Some of you may feel that you are already educated about HIV and AIDS and that is fine.  This post is for those who are not educated on this topic and/or for those who would like more educated information.  Today is recognized as "World AIDS Day" and I feel it my duty as a sexual freedom advocate to share this information and help people become aware of this horrible disease that is affecting millions of people each year.

World AIDS Day - 365 Days a Year
One day every year (World AIDS Day - December 1st) the world focuses on the subject of HIV and AIDS. However, a year-round commitment is that "every day is World AIDS Day."  Even though this one day a year comes and goes, we must all continue to keep in mind that this disease continues to affect millions each and every day around the world - many who do not even know that they are infected.  Stay connected. Get tested. Fight AIDS each and every day.

"Grim World AIDS Statistics Show Disease's Global Grip"  
by   Laurie Garrett
As many as 46 million people worldwide are HIV-infected, and more than 3 million people will die of AIDS by the end of this year, UNAIDS said yesterday in its annual report. HIV is now the leading cause of death in Africa, and the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide. Ten new infections occur every minute.

In a separate US report, CDC said an epidemic resurgence may be underway in the United States. A survey of 29 states that require HIV reporting found a 5.1 percent increase in new diagnoses from 1999 to 2002. More than half those new infections were among African Americans, whose infection rate had grown to 10 times that of whites by 2002. For African Americans ages 25-44, AIDS was the third-leading cause of death. In 1999-2002, new HIV diagnoses fell by 19 percent in African-American women but soared among men.

New HIV diagnoses were up 26 percent among Latinos, 8 percent among whites and 17 percent among gay men of any race. "We have to raise the possibility that this could be indicating a resurgence of HIV in that [gay male] population," said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, CDC's deputy director of HIV prevention. The new HIV figures follow last week's CDC report that syphilis had climbed for the second year in a row, with nearly half the new cases among gay men.

The 29 states covered do not include New York; California; Illinois; and Washington, DC, which have recently switched from tracking only fully developed AIDS cases to monitoring HIV infection. Because these four locations are home to a large segment of the nation's gay and Latino populations, infection rates among gays and Latinos might be steeper if data from these states were available, Valdiserri said.
From: www.Newsday.com



Below are links to more facts and information:

http://www.aids.org

http://www.aids.org/factSheets/index.html

http://www.aids.org/factSheets/151-safer-sex.html

http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/News/NewsList.asp?strTempOrLive=Live
AIDS news worldwide from the Center of Disease Control.

http://www.mtv.com/onair/ffyr/protect/
Fight For Your Rights - Protect Yourself
Includes a link to find HIV testing in your area, just put in your zip code.




-- Modified on 12/1/2003 4:59:06 AM

but thanks Morgan for trying to keep us informed.



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