By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times 

Robert Marquez was 18 when he got the news that would change his life forever.

He was HIV positive.

“I knew nothing about it outside of it being a ‘gay disease’ like my conservative parents and pastor said about it,” said Marquez, now 20. “But now, I know that’s not true. It can affect anyone. But it’s also possible to live a long, normal life.”

His case is one example of a double-edged reality that has raised concern among advocates as HIV makes an unwelcome comeback in Florida. While the stigma has lifted somewhat and effective treatments have lessened much of the danger, the disease no longer presses on the public consciousness like it once did.

That and a lack of public information have contributed to a rise in cases among a new generation of young people who never knew the fear that HIV evoked in earlier times.

Florida continues to rank at or near the top nationally for HIV diagnoses, with Pinellas and Hillsborough counties among the regions that are considered hotbeds of activity. And local health officials say they are seeing more cases among people in their early teens to early 20s.

“Yes, HIV is more manageable these days, but it’s on the rise again. Younger people are being diagnosed and don’t seem to understand the consequences or know the history of the stigma behind HIV and AIDS,” said Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers, a network of health care facilities that specialize in LBGTQ services around Tampa Bay.

While state health officials typically don’t release HIV data in real time, many available numbers support what advocates say they are seeing in their centers.

According to the Florida Department of Health, the number of HIV diagnoses:

• Increased 8 percent statewide among people of all ages from 2014 to 2016.

• Shot up 20 percent from 2007 to 2016 for people in their 20s across the state.

• Rose significantly over the same nine years for people in their 20s in Tampa Bay. The increase was 28 percent in Pinellas and Pasco counties, and 23 percent in Hillsborough County.

Nationally, people ages 13 to 24 accounted for 21 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2016, with most of those occurring among those who are 20 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many of them are not using condoms, a problem that has only worsened in the last decade. In a CDC survey last year, only 54 percent of sexually active high school students said they used condoms the last time they had intercourse, down from 61 percent in 2007.

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