A new HIV infection every 10 minutes in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the HIV incidence statistics and said there are serious concerns about the disease.

The statistics showed that every 9-and-a-half minutes, someone in the United States is infected with HIV virus. It equates to about 150 people per day and more than 1,000 per week. Unfortunately the current resources are inadequate in stemming this infection. Previously, the CDC erroneously reported the rate of infection as one in every 13 minutes but after a redraft it showed there are more there are 15,000 more HIV infections annually. About 200 of those infected will die each year because of the disease. The new infections are very high among gay and bisexual men of all races, but the impact is more severe among the ethnic communities. The report showed that the number of people newly infected in a given year has remained stable but more number of people with HIV has grown. This may be due to the HIV prevention services are making more people aware about the infection. David R. Holtgrave, chairman of the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Julie M. Scofield, executive director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, Washington, wrote in the article that we have a lot to do. A stable rate of HIV infection is not a good indicator, rather we have to reduce the number of newer HIV cases. They recommend the following things to the U.S. government to take control of this epidemic. 1.) CDC should have goals to reduce new infections by 50 percent in five years instead of their current goal reduce new infections by 10 percent by 2010. 2.) Boost HIV prevention services in the U.S. to an annual investment of $1.3 billion, which will help expand the reach of prevention services across the country. 3.) CDC should found additional states, currently they use only 22 states, whose data were used in the new incidence study. If other states are not funded, without prevention services, the rate of infections will only increase. CDC funds only those states that report the HIV and AIDS cases. 4.) The gay and bisexual men of all races account for more than 50 percent of new HIV infections in the U.S. Yet, the CDC allocates meager resources to serve this community. Adequate funding for the prevention services is necessary for this group. 5.) The CDC’s HIV prevention budget has dramatically been cut by the government, and without adequate funding the epidemic can only get worse. 6.) There should be more HIV awareness in the newspapers, television, family discussion and classrooms in the U.S. 7.) While HIV testing is critical, we must not mistake the CDC's heavy emphasis on "opt-out" HIV testing in health care settings for a truly comprehensive national HIV prevention program, including needle exchange services, behavioral interventions, adequate HIV housing, comprehensive sexuality education and other evidence-based services. The writers hope the next president will consider HIV in the U.S. a top priority. Holtgrave and Scofield think the government is probably waiting for a cure or a perfect vaccine for HIV, but the cost of waiting means a new HIV infection every 9.5 minutes.