An unidentified San Diego resident may be infected with the same rare, aggressive and highly drug-resistant strain of HIV found last week in a New
York City man who has rapidly become ill with AIDS, health officials said yesterday.
"(The local person's) HIV has a similar molecular makeup as the patient in New York City," said Dr. Nancy Bowen, the San Diego County public health
officer who held a press conference about the finding yesterday afternoon in San Diego.
It's important to notify the public about a new and possibly supervigorous strain of HIV so people can take extra precautions, Bowen said. But "I
don't think it will do anybody any good to get panicked about this," she said, emphasizing that many details are still being sorted out.
Several AIDS specialists said it was odd to see public-health officials sound such widespread alarm after only one person became sick. They questioned
whether the virus is truly a lethal variety, or whether the New York patient's immune system, extensive use of methamphetamines and genetic makeup
might be contributing factors to his rapidly deteriorating condition."
www.signonsandiego.com...
This is a very rapid outbreak of a possibly pandemic disease. The next few weeks will tell.