How common is HIV infection?
Here's what we know about the number of people in the United States with HIV.
- Between 1 million and 1.85 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.1 But about a quarter of them don't know they have it.
- HIV was discovered in 1983. But it probably first came to the United States in the late 1970s.
- About 39 million people around the world are infected with HIV.2 And more than 20 million people have died from it. Most people with HIV live in developing countries.
- About 40,000 Americans become infected with HIV each year.1 This number has stayed about the same for the past 10 years.
- About 7 in 10 new cases are in men.1
- About half a million Americans have died from AIDS.1 That makes AIDS the fifth leading cause of death among people ages 25 to 44.
- New treatments are helping people with HIV live longer.
Sources for the information on this page:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance and statistics: basic statistics. May 2008. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm (accessed on 20 June 2008).
- UNAIDS. HIV infection rates decline in several countries but global numbers of people with HIV continues to rise. Available at http://www.unaids.org/epi/2005/doc/docs/PR_EpiUpdate_Nov05_en.pdf (accessed on 20 June 2008).
This information was last updated in Aug 01, 2008
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This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. |
