
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 24, 1995                   TAG: 9503240139
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AFTER 14 YEARS, AIDS OUTLOOK REMAINS BLEAK

When AIDS was recognized in the United States in 1981, doctors were optimistic that a cure could be found within the decade. Now, some say it may be a disease with no cure.

In a talk Thursday sponsored by the University of Virginia, Dr. Brian Wispelwey, director of the Infectious Diseases/HIV Clinic at UVa, chronicled the spread of AIDS from the male homosexual community to people in nearly every demographic category.

Despite the disease's rapid spread and horrendous emotional and physical toll, the hardest fight is on the prevention and education front, Wispelwey told his audience at the Roanoke Airport Marriott.

``There are parts of the state where doctors still refuse to treat AIDS patients'' out of fear, he said.

As a result, Wispelwey's clinic runs a shuttle bus to bring AIDS patients to Charlottesville from areas of the state where they cannot get treatment.

And all this despite the fact that ``you almost have to work to get it [AIDS],'' Wispelwey said.

Wispelwey has gained his extensive knowledge of AIDS by caring for infected patients since 1982.

``I still vividly remember being scared when walking into an AIDS patient's room to draw blood or perform a physical, before we knew how it was transmitted. I was scared to death.''

It has been 14 years, and the United States still has no national plan for fighting AIDS, he said. The disease has affected every country in the world. The best hope may be drugs to control the disease, much the way diabetics are treated, according to Wispelwey.

Statistics cited by Wispelwey show that the AIDS landscape has only become more treacherous:

The highest risk factor in the United States in 1981 was being a homosexual man who had had 300-1,000 sexual partners.

Today, the greatest percentage increase in reported cases is among heterosexual women, and there has been a decline in cases among homosexuals.

Worldwide cases in 1994 numbered about 17 million; by the year 2000, that number could rise to 40 million or as high as 110 million.

In Southeast Asia - where the disease was not even recognized in the early '80s - the greatest risk factor for a woman is getting married. By the time a woman in Thailand marries, her husband has had an average of 19 exposures to prostitutes.

For women ages 25-44, AIDS is the fourth-leading cause of death.

For men ages 25-44, AIDS is the No.1 cause of death.

Wispelwey said there is no way to bring the risk factor to zero. To come close, a person has to remain celibate or have monogamous sex with an uninfected partner.

``In all honesty, it's not a medical issue,'' Wispelwey said. ``That pales next to the social, cultural, ethical and economic aspects.''

by CNB