Heterosexual AIDS Study Set

Federal health officials today announced a new AIDS study that will focus on heterosexual men and women at high risk of contracting the fatal disease because of multiple sex partners or other factors.

“The sexual transmission and progression of AIDS among heterosexuals is virtually unexplored territory,” said Dr. Stanley H. Weiss, one of the nation’s leading AIDS researchers, who will head the study in Newark.

“In effect, we will be helping to write the book on this subject,” Weiss said.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Washington said the study is to be conducted among 2,000 heterosexuals in Newark and in Brooklyn, N.Y., over a five-year period.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the institute, said the purpose of the study is to develop more effective strategies for prevention and treatment of AIDS in a population that is not homosexual or using intravenous drugs.

Only about 4% of the adult AIDS cases can be traced to heterosexual contact, but such sexual conduct accounts for 30% of all AIDS cases among women.

The study will concentrate on heterosexuals with a history of what is considered to be high-risk behavior for contracting AIDS, including: an average of 10 or more sex partners a year; a history of sexually transmitted disease within the last five years; sexual contact with people such as homosexuals or intravenous drug users who are considered to be at high risk for AIDS, and those infected with or exposed to fungous, viral, retro-viral, bacterial or parasitic infections.