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Source: http://www.stlamerican.com/articles/2008/10/21/news/local_news/localnews00000000000001.txt
Up to 50 students may be infected at Normandy H.S. n testing underway
By Sandra Jordan Of the St. Louis American
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 5:24 PM CDT
Monday night stunned students and parents at Normandy High School learned from health officials that as many as 50 students may have been exposed to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Confirmed findings of disease investigation specialists working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the St. Louis County Health Department led them to the school after a student tested HIV-positive.
?Several individuals, just at Normandy Senior High School, may have been exposed to HIV,? said Delores Gunn, M.D., director of the County Health Department. ?It?s time to sit down and have an honest conversation with your children.?
Gunn spoke Monday night in the presence of school district administrators and board members.
Normandy School District Superintendent Stanton E. Lawrence told parents, students and others in attendance this was an ?issue we have to embrace together as a family.?
Health department officials handed out flyers about HIV risk factors and HIV testing.
The burning question n whether that first HIV-positive person was still at the school - is the one health officials are forbidden to answer by state and federal law.
?I cannot answer that question for you,? Gunn told Laparish Primus, whose son is a 16-year-old honor student.
?Are the kids still here at the school n that are exposed at Normandy Senior High?? Primus asked.
?We won?t know until we do the testing,? Gunn responded.
Primus left work early to attend the parent meeting. She clutched her parent letter from the school and quickly exited the auditorium after receiving answers that were less than satisfying.
?I want to know if the kid was still here. My question wasn?t answered,? Primus told the American. ?This is startling. This was awful. I?m very scared. Very.?
Although Primus said she did not think her son was at risk, she is still a mom.
She said, ?I?m going to consider switching schools. He is embarrassed to tell people he goes to Normandy Senior High.?
Her personal fear does not preclude her from realizing the importance of learning more about HIV.
?If they can teach a child to cook in ?Home Ec? class, they certainly need a class about this,? Primus said. ?This is more important to them than a cooking class n a sexual health class.?
Voluntary, confidential testing of students got underway this week at no charge to the students or families.
?We cannot force anyone to take the test,? Gunn said. ?If you have risk factors, it?s in your best interest to get tested.?
Although many students may still be minors, their parents will not be given test results. Some did not like that answer either.
?I cannot share that information with anyone else other than that individual without their permission,? Gunn said. ?Results of testing will be given directly to the students. In time, virtually in all cases, the patients themselves always inform their family members.?
And although the HIV scare is the main topic of conversation at school these days, school is not where students will get their results.
?We will inform privately, at an offsite clinical setting,? Gunn said. ?It is our job by state law and by federal law that we tell each individual and make sure there are social workers and counselors to encourage them in any way.?
Currently there is treatment but no cure for HIV/AIDS.
?The earlier the interventions and an individual knows his HIV status, the better the outcome,? Gunn said, as she urged parents to encourage their children to submit to the confidential, voluntary oral HIV mouth swab testing.
?We are able to intervene and get them help immediately.?
Gunn said local, state and federal funding will pay for treatment of students who are found to be HIV-positive.
Regardless whether students opt for health department or private testing, by law test results on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are reported to the health department.
Gunn said it will take seven to 10 days to obtain all of the results.
Because the HIV virus can take up to three months to show up in the body, Gunn said health officials will return in January for no-cost retesting of students.
Gunn assured students and others in attendance that HIV could not be transmitted by sweat, playing ball or using a drinking fountain.
?The No. 1 route of transmission is still sexual n oral, vaginal, anal n any large transmission of bodily fluids, and also by sharing needles for drugs, including steroids,? she said.
?The best way to keep safe from HIV is not indulging in risky behavior n No. 1.?
Gunn said there is no evidence of malicious exposure. ?This is not a criminal investigation,? she said.
Up to 50 students may be infected at Normandy H.S. n testing underway
By Sandra Jordan Of the St. Louis American
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 5:24 PM CDT
Monday night stunned students and parents at Normandy High School learned from health officials that as many as 50 students may have been exposed to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Confirmed findings of disease investigation specialists working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the St. Louis County Health Department led them to the school after a student tested HIV-positive.
?Several individuals, just at Normandy Senior High School, may have been exposed to HIV,? said Delores Gunn, M.D., director of the County Health Department. ?It?s time to sit down and have an honest conversation with your children.?
Gunn spoke Monday night in the presence of school district administrators and board members.
Normandy School District Superintendent Stanton E. Lawrence told parents, students and others in attendance this was an ?issue we have to embrace together as a family.?
Health department officials handed out flyers about HIV risk factors and HIV testing.
The burning question n whether that first HIV-positive person was still at the school - is the one health officials are forbidden to answer by state and federal law.
?I cannot answer that question for you,? Gunn told Laparish Primus, whose son is a 16-year-old honor student.
?Are the kids still here at the school n that are exposed at Normandy Senior High?? Primus asked.
?We won?t know until we do the testing,? Gunn responded.
Primus left work early to attend the parent meeting. She clutched her parent letter from the school and quickly exited the auditorium after receiving answers that were less than satisfying.
?I want to know if the kid was still here. My question wasn?t answered,? Primus told the American. ?This is startling. This was awful. I?m very scared. Very.?
Although Primus said she did not think her son was at risk, she is still a mom.
She said, ?I?m going to consider switching schools. He is embarrassed to tell people he goes to Normandy Senior High.?
Her personal fear does not preclude her from realizing the importance of learning more about HIV.
?If they can teach a child to cook in ?Home Ec? class, they certainly need a class about this,? Primus said. ?This is more important to them than a cooking class n a sexual health class.?
Voluntary, confidential testing of students got underway this week at no charge to the students or families.
?We cannot force anyone to take the test,? Gunn said. ?If you have risk factors, it?s in your best interest to get tested.?
Although many students may still be minors, their parents will not be given test results. Some did not like that answer either.
?I cannot share that information with anyone else other than that individual without their permission,? Gunn said. ?Results of testing will be given directly to the students. In time, virtually in all cases, the patients themselves always inform their family members.?
And although the HIV scare is the main topic of conversation at school these days, school is not where students will get their results.
?We will inform privately, at an offsite clinical setting,? Gunn said. ?It is our job by state law and by federal law that we tell each individual and make sure there are social workers and counselors to encourage them in any way.?
Currently there is treatment but no cure for HIV/AIDS.
?The earlier the interventions and an individual knows his HIV status, the better the outcome,? Gunn said, as she urged parents to encourage their children to submit to the confidential, voluntary oral HIV mouth swab testing.
?We are able to intervene and get them help immediately.?
Gunn said local, state and federal funding will pay for treatment of students who are found to be HIV-positive.
Regardless whether students opt for health department or private testing, by law test results on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are reported to the health department.
Gunn said it will take seven to 10 days to obtain all of the results.
Because the HIV virus can take up to three months to show up in the body, Gunn said health officials will return in January for no-cost retesting of students.
Gunn assured students and others in attendance that HIV could not be transmitted by sweat, playing ball or using a drinking fountain.
?The No. 1 route of transmission is still sexual n oral, vaginal, anal n any large transmission of bodily fluids, and also by sharing needles for drugs, including steroids,? she said.
?The best way to keep safe from HIV is not indulging in risky behavior n No. 1.?
Gunn said there is no evidence of malicious exposure. ?This is not a criminal investigation,? she said.
