Fighting Complacency Over HIV/AIDS Epidemic

While AIDS and HIV no longer command the nation’s attention like in years past, the public health threat remains strong despite advances in treatment and survival. People still cannot afford to relax their precautions against this incurable disease and virus, especially youngsters and seniors who consider this only a danger to others.

Nobody is immune. As Herald reporter David Gulliver chronicled on Sunday, almost 10,000 Floridians contract the disease or virus annually -- with some 80 to 100 new cases in Manatee County. Those numbers should be alarming, as should several others.
State residents age 50 and over comprise 25 percent of new cases, this in the generations that should know all about prevention and safety since AIDS first exploded onto society three decades ago.

Nationwide, that age group is the fastest-growing portion of the HIV/AIDS population. By 2015, more than half of those infected with HIV will be older than 50, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

Young black men are also increasingly vulnerable, with new HIV cases having soared by 50 percent in that demographic nationwide.

Advances in treatment may have changed an almost certain death sentence from AIDS into a more survivable affliction, but life expectancy is only about 20 years for a new cases.

As the chief executive of Minority AIDS/HIV Social Services, a Manatee County outreach and education non-profit, Joyce Dent-Good is all too familiar with this still troubling problem. “We have an epidemic in our community that’s not being talked about enough,” she told Gulliver.

This week the Manatee County Health Department joined others across Florida in a concerted campaign to educate the public and prevent additional cases of the disease. The entire community should be engaged in the conversation, if not publicly then privately -- especially among seniors and young black men.

Education and awareness are key, with Dent-Good hoping the religious and business communities provide more support. We encourage that response.

Abstinence will certainly prevent an infection. At the very least, protected sex and condom use are very important. As is testing. People need to know if they’re infected so they can use protection, inform partners and stop HIV from spreading. The Manatee County Health Department offers a free rapid HIV test with only a 20-minute wait for results -- and a 99 percent accuracy rate. Call (941) 748-0747, ext. 1432 for additional information and testing locations.

While schoolchildren learns about HIV/AIDS in health classes, parents should talk to their youngsters, too, about personal values, risky behavior and other concerns.

Complacency and ignorance about HIV/AIDS are the enemy. Consider several more CDC statistics: more than 1 million people are living with HIV in the United States, and one in five is unaware of their infection. Those frightening figures portend the continuing spread of the disease.

And all the more reason for an urgent and unified community response.

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!