Drug epidemic stalls HIV decline in whites who shoot up

IN lawmakers legalized the creation of syringe exchanges in the Hoosier state in 2015, and roughly a year and a half later eight counties have state-approved programs.

While there are no cures or vaccines to prevent HIV, there are multiple experimental vaccines now in the early stages of testing across the globe. “It is encouraging to see prevention efforts paying off in African-American and Latino communities”, said Eugene McCray, MD, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.

“In Canada there are a number of failings, frankly”, Lewis said. “In fact, statistics show that 1 in 8 people who have HIV in the USA are unaware of their diagnosis, which means they could be spreading the disease and not even know it”.

– In ACR Health’s nine-county service area, 3,681 people are living with HIV/AIDS.

Hispanic/Latinos follow; while only 18 percent of the USA population, they make up 24 percent of all new HIV diagnoses. For now, federal funds can be used for some program costs, but not for the purchase of sterile needles or syringes. Millions of people who have the virus live fully functioning lives with the aid of new and emerging medicines.

“They may not know their status, and they may be well for a while, at least clinically, but they still have HIV and they can still transmit that before they go on to have a failure of the immune system”, Landers said. The plan will accelerate the use of pre-exposure Prophylaxis, a daily pill to prevent HIV infection in those at highest risk.

“Until now, the nation has made substantial progress in preventing HIV among people who inject drugs, but this success is threatened”, said Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement. One-third of all drug users have shared needles in the past year. The number of HIV diagnoses among Hispanic injection drug users fell almost 50 percent from 2008 to 2014, the report found. “They just do not have the resources in order to handle HIV”.

But the effect of syringe exchanges does not appear to be as great among white drug users.

Duckett was diagnosed with Syphilis in 2012.

The findings were published November 29 in the CDC’s Vital Signs.

Started by one of the original queens of the silver screen in 1991, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation is dedicated to HIV prevention, education, and helping those living with AIDS, particularly in vulnerable communities.