NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : AIDS Growth Rate Highest for Latinos

Latinos constitute 17% of the nation’s AIDS cases and are contracting the disease faster than any other ethnic group, the nation’s top doctor said in Miami. Surgeon General Antonia Coello Novello, in releasing the first general AIDS report since 1986, said that 20% of women and 25% of children with the disease are Latino. She said that Latino AIDS cases have increased 11% over the last two years, warning that spreading AIDS-prevention messages among Latinos is difficult because many are not well educated. Novello called on Latino leaders to broadcast AIDS-prevention messages during TV soap operas and to increase local efforts to check the spread of the disease.