Yavapai County is reporting a significant increase of confirmed HIV cases this year. They usually see an average of seven to nine HIV cases a year.
As of last week, they reported 33 new cases of HIV so far this year. Of those, 16 were diagnosed in other areas and then tested again in Yavapai County to receive treatment.
Leslie Horton, director of Yavapai County Community Health Services, discussed different ways the virus was spread.
“Approximately 54% of our cases were men having sex with men, about 15% were injection drugs users, about 15% heterosexual, and the rest are unknown," she said
Horton’s staff and the state health department are still investigating several HIV cases. She says they don't consider it an outbreak, but urges people to get tested and use protection when sexually active.
She also says that patients who take medication for HIV can lower their viral loads to not transmit the virus.
