As I said earlier today, most of our important stories come to us from our readers and this one is no exception. You may have heard on the news a few months ago that HIV-AIDS was on the rise in the Black community in the US, but it appears that rise is not among Black Americans but is a result of immigration. Unfortunately I don’t have time to do it justice but here is how it begins:
There is a “hidden epidemic” of HIV amongst African migrants living in the United States, according to investigators writing in the September 12 edition of AIDS. The researchers found that African-born individuals in the US had a disproportionately high prevalence of HIV – although they comprised only 0.6% of the study population, almost 4% of HIV diagnoses were amongst African-born individuals. Furthermore, the investigators found that in one health area approximately 50% of HIV infections amongst black people were amongst individuals originating in Africa.
Apparently when statistics are gathered, no one distinguishes between those Blacks who are native born and immigrant Blacks. The article goes on to spell out some of the consequences:
Failure to acknowledge the scale of the HIV epidemic amongst African-born individuals, could, the investigators argue, mean that the HIV prevention and care needs of African-born US residents are being neglected. The investigators call on the US government and health authorities to target information about the availability of HIV testing and care to individuals from Africa, and for the gathering of accurate surveillance data about the country of origin of individuals diagnosed with HIV.
Aidsmap News tells us something we already know and that is that HIV positive refugees have been allowed to enter the US and it obliquely mentions that no one will be barred from entering with HIV in the very near future (thanks to a bill signed into law by President Bush).
Read the whole article here and take note of the US hot spots for the immigrant-fueled HIV epidemic. See our health issues category for all of our posts on this important topic.