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The District could be turning a corner in its long struggle with HIV/AIDS as new cases have declined for two straight years, new data show.
The number of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in the District has dropped in a two-year span by nearly half to 755 cases in 2009, the most recent year for which the city said data is available. In 2007 there were 1,311 new cases, and 2008 marked the first annual decline in the city’s history, according to the D.C. Department of Health’s annual report on sexually transmitted diseases.
Researchers attribute the drop in new cases to prevention tactics like the city’s needle exchange and free condoms distribution programs.
| Fewer diagnoses | ||
| Year | New cases | Annual change |
| 2009 | 755 | – 28% |
| 2008 | 1,059 | – 19% |
| 2007 | 1,311 | + 22% |
| Source: D.C. Department of Health | ||
As city leaders marked World AIDS Day on Thursday with the expansion of free testing programs, experts said more testing
should help determine whether the decline is for real. Although free testing has nearly tripled over the past five years, health professionals still have concerns.
“The data is really good news,” said Lisa Fitzpatrick, a Howard University School of Medicine professor and HIV/AIDS expert. “But I do think we still have a lot of [at-risk] people who are escaping us. Our testing programs, while good, a lot of people don’t want to get tested.”
Fitzpatrick said many don’t want to know whether they have the virus, often because they don’t know that treatment now allows many of those infected to live full lives. She added that many people also don’t know that the District’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program does not have a waiting list. The program offers free treatment to those who qualify.
Still, the District’s rate of people with AIDS/HIV — 320 cases in every 10,000 people — remains at epidemic levels. An epidemic is declared when at least 1 percent of a population is carrying an infectious disease, according to the World Health Organization.
New cases are declining nationally, although at a slower rate. The number in 2009 fell to 42,959, a 2.6 percent drop from the roughly 44,000 two years prior.
