HIV Report Shows Continued Declines in San Francisco, California

Continuing a trend first noted in 2003, the number of San Francisco residents newly diagnosed with HIV declined again last year, according to a new report from the city's Department of Public Health. AIDS cases decreased as well, though AIDS deaths held steady.

Key facts from the "2007 HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Annual Report," which was released earlier in July, include:

• As of the end of 2007, 6,490 residents were living with HIV, while 8,980 had AIDS.
• New HIV diagnoses dropped from 839 in 2003, to 500 in 2006, to 467 in 2007; delayed reporting may add to the 2007 figure.
• While 2,096 residents were diagnosed with AIDS between 2000 and 2003, 1,642 were diagnosed with AIDS between 2004 and 2007.
• Though reporting is not complete, AIDS deaths declined from 213 in 2006 to 184 in 2007.

The total count of city patients with HIV/AIDS is 15,470 -- significantly lower than the city's 2006 consensus estimate of 18,735 people. The report's authors believe this discrepancy is due to still-incomplete figures and the fact that many persons with HIV are unaware of their infection or are not in treatment.

In 2007, about 9 percent of city residents diagnosed with AIDS were homeless. The report said homeless patients tend to fare "significantly worse" compared to non-homeless patients: The lack of housing raises the risk of death by more than 20 percent. Providing more housing services to people with AIDS, the report said, could lead to "more appropriate use of health care services, better adherence to medications, and reduction in HIV risk behaviors."

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