Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

HIV/STD Advisory Council creates prevention through awareness



Since its formation 10 years ago, the HIV/STD Advisory
Council has had a simple strategy in combating AIDS: education leads to
prevention.

Since its creation by the Minnesota Department of Health,
the council has produced yearly events based on what it saw as the county’s
need for more information to prevent the spread of a perilous disease.

While this year’s event has not been decided upon, the
council has promoted the proclamation of December 1 as World AIDS Day.
As such, a number of McLeod County mayors have officially made World AIDS
Day a reality in their communities, including Lester Prairie and Winsted.

Jene Johnson, a member of the council and a McLeod County
public health educator, lauds the mayors for this step: “It’s a big
deal for them because they’re putting themselves out on the flag pole.
It takes a lot of courage.”

Such an action though begs the question of whether HIV
and AIDS is a big concern in McLeod County.

Johnson admits that while Minnesota is a relatively low
incidence state, “It’s a disease that is a community health issue,
and as a community, we need to address it.”

While the numbers are low – about 10-11 individuals infected
in the area – Johnson worries that they are too low in her opinion.

The figure is obtained from the state department of health,
which requires the report of any person infected by HIV to determine the
potential number of AIDS cases.

Johnson sees the problem is in how the number is gathered.

“The way they get that number is where you were living
at the time you tested positive. So they (HIV+ persons) may have been living
in Minneapolis, but moved home.”

She says that movement is not reflected in the estimation.
In fact, she believes the numbers may actually be higher.

Much of that opinion comes from work done by the Rural
AIDS Action Network (RAAN). As an organization that “exists to organize,
develop and sustain caring volunteer communities that serve and support
persons living with, affected by, or at risk for HIV/AIDS in the rural midwest,”
RAAN use by members of the community is a reflection of demand for services
and care.

They report that between July and September 1998, 20 new
persons living with AIDS called upon them for services, and that they had
served a separate, previously-known 24 persons.

While those figures are state wide, the council still sees
a need for prevention.

“Living in rural Minnesota is not an immunization
from risky behavior,” Johnson said.

Moreover, she sees this as a concern for rural adolescents
who live with the same social problems endemic to the metro area.

Defining AIDS

The first step in AIDS is HIV, which is the name for the
virus.

HIV infects the bloodstream and can lay dormant for month
or years depending on the body’s ability to resist it, according to Johnson.
During this time, the infected person may have no indication that he/she
is HIV-positive.

HIV infects the white blood cells known as T-helper cells.
The T-cell, describes Johnson, is “sort of like the quarterback for
a football team. It tells your body’s immune system ‘you need to fight
this disease over here.'”

When the virus infects such a cell, it changes the DNA
of the cell to actually produce the HIV virus. It is only when an individual
has fewer than 200 T-Cells that he/she is considered to have AIDS. People
in general have 1,500 to 2,000 T-cells.

Awareness becomes key in the fact that much can be done
for an individual who is HIV-positive if the virus is detected early.

Oftentimes, anti-viral treatments can be administered to
slow or even stop the spread of the virus. In the case of pregnant women
who are HIV-positive, the risk of passing the virus to the fetus can be
reduced from a 50/50 chance to just 7 percent.

The taboo of AIDS

At times, the attempts to create awareness have come with
resistance.

In 1990, The HIV/STD Advisory Council brought a play to
a high school in Hutchinson. Entitled “Amazing Grace,” the play
portrayed a character who was diagnosed with HIV.

According to Johnson, “At that time, people’s response
to HIV was pretty strong.” The performance was picketed and letters
to the editor appeared condemning the play and the inappropriateness of
the title.

Johnson observes that the attitude towards discussing AIDS,
even when it pertains to young adults, has changed. Concerning the council’s
efforts to inform the community, she says, “People have come to see
the programs that we offer as an opportunity for more education, not as
a pulpit from which we preach what people should or shouldn’t do.”

However, she remains concerned that scrutiny of how the
virus is contracted will discourage people from testing. She believes communities
must focus not on how it was contracted, but on the disease itself.

The programs that the council provides have also changed.

The concentration is now on informing professionals, be
they medical, dental, educational, or even employers.

The hope is that by providing those people with support
and information, they will pass on assistance to their communities.

Johnson believes that the mayoral proclamations do just
that.

“I think it raises awareness and I believe it gives
a stamp of importance,” she said.

Also, World AIDS Day will be accompanied by two area events.
Lester Prairie High School will host a speaker, Susie Dougherty, who will
address the upperclassmen.

Dougherty will also speak at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson
at 11 a.m.Wednesday, Dec. 2. The public is invited to attend that program.

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