

Karl Reinhard Publications

In October, 1969, the Highway Salvage Section of the Arizona State Museum conducted emergency salvage excavations in conjunction with the construction of the Tucson-Nogales Highway. Ten cremations were recovered from a backhoe trench which had been placed within the city limits of Nogales, Arizona. Analysis of the cremations indicated cultural contact between the Trincheras culture of Sonora, Mexico, and the Hohokam culture of the Santa Cruz River Valley in southern Arizona.

Lice Of Public Health Importance And Their Control, Harry D. Pratt, Kent S. Littig

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Lice have been intimately associated with man for centuries. Infestations with lice occur today in the United States and many other countries despite great efforts to maintain high standards of public health. Public health agencies are often called upon if infestations include or expose large groups of people, particularly those in public institutions such as schools, jails, hospitals, or homes for the aged.

The three sucking lice that infest humans are: the body louse (Pedlculus humanus humanus), the head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis), and the crab louse (Pthirus pubis). The body louse is the …

A Brief History Of The Namru-3 Medical Zoology Program, Harry Hoogstraal

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

The NAMRU-3 Medical Zoology program began during Easter week of 1950. We had just closed the NAMRU-3 field station at Torit, in Equatoria Province of soulheastern Sudan, and were heading homeward to the United States. However, the offer to remain in Egypt for a year or two to develop a Medical Zoology department at NAMRU-3 provided an interesting challenge after working for several years in tropical forests and grasslands of Africa and other continents. We shall briefly describe subsequent events under four headings: (1) Medical Zoology in Egypt, (2) Ticks and Tickborne Diseases of the World, (3) Kala Azar in …

Review Of Echinococcus Species In South Africa, Anna Johanna Maria Verster

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

1. The nominate subspecies of E. granulosus (Batsch, 1786) is redesignated from the type locality, Europe.

2. Five subspecies of E. granulosus are described from South African carnivores: E. g. granulosus, E. g. africanus, E. g. felidis, E. g. lycaontis and E. g. ortleppi.

3. E. g. granulosus has so far only been recovered from the Transvaal; E. g. ortleppi appears to be restricted to the Transvaal; E. g. africanus occurs in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal; E. g. lycaontis and E. g. felidis like their definitive hosts are restricted to the Transvaal.

4. …

Index Catalogue To Russian, Central And Eastern European, And Chinese Literature In Medical Entomology, Volume 1: Diptera, George Anastes

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

Over the past several years a large number of references from the USSR, Eastern Europe, and China have been collected dealing with arthropods of medical importance. These references were coded on keysort cards which made it possible to index as many as fifteen subject areas on one card. The usefulness of this indexing system was evident by the number of medical entomologists who used it in searching for references in their specialty. In response to requests from workers in the United States and other countries who did not have ready access to the index. it was decided to publish these …

Case Of Collecting Tick Amblyomma Lepidum Dönitz, 1909, In Azerbaijan, M. V. Pospelova-Shtrom, N. S. Abusalimov

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

First paragraph:

On 18 May 1954, (a specimen of) Burhinus oedicnemus (L.) was killed in the Lenkoransky region of Azerbaijan S.S.R.; on its head a male Amblyomma lepidum Dönitz, 1909, was found. Morphological characters of this tick, size and shape of body, characteristic light and dark ornamentation of dorsal shield, punctation, shape, and two colors of festoons, size and shape of cervical and lateral grooves, hypostome, peritreme, projection on coxae, and spherical orbited eyes correspond to those in the description of A. lepidum, given in Robinson monograph. Only on four anterior festoons a small light spot is found (in …

Key To The Genus Ornithodorus (Of Russia) (After Pavlovsky, 1955), I. G. Galuzo

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

English translation from Russian of pp. 83-85 of Galuzo (1957) Argasid ticks and their epizootological significance. Alma-Ata (Acad. Sci. Kazakh SSR).

Females and Males

Ornithodoros papillipes (Birula, 1895)

O. verrucosus (Sas, Fen. 1934)

O. tartakovskyi (Olenev, 1931)

O. nereensis (Pavlovsky, 1941)

O. alactagalis (Issaakjan, 1936)

O. canestrini (Birula, 1895)

O. lahorensis (Neumann, 1908)

Ixodid Ticks Of Ussr Fauna [Excerpt], G. V. Serdyukova

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

Key to Hyalomma

Males

Females

(Summary) Of Variation In Pasture Ticks (Acarina, Ixodidae) And Its Significance For Systematics, G. S. Pervomaisky

United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3: Publications

First paragraph:

1) Pasture ticks (Ixodidae) have a great significance as specific vectors and stimulators of many infectious diseases of man and cattle.