AIDS against the rest of the world

Article Abstract:

Data from the seventh international conference on AIDS show that although the AIDS epidemic in the Western world is contained to high-risk subpopulations, such as homosexual men and intravenous drug users, in Asia and Africa, AIDS has affected the population in general because it is spreading heterosexually. By the year 2000, the number of infected individuals worldwide is estimated to be 40 million. AIDS will mostly affect young men and women in their 20s and 30s, and thus will have a negative impact on the socio-economic development of communities and nations. In the Western world, there is a new fear that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, can be transmitted by health care professionals, such as doctors and dentists. However, data show that the probability of contracting HIV in this manner is almost impossible. Perhaps these infrequent cases of HIV transmission by unusual means are important and a warning of future trends. Some data show that Langerhans cells, which are in the mucous membranes of the mouth and genital areas, contain HIV, suggesting that the virus could be spread by contact. However, other data show that the virus is not present in these cells. The controversy on how easily HIV is transmitted is exemplified by the United States not allow individuals with HIV infection to enter the country, as a visitor or immigrant, because HIV is considered an infectious agent. The next international AIDS conference is scheduled to be held in Boston, but may be held in another location because of the United States' policy. Questions must be answered on how easily HIV is transmitted and how real the worldwide epidemic of AIDS is. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Demographic aspects, HIV (Viruses), HIV, Disease transmission, AIDS (Disease), editorial, 1991 AD, International Conference on AIDS

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Save the beaches, not the buildings

Article Abstract:

Congress should stop subsidizing flood insurance for owners of beachfront property. Since 1968, the federal government has been helping real estate developers and home owners avoid paying the full cost in insurance when erosion damages their property. It is senseless for the government to go on paying this subsidy given the inevitability of continued erosion. Beaches are inherently shifting and transitory structures, and those foolish enough to build on them should not expect the public to save them when the ocean washes away what they have built.

Economic aspects, Laws, regulations and rules, Economic policy, United States. Congress, Flood insurance, Beach erosion, Coastal erosion

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Disease-of-the-month alive and well

Article Abstract:

The appropriation of large sums of money for research on particular diseases may be an expedient way for the federal government to bolster its political standing but is not in itself enough to produce valuable science. Since the 1970s the government has given the National Institutes of Health (NIH) millions of dollars for research on breast cancer, AIDS and other diseases for which activist groups demanded attention. The US must reform how it assigns NIH funds so that politics will no longer subvert biomedical research.

Finance, Political aspects, United States. National Institutes of Health, Federal aid to medical research, Medical research assistance

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