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A high school in Missouri will install an HIV/AIDS testing center after several students were exposed to the virus. The St. Louis County Health Department said it was the first time in its history that a routine investigation on the virus's origin following a diagnosis in the area has led to a high school. Parents of students at Normandy High School were notified on Wednesday.
A high school in Missouri will install an HIV/AIDS testing center after several students were exposed to the virus. The St. Louis County Health Department said it was the first time in its history that a routine investigation on the virus's origin following a diagnosis in the area has led to a high school. Parents of students at Normandy High School were notified on Wednesday.
"There is concern, but we really don't want to raise alarms here," health department spokesman Craig LeFebvre said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "This is not some major new outbreak or method of transmission, and there's no evidence to suggest it was deliberately being spread."
The testing site will open later this month on site, and it will be completely run by health officials. The school's 1,300 students will also be offered counseling and literature about HIV.
Students in the Normandy school district are offered the option of enrolling in a sexual education class, designed for those in grades four through 12.
About 5% of HIV diagnoses in St. Louis and its suburbs are attributed to teenagers, according to the state department of health and senior services. The area had 11 new cases of HIV among people 13-18 in 2007. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)
