European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2b the stars and stripes sunday december 20,1987 Dod shifting some aids exposed gis b Kohl Rapear Washington not officials the defense department said Friday that military personnel in Vitu in Wilh the aids virus Are being removed from sensitive stressful Jenhs because of new evidence Hal the virus could impair mental function even in people who show no overt symptoms of the disease. The officials acknowledged thai some people in i eucled with inc virus have suffered no neurological impairment. But hey said they have no Way to distinguish reliably Between those who would and those who would not. The policy is in cause wide debate and con Cern because of inc possibility Hal in could be used to justify mandatory testing of people in stressful civilian occupations and removal of aids virus carriers from Mich jobs. While More than 48,000 americans have developed aids experts estimate that a million to a million and a half have been infected with the virus or. Peler j. Fischinger aids coordinator for inc i i nixed slates Public health service and or. Anthony s Fauci one of inc government s lop experts on aids. Wild not enough scientific data arc available on Scuro in Iii Al effects of aids infections 10 know whether Ilian employers Ili Uulu Fui Luw die example of the military. To Auci warned against any proc Spitale measures to i Iii ire testing for infection Wilh inc aids virus or to dismiss infected employees. Civil rights advocates criticized the military policy i inc ground Hal in Sigma Iund an entire group with out cause Raiher than focusing Only on individuals who actually showed signs o mental impairment. The new military policy was reported Friday in the Washington Isom doctors have known thai Many patients who have been diagnosed with aids a fatal crippling of the body s immune defences suffer brain damage. But he new military policy is based on recent studies by the military and by academic researchers Hal found Subtle changes in mental abilities in a significant minority of virus carriers who showed no signs of aids re Latch disease. Or. Edmund c. Tramonie director of the clinical research program on aids Al the Walter Reed army medical Center Here said that some of the people infected with inc virus suffered memory Oss and deterioration in their their ability to concen trate and their hand to cye coordination. Or. J. Jarrell Clinton Deputy assistant Secretary of defense for health affairs said that military command ers decide whether an infected person is fit for duly in a specific Job with the advice of physicians. Active duty military personnel who number close to 2.2 million Are nil tested for possible infection Wilh the aids virus. Clinton bail Iii military s tests had found 3,500 to 4.000 people infected while Many virus carriers remain healthy for years evidence Indi Cates that Over time Many perhaps a majority will develop aids or other disease symptoms. Tramont the researcher at the Walter Reed army medical Center said there Are three reasons Why infection with inc aids virus is associated with neurological difficulties. First he said the virus leaves a person vulnerable to cancer and various infections that May affect the nervous system. In addition he said in appears that inc virus May be Able to destroy brain cells although the mechanism is unclear. Finally he said people often become angry or de pressed when told that they have been infected with the aids virus and these emotional conditions can affect performance. The authority of military commanders to restrict the employment of infected personnel derives from a directive issued in april by Caspar w. Weinberger then Secretary of defense. He declared thai the secretaries of the army the Navy and the air Force May limit assignment of such individuals Wilh respect to
