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Locked Doors: The Human Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS in China, Human Rights Watch, 3Sept03 SARS and AIDS: What the people don't know: Christopher Horton, 24 APR03, Asia Times April 8, 2003 Stephen
M. Apatow
SARS SUPERSPREADERS: HIV/AIDS RISK FOR OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS The
topic of Super Spreaders has now hit the wires and with this discussion
the potential SARS/HIV/AIDS risk for opportunistic infections. Mainland
China's Growing HIV/AIDS Problem is a current challenge in the area (Guangdong
"Homer Tso, chair of Hong Kong's government advisory Council on AIDS, said mainland authorities estimated there are about 900,000 drug users in Guangdong province, which abuts the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, but did not know how many of them were IDUs. Tso added that outbreaks among IDUs are "spiraling" and warned it was only a matter of time before HIV becomes a real problem in Hong Kong, especially if men travel to the mainland for sex. Another problem is the thousands of AIDS orphans and HIV- infected children on the mainland. In 1994 and 1995, peasants regularly sold their blood for up to 50 yuan (US$6); unsanitary practices led many to be infected with HIV. The Hong Kong-based Chi Heng Foundation is focusing on these children by providing each orphan 200 yuan (US$24) a year to send them to school - paying for their tuition, books and miscellaneous items. A CHF spokesperson estimated that because 1 million people in Henan Province are infected with HIV, there would be about 1.5 million orphans in the next few years." According to "Why is the American Lung Association concerned about AIDS," HIV/AIDS And Opportunistic Infection: "The mission of the American Lung Association (ALA) is fighting lung disease. The lung is a major target of attack in AIDS, and people with AIDS are at greater risk for some"opportunistic" lung diseases. Persons who are HIV positive, whether or not they have AIDS, and their care givers, need to know about the many types of lung disease and how they may be prevented and treated. Some, though not all, result from opportunistic infections. What Is An Opportunistic Infection? Opportunistic is a term used to describe an infection that probably wouldn't be occurring if the individual weren't infected with HIV (or suffering from some other condition that might cause lowered resistance to disease). An opportunistic infection takes advantage of the fact that the body's normal defenses are down, giving it an opportunity to cause disease. Many disease-causing agents can trigger opportunistic infections in a susceptible person. Sometimes, such an agent is common in our environment but generally doesn't cause disease because the healthy immune system disposes of it before it causes problems. One example that is often seen in AIDS patients is Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a form of pneumonia that is otherwise extremely rare. An opportunistic infection may also be one that is present in latent form (meaning, not causing active disease) but that does not flare up into actual disease until the immune system falters. One example is tuberculosis (TB). Starting in the mid 1950s, the number of TB cases in the United States dropped steadily, until 1986, when the trend was reversed. It appears that the increase may have been in part due to the AIDS epidemic. New efforts at control have been associated with a downturn since the mid 1990s." It appears this factor may have significant epidemiological significance and is being introduced to the academic community for further analysis. The
discussion of acquired immunodeficiencies (http://www.humanitarian.net/biodefense/smallpox31403.html)
and comparative risk analysis in the context of bioterrorism has focused
on (1) severity of a smallpox infection in the patient with Congenital
or Acquired Immunodeficiencies, HIV causing an intensification of infection,
(2) vaccination risk in patients with a CD4 count <50 cells/mm3.
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