District of Columbia: Amid AIDS Crisis, Some Hope

New HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the District dropped by nearly 50 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to preliminary data from the D.C. Department of Health. The department noted last year the first-ever decline in new AIDS cases, as well as a drop in new HIV diagnoses, suggesting prevention efforts are starting to work, health officials said. They attributed a 60 percent decline in new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in injection drug users to expanded needle-exchange services.

Because the District has been moving to a more accurate reporting system, health officials cautioned the data are still preliminary and cannot yet be used to characterize "a substantial change in the District's epidemic," the report said.

More than 3 percent of District residents over age 12 had HIV/AIDS in 2009, the highest prevalence for any U.S. city.

"The picture in D.C. -- we have a serious epidemic, but we're making strides in combating the disease," said Gregory Pappas, senior deputy health director. The time between diagnosis and care has shortened from a year on average to three months, he said.

A pilot HIV testing program launched in October at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Southwest Washington is proving successful, Pappas said. However, many residents are still not being offered HIV screening by their primary care doctors, he noted.

Some physicians are ruling out HIV screening of older patients, Pappas said. Nonetheless, new AIDS cases among adults age 50 and older grew from 19 percent of cases in 2005 to 26 percent in 2009. Nearly three-quarters of people with HIV/AIDS are over 40.

Hispanics in their 20s and 30s had a disproportionate number of AIDS cases, and Hispanics and seniors tended to seek treatment later, the report found. The health department said it is also targeting young substance abusers.

For the mayor's response and a link to the full report, visit: http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/doh/section/2/release/22050.

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