Chicago reports lowest number of new AIDS and HIV cases since the 1980s

The number of Chicagoans with new HIV and AIDS diagnoses in 2020 sunk to levels not seen since the 1980s, according to a new city report.

In Chicago, 627 people were newly diagnosed with HIV and 269 were newly diagnosed with AIDS in 2020 — the lowest numbers since 1987 and 1985, respectively.

The Chicago Department of Public Health, which released the report, cautioned that it’s possible numbers were underreported in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news release she’s proud of the progress the city has made in fighting HIV and AIDS.

“It’s not just that HIV diagnoses are down, it’s that they are down for Black Chicagoans, white Chicagoans, and Latinx Chicagoans of all ages,” she said. “But we must remain focused on addressing disparities, knowing that more than half of new HIV diagnoses still occur in Black Chicagoans and that other (sexually transmitted illnesses) are on the rise, especially among younger people.”

About 55% of new HIV diagnoses and 57% of new AIDS diagnoses in 2020 were among Black Chicagoans. The largest number of new HIV diagnoses were in Uptown, and the highest rate of new diagnoses was in Pullman.

John Peller, president and CEO of the AIDS Foundation Chicago, called the lower rates good news, though he also noted that fewer people, in general, were seeking medical care in 2020 than in other years, potentially skewing the numbers.

“I think there is some very good news in this report overall, and certainly we’re seeing a continuation of the trends we’ve seen for the past few years with HIV cases declining,” Peller said. “But like so many other things in the year 2020, I think there really needs to be a big asterisk next to these numbers.”

The new numbers come more than 40 years after AIDS emerged in the U.S. AIDS is the late stage of HIV, which is a virus that attacks the cells that help the body fight off infections.

In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report describing unusual infections in five previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. By the end of that year, there were 337 reported cases of people with severe immune deficiency in the U.S., according to HIV.gov.

By 1992, AIDS had become the leading cause of death for U.S. men ages 25 to 44, and by 1995, there had been half a million cases of AIDS reported in the U.S.

For years, the illness was very often fatal. That changed, however, with the development of medication called antiretroviral therapy, which reduces the amount of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels. Now, people who take the medication and have undetectable viral loads can live long lives and not transmit the virus to others.

“Not only is getting people on HIV treatment great for their individual health, but it’s also good for community health and stopping new transmission in the community,” Peller said.

Among those living with HIV in Chicago, 61% achieved viral suppression in 2020 by consistently taking HIV medication — an 11% increase from the previous year.

People can now also take medications to help prevent them from getting HIV, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

The new numbers come amid a statewide initiative called Getting to Zero Illinois that aims to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030. That initiative is coordinated by the Illinois and Chicago departments of public health and the AIDS Foundation Chicago.

The initiative’s goals are to eliminate HIV transmission and make sure that everyone with HIV receives care for it.

Already, there’s been progress, Peller said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill in June that will allow Illinois pharmacists to dispense PrEP and PEP medications without individual prescriptions. Also, the legislature this year appropriated $10 million toward ending the epidemic, and part of that will be used to secure another 340 units of housing for people with HIV in the Chicago area, Peller said. People living with HIV can better manage their medications and conditions if they have housing, he said.

The Chicago Department of Public Health has invested $41 million annually since 2019 in ending the epidemic.

According to the report, cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea in Chicago also decreased in 2020, but that was likely because of reduced screening for the illnesses during the pandemic.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com