December 5, 2007

Haitian Americans Outraged at Study Implications

Some Haitian Americans are saying that a recent study, which asserted that HIV emerged from Haiti, stigmatizes Haitians, and that it should undergo an independent review (sun-sentinel.com, 12/1).

The study, by Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, is based on an analysis of 25-year-old blood samples from three Haitian patients in South Florida. It suggests that after emerging in Haiti in the 1960s, HIV spread to the United States shortly afterward.

Sun-Sentinel reports that some activists are worried that the new study could signal a return to the discrimination many Haitians faced in the early 1980s. Haitians were said to be at an increased risk for HIV and banned from donating blood.

The “four H club”: hemophilia, homosexuality, heroin use and being Haitian was used to refer to risk factors for HIV.

“Haitians historically have been used as scapegoats,” said Marleine Bastien, a Haitian-American activist.

Haitian activists and health care workers are asking scientists to take another look at Worobey’s data, and also determine if the team was authorized to use the three blood samples in the study.

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Previous Comments:

education, , 2008-04-10 18:21:00
Did anyone consider the American "sex tourists" that came to Haiti to exploit poor sex workers prior to the knowledge of AIDS?

Jay, queens,ny, 2007-12-07 13:59:58
i think scientists need to make up their mind. i was told by my bio prof that it came from the jungle from a bacteria that dont harm monkeys but somehow jumped to humans and can hurt humans.this will have devastating effect on haitian which already faces a lot of backlash.first homosexuals,haitians,monkeys.they need to leave that alone.