HIV diagnoses among Black women in Pinellas County more than tripled since 2021

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HIV diagnoses among Black women in Pinellas County have more than tripled since 2021.

Human immonodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection. It makes a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. Many community organizations have been spreading the word about the disease in Tampa Bay.

The data comes from the Florida Department of Health dashboard.

It shows the HIV count for Black biological women going from 5 in 2021 to 16 in 2023. Hispanic/Latino biological female HIV Diagnoses rates have doubled since 2019.

HIV diagnoses count in Black Females in Florida (left) and in Pinellas County (right) // FLHealthCharts 12/10/24

Stephanie Marhefka-Day is a professor at the College of Community and Behavioral Sciences at the University of South Florida, and has been working with HIV care since 1999. She says there are many factors for the increase.

Factors like the use of PrEP, a drug that lowers the risk of getting HIV.

“The more that we can educate and help Black women understand the risks and the benefitsof PrEP the less we will see of this,” Marhefka-Day told WMNF.

But overall, Marhefka-Day said the numbers aren’t a cause for concern. The current rate is lower than the rate in Florida.

“This means we’re doing pretty good if we’ve only had, you know, 16 women with HIV test positive in 2023,” Marhefka-Day said.

In 2023, over forty-seven hundred people were diagnosed with HIV, the highest number since 2019.

WMNF reached out to the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas, and did not recieve comment.