Florida HIV cases surge in first half of 2015

Florida is seeing a significant increase in the amount of reported HIV cases. New statistics from the Florida Department of Health show that in the first six months of 2015, HIV cases spiked 23 percent with 3,555 new cases up from 2,886 from the same period in 2014. Additionally, four mother-to-child transmissions occurred in newborn infants were reported in that amount of time.

“The bottom line is this surge in HIV infections in Florida related to the fact that too many people are not in medical care and on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and that prevention efforts in the state are poor,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), in a press statement.

Weinstein added that Florida accounts for over 10 percent of approximately 50,000 new HIV cases each year in the United States.