Black U.S. AIDS rates rival some African nations

[Darth Wong]

Report: Black U.S. AIDS rates rival some African nations

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in some parts of the United States is as severe as in parts of Africa, according to a report out Tuesday.

"Left Behind - Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS" is intended to raise awareness and remind the public that the "AIDS epidemic is not over in America, especially not in Black America," says the report, published by the Black AIDS Institute, an HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on African-Americans.

"AIDS in America today is a black disease," says Phill Wilson, founder and CEO of the institute and himself HIV-positive for 20 years. "2006 CDC data tell us that about half of the just over 1 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black."

Although black people represent only about one in eight Americans, one in every two people living with HIV in the United States is black, the report notes.

The report uses just-released data from UNAIDS and existing CDC and Census data to highlight grim statistics:

• AIDS remains the leading cause of death among black women between ages 25 and 34. It's the second-leading cause of death in black men 35-44. Explainer: AIDS: A black disease »
Don't Miss

• In Washington, more than 80 percent of HIV cases are among black people, that's one in 20 residents. iReport: AIDS in Washington's older population

"Five percent of the entire population (in DC) is infected... that's comparable to countries like Uganda or South Africa," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN for the recent "Black in America" documentary.

According to this report, if black Americans made up their own country, it would rank above Ethiopia (420,000 to 1,300,000) and below Ivory Coast (750,000) in HIV population. Both Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast are among the 15 nations receiving funds from the President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief. The United States has given about $15 billion to PEPFAR nations in the past five years.

The Black AIDS Institute says it's not criticizing the federal government for helping poorer countries cope with the AIDS epidemic. Rather, it's saying the "AIDS epidemic [in the U.S.] is not getting the kind attention that it merits."

...

Click on the link to read the rest. Is it time for Americans to stop calling AIDS a "gay disease" yet?

[Erik von Nein]

Jesus. Second leading cause of death among middle-age black men? That's insanity.

[Havok]

Jesus. Second leading cause of death among middle-age black men? That's insanity.

On the little explainer tab, it says it's the leading cause. One of them is wrong. Not that it makes much of a difference.

[Hillary]

Gays, now blacks - I wonder how many Southern Baptists are even more convinced they are right? Now if it could just move on to atheists and Muslims...

Seriously, I didn't realise the scale of this problem in the US. Absolutely shocking. How the hell has it been allowed to get this bad?

[Darth Wong]

Seriously, I didn't realise the scale of this problem in the US. Absolutely shocking. How the hell has it been allowed to get this bad?

Perhaps Glenn Beck could explain, in his manifesto on what conservatives believe:

A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

[Eleas]

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

So they'll learn these lessons "the next time around." It's interesting. Kinda makes me wonder how strongly Beck believes in reincarnation.

[CaptainZoidberg]

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

The fact that he uses the term "Next time around" sort of implies that he's talking about economic decisions, and not suffering related to health or illness.

[Hillary]

Seriously, I didn't realise the scale of this problem in the US. Absolutely shocking. How the hell has it been allowed to get this bad?

Perhaps Glenn Beck could explain, in his manifesto on what conservatives believe:

A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

There appear to also be parallels with the Christian message of accepting your suffering in life.

Seriously though, what is the difference between this and a basket-case African country's approach to the poor? The standard of living is higher, but the attitude is much the same, i.e. fuck 'em.

[Darth Wong]

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

The fact that he uses the term "Next time around" sort of implies that he's talking about economic decisions, and not suffering related to health or illness.

It's kind of hard to separate economics from health when you're talking about an ardent opponent of socialized medicine.

[Saxtonite]

It doesn't surprise me, people have been saying this for a while now about the high rates of AIDS, stuff from Men "On the Down Low" (Afro-American community for in the closet) due to the conservative nature of much of Black America (most Afro-Americans stilll go to church every Sunday, for example) resulting in AIDS spreading heavily there, and there's due to many Black Men going into jail and probably getting ass-fucked in there, meaning AIDS spreads even more/faster and often they don't get AIDS tests when leaving jail....

[Kanastrous]

There was a news story a week or two ago, indicating that there is a genetic vulnerability existing among black African populations, which the HIV exploits to infect people more readily.

This suggests that on top of whatever social and economic factors contribute to the high infection rate among American black people, there might be a genetic factor as well.

I'll look for a link.

[Rahvin]

AIDS has faded into the background as an American issue for years now. It's particularly distressing when you realize that AIDS patients in many areas of the US aren't a whole lot better off than shithole African countries - many locations simply don't have any public programs to support HIV/AIDS patients at all. And of course the Feds don't do much about it, either.

HIV is treatable now, sure, and HIV patients who take their meds have a life expectancy that's basically the same as an uninfected individual. But there's no cure, and those meds cost a lot of money, on the order of thousands of dollars per month. Most insurance plans are insufficient, because the prescription drug coverage runs out.

The US panicked over HIV/AIDS in teh 80's, figured out what it was, developed effective medication to at least give those infected a reasonable standard of living...and then promptly stopped giving a shit.

Now it's an African problem. Apparently nobody realizes that there's still a fucking epidemic here, and because of the lack of attention, infection rates are rising again. This article is scary enough regarding the black population, but really, the reasons behind it are simple: lack of education, lack of attention, and lack of funding. Intravenous drug use and unprotected sex still spread HIV just as they always have, and abstinance only bullshit combined with the silly notion that HIV/AIDS is rare in the US mean that it's still very much everybody's problem.

It's still not even standard practice for most doctors to test people for HIV/AIDS, even when doing other STD tests, if the person isn't in a "high-risk" group. I've heard of some laws being proposed (not sure how far they've gotten) here in CA that would make HIV tests standard for any emergency room patients, and that's a step in the right direction, but people need to get tested, and awareness needs to rise.

From 2000 through 2004, the estimated number of AIDS cases increased 25% in the South and 13% in the Midwest, and decreased 8% in the Northeast, 6% in the West, and 15% in the U.S. dependencies, possessions, and associated nations.

From here.

Gee, what a surprise: in the asshole fundie South and Midwest where abstinance-only education and "it's a punishment from Gawd!" are more prevalent, AIDS cases are rising significantly. In the Northeast and West where treatment for HIV is more readily available (California has a halfway decent program in place, though it's funding has been cut in recent years when it needs more) and attitudes are more liberal, AIDS cases are slightly decreasing.

I wouldn't be surprised if the insanely high black AIDS population is primarily due to the larger proportion of blacks living in the South where funding, education, and religion play a part, as well as the more severe poverty problem in the South.

We need to treat HIV/AIDS just like we did in the 80's - we need to dramatically increase funding for care programs, improve education, make testing routine, and most of all make sure that people realize that this is still a huge problem right here in the US. With enough awareness and funding, maybe we'll actually be able to cure this damned plague in our lifetimes. Knowing someone who has HIV, I'd really, really like that.

[Solauren]

modern society, at least some aspect of it, might play into it to.

i.e 'Condom, why would I bother G? I've got street-cred. Damn right that bitch is gonna take it from me how I want to give it'.

It's not hard to imagine a sub-culture that's glorifying gang-violence and crim in general, wouldn't be smart enough to practice safe sex.

[PainRack]

HIV is treatable now, sure, and HIV patients who take their meds have a life expectancy that's basically the same as an uninfected individual. But there's no cure, and those meds cost a lot of money, on the order of thousands of dollars per month. Most insurance plans are insufficient, because the prescription drug coverage runs out.

Errr...... Same life expectancy?

[Rahvin]

HIV is treatable now, sure, and HIV patients who take their meds have a life expectancy that's basically the same as an uninfected individual. But there's no cure, and those meds cost a lot of money, on the order of thousands of dollars per month. Most insurance plans are insufficient, because the prescription drug coverage runs out.

Errr...... Same life expectancy?

Basically the same. A person diagnosed with HIV today, provided they are able to receive medication, is highly unlikely to ever develop AIDS or die as a result of the disease.

This of course does nothing for people who go undiagnosed for years until they already have AIDS, or people who cannot afford medication, or even those who refuse to take their medication out of stupidity like concerns about side effects or simple denial.

There are risks with the medication, primarily kidney/liver failure (for obvious reasons), but for the most part a person diagnosed in the US today who is able to receive and take their medication as prescribed will likely live a full life.

See here, for example.

Life expectancy for HIV patients is significantly improving every year, and the averages are still lowered by the statistically numerous people who cannot affor medication, are not diagnosed properly, etc, but those who get proper treatment are not likely to die of AIDS.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Now it's an African problem. Apparently nobody realizes that there's still a fucking epidemic here, and because of the lack of attention, infection rates are rising again. This article is scary enough regarding the black population, but really, the reasons behind it are simple: lack of education, lack of attention, and lack of funding. Intravenous drug use and unprotected sex still spread HIV just as they always have, and abstinance only bullshit combined with the silly notion that HIV/AIDS is rare in the US mean that it's still very much everybody's problem.

It is worse than that. It is hard to get people to go in and get tested. A buddy of mine doesnt use protection if he can avoid it, and has not been tested for...a while. Since he got out of the USMC I think (No, this is not frigidmagi) I may have to resort to an STI slide and puppet show to knock some sense into the idiot (intelligent in other respects, he just tends toward the more hedonistic end of the Eppicurian spectrum)

Me... I have not been sexually active for a good long while, and dont use any drugs... so it has been a while since I have found it necessary to get tested (I typically get myself tested midway through my usual 2 year celibacy streaks. No, I do not have those by choice)

It's still not even standard practice for most doctors to test people for HIV/AIDS, even when doing other STD tests, if the person isn't in a "high-risk" group. I've heard of some laws being proposed (not sure how far they've gotten) here in CA that would make HIV tests standard for any emergency room patients, and that's a step in the right direction, but people need to get tested, and awareness needs to rise.

Considering how cheap and efficient the new Rapid tests are, there is no reason why this should not be done. Hell, you can probably make having an HIV test done as a condition of maintaining a drivers license (say, have it done once a year, mandatory, done in the DMV by a med tech, subsidize the test)

I wouldn't be surprised if the insanely high black AIDS population is primarily due to the larger proportion of blacks living in the South where funding, education, and religion play a part, as well as the more severe poverty problem in the South.

Also due tp The Down Low, closeted black men having lots of Larry Craig style anonymous sex.

[Kanastrous]

Aren't they technically 2-year chastity streaks...?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Aren't they technically 2-year chastity streaks...?

The words are synonyms. I suppose I could call it Obligate Sexual Inactivity. But frankly you can use either word IIRC and be correct.

[Galvatron]

Is it time for Americans to stop calling AIDS a "gay disease" yet?

The Black Death is already taken.

[Master of Ossus]

It's still not even standard practice for most doctors to test people for HIV/AIDS, even when doing other STD tests, if the person isn't in a "high-risk" group. I've heard of some laws being proposed (not sure how far they've gotten) here in CA that would make HIV tests standard for any emergency room patients, and that's a step in the right direction, but people need to get tested, and awareness needs to rise.

Considering how cheap and efficient the new Rapid tests are, there is no reason why this should not be done. Hell, you can probably make having an HIV test done as a condition of maintaining a drivers license (say, have it done once a year, mandatory, done in the DMV by a med tech, subsidize the test)

I don't agree with that at all. The number of false positives would be astronomical, and for only a very small gain. That sounds like a recipe for wasted government dollars.

[Rahvin]

It's still not even standard practice for most doctors to test people for HIV/AIDS, even when doing other STD tests, if the person isn't in a "high-risk" group. I've heard of some laws being proposed (not sure how far they've gotten) here in CA that would make HIV tests standard for any emergency room patients, and that's a step in the right direction, but people need to get tested, and awareness needs to rise.

Considering how cheap and efficient the new Rapid tests are, there is no reason why this should not be done. Hell, you can probably make having an HIV test done as a condition of maintaining a drivers license (say, have it done once a year, mandatory, done in the DMV by a med tech, subsidize the test)

I don't agree with that at all. The number of false positives would be astronomical, and for only a very small gain. That sounds like a recipe for wasted government dollars.

...you realize the damage inflicted by an undiagnosed HIV carrier who isn't using protection, right? Small gain? How many sexual partners does the average person have over their lifetime? How many do those people have, and their partners, etc?

A single HIV infected person, gone undiagnosed and not using protection (and hell, even if he is; the medication can lower viral load to the point where transmission is far less likely if a condom breaks, but an undiagnosed person isn't going to be taking anti-retrovirals) can infect many other people.

What do you believe the rate of false positives is?

I'm not seeing a "small gain." I'm seeing the current observations of a 25% increase in AIDS cases in the American South as the direct consequence of not testing people. And how many cases do you think aren't even counted in those statistics because people don't know they have the disease?

It looks to me like not making testing routine or even required has already had a massive cost in lives and livelihoods. "Small gain" my ass.

[Rahvin]

Ghetto edit:

From Wiki:

Other studies have confirmed the accuracy of current methods of HIV testing in the United States, reporting false-positive rates of 0.0004% to 0.0007% and false-negative rates of 0.003% in the general population.

Yeah, that's an astronomical false-positive rate, all right. Assuming a .0004% false-positive rate, if the 300,000,000 population of the US were tested, only 1200 false positives would be found.

Yep, that's a gigantic fucking waste of federal funds right there.

[Alyrium Denryle]

I don't agree with that at all. The number of false positives would be astronomical, and for only a very small gain. That sounds like a recipe for wasted government dollars.

The test I am referring to is done in 20 min, with a prick to the finger, and has a low false positive rate. And even if it IS positive, the test is confirmed with another type of test, which are rarely used because the test is that damn accurate.

Can you propose a better way of testing people? A more cost-effective, speedy, and convenient way that also controls the spread of the disease?

Yeah, that's an astronomical false-positive rate, all right. Assuming a .0004% false-positive rate, if the 300,000,000 population of the US were tested, only 1200 false positives would be found.

If I had a uterus, I would ask if I could have your children

[Broomstick]

Click on the link to read the rest. Is it time for Americans to stop calling AIDS a "gay disease" yet?

Actually, quite a few of us stopped calling it that years ago. Unfortunately, now some of those folks call it a drug-user's disease. Other of us realize that infected people can look like/be anyone.

Seriously, I didn't realise the scale of this problem in the US. Absolutely shocking. How the hell has it been allowed to get this bad?

The current administration doesn't give a fuck about poor, Christian white people - why the hell would they care about blacks?

A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.

In other words, it is a core conservative value to let underprivileged people suffer. In fact, conservatives believe that their suffering is good, because it will teach them "essential lessons".

I knew poverty sucked before I was poor the first time.

Second time around, it hasn't improved any.

Didn't learn a damn thing I didn't already know.

It's kind of hard to separate economics from health when you're talking about an ardent opponent of socialized medicine.

^ What he said.

It doesn't surprise me, people have been saying this for a while now about the high rates of AIDS, stuff from Men "On the Down Low" (Afro-American community for in the closet) due to the conservative nature of much of Black America (most Afro-Americans stilll go to church every Sunday, for example) resulting in AIDS spreading heavily there, and there's due to many Black Men going into jail and probably getting ass-fucked in there, meaning AIDS spreads even more/faster and often they don't get AIDS tests when leaving jail....

Definite factors. The black community is HIGHLY intolerant of homosexuality and bisexuality.

There was a news story a week or two ago, indicating that there is a genetic vulnerability existing among black African populations, which the HIV exploits to infect people more readily.

This suggests that on top of whatever social and economic factors contribute to the high infection rate among American black people, there might be a genetic factor as well.

You have to be careful about that sort of theory - African Africans and African Americans are not genetically identical due to both the heavy influx of European genes, a few dashes of Native and Asian, and the winnowing effects of the Middle Passage.

For example, African-Americans are (apparently) genetically predisposed in many cases towards high blood pressure whereas most Africans do not share this trait. One hypothesis is that genes that enabled people to better survive the Middle Passage happen to predispose to high blood pressure. On the other hand, African-Americans have a lower incidence of sickle cell anemia than West African populations that made up the bulk of North American African slave (although yes, they have a higher incidence than other American ethnic groups) and that is almost certainly due to an influx of non-African genes into their population.

AIDS has faded into the background as an American issue for years now. It's particularly distressing when you realize that AIDS patients in many areas of the US aren't a whole lot better off than shithole African countries - many locations simply don't have any public programs to support HIV/AIDS patients at all. And of course the Feds don't do much about it, either.

Back in the 1990's an HIV diagnosis qualified you for disability and Medicare - as far as I know, that still applies. Medical care, including prescriptions, were covered. Unfortunately, many people were never and probably still aren't aware of these programs.

My own recent research on state-funded medical care shows that in Indiana there are state programs in place for those with an HIV diagnosis and, again, medical care is covered at least as well as mid-level private insurance. Again, many are not aware of these programs. It also requires that a person get tested and accept they have this disease and be arsed to fill out the damn paperwork. It consists of 4 pages in simple English and a copy of the relevant medical records.

HIV is treatable now, sure, and HIV patients who take their meds have a life expectancy that's basically the same as an uninfected individual. But there's no cure, and those meds cost a lot of money, on the order of thousands of dollars per month. Most insurance plans are insufficient, because the prescription drug coverage runs out.

That's why coverage was taken over by Medicare in the 1990's.

Don't underestimate the cultural influences at work here - most African Americans are religiously conservative, even more so than most whites (although us Caucasians certainly have our whackjobs). Homosexuality is not tolerated. Drug use is rampant but shameful. People with HIV are routinely shunned, isolated, abandoned, and considered "sinners" even if, say, a cold-sober monogamous married woman who contracted it through rape or her spouse cheating.

modern society, at least some aspect of it, might play into it to.

i.e 'Condom, why would I bother G? I've got street-cred. Damn right that bitch is gonna take it from me how I want to give it'.

Yeah, that, too, as a cultural influence. Also, in urban ghettos the life expectancy of a teen age male is so low that he may likely be dead before HIV starts to show symptoms. When I was working in the social services field in the 1990's a young boy of 12 living in certain housing projects had less than one chance in 10 of reaching 25 alive - which prompted a LOT of black families to try to get their boys out of the projects any way they could.

I know that black women are more likely to marry men of other races than black men are likely to marry across racial lines, and partly it's because in some areas there aren't enough black men to go around. I have to wonder if HIV infection rates might also be a factor, men of other races being seen as "safer".

[Alyrium Denryle]

*snaps on the evolutionary psych gloves, the big latex condom-like gloves*

You have to be careful about that sort of theory - African Africans and African Americans are not genetically identical due to both the heavy influx of European genes, a few dashes of Native and Asian, and the winnowing effects of the Middle Passage.

Dont forget lack of gene flow and selective breeding (We dont want to admit it, but it is true...)

Definite factors. The black community is HIGHLY intolerant of homosexuality and bisexuality.

I'll integrate this with something else in a second.

Also, in urban ghettos the life expectancy of a teen age male is so low that he may likely be dead before HIV starts to show symptoms. When I was working in the social services field in the 1990's a young boy of 12 living in certain housing projects had less than one chance in 10 of reaching 25 alive - which prompted a LOT of black families to try to get their boys out of the projects any way they could.

This creates a positive feedback loop. Poor life expectancy leads to a phenotypically plastic response to increase risk-taking in the quest for reproductive success. After all, they dont have time to lose.