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HIV/AIDS Rate Increasing in U.S. Latino Population
Experts say AIDS rates in the U.S. Latino population have quietly become “a simmering public health crisis.”
30-Second Summary
The “face” of the AIDS epidemic in the United States has changed, according to Marilyn Swyers, manager of AIDS Outreach for the East Alabama Medical Center.
AIDS was once viewed as a disease found primarily in gay, white men in big cities. “Twenty-seven years later,” however, Swyers says “it is disproportionately affecting the African-American and Latino populations.”
Hispanics have gone rather unnoticed in terms of HIV infection rates. They account for 14 percent of the United States population, yet represented 22 percent of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses in 2006.
“Officials need to stop downplaying or ignoring what’s happening among Latinos,” warned Oscar De La O, president of a Latino service organization. “We are at the center of the storm.”
“Even with the United States embroiled in a fierce debate over immigration policy, the problem of AIDS in Latinos had received scant attention from political and public health officials,” The Washington Post reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims only two of its 17 approved HIV programs at the Hispanic American population. However, the organization has added Spanish-language hotlines and confidential testing sites to help address the problem.
Health officials have implemented HIV testing programs around the United States to try obtaining a more accurate picture of HIV infections. Some of those efforts have been only marginally successful.
Meanwhile, the CDC recently announced a plan to release revised estimates of the number of Americans infected with the AIDS virus annually. Reuters reported that the new information could improve funding for clinics, public education and drug programs.
AIDS was once viewed as a disease found primarily in gay, white men in big cities. “Twenty-seven years later,” however, Swyers says “it is disproportionately affecting the African-American and Latino populations.”
Hispanics have gone rather unnoticed in terms of HIV infection rates. They account for 14 percent of the United States population, yet represented 22 percent of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses in 2006.
“Officials need to stop downplaying or ignoring what’s happening among Latinos,” warned Oscar De La O, president of a Latino service organization. “We are at the center of the storm.”
“Even with the United States embroiled in a fierce debate over immigration policy, the problem of AIDS in Latinos had received scant attention from political and public health officials,” The Washington Post reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims only two of its 17 approved HIV programs at the Hispanic American population. However, the organization has added Spanish-language hotlines and confidential testing sites to help address the problem.
Health officials have implemented HIV testing programs around the United States to try obtaining a more accurate picture of HIV infections. Some of those efforts have been only marginally successful.
Meanwhile, the CDC recently announced a plan to release revised estimates of the number of Americans infected with the AIDS virus annually. Reuters reported that the new information could improve funding for clinics, public education and drug programs.
Headline Link: ‘AIDS Among Latinos on Rise’
A multitude of circumstances may contribute to the reasons why many members of the Latino population are not tested for HIV in the United States. Many immigrants face difficult cultural and language barriers. Others who are in the country illegally worry that seeking HIV testing or treatment may get them deported.
Source: Washington Post
Background: HIV testing efforts
The CDC has repeatedly tried to encourage routine HIV testing. In May 2006, for instance, the CDC announced plans to change HIV testing guidelines, recommending at least one HIV test for everyone age 13–64 who visits a doctor. But the programs have had lackluster results.
Source: Fox News (WebMD)
The New York City Department of Health wants to make HIV testing a routine part of medical care in the Bronx, but the plan is meeting resistance.
Source: findingDulcinea
Doctors and nurses around the United States recently tried to “end the stigma associated with HIV testing” by submitting to an HIV test themselves. “When you are asked to do HIV testing, it’s not because you’ve done something wrong, it’s not because you’re behaving badly, it’s because we need to know,” explains Dr. Echezona Ezeanolue. When a person’s HIV status is clear, efforts can be made to stop the virus from spreading to others.
Source: KVBC 3 TV (Nevada)
Related Topic: HIV infection rates
Malcolm Webster, an HIV prevention specialist and an education of AIDS Outreach at East Alabama Medical Center, says at least half of new HIV cases reported nationwide are in the South. Particularly in the rural South, resources to educate minority communities about HIV/AIDS prevention are minimal, according to Marilyn Swyers, manager of AIDS Outreach for the East Alabama Medical Center. HIV prevention also necessitates a discussion about sex, which is “just not easy to do in the Bible Belt,” Swyers stated.
Source: The Auburn Villager
The CDC will publish revised estimates of HIV infection rates in the United States in the Aug. 3 Journal of the American Medical Association. Presently, 1.1 million people in the United States have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but 25 percent of those infected don’t know it. Worldwide, 33.2 million people have the HIV virus.
Source: Reuters
Reference: HIV/AIDS resources
The findingDulcinea Web Guide to HIV/AIDS will direct you to some of the best online resources for learning about the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, finding support groups and participating in AIDS awareness issues.
Source: findingDulcinea
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
