(no subject)

[prima_donna]

Well I was gonna go home this Friday or Saturday but it turns out I have a job interview here on Monday so thats gonna be great for me. If I get it , that will take some of the doubt away from the move.  Sometimes I feel crazy because I move so much (from city to city that is), but everything always works out for me so I just end up moving. And just for the record, the reason I move so much is because my dad was in the military and we used to move often. So thats that.

The other day I wrote in my real journal that people should be careful of what they wish for because they might get it. Well , not getting into too much detail, someone wished( or asked) for more than they wanted and when they got it they couldnt handle it. HAHA.

Other than that I dont have anything extra excited to talk about. Today is world AIDS day. So I guess I'll give you guys something to think about



The Cumulative Effect of HIV/AIDS:

• According to the 2000 Census, African Americans make up 12.3% of the population of the United States. However, they have accounted for 39% - more than 347,000 - of the more than 886,000 estimated AIDS cases diagnosed since the beginning of the epidemic.1 By the end of December 2002, more than 185,000 African Americans had died with AIDS.1
  
  
• For people diagnosed with AIDS since 1994, African Americans had the poorest survival rates of all racial and ethnic groups, with 55% surviving after 9 years compared to 61% of Hispanics, 64% of whites, and 69% of Asian/ Pacific Islanders.1
  
  
• In 2000, HIV/AIDS was among the top three causes of death for African-American men ages 25-54 and African-American women ages 35-44.2

AIDS in 2002:

• African Americans accounted for about 21,000, or 50 percent, of the more than 42,000 estimated AIDS cases diagnosed among adults in the United States.1
  
  
• The AIDS diagnosis rate among African Americans was almost 11 times the rate among whites. African-American women had a 23 times greater diagnoses rate than white women. African- American men had almost a 9 times greater rate of AIDS diagnosis than white men.1
  
  
• Over 162,000 African Americans were living with AIDS in the United States. They accounted for 42% of all people in the United States living with AIDS.1

* Based on 30 areas with confidential name-based HIV surveillance

HIV in 2002:

• African Americans accounted for over half of the new HIV diagnoses reported in the United States.1
  
  
• A study of people diagnosed with HIV found that 56% of “late testers,” i.e., those that were diagnosed with AIDS within one year of their HIV diagnosis, were African American.3 Late testing represents missed opportunities in prevention and treatment of HIV.
  
  
• The leading cause of HIV infection among African-American men is sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and heterosexual contact.1
  
  
• The leading cause of HIV infection among African-American women is heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.1
  
  
• Sixty-two percent of children born to HIV-infected mothers were African American.1

Risk Factors

Race and ethnicity are not, themselves, risk factors for HIV infection. However, African Americans are more likely to face challenges associated with risk for HIV infection, including:

• Poverty. Nearly one in four African Americans lives in poverty.5 Studies have found a direct relationship between higher AIDS incidence and lower income.6 A variety of socioeconomic problems associated with poverty directly or indirectly increase HIV risks, including limited access to quality health care and HIV prevention education.
  
  
• Denial. Although African Americans are responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in their communities, many have been slow to join the effort. One reason is that some African Americans are reluctant to acknowledge issues, such as homosexuality and drug use, that are associated with HIV infection. For example, studies show that a significant number of African-American men who have sex with men identify themselves as heterosexual.7,8 As a result, they may not relate to prevention messages crafted for openly gay men. Without frank and open discussion of HIV risks, many African Americans will not get the information and support they need to protect themselves and their partners from HIV.
  
  
• Partners at Risk. African American women are most likely to be infected with HIV as a result of sex with men.1 They may not be aware of their male partners’ possible risks for HIV infection such as unprotected sex with multiple partners, bisexuality, or injection drug use.9 Women who suspect that their partners are at risk for HIV infection may be reluctant to try to negotiate condom use. For example, some women may not insist on condom use out of fear that the man will leave them or withdraw financial support.10
  
  
• Substance Abuse. Injection drug use is the second leading cause of HIV infection for both African-American men and women. But sharing needles is not the only HIV risk related to substance abuse. Both casual and chronic substance abusers are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.11
  
  
• Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Connection. For many of the reasons noted above, African Americans also have the highest STD rates in the nation. Compared to whites, African Americans are 24 times more likely to have gonorrhea and 8 times more likely to have syphilis.12 In part because of physical changes caused by STDs, including genital lesions that can serve as an entry point for HIV, the presence of certain STDs can increase the chances of contracting HIV by three- to five-fold.13 Similarly, because co-infection with HIV and another STD can cause increased HIV shedding, a person who is co-infected has a greater chance of spreading HIV to others.13

Prevention

Now I was going to put what the CDC had for prevention but I was in a forum the other day and a guy on there was adamant about not wearing a condom. He said that he would rather run the risk of "catching something" than decrease his pleasure during sex. He and people like him, my friends , are the reason the the risk is so great and the reason  you need to make sure that you are protected. Better yet just don't have sex at all. And get tested. I got tested on the 4th of last month and I'm proud to say that I am negative :)

Be safe!

**And remember AIDS/HIV is man made! No one had sex with a monkey and spread it to the world!!! ( Even if they did you don't see monkeys dying do you?