November 26, 2001
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Gay men weigh consequences before divulging HIV status – Before confiding to friends and family that they are HIV-positive, men infected with the virus tend to weigh the consequences of that disclosure. This flies in the face of the theory that disease progression - how quickly serious symptoms appear - determines when a person discloses his or her disease, said Julie Serovich, an associate professor of human development and family science and director of the Marriage and Family Clinic at Ohio State University. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. A report on her research appears in a recent issue of the journal AIDS Education and Prevention. Of the 138 HIV-positive gay men in the study, just over half (55 percent) disclosed their disease status to family, while 63 percent told friends. Serovich also found that three out of four men had told their partners. She says disclosure is pivotal in reducing the behaviors that continue the spread of the disease. Most men in the study said they had contracted HIV via unsafe sexual practices. Contact: Julie Serovich, (614) 292-5685; see http://www.osu.edu/researchnews/archive/hivdisc.htm
Editors note: World AIDS Day is Dec. 1, 2001.
OSU Bioterrorism expert speaks to National Press Club roundtable – Nov. 30. An Ohio State University plant pathology professor is one of three experts participating in a roundtable on agricultural biosecurity sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). The discussion program takes place from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday (11/30) at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, DC. Larry Madden, an expert in epidemiology of plant diseases at Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, will offer information for the first of a series AIBS Madden is a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee for the forthcoming report, “Biological Threats to Agricultural Plants and Animals,” and senior author of the January 2002 BioScience article from AIBS titled, “A Population-dynamic Approach to Assess the Threat of Plant Pathogens as Biological Weapons Against Annual Crops.” Other roundtable panelists include Mark Wheelis of the University of California-Davis, author of “Agricultural Biowarfare and Bioterrorism,” and Rocco Casagrande, of Surface Logix, Brighton, MA, author of “Biological Terrorism Targeted at Agriculture: the Threat to U.S. National Security.” Contact: Larry Madden, (330) 263-3833.
U.S. Security is topic of forum – Nov. 28. The attacks of September 11 left Americans with many questions. Two questions echo the loudest: “Why did it happen and why didn’t we see it coming?” Richard Ned Lebow, professor of political science, history and psychology at Ohio State and director of the Mershon Center, will share his insights into the attacks as well as threats of biological and chemical attacks as the featured speaker at the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s community forum on Wednesday (11/28). Lebow will discuss new and unique ways that the government is preparing itself to forecast future threats to American security. His talk, titled, “Improving our Hit Rate and Reducing Theirs: Forecasting Threats to American Security,” is from noon to 1:15 p.m. at the Columbus Athletic Club, 136 E. Broad St. Contact: Columbus Metropolitan Club, (614) 464-3220.
Roll up your sleeve: OSU offers flu, meningitis immunizations to students – Nov. 29. Ohio State is taking preventive measures by offering students vaccinations during a Meningitis and Flu Immunization Outreach Program, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday (11/29) in the Ohio Union West Ballroom, 1739 N. High St. An educational health fair will follow the vaccinations. Flu season typically spans December through February. And in 1999, colleges nationwide reported 83 cases of Meningococcal meningitis, which resulted in six student deaths. More than 1,300 Ohio State students have already been immunized against meningitis following a meningococcal immunization program in October. Contact: Shannon Wingard, University Relations, (614) 247-6821.
The person listed as Contact will have the best information about the story. Call on our media relations staff for help with any Ohio State story – Elizabeth Conlisk, (614) 292-3040; Randy Dunham, (614) 292-8295; Amy Murray, (614) 292-8385, and Shannon Wingard, (614) 247-6821.