Continuing the fight against aids

The battle against HIV/AIDS has been going more than 40 years.

In the first week of June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an article in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report “Pneumocystis Pneumonia — Los Angeles.” The article describes cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. Los Angeles immunologist Dr. Michael Gottlieb, CDC’s Dr. Wayne Shandera and their colleagues reported that all the men have other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems are not working. Two had already died by the time the report was published and the others would die soon after. This edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will later become known as the AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) epidemic.

Human immunodeficiency virus attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS.

According to the World Health Organization since the beginning of the epidemic, 88.4 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 42.3 million people have died of HIV.

Today, approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. have HIV. About 13% of them don’t know it and need testing.

HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

In 2022, an estimated 31,800 people acquired HIV in the U.S.

In 2022, 37,981 people aged less than 13 and older received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. and 6 territories and freely associated states.

HIV diagnoses are not evenly distributed across states and regions. The highest rates of new diagnoses continue to occur in the South.

The overall HIV infection rate has been falling globally, in part thanks to intervention techniques.

Some examples of successful interventions for HIV include:

• Antiretroviral therapy

• Prophylaxis

• Prevention of vertical (mother-to-child) transmission

Over the past 20 years, HIV has become a manageable chronic illness for people who can be tested and treated. There are still significant inequities in access to care across the globe, which must be addressed.

You can learn more about the virus and treatment at here.

National snapshot

Estimated HIV infections in the U.S. by region, 2022:

• Nearly half (49%) of new HIV infections were in the South.

• There were 31,800 estimated new HIV infections in the U.S. in 2022. Of those:

• 67% were among gay, bisexual and other men who reported male-to-male sexual contact.

• 22% were among people who reported heterosexual contact.

• 7% were among people who inject drugs.

• 3% from male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use.

• 1% from birth and pregnancy.

• 1% other.

The CDC site has more data and information on U.S. cases here.

Global snapshot

Although global deaths from HIV/AIDS reached their peak in 2004, nearly 40 million people are living with HIV worldwide.718,000 HIV-related deaths occurred in 2021 globally.

$14.7 billion was spent in 2023 by governments, non-profits and development agencies.

As of 2021, sub-Saharan Africa is the region most disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for 72% of global HIV-related deaths with just over 29 million prevalent cases.

60% of new HIV infections at nearly 1 million new infections.

Cases of HIV/AIDS are particularly concentrated in the southern Africa region. Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa and Eswatini all experienced 600+ new cases per 100,000 people in 2019.

Sources: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ahead.hiv.gov, Ourworldindata.org