The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have released a study about HIV and AIDS that reached some shocking conclusions. Published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), September 24, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 37, the data suggests that 19% of men having sex with men in the 21 cities studies were infected with HIV, and nearly half of those infected did not know it.
The CDC reports that by the end of 2007 46% of those living with a diagnosis of HIV were black men. Nationally, the rate of infection in 2007 was 115.7 per 100,000 of population.
At some point in their lifetimes, 1 in 16 black men will be diagnosed with HIV infection, as will 1 in 30 black women.
By the end of 2007, an estimated 233,624 blacks with a diagnosis of AIDS had died in the US and 5 dependent areas. In 2006, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death for all blacks and the third leading cause of death for both black men and black women aged 35–44.
Because of privacy laws and other concerns, data on HIV and AIDS takes some time to be made public. Data from New York State is available, in part, through 2008 and fully through 2007.
Over the period 2005 through 2007, New York State as a whole had an new HIV infection rate of 22.6 patients per 100,000 of population. Excluding New York City brings that rate down to 7.7 per 100,000. Rochester and Monroe County has a higher rate than the state average, with 12 new cases of HIV per 100,000 of population.
Looking at the larger urban counties in upstate New York, Monroe County has the highest rates in the 2005 - 2007 time frame for both new HIV cases and new AIDS cases.
- Buffalo and Erie county have the lowest rates, with new HIV cases at 7.7 per 100,000 and new AIDS cases at 10 per 100,000.
- Onondaga County and Syracuse have rates of 8.2 new HIV cases and 8.2 new AIDS cases per 100,000.
- Albany, county and city, show 11.1 new HIV cases per 100,000 and 11.7 new AIDS cases per 100,000.
As of 2007, there were 2,100 people in Monroe County reported to be living with either HIV or AIDS. The average yearly case count for new cases of HIV in the period 2002-2008 was 81 and an average of 90 new AIDS cases per year were diagnosed.
Based on the data, about 50 black men in Monroe County and Rochester are diagnosed with HIV each year. The data also suggests that ten other black men are infected but unaware of their illness each year.
Monroe County offers free and confidential testing for HIV. It also provides a program where a patient's sexual partners can be notified without revealing the patient's name. Free anonymous HIV antibody testing with appropriate referrals is available through the New York State Health Department in Rochester. No names are used.
For more information:
Phone: 585 423-8081
Toll-Free: 1-800-962-5063
TDD: 585 423-8120
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