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New HIV infections in the United States generally remained stable during 2006-09, averaging 50,000 cases per year, according to estimates based on data from 16 states and two cities, CDC announced Wednesday. Nonetheless, new infections rose 21 percent for people ages 13-29, driven by a 34 percent increase among young men who have sex with men, particularly a dramatic 48 percent increase in incidence among young black/African-American MSM.“We’re very concerned about these increases among young gay men,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. “We can’t allow the health of a new generation to be lost to what is essentially a completely preventable disease.”
The 50,000 average is derived from the estimated 48,100 new HIV infections in 2009, 47,800 in 2008, 56,000 in 2007 and 48,600 in 2006.
While blacks represent just 14 percent of the US population, they accounted for 44 percent of incident infections in 2009, CDC reported. The infection rate among blacks that year was nearly eight times as high as that of whites (69.9 cases vs. 9.1 per 100,000).
MSM are an estimated 2 percent of the US population, but they comprised 61 percent of all new HIV infections in 2009. MSM ages 13-29 accounted for 27 percent of all new infections in the United States. The sharpest increase was seen among young black/African-American MSM.
“We saw increases of up to 48 percent, nearly a 50 percent increase between 2006 and 2009,” Fenton said.
In a statement, CDC cited several factors that could be behind the disparity: “higher proportions of young black MSM are unaware of their infection than MSM of other racial/ethnic groups; stigma of HIV and homosexuality, which can hinder utilization of HIV prevention services; limited access to health care, HIV testing, and treatment; increased likelihood of having older sexual partners (who are more likely to be HIV-infected), compared to MSM of other racial/ethnic groups; higher rates of some [STDs] among young black men, which can facilitate HIV transmission; and under-estimating personal risk of HIV.”
In accordance with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, CDC will focus resources where HIV is most concentrated: among MSM of all races, as well as blacks and Hispanics.
“We’re overhauling how we give out money to states and localities to make sure we are giving the money where it is needed most, to the population groups that need it most, and with the interventions that are most effective,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC’s director.
The open-access report, “Estimated HIV Incidence in the United States, 2006-2009,” was published in Public Library of Science ONE (2011;6(8):e17502. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017502).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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