Dogwood
Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1999
CONTACT: Dawn Day, Ph. D. 609-924-4797
AIDS Prevention Neglected
In Large States and Major Cities
African Americans and Latinos Hardest Hit
PRINCETON,
NJ -
Drug-injection-related AIDS continues to spread in the
absence of syringe exchange programs.
Many states and cities with the highest rates of
injection-related AIDS do not have these programs, according to
a new analysis by the Dogwood Center of Princeton, NJ.
The
injection-related AIDS epidemic has been particularly severe
among African Americans and Latinos.
From the beginning of the epidemic through the end of
1998, African Americans and Latinos together accounted for three
quarters of all injection-related AIDS cases!
"Four
of the ten states with the highest rates of IV-drug-use-related AIDS do not allow
needle exchange programs. None
of the states provide adequate needle exchange," said Dawn
Day, Ph.D., Director of the Dogwood Center, the study's author.
The study
is based on a special tabulation of most recent data -- through
1998 -- obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). Injection-related AIDS cases include persons who inject drugs
and their heterosexual partners.
According to the CDC, half of all new HIV cases now
start with sharing syringes.
The spread
of HIV through shared syringes has increased for two reasons.
First, the price of heroin has fallen and purity
increased, making addiction more rapid and less expensive.
Second, medical advances in AIDS treatment mean persons
who inject drugs and are infected with HIV/AIDS are living
longer, and continuing to share needles.
"For
effective AIDS prevention, substantial expansion and federal
funding, of needle exchange programs are urgently needed,"
said Day.
See the
full report
with additional key material about racial differences
in injection-related AIDS in each state.
Dawn
Day, Ph.D., is a sociologist specializing in HIV/AIDS
transmission. The Dogwood Center is an independent research
center working on public health and criminal justice issues.
# # #
|
10
worst states
|
|
1
|
New
York
|
|
2
|
Maryland
|
|
3
|
Delaware
|
|
4
|
Connecticut
|
|
5
|
New
Jersey
|
|
6
|
Louisiana
|
|
7
|
Pennsylvania
|
|
8
|
Florida
|
|
*9
|
Massachusetts
|
|
*9
|
Rhode
Island
|
|
20
worst metro areas of 500,000 +
|
|
1
|
New
York City
|
|
2
|
Baltimore,
MD
|
|
3
|
Jersey
City, NJ
|
|
4
|
Newark,
NJ
|
|
5
|
Wilmington,
DE
|
|
*6
|
Baton
Rouge, LA
|
|
*6
|
Hartford,
CT
|
|
8
|
West
Palm Beach
|
|
9
|
San
Francisco
|
|
10
|
New
Haven, CT
|
|
11
|
Philadelphia
|
|
12
|
Washington,
DC
|
|
13
|
Springfield,
MA
|
|
14
|
Bergen-Pass.,
NJ
|
|
15
|
New
Orleans, LA
|
|
16
|
Houston,
TX
|
|
*17
|
Miami,
FL
|
|
*17
|
Orlando,
FL
|
|
19
|
Rochester,
NY
|
|
20
|
Atlanta,
GA
|
|
*
|
Tie
|
|
