HIV organizations and community groups in Dallas say federal and state funding cuts threaten progress toward preventing and treating HIV and AIDS, KERA News reports. Funding cuts may also lead to financial crisis, a new study shows.
Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s, Dallas has made great strides in preventing and treating new HIV cases. Maintaining or lowering HIV rates requires consistent testing, lifelong medications and regular follow-up visits.
Local organizations such as CAN Community Health and Prism Health North Texas have long prioritized access to care including HIV testing, treatment, prevention and counseling. These are vital services because people with HIV who achieve and maintain viral suppression experience slower disease progression, enjoy better overall health are less likely to develop opportunistic illnesses. What’s more, people with an undetectable viral load don’t transmit HIV to others through sex. This is known as treatment as prevention, or Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U)…