Road crash sparks HIV scare

Queensland Health says emergency crews and people who helped in a road accident in the state's north last week may have been exposed to HIV.

A 30-year-old man died in the two car collision at Cannonvale on Thursday night.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young says she cannot reveal if the man had the virus due to patient confidentiality.

However, she says anyone involved in the crash should contact the Proserpine Hospital।

Blood service backs gay donor rules

Posted Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:19pm AEST

The Red Cross Blood Service has rejected claims that changes to its blood donor guidelines discriminate against homosexual men.

The new guidelines mean people who receive a tattoo, piercing or acupuncture can now donate blood after six months, down from the previous waiting period of 12 months.

But the guidelines have remained the same for sexually active gay men - with a 12 month ban after engaging in homosexual intercourse.

The Blood Service's spokeswoman, Kathy Bowlen, says the guidelines are not discriminatory and advances in testing have reduced waiting periods for some donors.

"We're introducing new machines which test for a series of diseases. The deferral time relating to people who are pierced with needles has been reduced because we're having a more senstitive test for hepatitis B that can be passed on by needles."

"The new test makes no difference to the sensitivity around testing for HIV," she said.