I have seen before where statements are made about quarantine of people with
HIV, so let us look at the logistics of it and see just how practical it
is...

Estimated number of people infected in the USA

One Million in 2003

http://www.avert.org/statsum.htm

Or 950,000

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17371

Now it is 2005, but let us stick with the one million for arguments sake.

OK so where are you going to quarantine 1 million people?

What state wants 1 million people with AIDS living within its borders, and
what city wants all these people living in it or near it??

Who is going to pay to keep these people?

If you quarantine them, they cannot work, so what will they do?

If people are threatened with being locked up how many will be tested?

What  sort of buildings are going to be provided for these 1 million
persons.

Who will police them, police that are infected?

How are you going to keep them quarantined, walls, razor wire, electric
fences?

The cost of keeping someone in prison in 2001 was $22,629, for people with
HIV/AIDS I would expect it to be more, the cost for a million people at
least $22,629,000,000.
Plus of course you need the money to build the facilities to hold them. At
the moment the jails in the US are overflowing so that is not an option.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/prisons/alternatives.html

If a father is found to be HIV positive, and quarantined, who is going to
pay to keep his family, or do we toss the wife and kids in with him?
If a mother is HIV positive who is going to look after the children when she
is taken away? The State, more costs to be added to the $22,629,000,000!

Then of course you need to work out how to separate the various people you
have quarantined, after all a high bred religious white man might not like
being in a cell with a drug addict.

If a new set of facilities to hold all the HIV positive people he is some
indication of the cost, a new jail with 300 beds is going to cost 12
million, want to multiply that out for 1 million?
I think it comes up to around 40 billion.......

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2925579&nav=1TjDWBYs

Just a few thought for you to think on.

<hvatum@softhome.net> wrote in message

 February 16, 2005

Club Drugs and HIV: Possible New Strain Offers Wake-up Call
Drug use is blamed by some for contributing to the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Last Friday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
announced that a local man had been diagnosed with a highly resistant strain
of HIV. While people with HIV sometimes develop drug resistance over time,
this man, who had not previously been treated for HIV, has not responded to
three of the four classes of HIV drugs. He also appears to have developed
AIDS unusually quickly after becoming infected with HIV. It's possible that
there are genetic reasons for his drug resistance and for the rapid
progression from HIV to AIDS, and those issues are still being studied.

Besides his genetic makeup, another possible reason for the man's
fast-moving infection is his drug use. The unidentified man reported having
sex with multiple partners while under the influence of the club drug
methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth. It's theorized that
amphetamines may suppress the immune system, allowing the virus to replicate
more quickly in the body. Methamphetamine also contributes to unsafe sex
practices that make the spread of HIV more likely. This highly addictive
drug releases people from their inhibitions, leading otherwise sexually
responsible men, women and teenagers to engage in risky sexual behavior.

At a press conference, New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden,
MD, MPH, said, "This case.is a wake-up call to men who have sex with men,
particularly those who may use crystal methamphetamine."

Below, Perry Halkitis, PhD, a chair of the department of applied psychology
at New York University, discusses the relationship between club drugs such
as methamphetamine and HIV infection.

What is the state of the HIV epidemic today?

We've seen a worsening of the HIV epidemic in the last several years.
Infection rates were stable during the 1990s, but in the last few years
there's been a spike in new HIV transmissions across the population,
especially among gay and bisexual men. In this population, there was a 14
percent increase in new HIV infections between 1999 and 2001.

What has lead to this increase?

First of all, there's a fatigue around HIV in the gay population and in the
general population. People feel that the HIV epidemic is over, and they're
more complacent about safer sex practices. They think there is a cure and,
as a result, people are not being as safe or as responsible in their sexual
behavior. Number two, prevention efforts haven't evolved as people have
become sophisticated about HIV. So "use a condom every time" campaigns,
which worked fine in the early 1980s and the mid-1980s, are no longer
effective.

We're also seeing a complex interaction between sexual risk-taking and drug
use in the gay population and also in the straight population. We're seeing
this in particular with a subset of drugs known as "club drugs" because of
their association with dance clubs and bars.

Are people still going to clubs to do these drugs?

Twenty years ago, these substances were used a lot in dance club situations.
Our research shows very clearly that people do them at home, they do them
with their friends, they do them in the park-they do them wherever they need
to do them. Some people have suggested that maybe a better label for them
would be "party drugs" because these are the drugs that people do to have
wild and inhibited sex, to go dancing, or to do both of those things in
combination.

Which drugs are contributing to increase HIV risk?

We're talking about methamphetamine, also known colloquially as "crystal."
We're talking about MDMA, which is known commonly as "ecstasy." We're
talking about ketamine, Rohypnol and we're still talking about cocaine, to
some extent. Most importantly, we need to think about not just each of these
drugs in isolation, but these drugs being used in combination with each
other, and in combination with alcohol and prescription drugs such as
Viagra.

Which drugs are the most worrisome and why?

Perhaps the most worrisome is methamphetamine. This is a psychostimulant and
a form of speed. Crystal is a hypersexual drug. It's a hugely disinhibiting
drug. We know, and it's been clearly documented, that people who are using
this substance have sex without rational thinking, they have multiple
partnerings, they just let go. They feel like they're on top of the world,
so nothing is a problem and any logical thinking around safer sex practices
gets wiped away. Methamphetamine is also a problem because it's a highly
addictive drug from a psychological perspective, so people have a very
difficult time coming off of it because the cravings are so intense.

Does the way methamphetamine is administered affect HIV risk?

Absolutely. When a person first starts using it, methamphetamine is usually
snorted. Eventually chronic users begin to smoke it because it is a more
effective way of ingesting the drug; it gives a better and a longer and a
faster high. Eventually, people who are dependent on the substance become
injectors of methamphetamine. They inject it in their veins or muscles
because it creates a much quicker and more intense high. So transmission
through injection and the sharing of needles and the sharing of works
creates another route of HIV transmission that is linked to methamphetamine
use.

Do we know how much club drug use is affecting HIV risk?

We know-anecdotally in New York City and from documentation on the West
Coast-that when we look at gay men who have become HIV-positive, more often
than not, in the last several years, these men report having used
methamphetamine with sex. So while we're not able to put an exact number on
it, you can bet that a large percentage of new seroconversions are among
people who are drug users.

Does methamphetamine make oral sex riskier?

We know that the mouth produces saliva, which has protective factors that
assist in the prevention of HIV. When people are high on methamphetamine,
they have extremely dry mouths. Suppose an HIV-negative person is using
methamphetamine and is having sex with an HIV-positive person. That is more
dangerous than having sex with a person who is not high on methamphetamine.

What role does depression play in drug use?

We should never deny the fact that drugs make people feel good; that's why
they do them, right? What we know, also, is that people often use drugs in
our society to mask bad feelings. So people who are experiencing depression
or loneliness or low levels of self-esteem, which can be addressed with
therapy and with medications, are self-medicating by using these substances.
The unfortunate cycle that develops is that people who are depressed, for
example, go on crystal, use crystal, feel better while they're high and then
crash and feel even worse than when they started. When we address HIV in the
United States, I think it's incredibly important that we think about the
link that exists between drug abuse, mental health and HIV. Addressing one
of those issues in isolation doesn't seem to be sophisticated any more. We
need to address all those three things together.

How does drug use affect people on HIV therapy?

What we know, from our work, is that adherence-taking your medications the
way you're supposed to take them-is a problem across the board. If we
believe the literature, people are supposed to be adherent 95 percent of the
time. It's very hard for people to be adherent 95 percent of the time when
they're high. When they're feeling good, the last thing they want to do is
actually stop to remember to take their medications. Number two, we know
that methamphetamine is an immunosuppressant. Methamphetamine that is sold
on the street is not pure methamphetamine. It's been cut with talc, heroin
and variety of other substances that have an effect on people's immune
systems. Number three, and probably most alarming of all, is that some
recent studies indicate that even if an individual is highly adherent to his
or her medications, if they are using methamphetamine, replication of the
virus in the brain is accelerated.

What is your advice to people who use methamphetamine?

To people who haven't started and who hear wonderful tales about this drug,
don't start using it. This is not a wonderful drug. The price that you will
pay in the long run is not worth it. To people who have started, I say look
for help. Because what do we know about methamphetamine and its effects on
people's lives? People become physically ill and they become socially ill.
They lose their friends, they lose their family and they lose their jobs.
Methamphetamine has often been referred to as the "Grim Reaper" because of
horrible and devastating effects it has on people's lives.

How can people reduce their risk of HIV?

Clearly, one of the strategies is abstinence from both sex and intravenous
drug use. For young adults and for adolescents, becoming totally informed
and educated about HIV and its transmission is going to be a very important
strategy, as well as considering delaying the onset of sex until an
individual is at a point where he or she can make the right choices around
sex. The consistent use of condoms, of course, is important with anonymous
or casual partners. Even in the context of some relationships that are not
monogamous, the use of condoms is actually a really good idea. Finally, the
mixing of sex and drugs is not a good idea. A glass of wine is very
different from two lines of methamphetamine. The combination of drugs and
sex is where a lot of the risk is happening now and where a lot of the
transmissions are actually occurring.

It's extremely important for individuals in our country to remain informed.
The disease is constantly changing. There are new medications that are
coming out that are effective. But people are not necessarily living their
whole lives with HIV; people are still dying. So remaining informed about
HIV and remaining informed about strategies for safer sex is important.

<hvatum@softhome.net> wrote in message

By Cheryl Clark
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 15, 2005

LENNY IGNELZI / Associated Press
San Diego County public health officer Dr. Nancy Bowen yesterday urged
people who think they might be infected with HIV to get tested.

An unidentified San Diego resident may be infected with the same rare,
aggressive and highly drug-resistant strain of HIV found last week in a New
York City man who has rapidly become ill with AIDS, health officials said
yesterday.

"(The local person's) HIV has a similar molecular makeup as the patient in
New York City," said Dr. Nancy Bowen, the San Diego County public health
officer who held a press conference about the finding yesterday afternoon in
San Diego.

It's important to notify the public about a new and possibly supervigorous
strain of HIV so people can take extra precautions, Bowen said. But "I don't
think it will do anybody any good to get panicked about this," she said,
emphasizing that many details are still being sorted out.

Several AIDS specialists said it was odd to see public-health officials
sound such widespread alarm after only one person became sick. They
questioned whether the virus is truly a lethal variety, or whether the New
York patient's immune system, extensive use of methamphetamines and genetic
makeup might be contributing factors to his rapidly deteriorating condition.

But public health agencies and the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention said the announcement was necessary because they haven't seen an
HIV strain that becomes drug-resistant and progresses to AIDS so quickly, as
in the case of the New York man.

Bowen urged people who think they might be infected with HIV to get tested.
If infection is confirmed, the individuals should visit a doctor and request
a second blood test to determine what genetic strain of the virus they might
have.

The AIDS virus mutates regularly, changing its molecular structure over
time, so blood testing is normally done to make sure each patient's genetic
strain is vulnerable to anti-viral drugs being prescribed. If the strain
isn't vulnerable, doctors must find other medications.

Getting tested
For information on HIV testing sites, call (619) 296-2120 or contact your
primary care physician.

Bowen said the San Diego resident tested positive for the rare HIV strain
last fall - after the patient's health provider sent a sample of his or her
blood to ViroLogic, an HIV typing reference laboratory in Northern
California.

There was no alarm until the New York City man recently became ill and was
found to have a molecular strain resistant to virtually all anti-viral
drugs. His case prompted public health officials nationwide to check with
the reference lab for a similar strain among other HIV patients.

The reference lab's database then linked the New York strain to that of the
San Diego person and an unidentified New York City resident.

Researchers don't know yet whether the New York and San Diego strains are an
exact match, Bowen said. They also haven't determined if the three
individuals know one another. It will take at least a week to decide if the
HIV strains are identical, said Dr. David Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond
AIDS Research Center in Manhattan.

Federal and California health officials are trying to locate the San Diego
resident through the reference laboratory, find his or her doctor and
ultimately get in touch with the infected person. They want to see if this
individual is ill, to conduct further testing and to notify sexual partners
who may be at risk of contracting HIV.

If the person was tested under anonymous conditions, in which a name is not
given, it could be impossible to locate his or her whereabouts. The patient
also may have moved away from San Diego or died.

Health officials said the New York patient reportedly had unsafe anal sex
with hundreds of partners while taking crystal methamphetamine. The drug's
stimulating effect and erasure of inhibitions contribute to sex marathons
that have increased the spread of HIV, they explained.

Medical investigators believe that the New York patient found some of his
partners on an Internet Web site. They are working with men who used the
site to reach as many people as possible who might have been infected or are
worried about the risk.

Yesterday, Bowen reissued precautions for drug users, urging them to not
share needles or syringes. She also urged sexually active individuals to
abstain from intercourse or to commit to a long-term, mutually monogamous
relationship with a partner who has tested HIV-negative.

Correct and consistent use of a condom can reduce the risk of spreading
sexually transmitted diseases, she added.

Bowen said she hopes the finding will prompt "people who are not sure of
their (HIV) status but who are at risk to decide that they want to find out.
That's one of our main messages."

In the past three or four years, about 400 San Diego County residents each
year have been diagnosed with AIDS. In January, four new patients were
diagnosed, bringing the total number of county residents diagnosed with AIDS
since 1981 to 12,237. Of those, 54 percent have died.

The New York Times News Service contributed to this report.

Cheryl Clark: (619) 542-4573; cheryl.clark@uniontrib.com

<hvatum@softhome.net> wrote...

Sadly true.  Whoever gave the guy that new strain of HIV, it is
because he had been on the cocktail drugs for probably at least
5 years.  Had he received no treatment, he would likely have
died 3-4 years ago.  That literally translates as 2x or 3x the
number of victims; also remember that the cocktail drugs create
the appearance of good health, so those taking the drugs have
the illusion of being a healthy sex partner - compare this to
the untreated HIV patient who looks very sick within a few
months of the initial appearance of symptoms, his sickly
appearance means less opportunity for finding willing sex
partners.

I know some of you find this unpleasant and want to ignore it,
but it IS what's happening.  You don't want to stop AIDS, you
just want to wear your little goodguy badges and pretend you
care about AIDS while thwarting all attempts to control the
spread of the disease as some sort of unreasonable fascism.
Let me ask y'all, is this guy with the new superstrain under
ANY sort of quarantine?  If he is free, he is certainly out
there spreading it, and the fact that the health authorties
are keeping identity a secret means the public can't protect
themselves from him.  Because you don't want to violate his
precious "civil rights," you ensure that within several years
almost EVERY new HIV infection will be the new superstrain
and therefore untreatable.

-------------------------------------------------------
"Arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special
Olympics.  Even if you win, you're still retarded."
-- Anonymous
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