In his Feb. 13 letter, E.J. Neiburger, D.D.S., complained about Oprah Winfrey and tried to compare her remarks about beef and a 1987 comment about AIDS.
Although Ms. Winfrey’s remark that “Research studies now project that one in five heterosexuals could (emphasis mine) be dead from AIDS at the end of the next three years” missed the mark, Dr. Neiburger should not dismiss it too lightly. The fact is that in 1987 AIDS cases contracted from heterosexual exposure were less than 1 percent of all AIDS cases. In November 1997 the percentage had risen to 9 percent in the U.S. (but a whopping 15 percent in Florida), according to Florida health officials. It is still climbing, so all heterosexuals should be practicing safer sex, and the government should be pushing condoms like crazy. The truth is that AIDS was never a gay disease. Just visit sub-Saharan Africa for proof of that!
