HIV
Rate Soaring Among Latinos
WICHITA EAGLE
BY CHRISTINA M. WOODS
OCTOBER 16, 2004
On Friday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that HIV infections among the state's Latinos are outpacing all other ethnic groups. New HIV cases among Hispanics are being diagnosed at twice the rate of African-American cases, the department said, and the HIV infection rate among Latinos is more than four times the rate among Caucasians.
Despite the growth in new HIV cases among Latinos in Kansas, state health department statistics show that African Americans in Kansas still have the highest rate of HIV cases. Roughly 66 of every 100,000 black people in the state have HIV, compared to 44 of 100,000 Hispanics and approximately 10 per 100,000 Caucasians. However, the department said that if the trend in new Latino HIV cases continues, Hispanics will replace blacks as the group with the highest HIV rate.
Health department officials said the increase in new HIV diagnoses among Hispanics in Kansas is not solely due to a Hispanic population increase in the state. Over the past decade, according to census figures, Kansas's Hispanic population has grown from less than half of a percent to 7.6 percent of the state's people.
Denial, poverty and substance abuse are among the risk factors for HIV infection, according to CDC. National and local organizations are working to address the issue. Facilities such as Hunter Health Clinic in Wichita provide free or reduced-fee HIV testing. At Hunter, about 2,400 Hispanics test for HIV annually. The clinic serves more than 10,000 patients a year. Hunter also has an outreach program providing HIV/AIDS information at events and venues such as fiestas, general health fairs, gay bars and drug rehabilitation centers.
Local and national health groups are encouraging Latinos to practice safer sex, take precautions when handling blood and bodily fluids, avoid sharing needles or syringes and be tested regularly.