CDC urges states to collect names for HIV stats
Q-Notes ▼ January 20, 2001 ▼ PAGE 3
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by Lee Strausberg
Special to Q-Notes
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[he Centers for Disease Control and Pre
vention (CDC) recently issued guidelines urg
ing states to track HIV infections
(AIDS cases have been tracked
since 1981). At the same time
' the CDC is urging states to
: track that information with
; names attached. Dr. Robert
Valdiserri, deputy director of
the CDC’s center for HIV
prevention, says reporting
names is the best way to en
sure the data is accurate and
avoids a person being counted
multiple times. Names and
identifying information are
kept at the state level. The
is CDC is also urging states
to pass laws making it a
felony to release any of
this confidential infor
mation. Names are re-
i corded only when the
test is done by your
family doctor or when having lab
work done that goes on your
medical record. States that do not
cornply face losing federal funding
for HIV Surveillance.
Ohio has tracked HIV with names since
1990. Jay Carey, Public Information Officer
for the Ohio Department of Health, says Ohio
has not had a breach of confidentiality in the
10 years they’ve tracked HIV with names.
“Confidentiality is extremely important here.
Newly hired people are taught about confiden
tiality immediately. They know releasing infor
mation would result in termination of employ
ment. The department is so strict even physi
cians can not gain information about their own
clients,” says Elizabeth Cross, supervisor of the
HIV/AIDS Surveillance Program at the Ohio
Department of Health. “There is no reason for
anyone to not be tested.” For those still afraid,
all but 11 states still allow anonymous testing.
[Editor's note: Even in those states that require
names, many do not verify their accuracy or au-
thenticityi]
Other HIV-related discoveries also made
headlines recently; Among them. Dr. Robert
Stout, president of Clinical Refetence Labora
tory, recently announced a new urine test for
HIV antibodies is showing that two to three
times more people may be carrying HfV in their
urinary tracts who have no signs of HIV in their
blood. The question is now whether these
people have the ability to stop the infections in
the mucous membranes preventing a wide
spread infection and whether or not these
people could be spteading the vitus to others
even though their blood tests says they are HIV
negative..
Also, The Food & Drug Administration
(FDA) recently announced any home HIV test
other than the FDA-approved “Home Access
Express HIV-1 Test System” can give inaccu
rate results and is urging Americans to get tested
with an approved test as soon as possible. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced
Cyberlinx and its president, Jeffrey S. Stein,
have agreed to stop marketing their “EZ Med
Test” home HIV kit and will turn over all mon
ies collected from customers for the tests to the
FTC. They are now banned for life from mar
keting home HIV test kits and if they ever want
to market any type of medical device they must
first post a $500,000 bond each.
On the legal front, Hawaii recently ap
proved the medical use of marijuana. Patients
suffering from chronic pain from debilitating
diseases such as cancer and AIDS may now
possess up to three ounces of Marijuana and
grow up to seven plants for their personal use
only. Hawaii requires that- the patient be reg
istered by a physician in order to use Mari
juana legally. Hawaii is the tenth state to le
galize Marijuana for medical use.
In other notable health news, help may be
on the horizon for patients with sevete debili
tating depression that does not respond well
to antideptessants or therapy. Dr. Robert H.
Howland, psychiatrist at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Dr. David
Adelson, Professor of-Neurosurgery at the
University of Pittsburgh, are currently testing
a small device that looks and works similarly
to a cardiac pacemaker. The stimulator is
placed in the patient’s chest and wires are run
to the vagus nerve near the carotid artery in
the patient’s neck. This nerve reaches the lim
bic system, which controls emotions. Shocks
from the stimulator last approximately 30 sec
onds and occur every three to five minutes.
Approved in 1997, this device is currently used
to treat patients with debilitating epileptic
siezures.
The CDC reports antibiotic-resistant infec
tions in hospitalized patients rose. 64 percent
in just thtee yeats. “The key finding is that we
discovered strains that were already resistant to
one dtug were picking up additional resistance
to other antibiotics,” said Dr. Cynthia Whitney
of the CDC. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is
largely to blame for “teaching” these superbugs
how to resist more and more antibiotics. Un
fortunately, many hospitals are now being
forced to cut infection-control programs due
to decreasing revenues, which only adds to the
problem.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Joe Plouffe
says, while he is seeing a rise in hospital-acquired
antibiotic-resistant infections, it is not as dras
tic as what the CDC is finding. Dr. Plouffe says
the majotity of resistant bacteria he encounters
are usually found in patients that have endured
surgery followed by lengthy, complicated hos
pital stays, such as organ transplant patients.
“These resistant bacteria are not infecting the
general population...yet” says Dr. Plouffe, “The
point here is that we need to stop the unneces
sary use of antibiotics”.
And Ephedra, or Ma Huang — frequently
used as an ingtedient in many club drugs —
has been linked to serious side effects such as
heart attacks, strokes and even death. Ephedta’s
active ingtedient, ephedrine, is used in various
products to treat bronchial and respiratory con
ditions and to stimulate the heart. T
[We will continue to brhtgyou other impor
tant news as it occurs on HIV-related issues. Re
member: W^ have not won the battle yet!]
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