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MIAMI, Fla. (June 20, 2003) – A
new study shows that the rate of new AIDS cases in South Beach
is among the highest in the
nation. One contributing factor may be the sun and fun that attract
so many to the area, says the Florida International University
professor who lead the research.
The study, conducted jointly with
a team from the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies in San Francisco,
found a 6.3% incidence
(the percentage of previously healthy people who became infected
over a year period) per year for young gay men who live in South
Beach. The national average
is
less
than
one
percent.
“A two to three percent incidence
rate is already considered extremely high,” said William
Darrow, the FIU public health professor, who spearheaded the
study.
South Beach’s zip code, 33139,
already has one of the highest percentages of AIDS cases in the
nation. The high incidence rate suggests that number will
keep climbing at a fast pace.
The study, which was initiated in
1996, found that 15 percent of gay men 18-29 were infected with
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Of the infected
cases,
6.3 percent became infected within the previous year.
“That’s what’s astonishing,” Darrow
said. “Two to three
percent is extremely high. The problem has become worse in South Beach
instead of becoming better.”
To put the magnitude of the findings
in perspective, Darrow points out that 20 years ago, before the
era of massive educational campaigns focusing
on
prevention, San Francisco had an incidence rate of 10 percent. Two
decades later, it appears
the information available is falling on deaf ears in South Beach, Darrow
said.
The study, published in the current
issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
(www.jaids.com), is unique because it is
probably
the only one to have
focused on a resort area, Darrow said. The party atmosphere may be
one of the factors behind the quick spread of infection, he said.
“Community norms encourage permissiveness
in social behaviors that would be more severely sanctioned elsewhere,” Darrow
said. “Over half of study
participants used recreational drugs such as ecstasy or cocaine…and
many men (45 percent) had anal contact without a condom.”
Also, because South Beach is a resort
area it also has a very transient population, which means the
problem migrates to other places. Darrow
said about half
a million gay and bisexual men visit South Beach every year.
“Beyond assessment is the daunting
task of creating effective interventions for resort communities
that will stop the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections,” Darrow said. “Can we do it?”
FIU’s Bill Darrow is credited with identifying “patient zero” when
the AIDS epidemic came to the attention of health authorities
in the early 1980s. At the time he worked at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Before
that, he had pointed out that the disease was spreading quickly
among clusters of people who were sexually active with each other.
He can be reached at 011-3120-6931846
in Amsterdam. Please note that the Netherlands is six hours ahead
of EST. The best time
to reach
him is about
noon EST.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jose Dante Parra Herrera
305-348-2716
parraj@fiu.edu
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