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NOVA: CAN AIDS BE STOPPED? (TV)

Summary

One in this series of science documentaries. This edition examines the prospects and challenges associated with discovering a cure for the epidemic known as AIDS (Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome). The program begins with Bruce and Bobby, a couple whose lives have been affected by the disease. Bobby, a nurse, acquired the illness through a blood transfusion and was diagnosed with AIDS in the summer of 1985. Next, viewers learn of the U.S. Army base at Fort Dietrich, Maryland, where biological-warfare experiments are performed and the AIDS virus is produced. Narrator Don Wescott explains that the government produces the deadly disease in the hope of developing a vaccine. Dr. William Haseltine of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute comments on the mounting number of people infected with AIDS and the impact of AIDS on public health. The disease was first discovered in the U.S. in 1981 in homosexual men and intravenous drug users, the narration explains, but now AIDS threatens millions of lives. The audience learns of HTLV-III, the retrovirus that causes the disease. Dr. Robert Gallo of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes that this virus never goes away; the viral genes integrate with a person's cellular genes, infecting his or her entire cellular makeup. Next, Bobby recalls contracting acute pneumonia three years earlier -- the first indicator that she had contracted AIDS. The audience learns that the infection first begins in the blood. White blood cells, of which there are many types, protect the immune system; AIDS attacks one specific white blood cell known as the T4 cell or the "T Helper" lymphocyte. This begins the insidious process of infection, which in turn allows for the existence of opportunistic diseases to threaten the health of a person, leaving the immune system defenseless. Researchers like Mark Greenberg and Alexandra Beckett are seen studying the effect of the disease on the brain. Wescott then gives statistics on the worldwide spread of AIDS, noting that millions of Africans are infected. Professor Robin Weiss of the Institute for Cancer Research in London addresses the rapid spread of the disease on that continent. Noting that homosexuality is considered taboo in Africa, he concludes that the majority of infections there are contracted through heterosexual behavior. The program then takes the audience to San Francisco, where an organization called Project Aware tracks the spread of the disease and educates the public about risky behaviors. Discussion follows about vaccines and treatments, including the drug AZT. Bobby says that she believes that AZT has improved her health. Dr. Samuel Broder of the NIH says that, although AZT is a treatment and not a cure, it offers an AIDS patient time. Professor William Jarrett of Glasgow University, who has developed the first and only vaccine for a retrovirus that provides a model for AIDS research, notes that the AIDS virus mutates and therefore produces many different types of viruses, making the creation of a vaccine difficult. Dr. Haseltine then argues that the key to curing the disease remains elusive, although genetic techniques show promise in the development of a vaccine. Dr. Andrew Moss, an epidemiologist at San Francisco General Hospital, concludes by noting that an increase in awareness and education of the public has slowed the spread of the virus. He concludes that the dissemination of information and the education of the public now discourage high-risk behavior.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 2001/2002.

Details

  • NETWORK: PBS
  • DATE: November 11, 1986 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:58:55
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:44883
  • GENRE: Documentary
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Education/Information; HIV/AIDS; Medicine; Science
  • SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1974-
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Paula S. Apsell … Executive Producer
  • Kathleen Bernhardt … Producer
  • Max Whitby … Producer, Writer
  • David Dugan … Producer, Writer
  • Elizabeth Parker … Music by
  • Don Wescott … Narrator
  • Alexandra Beckett
  • Samuel Broder
  • Robert Gallo
  • Mark Greenberg
  • William Haseltine
  • William Jarrett
  • Andrew Moss
  • Robin Weiss