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Hey, did you know that if you live in the U.S., you have a one in 99 chance of becoming infected with HIV? That risk could be even higher, depending on where you live. Here is a list of the “Top 10 Cities with the Highest HIV Rates” for the 2016-2017 year.
According to BlackDoctor.org, coming in at number ten:
*Honorable Mention*
11. NYC -The rate of HIV infection in Harlem is 4-5 times higher than the national average. The highest rates of new HIV diagnoses are among gay males. 90% of transgender women newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City were blacks/African Americans or Latinos.
10. Baltimore, Maryland – 24.3 HIV infection rates in Baltimore are on the rise due to a lack of education. HIV is a lifelong infection that, if left untreated, can lead to AIDS.
9. Jacksonville, Florida – 25.1 The number of business people and tourists who travel to Jacksonville,” might contribute to the high rates of HIV diagnoses and prevalence there. Forty-four percent of people diagnosed with HIV live in the South, even though the region only contains about a third of the U.S. population.
8. Columbia, South Carolina – 25.6 Poverty, rural geography, lack of affordable healthcare and social stigma and religion all contribute to the prevalence of HIV in the South. A diagnosed person might not seek treatment due to fear of rejection from the religious community.
7. Atlanta, Georgia – 25.9 More than 1,000 people are diagnosed with HIV each year in Atlanta. What’s more, 50 percent of those people aren’t diagnosed until they already have AIDS.
6. Memphis, Tennessee – 27.6 2,000 people in Memphis who have the disease are not aware of it, African-American gay and bisexual men are most affected by HIV, followed by white gay and bisexual men.
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5. Orlando, Florida – 28.8 The rate of HIV diagnoses in Orlando decreased slightly (0.9 percent) in 2 yrs.
4. Jackson, Mississippi – 32.2 The hiv rate is crazy in Jackson, they are pushing the PrEP pill, which is a daily medication that can actually prevent you from becoming infected with HIV even if you have sex with someone who is positive
3 . New Orleans, Louisiana – 36.9 An excess of 19,000 people in Louisiana are living with HIV. More than half of those people have AIDS.. African-Americans make up only 32 percent of the state population, they represented 73 percent of the state’s new cases
2. Miami, Florida – 42.8 GetTested.com speculates that the city’s high HIV rates may be due to its culture & its reputation as a ‘party city.’
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1 . Baton Rouge, Louisiana – 44.7 many of the infections there “are due to shared needles, since the city is the center of a massive opiate addiction issue.”
For more information click here. You can also check out the CDC website or gettested.com
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