Diseases MSM and blacks are at higher risk of HIV infection
By Ben Wasserman
Sep 14, 2008 - 8:16:45 AM
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Sunday Sep 14, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- An estimated
56,000 people in the United States get infected with
human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year and men who have sex with men (MSM)
and Africa-American or black men and women are at high risk of contracting the
virus, according to a CDC study published in the Aug 6 2008 issue of Journal of
American Medical Association.
The study conducted by Hall HI from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues directly estimated based on assay
results from 22 states that the incidence of HIV in the United States in 2006
was 22.8 per 100,000 population.
For the study, Hall et al. examined results from the
testing of remnant diagnostic serum specimens from patients 13 years or older
and newly diagnosed with HIV in 2006 in 22 states.
The test called the BED HIV-1 capture enzyme
immunoassay was able to determine whether a HIV infection was new or old.
The assay results were sent to the CDC through June 2007
and the researchers used a statistic method to extrapolate the results from the
individual states to the U.S.
The results were corroborated with HIV incidence for 1977
through 2006 calculated based on HIV diagnoses from 40 states and AIDS (
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) incidence from 50
states and the District of Columbia.
The number of newly contracted HIV infections in the U.S.
in 2006 extrapolated from the assay data from 22 states was similar to that resulting
from the calculation based on diagnoses of HIV from 40 states and AIDS
incidence from 50 states: 56,300 versus 55,400.
The researchers found 45 percent of HIV infections were
found in Africa-American black men and women and 53 percent were among men who
have sex with men (MSM).
On Sep 9, 2008, the CDC reported in its weekly publication
MMWR the
following cited in verbatim:
To provide additional subpopulation
estimates by age group, race/ethnicity, and HIV transmission category, CDC
conducted a more detailed analysis of data from the new surveillance system.
The results indicated that, in 2006, of new HIV infections among males, 72%
were in MSM. Among MSM with new infections, 46% were white, 35% were black, and
19% were Hispanic. Among MSM aged 13--29 years, the number of new HIV
infections in blacks (5,220) was 1.6 times the number in whites (3,330) and 2.3
times the number in Hispanics (2,300). Among females, the predominant HIV
transmission category was high-risk heterosexual contact, which accounted for
80% of new infections. The HIV incidence rate for black females was 14.7 times
the rate for white females, and the rate for Hispanic females was 3.8 times the
rate for white females. MSM (of all races), blacks, and Hispanics were
represented disproportionately in 2006 among those with new HIV infections. The
new incidence data will help guide local, state, and national intervention
measures tailored to those populations at greatest risk for HIV infection.