In a normal year, Yavapai County sees somewhere between seven and nine cases of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, better known as HIV.
So it has alarmed public health officials to have already recorded 26 cases of the infection in the county in 2019, though Terri Farneti, public health coordinator for Yavapai County Community Health Services, notes that part of that rise is nine HIV-positive individuals who moved to Yavapai County and began getting care.
“We are not calling it an outbreak at this point, but our number of new cases is approximately triple that of what we would see on an average year in Yavapai County,” Leslie Horton, Director of YCCHS, wrote in an email. “We are still investigating the new cases of HIV in order to find out if there are commonalities or ways to target our prevention and HIV testing efforts.”
According to Farneti, the increase has seemed to focus on people in the 30- 50 age range. “People who are sexually active and do not know their status can spread the virus, people who use dirty needles for drugs are at high risk – and they do not know their status either,” Farneti wrote in an email. “YCCHS is encouraging people to have an HIV test even to know they do not have HIV and to take measures to stay HIV negative. If people test positive for HIV, they will be referred to services with Northland Cares who manages the Ryan White grant. YCCHS offers partner services to aid in contacting other partners to alert them, report the HIV case to the state, and continue surveillance. Northland Cares offers the essential treatment and care for patients to live a healthy life and prevent transmission to their partner (or partners).”
County health services are trying to make free HIV testing available for all in the area who worry about their own risk of the virus, providing them at homeless shelters, jails and local hospitals, as well as at local events such as Sonshine, VA Stand Down and Recovery Days.
“The increase in HIV is countywide, and not isolated to any one part of the county,” Horton wrote. “HIV can be treated through medication and managed medical care. I hope that people will get tested so that they know their status, and can talk to a medical provider about how treatment can prevent further spread of the virus.”
