Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The San Francisco Examiner; Tuesday, February 17, 1998
Examiner Editorial Writer
The privacy of HIV patients, however, should be limited by the right of their lovers or potential sex partners to know about the presence of the virus so they can avoid contracting it and further spreading the AIDS epidemic.
A disturbing new study indicates that large numbers of people with HIV keep the fact to themselves as they begin or perpetuate sexual relationships, and that half of those who keep their positive status secret engage in unprotected, unsafe sex.
The Brown University report in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that only about half of infected men told their partners they had HIV, while more than three-quarters of women did so. Twenty percent of the 129 participants in the study were homosexual or bisexual; 39 percent were infected through heterosexual contact and 41 percent through intravenous drug use.
The findings could revive demands that HIV-positive individuals be identified publicly, to warn others about the possibility of infection. This would be a counter-productive step, deterring people from being tested for the virus and keeping more of the problem underground.
The wiser course is to continue counseling at-risk, uninfected people to insist on safer sex (e.g., use of condoms) with their partners, and to urge the HIV-positive to be responsible by not concealing their status or practicing unsafe sex with unsuspecting partners.
The study's lead author, Dr. Michael Stein, doesn't think heavy-handed public health strictures can work. He recommends a gentle approach by health care providers. One suggested step: offering patients help in notifying their sexual partners.
As we find encouragement in statistics showing a sharp decline in AIDS fatalities through the use of so-called drug cocktails, the message from the Rhode Island study is that the danger of new infections with the deadly virus remains high. Even after years of education, too many HIV carriers are willing to spread the misery rather than risk rejection. Would-be lovers beware.
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