King County Board of Health adopts plan to reduce new HIV infections by 2015

King County Board of Health adopts plan to reduce new HIV infections by 2015

by Robert Raketty - SGN Staff Writer Under a new plan, adopted on Thursday, the King County Board of Health wants to reduce new HIV infections by 25 percent by 2015 in King County. Openly Gay Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, a member of the Board of Health's HIV/AIDS Committee, broke the news to the Seattle Gay News in an interview moments after the adoption of a strategic plan he and Lesbian Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark, among others, helped to create. "The continuing rate of HIV transmission is not acceptable," said Rasmussen. "We have the knowledge to prevent the spread of HIV and we need to challenge ourselves and set goals to find better ways to reduce new infections. Today, the Board of Health has made a commitment to prevent new cases of what is still a devastating disease." According to Rasmussman, input from stakeholders and Public Health's own HIV/AIDS Program staff was used in the development of the newly minted strategic plan. Their help resulted in the following recommendations for HIV prevention, which include: Identifying new HIV cases. As many as 15-25 percent of people infected with HIV in King County do not know they are infected. Decreasing risky behaviors. Research shows that when people know they are HIV positive they tend to reduce risky behaviors, which helps to prevent the spread of the disease to others. Reducing HIV transmission. Promoting safer sex and drug use behaviors in highest risk communities, as well as early treatment for infected people, may reduce infectiousness and prolong their lives. Statistics from Public Health - Seattle & King County show that there are approximately 370 new HIV infections in King County each year. The goal of the strategic plan is to reduce that number to 280 cases per year within eight years by focusing on people at highest risk for HIV infection. "People in our community at highest risk for contracting HIV include men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and foreign-born Blacks," said Dr. David Fleming, Public Health's Director and Health Officer, in a written statement. "The recommendations made and strategic plan approved by the Board today focus on these higher risk groups in order to be more effective in curbing the epidemic across the community." Of the 6,188 King County residents who were reported to currently be living with HIV or AIDS, 86 percent are men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, or foreign-born Blacks. "With the advent of new treatment options, more people are living with HIV," said Councilmember Sally Clark. "But with hope has also come complacency and a return to riskier behavior. The strategy endorsed by the Board today will reinvigorate HIV prevention work community-wide, and remind people that HIV and AIDS continue to be a health crisis." For more information on HIV and AIDS in King County, visit: www.metrokc.gov/health/apu