BOXING AND HIV
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 01 Dec 2009
December 1 is World AIDS Day.
Concerned individuals and organizations from around the world band together on this day to bring attention to the continuing global AIDS epidemic.
HIV is the virus that attacks the body's immune system which is our defence against diseases. A person is considered to have developed AIDS when the immune system is so weak it can no longer fight a wide array of diseases that a healthy person would have no problem dealing with.
AIDS was first brought to the world?s attention in 1981. More than 25 million people have died from AIDS and there are an estimated 35 million people worldwide currently living with the virus.
In contact sports like boxing and the martial arts, there is always the risk of injury and subsequent bleeding. The risk of viral transmission is extremely low but this does not mean that participants and officials should ignore the necessary precautions.
There are concerns about whether a boxer can get HIV when blood is spilled when the fighters are cut. The risk is there but cuts tend to bleed outward, not inward, making it unlikely that enough blood can be absorbed that can lead to infection.
There is a very interesting article posted on the website of the San Francisco Chronicle dated October 26, 2009 which tells of a state appeals court ruling that a
boxing referee who learned after a fight that one of the combatants was HIV-positive can sue the State Athletic Commission for negligence.
The article written by Bob Egelko stated that the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino ruled that ?The commission has a legal duty to make sure all licensed professional boxers have tested negative for the AIDS virus, as well as hepatitis-B and hepatitis-C, before entering the ring and can be sued for allowing an infected person to fight.?
The ruling reinstated a suit by veteran referee Ray Corona Sr., who officiated a June 2005 bout in San Bernardino County. A week later, Corona said, he got a letter from the commission saying one boxer's test results had come in only after the fight and that Corona may have been exposed to the virus. Both Corona and his wife had tested negative for HIV but were seeking damages for emotional distress.
Filipino boxers are subjected to mandatory testing for hepatitis but not for HIV. The test is affordable. The people high up who are responsible for making decisions or those in power who can legislate would be helping Philippine sports a great deal if HIV testing was mandatory, not just in boxing, but in all sporting disciplines.
The Philippines may have a low HIV prevalence - less than 0.1 percent of the adult population - but the number of cases are increasing. The Department of Health reported that from January to May this year 322 people were newly infected with 85 cases in May alone. Since 1984, the country has recorded 3,911 HIV cases.
One third of the reported HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines have been returning migrants. More and more Filipino athletes are competing abroad and some in countries with a very high HIV prevalence. The risk in engaging in unprotected sexual activity is always there. Education is the key to prevention and we need to inform athletes and officials regarding HIV and how to prevent transmission.
Former WBO heavyweight titlist Tommy Morrison?s HIV status became a subject of controversy. Morrison, who played Tommy Gunn in the movie Rocky V, tested positive for HIV in 1996. Despite his positive test, Morrison boxed once more, knocking out Marcus Rhode in Japan in November 1996. Morrison has insisted that the first test was a false positive and has tested negative in a series of tests.
He staged a comeback fight in 2007 after being licensed by the West Virginia Athletic Commission. He knocked out his opponent John Castle in two rounds. There was still controversy about his HIV status and being licensed despite the negative tests. There is a wikipedia entry stating that Morrison plans to fight again and the proceeds will go to his children?s foundation.
Other prominent boxers who tested positive for HIV include former world lightweight champion Esteban de Jesus who died in 1989 and former WBC superbantamweight champion Paul Banke. They did not get infected while practicing their profession in the ring.
There may have been anecdotal reports on the internet but there is still no documented case of HIV transmission from athlete to athlete even in the bloodiest of sports. But that doesn?t mean we shouldn?t be careful. It would also be unjust to penalize and discriminate against HIV positive athletes or any HIV positive person.
HIV is passed through sexual contact; through contact with blood or other body fluids (in drug addicts who share contaminated IV needles); intrapartum or perinatally from an HIV positive mother to infant. Contact with sweat, tears or saliva has never been shown to result in the transmission of HIV.
On a more personal note, I was a volunteer doctor treating AIDS patients for two years in Tanzania, a country with a more than seven percent HIV prevalence. I saw up close the devastation the virus can cause; how schools lost their teachers and the thousands of orphans the pandemic left behind.
Believe me when I tell you, there is no experience more heart-rending that to look into the eyes of an AIDS stricken child.
Africa has more than 14 million AIDS orphans.
So, as a friendly reminder - abstaining from sex is the absolute way of avoiding sexual transmission of HIV but if you have to do it please practice safe sex by using condoms. IV drug users should avoid sharing needles. Health workers are advised to use gloves when in contact with body fluids.
If for any reason you think you have HIV consult a physician for guidance regarding various counselling, testing and treatment centers.
Be safe.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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