New York governor signs bill to track HIV cases by name

Senate Bill 4422-B, a partner notification bill that uses name-based reporting to track HIV cases, was signed by New York Governor George Pataki on July 7, 1998. The new legislation requires physicians to report the names of all HIV-positive patients to the State Department of Health so that public officials can notify spouses, sexual partners, and needle-sharing partners of possible exposure. This information will become part of a State-wide case surveillance system. Patient advocacy and civil liberties groups did not support the bill, stating that it would erode the physician-patient relationship by breaching confidentiality. The new legislation does not apply to anonymous testing sites, although once individuals begin HIV-related medical treatment, their name will be sent to the State.     

Debate continues over how States should track HIV cases

The Washington State Board of Health is moving toward an HIV surveillance program that tracks HIV by using the names of those who test positive. Anonymous testing would still be allowed, but once a person sought treatment, their name would be entered into a state registry. Advocacy groups consider the move a setback since they prefer using a unique identifier system. Thirty-one states require physicians to report adult HIV cases to public health departments. The status of HIV tracking in several states is discussed.     

D.C. to track HIV cases by code, rather than name

District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony A. Williams, ordered the Administration for HIV/AIDS to develop a plan for collecting HIV case data using coded identifiers rather than names. Patient advocates hailed the decision because they believed names would discourage people from getting tested and seeking treatment. Officials suggest the unique identifiers be a combination of the patient's birth date and Social Security number.     

Oregon eyes a hybrid reporting plan using names, codes

The Oregon Department of Human Services has decided to try tracking HIV cases with a hybrid use of names and coded identifiers. Public health workers will convert each name to a code and then the names will be purged from their databases once all necessary data are collected and the cases are connected to medical and prevention services. Since the epidemic began, the state Health Division has tracked 4,500 cases of AIDS by names without a breach of confidentiality. The next step is for the Public Health Advisory Board to review the new system. If the proposal is accepted, it will be many months before the system is up and running.     

Facing critics, Texas prison board to review HIV policies

The Texas Board of Criminal Justice announced plans to revamp its HIV policies. Texas corrections officials were prompted to review and revise policies because of reports indicating that the State correctional system's HIV prevention policies were lax. Two State senators also planned to conduct hearings to explore education, testing, treatment, and housing of HIV-positive inmates. Although HIV is the leading cause of death among Texas inmates, the current HIV/AIDS prevention policy consists of a single educational pamphlet and a video on infection avoidance. Texas officials are also considering testing all inmates and separating infected persons from the general population. Currently, Texas is not among the 16 States that require all inmates to be tested for HIV.     

2008-2009年河南省新报告HIV感染者和AIDS患者的死亡情况

目的 了解2008-2009年河南省新报告HIV感染者和AIDS患者死亡情况及原因.方法 2010年1月5日从中国CDC信息系统AIDS综合防治信息系统中"历史卡片下载"处下载截至2009年底河南省累计报告HIV感染者和AIDS患者数据库.2008年至2009年新报告HIV感染者和AIDS患者共6990例,其中死亡1214例.描述死亡患者的一般人口学特征;对死亡患者的存活时间、死亡原因等进行分析.结果 在死亡患者中,汉族占99.0%(1202例),男性占62.0%(753例),女性占38.0%(461例),已婚者占64.7%(786例),文化程度为初中及以下者占93.7%(1137例);AIDS患者占93.2%(1131例),HIV感染者为6.8%(83例);感染途径为既往有偿采血(浆)和输血(血制品者)占65.5%(795例);主要死因是AIDS相关疾病,占71.9%(873例),确认阳性后中位生存时间为62 d(QL=14 d,QU=151 d),35.9%(436例)的患者在确认阳性后1个月内死亡,79.0%(959例)的患者在确认阳性后6个月内死亡.结论 河南省新报告HIV感染者和AIDS死亡患者的感染途径仍以既往有偿采血(浆)和输血(血制品)为主,AIDS相关疾病是导致患者死亡的主要原因.     

Mapping late testers for HIV in Texas

Understanding the spatial patterns of late testing for HIV infection is critically important for designing and evaluating intervention strategies to reduce the social and economic burdens of HIV/AIDS. Traditional mapping methods that rely on frequency counts or rates in predefined areal units are known to be problematic due to issues of small numbers and visual biases. Additionally, confidentiality requirements associated with health data further restrict the ability to produce cartographic representations at fine geographic scales. While kernel density estimation methods produce stable and geographically detailed patterns of the late testing burden, the resulting pattern depends critically on the definition of the at-risk population. Using three definitions of at risk groups, we examine the cartographic representation of HIV late testers in Texas and show that the resulting spatial patterns and the interpretation of disease burdens are different based on the choice of the at-risk population. Disease mappers should exercise considerable caution in selecting the denominator population for mapping.     

Texas court says clinic had no duty to warn spouse about HIV

The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Santa Rosa Health Care Corp. bears no liability for not warning a woman that her husband was potentially HIV-positive. To control his hemophilia, Adalberto Balderas received a blood clotting product in 1980 from the San Antonio hospital. The hospital later became aware that the product was contaminated and repeatedly requested Balderas to come in for HIV testing. Balderas never returned to the hospital to be tested. Balderas did eventually test positive at another testing site and sued Santa Rosa for negligent failure to notify and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He has since died, and his wife continued the suit. The Texas AIDS statutes limit the number of people to whom an HIV diagnosis can be disclosed and wives are included; however, since Balderas was never tested, the hospital would be violating the law for disclosing an unconfirmed infection.     

Texas addresses HIV job bias and end-of-life issues

Governor George W. Bush of Texas signed four HIV-related bills at the closing of the 1997-98 legislative session. The State employment discrimination law was amended to include people with HIV and AIDS. House Bill 1865 enhances options that group or individual life insurance policy holders have in obtaining accelerated health benefits. The bill removes a $25,000 cap on accelerated benefits available to those with terminal or long-term illnesses. House Bill 163 removes a prohibition on State employees selling their group life insurance policy in the State Employees Retirement System to a viatical settlement corporation. House Bill 710 provides a funding mechanism for the State health insurance risk pool.     

HIV cases in U.S. range from 800,000 to 900,000

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the number of HIV infections in the United States at the end of 1998 ranged from 800,000 to 900,000. The annual number of new infections has remained stable at about 40,000 since 1992. It is impossible to know exactly how many Americans are infected with HIV because not all people at risk are tested and not all test results are reported. The CDC estimates that 625,000 people are aware they have HIV or AIDS, while the rest are unaware they are infected.     

Reporting HIV cases

The California Medical Association is no longer pushing for legislation requiring mandatory reporting of HIV-positive people. The association determined that mandatory HIV reporting to health officials might deter patients at risk of HIV infection from obtaining tests. More than 86 percent of individuals surveyed at HIV-antibody testing sites in Los Angeles said they would not have come if they knew their name would be reported to the government.