As the number of diagnosed cases of the AIDS virus climbs in Hudson County, a group called Hudson Pride Connection – founded in 1993 and headquartered in Jersey City – is preparing to send its members to the AIDS Walk NY on May 15.
Talk of the deadly virus may have become quiet in the media, but it’s still very much a fact of life.
Although there are new treatments, those treatments have side effects and are expensive – something people may not realize when they become lax about protecting themselves from the disease.
“Unfortunately the number of cases continues to rise here in Hudson County.” – Marvin Krieger
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“[The New York AIDS Walk is] our second biggest fundraiser of the year,” said HPC Executive Director Nancy Camaño. (The biggest fundraiser is the group’s annual gala.)
The walk, which takes place in New York City’s Central Park, is organized by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a pioneer back in the day.
Back in the day was June of 1981, when five gay men living in Los Angeles were diagnosed with a rare wasting contagion that would become the scourge known as AIDS.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that reduces the effectiveness of the immune system, making victims more susceptible to a variety of infections.
In the 30 years since AIDS made its unwelcome debut on the world stage, its public persona has ebbed and flowed. At times, current events and public discourse have made it front-page news. Other times, health care workers, people with AIDS, and the people who love them seem to be the only ones who acknowledge its ongoing devastation.
Money for the HPC is raised by walk participants who get their friends and family to sponsor them through donations of at least $25.
Yes, in our backyard
Marvin Krieger, director of the Hudson County HIV/AIDS Planning Council, has been with the organization 14 years and has watched firsthand how AIDS has been a behind-the-scenes constant in Hudson County.
“Unfortunately the number of recorded cases continues to rise nationally and especially here in Hudson County among the heterosexual female African American community,” he said.
Of the cases of AIDS recorded in Hudson County, 38 percent are African American, in a county where 15 percent of the population is African American.
Of the African Americans infected with HIV – which is the virus that causes AIDS – 45 percent are women.
Krieger said that more than 100 people in the county are diagnosed with AIDS each year. As of 2009, the latest year for which stats are available, the total number of recorded cases of HIV in Hudson County was 4,623.
That is up from 4,541 cases in 2007 and 4,439 recorded cases in 2006.
The incidences of AIDS in the Hispanic community in Hudson County more closely line up with the demographics. Hispanics represent 35 percent of Hudson County’s population, and 39 percent of people with AIDS in Hudson County are of Hispanic heritage.
The virus is spread by sexual contact involving bodily fluids.
Awareness has increased over the years, but the virus remains on the rise. Why?
Reasons and rationales
Krieger points to a number of reasons why AIDS is on the rise. “It’s the attitude, especially among young people, that this is not going to happen to me,” he said. “There’s the old myth that it’s only among certain populations, and I don’t fall into that risk category.”
Advances in AIDS treatment have also given some people false confidence.
“Since the medications have come into being, people have gotten lax,” Krieger said. “Some individuals have the misconception that the medications are a cure. They don’t realize the devastation, not only of the disease but of the side effects some of the drugs can cause.”
The drugs have been around for about 18 years. “Any long-term use of drugs can affect the kidneys,” Krieger said.
And the pocketbook. Depending on the drug regimen and the availability of insurance, drugs can cost as much as $2,000 a month, according to Krieger.
People are not being prudent about sex.
“[People are] not asking the individuals [they]’re sleeping with to use safe sex practices,” Krieger said. “That comes across because of the rise in STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] in Hudson County and also pregnancy within the young population.”
Street drugs
While the use of intravenous drugs is down in Hudson County, it’s still a major cause of HIV infection.
“About 20 years ago, IV drug use accounted for 51 percent of those infected with AIDS,” Krieger said. “Since then, drug use has dropped drastically.”
Now, 20 percent of cases are the result of IV drug use.
The reason? “Better education about IV drug use and outreach into the injected-drug-use community,” Krieger said.
A needle exchange program, which was implemented about 18 months ago before the new Republican governor was in place, also should help lower HIV infections caused by IV drug use, according to Krieger.
Still a stigma
“There’s still that myth out there that AIDS is a dirty disease,” Krieger said, “and that you can get it by close contact even if it’s not sexual contact, like picking up a fork and eating with it.”
That is an incorrect assumption.
“We need education in the schools, and parents need to be open and honest with their children,” Krieger said. “Too often they talk to their children about not getting pregnant but they don’t look at what’s even more devastating than getting pregnant.”
Krieger said, “We need to train all communities to be more open in talking about it and there needs to be more press on it, not just around the AIDS Walk.”
The long march
When Hudson Pride raises money, it uses it for its programs.
“We do outreach to three different communities,” Caamaño said, “young gay men, women of color regardless of sexual orientation, and trasgender women.”
She explained, “We have a social justice peer model. We hire people from those three communities to find out who is HIV positive and link them into care.”
Those unaware of their HIV status, she said, can become aware and also receive instruction on how to adhere to their medications and not infect other people.
People who need medical care are sent to the Center for Comprehensive Care on Garfield Avenue, part of the Jersey City Medical Center.
HPC provides travel vouchers since the care center is not easily accessible by public transportation.
Caamaño and her team hope to raise $15,000 from this year’s AIDS walk. They raised $9,000 last year.
“It’s important to keep our doors open to serve the community,” Caamaño said. “We need money to keep our services available.”
To join HPC’s team, visit http://www.aidswalk.net/newyork
Kate Rounds can be reached at krounds@hudsonreporter.com..