Greetings from the Bronx

According to CNN, today the New York City Department of Health announced "A three-year initiative will seek to give HIV tests to everyone in the Bronx from age 18 to 64." 

The announcement comes on the heels of a report released Wednesday that found a high rate of "unsafe sexual behavior" in New York City.

"Of most concern, among men who have sex with men who had five or more partners in the past year, 36 percent did not use condoms consistently," Health Commissioner Thomas Freidan said in a statement released with the report. "This is a core group which is at high risk for getting, and spreading, HIV."

HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus that causes AIDS.

The Bronx has been particularly hard-hit, according to the report. A quarter of New Yorkers infected with HIV -- more than 21,000 people -- live in the Bronx, and the borough reports a third of the city's AIDS deaths each year.

The Bronx already leads the way with HIV testing, with 68 percent of adults -- compared with 64 percent in Manhattan and 56 percent in Brooklyn -- reporting having been tested at some point in their lives. But the new initiative seeks to reach the 250,000 Bronx adults who have never been tested -- some of whom may be unknowingly living with HIV.  'New infections are still occurring at epidemic rates,' Bronx borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. said in a written statement, "especially among women and people of color."

According to city officials, one in four people with HIV in the Bronx do not know that they are infected, and one in four of those who find out that they are HIV-positive also learn that they already have full-blown AIDS.

For the full CNN article, click here.

Clearly, the United States' encounter with the HIV/AIDS epidemic is not over.  Preventative measures must be taken, such as education and awareness that includes comprehensive sex education programs in middle and high schools.  

Since education is the biggest factor in preventing HIV infection from spreading, below I am going to repeat some information last seen in an earlier blog-post of mine, "HIV Myths Sentence Man to 35 Years."These are taken from Heroes Project India's FAQs, but the same information is easily available through other HIV/AIDS-prevention organizations.

• Abstain from vaginal, anal, and oral sex.
• Use condoms.
  
• Effectiveness: Studies have shown that latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission when used consistently and correctly. These studies looked at uninfected people considered to be at very high risk of infection because they were involved in sexual relationships with HIV-infected people. The studies found that even with repeated sexual contact, 98-100 percent of those people who used latex condoms correctly and consistently did not become infected.

• If lubricant is used, it must be water-based. Lubricants containing oil (such as Vaseline) might cause latex condoms to break.
• If spermicidal (birth control) foams and jellies are used, they must be used along with condoms, not in place of condoms. The effectiveness of spermicidal in preventing HIV is unknown.
• If you shoot drugs, seek help. And never share needles.
• Avoid mixing alcohol or other drugs with sexual activities-they might cloud one's judgment and lead to engagement in unsafe sexual practices.

For more about HIV/AIDS and prevention, please visit the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).