AEGiS-AP: Too early to know if Missouri school had HIV outbreak

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Too early to know if Missouri school had HIV outbreak

Associated Press - December 4, 2008
Cheryl Wittenauer

ST. LOUIS - Six weeks after the first round of HIV testing at Normandy High School, health authorities say it's too early to know whether there was an outbreak at all.

The Missouri Department of Health said Thursday that preliminary test results for October in St. Louis County show two new cases of HIV among people 24 and under.

It isn't clear if those two are connected to Normandy High School, where students were tested voluntarily in late October by the St. Louis County Health Department.

Those tests came after an infected person told the county health department that as many as 50 Normandy students might have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS.

The county plans a second round of HIV testing in January to capture any cases that didn't register in October's testing. Health officials said antibodies to the virus can take three to six months to appear.

"The data are so provisional, it's difficult to tell," said Benjamin Laffoon, HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator for the state Department of Health. "As time goes on, we will know more. It's still an ongoing investigation."

The two newly diagnosed cases in October compare with four in August, none in September, and one in November, all among people 24 and under in the county.

Laffoon said the October number could go up or down. Some readings end up being false. Or, the result of a test taken in October might not be submitted to the state until weeks later.

Statewide, 77 people 24 and under tested positive for HIV in the first half of this year. There were 138 cases in the state last year.

County health department spokesman Craig LeFebvre said Thursday a final assessment of the situation at Normandy High School won't come for at least six months. He said most of the school's 1,300 students agreed to be tested.

The district learned of the potential exposure on Oct. 9, and will not say how it might have occurred.

The department is not saying whether the infected person was a student or connected with the school, only that the person indicated as many as 50 students may have been exposed.

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