Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - December 5, 2002
Andrea Robinson, arobinson@herald.com
The health officials, meeting at an AIDS conference here, said that in the past two years, increases in new HIV infections and full-blown AIDS cases have stretched public health systems and drug programs beyond capacity. They say that during that time, federal dollars to treat their clients has lagged far behind.
Exacerbating the problem, conference organizers said, is an acute shortage of quality healthcare personnel and facilities, especially in rural areas of the South. And some of the states were slower to start prevention programs, said Robert Greenwald, a Massachusetts activist.
Some states, such as Georgia and North Carolina, have waiting lists for residents to receive expensive drugs needed to stave off effects of the virus. One official said other states, including Florida, were at risk of the same fate.
The epidemic is "mirroring the Third World countries and needs to be addressed," said Gene Copello, executive director of Florida AIDS Action, which coordinated the conference.
At the conference, HIV/AIDS directors from 13 states and the District of Columbia released a "call to action" plan that highlighted the challenges that each area faces in halting the spread of the virus.
On the list: lack of accessibility to service, increase in other sexually transmitted diseases, stigma and chronic shortages of drug programs.
Jacque Muther, a policy manager with Grady Health Systems in Atlanta, said the group wanted to send an SOS to national lawmakers and policy coordinators.
"The main message we're taking to Congress is that we want a minimum set of medical services for everybody with HIV, no matter where they live," Muther said. "We don't want to take from anybody else, we want what's appropriate."
Miami-Dade and Broward county health departments reported rises in syphilis cases this year, especially among men who have sex with other men.
Last year, Miami-Dade had 186 cases of syphilis. In unofficial totals through the first 10 months of this year, they have seen about 179 cases. If those figures hold, it represents a 7 percent increase.
Broward posted 48 cases last year. In the first 10 months, 97 new cases were reported.
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