Washington, D.C., has the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country, 179.2 per 100,000 residents, according to city officials. Nearly 10,000 people in the city have AIDS, with blacks disproportionately affected. The District's first public estimate, released in June, said as many as 25,000 people may have HIV, more than 4 percent of all residents. The HIV figures were based on national HIV infection estimates by CDC, since the city does not have accurate HIV data.

At a forum held Saturday, District residents, government, and community leaders spoke about the HIV/AIDS problem. The forum was the eighth installment of a 14-part Citizen Forum Series sponsored by the Washington Times. The District's non-voting Congressional representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and a panel of HIV-treatment and -education specialists met with a few dozen residents. The forum coincided with a city HIV testing initiative, which officials hope will reach 400,000 people.

Marsha Martin, senior deputy director for the D.C. Administration for HIV Policy and Programs, urged residents ages 14-84 to get tested. "If you're going to be sexually active, do it with wisdom," she said. "Prevention of HIV transmission is key and critical. If you don't have it, don't get it. If you do have it, find out your status so we can keep you healthy so you don't progress to an AIDS diagnosis."

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