Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - Monday, 18 November 1996.
Dr. Mark Poznansky and colleagues at St. Mary's Hospital in London said up to 75 percent of HIV-positive patients arriving for emergency treatment did not tell staff they were infected.
His group did anonymous HIV tests on all patients at St. Mary's emergency room. In 1992 and 1993, it indicated that one in 77 were infected.
In 1994-95 the percentage had risen to one in 30 for all patients aged 16 to 45, they reported in the Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine.
"There is a belief that HIV has plateaued or is actually declining," Poznansky said in a statement.
"But our study indicates that it may be premature to believe this in view of the high detected HIV prevalence in young adults attending this accident and emergency department. Therefore, vigilance needs to be maintained."
Poznansky said many foreign visitors used St. Mary's but the proportion had fallen from 1992 to 1995 -- indicating that local residents were accounting for the increased infection rate.
"Approximately half of HIV-positive individuals in a community may not know that they are HIV positive and will certainly not be known to the relevant medical services. This is certainly a growing story here in the U.K. and the USA."
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