By Jamie Durant
Morning News Health/Environmental Reporter
Florence, SC Morning News, Thursday, October 2, 2008 — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report recently that said young black men had the highest increase of incidences of HIV/AIDS in 2006.
Some of the other groups with higher than average rate increases included black women and Hispanic men.
In the Pee Dee, Mulamba Lunda, director of program services for HopeHealth, said the new information is proof of a disturbing trend.
"Basically, for us, the statistics are just alarming for us," she said. "It just means we are going to have to do more canvassing in the community. This disease has great consequences and people need to get tested."
According to DHEC, blacks account for only 30 percent of the state's population, yet they make up 73 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases recently diagnosed within the state.
Nearly seven out of every 10 men diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is black.
The organization already has a plan in place to try to reduce the high rate of infection through the dissemination of information regarding the disease.
"CDC has already begun work on appointing an independent panel of national experts who will review our HIV surveillance, research and program efforts, and make recommendations for the future. This review will be initiated in 2008 and will be completed by mid-2009," the CDC Web site said.
The organization intends to release this information to the public, as well.
Lunda said the message HopeHealth is trying to get out to people in the Pee Dee and surrounding areas is that testing is extremely important.
"Most people do not know their status. They say, 'It could never happen to me,' but if you've not been tested, you don't know that," she said. "Our prevention staff will be spending more time at specific programs that try to reach groups that are at risk, like African-American females, young African-American males, heterosexuals, men who have sex with men and injection drug users."
Lunda said she hopes that through the variety of programs offered by HopeHealth and a combination of programs from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the CDC, the increase in positive HIV tests will begin to decline.
It will be an uphill battle to get the high incidence rate under control, but with the three agencies working together, she said, it can happen.
"It's going to take collaboration and teamwork," Lunda said. "But with HopeHealth and other community partners, we're going to make sure we maximize our resources and penetrate those populations that need to be reached.
"The biggest thing is bringing awareness to community and letting people know there is free testing available."
More than 56,000 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006, according to the CDC report.
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