New Report on NC HIV/STD Rates in North Carolina!
The NC Department of Health and Human Services HIV/STD Prevention & Care Branch has just released their new Epidemiologic Profile.
Included in their recommendations are that "Young people in N.C. are at persistent risk for HIV and STD infection. In N.C. over half (50.8%) of high school students indicated that they had ever had sex according to the 2005 YRBS(Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Additionally nearly half of all new STDs occurred in youth aged 15-24 years old. These facts indicate the need for continued outreach and education efforts aimed at young people."
The following are some quick facts from the report:
Quick facts:
In 2005, 1,806 new individuals were reported with HIV disease in N.C. Much of the increase in HIV disease reports over the past few years (2001-2005) was attributed to more male cases being reported (for whites and Hispanics). The number of female cases has remained fairly constant.
The overall N.C. HIV disease infection rate in 2005 was 21.1 cases per 100,000. The rate of infection for non-Hispanic blacks (61.4/100,000) was seven times greater than for whites (8.6/100,000).
As of 12/31/2005, an estimated 29,500 persons were living with HIV or AIDS in N.C., including persons who may be unaware of their infection.
In N.C., the proportion of male HIV disease reports with MSM as a risk factor has increased over the past few years for all racial/ethnic groups. Sixty-six percent (estimated) of new 2005 HIV disease reports for males indicated MSM risk. In 2005, 83 percent of female HIV disease cases indicated heterosexual contact as the primary risk.
About 30 percent of new N.C. HIV disease reports each year are for persons diagnosed with HIV and AIDS concurrently indicating very late testing for HIV.
From 2000 to 2004, the national AIDS case rates increased by four percent (14.3/100,000 to 14.9) while in N.C. the AIDS case rate increased by sixty percent (8.3/100,000 to 13.3/100,000). Also in 2004, N.C ranked 13th among other states in AIDS cases reported per 100,000 population.
N.C. Early syphilis rates dropped from 15.1/100,000 in 1999 to a low of 4.7/100,000 in 2003. Male early syphilis rates have increased in 2004 and 2005 while female early syphilis rates continue to decline.
To read the NC DHHS HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch August 2006 executive summary click here.
| 
