National Asian and Pacific
Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
May 19, 2012
May 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day. The
Banyan Tree Project, a national campaign to end the silence and
shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander
communities, is the lead for this day.
Between 2002 and 2011, 54 Asian/Pacific Islanders were reported
with HIV infection in Wisconsin. The number of cases reported in
Asians increased over the course of the last decade from an average
of 3 cases per year for the period 2002-2005 to more than 7 cases
per year, 2006-2011.
Of the 54 cases among Asians reported in Wisconsin in the last
decade, 46 were born outside of the US, although information about
where they acquired HIV infection is not known. Among foreign-born
cases, where risk is known, all but one of the females reported
heterosexual risk and more than 60% of males reported MSM (men who
have sex with men) risk.
As of December 2011, 68 Asians with reported HIV infection were
assumed to be alive and living in Wisconsin. Reflecting prevalent
cases in the state as a whole, about half of Asians with HIV live in
Milwaukee County, one-fifth in Dane County, and the remainder in
other counties.
For information on HIV infection, including where and how to get
tested for HIV, visit the website of the Wisconsin HIV/STD/Hepatitis
C Information and Referral Center (IRC) at
http://www.irc-wisconsin.org
(DHS) or call the IRC toll-free at 800-334-2437.
For information on National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day, visit the website of the The Banyan Tree Project at
http://www.banyantreeproject.org/awarenessday.php .
