AIDS In the United States

Since the first cases were reported in 1981, more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. have been infected with HIV. More than 500,000 people have died, with 18,017 deaths occurring in 2003. Approximately 40,000 new infections occur each year. This number of new infections has not declined in the past decade. In 2003, 43,171 cases were diagnosed. This represents a 4.6% increase over AIDS cases diagnosed in 2002.

Treatment efforts and new technologies such as rapid testing are now available. Yet approximately 24-27% of those infected with HIV do not know it. All states now report HIV cases. While ten states account for 71% of the reported cases, there have been cases reported in all 50 states.

Between 1995 and 2002, the age-adjusted HIV death rate declined by 70%, due mainly because of the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In 2001, HIV was the fifth leading cause of death among those ages 25-44, down from number one in 1995.

Racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Minority Americans represent 71% of the new AIDS diagnoses and 64% of the people estimated to be living with AIDS. African Americans and Latinos make up 27% of the population.

Almost half of the people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are African Americans, though they represent 13% of the population. HIV was the number one cause of death for African American women ages 24-34 in 2001. Sixty-seven percent of the new infections in women occurred among African Americans in 2003.

Young adults and teens continue to be at risk. At least half of all new HIV infections are estimated to be among those under the age of 25. Most young people are infected through sex. Teen girls represent 51% of HIV cases reported among 13-19 year olds. Young African Americans represented 65% of AIDS cases reported among 13-19 year olds in 2002. Latino teens represented 20%.

The U.S. government is expected to spend $19.7 billion on HIV/AIDS funding in FY2005. Of this 59% will go to care, 15% to research, 9% to cash and housing assistance, 4% to prevention, and 12% to combat the international epidemic.

(From “HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States, September 2005" produced by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. For more information go to www.kff.org.)