In Hawaii, as of Dec. 31, 2011, 2,425 people were living with either HIV or AIDS, according to the Hawaii Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance annual report. Of those, 321, or 13 percent, resided on Hawaii Island. Seventy percent were on Oahu.
In Hawaii, as of Dec. 31, 2011, 2,425 people were living with either HIV or AIDS, according to the Hawaii Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance annual report. Of those, 321, or 13 percent, resided on Hawaii Island. Seventy percent were on Oahu.
While the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Hawaii has increased annually since 2001, according to state data, Hawaii Department of Health’s STD/AIDS Prevention Branch Chief Peter Whiticar said it isn’t necessarily an indication that more people are being infected, but rather that people are living longer with HIV.
The latest mortality rates for Hawaii date to 2005 when the Department of Health estimated 1,709 people died of AIDS between 1983 and 2005. In 2005, 25 people died.
“In general it’s because of the effectiveness of medications,” he said.
About 55 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS in Hawaii are Caucasian, 15 percent Asian, 10 percent Hawaiian or Pacific islanders, and 9 percent Hispanic, according to the state data. African-Americans, Indians and those of unknown or multiple races represent the remainder of the cases.
Eighty-five percent of those living with HIV/AIDS are men who were diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 44, according to the state data.
Nationwide, the CDC has estimated that approximately 1.2 million adults and adolescents were living with HIV at the end of 2008, the most recent year for which estimates are available.
Worldwide an estimated 34.2 million were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2011, according to the World Health Organization.