Minnesota: HIV/AIDS Cases Up in 2004

Minnesota recorded 307 new HIV cases in 2004, an 11 percent increase over the 266 infections it reported in 2003, the state Health Department said Friday. Infections among the black and Hispanic populations were 10 and seven times greater, respectively, than for whites. The state's African-born residents experienced infection rates 30 times greater than that seen among whites.

The department noted that whites were typically diagnosed at an earlier stage of infection than other racial groups. For instance, 59 percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of African-born residents had already progressed to AIDS when their HIV infection was diagnosed. "This means that they have missed the health benefits of early treatment and may have unknowingly spread the disease to others," said Dr. Harry Hull, state epidemiologist.

Gay and bisexual men comprised 50 percent of all diagnoses during the past three years, despite accounting for only 5 percent of the population. "Over time, we have noticed that certain communities bear the greatest burdens of the disease," said Hull. "Women of color make up only 10 percent of the total female population in the state yet they represent a vast majority of the cases among females," he said. That disproportion was most apparent in minority women ages 13-24, the department said.

For the full 2004 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, visit: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/hivsurvrpts.html.

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