Brighton children's HIV agony (From The Argus)
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Brighton children's HIV agony
10:30am Monday 7th June 2010 in News By Ruth Lumley
WAIT: Joanne Cantor and Kelly Turner with their children
Two children face an agonising wait to see if they have HIV after fears they were jabbed with a discarded needle as they played in a public paddling pool.
Joanne Cantor, 37, and her friend Kelly Turner, 27, took their children to enjoy the weekend weather at The Level, Brighton, when they received their injuries.
The two families had only been at the park for about 45 minutes when Ms Cantor's daughter Courtney, 11, and Ms Turner's son Brandon, nine, came running back from the paddling pool to say they had both been pricked by something sharp.
Courtney had a pin prick and a scrape down her knee and Brandon had a puncture mark on the end of his finger.
The parents desperately searched the paddling pool but could not find what had caused the injuries.
The incident happened at about 3pm on Saturday.
The children were taken to A&E at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where they were both given an injection against hepatitis.
They will have to go back for a booster in four weeks time and also wait for three months until they can have HIV tests.
A council spokesman said: “We are very distressed to hear about what has happened and we will do everything we can to ensure the area is safe.
“We will continue to work with the police, health services and other agencies to ensure that kind of antisocial behaviour does not continue.”
Comments(52)
Metro Reader
says...
11:47am Mon 7 Jun 10
have they been offered pep? PEP is a course of anti-HIV medication that needs to be taken daily over the course of a month. The drugs have been available for HIV prevention since the early- to mid-1990s for health workers who have had 'needle-stick' or similar injuries.
joefreeman
says...
11:53am Mon 7 Jun 10
Please do better. HIV is too serious an issue for you to confuse people as to what the real risks are around HIV infection.
JF
Baguette
says...
12:02pm Mon 7 Jun 10
cheezburger
says...
12:26pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Lord Tilford
says...
12:39pm Mon 7 Jun 10
(secret word : pool-stab)
jiving
says...
12:42pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Lil
says...
12:44pm Mon 7 Jun 10
So what about the fact that on returning the object could not be found? Was it in the pool, or was it somewhere else where the kids might have been playing?
Mr_Tom
says...
12:53pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Nyberg
says...
1:18pm Mon 7 Jun 10
"Brighton children's HIV agony"
How does anyone know that there's any HIV involved? That's pure speculation.
How does anyone know the wound(s) were caused by needles? No one could find one.
Please explain the use of the word "agony". No one appeared to be in much pain, never mind agony.
This is just the worst sort of journalism, and every journalist and sub editor involved in this story should be ashamed of themselves.
Lord Tilford
says...
2:46pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Old Ladys Gin
says...
2:53pm Mon 7 Jun 10
UFOs and now this - the Argus through and through.
Lord Tilford
says...
3:07pm Mon 7 Jun 10
IKDRF
says...
3:09pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Old Ladys Gin
says...
3:14pm Mon 7 Jun 10
IKDRF wrote:It always was a tabloid. Just sometimes and for brief periods of its' history it has managed to be other than that, but it always resorts to type eventually.
a disgusting piece of scaremongering journalism designed to give the immediate impression that a child has got HIV. The argus has become a tabliod in recent times, a breeding ground for sun writing wannabees..
ecw
says...
3:15pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Angryoldman
says...
4:08pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Andy R
says...
4:19pm Mon 7 Jun 10
RickH
says...
4:57pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Setting aside the existential angst this must cause the needle itself, it's far more likely to be a sliver of glass or a sharp stone.
yorkie44
says...
5:02pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Thumper Hove
says...
5:10pm Mon 7 Jun 10
There has NEVER been a case worldwide of someone catching HIV from a discarded needle (only in very rare cases has a doctor or nurse been infected when taking blood from an infected patient). The parents couldn't even find a needle so it is doubtful there was one in the first place (it may just be an attempt to get council compensation!). Also, you do not need to wait three months for a HIV test - an accurate test can now be given at one month after exposure.
Come on Argus, and Ruth specifically, get your act together. I would strongly advise you get proper assistance when writing future articles and stop this stupid pathetic scaremongering. I would suggest you contact people such as THT or the National Aids Trust who would more more than happy to advise you the proper FACTS surrounding HIV infection in any future articles.
Baguette
says...
5:17pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Angryoldman
says...
5:48pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Reporting HIV:
Supplementary
Information
Quote: Writing about someone’s
‘agonising’ three- or six-month
wait before being able to test
is misleading and can create
unnecessary anxiety, as well as
discouraging people from coming
forward for early testing.
And Quote: Reports on discarded needles outside
of healthcare settings should not give
prominence to HIV risk, either in the
headline or in the story, given the fact there has
never been a single example of infection from
such a source anywhere in the world.
Gaz the great
says...
5:50pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Baguette wrote:Or man contracts TB after running over badger! These & many other headlines coming to a newspaper near you, soon!
Tomorrows Argus: Man contracts AIDS after sitting on a toilet seat.
PeteBrighton
says...
6:52pm Mon 7 Jun 10
PeteBrighton
says...
7:03pm Mon 7 Jun 10
ICantThinkOfAName
says...
7:13pm Mon 7 Jun 10
http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/england/dorse
t/10254606.stm
Is this the way it should be done?
ferretneck
says...
7:26pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Thumper Hove
says...
7:50pm Mon 7 Jun 10
ICantThinkOfAName wrote:Thanks for posting up that link - thats exactly how the story should have been reported! I think this shows the massive difference in professionalism between the BBC and the Argus......look and learn Ruth Lumley.
This is how the BBC reported a needle incident at Bournemouth: http://news.bbc.co.u k/1/hi/england/dorse t/10254606.stm Is this the way it should be done?
sick and tired
says...
7:56pm Mon 7 Jun 10
this is a more realistic headline,when will the compensation culture stop?
it is sad the kids were "injured" but where was the needle of mas destruction and at what point did it have HIV?
I think its a load of crap
I am sick and tired of scaremongerers and chavs cashing in on a misshap
ghonda
says...
9:12pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Please get a grip. This is a local paper, not a national. Don't get so excited.
Why pick on Ruth? Seems a little childish especially as the article will need to be edited and approved.
If you want to attack someone's work then have the decency to put your real name down. Do a search on Ruth's name and you'll see she's done some excellent work.
Love and peace x
ghonda
says...
9:15pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Baguette
says...
9:20pm Mon 7 Jun 10
ghonda wrote:Ghonda are you Ruth's mum?
Dear all,
Please get a grip. This is a local paper, not a national. Don't get so excited.
Why pick on Ruth? Seems a little childish especially as the article will need to be edited and approved.
If you want to attack someone's work then have the decency to put your real name down. Do a search on Ruth's name and you'll see she's done some excellent work.
Love and peace x
PeteBrighton
says...
9:46pm Mon 7 Jun 10
lachrymatory
says...
10:27pm Mon 7 Jun 10
The editor of the Argus ought to be strung up for this article. Literally.
Crunchie
says...
11:20pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Council Pound
says...
11:46pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Chris Packham
Council Pound
says...
11:55pm Mon 7 Jun 10
Council Pound
says...
12:07am Tue 8 Jun 10
lp me out here guys and gals!
stan bailey
says...
6:59am Tue 8 Jun 10
ferretneck wrote:You are quite correct about about the city park wardens, we have never seen the wild park one, but he has decided to cut the trees down.. The park in Hollingbury is frequently full of yobs once again no park warden. Don't think they are interested in the joe blogs that use the parks - just getting on the telly with sheep
I was not at the Level childrens' playground on Saturday, but I was there on Friday the 4th of June for most of the afternoon. Things seen: a woman injecting on one of the bridges near the loos, blood running down her arm and toddlers and other young children feet away, a man threatening others over a possible lost skateboard, drunken groups of parents sitting around oblivious to their youngsters paddling in the pool, lots of dogs running through the playground not on leads and many other things which sadly have become the norm for parents and their children using this inner-city park. The PCSO's attended the incident re: drug user injecting in the playground, so there is a record of this. No warden was in attendance on Fri or Sat, possibly due to redeployment to Springwatch 2010 in Stanmer Park. Everyone needs to lobby the council and their councillor for St Peter's and North Laine is Ian Davey. Also please email Caroline Lucas MP, with your concerns. Parents and users of the Level need to support the couple in the kiosk, who are always the first to help in instances of kids' injuries or anti-social behaviour of any kind. They do a hard job in an unsafe environment. I believe that a meeting needs to be called to reassure parents that drug use in our playground will not be tolerated and the police patrols need to be increased at crucial times like after school and weekends. Parents need to support the work the rangers are doing, but we need a full-time daily presence by the park rangers to make sure our children are safe in this historic and lovely inner-city park.
ghonda
says...
9:47am Tue 8 Jun 10
Andy R
says...
10:34am Tue 8 Jun 10
Council Pound wrote:Council Pound, repeat after me....
The Argus asked what Dr Caroline Mucas (from the green party ) had to say and she just shrugged it. as flucas............he lp me out here guys and gals!
"Must post comments BEFORE going to pub.....Must post comments BEFORE going to pub.....Must post comments BEFORE going to pub....Must post comments....."
KarenT
says...
10:54am Tue 8 Jun 10
Betty Blue
says...
11:46am Tue 8 Jun 10
mhebert
says...
3:06pm Tue 8 Jun 10
1) HIV is not an easy virus to contract because it cannot live for more than a few minutes outside the body, and there has not been a single reported case in the UK of someone becoming infected with HIV because of a needle **** or cut.
2) Other risks, like hepatitis, would be much greater in these circumstances, but your article focuses on HIV instead because it can be sensationalised.
3) The journalist highlights the ‘anxious three month wait’ to determine HIV status, but definitive results are available within a month after possible exposure.
This is the second article that you have published within an 11-month period on nearly an identical subject. I also wrote a letter of complaint to The Argus about the article dated 17th July 2009 entitled “Brighton security guard faces AIDS scare after he was cut with needle”
http://www.theargus.
co.uk/news/4500147.B
righton_security_gua
rd_faces_AIDS_scare_
after_he_was_cut_wit
h_needle/
Many people posted comments as a response to that July 2009 article. It is very disappointing to see that you have not yet taken onboard any of the points that were made and that you have published something very similar again.
NAT (National AIDS Trust) have published a very useful guidebook for journalists, called: Guidelines for Reporting HIV. Perhaps your office could download and print copies of this for your staff writers. It is a very good resource:
http://www.nat.org.u
k/Media%20Library/Fi
les/PDF%20documents/
HIV-Guidelines.pdf
Your paper does not have to engage in and perpetuate the now outmoded public understanding of HIV, its pathways of transmission, its testing and its treatment.
I hope you will move your paper and your staff forward towards more a more educated and measured approach to something as important as HIV.
Maurice Hebert
Old Ladys Gin
says...
3:56pm Tue 8 Jun 10
PeteBrighton wrote:I'll give to your cause as you are welcome to go to the USA.
I cut myself shaving this morning and I am petrified that I may have contracted HIV in case during the packing process at the razor factory someone who knew someone who might have had HIV may have been involved in some aspect of parcelling up my particular razors. I need a front page article about this in the Argus, I need counselling from the NHS and I need a fund set up to provide help and support for others who may have experienced anything similar. Please give generously. I may then go on a fact finding trip to the USA to further help the cause.
May I suggest that Orlando in mid August, a time when a lot of brits go would be ok?
The temperature and climate will be similar to a sauna, and the place will be infested with midges and far worse. Put that together with a place that has one of the highest crime rates in the country and you should have a thrilling time.
Of course I don't suggest you go, but those who let the Argus publish spurious articles about them may enjoy these dubious pleasures.
PeteBrighton
says...
8:27pm Tue 8 Jun 10
Old Ladys Gin
says...
6:56am Wed 9 Jun 10
This ridiculous story is even on billboards! What on earth were they and the Argus thinking?
mikebaden
says...
11:49am Wed 9 Jun 10
Why do you still read The Argus, if it is, in your eyes, so shambolic?
I think the woman above made a fair point about names too, I wonder how many of you would write such vicious things if we knew who you were?
Peter the Great
says...
10:08am Fri 11 Jun 10
RickH wrote:Just what I was thinking - glass, stone, maybe the edge of a tile, maybe something else I haven't thought of. A syringe would have been easy to spot, and anyway others have pointed out that HIV really does not survive long outside the body. This is a non-story.
".... they were jabbed with a discarded needle as they played in a public paddling pool." then "...The parents desperately searched the paddling pool but could not find what had caused the injuries. "
Setting aside the existential angst this must cause the needle itself, it's far more likely to be a sliver of glass or a sharp stone.
monkey-moo
says...
6:29am Sat 12 Jun 10
Sounds like someone is after a few quid for more fizzy drinks and pizza!!
Bad headline, Bad story.
code word: Gold-Digger.
shopliftingadulteress
says...
2:14pm Sun 13 Jun 10
Baguette wrote:I well remember a serving Police Officer who on being checked by the force doctors was informed he had Gonorrhea protested, on oath, he had caught it from a toilet seat....The Doctor replied he must have chewed it well for he had it in his gums....
Tomorrows Argus: Man contracts AIDS after sitting on a toilet seat.
Metro Reader says...
11:47am Mon 7 Jun 10
have they been offered pep? PEP is a course of anti-HIV medication that needs to be taken daily over the course of a month. The drugs have been available for HIV prevention since the early- to mid-1990s for health workers who have had 'needle-stick' or similar injuries.