People need to deal more with the ethical considerations of AIDS transmission than mandatory testing, a county health official told Utah Valley State College students Thursday during a panel discussion on the subject.
Clark Swenson, director of HIV-AIDS services for the Utah County Health Department, said people need to understand how the disease is transmitted and take responsibility for their actions. He said it can be transmitted in only four ways - the exchange of these body fluids: breast milk, blood, vaginal secretions and semen.He said it cannot be transmitted via sweat, tears or saliva. Some researchers in the medical community dispute that claim, but they were not represented on the panel.
The panel discussion, "AIDS and Ethics," was part of Ethics Awareness Week, which has been observed all week to help students understand common ethical dilemmas in their professions.
In addition to Swenson, the panel consisted of Dr. Jeff Bulger, an assistant professor and HIV specialist; David Johnson, an admitted homosexual diagnosed with AIDS, and Dr. Mark Bigler of the Utah AIDS Foundation. Scheduled guest speaker Sharon Lund, another AIDS patient, was unable to attend because of illness.
Johnson said he practiced safe sex since the early 1980s when HIV and AIDS were first identified. He learned he had full blown AIDS two and a half years ago, which he said was his first knowledge that he was infected. Swenson called Johnson a "miracle" because of his ability to bounce back. Johnson said his weight dropped to 105 pounds, but he now weighs about 145 pounds and is feeling stronger. He said he would never knowingly infect another person.
Bigler said that the disease progresses rapidly in some patients and takes years to develop in others. Researchers don't know why, he said. The panel discussed the ethical questions concerning the risks in contracting the disease.
"I want people not to do the things that puts them at risk," Swenson said.
He said HIV re-infection may hasten the onset of AIDS. Partners who both have AIDS may think they needn't worry anymore, but they can continue to re-infect each other, he said.
Bulger said HIV is a retrovirus, which means it mutates so rapidly it's difficult to develop a vaccine.
The panel also explored other ethical questions surrounding the disease, including disclosure and the benefits and harm disclosure may bring. By law infected people don't have to disclose their condition but may need to in order to get help, said Swenson.
Employers who learn an employee is infected must keep that knowledge confidential, he said. While other diseases may kill faster, Bigler noted that AIDS is a stigmatized disease.
On a worldwide scale HIV and AIDS is a heterosexual disease, Swenson said. In this country homosexual and drug user contact is more common, Bigler said.