Two Women in Sex Clubs Get AIDS Virus

Federal health officials, citing a new study of two “social/sexual” clubs that supports the danger of heterosexual transmission of AIDS, Thursday again warned that the risk of AIDS “increases for persons who have multiple sexual partners.”

The Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control reported that the Minnesota Department of Health tested 134 people, including 59 women, in two “swing clubs” in Minnesota and found that two of the women were infected with the AIDS virus. CDC said the rate of 3% among the women tested was “significantly higher” than that of zero found in 56,000 female blood donors in the state.

The startling aspect of the report was that 73% of the men and women interviewed did not consider themselves at risk of contracting AIDS, despite the fact that they had engaged in numerous sexual encounters, CDC officials said. Further, they did not take precautions to protect themselves, such as using condoms, CDC said.

Would Not Continue

Asked whether they would continue to participate in such activities if they knew they were placing themselves at risk of AIDS, 98% said no.

“This is a situation where people should have been aware they were at risk--and the majority felt they were not, which is surprising, considering what they were doing,” said Dr. Harold Jaffe, chief of the epidemiology section of CDC’s AIDS program.

“I think it says to heterosexuals the risk is there,” he said. “Most heterosexuals don’t have the life styles of those described in this article--but it says potentially there is a risk.”

Thus far, only about 4% of the 27,519 reported cases of AIDS in this country have been attributed to heterosexual transmission. AIDS in the United States is believed to have begun within the homosexual population. Thus, it has been largely confined to homosexual and bisexual men. It has also afflicted intravenous drug users who have shared contaminated hypodermic needles.

Experts, however, have repeatedly stressed that AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that can be spread by both homosexual and heterosexual activity. Further, they have said that sex with multiple partners increases the likelihood that an individual will come into contact with an infected person.

More Than 100 Clubs

CDC said a national organization lists more than 100 such “swing” clubs.

The agency said that the two women had belonged to two different clubs for approximately two years and that they denied intravenous drug use or a history of blood transfusions. One was 31, married, and said she had sexual relations only with members of the club. Her husband, also a club member, was not infected. The second woman was 25, unmarried, and occasionally had sex with men outside the club.

Each of the two women reported having had sexual contact with more than 25 other club members, including five men with whom they had both had intercourse, CDC said. Of these five men, only two could be located. Neither was infected. CDC said two of the other three were reported to be bisexual.

The tests were conducted because members of the two clubs were known to have been involved in outbreaks of other sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis and gonorrhea.

Both Minnesota clubs disbanded when it became known that each had a member with AIDS virus.