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Hey, did you know that if you live in the U.S., you have a one in 99 chance of becoming infected with HIV? That risk could be even higher, depending on where you live. Here is a list of the “Top 10 Cities with the Highest HIV Rates” for the 2016-2017 year.
According to BlackDoctor.org, coming in at number ten:
*Honorable Mention*
11. NYC -The rate of HIV infection in Harlem is 4-5 times higher than the national average. The highest rates of new HIV diagnoses are among gay males. 90% of transgender women newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City were blacks/African Americans or Latinos.
10. Baltimore, Maryland – 24.3 HIV infection rates in Baltimore are on the rise due to a lack of education. HIV is a lifelong infection that, if left untreated, can lead to AIDS.
9. Jacksonville, Florida – 25.1 The number of business people and tourists who travel to Jacksonville,” might contribute to the high rates of HIV diagnoses and prevalence there. Forty-four percent of people diagnosed with HIV live in the South, even though the region only contains about a third of the U.S. population.
8. Columbia, South Carolina – 25.6 Poverty, rural geography, lack of affordable healthcare and social stigma and religion all contribute to the prevalence of HIV in the South. A diagnosed person might not seek treatment due to fear of rejection from the religious community.
7. Atlanta, Georgia – 25.9 More than 1,000 people are diagnosed with HIV each year in Atlanta. What’s more, 50 percent of those people aren’t diagnosed until they already have AIDS.
6. Memphis, Tennessee – 27.6 2,000 people in Memphis who have the disease are not aware of it, African-American gay and bisexual men are most affected by HIV, followed by white gay and bisexual men.
5. Orlando, Florida – 28.8 The rate of HIV diagnoses in Orlando decreased slightly (0.9 percent) in 2 yrs.
4. Jackson, Mississippi – 32.2 The hiv rate is crazy in Jackson, they are pushing the PrEP pill, which is a daily medication that can actually prevent you from becoming infected with HIV even if you have sex with someone who is positive
3 .New Orleans, Louisiana – 36.9 An excess of 19,000 people in Louisiana are living with HIV. More than half of those people have AIDS.. African-Americans make up only 32 percent of the state population, they represented 73 percent of the state’s new cases
2. Miami, Florida – 42.8 GetTested.com speculates that the city’s high HIV rates may be due to its culture & its reputation as a ‘party city.’
1 .Baton Rouge, Louisiana – 44.7 many of the infections there “are due to shared needles, since the city is the center of a massive opiate addiction issue.”
For more information click here. You can also check out the CDC website or gettested.com
Top 10 Cities with Highest HIV Rates! was originally published on mycolumbusmagic.com
