How much autonomy does an individual over have over their body?

Believe it or not, there are actually people who actively strive to contract HIV/AIDS. The story of Carlos, one such "bug chaser," is chronicled in a 2003 Rolling Stone article entitled: "Bug Chasers: the men who long to be HIV+." Although news from 2003 isn't necessarily groundbreaking today, the implications of what these bug chasers consider their right to contract a potentially terminal illness are applicable in any discussion of the triumph of individual autonomy versus public health.

Carlos, a 30-year-old gay male from New York City, claims that the actual moment of HIV transmission is "the most erotic thing [he] can imagine." While Carlos acknowledges that he knows "that putting myself in this situation is like putting a gun to my head," he maintains that he still wishes to "be initiated to the brotherhood."Like most bug chasers, Carlos believes that with today's HIV-related treatments, having HIV/AIDS is only a "minor annoyance," like living with diabetes-just take a few pills a day, and you'll be fine.

The internet has served as the primary meeting place for those who are hoping to become infected with HIV-"bug chasers"-and those who are willing to give it to them-"gift givers." Author Gregory Freeman writes, "While the rest of the world fights the AIDS epidemic and most people fear HIV infection, this subculture celebrates the virus and eroticizes it." The anonymity and widespread use of the internet enables these like-minded individuals to meet and engage in casual sex without the use of a condom. "Safe sex" and the use of condoms are often ridiculed on web forums for bug chasers and gift givers, who say that "condoms suck" and "constantly thinking about a deadly disease takes all the fun out of sex."

Many work to contract HIV because they figure after becoming infected, "nothing worse can happen to you," the chase is exciting, they figure they'll contract it anyway, or they like the idea of doing something the general public considers crazy and wrong.

Contrasting Two Arguments on Global Vulnerability to “The Monster At Our Door:” Avian Flu

In my fall semester course, CH-108: Epidemics, we analyzed two different arguments for the world's growing susceptibility to the threat of H5N1, popularly known as avian flu. The first was Mike Davis' book The Monster at Our Door and the second was PBS mini-series "Rx for Survival." Personally, I was surprised how similar the arguments that each work presented were. I thought it might be an interesting exercise to compare the arguments to glean their differences. Additionally, the potential threat of avian flu is an oft-ignored topic in today's media-I was astonished to learn how pressing the threat is, and believe it should be discussed more thoroughly.

One would think that today, in a world with much more advanced scientific technology to detect and eradicate diseases than in years past, we would crush any disease that threatened the human population. However, in The Monster at Our Door Mike Davis dispels this hypothesis, arguing that various human actions have increased the likelihood of a global avian influenza pandemic. Richard Krause writes, "Microbes thrive in 'undercurrents of opportunity' that arise through social economic change, changes in human behavior, and catastrophic events. They may fan a minor outbreak into a widespread epidemic." Davis believes the major global changes that have favored the evolution of cross-species influenza and their rapid global transmission are the Livestock Revolution of the 1980-90s, the Southern Chinese industrial revolution and the superurbanization of the Third World. The final element that "closes the ominous circle of influenza ecology" is the current lack of an international health system able to deal with the new problems brought by today's large scale economic globalization. "Rx for Survival" also addresses this increased risk of an avian flu pandemic in contemporary society, focusing on quicker transmission through plane travel, drug resistance in the flu virus and the need to stockpile vaccines and to create a global surveillance and response system.

US Preventive Services Task Force Mammography Guidelines

Dr. Margaret Polaneczky provides an in depth and excellent explanation of the mammography guidelines issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force. She effectively dispels the conspiracy theories that have circulated regarding the Task Forces decision making process and provides an accurate assessment of what mammograms can and cannot do. You can read the entire post here on her weblog.