|
|
- NEWSLETTERS
- MOBILE APPS
-
ADD TIME NEWS
Medicine: Testing Blood for Aids
Since 1981 the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reports that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome has struck more than 8,000 Americans, 90% of them gay men or drug abusers. But the CDC says that at least 119 Americans have contracted the lethal AIDS from blood transfusions. With death lurking in the national blood supply, the Federal Government and five private drug companies began developing a method to detect evidence of AIDS infection in donated blood. The first such tests have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and last week test kits from Abbott Laboratories were shipped to blood banks around the country and overseas.
While the tests represent a significant breakthrough, they have been criticized for inaccuracy. They do not reveal the presence of the actual AIDS virus but rather the antibodies to the virus. Since an AIDS victim in the very early or very late stages of the disease may not produce antibodies, the tests could allow 5% to 10% of contaminated blood samples to slip through undetected. Moreover, some homosexual men produce AIDS antibodies but may not contract the disease. Gay leaders fear that the supposedly confidential test results will be sought by employers and insurance companies to determine who is a homosexual or an AIDS risk.
Most Popular »
- The End of Audacity
- Astronomers Spy a New Planet-Like Object
- Hate Your Job? Here's How to Reshape It
- How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?
- The Man Behind Russia's Deadly Train Blast
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- Health Care Reform: What Happened to Cost Controls?
- The Pakistani Taliban's War on Schoolchildren
- Amanda Knox, Convicted of Murder in Italy
- The Toughest Diet
- Paris: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
- Are Minorities Being Fleeced by the Stimulus?
- For Churches, Beefed-Up Security Is a Mixed Blessing
- Workers of the World vs. China Inc.
- How One Army Town Copes With Post- Traumatic Stress
- North Korea
- Where China Goes Next
- Could Jacob Zuma Be the President South Africa Needs?
- Medvedev Dashes Hopes for More Democracy in Russia
- New Legal Protections for the Elderly





RSS