M a y 16, 2001
Page A 5
-— (Tljv 'Portland ©beeruer
JJurtlanb
(Obseruer
Health/Education
Name-Based Reporting
of HIV Put on Hold
Childhood Lead Poisoning, a
Preventable Health Problem
Childhood lead poisoning is
m ajor and preventable environ
mental health problem and lead-
based paint is now considered
the primary source o f lead ex
posure.
To combat the problem , Phy
sicians for Social Responsibility
with help from m ajor sponsors,
conduct free lead testing for
children the second Saturday o f
each month, from 10 a.m. 2
p.m. at Common Bond, 4616 N.
Albina.
Officials say blood lead test
ing o f children should be per
formed at ages 1 and 2 or at
least before age 6 if no previous
testing has been done and any
risk factors for lead poisoning
are present.
Children who live in or regu
larly stay in a hom e, apartm ent,
or child care center constructed
before 1978 are at a greater risk
o f developing lead poisoning, es
pecially if there is rem odeling or
peeling paint. O ther risk factors
include family m em bers with
exposure to lead and low family
income (including those on Med
icaid, WIC, or Oregon Health
Plan).
The effects o f lead poisoning
are reversible if detected early
by a blood test. If undetected,
lead poisoning dam ages the
brain, causing learning and be
havioral problem s in affected
children.
The testing is co-sponsored
by volunteers from the Oregon
chapter o f Phy sicians for Social
Responsibility, Com m on Bond
and the Coalition o f Black Men,
with help from Volunteers o f
America and Old W ives’ Tales
Restaurant. The M ultnom ah
County Health Dept. provides
laboratory testing and supplies.
(AP)-O regon will wait until Oct 1 to
join 36 other states that require doctors
to report the names o f people who test
positive for HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS. The policy has been delayed for
the second time to give state health
officials m ore time to explain it to the
public, officials said Friday.
Under the policy, w hich is modeled
on one begun in W ashington stale in
1999, the Oregon Heath Di vision would
have 90 days to follow up with the
patient’s doctor to ensure that the
patient will receive proper care and
support. Then, the patien t’s name
would be converted into a numerical
code. The policy would have taken
effect on July 1. Anonym ous testing
would continue as an option at public
health clinics.
Health officials say nam e-based re
porting wi 11 help them track HIV cases
and direct prevention to the most at-
risk populations. It will also ensure
newly diagnosed patients get proper
care and counseling, they say.
But some com m unity groups say
HIV/AIDS carries a stigma, particu
larly among some ethnic and racial
minorities, that would deterpeople from
getting tested if they knew their names
would be reported, even confidentially.
Marta Guembes, who does H IV /
AID S testing and co unseling for
Multnomah County, said she know s
many minority patients w ho w ould be
deterred from getting tested if they
knew their names would be reported.
“They’re not going to get tested,”
said Guembes.
Dr Grant Higginson, O H D acting
adm inistrator, said these concerns
prompted him to mo ve the policy back.
More than 50 com m unicable dis
eases already must be reported, with
the patient’s name, to health authori
ties in Oregon. An estim ated 6,500
Oregonians are infected with HIV.
Meanw hile, AIDS cases are reported
by name in Oregon, as required in
every other state. There were 222 new
cases o f AIDS and 47 A ID S deaths
reported in the state in 1999 — less
than one-third the totals from 1993.
Off.: (503) 286-1103
Fax: (503) 286-1146
STATE FARM
INSURANCE COMPANIES
H OM E OFFICES: B LO O M IN G TO N, ILLINOIS
ER N E ST J. HILL, JR.
Agent
(P hoto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver )
Vijay Balan o f Physicians fo r Social Responsibility administers a test fo r lead exposure Saturday to Jallanie and
Bulcha Sado at Common Bond, 4616 N. Albina. The tests take place the second Saturday o f each month.
6527 NE MLK, Jr. Boulevard
Suite A
Portland, OR 97217
Lead Warning Issued for Mexican Candies
State health officials warned Orego
nians to avoid three M exican candies
that contain high levels o f lead.
"W e w ant to protect people from
th e se p r o d u c ts ,” s a id M ic h a e l
H uemann, an epidem iologist with the
Health Division o f the Oregon Dept. o f
H um an Services, “especially children
under age 6 who suffer the m ost seri
ous health effects from exposure to
lead.” The dangerous candies have
been found in stores in O regon, C ali
fornia and W ashington. A ccording to
H eumann, consum ers should avoid a
lollipop and two fruit rolls, m ade in
M exico by Dulmex. H eum ann said the
lollipop is a soft, dark brow n tamarind
fruit candy on a w hite or orange stick.
It is wrapped in clear w rapper with an
orange-red band that has the w ord
Bolirindo in w hite lettering and a pic-
tureofabrow n tamarind fruit. The fruit
roll is cigar-shaped roll with a sim ilar
w rapper with the word tamasrind in
white lettering. A third product Rollito
de Coco, a fruit roll made with coconut,
has a sim ilar label with the word coco
nut in white letters. These same Dulmex
candies have also been found in O r
egon repacked under the brand name
Juanitas. Officials oftheU .S. Food and
Drug Administration issued a public
alert last week after the Dulmex lolli
pops w ere found in the California
hom es o f three young children with
elevated lead levels. A ccording to re
sults o f tests, the children’s candy
w rappers and lollipop sticks all con
tained high levels o f lead. Preliminary
findings from tests o f Dulmex prod
ucts found in Oregon indicate that the
ink on the label contains four percent
lead. Health officials said there should
be no lead in any candy or label.
Bush Promises Help on AIDS Epidemic
(AP) President Bush said AIDS,
tuberculosis and m alaria have caused
suffering in poor countries that “is
alm ost beyond com prehension.”
A t a W hite H ouse cerem ony Fri
day, he announced a U.S. grant of$200
million dollars to help fight infectious
diseases in poor countries. H e says
there’ll be more to com e. But critics
said the m oney is just a drop in the
bucket An Oxfam Americaofficial calls
the grant “quite inadequate” to fight
HIV, which has infected roughly 26
millionpeople in Africa. Nigeria’spresi-
dent and UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan attended the ceremony. “As we
declare global waron AIDS, we will need
a war chest to tight it,” Annan said.
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