New HIV-AIDS Numbers Alarm Officials

New numbers show 3 percent of the population of the District of Columbia is living with HIV and AIDS. Health officials and the mayor's office released the latest statistics on Monday, and they reveal a startling snapshot of how the disease has reached epidemic proportions in the city.

Health officials say to call this a health emergency would be an understatement. It now affects every race and gender, and the numbers are only rising.

"Clearly it is a priority for us, and it's an emergency every day for us-- not necessarily one we will declare, throw some banners up and say 'We've got an emergency,' and then go back to doing things as usual," said Pierre Vigilance, Department of Health Director. "The issue here is doing things differently and doing things better."

The District's 2008 HIV and AIDS Epidemiology Report paints an alarming picture. There has been a 22 percent increase in HIV-AIDS cases from 12,428 at the end of 2006. One in 10 people between the ages of 40-49 are living with HIV-AIDS, and the highest burden is among black men, with 6.5 percent living with the disease.

"If people woke up and read the headlines, people might be under the assumption that HIV and AIDS has exploded back onto the scene," said D.C. Councilmember David Catania. "It's quite different. It's through our increased efforts and focus we are actually finding the individuals who might have been positive for some time."

Health officials say more and better testing revealed exactly how deep the problem had grown.

"As you do more testing, there is going to be a point where you are going to reach where we are essentially we are finding that there are a whole lot more cases out there, and there is potentially more of that to come," said Vigilance.

While the report sheds light on the depth of the problem, there are still many questions as to why it seemed to explode in a matter of years.

"Somewhere the message had not got out enough to everyday people, and gotten internalized that you know what when you have a common disease it's a common problem," said Shannon Hader, HIV-AIDS Administration Director.

Another answer to why it's spreading so fast is that in D.C., every mode of transmission is increasing. That means according to the data, it's being passed through homosexual and heterosexual sex, and drug use.

Follow this link to read the entire report from health officials.