James Sykes, Director of Global Policy, The AIDS Institute
The Hill
Our nation’s political capital, Washington D.C. also has the notorious distinction of being the HIV and AIDS capital of the United States, with at least 3 percent of its residents infected. This rate is higher than most countries in West Africa and exceeds the 1% cut-off that marks the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of a generalized epidemic. Many patients with this disease also suffer from complications like kidney failure and anemia. New high-tech therapies for treatment of HIV/AIDS, however, have turned what was once a terminal illness into a potentially chronic, manageable condition.
