Virus risk at schools remote—specialist

Press, 2 July 1986, Page 47

Virus risk at schools remote —specialist

NZPA-AP Little Rock, Arkansas The chances of A.I.D.S. spreading among children in the classroom were about the same as being hit by lightning on a sunny day, a specialist in the disease told the United States ParentTeacher Association’s convention in Little Rock. As of January, there had been 231 reported cases of A.I.D.S. among children under the age of 18, but no reported cases of children transmitting the disease to schoolmates, said Maggie Knox, a health service specialist with the American Red Cross. Ms Knox said the statistics meant that school dis-

tricts need not screen all children for the virus. “They should spend their time, effort and money on education and prevention,” she said. “The first step is to provide information about A.I.D.S. so people will be less afraid of the disease. “Sometimes it helps if you put it into proper perspective. “The chances of your child catching A.I.D.S. from another child are about the same as being hit by lightning on a sunny day.” About 1000 people from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and West Germany attended the ninetieth annual conference.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a virus that destroys the immune system’s ability to fight disease, leaving the victim susceptible to a variety of cancers and infections. By June 2, A.I.D.S. had been diagnosed in 21,302 people in the United States and claimed 11,645 lives, according to the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta. Most often transmitted through sexual contact, A.I.D.S. is also transmitted in contaminated blood products, and by contaminated hypodermic needles or syringes shared by drug abusers.