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On April 23, the Minnesota Department
of Health reported that St. Louis County had 14 new HIV infections reported in
2012, up from just two in 2011. Statewide, the number of cases was up slightly,
from 292 in 2011 to 315 in 2012, according to the health department’s annual
report. Jessica Brehmer, a health department HIV epidemiologist, stated that
the majority of the cases were in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan
area. However, St. Louis County had both the third-highest number of cases and
the third-highest rate, with a rate of seven cases for every 100,000 people.
Dr. Andrew Thompson, an infectious disease specialist at St. Luke’s hospital,
said that the increase from two to 14 in St. Louis County is “a pretty big jump
for a county that’s not that big in population.”
Olmsted County, by contrast, where
Rochester is the county seat, had one new case in 2012, too statistically
insignificant to compute a rate, according to health department data. Another
county that had only one new case was Lake County in Northeastern Minnesota. No
new cases were reported in Carlton or Cook counties. Thompson said that the St.
Louis County numbers are upsetting, particularly combined with the health
department’s recent report stating that Minnesota’s STD numbers had reached an
all-time high. However, Brehmer said that the number of HIV cases reported
statewide was about at the 10-year average of 317.
The health department noted in a
news release that HIV infections are tougher on socially disadvantaged
groups—in terms of education, employment, housing, and income—than they are on
the general population. Brehmer said that the HIV infection increase is also
taking a toll among males in the 13–24 age range. Thompson theorized, “My
suspicion is they didn’t live through the 1980s, and they don’t have that kind
of fear that the older generation has (about AIDS). I worry about that cavalier
attitude that young people may have.”
Minnesota has had 10,112 HIV/AIDS
cases since the health department began tracking AIDS in 1982 and HIV in 1985.
An estimated 7,516 people are living with HIV in Minnesota now, according to
the department’s news release.
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!
