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1993.06.10 :  Surgeon General's Report on AIDS

Contact: Bill Grigg, Rayford Kytle    Thursday, June 10, 1993 
202-690-6867 

       U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello, M.D., today released
the Surgeon General's Report on HIV and AIDS, an updated version
of the U.S. Public Health Service's 1986 report.
       The 1993 report was released to the press at the Ninth
International Conference on AIDS in Berlin.  It replaces the
first Surgeon General's Report on AIDS, which was issued at the
end of 1986 by then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D.
       "We know a lot more about HIV today, as this report
shows,"
Dr. Novello said.  "People with HIV and AIDS are living longer,
more productive lives because of new therapies.  But
unfortunately, more and more young people are getting infected. 
Advice for reducing the risk of HIV infection is the same: Don't
inject drugs and do not engage in high-risk sexual activity.  As
the report says, the surest way to protect yourself against HIV
infection and STDs is not to have sex at all, or to have sex only
with one steady, uninfected partner."
       Like the 1986 report, the new one emphasizes that sexually
active people should take care to use latex condoms, which are
highly effective in preventing transmission of the HIV infection
and other sexually transmitted diseases when used correctly and
consistently.  The new report warns that oil-based lubricants
such as petroleum jelly can weaken condoms, and notes that birth
control pills and other contraceptives do not protect against HIV
infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.
       New topics in the report just released include:
o    The impact of AIDS on adolescents.  Nineteen percent of
     persons diagnosed with AIDS are in their 20s, which means
     that they could have become infected while they were teen-
     agers.
o    The greater impact of AIDS on some minorities.
o    The increase in HIV infection among women -- who now
     comprise 11 percent of all AIDS cases -- and their AIDS
     symptoms.
o    The more than 4,000 children reported to have AIDS, and the
     many more uninfected children being orphaned by the deaths
     of their infected parents.
o    New treatments for HIV and opportunistic infections which
     have lengthened the productive lives of persons living with
     HIV and AIDS.
o    Changes in the Food and Drug Administration's drug testing
     and approval systems to make drugs available sooner.
o    Possible vaccines -- preventive and therapeutic.
o    Other sexually transmitted diseases as factors in increasing
     susceptibility to HIV infection.
o    Non-injecting drugs as a factor in HIV infection when they
     result in unprotected sex.
o    Steps taken to eliminate or reduce HIV risks from blood
     transfusions, organ and tissue transplants and artificial
     insemination.
o    The increased risk of tuberculosis in HIV-infected people.
o    Sports and HIV risk.
o    The role of shared needles and syringes in HIV infection
     among intravenous drug users.
o    The impact of discrimination against HIV-infected persons as
     a factor promoting the spread of HIV.
o    The role of the family in HIV education.
o    The necessity of open discussion of sexual issues and both
     personal and community action to prevent the spread of HIV.
o    The value of early detection and treatment of HIV infection.
o    More information on living with HIV and AIDS.
       Dr. Novello said, "This report provides the most accurate
information available to empower individuals to take 
responsibility for their health.  It is the culmination of all 
the time and energy I have invested during my time as surgeon
general in educating Americans about HIV/AIDS -- not just what it
is and how to avoid getting it, but what to do if you become
infected, and why it is important to show compassion for those
who have the disease.  

       "We must fight the epidemic of ignorance and
misunderstanding just as surely as we must fight the continuing
spread of this virus."

       The report will be available in English and in Spanish
from the National AIDS Hotline.  Telephone 1-800-342-AIDS, Deaf
Access 1-800-243-7889 (TTY), Spanish 1-800-344-7432.  The full
text of the report will be available for downloading
electronically from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Health Bulletin Board System (OASH BBS).  Telephone 202-690-5423.


EXCERPTS FROM THE NEW REPORT:
     "In this second decade of the AIDS epidemic, gay men still
account for the majority of AIDS cases reported each year (in the
United States) and continue to suffer an enormous burden. 
However... in the past year, 9 percent of the total AIDS cases
and 39 percent of reported AIDS cases in women were attributable
to heterosexual contact, an increase of nearly 40 percent during
the past two years."

     "Most people with HIV infection and AIDS live in big cities,
but the number of people developing AIDS in smaller cities,
towns, and rural areas is growing.  The highest rates are in the
Northeast and in Puerto Rico, but the rest of the country is
catching up."

     "About one of every four babies born to infected women will
have HIV infection... By 1994, an estimated 7,500 children in the
United States will have developed AIDS from being infected before
or during birth, or from breastfeeding after birth."

     "During the next decade, at least 125,000 children will
become orphans of this epidemic... These orphaned children,
three-fourths of them not infected with HIV, will require our
care, financially and socially."

     "It takes an average of 10 years before a person with HIV
develops AIDS.  ...Symptoms of AIDS or HIV disease... eventually
appear ...  They usually include fever, diarrhea, weight loss,
tiredness and enlarged lymph glands... Women with yeast
infections that do not readily go away with treatment should be
tested for HIV, especially if their behaviors put them at risk."
          
     The sexual advice in the new version is similar to that in
the 1986 booklet: "Anal sex is especially risky for both men and
women...  Getting semen, vaginal secretions or blood from an
infected person in your mouth puts you at risk... not as high as
from anal or vaginal sex, but there is a risk.  Sores or cuts in
your mouth would make oral sex even more risky.  The surest way
to protect yourself against HIV infection and STDs is not to have
sex at all, or to have sex only with one steady, uninfected
partner.  It is best for you to wait to have sex until you and
your partner are committed to a relationship.  If you are not in
such a relationship and engage in sex, you should use a latex
condom correctly every time you have sex.  It is not a matter of
how much you trust someone, or how well you know him or her, or
how healthy he or she looks -- condoms help protect both of you."

                             - More -


                        EXCERPTS -- PAGE 2
                                   
     "Birth control pills, sponges, foams, diaphragms,
intrauterine devices (IUDs), or being sterilized do not protect
you from HIV."

     "When a person injects drugs into his/her body, some of that
person's blood remains in the needle or syringe.  This makes
using needles or syringes that have been used by someone else one
of the riskiest things you can do."

     "Today, there is very little chance of getting HIV from a
blood transfusion (and) NO RISK of getting infected with HIV by
GIVING blood because a new, sterile needle is used for each blood
donation."

     "Organ and tissue transplants are becoming more common.  The
Public Health Service and the American Association of Tissue
Banks have recommended that attempts be made to eliminate donors
a high risk (and that) all donors be tested.  Sperm banks are
requested to test sperm donors at the time of the donation,
freeze and quarantine the sperm, and test the donor again six
months later.  If both tests are negative, the sperm can then be
thawed and used."

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