Watching the World
AIDS Spreading
“Communities across the nation are worried that acquired-immune-deficiency syndrome may spread more easily than medical authorities now believe,” says U.S.News & World Report. “Cases are doubling every 12 months, and experts believe that more than a million people may have been exposed to the AIDS virus.” Although the majority of these have not developed the fatal form of the disease, they can pass the infection on to others. New research also indicates that additional exposure to the AIDS virus, or perhaps even other viruses, may cause the full disease to erupt in such persons. Many harboring the AIDS virus do not even know it, as symptoms may not develop until five or six years after exposure. Over 7,000 AIDS victims have already died in the United States. The disease is spread by sexual contact, blood transfusions, and the sharing of hypodermic needles by drug users. Children can also be born with it when the mother is a carrier.
The deadly character of AIDS has pushed the once widespread fear of genital herpes into the background and has resulted in some unprecedented actions. The mayor of San Antonio, Texas, urged AIDS victims to “transcend their individual rights,” while the City Health Department warned them that engaging in sexual activity or donating blood could result in felony charges. Some churches have stopped their practice of using a common Communion cup. The U.S. military services now test all recruits for AIDS. Schools admitting children with the disease have been boycotted by concerned parents. And following the news that actor Rock Hudson’s death was due to AIDS, the Screen Actors Guild now requires that performers be given advance notice of any scenes that call for open-mouth kissing.
Condor Survival Threatened
The condor, one of the largest birds native to North America, boasts a wing span up to 10 feet (3 m) and can weigh as much as 22 pounds (10 kg). Yet, currently, only seven have been seen soaring above their California habitat. According to Science magazine, their population dropped from about 40 birds in 1967 to 15 in 1984. Six more died between November 1984 and April 1985. Although 20 of the birds are in captivity, their survival as a species is in question. Condors reach reproductive age at six or seven years and usually produce about one egg every two years. This low rate and man’s intrusion on the condor’s habitat, coupled with food contamination by lead and other poisons, pose a major threat to their survival.
Small Country, Big Problem
The country of Belize has a population of under 160,000, yet, as reported in The New York Times, it is said to be “the most important narcotics trafficking center in Central America and the fourth largest supplier of marijuana to the United States, after Colombia, Mexico and Jamaica.” About 85 percent of the crop manages to get into the United States each year despite arrests, attempts to eradicate it, and efforts to educate the public regarding the dangers of trafficking in marijuana. “If we allow this to continue, we could lose our Government—our independence,” said Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel.
Heavy Hailstorm
A freak hailstorm, so heavy that it left a hundred-foot-long (30 m) slab of ice 5 feet (1.5 m) thick on one street, struck a Brazilian town the last day of September 1985. Hailstones weighing about two pounds (1 kg) hit the town of Itabirinha de Mantena, some 300 miles (500 km) north of Rio de Janeiro, and covered the streets with sheets of ice. Lasting only 15 minutes, the storm killed more than 20 people, injured 300, and left 4,000 of the town’s 10,000 inhabitants homeless. Over 900 houses lost their roofs, while 50 were completely destroyed. Other damage was done when rivers, jammed with ice, overflowed. Mayor Clovis D. de Castro described the calamity as the ‘worst tragedy on record in the region in recent years.’
Anniversary Marred
The close of the 40th anniversary celebration of the UN was marked by disappointment when member nations could not agree on a declaration of purpose. Over 200 visiting dignitaries uttered more than a million words during the six-week session of the General Assembly, without resolving any conflicts or agreeing on what was to be a “Declaration on the Occasion of the 40th Anniversary.” Why? “A number of nations used the declaration as a point-scoring exercise,” admitted American delegate Harvey Feldman. “The meetings were marred by East-West and North-South tensions and, in particular, by the Middle Eastern questions.” India’s prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, summed it up, saying: “Certain countries are not willing to work together to produce a result that is acceptable to everyone.”
Expressing the concerns of many world leaders, Foreign Minister Shah Mohammad Dost of Afghanistan stated: “It is regrettable that we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of this organization when . . . the world is precariously tottering on the edge of the abyss of a nuclear catastrophe, which threatens not only the entire civilization but also the very existence of any form of life on earth. Nothing could be more distant from the dreams and ideals of the authors and signatories of the United Nations Charter.” Yet, the General Assembly concluded their session by declaring 1986 to be the international “Year of Peace.”
New Brake Light
An automobile brake light, mounted at eye level in the rear window of the vehicle, is claimed to be far more visible than those at a lower level. Used together with the standard brake lights, it is said to reduce rear-end collisions by as much as 53 percent. The new light will be required on all 1986 cars in the United States. It can also be inexpensively purchased for installation on older cars. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that consumers will save $394 million each year on rear-end crashes,” states Prevention magazine.
New Design Needed
“Car seat belts should be redesigned to prevent drivers’ heads from hitting the steering wheel, and to prevent injuries to the breastbone, abdomen and lower spine,” says The Times of London. The government-sponsored study, conducted at 15 hospitals, analyzed the injuries that 14,000 people received the year before and the year after the passage of the compulsory-seat-belt law. Overall, there was a reduction in deaths and injuries. But while the number of injuries was down 20 percent for drivers and 24 percent for front-seat passengers, the average severity of the injuries showed no reduction. A shift did take place in where the injuries occurred. Chest, neck, and abdominal injuries increased, while kidney injuries and broken limbs decreased. Skull fractures decreased dramatically for front-seat passengers but increased among drivers. Hence, the call for seat-belt redesign.
‘No Place for the Sick’
A surprisingly large number of hospitalized patients are contracting infections that have no connection with the ailments for which they were admitted. A report published in a recent issue of Discover estimates that two million Americans develop infections during their stays, raising medical costs by up to $2 billion per year. On the average, such illnesses add four days to a patient’s stay in the hospital, at an additional cost of $800. Some 300,000 patients die each year from such infections. Yet such figures do not take into account other mishaps, such as anesthesia mistakes and errors in medication, that affect millions of other patients annually. Says Dr. Lowell Levin, professor of public health at Yale University: “It sounds like a joke, but a hospital is no place for a sick person to be.”
Teen Mothers
Child promiscuity resulting in unwanted pregnancies is “the most pressing issue in our society at present,” says Dr. Charl Roux, head of family planning in the department of gynecology at Cape Town’s Tygerberg Hospital. In 1984, 20 percent of all births recorded at this hospital were to teenage mothers, two of whom, at 19 years of age, were pregnant for the ninth time. Dr. Roux said that by failing to teach their young children the facts of life and by not setting a good example, adults are responsible for a large part of the social problems that result. “It is the responsibility of parents to foster a climate which prevents the possibility of the child being too scared or inhibited to discuss matters of this kind with them,” he said.
Milk for Bones
Drinking plenty of milk during childhood seems to build bone mass effectively to an optimum level, reports Asiaweek. Milk is rich in calcium, a natural bone-builder. A study of 255 women between the ages of 49 and 66 showed that those who were heavy milk drinkers during childhood had bones with greater density. Such findings are significant for women, since they face the greatest risk of suffering from osteoporosis, which, due to a decreased production of sex hormones and aging, diminishes bone mass and can result in spontaneous fractures.
‘Teen Pregnancy Epidemic’
“Teen pregnancy is so widespread throughout the world,” states psychologist Michael A. Carrera, professor of health sciences at New York’s Hunter College, “that to call attention to it by saying it is of epidemic proportions is fair, and it should harken us to action.” At a rate of about one million unwanted teenage pregnancies a year, the United States leads other developed nations by a wide margin. According to Carrera, sex-education programs for teenagers do not prove effective because they fail to take their religious, social, and cultural values into consideration.