QUIZ 1.

• Position: AIDS in Africa

Use with INTERNATIONAL, pages 8-11

SHORT ANSWER: Write the correct answer on the line provided.

1. What is the name of the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)? --

2. About how many Africans have died of AIDS? --

3. Health authorities believe AIDS originated in Africa in the 1950s, when it was transferred from an animal to a human. What animal is believed to have passed the disease to humans? --

4. Why did many political authorities in Africa deny that AIDS was a problem in their countries? --

5. Which age group is most likely to contract AIDS in the U.S.? -- Which in Africa? --

6. How did the U.S. respond after South Africa passed a law allowing the import of genetic AIDS drugs that violated U.S. companies' patents on similar drugs? --

7. Explain the argument the drug companies made for protecting their patents on AIDS drugs. --

8. What event involving AIDS drugs immediately preceded the decision by big U.S. drug companies to slash the price of their AIDS drugs sold in Africa? --

9. What do experts think will be the effect of the recent dramatic cut in the price of AIDS drugs in Africa? --

10. What do officials at the World Trade Organization believe is needed to mount a serious continentwide attack on AIDS in Africa? --

11. Why do such a large percentage of people who live in Botswana have the virus that precedes the onset of AIDS? --

12. Which of the world regions identified in this article has the smallest number of AIDS cases? --

    CRITICAL THINKING: Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

13. Taking the triple-therapy AIDS drug cocktail is a complex procedure: patients must take the drugs at different times, some on an empty stomach, others with food. With too little medicine for all those who need it, would doctors be justified in refusing it to patients they believe will be unable to adhere to this strict regimen?

14. Why do you think the drug companies decided to drop the lawsuit they had filed to protect their drug patents in South Africa?

15. Should government, whether in Africa or the U.S., control the prices of drugs? Explain why or why not.

    ANSWERS

1. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). 2. 17...