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AIDS/HIV EPIDEMIC
CDC Facts & Figures
At the end of 2003,
an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were
living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2003, 32,048 cases of HIV/AIDS were reported from the 33 areas (32
states and the US Virgin Islands) with long-term, confidential
name-based HIV reporting.
When all 50 states are considered, CDC estimates that approximately
40,000 persons become infected with HIV each year.
In 2003, men who have sex with men (MSM) represented the largest
proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses, followed by adults and adolescents
infected through heterosexual contact.
In 2003, almost three quarters of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were made for male
adolescents and adults.
Persons of minority races and ethnicities are disproportionately
affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2003, African Americans, who make up
approximately 12% of the US population, accounted for half of the
HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed.
During the
mid-to-late 1990s, advances in treatment slowed the progression of HIV
infection to AIDS and led to dramatic decreases in AIDS deaths. Although
the decrease in AIDS deaths continues (3% decrease from 1999 through
2003), the number of AIDS diagnoses increased an estimated 4% during
that period.
Better treatments have
also led to an increasing number of persons in the United States who are
living with AIDS. From the end of 1999 through the end of 2003, the
number of persons in the United States who were living with AIDS
increased from 311,205 to 405,926—an increase of 30%.
HIV/AIDS FACT SHEET
Basic Information
By
Mark Cichocki
Human
Immunodeficiency Syndrome,
more commonly know as HIV is a virus that, if left untreated, slowly
damages the body's
immune system. Without a
strong, healthy immune system, the body becomes susceptible to many
infections and illnesses.
If a person living with HIV becomes sick with one of the more serious
types of these infections, they are said to have Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. While there is no cure for HIV or
AIDS, people are living long productive lives, thanks to
HIV medicines and
aggressive treatment programs.
How
HIV is Transmitted:
Contrary to public perception, you can't get HIV infected by drinking
from a water fountain, sitting on a toilet seat, hugging or touching an
HIV infected person, or by eating off plates and utensils.
The
following are ways HIV can be transmitted from one person to another:
-
By way of bodily fluids (blood, semen, and vaginal secretions)
during sexual contact. Saliva is not considered a transmission
route for HIV.
-
By sharing needles to inject drugs. Infected blood can be exchanged
between the parties who are using the same needle and syringe.
-
By accidental needle sticks (needles contaminated with HIV infected
blood).
-
Through the transfusion of infected blood or blood products (because
of new and improved blood screening tools, this has rarely occurred
since 1992).
-
HIV infected woman can pass HIV to their babies while pregnant,
during delivery, or when breast feeding.
HIV
Signs and Symptoms:
Often
people who are HIV infected have few or no symptoms. Other times,
symptoms of HIV are confused with other illnesses such as the flu. If a
person were to have symptoms they would include:
-
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, groin or under the arms
-
Diarrhea
-
Unexplained weight loss
-
Fatigue
-
Fever, chills or sweats (especially at night)
-
Visual changes
-
Frequent pneumonias or shortness of breath
-
Rash
-
Flu-like symptoms
How
to Prevent HIV Infection:
-
Speak openly with partners about safer sex techniques and HIV
status.
-
If you don't know your status, get an HIV test to protect yourself
and others.
-
Get tested with your partner as a way of saying "you care and want
both of you to stay healthy."
-
Use a latex condom with each oral, anal or vaginal sexual encounter.
Those with latex allergies should use latex-free condoms.
-
Do not share needles or syringes if you inject drugs. If you do
inject drugs, seek professional help to kick your habit.
-
HIV infected pregnant women should get into regular prenatal,
intrapartum and postpartum care.
-
HIV infected women should not breast feed.
HIV/AIDS
INFORMATION
History &
Statistics
AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic
has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors
of society.
It is thought
that more than one million people are living with HIV in the
USA and that more than half a million have died after
developing AIDS.
American HIV
surveillance data are not comprehensive so many statistics
must be based on reports of AIDS diagnoses. In interpreting
such AIDS statistics, it is important to remember that they
do not correspond to new HIV infections. Most people live
with HIV for several years before developing AIDS.
AIDS Statistics
People living with AIDS
At the
end of 2004, the CDC estimates that 415,193 people were
living with AIDS in the USA.
Of these,
Of the adults
and adolescents with AIDS, 77% were men. Of these men,
-
58% were
men who had sex with men (MSM)
-
21% were
injection drug users (IDU)
-
11% were
exposed through heterosexual contact
-
8% were
both MSM and IDU.
Of the 93,566
adult and adolescent women with AIDS,
An estimated
3,927 children were living with AIDS at the end of 2004, of
whom 97% probably acquired the infection from their mothers.
People with
AIDS are surviving longer and are contributing to a steady
increase in the number of people living with AIDS. This
trend will continue as long as the number of new diagnoses
exceeds the number of people dying each year.
AIDS diagnoses
and deaths
In June 1981, the first cases of what is now known as AIDS
were reported in the USA. During the 1980s, there were rapid
increases in the number of AIDS cases and deaths of people
with AIDS. Cases peaked with the 1993 expansion of the case
definition, and then declined. The most dramatic drops in
both cases and deaths began in 1996, with the widespread use
of combination
antiretroviral therapy.
The rate of
decrease in AIDS diagnoses slowed in the late 1990s. After
reaching a plateau, the number of diagnoses increased
slightly each year from 2001 to 2004. There were an
estimated 42,514 diagnoses in 2004. In total, an estimated
944,306 people have been diagnosed with AIDS.
The number of deaths among people with AIDS remained
relatively stable in the period 1999-2003, before dropping
slightly to an estimated 15,798 deaths in 2004. Since the
beginning of the epidemic, an estimated 529,113 people with
AIDS have died in the USA.
Who is affected by AIDS?
During the 1990s, the epidemic shifted steadily toward a
growing proportion of AIDS cases among black people and
Hispanics and in women, and toward a decreasing proportion
in MSM, although this group remains the largest single
exposure group. Black people and Hispanics have been
disproportionately affected since the early years of the
epidemic. In absolute numbers, blacks have outnumbered
whites in new AIDS diagnoses and deaths since 1996, and in
the number of people living with AIDS since 1998.
From 2000 to 2004, the estimated number of new AIDS cases
increased in all racial/ethnic groups. Over the same period,
the estimated number of new AIDS diagnoses increased by 10%
among women and by 7% among men. The number of new cases
probably due to heterosexual contact grew by 20%, and the
number probably due to sex between men grew by 15%, but the
number among injecting drug users fell by 12%.
During 2004 there were an estimated 48 paediatric AIDS
diagnoses, compared to 190 in 1999 and 823 in 1994. The
decline in paediatric AIDS incidence is associated with more
HIV testing of pregnant women and the use of zidovudine
(AZT) by HIV-infected pregnant women and their newborn
infants.
The age group 35-44 years accounted for 39% of all AIDS
cases diagnosed in 2004. Nearly three-quarters of all people
who have died with AIDS did not live to the age of 45.
From
Avert.Org
AIDS EDUCATION
Comprehensive Sexuality Education is HIV Prevention
World AIDS Day 2005: Stop AIDS - Keep the Promise
On December 1, World AIDS Day 2005, the
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. ( SIECUS )
reaffirms our commitment to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic
both in the U.S. and worldwide. In observance of this year's theme,
Stop AIDS - Keep the Promise, SIECUS will continue to promote the
importance of comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education as
the mainstay in HIV prevention.
"To keep the promise of a world free of AIDS, both here in the U.S. and
worldwide, we must recognize young people's right to healthy sexuality.
This includes the right to comprehensive sexuality information and
education," said Joseph DiNorcia, Jr., president and CEO of SIECUS.
"HIV prevention does not exist in a vacuum, and young people require a
wide range of services and support. Without honest and complete
education, other interventions to keep our youth HIV-free are
meaningless," DiNorcia continued.
This generation of young people has not known a world without AIDS. For
too many young people, AIDS is not an abstraction-it has touched their
lives. Often AIDS has taken a gruesome toll on their communities and
families, and many young people, especially in the countries hardest hit
by the pandemic, are coming of age as HIV-positive people. Young people
ages 15-24 account for half of all the new cases of HIV worldwide. Every
minute, five young people worldwide become infected with HIV. This
figure represents over 7,000 young people each day. Yet only 20% of
people worldwide who need prevention services have access to them.
"Young people can and must be part of solving the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Providing them with accurate and complete information about their sexual
health not only serves to protect their health and safety, but also
creates the next generation of informed educators and community
leaders," said DiNorcia.
U.S. support for global HIV-prevention programs, however, seems geared
to keeping young people in the dark rather than empowering them to make
informed choices about relationships, sex, and their futures. The
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the guiding
policy for global HIV/AIDS funding, offers no policy support or funding
for comprehensive HIV-prevention programs. Instead, PEPFAR will provide
not less than $133 million annually to abstinence-until-marriage
programs in each of 15 "focus countries" in Africa and the Caribbean, as
well as Vietnam , totaling at least $665 million over five years.
Research on the effectiveness of such programs in the U.S. has been
inconclusive at best and at worst has shown potential harm to the sexual
health of young people.
"While the commitment of the United States government in stemming the
tide of HIV/AIDS is laudable, the great potential of this initiative is
being lost because the politics and ideology of the Bush Administration
are trumping public health needs," said DiNorcia. "We cannot keep young
people in the dark if we expect to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in any
meaningful way," DiNorcia continued.
From SIECUS
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