Page 8, Portland O bserver, D ecem ber30 1987 Speak Out The Other Story Health Watch happened, the woman remains by Steven Bailey, N.D. Last week, in an article entitled, faceless and nameless. Why? One 'J o e Holcomb Remembered," can only speculate. On ihe street, I wrote of the grief, anger and tra there is talk that maybe she doesn't gedy that was expressed by the exist at all. approximately 200 persons who When discussing the transmission of AIDS, or how we get AIDS, it is To the friends, family and rela gathered to pay their last respects helpful to revisit the "germ theory". The "germ theory", credited to Louis tives of Joe Holcomb, he was a to Joseph Scott Holcomb. Hol Pasteur, states that infection consists of: (1) an opportunistic organism; hero. But there are those who feel comb, 27, was killed December 12 (2) a route of transmission; and (3) a succeptible host. that Holcomb was just an unfor at the MEtS Coin-Op Launderette at AIDS is consistent with the "germ theory". The organism is a virus now „ tunate victim of circumstance. 4236 N. Mississippi. called the HIV or AIDS virus. The route of transmission is agreed upon by . A Black man, who asked that his Media reports, including my own, the scientific communtiy as being fluid exchange from an infected person to name not be used, said, Man, this gave similar descriptions of the an uninfected host. The "succeptible host" portion of the AIDS conditio racial thing is thick down here. You meeting and the five-block silent is the least clear area of current understanding of AIDS .... see, what we need to look at are the march. At such an intense, emo The AIDS Virus things that happened before Hol tionally charged gathering, it is The AIDS virus has been identified, yet we already have isolated at least , comb was shot. Here is this good mandatory that journalists attempt 18 different HIV viruses. Not only are there a wide variety of these viruses • citizen, a white man, who looks out to paint an accurate picture of the (all capable of initiating AIDS), but the virus is capable of continual change.- his window and sees what he thinks proceedings, the environment and The multiplicity of organisms and frequent mutations of the virus is the red- • is harassment. So, he runs out of expressed personal feelings of the son orthodox medicine no longer predicts an early vaccination program fo r^ the place where he worked and con people involved. The "Joe Hoi the condition (as we were promised in the early part of 1984). fronts a Black man. At that point, Janice Woods comb" article attempted to do just Route of Transmission ( everything turns black n white. Medications Nuise that. The AIDS virus is spread only through the exchange of bodily fluids? His intentions might have been The first reports of the shooting No . . • because of all the Rea- good, but all I saw and all that the Like serum hepatitis, you cannot get AIDS from casual contact such a alleged that Holcomb was shot ganism politics that are affecting other Black people saw was a white hugging, shaking hands, etc. You can get the AIDS virus from four specific while attempting to aid a woman everyone. That is what I am hearing man chasing a Black man. No who was being harassed by two routes: , . . from most people — on the bus, matter what his reasons, that was (1) Sexual Transmission: to date, the number one cause of transmission,N Black men near the Coin-Op Laun my friends — everywhere I go. My the picture that was created. When (2) Sharing a hypodermic needle with an infected person, derette at N. Mississippi Avenue. son, who is 18 years old, just regi those kinds of pictures are created, (3) Iatrogenic: blook transfusions, primarily pre 1984, as we currently-, This information hit the newspapers stered to vote, and he has been it splits people right down the mid do a much better job of screening donors. The role of pooled contamina and electronic media like a bomb. complaining about Reaganism. He dle. What do you think white peo tion of vaccinations and/or immunoglobulin supplies remains a potential Unfortunately, it was the only infor says he will vote for Gary Hart. I'm ple would have thought if the situa mation available to journalists at the source of the virus; and enthusiastic because my sons will tion would have been in reverse and !4) Intra uterine (from infected mother to fetus). time. be on their own after this year, a Black man was seen chasing a (1) Sexual Transm ission: Now, there are reports circulating and I'll have my house all to my white man? I don't think they would There are many forms of sex that can be involved in the transmission of through the Black community that self . . . I love it. have thought, 'Hey, there s good AIDS Certainly we all recognize that homosexual intercourse has been a media accounts of what happened citizen Joe Blow chasing John major cause of the spread of AIDS. While gay populations are now doing are inaccurate, except for the fact Doe.' So whatcha think the Black better at practicing "safer sex ', there are still many other groups and active that Holcomb was shot. people thought when they saw Joe If the story was rewritten accord ties that are "<it risk" ' Holcomb chasing a Black man? Heterosexual sex is a well established method of transmitting AIDS ing to the new information, it would That'-, why no one has come forth Both male transfer of the virus through semen to women and female transfer - read like this: with information." of the virus through vaginal secretions to men is accepted as a common (1) The woman who is alleged to There appears to be a growing cause. As in the above two cases, the transmission of AIDS from one have been harassed was the girl- belief that white businessmen along woman to another woman through secretions in lesbian sex is possible. firend of the man who is alleged to N. Mississippi Avenue are attempt The precautions are well established for preventing AIDS: have done the shooting. ing to use the Joe Holcomb incident (2) The woman was not being (a) Cease promiscuous lifestyles; as a means of removing so called (b) Establish monogamous relationship or practice abstinence. At least harassed. Instead, she and the "Black undesirables from that part consider your partner's sexual history before exchanging fluids. An HIV man, who is said to have shot Hoi * «-‘C of the neighborhood. comb, were having a personal, test might prove of value. While it is not my job to specu ( ) Utilize "safer sex" practices of using a condom when exchanging- street-level dispute. late about the Holcomb incident or fluids with your partner if there is any doubt about whether either partner- (3) That Joe Holcomb’s impres Ernestine Broadous about the information I've shared might have been exposed to the AIDS virus. sion of what was going on, from the Proprietor here, it is worth my time to pursue ( •) Abstain from deep kissing with persons suspected as potential HIV place where he worked across the Steens Kitchen this story further. street, was inaccurate. positive (could be anyone) Yes . . . I do not depend on the There is something deeper here; The reports say Joe Holcomb 2) Shared H ypoderm ic Needles: political system to determine how I something that will tell us about We all have the ability to say no to intravenous drugs. If you or some cornered the man and proceeded to feel about what the future holds for why some residents along N. Mis one you know are using intravenous drugs, it is essential that you do not use physically rough him up. The man, me. I have a greater source to rely sissippi Avenue feel like they are the same needle that others have used. Sharing a needle one time could, unable to fight off Holcomb, shot on. It's spiritual — where there is living in Mississippi. him. be enough to get AIDS. always hope. Therefore, I am en There is something here that will The reports also allege that the (3) Iatrogenic: S thusiastic about the future. If we all tell us why some residents of that so-called harassed woman is actual It is harder to prevent iatrogenic AIDS, as we trust in the medical sys put our trust in our spiritual being neighborhood saw Joe Holcomb as |y a well-known prostitute who tern. Blood donations are must safer than even two years ago, but 100 <>, and exercise more faith, everything just another white man chasing a worked closely with the man who is certainty of safety has not been reached. will be all right. The phrase on our Black man. alleged to have shot Holcomb. (4) Intra uterine: money is so appropriate: "In God It's there. Somewhere. So far, in spite of all that have I feel it is worthwhile to get an HIV test prior to conceiving children, We Trust." We should do just that. Any public health clinic and most physicians will be happy to provide these Do you think most people are enthusiastic about the upcoming new year? by Arnold Pitre Leonard Wade Warehouseman It's the beginning of the New Year and everyone should be at least thankful. It's good to be alive. I enjoy my wife and five kids, and I am thankful for them. I have good friends that I can relate to and visit; I'm thankful for that. There are peo ple that are depressed, but it de pends on each individual s situation. If they just thank God that they are alive, and believe in helping others; if they can, things won't be so de pressing. I do not dislike anyone, I give respect to everyone. And I feel good about myself. People nowadays should stick together and respect one another, especially we Black people; and then we can go a long way and be enthusiastic about the future. Terrell Horsley Waiter Yes . . . People set New Year's resolutions, and try to keep them, and that gives people something to work towards. As a young person, I look forward to the New Year, lam thankful to be here. I can see where older people may not be so enthu siastic about the New Year. It re minds them that they are getting older, and that may be depressing to them. Reporting to Begin on Adolescent Suicide Attem pt At the urging of social workers, the 1987 session of the Oregon Legi slature passed the law regarding sui cide attempts by individuals under the age of 18. The intent of the law is to provide a referral for subse quent intervention or counseling to the teenager who has acted to take his or her life. The law also specifies that the treating hospital will report demographic and statistical infor mation to the Health Division begin ning January 1,1988. The Oregon Health Division an nounced that a proposed rule for re porting suicide attempts by adole scents has been filed with the Sec retary of State. The rules outline procedural requirements for hospi tals to meet certain requirements contained in the Oregon Revised Statutes. The Center for Health Statistics was designated by the administra tor of the Health Division to be the recipient of the reportable informa tion. Data items that will be collec ted include: sex. age, race, date of attempt, method of attempt, place of attempt, resident city, blood al cohol level if available, resident county, previous known attempts, education, hospital of treatment, in patient or out-patient status and if the teen was living with both parents. It is hard to predict how many reports will be received since review of studies done by others suggest anywhere from 7 to 200 attempts for every suicide. In 1986 there were 20 deaths due to suicide for individuals younger than 18, which could mean anywhere from 140 to 4,000 reports may be received du ring 1988. The reports should yield very use ful data, because the number of at tempts is unknown at this point. This is not just a problem in Oregon. Interest has been expressed in Ore gon's data by many national health groups, since no other states are known to be collecting this infor mation under mandatory reporting procedures. How You Get AIDS Pre-Engineering Scholarships Awarded services (HIV testing). Next Week "The Succeptible Host": This is the conclusion of the series Why we are succeptible. and what we can do to strengthen our immunp. NY - Kay R. Whitmore (R), president and executive director of Eastman Kodak Company, supports the valuable link betweentechnological education for minority youth and the health of American industry as he con- ' X , e 5 students IL ,o R) Theresa Fuen.es, Mrchae, Gispe... and De,,*e systems. N E W YO R K New Year's Changes After working in the North-Northeast area for the past two years, Dr. Steven Bailey will be moving to his Northwest Clinic on a full-time basis The Cascade Naturopathic Clinic will now become a new clinic run by Dr.' DeVane. The three were among nine high school seniors to receive 987 Pre-Engineering Scholarship Awards from the National Action Counci or Minorities in Engineering (NACME). The awards were presented at FORUM '87, NACME', seventh annual nationwide conference, held in Philadelphia, PA. The event drew a record 450 leaders of American industry, education, government and minority organizations to address the challenging issues confronting the minority engineering effort. As NACME's newly elected chairman, Mr. Whitmore wil Gregory Donnavan. "W hile I enjoyed the people and work that I did at the Cascade Clinic; I simply had to consolidate into one clinic," stated Dr. Bailey in a recent Portland Observer interview. "I will still be accessible to most of my patients and will maintain a low-income clinic at my Northwest location. Dr. Bailey will maintain his column "Healthwatch in the Portland Ob server. His clinic, the Northwest Naturopathic Clinic, is located at 2606 N.W. Vaughn St., at the foot of the Fremont Bridge. He can also be heafrrt Mondays at 9:00 a m. on KBOO, 90.7 FM. preside over FORUM ’88, June 1 3, in Houston, TX. Savon Auto Repair NEW PATIENT SPECIAL****** 4550 N.E. A lberta 223-0583 This certificate entitles each new patient with: exam , bite - wing x - rays , routine cleaning C lutch Service W holesale D iscount Rebuilt Transm issions For Only Engine Rebuild $650-9700 installed <40 00 OFF - $35.00 w r NEW DENTURES • Free Denture Cleaning • No Charge Consultation • Reline <& Repairs while you wait • Preventive Family Dentistry • Special Attention to Children and Cum Disease Edward E. 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