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New data from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal a sharp increase in the number of new HIV infections among gay and bisexual men and, in particular, among young men ages 13-24.
The new data includes statistics from 2010 and trends from prior years dating back to 2007.
In 2010, the CDC tracked 47,500 new HIV infections across the country. Infection rates among young gay and bisexual men ages 13-24 increased 22 percent over 2008 infection rates.
The CDC says young, black gay and bisexual men continue to be most at-risk and now account for more new infections than any other subgroup. New infections in 2010 among young, black gay and bisexual men accounted 10 percent, or 4,800 individual cases, of the total number of new infections.
Generally, gay and bisexual men of all ages continue to be most at-risk. Sixty-three percent of all new infections were among gay and bisexual men. The number of new cases grew 12 percent between 2008 and 2010.
Other key findings of the new data include:
– African-Americans represent 44 percent of new infections.
– Latinos represent 21 percent of new infections.
– New infections among African-American women are on the decline (21 percent fewer infections in 2010 compared to 2010). However, African-American women still represent 64 percent of new infections among women.
This is a developing story: Stay tuned for more in-depth exploration of this data and more information on local HIV prevention efforts.