Alarming Increase in HIV Cases in Memphis – Quantification Still Unknown

The growing surge in the number of new positive HIV tests in Memphis, Shelby County, paints a bleak picture with public health officials refraining from disclosing the extent of the outbreak. The Shelby County Health Department posted a notice online on May 13 about the increased cases and indicated the zip codes of the impacted areas. As of now, the residents of Shelby County do not have access to detailed data that could aid in understanding the rise.

What’s Known So Far

The Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH), which curates health-related data, revealed that the current data on its website reflects the rates of positive HIV test results recorded until 2021. Remarkably, the delay between the collection of data and its publication is a standard part of Tennessee’s healthcare infrastructure and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, preliminary information has confirmed the need to alert the public. Nonetheless, TDOH remained unavailable for comment, while the Shelby County Health Department limited its responses to a statement echoing the public alert.

Mitigation Measures and Strategy

The County Health Department states that response actions, including testing, prevention, and treating the outbreak, are underway. However, a clear-cut harm reduction strategy remains undiscussed. The United Way of Nashville, the administrator of the CDC’s “Ending the HIV Epidemic” program for Tennessee, is responsible for spearheading a strategic response to the outbreak. Despite managing nonprofit community partners delivering HIV testing and harm reduction, the representative for the United Way declined to comment and redirected all inquiries to the county health department.

Contributing Factors to the Outbreak

Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi sheds light on some significant events leading to the HIV outbreak and how mitigation strategies might transpire. In January 2023, a sudden cut in state funding for HIV prevention, detection, and treatment programs disrupted numerous nonprofit organizations. The state declared that it would replace the funds derived from the CDC with state funding, which would be available only to organizations associated formally with a metro health department.

In an unprecedented move, the CDC decided to direct the canceled funding to nonprofits offering HIV testing and harm reduction services. Ashely Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, cites this upheaval as a key contributing factor to the current outbreaks. The resulting disorder in services consumed valuable time and resources, detrimental to community outreach, education, and other preventive measures. Alongside Tennessee’s Gateway Law, which mandates sex education to focus on abstinence and restricts the discussion on sexual activity, these circumstances make the current HIV outbreak less surprising.

Immediate Measures and Future Planning

In the meantime, community organizations, including Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits, are focusing on resuming the prevention measures that were heavily impacted in the previous year. Additionally, free HIV testing is widely available at organizations across Memphis as the county health department has extended its testing hours. A list of these facilities can be consulted on the health department’s website.