Klarinet Archive - Posting 000205.txt from 1999/01

From: James.P.Reed@-----.net (James P Reed)
Subj: Re: [kl] HIV via saliva
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 19:49:31 -0500

Neil wrote about an urban myth - a story of a woman who got stuck with
an HIV infected needle while in a movie theatre. My psychology students
love to tell this story. At least one new student per quarter comes up
with this one, always with their own slant and usually locating it in
San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York City.

During my decades in public health work, many such stories often
appeared and floated around, especially regarding STDs and HIV. They
always have to do with innocent victims and highly improbable incidents
yet, everyday, very human, realistic fears. HIV from saliva appears to
be another one of these myths although Diane wrote about other problems
from saliva that are more likely.

Another urban fear has to do with knockout drugs folks slip into drinks
and then carry the victim, who appears uncontrollably drunk, out of a
bar, with the bartenders blessing, so to speak. Or they are
administered to someone who has been invited home by a real attractive
person. The victim then wakes up in a bathtub full of ice, with a note
on their chest to call 911 immediately. Upon inspection, they discover
slits where both of their kidneys have been removed.

Certainly, as clarinetists, and as responsible members of our own
respective communities, it does help to have people like Diane available
to debunk the myths and inform us of likely possibilities at the same
time.

One of the most critical things to keep in mind about all of these, is
the best we can come up with are statistics, probablities and
likelihoods, often based on clinical or theoretical research. Keep in
mind, at it's best, research deals with sample populations and, with
respect to epidemiological experiences, does not always serve as a good
substitute for reason and common sense. Caution is always good;
paranoia may be fun to inflict on others to justify ones own fears but
certainly is less than healthy. Hopefully, we have enough medical and
scientific people on the list to keep these issues in a healthy and
constructive perspective, without our contributing to the validation and
spread of what are often only unsubstantiated, urban myths.

Jim

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