AIDS Cases Dropping, but Not HIV

AIDS cases are on the decline in Ventura County, but the number of instances in which people are contracting the virus that leads to the deadly disease is increasing, a county health official said Wednesday.

About 350 county residents have been diagnosed with AIDS, but an estimated 1,000 to 4,000 people are likely to be infected with HIV, said Lynn Bartosh, who runs the AIDS surveillance program for the county Public Health Department. The department tracks the number of people tested at county clinics but does not have numbers on those requesting confidentiality or who are tested at private care facilities.

Earlier this year a new AIDS service organization opened in Ventura, adding another layer of support for people coping with the virus and for their friends and families.

Since AIDS Project Ventura County opened its doors in March, about 76 clients have taken advantage of a range of free services, and organizers hope to double the number of clients in the next several months, said program director Sal Fuentes.

Among the services provided are HIV testing, crisis counseling, prevention services, a food pantry and legal advice, Fuentes said. It is the only community-based nonprofit organization in the county providing HIV- and AIDS-related services.

The group took over after AIDS Care went bankrupt this year. It augments other AIDS service providers in the county. Fuentes said the new organization should fare better because it has an experienced staff and has hired a development coordinator to ensure a steady flow of money from private donors and government loans or grants. The group is also organizing an Oct. 22 “Walk for Life 2000” fund-raiser to benefit AIDS programs.

Since 1983, 807 cases of AIDS have been reported in Ventura County, resulting in hundreds of deaths, according to health officials. They are worried about the disease spreading to sexually active young people, many of whom are too young to recall the publicity surrounding basketball star Magic Johnson’s announcement that he has HIV.

Increasingly, many of the new AIDS cases are being discovered in ethnic minorities. For example, of the 48 or so AIDS cases diagnosed annually over the past two years in Ventura County, nearly half the patients are Hispanic, 41% are white and 9% African American, Bartosh said. Most of the cases involve people 30 to 49 years old.

“It’s not going away,” Bartosh said. “New medications help control the virus, but there is no cure. For whatever reason, we are still seeing people getting infected, and the feeling is the message is diminishing because we haven’t seen people dying as quickly.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates 100,000 people under 22 will contract AIDS in the next five years. Officials in Ventura County want to make sure young people here are safe.

FYI

AIDS Project Ventura County can be reached at (805) 339-6340.