Asymmetrical Information

Okay, Jane, if you insist, I'll call you crazy. But AIDS is mostly a venereal disease.

The original risk groups -- male homosexuals, sharers of hypodermic needles, and those unfortunates who require frequent blood transfusions -- have held up remarkably well. There has yet to be a verified case of a man getting the disease from a woman via sexual activity, though there are cases of male-to-female transmission.

"And the band played on..."

Venereal diseases are a subset of STDs that affect your private parts. AIDS is a STD.

From Merriam-Webster online:

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=std

Main Entry: STD
Pronunciation: "es-(")tE-'dE
Function: noun
Etymology: sexually transmitted disease
Date: 1976
: any of various diseases transmitted by direct sexual contact that include venereal diseases (as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid) and other diseases (as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, giardiasis, and AIDS) that are often or sometimes contracted by other than sexual means

Hm. I think the "only" is in the wrong spot. What the author meant was "And as AIDS spread, states passed laws to require notification of partners, something previously recommended only for venereal diseases." Looks like the kind of mistake bad copy editors introduce.

Yes-and-no. AIDS (HIV, to be more precise) is transmitted by bodily fluids. In the US, it was primarily spread by homosexual acts, and then picked up steam in the IV-drug-using subset. In Africa, it's primarily transmitted by sex, but male-to-female. In other parts of the world, IV druggies are a much larger part of the afflicted. And back in the US, the spread among homosexuals has largely levelled off (probably due to massive self-education efforts in that community), but druggies are still in big numbers.

"And back in the US, the spread among homosexuals has largely levelled off (probably due to massive self-education efforts in that community)"

Um, don't be too sure. It has largely leveled off among men who have sex with men (MSM which could include bisexuals as well as homosexuals) who identify as gay. Recall that HIV/AIDS was originally conceived to be a gay affliction. Not all MSM--not even all homosexuals--consider themselves to be gay. This is particularly true in the black community, and also true to a lesser extent in the Latino community. What you find, then, is a larger rate of HIV/AIDS among MSM in those communities. In fact, it has been reported that the highest rate of new HIV infections are found among black women, who--it is believed--are being infected by their black boyfriends, many of whom are also MSM.

"In fact, it has been reported that the highest rate of new HIV infections are found among black women, who--it is believed--are being infected by their black boyfriends, many of whom are also MSM."

Interesting assertion, rah. Can you document that for me?

Greg, here's a recent Washington Post article on the phenomenon:

In the District, adult women accounted for 33 percent of all AIDS cases in 2001, the latest year for which figures were available, Weston said. That percentage has increased more than 400 percent since 1981, when AIDS was first reported. Adult women represented 7.2 percent of AIDS cases in the District that year, and 11 percent in 1990. They are now the fastest-growing population at risk to HIV and AIDS, Weston said.

And although local health agencies have targeted men on the down low [a term referring to black men who have sex with other men] in their HIV prevention efforts, urging them to have safe sex, some question why almost nothing is being done to reach out to the women they infect and to call attention to their problems.

Syphilis and Gonorrhea affect a lot more than your private parts. Syphilis attacks the nervous system, kidney, heart and bone. Syphilis like AIDS is also spread by body fluids. Blood transfusions can spread syphilis. I am not sure about gonorrhea and bodily fluids, but it infects children at birth as they exit the birth canal and blinds them.

That's how you get AIDS, by donating your organ.

*ducking*

Francis W. Porretto writes:

There has yet to be a verified case of a man getting the disease from a woman via sexual activity ...

False. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one example.

It is true that it is impossible to "verify" a case of female-to-male transmission in the sense that it is impossible to conclusively negate every other possible cause of transmission, but given what we know about the virus there is no reason that there should not be at least some such cases. The spread of the epidemic in Africa also serves to confirm that significant female-to-male transmission occurs.

[ There has yet to be a verified case of a man getting the disease from a woman via sexual activity ...

False. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one example. ... ]

Magic Johnson is gay as can be. You don't think he'd admit that to the kind of guys who make up the NBA fan base, do you?

Likewise with allegations that an increasing percentage of "women" -- meaning women in general -- are becoming H.I.V. positive. Sorry, pc people, but H.I.V. infection rates are not increasing among wimmin of European descent.

David, I don't think anybody here is alleging that. If you're referring to the article I quoted, those statistics were for the District of Columbia--not exactly a majority white area.

But it most certainly has been proven that men can get HIV from sex with women. One 1994 study in Italy followed 206 male partners of HIV+ women. Ten percent of them contracted HIV during the study. Another study in California followed heterosexual couples for 10 years. Of the men with HIV+ female partners, two percent contracted HIV. (The discrepancy between the findings in the two studies can probably be explained in part by how religiously the couples used condoms.)

As far as male-to-female transmission, it's not a question of whether or not there are any cases of it. It's a question of how many million children in Africa are going to grow up without their mother or father, because dad brought it home to mom and it killed them both. A staggering 22 percent of pregnant women getting prenatal care in South Africa tested positive for HIV in 1999. There are questions right now about whether heterosexual contact is as common a transmission vector in Africa as had previously been thought, but there's certainly no question that it's not possible.

[ But it most certainly has been proven that men can get HIV from sex with women. One 1994 study in Italy followed 206 male partners of HIV+ women. Ten percent of them contracted HIV during the study. Another study in California followed heterosexual couples for 10 years. Of the men with HIV+ female partners, two percent contracted HIV. ... ]

Got any references for those numbers?

[ (The discrepancy between the findings in the two studies can probably be explained in part by how religiously the couples used condoms.)... ]

Is that an attempt to make a joke about Italians? They're Catholics ... condoms ... religious ... geddit?

[ ...As far as male-to-female transmission, it's not a question of whether or not there are any cases of it. ...]

We don't need no stinkin' statistics, if the statistics don't suit our premise.

[... It's a question of how many million children in Africa are going to grow up without their mother or father, because dad brought it home to mom and it killed them both. ...]

Is this "brought it home to Mommmy and Daddy" construct intended to imply marriage between Mom and Dad?

[... A staggering 22 percent of pregnant women getting prenatal care in South Africa tested positive for HIV in 1999. There are questions right now about whether heterosexual contact is as common a transmission vector in Africa as had previously been thought, but there's certainly no question that it's not possible. ... ]

Please tell us why such a large percentage of pregnant African women have AIDS.

AIDS is spreading in Africa primarily where genital lesions from other STD's are quite common. That is, a man can easily catch HIV from a woman if he has open sores on his penis to provide an entry point. Otherwise, female-to-male transmission is clearly too uncommon to be distinguishable from men lying about their homosexual activity.

That's it, Mark. H.I.V. seems to be transmitted by three means: (1) use of contaminated intravenus hypodermic needles, including (2) contaminated needles used for obtaining blood for transfusions. Many unfortunate people in China may have been infected with H.I.V. by means of (2).

Method two is via anal or vaginal intercourse with an infected person. The virus is transmitted to the previously uninfected person via open sores or lesions in or on the receptor's anus, vagina, or penis.

Tranmission of H.I.V. from either M to F or F to M via vaginal intercourse may be quite rare, UNLESS the body parts in question are rilly skanky with skin tears and sores. If some dude says he caught AIDS from a woman, why trust what he says? Men lie. Especially I-talians.

Some Africkan M's may be fond of an icky-poo activity known as "dry [vaginal] sex." Or maybe not. I know about this matter only from reading stuff on the Internet.

On the other hand, there may be less AIDS in Africa than the Lieberal news media sez. It's in the selfish interest of the NGO's to get a lot more $ appropriated for AIDS in Africa. A lot of cases of malaria and other "wasting" diseases in Africa may be tendentiously miscounted as AIDS.

One doesn't know if all one knows is what the media says.

Also, when discussing populations (male, female, black, white, gay, age, hetero, etc in any combination) it is important to remember that at-risk populations vary in when they are exposed, what their exposure risk is, and when the points of inflection on the typical S-curve infection rate are reached.

Thus, if we sub-divide the populations far enought, there is always a "fastest growing" population because one of them is always on the early part of the S-curve. As the infection plateaus in one population, the rate of increase damps down.

It is important then to see the actual numbers. While the absolute risk is rarely zero, in the U.S. the most at-risk populations currently are, gay men, bisexual men, needle sharers, and women who engage in anal sex with bisexual men or men who share needles. You can get most of this from the CDC reports (used to show up in the Mortality and Morbidity Reports, don't know if it still does).

One of the more recent problems is that the infection rate was apparently (I don't know if it continued) rising among gay men below the age of 21 or so. The hypothesis was that somehow they weren't receiving the message that had been internalized by earlier gay populations.

At any rate, the number of women in the U.S. who actually don't share needles is just about limited to those who have anal sex with the high at-risk males (bisexuals and needle sharers). This is probably, as in the note above, because we have better treatment of other STDs and understanding of the risks of having sex while having genital lesions.

Also, most of the time, it apparently is easier for women in the U.S. to avoid having sex when they don't want to. This is anecdotal, and I don't vouch for it.

If that don't beat all... There are people who believe Magic Johnson is straight.

All right then, if not Magic Johnson, howbout Eazy-E of the late rap group NWA. He died of AIDS, and it is generally believed that he got it from sleeping around with a lot of women.

I believe he had a few kids, which isn't typical of unmarried homosexuals, AFAIK.

He could've been bi, but I doubt it.

[ He died of AIDS, and it is generally believed that he got it from sleeping around with a lot of women. ...]

Maybe that dirtball rapper did catch the neo-Plague from from some 'ho. What's that got to do with clean people catching AIDS via vaginal intercourse?

You're the one, not me, who's reinforcing a stereotype about rappers and, by extension, Africkan-Americans in general. Why can't you cite an instructive lesson exemplified by some Peter and Polly Preppie couple who Did It on their first date without a condominium and thereby croaked each other with H.I.V.? Because such cases are scarce?

[ He died of AIDS, and it is generally believed that he got it from sleeping around with a lot of women. ...]

Maybe that dirtball rapper did catch the neo-Plague from from some 'ho. What's that got to do with clean people catching AIDS via vaginal intercourse?

You're the one, not me, who's reinforcing a stereotype about rappers and, by extension, Africkan-Americans in general. Why can't you cite an instructive lesson exemplified by some Peter and Polly Preppie couple who Did It on their first date without a condominium and thereby croaked each other with H.I.V.? Because such cases are scarce?

Sorry about the double post.

Hey, let's talk about the validity of free free free enterprise and Libertarianism. Cases in point, Grasso of the NYSE and the Merril Lynch settlement announced today.

Boy, we sure can trust businessmen to be honest and to regulate themselves without the meddlesome, deadening hand of gu'ment, cant' we?

People are inherently good and trustworthy, oh yes.

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