November 26, 2007

DC’s Staggering AIDS Stats

New statistics on HIV infection rates in the District of Columbia released by the District’s HIV/AIDS Administration on Monday, November 26, reveal what it calls a modern AIDS epidemic—one that reaches into all parts of the city and disproportionately affects African-Americans (washingtonpost.com, 11/26).

"HIV/AIDS in the District has become a modern epidemic with complexities and challenges that continue to threaten the lives and well-being of far too many residents," the 120-page report states.

The document shows that more than 80 percent of the 3,269 cases of HIV reported between 2001 and 2006 were among black men, women and children. Nine out of 10 women who tested positive were African-American. The report also showed that HIV was transmitted through heterosexual contact in almost 40 percent of the district’s cases, compared with about a quarter of cases attributed to men having sex with men.

"It blows the stereotype out of the water," said Shannon Hader, head of the HIV/AIDS Administration. “HIV is everybody's disease here."

One in 20 DC residents is thought to be living with HIV, and one in 50 has AIDS. There were almost 12,500 reported HIV/AIDS cases in the district in 2006. Though figures showed that new HIV cases seemed to begin declining in 2003, the city’s administration says this was likely due to underreporting or delayed reporting.