When records began in 2001, there were 5,600 new cases in New York City, today that number is 2,157.
Figures from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that were revealed to the New York Daily News have shown that new HIV cases in New York City have dropped to a record low for the second year running.
In 2016, 2,279 new people in the city were diagnosed with HIV, a then record-low. And for 2017, the number has dropped by 5.4% to number 2,157 new cases.
Speaking to the New York Daily News, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the deputy commissioner for disease control, said: “We have fewer people diagnosed with HIV this year, again a historical low. It really is showing an evolution of what’s happening with the epidemic in New York City.”
The figures shown to the paper also showed that the number of new infections has fallen by 36% since 2013. The figures showed that new HIV diagnoses for women fell by 11.6%.
The only group in the city that saw an increase was the Latino men community, however a Spanish-language HIV awareness campaign has been launched by the city in a bid to tackle this.
Saskalakis said that he believed that it was awareness campaigns that had brought the figures down, saying: “We’re testing the right people, we’re diagnosing them, we’re diagnosing them early, before they get sick, and we’ve also seen a decrease in new transmission.”
People using PrEP were also credited for helping to bring the amount of new diagnoses down.
Yesterday, the vice-president, Mike Pence, made no mention of LGBTQ people during his speech on World AIDS Day. He failed to even use the word ‘gay’ in his speech, despite the community being disproportionately affected by HIV & AIDs, particularly during the 1980s epidemic.
He also praised Trump for his commitment to the fight against HIV & AIDS, despite his administration cutting funds from HIV prevention programs and firing all members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS last year.
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