CDC: Majority of
HIV Infections Are Among Gays, Black
Men

A new analysis of HIV infection data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the majority of infections occurring in the country each year are among men who have sex with men and that African-American men -- both gay and straight -- are the most affected U.S. ethnic group.

Last month the CDC announced that new HIV reporting procedures and technologies indicated that the annual rate of U.S. HIV infections was 40% higher than initially believed, with about 56,300 infections occurring each year.

The new analysis of the data shows that 72% of all new HIV infections occurring among men were due to sexual contact with other men. Among white men, 81% of infections were due to male-to-male sexual activity, compared to 63% among black men, and 72% among Hispanic men.

The analysis also found that the majority of HIV infections occurring among gay and bisexual black and Hispanic men were among those ages 13 to 29, while among white men who have sex with men the infection rate was highest among those ages 30 to 39. According to the data, the number of new HIV infections among African-American men who have sex with men was double that of white and Hispanic men.

Women and girls account for about 27% of new HIV infections each year, with more than 80% of these due to high-risk sexual contact with men. The HIV infection rate among African-American women is 15 times higher than that of white women, according to the data. Overall, African-Americans account for 46% of all new HIV infections each year, despite representing only 12% of the U.S. population.

Phill Wilson, CEO of the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute, said that new data makes it clear that the federal government must increase its HIV prevention initiatives targeting African-Americans. "The fundamental question is, Why aren't we doing a better job of responding to the epidemic in black America?" Wilson told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Richard Wolitski, acting director of the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the high number of new infections among gay and bisexual men -- particularly young men who have sex with men -- is due both to a "lack of access to effective HIV prevention services" and to an "underestimation of personal risk. Many younger men [also] have not personally experienced the severity of the early AIDS epidemic."

To read the CDC's full analysis of its HIV infection data, visit www.cdc.gov/mmWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5736a1.htm. (Bob Adams, The Advocate)