Oct 6, 2007 12:04 pm US/Eastern
HIV Alert Brought To The SOBE Scene
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MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―
There has been much education about HIV awareness behind the scenes on South Beach, but now it's being pushed onto the forefront. Next week, SOBE will host a safe sex party.
South Florida's famed international hot spot was shaken by the arrest of "Eli The Fly", also known as Elidor Kersaint, a club promoter arrested for having sex with a woman and not telling her he's HIV positive.
Alian Hernandez, commonly known as "Mr. A-Z Promoter" said, "It's actually been something of a big issue. People have been talking about it on MySpace. Every other bulletin has to do with this HIV issue."
He says the news has been sobering in what has typically been an extremely casually sex scene.
"It is changing," Hernandez added, "There are people out there more aware, because of the gentleman who was just arrested for HIV, and people are taking more precautions."
Kersaint is revealing a dirty secret many in South Florida didn't know, like where it ranks nationally for new HIV/AIDs cases. According to a Center for Disease Control survey in 2005, Miami ranked number one with more than 54,000 cases, followed by Fort Lauderdale and New York City.
A Care Resource spokesman, a nonprofit agency educating people about HIV/AIDs, said those most infected are African-American women and teenagers. He said his group who targeted the gay community, is now putting its sights on heterosexuals.
Care has three vans on the street every day of the week to get the word out. On Friday evenings, it offers free HIV tests, which takes from 20-30 minutes, and gives out free condoms right off Lincoln Road.
New York City has taken the program of HIV/AIDs prevention even further by supplying "NYC Condoms" to the club community and posting them on signs throughout the city. Activists predict the same awareness could happen in South Florida.
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