AIDS

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The coverage of The Crimson on the presentation to the Cambridge Forum "AIDS--The Battle Ahead" (Feb. 20) contains errors and misrepresents the central argument by citation out of context.

Regarding the number of AIDS cases: The estimate appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine (Nov. 1985) that about 1,750,000 people are infected with the AIDS virus. This was reported as 2,000,000 people have AIDS.

On the issue of contamination by casual contact: The lecture emphasized that transmission by means other than sexual, maternal, blood transfusion, organ donation or intravenous drug abuse was so low as not to be measureable. However, in the lecture it was argued that to assure the public that there would never be transmission by any other route was to invite future trouble as the attendant press coverage of such an event would be damaging. The argument made was that even if documented such cases would not alter the overwhelming fact that infection is not casually transmitted. The photo caption "AIDS can probably be contracted through casual contact" may provide a sensational effect, but is a dangerous distortion of the presentation--exactly the type of misperception warned against!

On the issue of transmission of body fluids: A case was made that laboratory studies of the virus, such as which fluids contain virus or which cells can be infected, do not permit extrapolation to predict transmission under natural circumstances. The finding that tears sometimes contain virus does not mean that the virus is transmitted by tears. Knowledge regarding transmission can only be acquired using the tools of epidemiology--the observation is that several million days of contact between AIDS patients and health care providers has not resulted in infection other than by needle stick.

Regarding the issue of how many people may be infected: A question was asked "Is it conceivable that 50 million Americans may be infected in the next five to 10 years?" The answer was that it is conceivable but that at present there are too many uncertainties to chart the future course of infection.

The article accurately cites my plea for education about the disease. Such education is needed so that well-reasoned decisions based on accurate information may be reached. This task will require a thoughtful effort, for as the description of the Cambridge Forum presentation illustrates, a call for reason may be easily mistranslated by an over-eager and sensation-seeking press. William Haseltine

The Crimson acknowledges and regrets these errors.