1	AIDS The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated in 2002 that 886, 575 people in the U. S. have Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) 150,000 have AIDS-Related Complex and one million are asymptomatic carriers
2
3	Etiology prior to 2002 MSM, 40% Mother to fetus, 25% Injection drug use, 25% Heterosexual or other, 10%
4	Last few months research (CDC, 2004) Greatest proportion of AIDS (not just HIV) cases are MSM and intravenous drug users Emerging new cases in the HIV/AIDS pipeline are more likely female, Black, in the Northeast or South. Efficiency of transmission is higher from male to female than female to male.
5	AIDS (continued) AIDS has a long incubation stage and people can carry and transmit the virus for years without themselves developing the symptoms Adolescent years of experimentation with intravenous drug use and sex puts students at risk for AIDS
6	How is AIDS spread? It is a sexually transmitted disease spread through exchange of blood sharing of needles using drugs prenatal from mother to child spread through heterosexual and homosexual contact
7	How is AIDS spread? (continued) AIDS is not spread through casual contact, toilet seats, door knobs, hand shakes or hugging Even with the sharing of food and drinking cups between family members, AIDS has not been contracted
8	Prevention of AIDS Education is the only means preventing the spread of AIDS If possible teaching about AIDS should begin in middle or junior high school and should be incorporated into existing health programs
9	Assisting persons with AIDS Only thing a school can do for a student with AIDS is to be knowledgeable about the disease, dispel myths about the disease and assist the student in continuing their education as normally as possible
10	Policy on AIDS Develop a policy before an AIDS situation happens with a student, student family member of school employee Development of policy should have input from administrative and teaching staff, the medical community, parent and health professionals
11	Policy on AIDS (continued) Should be based on facts of transmission, those who have AIDS and those in contact with those who have AIDS Should be consistent with state and federal laws Care involving exposure to infected child’s body fluids and excrement, such as feeding should be aware of AIDS infection and transmission
12	Policy on AIDS (continued) Persons involved in the care and education of AIDS infected students should respect the child’s right to privacy, including maintaining confidential records
13	Handling AIDS Related Crisis When AIDS was first identified, the few school-age cases were traced to contaminated blood used for transfusions. This is unlikely to happen again because of blood screening New cases of students has been through sexual contact and sharing of needles in drug use
14	Handling AIDS Related Crisis (continued) Student under 18 may not became symptomatic until after graduation, however these asymptomatic carriers can spread the disease One of the most likely AIDS-related situation that the school might face is the case of a family member of a student who has AIDS
15	How Policy Works? One District’s Policy—following slides.
16
17