AIDS warrior Joyce Wallace hopes to shelter homeless hookers
Article Abstract:
A physician, Dr. Joyce Wallace, has undertaken a project in lower Manhattan to shelter homeless prostitutes, most of whom are drug addicts and many of whom are infected with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. This ''Off the Street'' project is the main project of the Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, of which Dr. Wallace is the president. The physician traces her involvement in this cause to the example of her mother, who taught her to see past people's defects to what they could become. She has been involved with the AIDS epidemic since it began, having treated many gay patients. Dr. Wallace began to study female prostitutes as carriers of sexually transmitted diseases in 1981; now she cruises their haunts in a van donated by a condom manufacturer to persuade them to be tested for signs of the deadly virus. Because the city no longer allows her to pay each prostitute $20 for being tested, she is only able to offer McDonald's coupons. The average New York female prostitute is 30; one-fourth are white, one-fourth Hispanic, and one-fourth black; two-fifths are homeless, and four-fifths use or have used intravenous drugs. One-third are infected with the AIDS virus, and most neither use condoms nor receive medical care. Dr. Wallace's male AIDS patients were primarily infected between 1979 and 1983, when the dangers of infection became known. Now she predicts the fastest growth in the disease among heterosexuals, and prostitutes will be active in that spread. The number of cases will climb as medical care becomes less available, resulting in a higher prevalence of genital ulcers and more disease spread. Prostitutes need a place to recover from their psychological wounds; Dr. Wallace's goal is to create 10 shelters in regions known as ''whores' strolls''. The initial project has already encountered negative reactions from the community; although people do not want the shelter in their backyards, AIDS, in fact, is already there. At present, Dr. Wallace devotes many hours to finding and testing prostitutes, then tracking down the ones with positive results. Many older, less attractive prostitutes are rarely seen on the street and are less likely to be contacted as part of the project than the younger women. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1991
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Confronting the rarest AIDS infection, a young man makes a cry from the heart
Article Abstract:
A 32-year-old male U.S. citizen was involved in a motor vehicle accident in December 1987 during a visit to Rwanda, Africa. The accident caused multiple lacerations, and he was exposed to the blood of similarly injured and bleeding passengers traveling in the same van as the young man. As a result of his injuries, he was exposed to blood infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. Six months after the accident, having returned to the U.S., he tested positive for HIV antibodies. Upon learning of his infection, he contacted his only sexual contact from the trip, a young American female studying abroad. She was found to be negative for HIV. Furthermore, his sole sexual contact in the U.S., prior to leaving for Africa, tested HIV negative. Although his life has changed as a result of AIDS infection, his spirit remains strong and he is still engaged in numerous activities.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
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The US race to 'cure' AIDS - at '4' on a scale of 10, says Dr. Fauci
Article Abstract:
Anthony S. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and is considered the leader of the fight against AIDS in the US. He does his own AIDS research and oversees and coordinates the efforts of academic researchers, private drug companies and federal agencies. The goal of developing anti-AIDS drugs, according to Dr. Fauci, is to prolong the time of disease-free survival among those infected with HIV to 20 or 30 years. He estimates that 13 million people around the world are infected with HIV. He says that education is important for preventing infection with HIV but that the AIDS epidemic will not be stopped unless a vaccine is developed. Although optimistic about the eventual development of a vaccine, he says no vaccine will be available until at least the year 2000.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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