Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 26, 2007
Stephen Manning
"It is a modern epidemic that affects all populations of the District of Columbia," Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said while outlining plans to increase testing for the disease and strengthen prevention measures in the nation's capital.
The statistics in the study by the city's HIV/AIDS Administration and George Washington University paint a grim picture. There are roughly 128 cases of AIDS per 100,000 city residents, far surpassing the national average of 14 cases per 100,000 people. City health officials say Washington has the highest AIDS rate among major cities across the country.
Black people make up more than 80 percent the AIDS and HIV cases in the district but represent only 57 percent of the city's residents. Washington had 9 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases nationally in 2005 despite having an estimated population of only 580,000 - a small fraction of the nation's overall population.
Despite the disease's reputation as a scourge of gay male populations and intravenous drug users, the biggest percentage increase in HIV cases since 2001 came from heterosexual contact. The number of women living with AIDS has grown 76 percent over the past six years. Black women make up more than 90 percent of new female HIV cases.
City officials said the study was the first to catalog all cases of both the human immunodeficiency virus, known as HIV, and cases where the virus causes the deterioration of the immune system, commonly referred to as AIDS.
Previous reports catalogued only AIDS cases. The report released Monday covers data collected between January 2001 and November 2006.
In all, the city counted 7,947 newly reported cases of HIV and AIDS during the study period. Since AIDS arose in the early 1980s, the city has had 17,415 reported cases of AIDS alone.
Shannon Hader, director of the city's HIV/AIDS Administration, declined to speculate on reason's for the city's high rate or the demographic shifts, though she said common culprits such as drug use and unprotected sex were likely major factors.
The city plans to use the data and trends it identified to try to stop the growth of the disease, she said.
A key initiative is greater testing for HIV and AIDS in a variety settings. Hader urged medical providers and hospitals to routinely test for the virus, making it part of common checkups like an annual physical. Prisoners in the city jail are already tested for the disease.
Hader said pregnant women should be checked early on in their pregnancies so that steps can be taken to protect an unborn child if the mother is HIV positive. By 2009, the city hopes to eliminate all mother-to-child transmissions.
"This should be something that should be part of getting regularly checked out by your doctor," she said.
Along with more comprehensive testing, the city also plans public awareness programs of HIV/AIDS risks that would target teens, women and black residents. By 2009, city officials also plan to hand out at least 3 million condoms annually.
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