Los Angeles Times Examines HIV-Positive Latina Immigrants in California

The Los Angeles Times on Saturday examined the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Latina immigrants in California. In California, the HIV-prevalence rate among Latinas is twice the rate among white women, according to California's Office of AIDS, and heterosexual sex is the most common mode of transmission. According to the Times, prevalence statistics on HIV-positive Latinas have been compared with those on black women. By the end of June 2005, about 30% of HIV-positive women in California were Latina, compared with 36% who were black, the Times reports. Similarly to HIV-positive black women, HIV-positive Latinas often do not discover their status until their partners become ill, making them unable to benefit from early treatment, according to the Times. Studies show that Latinas increasingly are contracting HIV, usually from male partners who are using injection drugs or having sex with men, the Times reports. HIV-positive Latinas might conceal their HIV status, including from their families, because of the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in the Latino community and its religious and cultural stance on homosexuality, according to the Times. Further, many undocumented immigrants also often delay seeking medical care because they fear being deported, the Times reports (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 2/25).