Florida HIV Cases Rank 2nd Highest in Nation
Posted December 1, 2014 10:59 am
TALLAHASSEE,
FL– Today marks the observance of
World AIDS Day, and it comes as the number of people
in Florida living with HIV continues to grow. Fifty-nine
hundred were diagnosed in 2013; 1,000 more than the year
before.
Florida ranks second nationally in the number of new
cases.
Epidemiologist Dr. Tim Jones says the increase is a concern, but a positive note is those who are infected are living longer.
"With better drugs and protocols for taking care of folks, people are living much, much longer than they were a decade or two ago," Jones says. "Many folks are actually living a normal lifespan, which is really exciting."
Regardless of risk, Jones says it is recommended every
person be tested for HIV at least once in their
lifetime.
Jones notes, the group with the greatest risk of
contracting HIV continues to be men who have sex with
men, but he says increased outreach is also needed to
Florida's communities of color.
"African-Americans are, on a per capita basis, about
three times more likely to have HIV than the general
population," says Jones. "That's clearly a group which
we target for prevention as well."
In Florida, more than 70 percent of HIV patients are
black or Hispanic. As of 2013, AIDS has killed more than
36 million people worldwide, and an estimated 35 million
are living with HIV.
Photos/graphics added by the Observer
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