The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to be a serious problem in the African American community, particularly for African Americans between the age ranges of 13 to 29. Approximately 25,000 new infections occur among this group annually, although African Americans comprise just 12 percent of the population of the United States.The most troublesome observation is that young African American gay men and heterosexual women have recorded the largest rate increases, making the rate for young African American males seven times greater than that for whate males in the same age group. Likewise, African American women have a contraction rate 11 times greater than white women between the ages of 13 to 29, with the majority being infected via heterosexual contact. The sad truth is that 63 percent of the deaths due to AIDS occur among African Americans between the ages of 13 to 24.
Lack of awarness and the stigma associated with the disease makes the risk of infection even greater. African American females between the ages of 15 to 19 are more than 20 times more likely to test positive for many sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea. As of 2008, nearly 70 percent of gonorrhea cases occurred among African Americans. Black women between the ages of 15 to 24 had higher rates of chlamydia than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since many such infections often go undiagnosed, and infections such as genital herpes and human papillomavirus are not reported regularly to the CDC, the situation may actually be worse than the data suggest. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
For more with Dr. Stephens, visit twitter.com/rawdawgbuffalo and http//:rawdawgb.blogspot.com.
