Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Interface of Drugs and AIDS in the Caribbean Region
AIDS & Public Policy Journal 6, no. 3 (Fall 1991): 121-4 W. Robert Lange, Carlos S. Contoreggi, and John C. Ball
The distribution of AIDS cases is not uniform on a global basis. As of January 1991, 60 percent of reported cases occurred in the Western Hemisphere, down from 70 percent two years earlier. In the Western Hemisphere, the United States accounts for 82 percent of the cases, and four countries (the US, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada) account for 94 percent. However, as depicted in Figure 1, locations within or near the Caribbean Basin have been disproportionately affected by the epidemic, with Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic each having reported in excess of 1,000 cases. Because various regions have different reporting schedules (see Table 1), it is likely that some locations have had more AIDS cases than are presently indicated. The number of AIDS cases in a particular location (numerator variable) must be considered in the context of the number of individuals at risk, and when appropriate, the overall population size (denominator variables). Population figures for the islands in the Caribbean region vary over a wide distribution. When AIDS tabulations are standardized according to population, attack rates can differ appreciably from crude case tabulations. Standardized attack rates per 100,000 population are highest in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Each of these locations has a cumulative AIDS case rate of between 150 and 300 cases per 100,000 population. The following review of these three locations indicates that substance abuse has contributed significantly to the epidemiology of AIDS. This is true, despite the fact that intravenous-drug abuse, in general, is considered to be rarely practiced in this region.
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
