To Rubinstein, the mode of transmission was fairly obvious and fit quite well with existing epidemiological data on AIDS. The mother obviously infected the child in her womb. The fetus and parent shared blood as surely as an intravenous drug user, hemophiliac, or blood transfusion recipient. The fact that none of the infants in Oleske’s study were over one year old reinforced this notion. In order to interpret this data to mean that “routine household contact” might spread AIDS, an entirely new paradigm for AIDS transmission was needed. Rubinstein’s paper explained it all very easily, though
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