MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “Right now in the United States the epidemic has moved to the southern United States. All of the top 10 cities for HIV transmission are in the south.”
David Sweat, Chief of Epidemiology with the Shelby County Health Department, said Memphis is one of those cities along with Jackson, Mississippi and New Orleans.
“We are one of the more active areas in America for the spread of HIV right now,” he added.
In 2014, the Shelby County Health Department said they’ve received 287 new reports of HIV, which was down from 2013 when they had 301 cases.
According to the Health Department, of the reported cases this year 234 were African Americans, 64 were young adults ages 20 to 24 and 26 were teenagers ages 15 to 19.
One of the areas that has seen an increase is in the 38133 zip code.
WREG looked at the stats by the Health Department and some of the other areas with high numbers were Whitehaven, Southwest Memphis and Orange Mound.
And combined in other areas like West Memphis, Tipton County, Fayette County and the northern counties in Mississippi.
“We have a little over 7,000 people living with HIV and Aids right now,” said Sweat.
Despite some of the trends, we’re seeing overall the numbers are going down and the best thing you can do is protect yourself.
“Getting tested is the most important step a person can take,” he said.
