Posted on: Tuesday, February 26, 2002
State trying to improve HIV screening efforts
| • | Number of HIV cases up in U.S. |
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Health Writer
State health experts say there are probably some people in Hawai'i who don't know they have HIV, but the experts don't believe it is a widespread problem.
"It's most likely that in all states there are people that have HIV that don't know about it," said Peter Whiticar, chief of the state Department of Health's STD/AIDS Prevention branch. "They may not know about it because they don't feel that they're at risk, or they may not know about it because they haven't gone in for testing."
The department aims to minimize the problem by targeting its screening efforts toward those who are more likely to be exposed to the virus: men who have sex with men; injection drug users; and women who are at risk, perhaps because of their partner's behavior.
Hawai'i has not been as hard hit by AIDS as have some Mainland states. The Health Department estimates that about 1,089 people in Hawai'i are living with AIDS.
The number of people diagnosed with the disease has dropped in recent years — there were 62 cases diagnosed in 2001, down from 136 in 1998.
The picture changes somewhat on the tally of reported cases, which shows 127 cases reported last year. That is a result of a better reporting system, which is now catching earlier-diagnosed cases, said Pritty Borthakur, HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator.
The health department only began collecting data on the number of people with HIV in September. So far, 261 HIV cases have been recorded.
Whiticar does not believe the data on HIV cases will reveal a bigger problem with the disease in this state. The data will, however, give a more up-to-date snapshot of HIV and AIDS in Hawai'i, he said.
The department and other community-based organizations provide free and anonymous or confidential HIV testing and counseling. Call 733-9281 for a schedule of places and times.
