Health News
- March 24 Is World Tuberculosis Day; 71 Kentuckians Got The Airborne Disease Last Year
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day, an observance meant to spread awareness about the disease, which is the second leading cause of death worldwide after HIV/AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate about 2 million people die each...
- Get Tested, Get Treatment, Bluegrass Hiv Coalition Encourages
Today is World AIDS Day and health advocates are asking Kentuckians to get tested and get treatment. Hundreds of Kentuckians are diagnosed with AIDS each year, reports Mary Meehan of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Minority populations are hit particularly...
- Dec. 1 Is World Aids Day; 1.2 Million Americans Are Thought To Be Infected, But Only 1 In 5 Know It
Friday is World AIDS Day, an opportunity to learn the facts about the virus and show support for people living with it. In the United States, there are 1.2 million people living with the HIV infection, which leads to AIDS. Of those who are infected with...
- On 30th Anniversary Of Aids Detection, It Is No Longer A Death Sentence, But Kentuckians Die Because They Delay Testing
Though life expectancy for people living with AIDS has improved, the disease "remains a serious health threat, with Kentucky's minorities and poor being affected in disproportionate numbers," reports the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mary Meehan....
- A New Strategy In Fighting Hiv
Tuesday?s announcement of a new national policy of addressing HIV and AIDS has inspired optimism among many Baltimore health care workers. The White House report, available here, announced several goals, including lowering the rate of new cases of HIV...
Health News
Number of HIV/AIDS cases is increasing in Louisville area
The number of newly diagnosed AIDS and HIV cases in Louisville is increasing even as the fear of the deadly disease wanes. The number of newly diagnosed cases in Jefferson County rose from 80 in 2005 to 107 cases in 2008, The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar reports. The number of new HIV cases increased from 136 cases to 154 in the same period.
"People think it's a disease of the past. Unfortunately it's very much alive," said Janet Mann, director of program development for AIDS Interfaith Ministries of Kentuckiana.
"People think: All I have to do is take a few pills every day. But it still kills people ... and it affects quality of life," said Bobby Edelen (left, by C-J's Kylene Lloyd). Edelen has lived with the disease that causes AIDS for 21 years. "Every day is not a picnic."
Complacency, drug use and lack of education are causing the numbers to increase, health officials say. But while numbers rise, there is less money to deal with the growing need. HIV/AIDS funding to the Kentucky Department of Public Health dropped from $11 million in 2008 to $9.4 million in 2010.
There is still no cure for HIV/AIDS, but there is medicine that can "keep people somewhat healthy by preventing the virus from reproducing or by blocking it from entering cells," Ungar reports. But people respond to medicine in different ways. "Taking meds for HIV is similar to cancer patients taking chemotherapy. Some are able to take it. Some are deathly sick," Edelen said. (Read more)
- March 24 Is World Tuberculosis Day; 71 Kentuckians Got The Airborne Disease Last Year
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day, an observance meant to spread awareness about the disease, which is the second leading cause of death worldwide after HIV/AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate about 2 million people die each...
- Get Tested, Get Treatment, Bluegrass Hiv Coalition Encourages
Today is World AIDS Day and health advocates are asking Kentuckians to get tested and get treatment. Hundreds of Kentuckians are diagnosed with AIDS each year, reports Mary Meehan of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Minority populations are hit particularly...
- Dec. 1 Is World Aids Day; 1.2 Million Americans Are Thought To Be Infected, But Only 1 In 5 Know It
Friday is World AIDS Day, an opportunity to learn the facts about the virus and show support for people living with it. In the United States, there are 1.2 million people living with the HIV infection, which leads to AIDS. Of those who are infected with...
- On 30th Anniversary Of Aids Detection, It Is No Longer A Death Sentence, But Kentuckians Die Because They Delay Testing
Though life expectancy for people living with AIDS has improved, the disease "remains a serious health threat, with Kentucky's minorities and poor being affected in disproportionate numbers," reports the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mary Meehan....
- A New Strategy In Fighting Hiv
Tuesday?s announcement of a new national policy of addressing HIV and AIDS has inspired optimism among many Baltimore health care workers. The White House report, available here, announced several goals, including lowering the rate of new cases of HIV...