Dallas County, Texas, Had Highest Number of New HIV Cases in State in 2002

Dallas County, Texas, recorded 1,271 new HIV cases in 2002, more than any other county in the state, according to figures released Monday by county health authorities, the Dallas Morning News reports. The number of new HIV infections in the county has grown each year since 1999, the first year that government health officials began recording HIV data. Dr. Assefa Tulu, the county's chief epidemiologist, said that the county's higher number of cases could be because of Dallas' emphasis on identifying people at risk of the disease and urging them to be tested. The new figures also show that the disease disproportionately affects blacks in the county. So far this year, 41% of new HIV cases are among blacks, compared with 39% among whites and 17% among Hispanics, according to health department figures (Beil, Dallas Morning News, 9/22).