More new cases of Americans infected with HIV; Diagnosis of HIV can occur years after infection, expert says
[NEWS: HIV/AIDS]
News from CNN.com/health.
There are more new cases of Americans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, than previously believed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. A woman uses the Oraquick rapid HIV testing device at a New York health clinic in 2006. About 56,000 people became infected with HIV in the past year, which translates to about 40 percent more cases than officials had estimated, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
Previous CDC estimates suggested about 40,000 new people were infected each year. But those estimates used "limited data and less precise methods," said the center, which is now using technology capable of determining when someone was infected. The new method can indicate whether someone has been infected with HIV during the previous five months, rather than relying on statistical models.
Diagnosis of HIV can occur years after infection, he said.
"The fact that 56,000 Americans each year are contracting HIV for the first time is a wake-up call for all of us in the U.S.," Fenton said.
"These numbers are a scathing indictment of how profoundly U.S. and CDC HIV prevention efforts have failed," said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which calls itself "the nation's largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care."
"Identifying all those who are infected and linking them to treatment is the only way to break the chain of new infections and begin to address the nation's runaway epidemic," he said. Ideally, he said, a response to the epidemic would include more investment in prevention efforts. The CDC will work with the Department of Health and Human Services, along with other public and private organizations, to "add to the federal pot," he said.
"Every year, more than 15,000 people are dying from this disease, and AIDS is a major killer for some of our minority communities," he said.
"The key thing we have to focus on now is what, how and when do we begin to enhance the prevention responses to end this epidemic."
Fenton and Wilson said removing stigma and discrimination are necessary first steps. People need to be educated about how they can prevent infection and, if they do get HIV, how they can get tested and treated as soon as possible.
Since the mid-1990s, antiretroviral therapies have turned HIV and AIDS into more of a chronic illness rather than a death sentence. Until a vaccine is developed, getting infected people on antiretrovirals as early as possible would improve their long-term outcome.
The new data is scheduled for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association. The report's release is meant to coincide with the opening Sunday of the the biannual International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico.
News from CNN.com/health.
There are more new cases of Americans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, than previously believed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday. A woman uses the Oraquick rapid HIV testing device at a New York health clinic in 2006. About 56,000 people became infected with HIV in the past year, which translates to about 40 percent more cases than officials had estimated, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
Previous CDC estimates suggested about 40,000 new people were infected each year. But those estimates used "limited data and less precise methods," said the center, which is now using technology capable of determining when someone was infected. The new method can indicate whether someone has been infected with HIV during the previous five months, rather than relying on statistical models.
Diagnosis of HIV can occur years after infection, he said.
"The fact that 56,000 Americans each year are contracting HIV for the first time is a wake-up call for all of us in the U.S.," Fenton said.
"These numbers are a scathing indictment of how profoundly U.S. and CDC HIV prevention efforts have failed," said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which calls itself "the nation's largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care."
"Identifying all those who are infected and linking them to treatment is the only way to break the chain of new infections and begin to address the nation's runaway epidemic," he said. Ideally, he said, a response to the epidemic would include more investment in prevention efforts. The CDC will work with the Department of Health and Human Services, along with other public and private organizations, to "add to the federal pot," he said.
"Every year, more than 15,000 people are dying from this disease, and AIDS is a major killer for some of our minority communities," he said.
"The key thing we have to focus on now is what, how and when do we begin to enhance the prevention responses to end this epidemic."
Fenton and Wilson said removing stigma and discrimination are necessary first steps. People need to be educated about how they can prevent infection and, if they do get HIV, how they can get tested and treated as soon as possible.
Since the mid-1990s, antiretroviral therapies have turned HIV and AIDS into more of a chronic illness rather than a death sentence. Until a vaccine is developed, getting infected people on antiretrovirals as early as possible would improve their long-term outcome.
The new data is scheduled for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association. The report's release is meant to coincide with the opening Sunday of the the biannual International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico.