Oregon Daily
o
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25,1991
EUGENE, OREGON
VOLUME 93, ISSUE 42
Origin of AIDS continues to baffle doctors, patients
By Tammy Oatey
F'tnefald Reporter
Kiel’..ini, H). fuurni out In was MIX'
positive in l'llto Hi’ said al the tlmo he
was totally dr-, .isiatnd" and thought he
was going to d ie 1 low twin. Richard is
still alive todav, almost lg vears after
his diagnosis
Richard said he. takes no anti viral
drugs and never has lie .ittriliutes 1ns
good health to his positive uttitudf
"Bat k then no one was living more
than i year." he said ' 1 think 1 wo iked
realty hard at staying well, it's attitude.
Spirituality is the rnpsl important thing
in mv life 1 believe in a science of the
mind- You manifest what you think and
if you think you're going to die, you’re
right."
Richard has a unique theory about the
origins of AIDS Richard said he be
lieves AIDS has a "strongly spiritual
purpose." He said he believes a group of
people agreed with a divine being to
have AIDS in order lo edm ate others
'Thom was .m
essence group, a
group of people
who .igriH'd to do
this hecause it
teaches some
thing," I'lii siiid
"That essence
i’.iotip was gav
men For every
g a \ in a ti that
da e s of AIMS
there .ue at least
five people who
.11ti■< It■(J who (Inin 1 know lie was
K-iy
"(AIDS) is ,1 I'or'icd realization tor so
ciety to deal with something it v\.isn't
willing to deal with Having to deal with
homosexuality makes people rethink
their role what's good and bad uliout
loving."
The history of AIDS is dillinuit to
trac e hut there .ire many theories. Modi
c al professionals point to the 1950s as
the time when the disease tirst ap
puartiii
Janus Jai.ksnn.
M 1) , of l(n; i in
v 11 rsit v : Stuiiunt
Hi'.illli C'imtnr
said ihn iimilu.il
corn mu nils bo
Imvos tlm HIV Vi
ru s nlosnI s' ro
sumhliis .m ani
mal virus hu1
HIV is a human
i mis." lie s.iiil
Virusus similar
to the mV virus have been found in ani
mals. iio added .
The AIDS vuiis m.iv have made Us
vv.iv into humans from African green
monkeys A stmiy conducted ii\ i)t
S1 ,ix i-.s i \ ul li • Harvard School of
Public Health found thai -12 percent of a
group ol hi'.ilthv green monkeys hail
I’! th.it i nt.iini'd the AIDS virus
(SI.ill. James. Ml). /Vie AIDS ipuirtuh)
Tissue and blood samples were taken
from people who died of mysterious
< ansi s during the 1Uf>CJs, said Heather
Penman. 1 oordinator of tin? Ai urn ( Inh,
.1 m rration.il club for people who .in’
}i!V positive During tin- Dittos, doctors
drtrrminrd Iroin (hr Iru/.en tisslir that
these people had died ol AIDS.
An r\ imple is the ease ol a .’.it vrar
old mule, railed Ktl , which is men
tinned m I'hf ///slortol AIDS hi, Mirko
(Irrnek (in I ehru.irt JO, ion.' Rt; was
admito I to the It pt:- i Memoiial Hospi
tal in Memphis. I'enn with a diagnosis
ol 'viral pneumonia He had alvvuvs
been well until two weeks earlier, w hen
he developed general malaise, fever,
rough and respiratory diffirulties
A htopsy o! a skin lesion on U(I s
body revealed a nonspecific, chronic
inflammatory reaction His white blood
cell count dropped and antibiotics had
only a minimal effei t. t he patient ap
parently made some progress and was
released from the hospital K(. was re
admitted two and a hall months later
I urn to AIDS. Page 3
Taking time to identity the flora and fauna along the trails ol Alton Baker Park are part ot David
Wagner s (center) one-hour tall and spring walks.
Guide leads walks down nature’s path
By Carrie Dennett
Emerald Associate Editor
To most observers, .1 walk,
along the many jogging and
biking trails near Alton
Baker Park yields little more
than your basic trees, grass
and blackberry bushes
However, a little guidance
and a sharp eye reveals .1
wide variety of flora and fau
na that turn the landscape
into a colorful and constant
ly changing environment
To share the varieties of
plants and other wildlife
with the community. Uni
versity Herbarium Director
David Wagner leads one
hour walks during fall and
spring
Wagner began these walks
when he first arrived at the
University 15 years ago.
"1 was nt'W to tin; .him,
arul 1 decided that I would
go out oni u a week to at
quaint myself with the na
live plants," he said "Be
c ause 1 was going out any
way, 1 thought 1 would open
them up to other people
wlio were interested in going
along."
Wagner has alwavs offered
spring walks, but the fall
walks began only six years
ago. The fall walks run
through Doc 12. rain or
shine, every Thursday ex
cept Thanksgiving The hour
walks begin at noon, leaving
from the north end of the
Aut/.en foot bridge.
" The spring walks are by
far the most popular," he
said. "On an average day in
the fall we might get a dozen
people showing up. hut in
I ho spring wo got about 30.
On tlif walks, Wagner
identifies the varieties of
plants encountered along the
paths In the spring, the
number ol identifiable spe
cies i an reach 100, so energy
is directed toward lot aling
plants tb.it have bloomed
only III tile past week
" The Willamette riverside
woodland area is one of the
most significant examples of
native riverside vegetation
in an urban urea," be said
The most valuable area, in
a 1,000-foot radius around
the north end of the Aut/.en
footbridge, is being pro
posed as a nature sanctuary,
Wagner said
"We need it because the
people who have been main
Turn to WALKS Page 3
Measles shot a must
to register in spring
By Colleen Pohlig
f me'a Id Reporter
Regaining spring term, stu
dents whose medical lllrs show
they have not been vii( cinated
tor measles will not he allowed
lo regislei for classes
The dei isloii, made lei enilv
by Ceruld Fleischli, director of
ihn University Sludenl Health
Center, is a public: health mens
lire that Fleischli said he hopes
will gel students into tie-' health
center to he vaei mated
1 wo measles -hots are re -
ipiired in order to he vaccinat
ed However, most people Were
vaccinated with the first shot
when they were babies Cases
of people who have not re
i eived their Iirst shot ate al
most non-existent, said Judy
‘•‘ lilt, the health centoi's head
nurse
The health ci liter has been
mailing notices to more than
it,000 students whose medical
re; ords show they have not h id
the second vaccina!ion
Fleisdiii said students who
have rei eived a letter but know
they have been vaccinated
should report to the center to
set their medical records
straight
"The reason we are doing
Ibis is because mi-.isles might
seem like a minor illness bill li
really does have a fatality rate,"
be said
The i ase fatality rate lor the
illness in tiie United States Is
one in S00 to one in 1,000
The health < enter gives a
combination measles, mumps
and rubella injection lor S2, a
considerable price diflerence
Irmn the Si! students is ill have
to pay once the health center’s
supply ol the vaccination is de
pleted
H'i have a limited supply ol
the Vina ine and when it is
pme, we don't think we are go
ing to he able to offer the injec
tion for $2 anymore," Moflit
said.
I'leischli s.iid it is possible to
waive the requirement for preg
nancy, allergy or religious rea
SOUS.
"II Ihes do waive it and it
there should be an outbreak
again, they would he excluded
from class lor their protection,"
he said
The most rei elll measles out
break at the University was in
Ihe spring of 1 'too
INDEX
Better Duck_
(Jutland Trophy and Lombardi
Award candidate Steve L'mtman is Just
one of the Husky defenders the Ducks
will huvo to contend with in Seattle’s
Husky Stadium.
Oregon Coach Rich Brooks said he
thinks the Huskies are the best team
he's ever seen in the Paclfic-10 Confer*
once.
See story, Pago 8