The AIDS Attack on Minorities : New statistics underscore the urgent need for more health education

The most recent federal statistics show that AIDS is now the leading cause of death--62 deaths per 100,000 people--for African Americans aged 25 to 44.

Nearly as grim are the statistics for the nation’s Latino population. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome has become the second leading cause of death for Latinos in that age range. And the Latino figure--more than 28 deaths on average for every 100,000 peoplebetween the years 1987 and 1991--is believed to be underestimated by 30%, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the producer of the new report.

There is no good news here.

For African Americans, the figures show that AIDS exceeded homicide as the leading cause of death for those aged 25 to 44.

Mario Cooper, the first African American chairman of the AIDS Action Council, said that the figures are further evidence of the need to “encourage black leaders” to deal with the scourge of AIDS. “No one is dealing with it in a comprehensive way,” he said.

The statistics buttress the concern of Ana Vargas, a client outreach coordinator at the Valley HIV/AIDS Center in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley. “In the Latino community, this is too often seen still as a disease that only affects other people. There is a lot of denial going on,” she said. Vargas needs $4,000 to produce a Spanish-language handbook on the disease and on the range of related services available in the Valley.

In terms of treatment, AIDS remains a maddeningly elusive quarry. There are now four approved drugs, but all can have fairly serious side effects and the virus can mutate to resist them.

The only hope offered by the new federal numbers is that they might be used to convince minority populations that there is no such thing as a group that is not at risk of contracting AIDS. The figures can help persuade people to modify their behavior and to be tested for the virus, slowing the spread of this disease and saving lives.

As Kate Prager, the primary researcher for the study, suggests: “It has already spread in these (minority) populations in alarming fashion. Care needs to be taken to try to prevent further infection.” Indeed.