In honor of World AIDS Day today, I wanted to share some local statistics about this deadly disease and inform you about free local testing center locations.

In 2005, Detroit had 12.7 cases of AIDS per 100,000 people. The number of cumulative AIDS cases that year was 10,000. How do our stats compare with other major cities? Very well, actually. Miami, Florida, had 44.9 cases per 100,000 people in ’05, and the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical area (MSA) clocked 32.8. Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC are some of the other major cities with AIDS statistics greater than Detroit’s.

There are several places locally that give free HIV testing, including Horizons Project offices on Canfield and Beuabien; AIDS Partnership Michigan on East Jefferson; and the Dingell VA Medical Center in MIdtown. For testing centers nearest you, click here and enter your zip code.