HEALTH officials in Australia’s Queensland state say 20 men and women have so far responded to a national appeal for information from anyone who had unprotected sex with an HIV positive circus acrobat.
Zimbabwe-born Godfrey Zaburoni has been remanded in custody after being charged with knowingly spreading HIV by having unprotected sex with a woman from Queensland’s Gold coast city.
The case has sparked a national health alert, with authorities urging anyone who had unprotected sex with the 32-year-old to contact them and undergo an HIV test.
A Queensland health spokesman confirmed they have received 20 calls but would not give the callers' gender or which state they were from.
But the spokesman however admitted it was possible some of the callers could have been men who had associations with the women that had unprotected sex with Zaburoni.
He said it was difficult to confirm whether the names Zaburoni provided of 12 women with whom he'd had unprotected sex in Queensland, North South Wales and Victoria made up some of the callers.
Zaburoni appeared in court last week on one charge of causing grievous bodily harm and one charge of intending to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was remanded in custody for a June 9 hearing.
Police admitted that Zaburoni, who is believed to have been HIV positive since 1997, may have slept with hundreds of women.
He's given the names of 12 women, including one who tested HIV positive last year, to a Queensland health officer since his arrest.
Police charged him after a Queensland woman made a complaint.
Detectives said Zaburoni faces life in prison if convicted.