Latest CDC Report On HIV In America Excludes Puerto Rican Hispanics

The newest CDC report on the prevalence of HIV in the United States is a misrepresentation of the actual numbers as it does not take into account the Puerto Ricans when tackling the issue of AIDS occurrence among the Hispanics in America. This is a direct reversal of a CDC decision taken in January this year to include Puerto Rican Hispanics.

The non-inclusion of the Puerto Ricans in the latest CDC report, Estimation of HIV Incidence in the United States, has had a direct impact not just on the number of cases reported but also on another critical area in the battle against AIDS – fund and resource allocation.

Besides impacting funding, the non-inclusion of the Puerto Ricans has also had an impact on another front – determining the success or lack of it in terms of the prevention efforts currently in existence.

The earlier decision by the CDC to include the Hispanics from Puerto Rico diagnosed with AIDS in 2006 in its report had seen a significant jump in the number of cases recorded, an almost 5% jump from 17.3% to 22%. This also showed that 20% of the AIDS cases among Hispanics in America in 2006 came just from Puerto Rico.

If that earlier CDC decision had stayed in place, it would have given a very clear picture about the actual number of people among the American Hispanic population with the disease.

Expressing disappointment with the CDCD turnaround, Latin Commission on AIDS President Dennis deLeon said, “The decision to exclude Puerto Ricans from the Hispanic incidence analysis is perplexing.”

“The CDC made a positive step forward in its original decision to include Hispanics, but has subsequently taken two steps back by again excluding Puerto Ricans from the Hispanic incidence rates. We will never have accurate estimate of HIV incidence in the Hispanic community if this discrimination continues,” deLeon added.

In another statement, the Latino Commission on AIDS Vice President Guillermo Chacon said, “We call on everyone to mobilize, demand respect, and call for recognition from CDC of the health crisis that HIV/AIDS represents in our Latino\Hispanic communities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

“We will not allow our experience of the epidemic to be invisible. Our health crisis is real. We want an accurate picture of the impact of HIV/AIDS now,” Chacon added.

One can definitely expect more sound bytes on this issue from both deLeon and Chacon during the International AIDS Conference currently in progress and scheduled to be held till August 8 this year.