1988_8
Archive ID: 1988_8In this film clip, a man working in the laboratory at St Vincent Hospital in Sydney shows some of the HIV tests and talks about the Australian AIDS situation.
Background material
"The HIV test became available in Australia in 1985, but it was not until 1987-88 that more and more people took the AIDS test. I remember how truly chocked I was when Philip, the young AIDS activist and lab technician, at St Vincent Hospital, showed me the results from the incoming HIV tests that day. All the blue samples represent newly tested people who were infected with HIV. They were not yet informed. This was an interview that really kind of woke me up to the rapid spread of HIV in Australia. The meeting with Phlip further convinced me to really embark on the 30 year long journey, which still continues." - Staffan Hildebrand
Interview with Staffan Hildebrand in April 2015. Duration 1:51 min
Transcription
[INAUDIBLE] for [INAUDIBLE] Global Village-
[INAUDIBLE]
What are you doing now?
This is stopping the reaction so it can't go any further-
What is it we see in the samples?
What is it we see?
The yellow ones are the positive ones-
And the clear ones are negative-
So all samples that are yellow show
that the patient has antibodies to the AIDS virus-
So all the yellow ones, they are HIV-positive-
That's right-
All the yellow ones are positive-
How many positive do you get in here in the lab every day?
Well, we're looking at about a 27% positivity rate-
We're usually dealing with 200 samples a day,
which is very high-
It's very high indeed-
Philippe, what are you doing now?
What I'm doing is bathing my cells--
these cells are-- we have infected cells
and noninfected cells from their lymphocytic cell lines
from patients who-- these cell lines are--
it's very difficult to explain-
But basically, you are checking the tests from the patients-
What can you say about the tests?
Well, a lot of the tests that we do, they're very positive-
And it's very difficult to be able to tell--
by working in a laboratory, be able to tell
what's going to happen to the results
once they're finished here-
A lot of the cases when patients, they're positive,
we don't know how patients are going to react,
so we really do still have to worry about it-
It's a major health problem in Australia-
Is this a dangerous job?
There are risks involved, but we are taking precautions-
And yeah, it's a high-risk situation-
Can you show us some positive test results?
Yeah-
These ones indicated here, that are blue,
are positive-- those patients that have positive AIDS
antibodies in their serum-
They have AIDS-
Yeah, or that may not have AIDS, but they have antibodies,
so they have been in contact with the virus
and are infectious and able to transmit
the disease to other people-
What is your reaction when you see all this blue?
When I see all these positives, it really
does make me wonder why people in the community
just aren't taking the precautions that they
should be-
And I think that people must start
to realize that this is a disease which
affects every single person in the community, not just some-
And as soon as people start to realize this,
I think then a large part of the battle is going to be won-
Do you see the disease is growing in Australia here
in your lab?
Do you see it's--
Definitely-
In one year, I think we've doubled our positivity rate,
which is very, very high-
We're dealing with one of the largest
numbers of positive populations in Australia-
We have a lot of drug users in Sydney,
and a lot of the normal risk groups-- gay population-
We have a very high population number in Australia-
Do you see also the disease coming
to the heterosexual society?
Oh, yeah-
Definitely-
It's definitely moving into the heterosexual community-
Do they realize that?
I don't think they're-- well, people don't really want
to hear about it anymore-
People are sick of hearing about AIDS-
But I think that's wrong-
Every person in the community should be concerned about it-
It's a major, major health problem-
It's a very serious, major health problem-
[INAUDIBLE] do something [INAUDIBLE]-
What are you doing now?
This is stopping the reaction-
The reaction is moved to change blue color-
It means that there are antibodies in the serum-
By doing this, we stop the reaction
so that no further color can develop-
So we're stopping any more reactions occurring-
And what is the yellow color now?
Well, the yellow indicates that the samples are positive-
It's the yellow color that can be read by our machine-
Blue can't be read by our machine-
Can you weigh it?
Put it on the machine-
This machine reads which ones are positive
and which ones are negative, so we have a permanent record-
What does the machine tell us now?
It tells us which ones are positive
and which ones are negative-
And we have a printout of which we can determine the positive
from the negatives-
On that particular plate, like this one,
that had 88 patients on there, a very large portion of them
would've been positive-
A very large number of them are positive-
Are people afraid of getting tested?
A lot of patients, I feel-- yeah,
I think they are afraid of being tested-
I think that every person in Australia should,
if they leading a risk-- if they have
a risk involved with their lifestyle,
they should go and have a test-
If they have any doubts whatsoever,
they should have a test-
It's a free service in Australia-
It's a very expensive service-
But it's a free service-
I think that every person should think about having a test
definitely-
Now, we have the results?
The results are coming out now-
Can you tell us what it says concretely?
Well, it's telling us that there-- when
it's finished coming out-- that there
are an awful lot of positives on this plate-
And there are an awful number of patients
who have been tested today-
Some of them may have had tests previous-
But most of them, I think, will be new-
And then you sdata-end a letter home to the patients?
We sdata-end a letter to the doctor-
And the doctor will tell them that they have AIDS antibodies-
And from then on, it's a very serious counseling problem
when the patient actually has to be counseled and taught
how to lead a normal life--
Do the patients that are positive
change their lifestyle?
Oh, they must-
All patients must change their lifestyle-
But do they do that?
Well, I myself-- I don't know that-
But I assume that they would have
to for them-- in order to survive
and in order to protect other people-
It's a necessary thing-
Have you been shocked yourself by your work here?
Definitely-
Definitely-
In the time I've been working here,
the number of patients that have become positive
have just doubled-
It's just incredible-
It's gone from a 7% positivity rate last year of new positives
to a 27% positivity rate-
That's in less than one year, which
is a frightening increase-
It's forever, ever increasing-
This is not an ordinary job-
No, no-
I don't think so-
But I enjoy the work-
It's very fulfilling work-