n a discovery that could mean progress for HIV/AIDS research, a group of experts in Africa have determined that “healthy” levels of various blood components differ between people in some African countries and people in North America and Europe.
Previously, many Africans who showed up to participate in AIDS vaccine trials were turned away because their white blood cell count and other blood indicators were not in the designated “normal” range. However, researchers have now discovered that the standards used to judge what is normal in the United States may be different than what is normal in some sub-Saharan African countries.
But while this means that more people may be eligible to participate in AIDS research trials, it also raises question about why some people’s normal blood levels might differ from others—and how much poor access to health care and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa play roles in this difference.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
