May 24, 2023 – The number of individuals diagnosed with HIV annually within the United States continues to say no, in response to latest CDC data released Tuesday.
The decline in latest infections has not been consistent across all demographic groups, nor has it kept pace with declines in other parts of the world where there is larger access to HIV prevention treatment.
In 2021, there have been 32,100 latest HIV cases within the United States, down from 36,500 in 2017, a 12% decrease. An estimated 1.2 million people within the United States are infected with HIV, in response to the new report.
Young gay and bisexual men under 25 accounted for many of the decline in cases. Among latest infections, 40% of individuals diagnosed with HIV in 2021 were black, 29% were Hispanic or Latino, and 26% were white.
“Our nation’s HIV prevention efforts continue to move in the right direction,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, in a opinion. “However, long-standing factors such as systemic inequalities, social and economic exclusion, and residential segregation stand between highly effective HIV treatment and prevention and the people who could benefit from it. Efforts must be accelerated and scaled up to ensure progress is made to reach all groups more quickly and equitably.”
The report revealed that among the many latest cases:
- About 8 out of 10 are men.
- 66% are transmitted through sexual contact between men.
- 22% are transmitted through heterosexual contact.
- 8% are transmitted through injectable drugs.
Compared to the United States, many other Western countries reported a bigger decline in latest HIV infections over the identical period, starting from 70% within the Netherlands to 33% within the United Kingdom. NBC News reported.
The decline in HIV transmissions is attributed to more people being aware of their HIV status, more people taking medications to suppress and reduce viral transmission, and more people taking medications reminiscent of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which may reduce the chance of infection by as much as 99%.
However, the CDC report says that only 30% of people that may gain advantage from taking PrEP actually accomplish that, and that the drug is least more likely to be prescribed to blacks, Hispanics and Latinos.
“HIV in the United States is primarily a disease of the most disadvantaged in society,” Boghuma Titanji, MD, PhD, assistant professor and infectious disease expert at Emory University, told NBC News.