HIV has hit Southeast hard, new online U.S. map shows

"What this map illustrates in a very graphic way is that the brunt of the epidemic has shifted south and east, starting at Washington, D.C., and moving down through Florida."

Among the reasons for that shift, he says, are that HIV disproportionately affects black and Hispanic Americans, and the poor — groups that don't have as much access to testing and treatment.

"The fact that this disease has disseminated beyond its big-city epicenters was bound to happen," said Spencer Lieb, senior epidemiologist in the bureau of HIV/AIDS for the Florida Department of Health. "That's what you can expect with a disease that is sexually transmitted and spread by drug use."

The increasing number of people infected with HIV in the Southeast coincides with a rise in crack-cocaine and crystal-methamphetamine use during the past 15 years, as well as a dramatic increase in syphilis cases in the region, he said.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-hiv-us-map-20110601,0,3739856.story

how much has the rate of exposure grown from 2008-2011? And for the same reason highlighted in the article (rates climbing among black, Hispanics and the poor), not much is being done to address it.

Forgive my use of the broad-stroke brush, not every Christian thinks this way but I do have quite a few Bible-thumping Xian acquaintances.

Not sure about where every one else lives but here, there's not much HIV/AIDS awareness going on. Certainly not enough to keep up with the spread of the disease. No one really talks about it in my little corner of the Bible Belt. Perhaps it's limited to the public health clinics, I just don't know.

I'm sure in many hardcore Xian minds, HIV/AIDS still wears the badge of being a gay-only/drug addict aka sinner disease and shouldn't be discussed in public.

More proof of how badly a single payer health care system is needed.

I was involved in AIDS education and outreach (even before it was called AIDS) in the Boston area. We tried to get the info into the black community and were actively -- no viciously -- blocked by the clergy in the black churches. They insisted there were no gay black people and frustrated every effort we made to get the message out into the community.

groups within the group.

And the church would have been one of the first places to have seen the epidemic because people should have gone to the priest for guidance if they got a terminal illness.

duh.

since it CERTAINLY won't affect "their family"..:(

"There are none so blind as those who will not see"