Students at a suburban St. Louis high school headed to the
gymnasium for HIV testing this week after an infected person told
health officials as many as 50 teenagers might have been exposed to
the virus that causes AIDS.
Students at a suburban St. Louis high school headed to the gymnasium for HIV testing this week after an infected person told health officials as many as 50 teenagers might have been exposed to the virus that causes AIDS.
Officials refused to give details on who the person was or how the students at Normandy High School might have been exposed, but the district is consulting with national AIDS organizations as it tries to minimize the fallout and prevent the infection – and misinformation – from spreading.
A teacher in a neighboring district singled out a girl who dates someone at Normandy High and instructed her to get tested, Normandy School District spokesman Doug Hochstedler said.
Sophomore Tevin Baldwin said that many of his classmates in this working-class city of about 5,000 residents want to transfer out of the district, which encompasses other towns.
Marcus Holman, a 14-year-old freshman, said he never imagined HIV would become such a threat at school.
“I’m just trying to pass, get to the next grade, safely,” he said.
The St. Louis County Health Department said a positive HIV test raised concern that students at Normandy might have been exposed. The department is not saying whether the infected person was a student or connected with the school, only that the person indicated as many as 50 students may have been exposed.
The Health Department also will not say how any exposure might have occurred. Health Department spokesman Craig LeFebvre has said possibilities include sexual activity, intravenous drug use, piercings and tattoos.
