Neglecting HIV/AIDS in the Southeast

[SpartanDem]

Diana Martinez made small talk as Tommy Terry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The man sitting next to Martinez cracked a joke. Nobody laughed.

A clock on the back wall ticked minutes away in a mocking cliché.

Only three people had shown up for this month's HIV/AIDS awareness meeting. Usually, there are 10 to 12 -- a surprisingly good turnout for a congregation of 25, which just goes to show how many people the disease affects in this small Southern town.

It's a problem all across the Bible Belt. In 2007 -- the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the rate of diagnosed AIDS cases in the Southeastern United States was much higher than in other regions of the country: 9.2 per 100,000 people, versus 2.5 in the Midwest, 3.9 in the West and 5.6 in the Northeast.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/health/hiv-aids-southeast-rural-south-carolina/index.html?hpt=he_c1



As HIV epidemic grows, Florida city grapples with fear and denial

Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) -- When the topic of HIV/AIDS enters a conversation, Earl Thompson hears that it's "just what gays get."

"It's not a gay disease," said Thompson. "It's a human disease."

When a person gets a disease like cancer, support pours in, said Thompson, a slender 27-year-old with a boyish face. Family and friends fund raise and make sure their loved one gets proper care. But that's not the case with HIV.

"It's like hush-hush," said Thompson, a Jacksonville native, who learned before his birthday in April that he has HIV. "You feel unlovable. You feel tainted. They're going to point a finger at me and be judging me.

"Just from the community, I know they don't talk about it. Jacksonville has many years before we're close to Miami, Orlando or Tampa. If something goes wrong, you don't talk about it."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/health/jacksonville-hiv-florida/?hpt=hp_c1

CNN did somevery moving reporting on dealing with in the issues of AIDS in the South

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/27/neglecting-hivaids-in-the-southeast/