March 2, 2009

Positive Ethiopian Man Mails Own Blood to Obama

An HIV-positive Ethiopian immigrant with a history of mental illness is in custody after being accused of mailing a letter smeared with his blood to President Barack Obama following his election win, CNN reports.

According to the article, Saad Bedrie Hussein told investigators that the letter—containing his photo, an admission ticket to Obama’s election night victory party and six index cards covered in writing and red stains—was an attempt to get government assistance and tickets to Obama’s January 20 inauguration. The letter, postmarked December 27 and written in an Ethiopian language, also contained an orange powder, which tests revealed to be a drink mix. The letter was addressed to Obama and mailed to the Illinois Department on Aging in Springfield, Illinois.

Hussein said he “purposely cut one of his fingers with a razor so he could bleed on the letter,” according to an affidavit by Terry L. Cullivan, an investigator with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The criminal complaint against Hussein alleges that he “knowingly mailed” the letters containing HIV-positive blood “with the intent to kill or injure another.”

While Hussein denied sending additional letters, the Illinois Department of Revenue notified him that it had received two letters—both containing the same orange powder and what appeared to be dried blood—with Hussein’s return address. The second was addressed simply to “Emanuel,” which investigators believe was meant for Obama aide Rahm Emanuel.

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Previous Comments:

Donald Baxter, Iowa City, Iowa, 2009-03-03 13:41:08
This may be a deranged act of a desperate person, but it has nothing to do with HIV; it's incredulous that this man would be charged with any law mentioning HIV regardless of his intent since the potential for infection does not exist. Proof that stupidity exists at the highest of levels.

FREDERICK WRIGT, TAMPA, 2009-03-03 11:05:37
HEY ALL, LIVING HERE IN THE SUNSHINE STATE ENJOYING THE POSITIVE JOURNEY IN RENEWAL OF HOPE, PEACE AND JOY. I AM NOT A PERSON WITH AIDS, HOWEVER HIV POSITIVE AND THE OLD DENVER PRINCIPLES ARE GOOD FOR THEY INCLUDE ALL THE SAME RIGHTS AS US CONSTITUTION EXCEPT FOR A CALL FOR A CURE.. HOW ABOUT ADDING ANOTHER PRINCIPLE FOR A CURE FOR AIDS AND A CALL TO ASK TONEY WITH NIH TO RETIRIER AND GET A LEADER WITH ZEAL AND HOPE FOR A CURE FOR AIDS, NOW. PEACE AND MUCH LOVE, FREDERICK GNP+USA

Michael Irwin, London UK, 2009-03-03 10:40:02
I really despair when I hear stories like this. How can the threat that that this man was trying to spread HIV really be taken seriously? What science are these people using???

Patricia Clark, Kalamazoo, MI, 2009-03-03 10:20:36
Clearly this man has issues but we know that HIV can not survive outside of the body, once it dries, it dies. So the charges of knowingly mailing this “with the intent to kill or injure another” is ridiculous. But it has created conversations and an opportunity for education. So use that in our day to day battle to fight the stigma that still surrounds this virus and has for the 17 years I've been positive.

Darrell Roibinson, Louisville, KY, 2009-03-03 09:19:29
Though I find the act ridiculus and and with malice and contempt I also find it very uneducated in theroy. The virus we know as HIV once outside the body lives for how long? Maybe, Maybe up to an hour as I have been told. Hep although can live for up to 14 days in dry blood. So what do we do here and what does this tell us? YES! There is still entirely too much complacentcy and lack of knowledge in HIV. The heads of states are as they were 25 plus years ago. I know I have been + for 25 of them.