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CDC: Maricopa County has high HIV infection rate

526 newly exposed to virus, 18,000 Arizonans living with it

Posted 11/9/19

Maricopa County is one of 50 counties identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a high infection rate. These counties account for more than ½ of all HIV infections in the U.S.

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CDC: Maricopa County has high HIV infection rate

526 newly exposed to virus, 18,000 Arizonans living with it

Posted

HIV is 100% treatable with numerous well-tolerated medications available.

Case in point — Angel Zavala has been living with the virus for four years.

He is on a clinical trial that requires two pills a day, however most patients would just take one pill a day with a 30-day supply per bottle, and occasional check-ups.

His modus operandi: travel the globe and meet interesting people.
He works for an airline company and takes advantage of standby — free flights to see the country and the world. His plans to feed his passion of traveling the world are ongoing.

Life with HIV has not slowed down Mr. Zavala.

“My life purpose to explore others’ heritage and learn who they are so I can become a better person,” he said.

Yet Maricopa County is one of 50 counties identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having a high infection rate. These counties account for more than ½ of all HIV infections in the U.S.

In 2017 there were a total of 768 new diagnoses in Arizona, and 526 were in Maricopa County.

Aunt Rita’s Foundation with Arizona Department of Health Services have launched an initiative to increase the accessibility for free HIV testing and bring more awareness to the disease.
People can now get tested at 116 Walgreens,mAlbertsons/Safeway pharmacies and Sonora Quest Laboratories throughout the state.

“Testing provided by these trusted names in healthcare will help reduce the stigma of testing as compared to testing at a county health department or HIV service organization,” Aunt Rita’s Foundation Executive Director Glen Spencer said.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump proposed $291 million to reduce new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent in five years and by 90 percent by 2030.

The CDC recommends every U.S. adult be tested at least once for HIV, and that at-risk individuals be tested on a regular basis. Persons who are sexually active or sharing needles for injection drug use should be tested at least annually.

Mr. Zavala, 24, said when he was younger, HIV didn’t really come up in discussions at school.

Up until last year, Arizona law prohibited teachers of health and sex education from discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identities. Therefore HIV was off-topic in sex education classes. Now that barrier is removed, but it still up to each district to decide on what is taught in sex education.

“We weren’t as informed. When I was in high school, it wasn’t really talked about. And with things like chlamydia and gonorrhea, even that was touchy,” he said. “(People thought) It was something you only get when you’re gay, and that stigma is crippling. The straight community isn’t aware, it is assumed they’re not going to get it because they are not gay.”

About 40% of all new HIV infections in Arizona are among young persons between the ages of 13 and 29.

Experts site a number of possible reasons for the increase of HIV contraction in Arizona, including graduating from school without sex education or information on how to protect oneself.

Mr. Zavala said some Millennials are very sexually active. There is no judgment toward others, but he said, his generation doesn’t feel like they have to get married.

“Monogamous relationships are not what we seek. We wish for it, but we are more open to different types of relationships, like being polyamorous. We are getting into an era where monogamy isn’t something a lot of people do. Ask my friends. Some of them are seeing three people at time, and it’s not just men,” he said.

“But it is better to learn sooner than later (about STDs). If we don’t get (HIV) under control, it will spread to people who are innocent. People can still die from this. It’s not a joke.”

Mr. Zavala added that foundations like Aunt Rita’s taking an initiative to solve a growing number of HIV cases improves accessibly, raises awareness and makes people feel more comfortable to get tested.

“My first time at a clinic getting tested felt invasive, I was almost embarrassed to be there and remember sitting by the door not trying to draw attention,” he said.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.