While the numbers for the Hispanic population stayed steady, this isn’t necessarily seen as good news for Hispanic community leaders.
“While the numbers are technically smaller, proportionally, we are second to blacks,” said Patricia Canessa, executive director of the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition. “We have, historically, seen many of the same barriers they do in prevention and health care.”
One common theme among all races is the difficulty of getting HIV-positive men retained in care and prescribed “viral suppression” medicines.
Of all Americans living with HIV, only 20-30 percent are “virally suppressed,” which means receiving regular health care and taking medicines that drastically reduce the risk of passing the virus.