BY JUNE 30, 1989, there had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga, a total of 99 936 cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Here is the breakdown: 60 007 have been homosexual or bisexual men; 20 084, intravenous drug users; 6982, due to "contact" with homosexual or bisexual men and/or intravenous drug users; 4458, heterosexuals; 2414, the recipients of transfusions of blood contaminated with the AIDS virus; 1681, children born to mothers carrying the virus; 948, hemophiliacs requiring blood transfusions; and 3362, "undetermined."
This story is not about them.
In its June 9, 1989, issue, JAMA carried a Brief Report from Dr David R. Hill, entitled, "HIV Infection Following Motor Vehicle Trauma in Central Africa." The article described a 32-year-old man who acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) following a December 1987 motor vehicle accident in Rwanda, in which he received multiple lacerations and was exposed to