With the advent of the antiretroviral drug Truvada, many people are getting comfortable living with HIV. Truvada, produced by Gilead Sciences, offers the first HIV and AIDS prevention pill. In the past, the official recommendation for HIV and AIDS prevention was abstinence and condom use. The pill is marketed to young gay men, persons in a relationship with an HIV infected partner and sex workers. There have been numerous reports on both heterosexual and homosexual persons taking Truvada and engaging in unprotected sex. But the facts do not lie. HIV and AIDS are ever-present throughout America. Here are the current HIV and AIDS rates according to the U.S. Census Department. The U.S. Census Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have separate databases for HIV surveillance:
HIV RATES Per 100,000/Cumulative number of cases
1 Miami, Florida 37.2/64,573
2 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 30.6 /4,565
3 Jacksonville, Florida 29.1/ 7,292
4 New York, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania 27/ 223,508
5 Washington, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia 26.6 /37,916
6 Columbia, South Carolina 23.5 /3,949
7 Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas 23.3/ 6,018
8 Orlando, Florida 23.3 /10,457
9 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana 23/ 9,941
10 Baltimore-Towson, Maryland 22.8/ 23,875
11 Jackson, Mississippi 22.2/ 2,881
12 San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 20 /24,126
13 Lakeland, Florida 18.9/ 2,210
14 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia 18.7/ 27,313
15 San Francisco, California 18.3/ 44,422
16 Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida 17.4/ 13,135
17 San Antonio, Texas 12.3/5,892
18 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, North Carolina-South Carolina 15.7/ 4,123
19 Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas 15.1 /29,556
20 Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina 14.4/ 2,423
21 Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina 14.3/ 2,632
22 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, Tennessee 13.7/ 4,570
23 Fresno, California 13.5/ 1,829
24 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida 13.2/ 2,034
25 Columbus, Ohio 12.9 /3,966
