Hyacinth's mission is to help people live with HIV, slow the spread of the epidemic and serve as a critical voice in the public debate surrounding AIDS in New Jersey.
New Jersey's Epidemic in Brief from the New Jersey 2004 Epidemic Profile Over 65,000 New Jersey residents have been reported with HIV/AIDS and just under half of these individuals have died. Nationally, New Jersey ranks fifth in cumulative AIDS cases, third in cumulative pediatric AIDS cases, and has the highest proportion of cumulative AIDS cases in women. Approximately half of PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) are between the ages of 25 and 44 years of age. In 2002, 30% of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases occurred in individuals 45 years of age and older.
As of December 31, 2004: 1 in every 65 Black non-Hispanics, 1 in every 185 Hispanics, and 1 in every 783 White non-Hispanics was living with HIV/AIDS. More PLWHA in 2004 were exposed through sexual contact (male-to-male sex or heterosexual sex), however, injection drug use continues to be a major mode of transmission.
Advances in treatment have led to a decline in the number of pediatric infections, and have slowed the progression from HIV to AIDS and enhanced survival after AIDS. However, HIV disease remains the third leading cause of death for Black males, the fifth leading cause of death for Black females and the first leading cause of death for Black men and women between the ages of 25 and 44.
