Bad news for black men. New CDC research confirms that America’s black men who have sex with men are “more than twice as likely to be infected with the AIDS virus than their white counterparts,” according to the Baltimore Sun. While one may assume there’s a disparity in safe sex practices, researchers claim condom rates remain relatively the same between races.
The problem may find its roots elsewhere:
…New studies point to possible reasons [for skewed infection]. Black gay men in one study were more likely to be currently infected with a sexually transmitted disease, which can make them more likely to catch or transmit HIV.
Blacks were also less likely to be taking anti-retroviral medications, which can lower the concentration of virus in the bloodstream, and with it the chance of transmitting it to others.
Sun reporter Jonathan Bor reports that while most states see a decline in HIV infection among their resident gays, Maryland’s seen a sharp increase in queer infections. Eight percent of Baltimore’s infected population contracted the virus last year: the highest rate of any city CDC surveyed.
State AIDS administrator Heather Hauck lamented the state’s lackluster resources, “I believe we have not been able to direct adequate resources to all of our population in Maryland. We do not have the resources to do adequate prevention for everyone.” First order: anti-retroviral drugs.
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hisurfer
I asked a friend from the CDC once why AIDS was so prevalent in Africa, and why HIV seemed to pass from women to men so easily there, and not so easily in the West.
He said there was a correlation with poverty & poor medical care. Impoverished men and women are more likely to have untreated minor infections, or dietary deficiencies that compromise the integrity of the skin that open a pathway for HIV to enter.
I’d guess that our poor urban areas have the same risk factors. I’d be curious to know what the HIV rate is among middle class African-Americans. I’d suspect it would be closer to the national average.
This was a couple years ago. Any epidemiologists out there who can tell us if this is still the current theory?
Press
Press Release – HIV HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED!!!
A medical device to immobilize HIV (THAT HAS A UNITED STATES PATENT) has been invented and is discussed in a new book! If you would like to know more, just send an email request to – [email protected] and we will be happy to send you the press release! (Press Release in the PDF format)
Please feel free to share this important information with as many people as you wish!