East Texas Health Organization Sees Increase In HIV Cases
Officials at an East Texas health care organization, Health Horizons, which provides HIV testing and other services to people in 12 counties, "has seen more East Texans test positive for [HIV] so far this year than it did for all of 2008," the Lufkin Daily News reports. Executive Director Wilbert Brown said, "We've had eight people out of more than 800 test positive for HIV in the first seven months of this year. Most of those have been African-American men. Last year we had a total of six out of more than 1,000. I expect us to see two or three more positives before the year is out. The state average for testing positive is one in 100, and we're getting close to that number." According to the article, "Brown said he attributes the increase to Health Horizon's aggressive outreach program targeting high-risk groups and to people realizing the importance of getting tested." The Daily News article also profiles a client of Health Horizons (Cooley, 8/2)
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