Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Friday, February 14, 2003
Andrea Robinson (arobinson@herald.com)
Meanwhile, state health officials say there is no indication that the outbreak is worsening. They say the increase is because of aggressive testing and outreach in poor communities, revealing cases that used to go undetected. According to figures released by the state this week, Miami-Dade County in 2002 had 1,765 new HIV diagnoses, 18 percent more than the previous year. Palm Beach County had 519, a 44 percent jump, while Broward County's 1,086 new cases were 30 percent higher than in 2001. Statewide, the number of new HIV cases rose 21 percent.
Tom Liberti, bureau chief of the state office of HIV/AIDS in Tallahassee, said the numbers are proof of the state's hard work. Since 2001, public health officers and community organizations have teamed up to test people in medically underserved areas. Last year, they expanded their testing to county jails.
UNIQUE PROGRAMS
"We have unique programs with minorities in communities that are hard to reach," Liberti said. He added that 9,000 people were tested in June on national HIV Testing Day. Of those, 200 tested positive for HIV.
"If you do that type of work, the numbers will go up. They have no other place to go," he said.
Health officials from Florida and other Southern states are grappling with how to combat the spread of AIDS. Since 2001, the region has led the United States in the number of people living with HIV.
The state says 68,545 people in Florida are living with HIV or AIDS. Miami-Dade has 19,122, Broward has 11,010, and Palm Beach has 6,145, according to the state Department of Health.
At a conference in Tampa in December, scientists said the spread of the virus was exacerbated by increases in other sexually transmitted diseases, particularly syphilis.
Last year, Florida reported a 26 percent rise in cases of syphilis and an 8 percent jump in chlamydia. Reported cases of gonorrhea fell slightly statewide.
DOUBTS EXPRESSED
Michael Kolber, director of adult HIV services for the University of Miami School of Medicine, expressed doubts that the increase was solely the result of better data reporting.
"They may be doing better at finding people, but look at what the STD numbers say," Kolber said. ``It could be a combination of things. I don't know the percentage of each."
Florida's increase may not be unusual. This week, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that new infections in Florida and 24 other states that report HIV cases rose 8 percent between 1999 and 2000.
That might be too narrow a time frame to declare a trend. However, scientists cautioned it could indicate a resurgence of the virus.
Activists are applauding the increased testing. Marc Cohen of the United AIDS Foundation said education needs to be stepped up.
"People are still having unprotected sex, even though we're educating the community," Cohen said.
Gwendolyn Scott, director of pediatric infectious disease at UM, said the safe sex message is difficult to get out in a community as diverse as South Florida.
"A lot of people feel it does not apply to them," Scott said.
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