AIDS in S.D.
An estimated 29,000 San Diegans are infected with HIV, the AIDS virus. Of those, 2,307 have reached the end stage of the AIDS disease, and 1,395 have died--a 427% increase since 1987. The epidemic--two cases are diagnosed daily--has strained the medical care system, since few people with AIDS have insurance by the time they are sick enough to need hospitalization.
The estimated rate of infection is down among homosexual males, but has risen 230% among intravenous drug users and 100% among heterosexuals since 1987. And there was a 40% increase in cases transmitted through childbirth from 1988 to 1989. Overall, San Diego’s AIDS cases incidence rate is the second highest on the West Coast.
These statistics come from the recent report by the Regional Task Force on AIDS.
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