HIV
study says cases rising
By
Zamná Ávila
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Reports
of a growing number of cases of HIV have
been surging over the last few months.
According
to survey results from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention HIV infection cases
rose continuously over the last three years,
an increase of almost 18 percent according
to the report.
Monday
the CDC reported a 7.1 percent increase
of HIV cases last year. The data is based
on information gathered from 25 states in
the country. Preliminary data released by
the CDC also reported that the number of
new cases of fully developed AIDS rose 2.2
percent with 42,123 new cases recorded,
while the number of AIDS deaths declined
5.9 percent with 16,371 recorded.
According
to Lawrence Harvey, clinical coordinator
at the Health Center at Cal State Long Beach,
these numbers are a reflection of complacency.
"The
general trend is the complacency of people,
that you hear something so much that you
no longer hear it," Harvey said.
Ron
Morrison, counselor at the Gay and Lesbian
Center in Long Beach gives another reason
for the figures based on the longevity and
medical advances in HIV/AIDS treatments,
"people don't see people getting sick
anymore and they rely on their assumptions
of what an HIV person looks like."
California
was not included in the CDC research due
to HIV case tracking being recent in this
state. According to Tamara Purnell, HIV
epidimiology program assistant for the Long
Beach Health Department, the state did not
mandate HIV tracking until July 2002.
"Politics
were involved," Purnell says. "The
current and prior governor had on different
occasions vetoed the bill. Lobbyists were
concerned about maintaining the anonymity
of patients."
"Current
tracking is based on algorithms, which include
the first letter of the patient's last name,
their date of birth, sex and the last four
digits of their social security number.
However, similar findings were recently
reported by the Long Beach Health Department
in 2002 the city of Long Beach reported
301 new cases of AIDS, compared to the prior
year which had 198 people diagnosed, an
almost 34 percent rise.
Purnell cautioned that these numbers may
also reflect better tracking strategies.
"Before
HIV reporting, for example, doctors reported
their cases to us, now the Long Beach Health
Department has better access to their offices.
We are now able to go into their offices,
look at their charts and talk to the doctors."
CSULB
working in combination with the Long Beach
Health Department tests an average of 60
to 90 people per month, according to Harvey.
The Health Center is a confidential test
site in which students are offered both
anonymous and confidential testing. According
to the Long Beach Health Department, no
students have tested positive out of a 184
tested confidentially. However, the number
of students who tested anonymously can not
be tracked.
Harvey
says that one reason for the low rate in
students testing positive is that the population
differs from the general population.
"We
do not have wide spread IV drug use and
our population has better access to HIV
education," said Harvey, whose opinion
coincides with Morrison's observation about
the large number of crystal methamphetamine
and other drug use while contracting the
virus. "One of the things I observe
is that university students are more cautious,"
Harvey said. "They come get tested
and bring their friends to get tested also."
|
