Friends For Friends
HIV/AIDS and African-Americans
In The News . . .
Excerpts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National AIDS Clearinghouse AIDS Daily Summary
This information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse, or any other organization
(including Friends For Friends, Inc.).
Officials Link Man to at Least 10 Girls Infected with HIV
Preventive Steps Remain Critical
Elders Weighs in on N.Y. AIDS Spree
The Impact of Condoms in Schools
New York City Has Highest AIDS Rate
Officials Link Man to at Least 10 Girls Infected with HIV
New York Times (10/28/97) P. A1; Barron, James
Officials in chautauqua County, NY, say one man has apparently infected at least 11 teenage girls in western New York state with HIV--six of them, including a 13-year-old, after he knew he carried the virus. Officials said Monday that the man and his partners may have infected as many 50 other people, creating the worst health crisis ever to hit the community 70 miles south of Buffalo. County officials believe the virus was transmitted through heterosexual sex. "It appears that he did not warn his contacts about his seropositive status," said Dr. Berke. "Most of the cases demonstrate a significant number of sexual partners and a lack of concern for contraception." The county district attorney, James Subjack, said he plans to file statutory rape charges against the man. The county may also file assault and reckless endangerment changes. County Health Commissioner Robert Berke has identified the man as Nushawn Williams; Williams is believed to have used a number of different names, including that of Shyteek Johnson. Last month, Johnson pleaded guilty to selling crack to undercover agents and is now an inmate at Riker's Island in New York City.
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Preventative Steps Remain Critical
USA Today (10/29/97) P. 1D; Painter, Kim
Experts say that this week's report of an outbreak of HIV infection in western New York is an indication that recent treatment imporvement and decreased death rates are not reasons to relax prevention efforts. "A lot of people want to say we're done with prevention, let's move on to treatment," said Ronald Valdiserri of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But here we have this very sad, very unfortunate situation. And what we need to do now is make sure it doesn't happen again." While the case of Nushawn Williams--who had unprotected sex with at least nine girls and young women in rural Chautauqua County but did not tell them he was infected--is unusual, the situation stresses the need for further education efforts. "We do know that it's possible to become infected after a single episode of unprotected heterosexual intercourse," Valdiserri said. Some people face a greater risk of infection than others. Experts stress that teenagers in particular need to know about sexual risks. Donna Futterman of Montefiore Medical Center in New York noted that teenagers must be aware that "you cannot rely on the person telling you they do or do not have HIV."
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Elders Weighs in on N.Y. AIDS Spree
Washington Times (10/30/97) P. A4; Price, Joyce Howard
"Elders Weighs in on N.Y. AIDS Spree"
Former Surgeon General Joycelyn M. Elders said inadequate sexual education allowed a New York man to infect at least nine teenagers and young women with HIV. "We deny our children are
having sex and that our teen-age girls are having sex with adults," Elders said. However, Chautauqua County officials say
the 28 young women who had sex with Nushawn Williams knew the
risks they were taking. Sharon Linden, head of the Jamestown
School District's health department, said the district's abstinence-based sexual education program begins in the fifth
grade, but children are first introduced to information about HIV
transmission as early as age seven. Chautauqua Lake Central
School District Superintendent Don Belcer and other officials
said that societal factors, such as drugs and alcohol, led the
students to ignore what they had been taught. Speaking at a
breakfast at the National Press Club, where she was recognized by
contraceptive manufacturer Pharmacia & Upjohn, Elders stressed
the need to make contraceptives accessible to teenagers and
lambasted Congress for supporting abstinence-only sex education.
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The Impact of Condoms in Schools
New York Times (10/3/97) P. A22
Although slight, the positive effects of access to condoms in school make such programs worthwhile, according to an editorial in Friday's New York Times. While a recent study reported only about a 5 percent difference in rates of condom use between New York schools (where condoms are available) and Chicago schools (where they are not), the eidtors say that the fact that the study showed no difference in students' rates of sexual activity proves the value of such programs. More than 400 schools nationwide now have similar programs, which the report calls a "low-cost, harmless addition" to classroom HIV prevention. The editors add that controversy over students' access to condoms resembles the debate regarding neddle exchange programs designed to reduce HIV transmission among injecting drug users. In both cases, the editors say, the programs are designed to help individuals already risking their lives through unsafe behavior.
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New York City Has Highest AIDS Rate
United Press International (9/25/97)
New York City has the highest AIDS rate amongh 50 U.S. cities, according to new figures for the number of AIDS cases tallied between July 1996 and June 1997. In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that New York City had 117.2 AIDS cases for every 100,000 residents. Second on the list was Jersey City, NJ, at 109.8 AIDS cases per 100,000 followed by Miami, FL, with 86.6 cases per 100,000. Little Rock, AR, and Denver, CO, tied for the lowest AIDS rate, with 17.5 cases per 100,000. When taken alone, the District of Columbia had the highest AIDS rate among the 50 U.S. states and territories, with 220.2 AIDS cases per 100,000; followed by New York, with 68.9 cases per 100,000; and New Jersey, at 47.3 cases per 100,000. South Dakota was at the bottom of the states' list with 1.4 AIDS cases per 100,000.
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