AIDS in the Circle City

Transmission

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                  Now that the percentages of male to female infection have been established, I shall move onto how the virus is being transmitted through the population.  Across the nation, the majority of people were infected through males having sex with other males (hereafter referred to as MSM).  A staggering 54% identified this as their mode of transmission.[1]  In Indiana, as in Marion County and my zip code, the majority of cases are passed through MSM as well.  This is an intriguing fact.  MSM were the first group of people who dealt with the epidemic and so it makes sense because these rates are cumulative, meaning that this includes all AIDS cases diagnosed since the beginning of the epidemic, that the percentage of total AIDS cases would be highest among gay men. This continues, despite almost three decades of suffering by the gay community, to be the most common form of transmission.

  It is unsettling, however, that the percentage of other forms of transmission are increasing too.  Heterosexual transmission, especially in Marion County and Indiana, are on the rise.  They comprise a healthy chunk of the AIDS cases in their respective places. 

Cumulative AIDS Percentages With Respect to Transmission

In fact, the zip codes with the highest concentration of AIDS cases are those in which many gay men live.  For example, of the 16 zip codes with at least 100 cases, eight of them have at least 60 households in which two unmarried men live together, according to the 2000 census.  Perhaps it is too much of a stretch to assume that these men living together are gay, but it is an interesting facet of the epidemic.

The most common mode of transmission in Marion County is, in fact, men having sex with men (MSM).  In Marion county, over 60% of the AIDS sufferers contracted the disease through MSM.  The areas of town with the highest numbers of AIDS cases are generally known as gay neighborhoods.  They are places where the Arts take precedence over athletics, a very strange thing in the state that housed Bobby Knight and the Indianapolis Colts.  46201 is the zip code most well known for the Arts.  Known as Mass Ave among its patrons, it is home to a lively theater, bar, and music scene.  There are art galleries and local artists who present their work to the community.  This area of town is also home to more than one bathhouse or gentleman’s club. Places like Club Indianapolis, Greg’s, and the Unicorn Club are all places geared toward gay men and sexual practices. (For pictures, see here)  It is also home to the Murat Theater, the most popular theater in town.  Next to Mass Ave, the Broad Ripple area is home to a combined total of 135 households in which two men live together.  It, as well as Mass Ave, is an arts district of town.  A popular place for twenty-somethings to go out as a group, with its many bars and restaurants.

Although the gay population in Indianapolis is where the AIDS cases seem to be most concentrated, it is a different kind of transmission that worries Hoosiers.  Since Ryan White moved to Munice, Indiana (about an hour and a half north of the heart of the city) from Kokomo, Indiana, after being expelled from his high school because of AIDS, the city has always been aware of transmission through blood.  One of the biggest AIDS stories to hit Indiana since Ryan White was in July of 2003 when 5 people with HIV were accused of selling tainted plasma.  In Indiana, individuals over the age of 13 who test positive for HIV are required to report the test to the Indiana Department of Health.  If one of these people knowingly sells tainted blood or plasma, they are charged with a class C felony.  This article was featured on the front page of the Indianapolis Star on July 18, 2003.[1]  Although the majority of AIDS cases are transmitted through sexual contact or sharing of needles, this is one thing that all Hoosiers are aware of.

              Now that gender and modes of transmission have been addressed, it is off to what is some of the most interesting data about the AIDS epidemic that the country currently faces.