HIV cases spread more in last 3 months (now HIV folks are identified to state by name and ID)

[The Straight Story]

HIV cases spread more in last 3 months

Last Update: 1/25/2007 6:23:27 PM

Posted 1/25/07
BAKERSFIELD, California - Health officials said there are more cases of HIV positive individuals in Kern County than previously estimated. The jump in cases comes after a new law changed how HIV positive cases are reported to the state.

Before April of last year, HIV cases were reported by an ID number. Now the state requires all testing agencies to report HIV by name as well. With the new law in effect, health officials said the number of those being reported as HIV positive has increased by 50 percent.

The Kern County Health Department has stacks of new HIV positive cases to work through. They have received 65 new HIV reports just this month.

"We have about a 50 percent jump in our cases coming in that are HIV positives," said David Martin, AIDS program coordinator for the Kern County Public Health Department. "That's an approximation, but with what we are seeing now with the workload—about 50 percent across the board."

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=bba3b662-512e-4471-a32b-e8d23523fd43