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HIV and AIDS: Still spreading Minority women particularly affected
Journal Photo by Walt Unks
Dr. P Samuel Pegram, an expert on HIV/AIDS, gave an update on advances in the treatment of the disease.
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Published: December 2, 2009
Being HIV-positive or having AIDS is no longer the death sentence it once was, but as more people live longer with the disease, it continues to spread, especially among minority women, a local health expert on the disease said yesterday.
Dr. P. Samuel Pegram gave an update on HIV and AIDS at Winston-Salem's observance of World AIDS Day. Pegram spoke to advocates -- those who are HIV positive or have AIDS, and those who serve them -- at the Piedmont Club. The event was sponsored by AIDS Care Service. Pegram is a professor of medicine and the director of the infectious-diseases specialty clinic at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
"If you take your medicine, we can put your virus to sleep," Pegram told the audience in describing advances in treatment.
But as patients live longer -- many now are predicted to live into their 60s and 70s -- they are living with such complications as hepatitis, Pegram said. His clinic saw 30 to 70 people a day last year, many of whom had HIV or AIDS.
The disease has continued to spread, especially among minority women.
Being HIV-positive or having AIDS was the leading cause of death among black women 25 to 34 in 2004. It was the third-highest cause of death for black women 35 to 44. For Hispanic women 35 to 44, it was the fourth-leading cause of death, Pegram said.
For Omar Perez, 46, yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of his diagnosis.
Twenty one years ago, he wouldn't have expected to live to see this day, Perez said.
"I feel great," he said. "but there are always challenges."
Perez moved to this area five years ago after working in Washington as an HIV and AIDS advocate. He has continued his work here, he said.
He said he suffers from neuropathy and other complications of the disease, but he tries to stay educated about his treatment. He advised others to do the same.
Amy Lindsey, the community-relations director for AIDS Care Service, said that one of the areas that advocates will work on in the coming year is encouraging people to get tested.
AIDS Care Service works to educate the community and help those who are living with HIV/AIDS.
The earlier people learn that they have HIV or AIDS, the better their chance at having a good quality of life, Lindsey said.
The traditional test for HIV and AIDS is free at the county health department, she said. The Forsyth County Health Department is also the leading provider of the HIV/AIDS test in five other counties -- Davie, Davidson, Surry, Stokes and Yadkin.
A new rapid test that uses a cheek swab or a drop of blood has an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent, Lindsey said, and is being used as a preliminary test for the disease.
The county health department has plenty of test kits, she said, but it can't afford the staffers to administer the rapid test consistently.
Local advocates would like to see the rapid testing offered free at such places as college campuses, shopping centers and neighborhoods on a consistent basis, she said.
"When there's a time delay when receiving the results, people are less likely to get the test done or to get their results, or to be consulted," she said. "With a rapid test, in one visit, you can determine your status, receive information about how to get help, and counseling on where to go from there."
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