Man may have spread HIV to 20

Moscow, Idaho As many as 20 people have been identified as potential victims of a Moscow man who allegedly had sexual contact without informing partners he had tested positive for HIV, according to court records.

The allegations have triggered an alert from the North Central District Health Department, recommending confidential counseling and HIV testing for all people who had sexual contact with Kanay A. Mubita.

Mubita, 31, has been charged with seven counts, involving seven women, of transferring body fluids that may contain HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that can lead to fatal AIDS. He remains in the Latah County Jail on $20,000 bond.

Michelle Evans, county deputy prosecutor, told the Lewiston Tribune newspaper it is the first time county authorities have filed such charges against anyone.

County Prosecutor William Thompson said more people could come forward. If that happens, he said his office might pursue additional cases.

In Idaho, it’s a felony if a person knows he or she has HIV and engages in sex without telling the partner.

Carol Moehrle, district health department director, said Mubita was known as a regular in the local bar scene. But she said that someone having sex with an infected person doesn’t mean the virus is automatically passed on.

Moehrle recommended that anyone who has had sex with an infected partner should be tested six months after the last encounter.

Under Idaho law, all positive tests must be reported to state authorities within three days. Those cases are then investigated by the local health district to identify anyone who might have been exposed to the virus.

Last Yakima jail escapee caught

Yakima The ninth and final inmate who escaped last month from the Yakima County Jail was captured Thursday, Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin said.

Luis Soto, 28, was taken into custody about 1:30 p.m. in the Sunnyside area, about 40 miles southeast of Yakima, sheriff’s officers said.

Soto, who had been held on assault charges, escaped from the jail with eight other inmates Nov. 25. They cut through the ceiling of their fourth-floor housing unit, then kicked open a grated roof vent that jail officials thought had been made escape-proof following a similar escape in 1994.

Five inmates were captured immediately on jail grounds, and two more were caught the following day. The eighth inmate surrendered Dec. 7 when officers surrounded a residence where he had recently arrived.

Soto was last seen in the Toppenish area the day after the escape and sheriff’s deputies had been tracking him since then.

The jailbreak was the largest escape in the history of the downtown jail, which houses about 800 inmates, including scores being held under contract with other jurisdictions.

Armour products may be contiminated

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is urging consumers to dispose of “Armour Lunch Makers Cracker Crunchers” meals with sell-by dates between Jan. 1 and Feb. 21, 2006, the agency announced.

The agency is encouraging consumers to throw away the product because of possible bacterial contamination. The nationwide recall includes 2.8 million pounds of Lunch Makers Cracker Crunchers meal products, some of which were distributed in Idaho.

The products are suspected to be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious health problems, including miscarriages and stillbirths.

For more information, go online to the Food Safety and Inspection Service recalls page at www.fsis.usda.gov.