SIGHTINGS



Majority Of HIV/AIDS
Victims Had Sex Within
The Past 90 Days
From Dr. Cary Savitch, MD <StopHIV@aol.com>
4-10-00
 
A Johns Hopkins study points out the prevalence of irresponsible behavior in the HIV-infected population. Our challenge to control this epidemic is enormous when those infected are not part of the solution---and when public health services are chicken to get involved.
 
As Randy Shilts reminded us, "AIDS did not just happen to America. Instead it was allowed to happen by an array of public institutions". By the way, why is Johns Hopkins not screaming about the fact that public health services in their state of Maryland are not allowed to know who is HIV infected. Partner notification is in shambles in that state.
 
 
From Roland Foster <Roland.Foster@mail.house.gov
 
The question ot asked her is "how many notified their partner of their HIV status?"
 
Study: Majority of HIV-infected Patients Had Sex Within the Past 90 Days... More Than a Third Did Not Use a Condom During Last Sexual Encounter
 
HIV-infected patients frequently exhibit high-risk sexual behaviors and have a high prevalence of asymptomatic sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Johns Hopkins University researchers report. The findings of their cross-sectional study of 691 HIV-infected patients suggest that STD screening needs to be a routine part of clinical care, as do risk-reduction counseling strategies, Dr. Emily J. Erbelding and her colleagues conclude.
 
Over a 10-month period, Dr. Erbelding's team evaluated the prevalence of self-reported high-risk sexual behaviors and the prevalence of STDs among patients attending a large urban HIV clinic. About half of the subjects were women. Heterosexual sex and injection drug use were the most common modes of HIV transmission among the women, and homosexual sex and injection drug use were the most common modes of transmission among the men.
 
Nearly three of every five of the subjects (58%) reported that they had been sexually active within the last 90 days. Furthermore, "7.4% reported multiple sexual partners in the past month, and more than a third (34.6%) did not use a condom at last sexual encounter," the researchers report in the February 18th issue of AIDS.
 
The prevalence of chlamydial infection was 2.4%; the prevalence of gonorrhea was 1.6%. The overall prevalence of having either STD within the past year was 7.5% Dr. Erbelding's group found no relationship between current or recent gonorrhea or chlamydial infections and age, gender, mode of HIV transmission, CD4 cell count, viral load, symptoms or reported risk behavior.
 
AIDS 2000, 2/18/2000;14:297-301


 
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