No subject

Without the benefit of the 'facts' in the report, it should be pointed out
that dirty needles don't cause HIV infection unless they have been infected,
which requires an HIV positive user.  From my own experience in Malawi an
awful lot of people in Malawi do not ever come in contact with needles.
While many traditional practitioners give injections and use razor blades in
their healing rituals, many are aware of the possibility of HIV infection
and require patients to bring their own equipment.   Even in the US dirty
needle infection is primarily from IV drugs.  Very few medical personnel
have ever been infected by cuts or pricks from needles used for injections
in HIV positive people, notwithstanding the obvious concern this has been
for twenty years.

In any event, the report certainly suggests that clean needles for medical
use and needle exchange for the limited IV drug population would cheap and
easy to set up.  To suggest that sexual contact is not the primary method of
infection goes against much of the history of the spread of AIDS to date
given that needles (other than for IV drug use) and could actually be a
dangerous development.  With HIV incidence rates estimated at exceeding 40%
in the child-bearing age populations in some African countries, a suggestion
that unsafe sex practices are not the chief cause of AIDS infection is
absolutely irresponsible.  At this point with the incidence so high, it
makes no difference if early infections came largely from dirty needles if
almost half of eligible sex partners are infected and not using condoms,
even given their less than 100% effectiveness.  Notwithstanding clean
needles are always a major protection against all kinds of potential health
hazards derived from the fluids of another human.