Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press (12.13.04) - Thursday, December 16, 2004
While the number of Latino cases is still small, the challenges in reversing the trend are many and difficult. National reports indicate Latino men who travel to the United States looking for work are often infected through homosexual sex or sex with prostitutes. CDC figures show that men comprise 80 percent of the nation's Hispanic AIDS cases.
Charlie Rice, a disease-intervention specialist for the state health department, said getting people to the department for HIV testing is challenging because many who are here illegally fear they will be deported if they show up at a government agency. Health officials say they do not communicate with immigration officials, so patients can seek testing and treatment without fear.
Charlotte-based Metrolina AIDS Project responded to the jump in Latino cases by hiring Gina Esquivel two years ago. Esquivel runs a monthly HIV support group; teaches classes to Latino inmates at the Mecklenburg County jail; and takes questions about HIV and safe sex once a month during a Spanish-language radio show.
Esquivel believes programs such as Mi Vecino y Yo (My Neighbor and I), in which volunteers agree to speak to at least a dozen people about HIV, are working in the community. In October, 109 people showed up at two Charlotte clinics for HIV testing as part of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day; none tested positive.
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