Preliminary Data Indicate Decrease in New AIDS Cases in Bay Area
New AIDS cases in the Bay Area have "plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1980s," the San Jose Mercury News reports. Preliminary 2004 data show that 245 AIDS cases were diagnosed in San Francisco, the lowest figure since 275 diagnoses were reported in 1983. Annual diagnoses peaked at 2,327 in 1992.
Data for San Francisco correspond with figures from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, according to the Mercury News. Meanwhile, Alameda County's new diagnoses have decreased from 512 in 1992 to 182 in 2003.
James Loyce, deputy director of health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said, "The new numbers are good news," but added that "the struggle we still have is that folks remain infected" (Krieger, San Jose Mercury News, 2/2).