Program Tracks New Yorkers Exposed to HIV

Under a partner notification program run by the New York City Health Department, scores of people have been identified for HIV testing. "One way we can stop the spread of HIV is to contact partners of infected people who may be afraid or ashamed to do it themselves," said Susan Blank, assistant commissioner of the Health Department's STD control program, according to Sunday's New York Post. The department diagnosed 485 people as HIV-positive in 2002, and those patients gave the names of 241 sex partners. Of the sex partners, 99 consented to testing, and 25 partners were HIV-positive, the department said. A department survey last year reported that while some 80,000 city residents have HIV/AIDS, as many as 20,000 others may be infected but not know it.

Back to other news for March 15, 2004