A.I.D.S. publicity

Press, 14 January 1986, Page 20

A.I.D.S. publicity

Sir,—Ms Kate Leslie, A.I.D.S. Foundation chairwoman, says the number of cases here is likely to climb into the hundreds. Bill Ryan, Gay Taskforce, says numbers would be less than estimated to June, 1987, but “it was inevitable that the total of A.I.D.S. cases would reach the hundreds.”jjßoth

these exponents of inspired guesswork should be reminded that A.I.D.S. is not spread by arithmetic, but by the failure of free-moving homosexual sufferers to respond to “advice” concerning “clean, safe sex,” wearing condoms during anal intercourse, and “cutting down” on drugs. Noting everything offered by the media, my guess is that A.I.D.S. has existed unnoticed for many years, but only the recent eruption of gay permissiveness has spotlighted the emergence of a tough virus, hitherto masked by the variety of already familiar dread diseases triumphing by the defeat of almost equally tough immune systems.—Yours, etc., VARIAN J. WILSON. January 12, 1986. Sir,—While on holiday in New Zealand recently I was amazed to read in your paper (January 4) a report that there are currently 220 cases of A.I.D.S. in Australia. For a moment I thought there had been a sudden mass epidemic during my brief absence. But I find that this is not so. Having now returned I discover that “The Press” has been misinformed. The correct figure is actually 150. The rate of increase has in fact slowed down during the year in Australia (and also in the United States). The total has increased by less than four times. If the rate of increase follows a similar trend in New Zealand as in Australia one could realistically expect there to be no more than 50 cases by the end of 1986 — not 100 as stated by your newspaper. It has been only through education and changes in sexual habits (especially within the gay community), that the rate of increase (particularly in Melbourne) has slowed. One can only hope New Zealand can do the same.—Yours, etc., B. BUTCHER. Victoria, Australia, January 7, 1986.