3. Promoting HIV Testing in Diverse Populations
The HIV Epidemic in the United States
For more than 30 years, HIV disease has been affecting every demographic group in the United States, touching individuals of all races, ethnicities, ages, socioeconomic statuses, sexual orientations, and lifestyles. However, the epidemic’s impact has not affected all of these groups equally, with some groups experiencing HIV prevalence rates out of proportion to their representation in the population as a whole. [Top Antivir Med.2011]
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.2 million Americans are HIV-positive. However, 1 in 5 (20%) of those individuals (approximately 240,000) are not aware of their infection [CDC Surveillance 2011]; this number underscores the importance of promoting routine HIV testing, so that these persons can be linked to care, thereby enhancing their own health and reducing their communities HIV viral burden. According to a recent CDC report, only approximately 50% of HIV-positive individuals are receiving care for their condition, and only 28% have undetectable HIV-1 RNA levels—a critical measure of the success of therapy and a vital factor in reducing community viral load. [Vital Signs Dec. 2011]
In recent years, approximately 50,000 Americans have become infected with HIV annually. The CDC has reported that in 2009 (the most recent year for which data are complete) an estimated 42,959 people received a diagnosis of HIV infection in the 40 states and 5 dependent areas (American Samoa, Guam, North Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands) that have used confidential name-based reporting of HIV infection since at least January 2006. These states and areas represent approximately 75% of AIDS cases in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Also in 2009, an estimated 34,247 people in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) were diagnosed with AIDS. Since the HIV epidemic was first recognized in 1981, an estimated 1,108,611 Americans have been diagnosed with AIDS. More than 16,000 people with AIDS were estimated to have died in 2008, with 594,500 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic. [CDC HIV in the US 2012]
