Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 11, 1993 TAG: 9302110041
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
AIDS-LIKE ILLNESS CALLED CLUSTER OF DISEASES
A mysterious outbreak of AIDS-like illness that created an uproar this past summer probably has many different causes and almost certainly doesn't result from a single new virus, several studies conclude.The studies suggest that the disease actually is a mishmash of similar-looking ailments that have been around a long time and are not contagious.
"When you look at the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory results, one doesn't see a consistent pattern. That suggests perhaps this whole syndrome is composed of patients with different causes," said Dr. David Ho, head of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City.
The illness came to light at July's International Conference on AIDS in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where it was the No. 1 topic.
Several researchers at the meeting spoke of patients who had many earmarks of AIDS but were not infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. Chief among those signs was strikingly low levels of helper cells, also known as CD4 cells, which orchestrate the body's defenses against infections.
The cases raised the possibility that some unidentified virus was on the loose, causing a new form of AIDS. Some researchers at the meeting even said they had glimpsed tantalizing signs that a new virus might be causing it.
Since then, the condition has gotten a name - idiopathic CD4 T-lymphocytopenia, or ICL - and intensive lab study. In today's New England Journal of Medicine, researchers published six reports on it.
"The cases represent a hodgepodge of different clinical and immunological entities. We are not talking about just one disease," said Dr. Scott D. Holmberg of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, co-author of one of the studies.
Among other conclusions:
The condition is rare. In all, 111 U.S. cases have been reported. The CDC found just two when it reviewed 230,179 cases in its AIDS files.
It is not contagious. Spouses and acquaintances of victims have not caught it, and it does not seem to spread through blood transfusions.
Many cases probably result from a menagerie of bacteria, funguses and other parasites. Poisons or environmental toxins also might play a role. A few apparent victims actually are in the very early stages of HIV infections but have not produced signs of the AIDS virus.
The condition has been around at least since 1983 and probably much longer. It was not recognized, though, because tests to measure the number of helper cells have been available for just a few years.
There is no reason to think that a single virus is responsible for most cases.