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Only 25 percent of Americans with
HIV have their virus under control, according to a CDC report released Friday
at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington. African Americans and
younger people are least likely to be in regular care and treatment, CDC said.
[PNU editor’s note: Among African
Americans with HIV, 81 percent have been diagnosed; 34 percent are retained in
care; 29 percent have been prescribed antiretroviral therapy; and 21 percent
are virally suppressed, CDC reported.]
Among Americans ages 25-34 who have
HIV, 72 percent have been diagnosed; but only 28 percent receive regular care
and 15 percent are virally suppressed.
“We’ve got to do better,” said Dr.
Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. More
widespread HIV testing is critical, and it needs to be easier to link those
infected directly to care and make sure they stay there, he said: “I want to
make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
Programs to retain patients are not
working or are not plentiful enough, the report said.
“We need to reverse-engineer; we
understand how many other countries are doing this better and often with US tax
dollars,” said Nancy Mahon, chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council
on HIV/AIDS and global executive director of the MAC AIDS Fund (MAF).
Toward that end, MAF announced its
support of joint efforts with the US Department of Health and Human Services to
improve retention in HIV care. These efforts include UCARE4LIFE, a two-year
mobile texting pilot program in the South sending disease-management reminders
and tips. Another is a forum to explore successful programs, including US
overseas efforts.
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!
