Current Information on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Photocopied at the Roald Reagan Librak. May 24, 1983
CURRENT INFORMATION ON
ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)
Background
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the name given to
a recently.reported complex of health problems. All patients
with AIDS have developed a severe loss of their natural
immunity against disease, leaving them vulnerable to illnesses
that might not otherwise be a threat. These illnesses are
often referred to as opportunistic infections.
Nearly all cases have been reported from four distinct groups:
homosexual males with multiple sexual partners, intravenous
drug abusers, Haitian entrants to the United States, and
persons with hemophilia. About 95 percent of the victims
identified so far in the current AIDS investigation have been
males. Three-fourths of the cases have been homosexual or
bisexual males. The age group affected is primarily in the
range of 25-44 years. All races have been affected.
SCOPE OF PROBLEM
o Since June 1981, CDC has received reports of 1,450 cases
and 558 (38.5%) deaths in the U.S. and 106 cases from 17
other countries.
o Of the 412 cases diagnosed more than one year ago, 282
(68%) have died; of the 78 cases diagnosed two or more
years ago, 64 (82%) have died.
o Of the 1,450 cases in the U.S., 383 have Kaposi's Sarcoma
(KS), 740 Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), 114 have
both KS and PCP, and 213 have other opportunistic
infections other than KS or PCP including cryptococcal
meningitis, and candidiasis of the esophagus.
o Investigators do not know of any patient with AIDS who has
regained lost immunity. Thus, any cases continue to be at
special risk of disease.
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