New map finds HIV rates are highest in the South

One of the problems with current HIV treatment is the attitude of many that the disease is manageable now so who needs that condom etc.

www.maphiv.org...

New map finds HIV rates are highest in the South
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

Monday, June 22, 2009

A new internet data map offers a first-of-its-kind, county-level look at HIV cases in the U.S. and finds the infection rates tend to be highest in the South.
The highest numbers of HIV cases are in population centers like New York and California. However, many of the areas with the highest rates of HIV — that is, the highest proportion of people with the AIDS-causing virus — are in the South, according to the data map, which has information for about 99 percent of the nation's counties.

HIV infection rates are higher in African-American communities, and high minority populations in the South help explain the finding. While that's not surprising, the high rates seen throughout states like Georgia and South Carolina were, said Gary Puckrein, president of the National Minority Quality Forum, the nonprofit research organization that put the map together.
www.sfgate.com.../n/a/2009/06/22/national/a083405D84.DTL&tsp=1

I bet that if you compared these results to a map of the country showing education and poverty levels you might see a lot of correlation.

I realize this has a lot to do with people's social/economic environments growing up, I'm just guessing that this can be explained fairly easily.

well the biggest problem about hiv is that it has never been proved to kill T-cells

however its treament has been proved to kill t-cells...

go through that

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I would say that the south is a large portion of the Bible belt and there is a lot of promiscuity going on however they do not want to openly discuss it with parents and authorities.

I did not mean to be a thread killer of such an important topic. My opinions stem from a great desire to educate with all compassion and reality the youth who as always feel safe from the virus by being with other wise healthy and seemingly untouched willing partners.

This plague is one of the most deceiving because a person can look and appear healthy but still be carrying the virus.

Abstinence is fine, but for the majority of people it is just not a reality they can live by. So if that is the truth and I think it is, then what I do is to talk openly and honestly with young people in my life and hope that they can follow my instructions which are pretty simple.

Here is my 'speech':

If you find that you choose to be with someone, and the time has come for you to make love, then take the responsibility for each other and go to your local health department or Dr. and get tested. Even if both of you are virgins, it makes no difference as there are more ways to contract HIV than through sex. If one of the partners gets offended and is not open to being tested prior to having sex, then take this as a sign not to be with that person regardless of how important it may seem to you now.

There is more to making love than just the act itself, there are personal maturity issues which must be faced the first one being the ability to discuss openly all of the factors involved in such a step in closeness.

More than likely by this point you have taken the proper steps towards birth control, and that is a very mature step, but only one of them. Using a condom has never been a reliable method of either birth control or in defence against some pretty nasty diseases which will follow you through the rest of your life and possibly affect relationships you may wish to have in the future.

Some diseases such as venereal warts can be contracted even though there are no visible signs present. This particular disease can and will eventually disfigure your genital area and make having intercourse both uncomfortable and dangerous. Just like the name it is not something you want to contract through a broken condom.

Other diseases can also affect you when you subject yourself to uneducated sex and can be much worse than the one mentioned above.

The bottom line is that when the time comes and you feel the time is right for you, it is a personal time and private decission, but as you will discover in life many choices we make must be first cleared through a physician, this is no exception.