In honor of World AIDS Day today, local leaders and representatives from organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS met in the LSU Women’s Center on Monday evening for a panel discussion on their experiences combatting the disease. The two-day event, called Geaux Red, also includes outreach efforts in the LSU community.
“World AIDS Day is a reminder of not only the people who we have lost to the AIDS epidemic but also to the significant advances in treatment and the ability to now prevent HIV infections,” said Timothy Young, CEO of HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two.
While progress was made in treating HIV — such as the use of pre-exposure medications like Truvada that can drastically lower infection risks — it remains a significant public health problem in Louisiana, said Thomas Huseby, a medical case manager for people living with HIV.
“Louisiana is kind of unique in the nation,” Huseby said. “We’re the only one with two metropolitan areas that are in the top 10.”
Baton Rouge ranked third-highest and New Orleans fifth-highest in the United States for estimated AIDS case rates in 2013, according to a June 2015 report from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
“There are about 5,000 people in the nine-parish Baton Rouge area who are living with HIV,” Young said.
A variety of factors contribute to Louisiana’s difficulties with HIV, chief among them a lack of widespread testing, Huseby said. Symptoms of HIV can take five to 10 years to fully manifest, during which time the patient is often contagious.
“We’ve got a lot of people here that have not been tested, so they’re not aware that they’re living with HIV. As a result, they’re not being treated.” Huseby said. “And if they’re not being treated, they’re more infectious.”
HIV disproportionately affects people of color in Louisiana. Newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2014 were 70 percent African-American despite only 32 percent of Louisiana’s population being African-American, according to the DHH report. Roughly 80 percent of the 5,000 people living with HIV in Baton Rouge are African-American, Young said.
Organizations participating in Geaux Red are tabling in Free Speech Plaza today to offer free testing and combat misinformation about HIV.

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Olivia Ramirez

Free condoms are offered to students on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015 in the LSU's Women's Center.