New York sees a spike in cases related to HIV; Here’s why – Times of India

New York saw a spike in cases of HIV diagnosis, and it was significantly more in 2023 than it was in 2022. According to the city health department’s latest annual report on the virus, more New Yorkers were diagnosed with HIV.
However, public health officials said that doesn’t mean the virus that causes AIDS is on the rise after years of decline. As per them, the increase is likely to be pointing to more people getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) again after a dip in testing and care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, 1,686 people in New York City were newly diagnosed with HIV, up 7.6% from the prior year. That figure likely includes some people who contracted the virus prior to 2023. The city health department estimates, based on its own formula, that actual new cases of the virus were down 17% last year.
Nonetheless, they still maintain that more work is necessary to improve equitable access to care and prevention, since some communities continue to have much higher rates of new infections.

Dr. Sarah Braunstein, the assistant commissioner for city’s health department’s Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV and STIs said, “We at the health department, and certainly our partners, are conscious and of and talking about the need to really redouble efforts to get HIV and sexual health services back on the minds of New Yorkers, remind them that the infrastructure exists, that services are available.” He added, that someone can live with HIV “for quite a few years without symptoms, without illness, and without ever testing for HIV.”

What is HIV?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, making it easier to get sick with other infections and diseases:
Transmission: HIV is spread through contact with certain bodily fluids of an infected person, such as blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal fluids. It can also be passed from a mother to her child during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding. HIV is not spread by kisses, hugs, or sharing food.
Symptoms: Symptoms of HIV vary depending on the stage of infection. In the first few weeks after being infected, people may not experience symptoms. Others may have an influenza-like illness.
Treatment: HIV can be treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is a combination of HIV medicines. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to a very low level. People with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed can live long and healthy lives.
AIDS: If left untreated, HIV can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS occurs at the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

The hope of future:

The advancement in medicine has laid down a better hope for the future as that means HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was. However, not everyone has the same access to care. Seth Pollack, director of community mobilization at Housing Works, an organization that advocates for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as providing health care and social services, said, “It’s very similar to the overdose data that we see, which is basically like, the disparities that have persisted for decades are the same or worse.”
State data shows New York still has much to do in order to achieve its goals, including its aim of reducing the annual number of new HIV diagnoses statewide to 1,515 or fewer.
Braunstein noted that the city needs to do more targeted outreach to reduce disparities in HIV prevention and care, including the use of PrEP, a medication that greatly reduces the chances of contracting HIV from someone who is infected. She said there has been some progress, but state data shows that while PrEP use has gone up overall, growth in the number of Black New Yorkers taking PrEP has started to level off in recent years. The number of white New Yorkers taking it has continued to increase significantly.
As per Patrick McGovern, CEO of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which primarily serves LGBTQ patients, “We must remain vigilant and, like we did this year, work to protect funding for important citywide programs that we know work.”