Washington gay men's HIV rate high

The HIV rate for gay men in Washington was nearly five times higher than the overall rate for adults and teenagers in the city, a study indicated.

More than 14 percent of the 500 gay men interviewed for the study were HIV positive as opposed to more than 3 percent of adults and teenagers, said the D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration.

Insurance company knowingly engaged in rescission efforts against HIV patients, court finds

In upholding a South Carolina county court’s ruling from 2004 that insurancecompany Fortis (now known as Assurant Health) wrongly terminated an HIV patient’s healthinsurance, the state’s Supreme Court uncovered an “unprecedented” number of HIV-targeted rescissions. While the state’s ruling occurred last September, records from that case that recently were made public showed that Fortis used a computer program and algorithm to pinpoint insurance customers who recently had contracted HIV, with intentions to launch insurance fraud investigations those customers in order to ultimately get their policies canceled, according to a report from Reuters.

HIV/AIDS Registers a Rise Among Girls and Women

Women are encouraged to get tested for HIV/AIDS regularly —every six months — and participate in NationalWomen and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD).

NWGHAAD is celebrated with an aim to raise awareness of the rising effect of HIV/AIDS on women and girls.

Launched by the Office on Women’s Health (OWH), on March 10 of every year, organizations across the country extends support discuss and educatewomen and girls about prevention, the need for regular testing, and the way to lead a normal, healthy life instead of being infected in recognition of NWGHAAD.

CDC's new tool in HIV prevention: social media and Jamie Foxx

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is jumping on the social media bandwagon and enlisting some help from celebrities Jamie Foxx and Ludacris to promote an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeting African Americans.

Called, "i know," the campaign uses a website, Twitter, Facebook, texting and a PSA from celebs (check out Jamie Foxx below) in an effort to increase dialogue and reduce the stigma of the disease among young African Americans -- a very vulnerable population. While blacks make up 14 percent of the population of 13- to 29-year-olds, they account for half of all new HIV infections of this group, according to the CDC.