[Florida] County's New AIDS Cases Rank 5th in U.S. Metro Areas

Palm Beach County, Florida, now ranks fifth among 101 large metropolitan statistical areas in the United States for the highest rates of new AIDS cases. The county ranked eighth in 1999 and sixth the previous year. New statistics reveal increase in new AIDS cases last year that terminated what had been a four-year decline in cases per 100,000 people in the county. Countywide, HIV cases dropped 24 percent, even as newly reported AIDS cases among adults increased 16 percent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently gave Palm Beach County $20,000 to support the establishment of a health team focused on identifying four "hot spots" where HIV transmission occurs frequently. The Rapid Assessment and Response Evaluation project will include resident volunteers to nightly patrol the streets of the targeted areas, identifying people who might be at risk or appear to be spreading HIV, and getting them in for testing and treatment.