Post by Logan on Mar 27, 2016 4:08:12 GMT -6
Criticized for HIV spike, Florida takes hundreds of cases off the books
State lawmakers blasted the state surgeon general in January for cutting staff and spending at a time when new HIV cases were spiking in Florida.
A month later, the Florida Department of Health quietly revised its figures.
The department's division of disease control lowered the number of new HIV cases logged in 2014 from 6,147 to 4,613 — erasing one in four new infections from the rolls that year, state records show.
The previous tally from 2014 represented a significant uptick as diagnoses nationwide were declining. It was enough to make Florida the national leader in new HIV cases, an embarrassing distinction for the state, Gov. Rick Scott and the health department, and more importantly, a serious public health concern.
The revised figures still represented an increase in new infections through 2014, but a small one. They put Florida behind published counts for California and Texas.
Read more: www.tampabay.com/news/health/criticized-for-hiv-spike-florida-takes-hundreds-of-cases-off-the-books/2270876
State lawmakers blasted the state surgeon general in January for cutting staff and spending at a time when new HIV cases were spiking in Florida.
A month later, the Florida Department of Health quietly revised its figures.
The department's division of disease control lowered the number of new HIV cases logged in 2014 from 6,147 to 4,613 — erasing one in four new infections from the rolls that year, state records show.
The previous tally from 2014 represented a significant uptick as diagnoses nationwide were declining. It was enough to make Florida the national leader in new HIV cases, an embarrassing distinction for the state, Gov. Rick Scott and the health department, and more importantly, a serious public health concern.
The revised figures still represented an increase in new infections through 2014, but a small one. They put Florida behind published counts for California and Texas.
Read more: www.tampabay.com/news/health/criticized-for-hiv-spike-florida-takes-hundreds-of-cases-off-the-books/2270876