More Than 11% of AIDS Cases in Alabama Among People Older Than 50

More than 11% of newly diagnosed AIDS cases in Alabama are among people older than 50, AP/NBC13.com reports. AIDS cases among this age group nationwide have risen more than 22% since 1991, according to CDC. "We are seeing more people over the age of 50 than we've seen before," Dr. Michael Saag, director of the Birmingham, Ala.-area 1917 Clinic, said. "This is the generation that were baby boomers, children of the 1960s that never used condoms," Jim Campbell, director of the National Association on HIV Over 50, said. Many older people were in committed sexual relationships during the early days of the epidemic in the 1980s and missed the widespread public education campaigns of the 1990s, according to the AP/NBC13.com. However, when these long-term relationships end, older adults are often sexually active but do not use condoms, Campbell said. In addition, doctors often neglect to test older people for HIV, Campbell said, adding that many of the symptoms of HIV/AIDS mimic those of aging, such as night sweats and skin rashes, according to the AP/NBC13.com (AP/NBC13.com, 3/4).