Speaking of viral resistance, earlier I had indicated that resistant strains would be spread as concerns about the disease eased due to successful treatment. Today Reuter's has an article on HIV status disclosure. Lack of disclosure is rather high, especially among men:
B O S T O N, Feb. 9 - A study due to
be published today found that three
out of four women infected with the
AIDS virus told their sexual partners
while about half the number of
infected men disclosed their
affliction.
Led by Brown University's Dr. Michael
Stein, researchers at two New England city
hospitals found that only 52 percent of men
opposed to 78 percent of women told their
sexual partners of their HIV status. The
study will be published in today's Archives
of Internal Medicine.
Of those who did not disclose they were
infected with the HIV virus that causes
AIDS, only 42 percent said they always
used a condom during sexual intercourse.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention have long recommended
condoms as a method of preventing the
spread of AIDS.
Partners Left Not Knowing
The researchers interviewed HIV patients
who reported having sexual partners during
the previous six months and found that
among those who had one steady partner,
21 percent failed to disclose their status.
"There are powerful forces working in
favor of non-disclosure," the researchers
said. "First, there are the psychological
consequences of disclosure, especially the
risk of rejection."
Among the 129 HIV patients in the
study, 69 percent were men. Drug users
made up 41 percent of those in the study,
while 20 percent said they were homosexual
or bisexual and 39 percent were
heterosexual.
There have been recent calls for state and
city health departments to publicly identify
people who have tested positive for HIV.
Stein added in an interview, "It comes
down to personal responsibility and no
public health intervention will solve the
problem.
"The recommendation we reached is an
old one, which is that condoms should be
used as much as possible if not always," he
said. |
