Eight States Cut from System that Tracks Rate of HIV

"Eight States Cut from System that Tracks Rate of HIV"
New York Times (08.23.08):: Shaila Dewan

On Aug. 22, CDC announced that eight states and Puerto Rico will no longer receive federal funds for its advanced HIV monitoring system. The system, which distinguishes between new infections and older ones, produced CDC's recent estimate showing that annual HIV infections were about 40 percent higher than previously thought. The states affected are Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

The change cuts the number of jurisdictions using the new system from 34 to 25. CDC's recent HIV incidence estimate was based on data not from all 34 but rather from 22 that met scientists' standards, said Terry Butler of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.

Money for the program is awarded on a competitive basis. Butler said the funding that supports the system had not been reduced; rather, the 25 remaining jurisdictions, whose systems are deemed most reliable and capable of helping CDC produce the best estimates, will receive more money.

The funding lost by the nine jurisdictions totals about $3 million, said Julie Scofield, executive director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. The alliance has called for a $35 million boost in HIV surveillance funding. CDC's "ability to say that they're going to have ongoing reliable reports of incidence is somewhat questionable unless you have funding for that," she said.

Butler said future monitoring efforts will use data from all 25 funded jurisdictions.