AIDS addressed among Latinos
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

An effort is underway to halt the growing spread of AIDS and HIV infection in the county’s Latino community.

A public health study last year found that although Latinos comprise 34 percent of the county population, they made up 60 percent of new AIDS cases in Ventura County.

Madhu Bajaj, program manager for the Ventura County AIDS Partnership, said that 90 percent of these new cases were simultaneously diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, an indication that Latinos are not receiving early treatment.

“When you learn you’re HIV positive and have AIDS at the same time, your disease is at a more advanced level, so there’s less chance of the treatment being effective,” said Bajaj. “There are missed opportunities for effective treatment.”

She said simultaneous diagnosis of the illnesses also increases a person’s risk of spreading the disease.

As a result, the nonprofit agency recently brought together Latino leaders to create a task force to determine the best ways to get a message of prevention out to the community.

The group of 16 educators, medical and mental health professionals, representatives of nonprofits and the business world met for the first time last month. Their goal is to uncover the cultural, social and environmental barriers that have impeded the cautionary message so far and to map out strategies to disseminate the warning.

Christopher Christian, director of community counseling services at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said he thinks a holistic approach might have the best chance of acceptance by the Latino community.

Christian said that because task force members come from all segments of the Latino community, people may feel better supported and understood when listening to the group’s message.

Sal Fuentes said education or the language barrier may account for the inroads AIDS and HIV infection are making in the Latino community.

“That’s something we’ll have to determine,” he said..

“The real concern is getting folks into healthcare before they’re diagnosed with AIDS,” said Fuentes, who cofounded AIDS Project Ventura County and joined the task force to help stop the “alarming” climb in the number of cases.

Task force member Patricia Navarro said Latinos generally

occupy the lower rungs of the economic ladder in Ventura County and don’t have the same access to preventive medical services available to those with higher incomes. That is another of the challenges facing the group.

She said the task force may ask doctors to include an AIDS component when a patient has a blood test.

Navarro lost her 26-year-old son to acquired immune deficiency syndrome 16 years ago and has since been on a mission to educate others about the horrors of the disease. She serves with a number of AIDS organizations, including an advisory committee to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

The disease is a problem society can’t afford to ignore, Navarro said. Although medical advances have resulted in many new medications for HIV and AIDS patients, the drugs are toxic, capable of killing the patient before the disease does, Navarro said.

They are also very expensive. A person may be dropped by their insurance carrier because of the cost, and when a patient has no healthcare coverage, taxpayers ultimately foot the bill, Navarro said.

“AIDS is not going away, and there are less people who want to do anything. That’s a fact,” she said.