ABSTRACT
The AIDS epidemic has grown in the US from a few hundred cases in 1981 to over 80,000 in 1989. Specific groups have been designated as 'high risk', including homosexual and bisexual men, intravenous drug users (IVDUs) haemophiliacs, transfusion recipients, the sexual partners of these individuals, and children born to female members of these groups. Although transmission of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus: the primary cause of AIDS) and AIDS illness can and do occur among individuals who cannot be categorized as belonging to one of these high-risk groups, the proportional distribution of AIDS cases within risk groups has remained remarkably stable over the first six years of this epidemic. Homosexual and bisexual males continue to be the most strongly affected sub-group, accounting for 70 per cent of the total number of US cases (CDC 1986). The case fatality rate is high: almost 50 per cent overall, and 80 per cent of these within 26 months. Although a number of drugs are under study as potential treatment candidates, their efficacy has not been fully demonstrated. There is no cure for AIDS.
