Government official says AIDS a serious threat to Indians

Wednesday, November 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ The rate of HIV and AIDS is increasing among American Indians and Alaska Natives and, if left unchecked, could devastate those communities in the United States, government officials said Wednesday.

``When you combine the increasing case numbers with other health factors in Native communities, HIV/AIDS poses an explosive health threat,'' said Dr. Eric Goosby, director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy.

Goosby, principal AIDS adviser to the surgeon general, was in St. Paul for the 57th annual session of the National Congress of American Indians, the largest organization of tribal governments in the United States.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of December 1999, more than 2,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives had been diagnosed with AIDS.

African American, Latino and Asian American communities also are disproportionately affected by the disease, the CDC data shows. However, officials don't know the full extent of the problem within American Indian and Alaska Native communities because of shortcomings in HIV/AIDS surveillance systems.

``There are many people in Indian Country and within the federal and state government who believe that HIV/AIDS is not a pressing problem in the American Indian and Alaska Native populations,'' said Jack Jackson Jr., NCAI's governmental affairs director and a member of the Navajo Nation.

``In fact, HIV infection and AIDS are serious threats to the health and well-being of tribal and urban Indian communities,'' Jackson said.

Goosby said alcoholism, drug abuse and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases have helped drive the nation's AIDS epidemic.

``Stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS are barriers that challenge our communities in their effective prevention and treatment efforts,'' Goosby said, urging an increase in efforts to stop the increase in HIV infections.