Report: HIV/AIDS on the rise in SC

Published: July 20, 2008, 10:11 pm

DEEP SOUTH LEADS NATION IN CASES, NOT IN FUNDING A startling new report to be released Monday shows that the Deep South leads the nation in both HIV infections and AIDS deaths, but ranks last of four regions in overall federal funding. The Southern AIDS Coalition found that HIV infections in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Carolinas are spreading faster than any other states in the U.S., spurred largely by rural areas home to impoverished blacks facing overwhelming health and social problems. SAC Report Findings Throughout the rest of the country from 2001 to 2005, the number of deaths from AIDS decreased, but continued to increase in the South; Of the 15 states with the highest rates of new HIV infections, nine (60%) are in the South. Additionally, of the 20 metropolitan areas with the highest AIDS case rates in 2006, 16 (80%) are in the South. The South leads the nation in AIDS cases and rates in cities of all sizes; Over half (52%) of blacks

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