Four area counties — Alachua, Dixie, Putnam and Union — are among the top 25 counties in Florida with the highest rates of new HIV cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.
As the infection rates have risen, state budgets have been slashed, and lawmakers want to know whether there’s a correlation.
Robert Cook, a professor of medicine at the University of Florida and a state health employee, noted how the data show an increase in cases across the state and not only in areas of certain lifestyles, like South Florida.
Cook called HIV and AIDS a “public health crisis" and said that the increase in HIV cases and funding cuts means the two are “certainly correlated.”
In November 2015, Florida Gov. Rick Scott proposed his “Florida First” budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year. It plans to cut about $36 million from the Florida Department of Health's previous year’s budget. It also looks to remove about 718 positions from the agency.
In addition, across the state's 67 county health departments, positions decreased from 12,759 to 10,519 since Scott took office in 2011.
But Florida Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said the cutbacks haven't affected those with HIV and AIDS in the state.
“Staff reductions did not impact the surveillance, education, prevention, counseling, testing, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS patients,” she wrote in an email.
New HIV cases have increased across the state for several years, Cook said, so he discredits the idea that the increase is because of better reporting methods.
Cook instead attributes the trend to two things: Florida’s tourism industry, which attracted about 83,160 visitors to the state in 2014, and its underdeveloped prevention methods when compared to other states.
Cook added, though, that the state plans to be more aggressive in fighting the HIV and AIDS crisis, especially with PrEP.
PrEP, or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, is a preventative measure for people who are not infected with HIV. Users take a pill daily that contains two medicines used to combat HIV. If people who have taken PrEP are exposed to HIV, the medicines will stop the virus from affecting the body.
Gambineri also noted that Florida invested $34 million for funding HIV and AIDS prevention measures in the 2014-15 fiscal year.
Wellness center directors have been quick to point to a complacent youth as the reason for the spike in numbers. But some organizations, such as the Rural Women’s Health Project, have seen their number of HIV cases grow for years. Founded in 1991, the nonprofit is aimed at community-based education and outreach programs for those who traditionally face barriers to health services.
Its annual “Let’s Talk About It” program, which is in its fifth year, engages HIV-positive women in an outreach program to facilitate local awareness and create a safe space for women to share their stories.
Communities have a long way to go, program co-director Robin Lewy said, but more people are getting involved in the cause.