AEGiS-AP: Many Teens Feared Exposed to HIV

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Many Teens Feared Exposed to HIV

The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Monday, October 27, 1997; 12:56 p.m. EST

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) -- At least 11 young people became infected with HIV, and health authorities said today they traced the outbreak to a man who approached teen girls in schools and parks and traded drugs for sex.

Chautauqua County Health Commissioner Dr. Robert Berke said the 20-year-old man continued having sex after he learned he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Officials said they were going outside the regular rules of privacy for people with HIV or AIDS because the circumstances were "so extraordinary."

Public health authorities counted 28 cases of direct sexual contact and 53 cases of secondary contact -- people who had sex with any of the 28. Seventeen other cases were still being studied, bringing the total number of people possibly linked to the man to 98, Berke said.

"Many of the cases involve teen-agers, some quite young, with initial contact apparently begun at school and community parks," Berke said.

"This case demonstrates the unacceptable level of drug and alcohol use in our teens," he said. "Sex for drugs appears to be implicated in at least some of the contacts."

The man, who was not identified, is in custody in the New York City area, the Post-Journal of Jamestown reported today.

The state Health Department sent sexually transmitted disease experts into Chautauqua County, located in rural western New York, to assist local officials in tracking down people possibly infected by the man, or by those he infected, according to state spokeswoman Frances Tarlton.

"We also will be providing free HIV counseling and testing for people who might come forward as a result of the announcement," she said.

Tarlton said she has never heard of a case in New York state where one apparent HIV carrier possibly infected so many others.

Chatauqua County, which borders Lake Erie, has a population of about 140,000, including 34,000 in Jamestown, its largest town. Mayville, the county seat, is about 300 miles northwest of New York City.

Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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