skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

World AIDS Day: 800 New MI Cases a Year

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 1, 2015   

LANSING, Mich. - It's World AIDS Day, and health organizations are working to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the lives of Michiganders.

According to state data, the rate of new HIV diagnoses was stable from 2009 to 2013, with about 800 new cases reported each year, and the highest rates of new infection were among 20- to 29-year-olds.

What's perplexing, said Leon Golson, director of prevention programs for the HIV/AIDS Resource Center in Southeast Michigan, is that most people understand how the infection is spread and how to prevent it.

"So it begs the question: Why? Last, month we had to give a 24-year-old his positive test results," Golson said. "Where's the disconnect? Why are we still seeing these new HIV infections?"

He said HIV typically is spread through unprotected sex or the sharing of contaminated needles. On World AIDS Day, free HIV testing is being offered at some public health clinics.

With an estimated one in five people with HIV unaware he or she has the infection, Golson encouraged people to find out. He said it's a simple blood test and results are available in about 20 minutes.

"It's relatively easy to do," he said. "At the same time, we're aware that it comes with some fear and stigma attached to getting an HIV test and we do all we can to make sure that individuals are comfortable here and they aren't going to be judged."

Many health agencies or clinics have trained staff available to assist people who test positive. Golson said it's important to know that times have changed since the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, and a lot can be done.

"There's a lot of supportive services that are out there, and people are living longer," he said. "It's been 30 years for me living with HIV now, so there is life after a HIV-positive test result."

State data is online at michigan.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021