Comments on: Malta responds with chivalry to the lepers in its midst

By: Moggy

Moggy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:14:39 +0000

I will, if I find anything.

By: john

john — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:21:39 +0000

@Moggy
As I recall – most, if not all Maltese haemophiliacs were infected with HIV via products imported from the USA, to which they succumbed. This was in the pre-HIV screening days when you could pick it up from a routine blood transfusion in hospital. That is how Arthur Ashe and thousands of others died.

By: Amanda Mallia

Amanda Mallia — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:11:34 +0000

Corinne – Try contacting the person listed here.

http://www.euro.who.int/aids/ctryinfo/CtryInfoRes?COUNTRY=MAT

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:58:15 +0000

Moggy: Thanks for the information. If you know of any documented statistics, I’d be grateful if you’d post the reference here. This is a genuine enquiry.

By: Moggy

Moggy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:44:00 +0000

Corinne, one would have to estimate the percentage, of people engaging in that high-risk activity, of people who are infected with HIV. Yes, it is possible that the percentages will work out to be higher in these high-risk groups, because of the simple fact that many cases of infection will exist within a small group.

One must also keep in mind though, as regards the incidence of HIV in Africa, that the majority of cases in Africa are not, as in the West, associated with high risk groups like IV drug abusers or homosexuals (and as far as I know has never been). Rather, you will find cases across the board, with females being infected just as often as males, and many children having HIV because they were born to HIV positive mothers.

Even in Malta, the groups affected have changed. The first to be infected in Malta were people with blood dyscrasias, who needed to be given regular blood factors, and homosexuals who had had foreign contacts. Up to 20 years ago there were no HIV positive IV drug abusers in Malta – there seem to be a few now. Nowadays one expects to see more women infected as the infection becomes associated less with homosexuals alone and more with heterosexuals and IV drug abusers. This is happening all over the world – showing that what we call high risk groups are always changing and shifting.

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:01:37 +0000

Christian / Moggy: Quoted statistics are based on general populations. If the population is narrowed down to those engaging in activity that may result in transmission of infection (in either direction), what is the incidence of HIV? I would imagine that it’s higher than it is among the wider population.

This is a genuine question. I have tried to find statistics on high risk groups but have not found anything so far. I’m interested in the Maltese population in particular.

By: Moggy

Moggy — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:05:02 +0000

I am sure that Dr Barbara was not after labeling Africans when he gave his interview to The Times a few days ago. Statistics are an important part of medical practice, and they are kept all over the world. Analysis takes place as to how different groups of people are affected by different conditions – and one of the way people are grouped is according to race. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with the truth being said. The important thing is that the relevance of what is said is accurately picked up by whoever is listening, and that people are educated to understand what that truth means so that they will not resort to panicking.

So I agree with Christian that the truth must be said – and it was right that the truth was revealed.

By: Ray Borg

Ray Borg — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:58:49 +0000

@Antoine Vella

Oil drums were placed along the Ta’ Qali runway after an aeroplane almost landed there, the pilot having mistaken it for Luqa.

By: christian

christian — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:48:30 +0000

A quick search on Wikipedia: ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_in_Africa )

The HIV/AIDS epidemics spreading through the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are highly varied. Although it is not correct to speak of a single African epidemic, Africa is without doubt the region most affected by the virus. Inhabited by just over 12% of the world’s population, Africa is estimated to have more than 60% of the AIDS-infected population. Much of the deadliness of the epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa has to do with a deadly synergy between HIV and Tuberculosis.[1], though this synergy is by no means limited to Africa. In fact, Tuberculosis is the world’s greatest infectious killer of women of reproductive age and the leading cause of death among people with HIV/AIDS.

World region Adult HIV prevalence(ages 15–49) Total HIV:
Sub-Saharan Africa 6.1% (24.5m)
Worldwide 1.0% (38.6m)
North America 0.11% (1.3m)
Western Europe 0.3% (5.8m)
(Source: UNAIDS, 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic)

Literally labelling HIV infected people is ridiculous, but educating our nation, and feeding them information, is obligatory. Then, as we are a free country it is up to each individual to take care of one’s self.

By: Antoine Vella

Antoine Vella — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:15:08 +0000

Corinne Vella
““Libya didn’t dare invade Malta”. Ar’hemm hej. Precisely what would that have achieved?”

Apparently Mintoff was afraid of such an invasion when there was the Saipem incident. I remember seeing the Ta’ Qali runway peppered with 45-gallon drums to stop an eventual landing by Libyan paratroopers. I wonder what other measures Mintoff took for his own safety – planned to run away probably.