Cluster of HIV Cases in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

In the research we see and read on AIDS and HIV, we have unfortunately grown accustomed to seeing reports on various countries around the world, like South Africa, where epidemic proportions have been met and exceeded. For example, recent data on AIDS-related deaths in South Africa shows a 91% overall increase from 1997 to 2006. Of those deaths of children between the ages of 0 to 9, the death rate has increased by 93% in that date range, while the death rate for adults between the ages of 25 and 49 has increased by an astounding rate of 170%.

It seems easy and maybe a little convenient to think that HIV rates are making a downturn as we read fewer reports coming from the United States. After all, AIDS does not seem to make the same headlines as it once used to; however, according to a recent report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of those Americans who are living with HIV, most tend to dwell in cities. In fact, over seventy percent of HIV cases can be traced back to 10 states, demonstrating how HIV seems to be clustered within cities.

In 2007, data from the Centers for Disease Control demonstrated that 82 percent of all HIV infection cases were residing within the largest metropolitan areas of the United States. That percentage rose to 85 percent with the latest release of data from the CDC. The AIDS virus first made its appearance in the 1980s. Recent data from the CDC showed that at the end of 2007, 1,051,875 people had been infected with HIV since AIDS first reared its head. In 2007 alone, over 37,000 cases had been identified.

Last year, the United States government budgeted approximately 23.3 billion dollars for the fight against HIV. Breaking down this budget, 10 percent was used for assistance with housing, 12 percent went towards research and development, 25 percent went towards fighting HIV globally and 4 percent went towards prevention methods. The CDC reported in 2008 that it had devised a new method of approximating new HIV infection rates. Using this new method, they released that in 2006, over 56,000 people were infected with HIV within the United States.

Of the newly infected cases, almost half of them were contracted through male homosexual sex. To date, over 33 million people have been infected with HIV/AIDS all over the world and over 25 million people have succumbed to AIDS or AIDS-related complications. No cure for HIV exists, although researchers and scientists are diligently fighting each and every day to devise one. AIDS can be transmitted through semen, blood and breast milk. Antiretroviral drug therapies have shown much success in keeping the infection under control and letting infected patients lead a longer and otherwise healthier life.