AIDS-related deaths in Florida have decreased in men among all racial and ethnic groups since 2006, according to a new report by the state health department covered in the Orlando Sentinel. Deaths have decreased 11 percent among white men, 15 percent among Latino men and 16 percent among black men.

However, the report, titled “Man Up: The Crisis of HIV/AIDS Among Florida’s Men,” found that 1 in 44 black men and 1 in 117 Latino men is HIV positive compared with 1 in 209 white men. Overall, 1 in every 123 adult men in the state was living with HIV/AIDS as of 2008.

According to the article, the report aimed to jump-start community groups to prevent the spread of HIV among Florida’s men and their sexual partners.

“Perhaps the single most important preventive measure is for people to know their own HIV status,” said Thomas Liberti, chief of the health department’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS. “If they are uninfected, this knowledge helps them protect themselves. If they are infected, the information helps them protect their partners and seek care and treatment for themselves.”