Letters: Baton Rouge must fight HIV

It’s disgraceful and tragic that Baton Rouge now has the highest rate of HIV infections in the United States. This crisis must be addressed immediately.

Being first in cases of a fatal but preventable disease is a distinction that no community should tolerate. While the actual number of HIV infected people is fortunately small, it’s clear that Baton Rouge has a problem that must be solved for the good of the entire community.

According to the Louisiana Commission on HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, 74 percent of new HIV patients in Baton Rouge are black. Whatever the actual numbers of infected people, a racial disparity of such enormous proportion, particularly where lives are at stake, is inexcusable.

Baton Rouge ranks first, New Orleans fifth in the country in new HIV/AIDS cases. Until Louisiana recognizes the need for real education about sexually transmitted diseases and provides safe and sanitary exchanges of hypodermic syringes, we will continue to rank high on this list of shame. HIV status must be destigmatized so that people will seek help once they are infected. Prevention information must be readily available to everyone in the community.

Treatment is difficult and expensive; prevention is free as long as information and resources are available. We can save lives both now and in the future simply by making sure that people have accurate information and the resources they need to protect themselves and others.

Obviously the old approach hasn’t worked. Baton Rouge is first. New Orleans is fifth. Seventy-four percent of new HIV patients in Baton Rouge are African American. We can change the course of this tragedy only if we confront it directly, and only if we commit to prevention. The conversation must start now. We can’t wait any longer.

Marjorie Esman, executive director

ACLU of Louisiana

New Orleans

Comments

1) Comment by tradewinns - 31/10/2012

my comment was removed for violation? that's hard to understand as all i stated was people have HIV not cities. also i stated people's behavior spreads HIV. HIV is not an airbourne disease so casual contact will not allow you to contact HIV. perhaps the fear factor was what the advocate was going for and i disagreed with them.

2) Comment by ScotB - 30/10/2012

Needless death is tragic, whether thru HIV or abortion. Both are very high within the black community. Gary, I think Mildred might be black. She called Planned Parenthood racist, so I don't know. I think Marjorie is doing important work to save lives and agree that more information and outreach is a good plan, but I'm not sure about the taxpayer's responsibility to provide needles. Is that a good idea?

3) Comment by phil - 30/10/2012

Also let's make sure the counters know how to count.

4) Comment by bourbon-soda - 30/10/2012

Another sacred cow gored. Guess we'll just have to go broke. New knowledge is not needed for the problem addressed here.

5) Comment by DMJ - 30/10/2012

And a certain presidential candidate is talking about cutting the discretionary budget (which funds the CDC and NIH, among other things) to half of what it is now. Something to think about...

6) Comment by bourbon-soda - 30/10/2012

What do the most knowledgeable people on the planet know that is relevant and not known to some expert in Baton Rouge?

7) Comment by Bighug - 30/10/2012

The majority of the inmates in our prisons are there because of direct dealing or use of drugs, or stealing to get money to buy drugs. Black or white, those dirty needles are eliminating some of the most undesirable people in society. Evolution in action.

8) Comment by Stephen - 30/10/2012

This letter is well written. We need to bring in the most knowledgeable people on the planet in respect to fighting this disease. The NIH, CDC, and others need to be brought in to give us the tools to stamp this out. I propose that the yearly national conference on AIDS be brought here. Yes, it would be humiliating why it was coming, but we deserve it. We need it. (Combine this with Jindal's current gutting of our health care system and Louisiana is looking like an 'undeveloping' country.)

9) Comment by DMJ - 30/10/2012

Abstinence, comprehensive sex education, free testing, access to condoms and needle exchanges. We need all of these to be part of the solution. Thanks for your letter, Marjorie, and thanks for the work you do.

10) Comment by tradewinns - 30/10/2012

****Comment Removed for Violation of Terms of Use****

11) Comment by gary - 30/10/2012

Mildred: What kind person you are - I bet you own a lot of white sheets.

12) Comment by chem - 30/10/2012

Agree with Preppy6917. Mildred is espousing the usual right-wing drivel trying to redirect the discussion away from the real problem as espoused in the letter.

13) Comment by Preppy6917 - 29/10/2012

Mildred: Please, sell your crazy somewhere else.

14) Comment by Mildred Citizen - 29/10/2012

"a racial disparity of such enormous proportion, particularly where lives are at stake, is inexcusable". Blacks are 12% of the US population, but 30% of the abortions. Let's save the innocent unborn children (16 million since 1973) first. One third of the black population has died at the direction of their own mothers, mostly with the help of an racist organization known as Planned Parenthood. How many have died of HIV in comparison. Let's focus on the big rocks first and we can address the little grains of sand later. http://www.lifenews.com/2012/10/21/why-are-black-women-three-times-more-likely-to-have-an-abortion/