Isolation and genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii from free-ranging chickens from Mexico.

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging chickens is a good indicator of the presence of T. gondii oocysts in the environment because chickens feed from the soil. In the present study, prevalence of T. gondii in 208 free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) from Mexico was investigated. Blood, heart, and brain from each animal were obtained to test for T. gondii infection. Antibodies to T. gondii, assayed with the modified agglutination test (1:10 or higher), were found in 13 (6.2%) chickens. Hearts and brains of 13 seropositive chickens were bioassayed in mice, and T. gondii was isolated from 6 chickens. All 6 isolates were avirulent for mice. Genotyping of chicken isolates of T. gondii using the SAG2 locus indicated that 5 were type III and 1 was type I. This is the first report of isolation of T. gondii from chickens from Mexico.

Psychoeducational group approach: HIV risk reduction in drug users.

In two trials of a small-group AIDS prevention approach, 50 methadone maintenance patients and 98 heroin abusers in outpatient detoxification were randomly assigned to experimental or comparison conditions. Experimental condition subjects received a 6-hour, small-group intervention that aimed to improve their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, skills in syringe sterilization and condom use, and changing high-risk needle use and sexual behaviors. Comparison subjects received a set of written materials about AIDS. At posttest and 3-month follow-ups, experimental condition subjects in both maintenance and detoxification demonstrated greater knowledge of AIDS and risk reduction practices and improved skill in demonstrating condom use. Although outpatient detoxification subjects displayed considerably more risk behaviors at study outset, the intervention's effect appeared to be more robust in methadone maintenance patients. The relative lack of impact on subjects' behaviors points out that more potent, sustained interventions need to be developed to slow the spread of HIV among injecting drug users.

PIP: In two trials of a small-group AIDS prevention approach in the programs of Substance Abuse Services, Department of Psychiatry, at San Francisco General Hospital, 50 methadone maintenance patients and 98 heroin abusers in outpatient detoxification were randomly assigned to experimental, psychoeducational groups or information-only comparison groups employing a pre-post-follow-up design. The 50 methadone maintenance subjects included 33 men and 17 women with a mean age of 40.7 years, mean education of 11.8 years, a mean of 6 previous years in methadone maintenance, and 8.6 previous detoxification attempts. Both groups of subjects received a packet of education brochures about AIDS. Experimental subjects also received a 6-hour intervention to improve their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, syringe sterilization and condom use skills, and changing high-risk sexual behaviors. Comparison subjects received only the packet of brochures about AIDS. The interaction of Condition (experimental versus comparison) with the contrast between pretest and posttest was significant for knowledge about AIDS (p .001), knowledge of AIDS sexual risk-reduction practices (p .01), drug-related self-efficacy (p .05), sex-related self-efficacy (p .05), and the condom use demonstration (p .001). The 98 heroin abusers in outpatient detoxification included 64 men and 34 women with a mean age of 37.2 years, mean education of 11.5 years, a mean of 1.8 previous years in methadone maintenance, and 9.5 previous detoxification attempts. 60 subjects who participated in all three interviews revealed that the interaction of Condition with the contrast between pretest and posttest was significant for knowledge about AIDS (p .05), knowledge of AIDS sexual risk-reduction practices (p .05), and the condom use demonstration (p .001). The interaction for drug-related self-efficacy was significant (p .05), the comparison condition showed a large increase. The interaction for the syringe demonstration was marginally significant in the expected direction (p .10). The interaction between Condition and the contrast between pretest and the follow-up was significant for knowledge of AIDS sexual risk reduction practices (p .05), perceived susceptibility to AIDS (p .01), and the condom use demonstration (p .05).

'Many are called...': participation by minority leaders in an AIDS intervention in San Francisco.

Though the AIDS epidemic has posed a significant threat to minority people, especially African Americans and Latinos, minority community response to the epidemic has lagged significantly behind the organized efforts initiated by the European-American gay community. To test the efficacy of an educational intervention in increasing the involvement of minority leaders in AIDS-related efforts, we identified and recruited 166 African-American and Latino leaders to participate in a randomized controlled trial. This report describes the identification and recruitment of leaders to the study. Overall, participation was low. Rates of participation were not associated with race but were significantly associated with category of leadership--that is, whether the individual was a religious leader, an agency director, an elected official, or an informal leader, with religious leaders least likely and agency directors most likely to participate. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving epidemic response in minority communities.

Minorities and AIDS: knowledge, attitudes, and misconceptions among black and Latino adolescents.

White adolescents in San Francisco high schools were more knowledgeable than Black adolescents about the cause, transmission, and prevention of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and Black adolescents were more knowledgeable than their Latino peers. Black and Latino adolescents were approximately twice as likely as White adolescents to have misconceptions about the casual transmission of AIDS. Less knowledge about AIDS and prevalent misconceptions were associated with greater levels of perceived risk of contracting AIDS.