AEGiS-AP: AIDS Treatment Eludes Many Indians

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Treatment Eludes Many Indians

Associated Press - Tuesday November 27, 2001
Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press Writer

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Many American Indians infected with HIV/AIDS aren't treated for the disease because of the stigma surrounding it in their communities, members of an Indian group said at an annual meeting Tuesday.

Poverty, isolation and poor medical care also contribute to the spread of HIV and AIDS among Indians, said participants in a briefing at the National Congress of American Indians.

"People still see it as a gay, white man's disease," said Jack Jackson Jr., a Navajo and consultant to the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center. "A young, gay Indian man ... may not hold himself in high regard and act out in a safe way."

The number of Indians known to have AIDS or HIV remains relatively small, in part because the Indian population is so small and many Indians are not tested for the disease, Jackson said.

There have been 3,208 Indians infected with HIV from the beginning of the epidemic through last December, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 2,337 people developed AIDS, and 1,217 have died, the agency said.

But the rate of AIDS among Indians is 11.3 per 100,000 people, compared to 9 per 100,000 for whites, the CDC said. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher recently labeled HIV/AIDS a time bomb among Indians.

The federal government and Indian tribes are trying to increase awareness, testing and treatment of AIDS, said Michael Bird, executive director of NNAAPC. He said the federal government should provide health care for Indians with AIDS because of its history of taking over Indian lands.

Infected Indians may not have easy access to a clinic to be tested for HIV, or to obtain drugs for treatment, said Jeanne Bertolli, an epidemiologist for the CDC involved in AIDS prevention efforts. As a result, a person with HIV can spend years passing the disease to others, she said.

Bertolli said the federal government should provide more federal money for education programs. She said there should also be better reporting on the number of AIDS and HIV cases among Indians, and more drug treatments available.

On the Web:

http://www.nnaapc.org

http://www.cdc.gov

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AP011132

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