THE PREVENTABLE EPIDEMIC

The announcement over the weekend about AIDS contains some good news
in that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection has remained relatively
stable for about a decade and bad news in that 40 percent more than
previously estimated are infected with the AIDS virus.

But there are still far too many people - about 15,000 - dying from
the preventable disease every year and those at the highest rate of
incidence are continuing to engage in high-risk behaviors. And the
new study suggests that one in four Americans who have the disease
do not know it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report
over the weekend to coincide with the opening of the 17th
International AIDS Conference in Mexico City that shows the number
of those in the United States infected with HIV in 2006 is actually
higher than the previous estimate.

The numbers come not because of a spike in infections but rather
because of advanced testing that can more accurately determine the
approximate time of infection - separating infections less than five
months old from older infections - meaning there are an estimated
56,300 people who were infected in 2006 rather than the estimated 40,000.

The new test has prompted health officials to revise other data
about the annual rate of infection, but they insist the numbers show
the spread of the disease has been relatively stable since the late
1990's. The rate of infections among heterosexuals and drug users
has also dropped, according to the report.

With advancements in diagnoses and treatments, as well as the
extended incubation period of HIV, more than 1.2 million live with
the virus in this country, although the total figure is likely to be
revised in the wake of the new information.

What is most troubling about the report, however, is the
accompanying data which shows that gay men still account for the
majority of the infections, roughly 53 percent. And all minorities
showed a higher rate of infection than whites, especially black men,
who accounted for 45 percent of the infections, seven times higher
than whites and three times the rate of Hispanics who were infected.

The current administration and its supporters have broomed the
incidence of HIV and AIDS in this country under the table, insisting
a change of habits and abstinence are the best solution.

Abstinence from all high-risk behaviors is, indeed, a method to
reduce HIV infections. But with 15,000 people still dying from AIDS
every year, that message is not resonating with everyone. The
finding that one person in four who is carrying HIV doesn't know it
should prompt a candid discussion of whether HIV tests should be
part of the blood tests that accompany routine physical examinations.

Whether it's the expansion of needle exchange programs, condom
distribution, prevention efforts, research, treatment and reducing
the stigma attached to contracting a deadly disease, we need to do more.