Source: lgbtqnation.com<\/p>\n
The New York City\u2019s Department of Health\u00a0released their 2018 HIV Surveillance Annual Report this Friday, proudly noting that for the first time ever, the number of documented diagnoses of HIV was under 2,000, a 67% drop from 2001.<\/p>\n
According to their press release, new diagnoses are also down in almost every demographic, except for transgender people, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and use needles.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York City can end the epidemic if we continue to fight against the stigma, bias and discrimination that continue to be significant drivers of HIV, particularly among Black and Latino men who have sex with men,\u201d remarked Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.<\/p>\n
The Department of Health credits the community and government working together \u201cto prioritize science over stigma and sex-positivity over shame\u201d for this news. They also cite Bill de Blasio\u2019s 2015 Ending the Epidemic Plan as a major contributor to prevention and public awareness, as well as the city\u2019s \u201cU=U\u201d campaign, which informs the public about those with HIV who cannot transmit the virus, or undetectable (hence \u201cundetectable vs. untransmittable\u201d). The Department of Health estimates 87% of those who contracted the virus are undetectable or \u2018suppressing\u2019 the virus.<\/p>\n
Additionally,\u00a0the development and release of the HIV prevention drugs\u00a0PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), both of which can prevent transmission of the disease either before or after exposure to the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1214,52,1895,184],"class_list":["post-3009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aids-hiv","tag-health-department","tag-hiv","tag-hiv-diagnoses","tag-virus"],"yoast_head":"\n