Recently, most of the Iowa Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) attention has been focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic; however, state officials are pleased to announce a substantial victory in another area of public health. The 2019 Iowa End-of Year HIV Surveillance Report has been released and shows a 30 percent reduction in HIV diagnoses since the beginning of 2017. State officials say this is the first sustained reduction in over two decades of HIV monitoring in the state. “This report and the three-year trend demonstrate the value of early testing, access to good health care, and strong support to help people living with HIV make the most of that health care,” says Randy Mayer, chief of the Bureau of HIV, STD and Hepatitis at IDPH. He adds the populations most impacted by HIV saw the most improvements. Diagnoses dropped by 33 percent for black/African American Iowans and by 43 percent for men who have sex with men. Another positive aspect of the 2019 report is data that shows more than 80 percent of HIV-positive Iowans had undetectable amounts of virus in their blood, meaning they cannot transmit the AIDS-causing virus through sexual activity. To read the full report, follow the link included below.
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IDPH 2019 End-of-Year HIV Report