Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 Source: Border Mail, The (Australia) Contact: http://www.bordermail.com.au/ Author: A. R. Macqueen Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n867/a08.html and http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n762/a09.html YOUR BIAS IS SO OBVIOUS JULIANNE Whyte has interpreted epidemiological data in a most odd manner and allowed her own bias to colour her vision. Everyone else who looks at this data cannot help but draw the conclusion that Australia has done very well in keeping the incidence of HIV very low, and in reducing the rate of hepatitis C. Considering that the hep C virus is very infectious and that it had a 20-year head start before we took it seriously it is a major triumph that the rate of spread is decreasing. One of the reasons for this triumph is needle and syringe programs. Let us not emulate New York where every year hundreds of kids are born infected with HIV. Who does that benefit? Dr A.R. Macqueen, Orange - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk