State CDC launches AIDS Web site Officials hope those affected will use Internet community for support

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For the 1,200 people throughout Maine who are living with HIV-AIDS, the Internet has become a wonderful mechanism for support.

“Clients are always indicating that they would like to be more connected, and the ruralness of the state can be a little hindering sometimes,” said Jamie Cotnoir, HIV prevention and care educator for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

With that in mind, the Maine CDC recently launched a new Web site, www.positiveme.org, aimed at providing those living with the disease another place they can click.

“We live in such a technological era; people are always looking for ways to get reliable information quickly,” Dr. Dora Anne Mills, Maine CDC director, said in a statement. “The goal of www.positiveme.org is to create a comfortable environment and reconnect people who live with HIV-AIDS with the community that supports them.”

The site has been in the works for about six months but was launched this week to coincide with World AIDS Day, the first day of every December.

“I think our timing was pretty good,” said Cotnoir, who manages the site’s content.

World AIDS Day originated in 1988, and over the years, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and charities around the globe have joined the effort to bring awareness of the disease.

Several events will be held throughout the state to mark World AIDS Day.

HIV-AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide since it was classified as a disease in 1981, including an estimated 2.1 million in 2006.

Still, while advances in treatment and access to drugs have helped, the disease is still spreading. An estimated 2.5 million new cases of HIV-AIDS were diagnosed in 2006, putting the number of people living with the disease at more than 38 million.

Even in Maine, where the disease is relatively uncommon, new cases are popping up all the time. As of the end of October, 43 new HIV or AIDS diagnoses have been recorded by the Maine CDC so far this year, Cotnoir said. That number is slightly higher than the average for the last five years.

“It’s hard to interpret those numbers,” she said. “Maybe there are more cases because we’ve been better about testing and awareness.”

Either way, Cotnoir said, it’s all the more reason to promote sites such as www.positiveme.org.

“One of the things this site can do is help people keep up on medical adherence; that is, making sure they are attending appointments and taking medications,” she said.

Cotnoir said she hopes the “community calendar” and “current events” sections of the Web site are particularly beneficial.

“A lot of the content is, and will be, generated by consumers,” she said. “We’ve already held several focus group meetings throughout the state to generate feedback.”

The Maine CDC received a small grant from the Ryan White Treatment Modernization Act to start the site. The legislation was approved by Congress to improve the quality of care for low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals and families affected by HIV.

Eric Russell can be reached at erussell@bangordailynews.net or 664-0524.

AIDS Day events

The following is a selected list of statewide events commemorating World AIDS Day. Events will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, unless otherwise noted.

Bangor: Hammond Street Congregational Church, 6:30 p.m., sponsored by Eastern Maine AIDS Network, 990-3626.

Ellsworth: S.K. Whiting Park, Main Street, 4:30 p.m., sponsored by Down East AIDS Network, 667-3506.

Machias: Xmas Parade Route, 3:30 p.m., sponsored by Down East AIDS Network, 667-3506.

Presque Isle: University of Maine, Presque Isle, noon today, sponsored by the social work club.

Pittsfield: First Universalist Church, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, for viewing and reflection of a 12-by-12-foot section of the national AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Fort Kent: University of Maine Fort Kent, 5 tonight.

Augusta: Unitarian Universalist Church, 69 Winthrop St., 5 p.m., sponsored by the Horizon Program, 621-3785.

Brunswick: Unitarian Universalist Church, 15 Pleasant St., 6 p.m., sponsored by Merrymeeting AIDS Support Services, 725-4955.

Portland: First Parish Church, 425 Congress St., 6 p.m., sponsored by Frannie Peabody Center, 774-6877.