Rural America Alerted on ‘Alarming Rise’ in AIDS

Many parts of rural America soon may be “blind-sided” by the deadly AIDS epidemic, the National AIDS Commission warned today.

In its third report, the commission, formed by Congress to oversee the nation’s fight against AIDS, said the number of new AIDS cases diagnosed in rural communities is growing at an “alarming rate.”

Although the AIDS epidemic is still most severe in large cities, rural areas have had a 37% increase in AIDS cases in one year, compared to just a 5% increase in cities with populations greater than 500,000, the panel said.

What makes that situation particularly dangerous is that it “is happening tragically and secretly without adequate health care services or human support in these rural areas,” the report said.

In Georgia, where the number of AIDS cases has tripled in the past two years, the spread of the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, into rural areas and small cities is now matching the pace of spread in metropolitan Atlanta.

At a meeting with public health officials from the South in Dallas, the panel was also told of large jumps in HIV infection in Arkansas, Mississippi and rural areas of Texas.

“Many parts of rural America are about to be blindsided by the epidemic,” said Dr. June Osborn, head of the 15-member commission and dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor.

Osborn and her colleagues recommended expanding AIDS education and outreach services in rural communities, with emphasis on providing clear, direct messages about how the AIDS virus is transmitted.