Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune (CT) - FRIDAY, February 6, 1998
Christi Parsons, Tribune Staff Writer.
Reports of new cases dropped 15 percent in 1997 from the previous year, according to statistics released by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
There were 1,863 AIDS cases reported in 1997, compared with 2,185 in 1996. Last year's total of reported cases is the lowest since 1991, when the state tallied 1,616 new cases.
The new numbers follow a national trend that suggests the world of medicine may be beginning to get a handle on the epidemic. Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported that AIDS deaths across the country had dropped by 44 percent in the first half of last year.
Doctors believe the new trend demonstrates the efficacy of new drug treatments to control the disease. Powerful new drugs called "protease inhibitors" taken in combination with each other have been shown to slow the progression of the AIDS virus.
But public health experts are quick to point out that the epidemic is not over. As of the end of 1997, almost 13,000 Illinois residents have been reported to have died of HIV- and AIDS-related causes, and infection was the 11th leading cause of all deaths in the state that year.
"This is a time to take note of the progress that has been made and then redouble our efforts to prevent further HIV infections from occurring," said Dr. John Lumpkin, state public health director.
"New and powerful drug combinations have shown promise in delaying the onset of AIDS in persons with HIV infection, but it is indisputable that HIV and AIDS remains a deadline disease for which there is no vaccine or cure."
Reports of AIDS cases declined in all areas of the state. Cases declined by 18 percent in Chicago and by 13 percent in the entire metropolitan area.
Men accounted for the vast majority of new cases in 1997, with 82 percent of the caseload.
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