AIDS on rise among Hispanics
By Trip Jennings
08/06/2008
| 1 Comment
AIDS is on the rise among Hispanics in New Mexico, the state Department of Health reported Tuesday.
The agency reported Hispanics now represent about half of new HIV/AIDS infections in New Mexico. The Department of Health examined its HIV/AIDS data after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the number of Americans infected by HIV is about 40% higher than the federal agency had originally estimated.
The state health agency reported in a press release that:
... that Hispanics made up 45 percent, Caucasians 33 percent and blacks 5 percent of AIDS and HIV cases statewide in 2007.New Mexico Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil went on to say that the state needs to expand prevention efforts for at-risk Hispanics. The department spends about $3 million a year in federal and state funds to prevent HIV.
The department says that at the end of last year 2,155 people were suffering from AIDS and 1,322 people were infected with HIV.
The department says New Mexico has seen a steady rise among new Hispanic cases since 2003.
New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed an 80% decrease in new infections across the nation among injection drug users. New Mexico’s HIV prevention work includes one of the nation’s model Harm Reduction programs, which exchanges clean needles for used ones to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, the state health agency said in its press release. Six percent of New Mexicans who were diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in 2007 contracted the virus by injecting drugs.
CATEGORIES IN THIS STORY:
© 2008 The New Mexico Independent
Comments:
Posted 08/09/2008 12:05 with
Kudos for New Mexico and our successful needle exchange program.
Nonetheless, the press release is more public relations than surveillance and studiously avoids other points about HIV in NM. To avoid controversy (?), DOH makes no mention that, for example:
Hispanic cases are roughly proportional to the population of Hispanics in the state (also ~45%).
African Americans, in contrast, are disproportionately represented with 5-6% of cases but only ~2% of the population.
The 2006 Surveillance report excludes Native Americans without any explanation.
and (most surprising) CDCs revised estimates might finally bring the CDC numbers in line with those NM has been publishing all along!