Tulsa - HIV is still a major issue for people here in Tulsa. One hundred people become infected every year.

People aren't dying from AIDS today the way they were twenty years ago. So, many organizations have come together today to talk about the issue.

Tommy Chesbro doesn't look like he has HIV. But, he's had it for 24 years.

"When I found out I basically thought my life was over," he says. "Dropped out of school, basically existed for several years."

Today, he's an expert on sex education with Planned Parenthood. He takes medicine to stay alive.

"They're a god-send," he says. "I wouldn't be here if we didn't have the medication."

The medication has helped people living with HIV and AIDS. But, victims are still contracting the virus.

"Nothing has changed except we now have some medications that allow people to live longer," says Sharon Thoele with Tulsa CARES. "And that is why perhaps it doesn't get the press it has gotten in the past."

The Centers for Disease Control now says the numbers of those infected are worse than scientists thought.

"We thought we were getting about 40-thousand new infections a year, but in fact we are getting about 60-thousand new cases a year," Thoele says. "So, we horribly underestimated the impact of HIV in the United States."

Tommy has traveled all over the country, even South Africa. He's looking forward to longer life.

"I have a good job, in a relationship, looking forward to becoming an old man," he says.

Tulsa CARES put on today's event. The local organization provides social services to people living with HIV.

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