Baton Rouge, long among the nation’s tops in the rate of AIDS diagnoses, now has significantly lower rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 HIV Surveillance Report. Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced the news today.
In 2016, Baton Rouge was ranked No. 1 in the country for the rate of AIDS diagnoses, with 18 in 100,000. Now, according to the latest report, Baton Rouge is No. 10, with the rate of AIDS diagnoses cut nearly in half at 9.4 diagnoses per 100,000.
The drop in AIDS diagnoses is largely due to the Broome administration’s efforts to increase HIV testing through opt-out testing in area emergency rooms, Broome’s office says.
“People of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and social-economic status are
affected by the infection. The greatest challenge in addressing this public health
crisis is the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS,” Broome says in a prepared statement.
Emergency room patients are now screened for HIV in the routine blood draw that patients receive. When visiting an emergency room, patients are informed of the HIV test and have to actively opt-out of the test if they do not wish to be tested. See the full announcement.
