Minnesota Department Of Health Reports 325 New HIV/AIDS Cases In 2007

Biggest increase seen in young males

April 15, 2008 -- Reported new cases of HIV infection in Minnesota reached 325 in 2007 compared to 318 new cases in 2006 and 304 cases in 2005, according to a new report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), “HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report – 2007.”

Since MDH began tracking AIDS in 1982 and HIV in 1985, a total of 8,504 cases have been reported, including 2,912 people that have died. There are an estimated 5,950 people aware of their HIV status currently living in Minnesota. On average, MDH received a new reported HIV case every 27 hours in 2007 and averaged about 300 new annual HIV infections over the past five years.

“We haven’t seen the annual number of cases reach more than 320 since the mid-1990s,” said Peter Carr, director of the STD and HIV Section at MDH. “Our annual number of reported cases declined in the late 90s until 2001 when we began to see a slight but steady increase in the yearly number of cases.”

Health officials noted that one of the largest increases seen over the past six years has been among males, ages 13 to 24, where cases have doubled since 2001. There were only 18 new cases reported in 2001 compared with 38 in this age group in 2007.

MDH data show that of the 325 new HIV infections reported in 2007, 249 were male and 76 were female. HIV cases among Black males increased from 36 cases in 2006 to 54 cases in 2007. Men who have sex with men represented 56 percent of the new HIV infections among males last year.

Cases among women represented 23 percent of the total cases reported in 2007. Although the number of cases remained stable among women of color, they still represented 74 percent of all new cases among women. The data also indicated higher rates of infection among certain ethnic and racial groups.

Infection rates are higher among communities of color when compared to whites. Statewide rates for African Americans and Latinos are nearly 13 and 8 times greater, respectively, than whites. Rates for African communities are over 28 times greater than for whites.

Health officials noted that higher rates among communities of color may be due to cultural and language barriers, social stigma, racism, and lack of access to health resources and care.

“These higher rates of infection may indicate that we are not reaching all communities equally with our prevention messages and programs,” said Carr. “It may also mean that people are not being tested early enough in their infection to help stop the unintended spread to others. Once people learn their status, they will receive information on how to prevent further transmission.”

MDH data show that about one in three persons diagnosed in 2007 were considered “late testers” which means that they already had AIDS when they were initially tested or were diagnosed with AIDS shortly after testing. An AIDS diagnosis usually occurs after being infected with HIV for five to ten years. Latinos had the highest percentage of late testers compared to all other population groups at 50 percent. This may be due to cultural and language barriers.

To help find undiagnosed HIV infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed new HIV testing guidelines. The new guidelines call for health providers to routinely provide HIV testing during general health screenings and exams.

“A good example of how well these screening guidelines work is the routine HIV testing of pregnant women,” said Carr. “These screenings and the resulting treatments have dramatically reduced the rate of transmission from infected mothers to their infants – from 25 percent to less than 2 percent. This shows the benefit of offering routine HIV testing to other populations.”

Even without a cure or vaccine, health officials emphasize that the spread of HIV infection remains highly preventable. Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. The spread of HIV can also be prevented by avoiding the sharing of needles or equipment to tattoo, body pierce or inject drugs.

To help curb the epidemic in Minnesota, the STD and HIV Section at MDH currently funds 22 programs through 19 agencies aimed at preventing the spread of HIV in adults and young people of all races. The Office of Minority and Multicultural Health at MDH provides funding for capacity building to eight community based organizations to impart knowledge and skills that affect individual abilities and organizational systems (including community) in the fight to eradicate HIV/AIDS.

The complete HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report – 2007 can be found on the MDH Web site at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/hivstatistics.html.

Source: Minnesota Department of Health

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