Atlanta, Ga., Dec 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A new study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that newly diagnosed HIV infections in gay and bisexual men has risen in many U.S. states since 2000 has confirmed that the incidence of AIDS in men engaged in homosexual behavior is significantly higher than that among other groups in the U.S., Reuters reports.
The study released to commemorate World AIDS Day, showed that between 2000 and 2003, 11% more infections of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in among men who have sex with men.
Of the 125,800 diagnoses reported during the period, said the Center, 44% were accounted for by Gay and bisexual males.
During that same period, reported the CDC, the HIV/AIDS diagnosis rate for the overall population retained relative stability increasing by only 0.2% from 19.5 cases per 100,000 people in 2000, to 19.7 per 100,000 people in 2003.
Blacks, representing about 13 percent of the U.S. population, made up 51 percent of all diagnoses from 2000 to 2003, said the CDC.
"This is not a trend we want to ignore," said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC's HIV/AIDS prevention program. "We need to make sure the leadership in the gay community understands the importance of tracking this very carefully.”
HIV/AIDS has been showing signs of an increase since the late 1990’s when deaths from AIDS has been stable at a rate of about 16,000 per year, while new HIV infections stabilized at about 40,000 a year.
The increase has been noted particularly among gay and bisexual men, who are believed to account for the majority of the 900,000 or so Americans who live with HIV.
There has also been a recent surge in syphilis infections among gay and bisexual men Syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases increase the risk of contracting HIV.