Poverty and AIDS
In your Feb. 3 article on the decline in AIDS death rates, your reporter expresses surprise at the concentration of HIV infection among the poor in downtown L.A.
Those of us who work at providing services to people with HIV are not surprised. We know that AIDS creates poverty, and then feeds off it. The county HIV Epidemiology Program reported in 1994 that people who live in low-income neighborhoods are at greater risk of contracting HIV than their more affluent fellow citizens because they already face daunting odds just to stay alive. For them, AIDS is often just one more crisis.
In Santa Monica, which like downtown Los Angeles has a large concentration of poor people (many of them unhoused), most of our time is spent working with clients to find the basic necessities of life. Only when life becomes stable can they begin the long struggle against AIDS.
HYWEL W. SIMS, Exec. Dir.
Santa Monica AIDS Project
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I applaud your Feb. 4 editorial on AIDS. However, there are several points that need examining. You did not mention the single most important area for reducing the spread of HIV--education. Education efforts need to be increased, especially among the homeless and young people.
The statement that protease inhibitors have been shown to markedly reduce transmission of HIV is without foundation. Protease inhibitors are credited with reducing viral load below the level of detectability. This does not mean that the virus is gone. It is still there but the tests are not sensitive enough to detect it. The virus can still be transmitted by someone with undetectable viral load.
WILLIAM H. SCANNELL
Costa Mesa
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“Hopes Rise for Inexpensive AIDS Drug” (Feb. 6) highlights hope “for the 50% of HIV-positive Americans not receiving treatment because of its cost.” Yet no one questions why 50% of HIV-positive Americans are denied the benefits of available medical care. There are no protests that the pharmaceutical manufacturers are turning profits. Perhaps the drug companies could defer some of the consumer-directed advertising money into providing medication for those in need.
MARVIN J. GORDON MD
Laguna Beach
