World AIDS Day events planned in Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. -- A service to honor and recognize those who have been infected or affected by HIV/AIDS is planned for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1 at Cornerstone MCC Church, 1006 Government St. in Mobile.

The service is sponsored by the Mobile AIDS Coalition, the Mobile County Health Department, Missing Link Consumer Group, Franklin Primary Health Center Inc.  and the University of South Alabama Children’s & Women’s Specialty Clinics.

On Dec. 12, the Scarlett Event, will begin at 5 p.m. in Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile. This fundraiser is presented as a way to raise awareness about the treatment and prevention of AIDS and HIV in the community and to celebrate the strength of those living with the illnesses. Organizers want to offer hope to those living with HIV/AIDS during the event that is held during the popular Art Walk series.

While new drug therapies have helped improve outcomes for those with HIV, Several So far this year, at least 88 people have been diagnosed with new HIV/AIDS infections in Mobile County.
The infection knows no race, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic boundaries. It continues to infect as many as 50,000 people a year in the U.S., among them women and children.

Historically, Mobile County has had one of the highest HIV infection rates per capita in Alabama, according to Dr. Bernard Eichold, who leads the Mobile County Health Department. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV or AIDS, and more than 20 percent of them don’t know they are infected.

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome and is the final stage of HIV infection.