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When an individual tests positive
for HIV/AIDS or syphilis in Harrison County, Mississippi, there are four
workers for the state’s lower six counties, who are charged with finding and
notifying partners so that they can get tested and, it is hoped, prevent the
disease from spreading further. The local disease intervention supervisors
(DIS) handle only HIV/AIDS and syphilis cases and deal with about 60 cases per
year. People’s reaction to the news is often unpredictable. It can be tough
news to break to some individuals, as local DIS must let them know that they
have been exposed and need to be tested. In some instances, people can react
violently.
In other cases, it can be a
challenge to find all of a patient’s sexual partners. Many individuals have
been infected after sexual encounters with strangers whom they met online
through social networking sites or online classifieds. Some individuals set up
meetings using no-contract cell phones, which have since been disconnected by
the time the health department becomes involved in the case. The DIS rely on
police records, post office information, online searches, hospital information,
and other types of records to assist them in tracking down individuals.
According to DIS Jill Mitchell, they are usually successful. She notes that out
of 320 individuals that health workers tracked in 2011, they failed to find
fewer than 10.
Since the state of Mississippi has
the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation, and 76 percent of high school
students say that they have had sex by the end of 12th grade, the agency also
provides school districts with education programs that teach abstinence-plus.
Mississippi is one of the top 10 states for sexually transmitted diseases per
capita. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s 2010 survey, the state has the highest rate for gonorrhea, the
second highest rate for chlamydia, and the third highest rate for syphilis in
the nation.
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!
