Louisiana HIV Rates Are the Lowest in a Decade

[Jim Allen]

Well, that's good news and, hopefully, the start of a trend time will tell.

Louisiana HIV Rates Are the Lowest in a Decade
Doctors attribute the drop to increased testing and U=U.

In full: https://www.poz.com/article/louisiana-hiv-rates-lowest-decade
In short:

In what amounts to a victory for HIV advocates in the South (and a testament to the preventive power of antiretroviral meds), fewer Louisianans were diagnosed with HIV in 2018 than in any of the past 10 years.

Specifically, 989 new cases of HIV were identified in 2018, according to a press release from the Louisiana State Department of Health in Baton Rouge. That amounts to a 12% decrease from the 1,124 identified in 2016 and makes 2018 the first year since 2005 in which the number of new cases was under 1,000.

[Expat1]

Meanwhile.....

https://www.knoe.com/content/news/Louisiana-worst-state-for-sexually-transmitted-diseases-new-report-says-505583761.html

Seems contradictory.  No?

Wait

HIV laws Louisiana
It is an unlawful act, punishable by up to 10 years in prison (with or without hard labor) and/or a $5,000 fine for a PLHIV who knows their status to intentionally expose another to HIV through sexual contact.1 Despite the language in the statute, Louisiana courts have found that neither the intent to expose another to ...
Louisiana - The Center for HIV Law and Policy
https://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/.../Louisiana%20-%20Excerpt%20from%20CHLP%27

[Expat1]

Meanwhile:
Louisiana Parish Jails Lack HIV Treatment and Services | Prison Legal ...
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/.../louisiana-parish-jails-lack-hiv-treatment-and-servi...
Oct 10, 2017 - HIV-positive prisoners in Louisiana jails are not provided medication and basic services, which endangers both their health and the

Failure to Deliver HIV Services in Louisiana Parish Jails | HRW
https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/.../failure-deliver-hiv-services-louisiana-parish-jails

The Surprising Gaps in HIV Care for Louisiana Prisoners – Mother Jones
https://www.motherjones.com/.../inmates-hiv-treatment-louisiana-jails-human-rights-w...
Mar 29, 2016 - The Surprising Gaps in HIV Care for Louisiana Prisoners. “We cannot afford to treat them if they are positive.”

Hardly a stunning example of good HIV policy. 

Is it lower because no one gets tested?  OR because those tested dont get treated?   So many questions. 

Louisiana and the ACA's Medicaid expansion: eligibility, enrollment ...

At least they finally got one thing right:

https://www.healthinsurance.org/louisiana-medicaid/
On June 1, 2016, Louisiana residents with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level became eligible to start enrolling the state's expanded Medicaid program (Healthy Louisiana)

[Jim Allen]

Yeah, there are always questions surrounding numbers that blip either up or down. Time will tell if it's a true drop/trend in the number of infections

[leatherman]

numbers that blip either up or down.

that drop of 135 people means their rate went from 3 people a day diagnosed with HIV to 2.7 people a day diagnosed.

Eleven fewer people every month spread out amongst about 15-20 providers (SC where I live has 15 providers with almost the same population, so I took a guess) means most providers saw their rates drop by barely 1 person per month. And thats with the results spread across all providers. Typically this kind of drop probably means a few agencies saw a drop  , a few agencies saw a rise  , and a few stayed the same  - a scenario that doesn't sound as great as the headlines tried to portray.

[harleymc]

As far as this goes this is encouraging.

It's still a worry that the incidence in Louisiana is higher than for all of Australia.  When we look at prevalence rates per head of population the US has seven to eight times the caseload of Australia. Trends in the right direction are to be applauded but there is so far to go.