Mayor Sheila Dixon expressed disappointment Wednesday upon learning that Baltimore has the second-highest rate of new cases of HIV in the country.
“Our condition in Baltimore is getting worse, and that is unacceptable,” she said, reacting to an interim report by the Baltimore City Commission on HIV/AIDS. “HIV is preventable, and we need to sound the alarm to our young people.”
The report, completedin January 2006, included an epidemiological profile of AIDS in Baltimore. In 2004, the city had more than 14,000 AIDS and HIV cases ? up by more than 1,000 since 2003. New cases showed a slight uptick in the last quarter of 2005.
But City Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said new programs have been put in place, including wider availability of Buprenorphine to treat heroin addiction.
Dixon also announced a public service campaign, “Spread the Word, Not the Disease,” aimed at young adults and teenagers. Dixon said getting the message out to young people was critical.
“Every time I speak with a young person, I warn them about AIDS,” she said.
