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IN THE NEWS
Baton Rouge Ranks #2 in US with AIDS Cases
Rockmond Dunbar shows how an oral HIV test is administered during Thursday’s
Test 1 Million Louisiana Celebrity Tour.
By STEVEN WARD Advocate staff writer Published: Jul 4, 2010 - Page: 1B The Baton Rouge metropolitan area ranks second in the nation in AIDS case rates, according to 2008 statistics released recently by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate is 40, which means 40 per 100,000 people in the Baton Rouge metro area have AIDS, according to the statistics. New Orleans ranks No. 3 in AIDS case rates and Miami ranks No. 1 in the nation, according to CDC data. Last year, the Baton Rouge metro area ranked No. 3 in the nation for AIDS case rates, according to the 2007 data. The CDC uses the U.S. Census Bureau's Metropolitan Statistical Area to define the Baton Rouge metro area. It consists of nine parishes: East and West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, East and West Feliciana, Livingston and St. Helena. "My reaction is I'm not surprised. We were No. 3 last year and there are many different reasons why we are so high," said Timothy Young, executive director of the HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two Inc., or HAART for short. Louisiana is ranked fourth in the nation for its rate of AIDS cases, according to the 2008 data. DeAnn Gruber, interim administrative director of the state Office of Public Health's HIV/AIDS Program, said the ranking is nothing new and that the Baton Rouge metro area has ranked in the top 10 for its percentage of AIDS cases for a decade now. "Late testing is a major factor," Gruber said when asked why the Baton Rouge metro area ranks so high. Mayor-President Kip Holden said the HIV and AIDS problem in the Baton Rouge metro area is a "monumental health problem." "We have been consistently ranked in the top five and it's a major problem here at home that continues to rear its ugly head," Holden said. Jim Llorens, one of Holden's assistant chief administrative officers, called the problem a "community issue" and not something that any one agency can deal with alone. "We need to make sure people are aware that testing is critical. This (HIV/AIDS) is something we take very seriously," Llorens said. |
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