20 Years of AIDS
© CDC Press Release
"AIDS continues to have a tragic impact, not only on those who have died or are living with HIV infection, but also on the many friends, families, and entire communities that have been forever changed by the epidemic," said CDC Director Jeffrey P. Koplan, M.D., M.P.H.
Today an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and another 320,000 people are living with AIDS. New infections, which peaked at over 150,000 in the mid-1980s, were reduced to an estimated 40,000 a year in the early 1990s. Since the beginning of the epidemic, well over one million Americans have been infected.
"At this solemn milestone, the best way to honor those lost to AIDS is to stop the spread of the disease," added Koplan. "As we remember those who have died, we must recommit ourselves to prevention on a national, community, and personal level, or we greatly risk seeing infections rise again. As a nation, we must also express our gratitude to the many who have dedicated their lives to the fight against HIV and AIDS. Many lives have been protected through public health interventions that have reduced sexual and drug-related infections, ensured the safety of the blood supply, reduced mother-to-child infections and protected healthcare workers. But, even more can and must be done."
New CDC study finds high rates of infection among young gay and bisexual men
As the agency recounted the tremendous toll AIDS has had, CDC released new data showing that 4.4 percent of young men who have sex with men (MSM), 23-29 years of age--and 14.7 percent of African-American MSM in this age group--were infected annually in a six-city study conducted between 1998 and 2000. This high rate of new infections, combined with recent increases in STDs and risk behavior among MSM, suggests that HIV incidence may be increasing in this population, adding to what has become a major crisis 20 years into the AIDS epidemic.
HIV incidence was 3.5 percent among Latino MSM, and 2.5 percent among white MSM in the study.
HIV incidence indicates the number of people newly infected with HIV each year — as opposed to prevalence — the total number of people with HIV, regardless of when they became infected. These preliminary incidence data are from the ongoing CDC Young Men's Survey and come on the heels of data released earlier this year indicating that HIV prevalence among African-American MSM in the study was 30 percent.
