New HIV Infection Numbers Stabilize According To CDC

New HIV Infections Stabilize According To CDC

A recent government report on human immunodeficiency virus or HIV infections revealed that the number of recent HIV infections has stabilized in the United States.

The HIV Supplementary Report of the Centers for Disease Control revealed that new HIV infections for 2008 and 2010 were the same at 47,500.

The report also revealed that the number of African-American women contracting the disease has started to go down. In 2010, only 6,100 new infections were noted, which is lower than the 7,700 in 2008.

The head of the CDC agency dealing with HIV/AIDS and other diseases, Kevin Fenton, said that although they were able to do something about the epidemic, they still have a lot of work to do to prevent the spread of HIV.

Majority of those contracting HIV are men who have relations with men. The report revealed an increase in this group as data showed 29,800 new infections were recorded in 2010, which is higher than the 26,700 in 2008. This group comprises 63 percent of new infections even though they only account for 4 percent of the population in the United States. Fenton indicated that they will not be able to stop the epidemic unless they are able to deal with new HIV infections in this particular group.

Authorities can also use the data from the report in enhancing some of their efforts in preventing new HIV infections that includes education, coordination among government agencies, and community participation.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday December 21 2012, 4:03 AM EDT. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0