Page 8, Portland Observer, October 30, 1986
AIDS strikes Blacks at high rate
h i Henry Huvull
\ close look at the victims ol AIDS
( A cquired Im mune Deficiency Syn
drom e) reveals a d isp ro p o rtio n a te
number ol Blacks struck by the deadly
diseases, while more than half o f the
nation's children w ill, AIDS are Black
( iimy recent data from the ( enters
lo r Disease C o n tro l (< D ( ), Dr
Wavnc Greaves, d u e l ol the division
ol infectious diseases at Howard I ni
veisiiv Hospii.il in Washington, I) ( ,
notes that he has found " a lot more
cases among Blacks than we p re v i
ously thought "
Nationally, Blacks comprise 25 per
cent o l all victim s ot A cquired Im
inline Deticieiicv Syndrome
more
than double the 12 percent Black jxip
illa tio n in the nation And some 56
percent ol the nation’s children hit by
AIDS are Black, Greaves emphasized
in an interview
Since the A ID S virus was Inst re
ported in this countrv in l9 N I,rn o rc
than 15.4INI Americans have been a f
flicted hv the disease, which destroys
the body's immune system and is ulti
ni.itelv fatal Blacks account for more
than 5,5(><l ol those victim s, says
< ircavc-.. formerly with the( IX in At
l.in i.i, in d ica tin g that h a lf o f all
\uiei ic.uis contracting tI k * disease have
died
< >1 the known "pediatric cases"
comprising children under 15
107 ol
191 ch ild re n w ith A ID S have been
Black, he adds, noting that children
in.ike up about one percent o l all
A ID S cases reported in the I lilted
States
I he epidem iologist points to the
state ol Mat viand as a good example
ol the disp ro p o rtio n a te ly high inci
deuce among Blacks In that stale. 116
ol the 222 know n cases have been
Black victims, accounting lor 52 |X*t
cent
more than double the 22 per
cent B l.u k pop u la tio n in M a iy la n d ,
lie stresses.
I ike the disease itself, mystery
shrouds the reasons why lltere is a high
\ l I )S incidence among Blacks
I here's till beliel (in the Black
, om m unitv I that A ID S is a white
man's disease," savs ( ireaves. who is
also an assistant ptolessor ol medicine
al I low aid " A l DS is color blind "
\n o lh e i problem is that Blacks
ollcn tend Io seek health care when a
medical problem has reached an ad
vanccd dageof development At I low
a i d l mveisilv H ospital, when* most
AIDS victim s Healed thus tar have
txvll III.ic k . MI )S sulleiers have gen
erally lived about six to eight mouths
alter diagnosis o l the disease I he
median su rviva l n a tio n a lly is IN
months from diagnosis to death
W hile Gieaves is on what he calls
"the Iro n ! lin e " ol Healing AIDS
patients. Ins colleague. Di Winston
I rcdcrick, assistant ptolessor ol medi
C ontrol awarded a $250, (MX) gram to
Howard over three years, launching
the Sexually T ransm itted Disease
I taming Program for senior medical
sludentx. H ow ard is one o f only six
universities nationwide funded by the
C IX for such training, says Greaves,
noting that training is conducted in
cooperation with local health depart-
menls.
" I f my tune weren't fu lly taken up
with oilier academic dunes," (ireaves
notes, " I would devote it to lobby
ing hard fo r addressing Ihe issue or
studs mg the problem ot why there’s j
disproportionate number o f Blacks
attested (by A ID S ), par'icu la rly the
pediatric cases."
Dr Wayne Greaves, chief of infectious diseases at Howard University Hospital,
consults w ith Dr Soon Young Park of the university's College of Pharmacy
and Pharrnacal Sciences on drug treatment of AIDS patients, most o, whom
are Black at the Washington, D C., hospital Greaves emphasizes that nationally
Blacks comprise 26 percent of all AIDS victims
more than doulNe the 12 pm
cent Black population o, the nation
(Photo: Harlee Little)
ciik * at
Howard, is trying to unUxk i I k *
secreis ot AIDS Ihe lormer National
institutes ol Health researcher is con
dueling research io lin d certain para
meters or "re lia b le m arkers that
may give clues to the disease s devcl
opmeni.
S o la r, AIDS has prim arily struck
homosexual and bisexual men, intra
venous ( I \ ) drug abusers and recipi
cuts o l contam inated blood B ill in
these high risk groups, a stark d ille r
ence etneiges betwen while and Black
All)S v ictiins
According lo Greaves. ahoul N' |x*r
cent ol the nation's whiles with the dis
ease are gav ami eight percent are
intravenous drug abusers Among
Bl.uk AIDS victims, 49 |x*rcetlt aie gav
and 5 n percent ate IV drug abusers
He believes that more a tte n tio n
needs Io lx* given lo d iu g abusets
Di Alyce G u lla tie e , director ot
H ow aid I Diversity H ospital's Insti
line lo t Ding Abuse and Addiction,
agrees, pointing out thai imrovenous
drug abusets may pose a greater risk ot
spreading the virus to the general pub
lu than homosexuals D ing abusers
can he helerosesu.il, homosexual,
bisexual or prostitutes
" a m icro
coslll ol ihe populaliout " she stresses
“ So many lives aie touched bv ding
abusers," she continues, adding that
they geneiallv have children mote Ire
quently Ilian homosexuals or bises
uals. ( hildreu can contract ihe dis
ease hetore 01 dining b irth hv Hans
mission fro m in le cle d expectant
m otheis, as well as through blood
transfusions
I he high coneenti a non o l Black
Memorial Center
Day Care
À
• Kindergarten
• Pre-School
4 year old kids at Grace Collins
M e m o ria l C an ter learn b o w to
m ake cookies
À
•
■ ■ I •
Mon rn
n k) .im e üt) pm
Call
281-6930
128 N.E. Russell St.
;
5 year old kids at Grace Collins
study h ard on school w o rk
before going outside to play
Grace Collins
U
AIDS victims is loiind hi urban areas
that have l.urlv large Black popula
lions, savs ( neaves Many w lio c o n
trad ihe latal disease, lot which there's
no cure, are in Iheir «k
(neaves believes public education is
the kev to A ID S prevention and io
overcoming ihe tears, uncertainties
and m is in fo rm a tio n about A ID S
People need to know that AIDS is
deadlv and spieading
“ You're selling yourself up for
earlv dea th ," Gullailec tells hei thug
palienls, intonnmg them that lliev ale
ni an AIDS Inch risk gioup
(neaves suggests i hai "s a fe se x"
practices should prevail
avoiding
m ultiple sex partners or prom iscuity
which can inciease the iisks ol con
trading (tie la,gels sexuallx lia iism il
led disease And blood transfusions
should be performed mils under “ dire
(medicali circumstances
( (ne edile anon piogiam al Howard,
allhotigh not taigctcd to the general
public, Iranis medical students indiai*
nose jn d manage patients with esn'a'
Iv transm uted diseases, including
AIDS
I asl veai. ihe ( euleis lo t Disease
- Memorial Center
Day Care
( ompleie dentures al a suhsianhallv
reduced cost are available Io new pa
licnts at the Oregon Health Sciences
I mvervily (O H S l I School ot Den
tistry
" I he dentures are constructed bv
denial students in Ihe < >HSt ’s Denial
clinic under the direct supervision ot
faculty demists,” said Di Sebastian
( ampagna. chairman ol ihe schcxil's
departm ent ot rem ovable prostho-
doniics
"We can accept new patients right
awav and can lake as mans as ado
patients each veai in this special pro
gram ," he added
Ihe cost lo patients toi this service
is siihsianliallv reduced Services pro
sided include a complete oral examma
lio n , \ ra w and a complete set ol
high qualily up|x-i and lower dentures
Palienls w ho are accepted lo t treat
ilienl must he able lo visit the < H IM
Denial ( him twice a week toi live lo
six weeks
" I his p io g ia m serves a dual pur
pose." ( ampagna said " I t helps till
fill ihe ixx-d lot dentines among people
who could not otherwise a lto rd them,
and i, also allows our students lo gain
ihe needed experience and H auling
required lot Iheir professional cduca
lion
I oi m oie in fo rm a tio n about Ihe
deni me piogiam , contact ihe ( HI si
Sc liool ol Deiiiisii v al 225 NN 15
W hat you should know
about taking everyday drugs
Most di ii|
old m phai iliac ic in
ihe I tilled Stale's ale sale and woik as
intended lusl die same, it's besl hi ex
erase great care when hiking any mexli
cation d o n 't lake m ore than the
recommended dosages and walch out
lor undesiiahle side etlects
I hat advice should he espa tails
heeded when hiking such commonlv
available oxer the counter m c d ii.i
lions like aspirin and cold lemedies, oi
frequently prescribed drugs like birth
control pills and iianquilizets
Here are consumer lips on ID com
monlv used ding types
•
'Latch Key Program
tO 1 1 VTS.
“ Aging Relatives. Your fam ily and
Y o u " is the title o f a free fa m ily
fo ru m , sponsored bv M e tropolitan
fa m ily Service, to be held W edries
day, Nos. 6, at 7:30 p.m . at Augus
tana 1 utheran Church. 2710 N f 14th
Avenue.
fa m ilie s who are facing the chal
lenges o f finding appropriate care and
housing alternatives for oldct family
members are encouraged to attend
Representatises fro m a variety o f
fa m ily service agencies w ill answer
questions and share in fo rm a tio n on
their services and programs.
The subject w ill be explored in
depth in a six-part series to be held
Thursday evenings beginning Nov 14,
also sponsored hs Metropolitan fam
ils Service A small fee w ill be charged
fo r the series, which includes disais
sion o f changing fam ily roles and
responsibilities, available care options,
family communications, understand
ing the older relative, and developing
effective contacts w ith service pro
viders.
Those wishing additional informa
Iron, or registration, may call M etro
politan f amily Service at 22N 723N
OHSU dental
school make
dentures available
Grace Collins
Children 6 wks.
Free Family Forum:
'Caring for Older Relatives'
is/'/r/h Nccei take more than
two a grain tabk*ts every tixn hours tor
a maximum o l 10 davs
three lor
lever Before h ikin g another drug
or undergoing surgery, lell vom dixtor
it you've been hiking aspirin
S ouk * potential side ellevts: stomach
|\un and nausea Kinging in die eats is
also possible, b ill (hat's geneiallv die
sign o l a high dose and goes awav
when von slop hiking die drug
• h e h irn in o fh e n Allhough Ibis
aspirin substitute is geneiallv tree ol
side etlects, a l.uge overdose can lead
to serious, even latal liver damage I he
recommended dosage is ihe same as
for aspirin
• Idiui/i/s l i \ hesl to lake lliein
oik * hixir altei meals and not with olh
er medicines I xcessive use can lead
to constipation oi diarrhea
• C old Medu a tio n \ No drugs can
cure a cold; tiles can, however, relieve
symptoms. I hus, d your d ix to r pre
scribes cold medication, ask whv II
it's an aniibioiK
which will not cure
the cold
ii may be a waste ol mmx-s
• 4ZZ«rgi/)n/gs I ike cold niedica
lions, generally they only relieve
symptoms Antihistamines should not
be taken bs people with glaucoma, or
bv men w ith enlarged prostates, and
not combined w ith alcohol Besides
drowsiness, Ihev can cause* drv moulh,
nose and throat
• \n lih io lu i Because these pre
svrtptinn drugs work overtime, h's mi
portani lo keep taking them even alter
Petty Cat "« p * jc "«'O'
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q 5oo
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Reg $35 00
Roy $18 96
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Closed Sun. « Mon. OPIN Tuoa. thru Sat. 11:30 AM to 6:00 PM
YOUR WATER: IS THERE MORE THERE
THAN MEETS THE EYE?
mm syinpionts disappear Also, read
the label lo lind out it Ihev should be
taken o n h on an empty slomach
AA ahh oui loi allergies, and hccatctul
ol oveiusc. which mas lead lo the
development o l lesisianl shams ol
micro oiganisiiis
• H i'lh < m il'n l I ’ll!-. " I lie P ill" is
ihe most widelv studied drug in his
lo iv A lle i iw o decides, scientists
liave learned dial
Ihe risk ol heat I disease and
slioke increases in women over age 5A
who smoke w bile on Ihe pill
Il's not recommeiidixl loi women
with high blood pressing, diabetes,
liver disease oi a fam ily Ihisiorv o l
hear, disease, rcgaidlcss ol age
H o rm o n a l flu e iu a iio n s in p ill
users can alleviaie symptoms o f de
pression in some women and worsen
them in others.
I here's no lin n evidence dial die
pill causes cancel
Newei torm ula pills
contain
mg lowei doses ol esirogen and p ro
gesterone
are less like ly lo c a lis e
weight change, breast tenderness,
abdominal cramps or skin discolora
lion, hut more likelv localise menstru
al irregularities
• D iet I h Z s I he I ood and Drug
Administration il D AI is still weighing
evidence hetore deciding d phenylpro
panolamine ( I’ P A) contained in diet
aids is completely sale I Ihe I D A
Hnds PPA sate and effective for a
short lim e use.) Iw o Washington,
D ( , consumer groups, however,
recommend nor using it.
• Ira n i/iiiliz e r\ Overuse ol drugs
like A ahum can lead lo tolerance,
making you need more ot the drug.
And sudden w ithdraw al can lead lo
unpleasant symptoms.
• S/ee/i izrr/.v Ih e I D A has ap
proved sleep aids to r "o cca sio n a l
use" olds I nless inslrucled lo do so
hs iheir physicians, people with mild
or in fre q u e n t sleeping d iffic u ltie s
should not use potent chugs prescribed
lot patients with chronic or severe in
somma.
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