Onondaga Co. Sees Spike in HIV/AIDS Cases

There's major concern about a growing problem locally. There's been a recent spike in HIV/AIDS cases among minority gay or bisexual men ages 25 and younger.

Typically, Onondaga County sees seven to eight cases every year. But there have already been nine reported in the last four months alone.

"We have not been able to say that they got it from each other, which means there are other people out there who have HIV and may not know it," said Onondaga County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow.

There's enough concern that Morrow and local religious leaders held a news conference at the Southwest Community Center in Syracuse Wednesday, trying to spread the word that HIV is preventable. There's a major outreach effort underway to spread the word and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. And with so many cases popping up in such a short period of time, the hope is to get this problem under control fast.

"We've got to stop this problem and we're saying today we've got to talk more about it, get the message out and let our young people know that it's a problem," said Rev. Chauncey Brown with the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

But why the sudden spike in cases? Health officials aren't quite sure. The hope is that more people are getting tested, and because of that, more cases will pop up. "We're hoping with this awareness, with this information, people will come forward who are at risk and get tested and actually I would be pleased to see an increase because that means we're reaching people," Dr. Morrow said.

Currently, there are about 1.1 million Americans living with HIV. One-fifth of them don't even know they're infected. Here in New York, more than 181,000 have HIV. In fact, New York State ranks the highest among the 50 states in cumulative reported AIDS cases.

It should serve as a wake-up call to everyone that it can happen to you. So get tested and stop the spread before this problem gets even worse.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!