Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - Monday October 27 3:56 PM EST
A total of 98 people are under investigation for having had sexual contact either directly or via a third person with the 20-year-old infected man, said Health Department officials in Chautauqua County, New York.
Twenty-eight of those cases involved women who were exposed directly to the man, whose identity was not released.
He was diagnosed as having the virus that causes AIDS a year ago, officials said.
Of the 11 new cases, "at least half have occured after ... the date that he was tested and counseled as to both his HIV status and modes of disease transmission," said Health Commissioner Robert Berke.
It appears the man did not reveal he was infected nor use any protection, Berke said. The man is in police custody but has not been specifically charged.
Many of his sexual partners were teenagers, "some quite young," whom he met at schools and community parks in the rural upstate county southwest of Buffalo, officials said.
In some cases, he would trade drugs for sex, they said.
"We find ourselves ... facing the most serious public health issue in the recent memory of most of us who live and work in Chautauqua County," Berke said in a statement.
County health officials have called in the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help in the case. Officials also are investigating potential cases outside the county because the man had not been in the area in recent months, they said.
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