US HIV rate 'higher than thought'

[babsbunny]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7539267.stm

he number of Americans infected with the HIV virus each year is much higher than current government estimates, US health officials have said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 56,000 people had become infected with the virus that causes Aids in 2006.

That is substantially more than the earlier annual estimate of 40,000.

However, the CDC said the rise was due to improved detection methods, rather than an increase in infections.

For the first time, new blood tests can tell how recently an HIV infection occurred, allowing researchers to pinpoint the year it happened.

The increase is also thought to be due to new statistical methods.


HIV/AIDS IN THE US
1.1 million people with HIV/Aids at end 2003
24%-27% unaware of being infected
56,000 new cases in 2006
53% of new infections in 2006 occurred in gay and bisexual men
African American men and women were also strongly affected
Source: CDC

Mixed results in Aids battle

The CDC's Richard Wolitski said the 2006 incidence estimate "reveals that the epidemic is, and has been, worse than previously estimated".