Local Red Cross joins AIDS battle By CHERYL ARCHIBALD Standard-Examiner staff The American Red Cross' Bonneville Chapter is joining its parent group in educating I people about AIDS. Ogden residents are encouraged to call 627-3533 if they have questions about acquired immune deficiency syndrome —a blood-borne disease that attacks the immune system and as yet has no known cure. “People really want to know, and they don't know who to ask," said Phil Sanchez, Red Cross volunteer. "While surveys show more public knowledge of AIDS, ignorance and myth are widespread." He said callers are promised confidentiality. Red Cross workers can send callers brochures on AIDS and have their questions answered. They also can refer callers to physicians or the local health departments for more infor¬mation. Groups also can request Red Cross speakers to attend their gatherings. "We're trying to get the information we have on AIDS out to people," he said, adding that the Red Cross will have latest informa¬tion from the Centers for Disease Control at Atlanta. Here are some commonly asked questions about AIDS, with answers provided by the Utah Department of Health, various AIDS publications and doctors: Q. How is AIDS spread? A. Primarily through sexual contact when blood is exchanged or body fluids are ex¬changed in which blood is present. Also, AIDS is transmitted in blood transfusions in which donor blood was contaminated; in the sharing of contaminated intravenous needles; and from mother to infant during pregnancy. Q. Can someone get AIDS by eating from a plate used by a person with AIDS or by being in the same hot tub, swimming pool or bathroom? A. No AIDS cases have been reported that were received in casual contact with AIDS carriers or from surfaces. However, Utah state epidemiologist Craig Nichols says the danger of the AIDS virus being in dried blood on any surface is unknown. "The virus could be there in dried blood stain. But it is difficult to prove and difficult to quantify the risk." Q. Who is at high risk of getting AIDS? A. Those at highest risk are homosexual and bisexual males, intravenous drug users, homosexual or bisexual males who are taking intravenous drugs, hemophiliacs and heterosexual females who have sexual contact with bisexual males. Q. Can AIDS be spread through heterosexu¬al contact? A. Yes, and not just from men to women: cases have been documented in which wom¬en have given the AIDS virus to men through sexual intercourse. There are no re¬ported cases of AIDS in Utah spread that way. Q. How many AiDS cases have been re¬ported in Utah? A. As of last week, 71 cases have been re¬ported since August 1983. There have been 55 deaths, the most recent in August. Three children in Utah have had AIDS and all of them have died. Q. How many Utahns have the AIDS-caus-ing virus? A. About 2,000 people are estimated to have the virus who have no symptoms of full-scale AIDS. Q. Is there a vaccine to prevent or a medi¬cine to cure AIDS? A. There is no vaccine now ready for use to prevent AIDS, but some possible vaccines are being tested. There is no drug that will wipe out the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Finding one may be difficult, according to a John Hopkins Uni¬versity publication, Population Report, be¬cause the virus becomes a part of the cells it infects. "Therefore, the only way to eliminate all the virus may be to kill every infected cell," the publication says. Also, the virus can infect brain cells, which are difficult for anti¬viral drugs to penetrate. AZT is a drug approved last October for ex¬perimental use on AIDS patients in the latter stages who have developed carinii pneumo¬nia, an opportunistic disease of AIDS. The drug seems to keep patients alive longer, ac¬cording to Salt Lake City doctor, Kristen Ries who uses the drug in treating some AIDS pa¬tients. Q. What is the incubation period of the AIDS virus? A. A person usually develops full-scale AIDS in five to 10 years after acquiring the virus, but some have developed AIDS before five years. Q. How fast is AIDS spreading in the Unit¬ed States? A. In 1981, the first case of AIDS was re¬ported in the United States. From June 1981 to June 1986, 21,517 cases were reported, and the U.S. Public Health Service estimates that by 1991, more than 270,000 cases will have been reported.