18 MONTHS A LONG PERIOD FOR AIDS TESTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993                   TAG: 9301070011
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Ray Reed/Staff
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
18 MONTHS A LONG PERIOD FOR AIDS TESTS
Q: I noticed in the paper that correctional officers had been bitten by an inmate who has AIDS. The officers said they have to be tested for AIDS for 18 months. The Health Department says two negative test results in six months mean you don't have the virus. Why do they have to be tested over 18 months? K.L., Blacksburg
A: Fear is a major factor in any accidental exposure to AIDS. Both time frames probably are based on attempts to allay fear as well as detect the AIDS antibodies.
The 18-month test period is what the officers told their supervisor they would need, based on what the doctors who examined them said. That's longer than most recommended test periods.
The state Corrections Department policy is to test employees for a year, said Dave Smith of the Pulaski Correctional Unit, where this attack occurred.
The state Health Department recommends that a person who may be exposed to AIDS have blood tests done immediately, at six weeks, at 12 weeks and again at six months after the exposure.
Dr. Margaret Robinson of the New River Health District said it's reasonable to assume that anyone who tests negative at six months is going to remain negative.
"If someone has a concern, then they may be tested again at one year," Robinson said.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that if the AIDS virus has been transmitted, the tests will show the antibodies after six to 12 weeks in more than 50 percent of the cases.
By six months, the antibodies appear in more than 95 percent of the cases if the virus is present, a spokeswoman at the centers said.
No AIDS infections were reported to be transmitted by biting in any of the 242,146 cases recorded through September, the spokeswoman said.
Medical authorities say the AIDS virus can be transmitted only through direct contact with contaminated blood, semen and vaginal fluids. The people at greatest risk are intravenous drug users, homosexuals and prostitutes.
Finding a lost relative
Q: How do I start looking for a long-lost relative (short of calling Oprah)? My dad lost touch with his sister after he served in Vietnam and now wants to contact her. He's in England and she's in Richmond - we think. Any ideas? M.H., Christiansburg
A: The Richmond city library should have city directories for every year from the first time she lived there as an adult.
You're looking not only for your aunt's name but every associate she might have had - neighbors, friends and co-workers.
Note every address you can find for her through the years. That directory also lists the occupants of neighboring houses, and places of employment. Call those neighbors and employers; someone is likely to remember her and may know where she went.
Then try the city courthouse.
The clerk's office will have marriage licenses from the likely years, and divorces, too. If her last name has changed, you might pick up the new name here.
If the leads are still going nowhere, check with the clerk of General District Court for traffic tickets she might have received. These records contain some concise information about people.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB