A national report
is offering a glimpse at the estimated number of transgender women living with HIV in Central Florida.
For the first time, a national report by researchers at Emory University is providing a glimpse at the estimated number of transgender women who are living with an HIV diagnosis in several regions across the nation, including Central Florida.
The numbers are most likely under-reported, local experts say, but still, they’re a first step toward drawing attention to HIV infection rates among transgender women, who have been historically marginalized in the society and continue to be at a high risk of infection.
“Transgender people face multiple health disparities, and HIV is one of them,” said Dr. Patrick Sullivan, lead researchers for AIDSVu, an annual online HIV/AIDS report, which is one of the first to parse out the HIV infection numbers from federal and state data to find the impact on transgender women. “It’s important to make this issue visible.”
The AIDSVu report, now in its seventh year, shows that overall, the rate of new HIV cases is dropping nationwide, but it also shows that Southern states like Florida continue to bear the greater burden of infections, reporting more than half of all new HIV diagnoses and deaths.
In Central Florida, which remains one of the areas in the nation heavily affected by the virus, more than 11,000 people were living with HIV or AIDS in 2014, according to AIDSVu. Nearly 600 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in 2015 in the area.
“When you dissect the numbers, you realize the situation doesn’t look that good,” said Dr. Edwin DeJesus, an infectious disease physician and medical director of the Orlando Immunology Center in downtown Orlando, who found the number of new HIV diagnoses alarming.
Reflecting a national trend, African-Americans are disproportionately affected here, although they make up about 15 percent of the population. Nearly 40 percent of the new HIV cases between 2011 and 2015 were among AfricanAmericans, compared with 29 percent in whites and 27 percent in Hispanics.
For the first time, there’s also data on transgender women with HIV. In Florida, 167 transgender women are living with an HIV diagnosis as of 2014, the most recent year for which researchers could collect data; 33 of them are in Central Florida.
“I personally think that number is low,” said DeJesus. “But I was happy to see that there’s data on transgender women that’s more scientifically collected and is not an estimate.”
To calculate the numbers, AIDSVu researchers used data from forms that are used by the state in HIV testing. Starting in 2011, a new checkbox allowed providers to report whether patients were transgender. It may be years before a complete pictures emerges.
For one, there’s still no consistency in identifying and reporting patients as transgender.
“Or it may be because we’re not testing them,” said Lindsay Kincaide, director of development at Two Spirit Health Services in Orlando. “They may not be getting tested for fear of discrimination or lack of access. And the other issue is inconsistency in reporting and whether they’re being lumped in with everyone who’s biologically a woman.”
Meanwhile, what’s proven effective in the fight against HIV are prevention and early detection.
“We need to empower all primary care providers to do routine HIV testing. All OB-GYNs should be doing routine testing,” said Kincaide. “And we need to provide free testing and continue to offer these tests where transgender women feel comfortable.”
Educating individuals about preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, has also shown to reduce the risk of getting infected, but again, disparities continue when it comes to access and use of the medication.
DeJesus said of the 550 people who are receiving PrEP prescriptions in his clinic, the number of African-Americans is in the teens.
“Our fight to reduce the impact of HIV in the U.S. and among individuals at the highest risk is a longterm struggle,” said Sullivan. “We need to do our best to take care of people with HIV and get people into care.”