African Americans still bear brunt of HIV epidemic

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues in the United States, African American men and women continue to account for half of all the existing and new cases of HIV infection, even though they represent only 13 percent of the United States population, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today.

In 2005, African American men were seven times more likely than white men to be diagnosed, while for African American women, the risk was increased 21-fold compared with white women.

In response to this disproportionate effect on blacks, the CDC is ramping up its efforts to provide "known, effective HIIV-prevention interventions and to implement new, improved and culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS strategies."

Writing in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Dr. T. Durant and colleagues at the CDC update information regarding HIV/AIDS diagnoses reported by 33 states between 2001 and 2005.

During that period, 51 percent of HIV infections were diagnosed among American American adults and adolescents.

Furthermore, African American had the largest percentage of diagnoses in all age groups and in the categories of transmission due to injecting-drug-use and high-risk heterosexual transmission.

In an editorial note, personnel at the CDC promote its new program, the "Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among African Americans." The program's charge is to expand prevention services into areas where the need is greatest, increase opportunities for diagnosing and treating HIV, and devote more research to developing new behavioral, social and structural intervention.

The CDC recognizes that multiple sectors of society need to mobilized to reduce HIV transmission among blacks. Thus, they intend to work more closely with "black faith, entertainment, media, civic, education, and business leaders and others who have not been historically involved in HIV prevention to address community awareness, perceptions, testing and behavior."

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, March 9, 2007.