The Daily Herald - May 31, 2008
New HIV cases in Utah on the rise
SALT LAKE CITY -- The number of new HIV cases in Utah this year already is about half of the total for all of 2007.
Health officials say people are less worried about contracting the virus because medications have improved. But better medicine is not a cure for a virus that causes AIDS.
"People have become complacent," said Lynn Beltran, HIV and STD program manager for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. "They're not seeing people die from AIDS because medications are more effective in staving it off, so the fear factor is no longer present."
Already this year, about 45 new HIV cases have been identified in Utah, compared to 91 for the entire year in 2007, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Stan Penfold, executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation, said the threat still is very real.
"I've heard people say there's a cure there isn't or 'If I get sick, I can take some pills.' They have no sense of what that really means, including side effects or the cost and misery," Penfold said.
"There's a sense it's not really here, so we won't worry much," he said.
The foundation is looking for new ways to get the message out that the problem is not only in Asia and Africa.
In Utah, the greatest increase in HIV is among young white men, Beltran said.
Experts also attribute some of the increase to methamphetamine use, which raises the chance of "risky behaviors related to sexual health," she said.