HIV isn’t just Sharon DeCuir’s job — it’s her life.
DeCuir has been living with HIV for eight years. She takes nine medications a day, including three for HIV.
But she has taken her infection to another level. DeCuir works at HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two, testing four to five people a week for HIV and participating in outreach programs in the Baton Rouge community.
DeCuir said by educating people, “we reduce the possibility of someone contracting HIV.”
Timothy Young, HAART executive director, said Baton Rouge ranks second highest in HIV cases per 100,000 people after Miami. New Orleans ranks third.
Young said there are higher HIV percentages in the South because there are more low-income residents, morer insured people, more people with barriers to health care access and more people living in rural areas.
A lack of effective awareness and prevention in African-American communities and a concentration of these communities in the South also contributes to more cases, Young said.
Reports have shown the South traditionally has the highest percentage of HIV cases.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said African-Americans account for the largest percentage of HIV diagnoses nationally at 50.3 percent. African-Americans make up 55.7 percent of diagnoses in the South.
According to the Southern States Manifesto by the Southern State AIDS Directors Work Group, “socioeconomic and cultural factors such as access to health care, education and prevention services add to the risk for transmission” among the African-American population.
“In the South, unemployment, poverty and lack of health insurance are significant cofactors that lead to higher rates of risk behaviors for HIV and STD transmission,” the manifesto said.
Young said the “lack of awareness in the African-American population about how deeply HIV has invaded that population” has made prevention difficult in Baton Rouge.
 
He suggested there is also mistrust of institutional health care settings among African-Americans.
“Stigma creates fear, causing people to not test or to test late,” Young said. “Those who have HIV and get treatment — they have their lives back, except they have to take medications every day.”
Among the 4,725 people currently living with HIV in the Baton Rouge area, 5 percent are 20 to 24 years old, according to the Louisiana HIV/AIDS Surveillance Quarterly Report as of Dec. 31.
The age group of 45- to 49-year-olds has the highest percentage in Baton Rouge, at 16 percent of total HIV cases.
Young said HAART only tests about six college-aged people each year, and they are usually gay or bisexual men.
HAART performs several types of tests. An oral swab takes about 20 minutes for results and tests for antibodies against the HIV virus, Young said.
A viral load test measures the amount of the HIV virus in the blood.
“The patient is treated, and viral load in the body can fall to undetectable levels,” Young said. “That’s a very achievable goal to most people.”
But many people don’t get tested until their HIV reaches an AIDS diagnosis. Young said some people are scared, but others simply don’t realize they have the virus.
“That’s a real problem because we need everyone to know their status,” Young said.
Jeff Trudel, Splash owner, said the Baton Rouge AIDS Society does HIV testing in the Splash parking lot every few months.
Trudel encourages people to get tested and puts up fliers promoting HIV awareness events.
Trudel said he was surprised Baton Rouge ranks second highest in HIV percentage. He said there are many ways to contract HIV besides homosexual contact.
Male homosexual contact comprised 36 percent of HIV diagnoses in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, and heterosexual contact made up 30 percent, according to the quarterly report.
 
Related Links:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6004a2.htm?s_cid=mm6004a2_w
http://www.avert.org/usa-states-cities.htm
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]