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AIDS infection rate remains epidemic in District, report finds
| Source: |
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Washington Post (DC) |
| Date: |
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Thursday, June 16, 2011 |
| Author: |
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Lena H. Sun |
Although the number of District residents living with HIV or AIDS remains high enough to rate as an epidemic, the tally of new cases has dropped by nearly 50 percent over two years, according to a report released Wednesday.
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More than 3 percent of District residents older than 12 were living with HIV or AIDS in 2009, the year covered by the 108-page report. The epidemic continues to disproportionately affect blacks, adults ages 30 to 59 and those living in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Although the prevalence rate — the total percentage of people in a population with the condition or disease at a given time — is the highest for any city in the United States and has remained steady for three years, it also reflects the fact people are living longer with the virus or the disease, officials said. Someone who is diagnosed and in treatment still gets counted by the city.
The number of new cases is a better measure of progress in fighting the disease. On that front, the report had some nuggets of encouraging news. Newly diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS fell from 1,311 in 2007 to 755 in 2009. Although the Health Department reported last year the first-ever decline in new AIDS cases, Wednesday’s report found a decrease not only in the number of new full-blown AIDS cases but also the number of new HIV cases. Health officials suggested that could be the result of preventive measures gaining traction, they said.
New HIV and AIDS cases from intravenous drug use began declining in 2008, but they fell more sharply in 2009. Officials said they have reallocated funds to three providers of clean needles to drug addicts after the main provider shut its doors this year.
Health officials cautioned, however, that the data were preliminary because the District is moving to a more accurate reporting system that avoids double-counting. The drop by nearly half in the number of new HIV and AIDS cases cannot yet be characterized as “a substantial change in the District’s epidemic,” according to the report.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/aids-infection-rate-rema ins-epidemic-in-district-report-finds/2011/06/15/AGpHyuVH_story.html
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