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The Huron Expositor, 1989-05-17, Page 7countyP ention main aim of AIDS c o r� i:nEato;'r THE 'HURON :EXRoSIT•+CJR, MAY 17, E MON43RWlN ,aleranain;goabisrprevention. And:her bestWegpon 5saducation. "tWelllmeaeureour•-success ty the lack ofcaseei etbevotnity,"aristaDilsnoAitken, fiurareCoulity frstAIDScoordinator,'a+ho lies 'been on the job for. about: six enonths. "Our 'biggest problem is fear," Aitken said. "Patients are often ostracized out of ignorance or fear." "One of our biggest hurdles isthe need for - well, . almost complete re-education," because of the stereotypes raised when AIDS was first discovered, she said. Because its main victims in North America were homosexuals, it quickly became !mown as "the gay disease." "But that's completely false," said Aitken, addingthatit's a disimse of behavior rather than sexual orientation. Aitken, who was born in Goderich and raised in Clinton, has an education and public relations henkgroima Don't wait t BY MONA It€WIN It is often referred to as the AIDS epidemic. So far, Huron County statistics don't show an epidemic. "Right now we have two known cases of infection .in Huron County," said Diane Aitken, the eounty's first AIDS coordinator. The two known cases have only tested positive for HIV infection. So far neither has developed the symptoms of a full-blown AIDS ease. However, the Health Unit also has records of sax people in Huron County who have had AIDS. All have died. The distinction between HIV and AIDS is confusing, Aitken agreed. But then AIDS itself is confusing. It's also frightening, because there is a lot of misinformation around. The letters stand for Acquired Im- munodeficiency Syndrome. It's caused by a virus called the Human Immunodeficien- cy Virus (HIV ), which attacks the body's immune system. The immune system is 'what keeps people free of disease - and helps them fight off the illnesses that they do get. Without its protection, people with "Before this, I worked for the federal government Edoing consumer education," She said. "The enechanicsofthe job are the same -IVs just .a'newtopic." She hastalso taught high school°and college, and she onthe'board ofthe°hospital in Clinton. AIDS stands for Acquired Ixnrnumodefi- eieney' Syndrome. Caused bya virus, AIDS is presently incurable and almost always fatal. It can' be contracted either by sexual intercourse with an infected person or by sharinghyPodermic needles. It can alsobe passed from an infected mother to her un- born baby. Aitken's'fnst.priority as AIDS coordinator was to "establish target .groups" - those most in danger from the virus. At the top of the list in Huron County are the young people - those between 10=25, she says. "The easiest to reach are what we call 'organized youth,"' said Aitken. "That means those in school or those in jobs." act — coor AIDS suffer from fatal infections and cancers. At present there is no cure and no vaccine. But one of the great ironies of the virus isthat it's so deadly once it's in the immune system - but extremely fragile outside the body, Aitken said. Research indicates that it can be destroyed by heat, by dryness, even by soap and water. It can take six weeks to six months before an infected person tests positive for the HIV virus, because it may take that long for the antibodies to appear in the blood. And -it may take up to seven years before. the per- son infected with HIV starts to show the symptoms - the diseases - of AIDS. Some of the most common diseases include Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare skin cancer, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), an unusual lung infection. While Bison County is "able to concen- trate on prevention" because of the low number of cases in the area so far, the coun- ty does have a number of existing programs already in place that can provide for HIV and -AIDS patients, said Aitken. These in- clude the home care program (to keep the patient at'home for as long as possible), oc- Cattlemen vote down supply A majority of 72 per cent beef producers in Ontario have voted down a supply manage- ment system for the beef industry. The results of the controversial beef vote were announced by Ontario 'Ministry of Agriculture Jack Riddell Thursday in the provincial legislature. 22,446 ballots were mailed in by Ontario cattlemen, Producers had the opportunity to vote for the establishment of a committee which could have determined the amount of beef produced in Ontario, and the price of the beef to consumers. The Ontario Cattleman's Association (OCA) willremain the official voiceof the $1 billion;peryear beef industry; andtthe40,000 beef producers in the province. The OCA supports free enterprise in the beef in- dustry, and spent $200,000 fighting the pro- posed marketing commission.. John Bancroft, farm management specialist with the Clinton OMAF office, says he has heard no official word about the future of the Beef Producers For Change, a splinter group of cattlemen who were sup- porters of the committee and a supply management system in the recent vote. "You're still going to have people involv- ed in the industry who are trying to better it through a supply management system," noted Mr. Bancroft. The beef vote came about from a redoin?'; WI members hear about vitamins, medication The Seaforth Women's Institute, held their medication and side affects. Vitamins and May meeting at Ginette's Restaurant. mitierais are better if taken in our diet in - Olive Papple welcomed everyone and stead of as a medication supplement. read a poem on "Beatitudes for Mother". , Gladys thanked Mrs. Payee. Anona read an The Institute Ode and Mary Stewart Collect article on Mothers and Grandmothers, and were repeated .in unison, 14 members on 50th Anniversaries. It is 50 years since answered the roll call and five visitors were the King:and.Queen were here on their tour. present. A letter was read from the Ontario Gladys and Sandy Doig are celebrating Agricultural Museum about their 10th An- their 50th wedding Anniversary. Gladys niversary Celebration June 8 to 10,, open 10 gave the motto, "Our strength lies in our am to 5 pm daily. ability ta bend, our e6dstence:depends on it," Anona Crozier and Gladys Doig were in Thelma Dale.presented Gladys ;with an an - charge of the meeting. Anona introducedthe niversary gift. Coffee, doughnuts and :muf- speaker, Marlene Pryce, she spoke about fins were enjoyed. Youths:elaseified as'unorganlzed,' who areueitherin•sehool'nor In a job,. are more difficult to reachairnply because "there's ,no.environmentthrough which we ean get to them and talk to them," said Aitken. For young people still in school, the Ministry of :Education has a mandatory AIDS education program that is presented to students in grades seven and eight and those in high school. "We've been very busy on that, because a lot of teachers still feel that they're not well-informed enough to present (the pro- gram ) effectively," Aitken said. Students in grades seven and eight are "eager to learn and ask questions," she said. Malty high school students, however, have become more reticent - more reluc- tent to aslequestions - and at the same time convinced that, like drug.addiction and un- wanted pregnancies, it "won't happen to me." dinator cupational therapy programs (OT is need- ed because as the body weakens the per- son's capacity to do for themselves diminishes) and the care program operating at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. And the Health Unit =already has some policies in place, including training for its nurses and VON staff to enable them to understand the diseaseand the risks involv- ed in .treating patients with HIV and AIDS. "That way they can deal with patients on a one-to-one basis," said Aitken, The policies include taking "universal precautions" whenever there's a possibili- ty of coming in contact with a patient's body fluids. "The most common (form of protection) is just to wear gloves," Aitken said. "Hand washing is also effective." Staff can also use masks, gowns and so on but that's usually not necessary, she added. It's called "universal precautions" because all patients are treated similarly, particularly in cases where patients are ad- mitted to a hospital withan unknown illness. "Sometimes it can be a few days before they're diagnosed," Aitken said. ana.e'me t mendation by a provincially appointed Beef Marketing Task Force. The task force made 56 recommendations, and Mr. Bancroft says OMAF and the cattle industry will now be looking at some of the other recommenda- tions. He says the effects of free trade and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on other supply manage- ment systems in Ontario will also be watched. 1989 — 7A � u "We'rrconstantly devising - revamping and modiivine i' • ' Urogram" to lose, '' of festive, Ames ' She also r sent. q;,- ' a ...a, enea, pro- gram at RIu v rat i r uuth Centra thrnupc, the •.Bluewe .rr school "The principal pulls together a different group oft vseachmonthfor mete talk to," shesaid. '1 get iotoffeedback fn -• a*• and! learn a lot. It's s ^hallerrgo it in a way they u scrap, bi ' ' seem to be very receptive to (the r )0.a. NEED TO REA',. 4rltli Ts She also encourages students to tak,. home the material she hands out and discuss it with their parents. "We're doing what " , ran a• ''•tie s :hool system e d i; but it's necessar ' .« 'aced at home," Silt t•"r uc -r !ognize. that mils , part r , , ' :t z.y know enougi ..bout AIL: lis And that's hoT nex' a;, is make, a'' adults, not just parents, more aw; r „ tyre realities of AIDS. A videornr' bout AllS in the workplace, which ww De held May 16 at the Huronview Auditor, un in Clinton, is part of her effort tr F aban out. "It has two timer's, she said of the videoconference. e is eduretion of employees and employers, and the " "^ to encourage employers to have a poacy in place in case a staff member does contract AIDS." Policies are needed bey. .se AIDS has not only physical but social ramifica- tions as well, she said. "A lot'c adults s it's not my concern — I'm 1: ; monoga. relationship,' but AIDS is a concern of all of society,' said Aitken. "The•costs to the health care system alone are staggering." In talking about AIDS prevention, she ad- vocates both abstinence from sex and the practice of "safer sex" - sex with a condom. As AIDS coordinator, she encourages the . availability of condoms throughout the county. But in the course of her talks - especial- ly with young people - she's found that they still find it difficult to actually go in and buy condoms. "Especially in smaller communities," she said with a smile, before becoming: serious again. "That's a concern of mine -- if rim giving them a message of 'this is your only alter- native if you're sexually active,' but they don't feel it's a genuine alternative for some reason, the message is lost. Also, a lot of people don't know where to get them." At present the most common places to get con - dims are from drug stores and through the Huron County Health Unit. Discussions like this generate a lot of con- cern, she said. A lot of people think that "by promoting condoms, we're promoting sex- ual -activity. That's not so. 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