HIV 'Rises Alarmingly' Among Gay Men
There were on average 50,000 cases of new HIV infections a year across the U.S. over the past four years, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, according to science journal PLoS ONE, the largest increase has come among bisexual and men who have sex with other men (MSM).
The journal highlights that the new infection rate amongst black bisexual and black MSM had particularly “alarming increases”.
CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden has said, “More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM.”
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The study, which took place between 2006 and 2009, is the first that looks into HIV numbers with a test that can distinguish recent infections from existing infections.
The CDC has said that it estimates that MSM make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, however, this group makes up a massive 61 percent of new infections in 2009. More than one-in-four of these new cases were from young men aged between 13 and 29 who had sex with other men.
Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention has told CNN: “We are deeply concerned by the alarming rise in new HIV infections in young, black gay and bisexual men and the continued impact of HIV among young gay and bisexual men of all races.
“We cannot allow the health of a new generation of gay men to be lost to a preventable disease. It's time to renew the focus on HIV among gay men and confront the homophobia and stigma that all too often accompany this disease.”
In 2009, the study found, that although blacks made up 14 percent of the U.S. population, the group accounted for 44 percent of all new infections; more than seven times that of caucasians.
The infection rate among black women was also found to be disproportionately high, with the group experiencing an infection rate 15 times that of caucasian women.
The overall number of new infections has dropped since the spike of the mid 1980’s but CDC says the level is still unacceptably high. Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention has said, “We have plateaued at an unacceptably high level. Without intensified HIV prevention efforts, we are likely to face an era of rising infection rates and higher health care costs for a preventable condition that already affects more than 1 million people in this country.”
According to CNN, Phill Wilson, founder & chief executive officer of the Black AIDS Institute has reported: “What these numbers tell us is we are not going to be successful in driving down new infections until and unless we invest in those populations most at risk, and in America today those populations are black Americans, men who have sex with men of all races and especially young, black men who have sex with men.”
He added, “It is outrageous that over the last three years reported in this data, since 2006-2009, we see a 48% increase in new cases among young black men who have sex with men age 13-29. We have to build the infrastructure and the capacity in these communities to respond to this epidemic in an appropriate manner.”
